(Red Oak, Iowa) – Montgomery County Auditor Jill Ozuna says a successful post-election audit was conducted of the November City-School election on November 15, 2023. Ballots in Precinct 5 were hand- counted by election officials to ensure they matched the totals reported by the ballot tabulator. The precinct was randomly selected by the Secretary of State following Election Day. The City of Grant Mayor Race was audited. The results matched 100%.

County Auditor Jill Ozuna stated: “The hand count audit shows that our machines tabulate accurately and further restores integrity of our election process. I’d like to thank the county auditors and the election officials and poll workers across the state for their hard work this year,” Secretary Pate said. “We conducted another fair, secure election in Iowa, and these hand-count audits are one more way we ensure the integrity of the vote.”

Every ballot tabulator in Iowa undergoes a public pre-election test to ensure it will count votes accurately on Election Day. Post-election audits are mandatory in all 99 counties following each election.  For the City-School Election, one randomly chosen precinct in each county is required to conduct a post-election audit to verify the machine count.

For more information about election security in Iowa, visit the Secretary of State’s website at sos.iowa.gov. Information about the voting process is available at VoterReady.Iowa.gov. Questions about the post-election audit and other election matters may be directed to the Montgomery County Auditor’s office at 712-623-5127.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s roads will be crowded next week as it’s projected to be the fourth-busiest travel week since 2005. If you’ll be heading down the highway to see friends or family for Thanksgiving, Triple-A-Iowa spokesman Brian Ortner says it could save you plenty of hassles to give your vehicle a preventative check-up now.) “Get your car ready for that road trip,” Ortner says. “You have plenty of time now to get your routine maintenance done, get your tire pressure checked, get your oil changed, get your battery checked.”

Some people like stay organized and on-task by making lists, and Ortner says travel can be overwhelming, so do what you can to plan ahead. “Leave early and allow yourself extra time,” Ortner says.

AAA photo

“Whether you’re flying or driving, that’s going to be a big key into less stressful travel plans.” You don’t want to be one of “those” relatives at the dinner table, so Ortner suggests you know when to say when to that holiday cheer. “Keep safety on your mind,” Ortner says. “Never drive impaired and make sure, if you do celebrate a little bit too much, take advantage of the options to get home so you do arrive home safely.”

Triple-A estimates travel next week around Iowa and the five other states in our region will be up two-percent, or about 85-thousand travelers, from last year. Of the estimated four-point-three million people in our region who will be traveling at least 50 miles from home, some three-point-eight million will be going by motor vehicle.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill co-sponsored by Iowa Congressman Zach Nunn would block Iran’s access to six billion dollars designated for humanitarian aide. It was part of a recent prisoner swap between the U-S and Iran.  “This bill would provide a surgical strike, as it were, in rescinding the  licenses involving the $6 billion transferred from South Korea to Qatar in September of 2023,” Nunn says, “effectively cutting off Iran’s access to these  funds.” Iranian oil money had been held in South Korean banks since 2019 and the six billion has been transferred to Qatar’s central bank, but it has not been distributed to Iran yet. Nunn says Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world and if that money is released, it would let Iran redirect resources to groups like Hamas.

“This would ensure that those assets don’t flow to Iran and the government of Iran,” Nunn says. Nunn’s bill was among a dozen approved by the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday. Nunn says the bill calls for the U-S to review any transaction — anywhere — that involves transfers of five million dollars or more to Iran.

“In fact, our own Department of Justice recently found that Turkish Halkbank had illicitly transferred approximately $20 billion worth of restricted Iranian funds through a so-called ‘humanitarian exception,’ but none of that was used for the people of Iran,” Nunn says. “Instead, that money was used to directly threaten the United States and train terrorist groups Hezbollah and Hamas.” Nunn, a Republican from Bondurant, says there have been Iranian backed strikes on U-S forces in the Middle East since the Hamas attacks on Israel last month.

(Cedar Rapids, Iowa) – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa, reports a Carroll man, 45-year-old Darwin Robinson, Jr., was sentenced last week to more than 5-1/2 months in prison on federal gun and drug charges. Robinson pled guilty July 20, 2023, to illegally possessing a firearm and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Robinson was previously convicted of cocaine-possession and three domestic abuse assaults which prohibit a person from possessing any firearm.

At the plea and sentencing hearings, evidence showed Robinson had prohibitive convictions and was a regular user of methamphetamine while possessing a .40 caliber handgun. On March 22, 2021, law enforcement stopped the vehicle Robinson was driving and officers seized 2 small bags of methamphetamine from Robinson and a loaded .40 caliber handgun from the vehicle. Robinson admitted that he planned on selling some or all of the methamphetamine that was found.

Sentencing was held November 9th in Sioux City Federal Court. United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced Robinson to 70 month in prison and five years of supervised release following his imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. Robinson remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Carroll, Iowa Police Department, Iowa DCI Criminalistics Laboratory, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – News around the world told of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev’s visit to southwest Iowa, in 1959. Liz Garst was eight years old at the time but she remembers his visit and has stories to tell. Garst will present a program on Sunday, November 19 at 2 pm at the American Legion Memorial Building (the Old Armory), in Atlantic.

The Garst Family has deep roots in the history of Iowa. Based on her family experience in Coon Rapids, Liz tells of agricultural development especially during the mid-century explosion of farm productivity. She tells entertaining stories from her personal memories as an 8-year-old participant. There is a powerful message about the ability of an individual to make a difference.

Liz Garst

Liz manages banking and farming interests for the Garst family. She is the granddaughter of Roswell and Elizabeth Garst the hosts for Khrushcev. She likes to tell a good story. Liz is a volunteer and board member Whiterock Conservancy which is dedicated to finding balance between agriculture, the environment and people.

Her presentation, Sunday, is one of the series of programs sponsored by Atlantic Rock Island Society Enterprise (ARISE). There is no fee but donations are appreciated. Everyone is welcome. The Building located at 201 Poplar Street, Atlantic is handicapped accessible.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Montgomery County Engineer Karen Albert, Tuesday, updated the Board of Supervisors on Secondary Roads Department maintenance projects and activities.

Six Secondary Roads Department employees, she said, were undergoing specific training in Atlantic, Tuesday. Albert handed-out to the Board some pictures of the K Avenue Railroad Bridge. Albert received a call last Thursday from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department, informing her the bridge had been damaged by deep gouges caused by an unknown implement or device.

The railroad owns the K, L and Q Avenue bridges in Montgomery County, and the County is not allowed to conduct any type of maintenance on them. She said “The railroad can choose to close these bridges if they want to. They are the railroad’s bridges…they own the bridges.” She urged the Board to keep that in-mind.

In other business, Karen Albert updated the Supervisors in Montgomery County on the 180th Street precast concrete box culvert project.

She said work on the 250th Street bridge continues, as well. When the 250th Street bridge project is completed, the County plans to hold a dedication ceremony and grand opening.

(Pottawattamie County, Iowa) — Sheriff’s officials in Pottawattamie COunty report Deputies and multiple fire departments were dispatched at around 4:05-p.m., Tuesday, to an accident in the area of Juniper Road and Jasper Lane, near McClelland, that involved a train and a vehicle. When first responders arrived, they discovered the vehicle was occupied by two adults and three juveniles. Authorities say the three juveniles appeared to have been unharmed. The two adults were extricated from the vehicle. Both were transported to the hospital. One of the adults was transported by helicopter ambulance.

As of 9-a.m. today (Wednesday), authorities said they had not received any updates on the condition of the two adults. No one on the train was hurt. Due to the seriousness of the crash, Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Accident investigators responded to the scene. Authorities say the accident remains under investigation.

Agencies assisting at the crash scene included the Underwood, McClelland, Treynor and Lewis Fire Departments, and the Iowa State Patrol.

(Radio Iowa) – The January 15th Iowa Caucuses are just two months away. Iowa G-O-P chairman Jeff Kaufmann says over 10-thousand Republican volunteers will run the more than 16-hundred precinct meetings. “I think there’s the makings for a record setting Caucus here,” Kaufmann says. “A lot of this is anecdotal, of course. There’s no way for sure way to predict this kind of thing, but the energy that we’re hearing, the activity levels of the candidates that are still in the Caucus and I think there’s a general concern about where our country’s heading.”

Nearly 187-thousand Republicans participated in the 2016 Iowa Caucuses, a record. In 2024, Iowa Republican Caucus-goers will follow past practice and simply cast a straw poll ballot and those slips of paper will be counted in the room. Each campaign may have an observer watch the counting. The tallies from each precinct will be reported to the state party and Kaufmann says the results will be posted on a public website.

“It’s going to be as close to real time as we can make it and every single vote will have a paper trail and every single vote can be audited and will be audited within two days,” Kaufmann says. “In fact, in 2016 we got that job done despite a blizzard.” Republican officials at the county level decide what to use for the straw poll ballots and most will be using blank sheets of paper, but Kaufmann says a few will hand Caucus-goers a sheet with candidate names printed on it.

Republicans will be conducting some party business at their Caucuses, but people will be able to leave after casting that straw poll ballot. “And that’s o.k., just so they’re there on January 15,” Kaufmann says. You have to be a registered Republican and vote in person that night.

Iowa Democrats plan to hold in-person Caucuses on January 15th, too, but national party leaders decided South Carolina Democrats will vote first in their party’s presidential nominating process. Iowa Democrats will conduct party business at their 2024 Caucuses and the party has established a mail-in system for presidential preference cards. The results, though, won’t be announced until March.

(Radio Iowa) – U-S Senator Joni Ernst addressed the tens of thousands who gathered at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for the March for Israel. “Israel, the United States will always have your back,” Ernts said, to cheers. Ernst, a Republican from Red Oak, was part of a bipartisan group preparing to meet in the Middle East to discuss improved relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia when Hamas attacked Israelis who live near Gaza.

“What Iran-backed Hamas perpetrated on October 7th was pure evil and those monsters deserve nothing short of complete and total destruction,” Ernst said, to cheers. Ernst, who met in Israel with victims of the attack three days later, did not directly mention the timing for an aide package for Israel that has not yet made its way through congress, but she told the crowd Republicans and Democrats in the U-S Senate will stand with Israel. She also denounced antisemitism in the U-S.

House Speaker Johnson, House Minority Leader Jeffries and U.S. Senator Ernst on stage at the March for Israel rally on Nov. 14, 2023. (Photo courtesy of Senator Ernst’s office)

“We will not sit quiet,” Ernst yelled, and the crowd cheered before she finished her sentence with, “as antisemitism is being promulgated in classrooms and campuses around the country.” Rally organizers planned the event as a response to protests that have denounced Israel’s actions in Gaza.

(Radio Iowa) – A new report from the American Lung Association shows some improvement in the number of high-risk Iowans who are being screened for lung cancer, but the rate of new lung cancer cases in Iowa is higher than the national average. Kristina Hamilton is advocacy director for the American Lung Association of Iowa  “Iowa still has one of the highest rates of radon in the country,” Hamilton says. “…Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer.”

Iowa ranks 37th among the states in the number of new cancer cases annually. The five-year survival rate for Iowans with lung cancer is nearly two percent lower than the national average. Just over seven percent of Iowans who are at higher risk for lung cancer are being screened.  “Which is significantly higher than the national average of only 4.5%,” Hamilton says. In addition to smoking, having tuberculosis or being exposed to radiation or to chemicals like radon and asbestos raise the risk of developing lung cancer. Exposure to second hand smoke is another risk factor.

A low dose C-T scan produces a detailed picture of lungs and can detect the cancer is its early stages. “Early detection really does save lives,” Hamilton says, “so we want to emphasize awareness about the availability of lung cancer screening and encourage those who are qualify and are high risk to be screened.”

The American Lung Association is urging congress to pass the Increasing Access to Lung Cancer Screening Act. If a doctor recommends a lung cancer screening, the bill would prohibit Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance companies from requiring prior authorization for it. Lung cancer is the second most common cancer among men and women in the U-S — but is by far the leading cause of cancer deaths in the America.