(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston say no injuries were reported following a three-vehicle, chain-reaction accident Monday evening Sumner Street (Highway 25 north). The driver of a 2011 Chevy Traverse SUV, 24-year-old Shelby Marie Jilek, of Mount Ayr, told Police she was driving to the stop light at New York/Sheldon Avenue, when her vehicles’ wheels locked up. Her vehicle slid and struck the rear of a 2020 Nissan Murano SUV, driven by 63-year-old Susan Marie O’Brien, of Creston.

The SUV then ran into the rear of a 2019 Buick Encore SUV, driven by 38-year-old Shannel Lynn Troutwine, of Creston. The accident occurred a little after 5-p.m., Monday.

All three drivers were wearing their seat belts. They confirmed with Police Jilek’s story about how the incident unfolded.

Damages from the accident amounted to $3,000 ($1,000 to each vehicle). No citations were issued.

(Radio Iowa) – Former President Donald Trump has released a video slamming Governor Kim Reynolds for endorsing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The video was released on social media by the Trump campaign. It starts with a reference to a Morning Consult analysis about the popularity of the nation’s governors. It indicated Reynolds had a 47 percent disapproval rating. “Kim Reynolds of Iowa has gone from a popular governor to the most unpopular governor in the entire United States of America, not an easy feat,” Trump said.

Reynolds endorsed DeSantis earlier this month, saying she believes DeSantis can beat Biden, while Trump cannot. Trump says the endorsement has given DeSantis “zero bounce” in the polls. “I wonder what position Kim was promised to back someone who was so far down in the polls,” Trump said in the video. Reynolds won reelection a year ago by a more than 18 point margin and a recent Des Moines Register “Iowa Poll” found Reynolds is viewed favorably by eight out of 10 Iowa Republicans.

Trump began criticizing Reynolds earlier this year for not endorsing his bid to return to the White House, calling her disloyal.

(Radio Iowa) – A federal jury has convicted the wife of a Woodbury County supervisor on 52 counts of voting fraud. The jury returned a guilty verdict on all charges against Kim Taylor after six hours of deliberations Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning. Taylor was accused of filling out or helping to file absentee ballots for numerous Vietnamese residents in the Sioux City area and had them signed by people who weren’t authorized to cast the ballot.

The charges date back to elections in 2020 when her husband, Jeremy Taylor, ran for congress and later for Woodbury County supervisor. Prosecutors referred to him as an undicted co-conspirator in a pretrial filing. After the verdict, Judge Leonard Strand ordered a pre-sentencing investigation and has not set a sentencing date for Kim Taylor, who will remain free until then.

Her attorney, F. Montgomery Brown, says he respects the verdict, but would no comment on a possible appeal until after her sentencing.

Breda, IA (November 21, 2023) – Officials with Western Iowa Networks (WIN), Tuesday (today), announced a groundbreaking partnership with Mills County to bring state-of-the-art fiber-optic technology to the community of Glenwood.

WIN says the transformative fiber construction project aims to revolutionize connectivity in the city, providing residents and businesses with unprecedented access to high-speed internet services as well as crystal clear landline phone. In addition to fiber internet, WIN will also offer businesses Hosted Phone Systems, Managed IT and more.

Key Project Highlights:
• Fiber-Optic Network Expansion: WIN will deploy advanced fiber-optic infrastructure throughout Glenwood, enabling lightning-fast internet speeds and unmatched reliability.
• Wider Service Coverage: The Fiber Construction Project is designed to extend WIN’s network reach, ensuring that more local residents and businesses can benefit from high-quality, high-speed internet access.
• Community Empowerment: By significantly improving internet connectivity, this project will help boost economic development, facilitate remote work opportunities, enhance online learning, and enable telehealth services, ultimately improving the quality of life for Glenwood’s residents.
• Customer-Centric Approach: WIN remains dedicated to providing exceptional customer service throughout the construction process.

WIN CEO Jeff Roiland says “This latest partnership between Western Iowa Networks and Mills County underscores a shared commitment to enhancing the community’s digital infrastructure. This project will provide residents and businesses with access to essential resources, fostering economic growth and innovation. We have already seen the immense benefits that fiber optics has provided to rural Mills County and are excited to see residents in Glenwood reap these benefits as well.

Mills County Chamber Executive Director Jennie Davis commented “The Mills County Chamber of Commerce is thrilled to hear of the partnership between Western Iowa Networks and Mills County, as well as the involvement of the City of Glenwood. Fiber optic internet is especially important to our local businesses who depend on reliable, fast service to conduct business and with the introduction of fiber to our community, Mills County is poised for additional growth, possibilities, and innovation. The Chamber proudly supports this leap forward and looks forward to continuing their partnership with Western Iowa Networks.”

Glenwood City Administrator Amber Farnan commented “The City is excited to partner with Mills County to help make it possible for Western Iowa Networks to bring fiber into the Glenwood city limits, we understand our citizen’s need for this service and are happy to be a part of the solution.” Mills County Auditor Ami Petersen added “It’s a great opportunity for the City and County to work together to connect the entire community to fiber.”

The investment of $500,000 from Mills County and the City of Glenwood will help greatly with the multi-million dollar project. In the past 4 years, WIN has invested over $20 Million in fiber optic construction in Mills County and has made gigabit service available to nearly 3,500 homes and businesses.
WIN CEO Jeff Roiland added “We greatly appreciate the City of Glenwood coming to the table and assisting Mills County in investing in this project. The impact of their investment will be felt immediately with expanded opportunities for communication, education, business, entertainment…the list goes on.”

The project will see fiber optics constructed past nearly 2,500 homes and businesses and make Gigabit Internet available in Glenwood. Construction of this project is scheduled to begin in 2024. Because of the large scale of this project, as well as the many stages involved in constructing a brand new utility, it will take a significant period of time to complete. WIN appreciates the public’s patience as they work towards a future of enhanced communication and connectivity for the Glenwood community.

The process of constructing this fiber network will use a combination of areas with a high concentration of customers who have signed up for services as well as network connectivity needs. Residents in Glenwood, even if they have previously filled out the online interest form, will need to sign up for services in order to have fiber optics constructed to their home. They can do so by calling 888-508-2946 and speaking to a Customer Experience Specialist or by signing up online at www.westianet.com.
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About Western Iowa Networks: Breda Telephone Corp. ~ d.b.a. Western Iowa Networks (WIN) ~ is a leading communications company based in Breda, IA. They are one of western Iowa’s largest independent telephone companies, and one of the area’s most diverse service providers.

WIN was founded in 1905 as Breda Telephone Company and today provides telephone, Internet, cellular, cable, and many complementary services to customers across Western and Southwestern Iowa including Arcadia, Auburn, Breda, Carroll, Council Bluffs, Dedham, Denison, Farragut, Glenwood, Glidden, Halbur, Hastings, Lidderdale, Macedonia, Malvern, Maple River, Mineola, Mount Carmel, Nemaha, Pacific Junction, Silver City, Treynor, Vail, Westside and Willey.

(Granger, Iowa) – The Iowa State Patrol today (Tuesday) released information about a fatal crash that occurred Saturday evening, in Dallas County. According to the report, a2005 Toyota Camry driven by 62-year-old Kevin Daryl Brown, of Grimes, was traveling west in the eastbound lanes of Highway 141 near 190th Street.

A 2023 Chrysler 300 S and a 2013 KIA Sportage were traveling eastbound, when the Chrysler was struck by the Camry as it passed. Following the collision, the Toyota spun around and was struck by the KIA. The Camry then reportedly caught fire. The crash happened at around 6:04-p.m.

Kevin Brown died at the scene. He was wearing a seat belt. The driver of the KIA, 29-year-old Veya Makuta, of Des Moines, who was also wearing a seat belt, was injured in the crash and transported to Mercy Hospital by Dallas County EMS.  The driver of the Chrysler – Daniel Alfred Gonzalez, Jr., of Ankeny – was not injured.

The Patrol was assisted at the scene by Granger Police, the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office and Dallas County EMS.

(Radio Iowa) – One area of the state continues to lag behind in finishing off the corn harvest. The U-S-D-A crop survey found twelve percent of the corn in south-central Iowa remained to be harvested at of the end of the week Sunday. No other crop district had more than four percent remaining, with the statewide average of just three percent of the corn still in the fields.

The corn harvest is on the same pace as last year, and ten days ahead of the five-year average.

(Griswold, Iowa) – The Griswold School Board met Monday evening, and acted on a handful of resignations and a full-time contract. Superintendent Dave Henrichs….

The Board chose to activate the district’s retirement policy for both certified and classified staff members.

Henrichs said Early Retirement applications will go to the board for action during their meeting on January 15.

In other business, the Griswold School Board established their 2023-2034 Board Goals. The goals are the same as last year. They include establishing strategies for attracting, hiring and retaining quality staff. Their other goal was developing a strategy to reducing net open enrollement-out.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday (Today), received an annual report and funding request from West Central Community Action (WCCA) Executive Director Wendy Mueller, and a weekly report from Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken. They also voted to deny a probationary period performance-based pay raise for an employee of the Cass County Treasurer’s Office. In her report to the Board, Wendy Mueller said WCCA is asking for the same amount of funding the County provided for their services, last year.

The Board took the request under consideration.

Wendy Mueller

Mueller said for Fiscal Year 2023 West Central served 582 households in Cass County, consisting of over 1,200 individiuals, which was a small increase (32) over last year.

She said 53-percent of the households they serve in Cass County, rent their home. West Central, she said, provides many services in the County, including Head Start, which promotes school readiness for children ages 3-to 5 for low income families, by offering a variety of services.

They also have Early Headstart, which provides support to low income infants, toddlers and pregnant women and their families. They also offer a home-based option in Cass County. Over the past year, WCCA served a total of seven children in Early Headstart. The organization also offers Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R),

She acknowledged there has been a continued loss of child care programs in the area. Nine-percent, she said, have been lost over the past 5-years in Cass County alone. That trend is nationwide, as well. Other programs WCCA handles include the Child and Adult Care Food Program (197 children were enrolled in the program over the past year in the County), and Weatherization for low income households to help increase energy efficiency and reduce fuel costs. Eight homes were weatherized, which was double the number from last year, at a cost of $272,000 worth of services. For more information on West Central Community Action, see this LINK.

The Board discussed at length, approving a wage change for Cass County Auditor’s Clerk Hannah Richter. The proposed increase, which Auditor Kathy Somers and the Board agreed in a prior meeting, would be $1.00, from $19-to $20, following a probationary period and positive performance evaluation. The Board, Tuesday (Today), made several motions, including one to give her a 3% raise now, and a 3% raise on July 1, 2024, and, a proposed One-dollar increase on that date, instead of now.

Supervisor Mark O’Brien said he was opposed to the “Tiered probationary period…needs to go away.”

Kathy Somers said…

The Board voted 3-to-2 to delay the raise until the start of the new Fiscal Year on July 1^st. Supervisors Wendy Richter and Steve Green were opposed to that action.

Des Moines, Iowa – Nov. 21, 2023 – If you drive near the Interstate 35/80/235 east systems interchange you need to be aware of an upcoming construction project that may slow down your trip.

Nighttime construction work to place bridge beams for the new bridge at the I-35/I-80/I-235 east systems interchange will require closing westbound I-80, the ramp from westbound I-80 to westbound I-235, and the loop from eastbound I-235 to westbound I-80 on Thursday, Nov. 30 from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., weather permitting, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Grimes Construction office.

While work is taking place you will follow a marked detour route that will take you north to the Corporate Woods interchange and then back south to continue on westbound I-80 or westbound I-235 (see map).

Help keep everyone on the road safer. Drive with caution, obey the posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, you should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Turkey Federation president Brad Moline says the variant of bird flu that’s circulating in the U-S appears tougher than the one that hit the poultry industry in 2015 — but he says stepped up biosecurity at poultry operations is preventing the virus from spreading like it did six years ago. “In 2015, it disappeared in June. Warm temperatures came and it was gone. From 2022-2023 warm temperatures haven’t necessarily stopped it. It doesn’t follow the fall bird migration or the spring bird migration,” Moline says, “so it’s been totally different.”

The outbreak, though, has not impacted the supply of turkeys for this Thanksgiving. More turkeys were raised in the U-S this year than in 2021. The price of Thanksgiving turkey is down more than five-and-a-half percent from last year according to the Farm Bureau. If the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza continues, though, the price and availability of turkey may be impacted in the new year. There are at least 30 outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in 16 states right now.

“The whole industry is on edge again, there’s no question about it,” he says. “…Folks on our farm and many other farms in the state of Iowa follow strict bioseurity protocol and do everything we possibly can to keep that disease out of our farms.” Moline’s turkey operation is near Manson, on the border of Calhoun and Pocahontas Couties and it had a bird flu outbreak in 2015. Moline says state and federal government officials have eliminated red tape and there’s a speedier process of euthanizing infected birds now.

“From that, you have stopped the spread from farm to farm,” Moline says. Wild birds like geese are thought to be major spreaders of the virus to confinements and backyard flocks. However, the number of avian influenza cases in the wild bird population appears to be dropping according ot the U-S-D-A. It could be a sign wild birds are developing immunity to the virus and may be contributing to a reduction in bird flu cases this year.