BAYARD, Iowa — A boil advisory has been issued for the City of Bayard in Guthrie  County due to depressurization of the entire water system. More than 200 connections are affected. Operators were unable to isolate a leaking valve while conducting repairs to the system, and had to take the water tower offline, resulting in pressure loss. Once repairs are completed the affected area will be disinfected and flushed. City officials are notifying residents via boil advisory public notices around town.

Officials say there is no reason to believe water quality has been compromised, but as a precaution, customers are encouraged to boil water that will be consumed or used for food preparation. Water should be boiled for two minutes and allowed to cool before use. Water is safe to use for showering, laundry, general washing and outdoor use without boiling.

Two sets of bacteria samples will be collected for testing. The boil advisory will be lifted once two consecutive sets of bacterial samples have tested negative for bacteria.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office has released a report on arrests that took place from May 17th through the 20th. Two people were arrested this (Monday) morning:

• 42-year-old Jonathan M. Green, of Rapid City, SD, was arrested a little after 2-a.m., for Violation No Contact Order. He was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail.
• 53-year-old Jamie Jo Jackson, of Rapid City, SD, was arrested for Possession on Controlled Substance. Bond was set at $1,000. Both subjects were arrested in the vicinity of 189th Street.

On Sunday, Mills County Deputies arrested 34-year-old Sandra Marie Martin, of Omaha, NE, in the area of 305th Street, on a warrant for Animal Neglect-with Injury or Death. Her bond was set at $2,000.00

And, there were two arrests last Friday in Mills County:

• 33-year-old Jeffrey Blaine Adams, of Pacific Junction, was arrested Friday morning, for Domestic Abuse Assault. He was being held without bond.
• 32-year-old Keith Allen Wise, II, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at the Pottawattamie County Jail, on a Mills County warrant for Violation of Probation. His bond was set at $2,500.

(Radio Iowa) – A Princeton University study of Iowa’s state-funded accounts for students in about half of Iowa’s private schools has found tuition rates for kindergarteners went up between 21 and 25 percent more than kindergarten tuition in Nebraska’s private schools. Democrats say the study shows the taxpayer-funded accounts are a windfall for private schools. House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst, of Windsor Heights, says the state spent 180 million dollars on the program this year. “Fifty-four percent of the vouchers so far have gone to 10 counties,” Konfrst says, “so how is this helping rural Iowa?”

Senate President Amy Sinclair, a Republican from Allerton, is an advocate of Iowa’s Educational Savings Accounts program. She says private school tuition increases are likely due to inflation. “I think those tuition increases would have occurred regardless of an Education Savings Account scholarship when you have over the course of the last three years cumulative inflation of about 20%, those costs impact non-public schools,” Sinclair says. The Princeton study found tuition in dozens of Iowa private schools for students in first through 12th grades went up 10 to 16 percent. Sinclair says the study is deeply flawed because researchers were unable to get information about tuition rates for all of Iowa’s private K-through-12 schools.

“The interesting thing about that study is that it does indicate that most of the non-public schools are still below the cost per pupil that public schools are spending on a student,” Sinclair says. Sinclair and Konfrst made their comments during recent appearances on “Iowa Press” on Iowa P-B-S. The 2024 Iowa legislature approved a two-and-a-half percent increase in general state funding for Iowa’s public schools, along with funding to raise starting salaries for public school teachers to 50-thousand dollars within two years.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill co-authored by Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson that seeks to prevent stillbirths passed the House on 408-3 vote. Emily Price, the executive director of Healthy Birth Day, joined Hinson to talk about the bill. She says stillbirths are an epidemic. “The annual number of deaths far exceeds the top five leading causes of deaths among children ages zero to 14 years combined that includes unintentional injuries congenital anomalies preterm birth homicide SIDS and heart disease,” Price says. Stillbirth is defined as the loss of a baby at 20 weeks or more during pregnancy. Healthy Birth Day created the Count the Kicks campaign with the help of Iowa woman to track the movement of babies to help prevent still births.

“Five Iowa women who all lost daughters to stillbirth in the early 2000s wanted to keep other families from enjoying the same tragedy they endured, she says. The organizations says the stillbirth rate in dropped by nearly 32 percent in the first ten years of the campaign. Congresswoman Hinson says the bill will free up federal funds for research into causes for stillbirths and prevention programs and will be addressing maternal care deserts in rural parts of Iowa. “We’ve been making an effort to get more midwives certified so they can help provide some of that emergency care before they may have a chance to get to a hospital,” Hinson says.

Rep. Hinson speaking on the House floor (file photo)

The Republican Congresswoman says this is especially critical in Iowa, which ranks last in access to O-B care according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. “I’ve heard from women in rural Iowa who must drive over an hour to see their O-B-G-Y-N or visit the nearest maternal ward or hospital. And they struggle to find that quality care that they need during their pregnancy,” she says. The bill now goes to the Senate.

DES MOINES, Iowa — [KCCI] Des Moines police have arrested a suspect who is accused of stealing an SUV with a baby in the back seat. “Parents stepped away for a second. Somebody jumped in the car and took it, “said Sgt. Paul Parizek, Des Moines police Department. A 2015 Mercedes-Benz GL 350 was reported stolen Friday morning in the 2300 block of Ingersoll Avenue. A 9-month-old baby was strapped in a car seat inside.

After a search, the child and the vehicle were located just before noon in the 2700 block of Ingersoll. The child was found safe. Hours later, police said they had arrested Corey Van Le, 32, of Des Moines. Le is charged with neglect of a dependent, a Class C felony, and operating a motor vehicle without owner’s consent.

AMES, Iowa – May 20, 2024 – The Iowa Department of Transportation is working across the state this spring and summer to determine how many cars, trucks, and other vehicles are using the state, county, and city roadways. The information gathered allows transportation officials to better predict traffic volume and weight trends, allowing them to plan improvements that will give Iowans the most benefit for each dollar spent.

This year’s efforts are concentrated in southwest Iowa, but occasionally crews will work elsewhere in the state. Some employees will spend peak hours between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. at a location counting the morning, noon, and evening traffic. They count and classify vehicles, record vehicle turning movements, and gather other data necessary to assist in planning the future of Iowa’s roadway system.

Other employees will be placing and checking portable traffic recorders in the same general areas. When the recorders are set, they usually record data for one or two days and are checked periodically. Employees responsible for the recorders work various shifts, including hours outside of a traditional business day.

Additional statewide work scheduled for this summer includes the installation, upgrading, and maintenance of permanent traffic recorders and weigh-in-motion equipment at continuous count locations. Other data collection activities include taking inventory on railroad crossing characteristics such as number of tracks and the types of warning devices present, including signs, lights, horns, and control gates. This information is then used for rail crossing planning, engineering, and safety improvements.

People in the area can expect to see Iowa DOT employees and vehicles in their communities all hours of the day. All of this work is important to support Iowa’s transportation system.