State officials are predicting tax PAYMENTS to the State of Iowa will drop by a little less than one percent during the current budgeting year due to previously approved tax CUTS. Iowa Department of Management director Kraig Paulsen is the governor’s top budget advisor.

The top state income tax rate was reduced 10 months ago and there will be another reduction January 1st. Corporate income taxes have been cut, too.

Jennifer Acton of the Legislative Services Agency says global turmoil as well as Iowa drought conditions and the state’s aging workforce are concerns.

Acton and Paulsen are members of the state’s Revenue Estimating Conference, which met late this (Thurday) morning. The group predicts state tax collections in the NEXT state fiscal year will drop one-point-eight percent.

Senator Janet Petersen, a Democrat from Des Moines, says the report shows state tax revenue won’t be able to keep up with the corporate tax cuts and private school spending Governor Reynolds has approved. House Democrats say Iowans are tired of endless tax cuts for corporations and the super rich.

The Republican who leads the House Appropriations Committee says lawmakers need to keep lowering the tax burden in a responsible way to help Iowans struggling with wages that aren’t keeping up with inflation.

(Radio Iowa) With rain in the forecast for the next few days for wide sections of Iowa, we should see at least a temporary end to the rash of field fires and farm equipment fires. Le Mars Fire Rescue Chief Dave Schipper says they’ve seen quite a few of both this harvest season, and the winds can spread flames across fields quickly. He says farmers can help by positioning a disc implement nearby.

Chief Schipper says even the best-kept equipment is vulnerable to fire.

Forecasters say parts of Iowa may see up to three inches of rain by the weekend.

(Radio Iowa) – A Mitchell man is dead after being trapped in a grain bin. The Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office says they received a 9-1-1 call shortly after noon on Wednesday about a grain bin entrapment near the intersection of State Highway 9 and Glass Avenue. First responders at the scene found 69-year-old Dennis Fischer trapped in the bin. Authorities say rescuers were not able to free Fischer from the bin for an extended period of time and Fischer was later pronounced dead at the scene.

The Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office is reminding producers as they continue with the harvest to be mindful of the dangers of entering a grain bin, operating equipment after long hours of work and the impatience of the motoring public on the roadways.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson is urging her fellow Republicans in the U-S House to quickly elect Steve Scalise as speaker. “Iowans are just fed up with the chaos and dysfunction and so am I and so we need to get this done as soon as possible,” Hinson says, “and that’s what I’m communicating to my colleagues who may be holding out.”

Scalise has enough support to be NOMINATED as speaker, but there currently are enough Republicans who oppose Scalise that a vote on the House floor would fail. Previous Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted last week. Hinson delivered a nominating speech for Scalice in the private House G-O-P meeting yesterday (Wednesday) about the speaker’s race. “He’s been a very good friend to me and he listens to me,” Hinson says, “and I think that’s really important in making sure Iowa’s priorities can get done here in Washington, D.C.”

House Republicans are meeting in private again today (Thursday) to discuss the situation. “We need to unite behind our party’s nominee for speaker because we do have a lot going on in the world,” Hinson says. Last February, Hinson visited families in the area in Israel where Hamas attacked this past weekend. “The scenes out of Israel in the past few days have been absolutely horrific and frankly stomach churning,” Hinson says. “Hamas terrorists, backed by Iran, have brutally slaughtered innocent civilians. We just got word that 25 Americans have been confirmed murdered and unfortunately more are being held hostage right now.” Hinson says her staff has been working with Iowans who are stuck in Israel.

Hinson says the U-S State Department should authorize our military to evacuate U-S citizens and, if necessary, charter flights to bring Americans home.  “Because, as we know, many of the airports have been shut down or have limited flights in and out,” Hinson says. The Biden Administration is reportedly planning to ask congress to approve a package that includes money for Ukraine, Taiwan and U-S border security as well as additional support for Israel. Hinson opposes that approach. “There is wide, bipartisan support in congress for Israel and so I’m hopeful we can come together, again put politics and disagreements on other issues aside and then show our friends we’re going to stay true to our word and get them what they need,” Hinson says. “They are our closest ally in the Middle East. We should honor our commitments to them to keep Israel safe, America safe and the world safe.”

Hinson is joining other Republicans in calling for harsh sanctions on Iran and for refreezing Iranian assets that were part of deal that led to the release of five Americans being held in Iran in exchange for several Iranians jailed in the U-S.

(Radio Iowa) – With threats on several Iowa school districts in recent weeks, bringing lockdowns and closures that impacted thousands of students, administrators across the state are considering ways to further tighten security. As we have reported,  the latest incident Thursday morning, occurred in the Storm Lake Community School District. Three juveniles were arrested following an investigation into the alleged threat.

In the Cedar Valley, the Hudson Community School District is using state funding to invest in more video cameras for each campus. Superintendent Tony Voss says they are planning to double the number of cameras now being used by the start of the 2024 academic year. “Every school is going to be approaching this differently,” Voss says. “Every school has needs that are unique to their own setting. I think it gives peace of mind and provides an extra layer of security to the district.”

Voss says the Hudson district has a security camera system in place now, but it’s become tough to manage as it was patched together. “It’s a system that we built ourselves, and as we’ve gone throughout the years, we’ve said, ‘Hey, it’d sure be nice to have a camera in Location X.’ So we’d go and buy a camera and put it in Location X and away we would go,” Voss says. “So we’ve had them, but they haven’t been as widespread as we will have them with this grant.”

The grant is from the Iowa Department of Homeland Security, specifically for cameras.

ADEL, Iowa (KCCI)— Harry Stine’s fortune continues to grow. The Iowa native and CEO of Stine Seed Co. in Adel is now worth $9.7 billion, according to Forbes 400 — a list of the 400 richest Americans. That’s $2 billion more than he was worth at this time last year and nearly $4 billion more than five years ago.

Stine, 81, is the richest Iowan and the state’s only billionaire. He’s the 76th richest American, Forbes says, with Tesla and SpaceX head Elon Musk at the top with $251 billion. Rounding out the top five are Amazon’s Jeff Bezos at $161 billion, Oracle’s Larry Ellison at $158 billion, Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett at $121 billion and Google’s Larry Page at $114 billion.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — An air refueling aircraft made a nose landing at the Sioux City airport Wednesday afternoon. The 185^th Air Refueling Wing (ARW) said in a release that it occurred at 2:37 p.m. by an Iowa Air National Guard KC-135 Stratotanker.

Officials said the aircraft was performing touch-and-go landings as part of a local training mission. When the incident happened, the aircraft’s front landing gear had not deployed when the aircraft came to a full stop on the airport’s main runway. The Sioux City Airport Fire Department, 185th ARW crash recovery and safety teams responded to the scene.

The release added that there were five personnel on board during the incident. The five and the aircraft were assigned to the 185th Air Refueling Wing based out of Sioux City. While there is damage to the nose, the rest of the aircraft remains undamaged, the release stated.

Runway 36 at the airport remains open, while the main runway at Sioux City is closed as crash recovery personnel work to remove the aircraft. The KC-135 can also be used for transporting people and equipment. The aircraft typically has three crew members including a pilot co-pilot and boom operator.

An investigation into the cause is ongoing.

CLIVE, Iowa — Former President Donald Trump will return to Iowa later this month for two different events. Trump will have an event at the Dallas County Fairgrounds in Adel at 1:30 p.m. next Monday, Oct. 16. Doors will open at 10:30 a.m., according to the event schedule. Trump will also hold a rally in Clive later that day. Doors will open at noon at the Horizons Event Center for Trump’s remarks at 3 p.m.

Trump was in Iowa last weekend when he spoke to a crowd at a Cedar Rapids hotel ballroom. He also spoke at an event in Ottumwa at the end of September.

NewsMax Townhall event with former VP Mike Pence set for Tuesday, Oct. 17th

Tuesday, October 17, 2023
Doors open 3:00 p.m.

Windsor Heights Community Center
6900 School Street
Windsor Heights, IA

Register for Event

(Atlantic, Iowa) – A foundation created following the death in 2021 of an Atlantic High School graduate and Iowa State University student, will pay the price of admission for persons attending a fall musical presentation at the Atlantic High School, of “Cinderella.”

Avery Andersen was very involved in the Atlantic School District’s Fine Arts program. Assistant High School Principal Andrew Mitchell said the Avery Andersen Foundation that was started by Avery’s parents Steve and Sue Andersen, works to provide scholarships to students, and serves in many other ways.

The musical takes place November 4^th from 7:30-until 9:30-p.m., and November 5^th from 2:30-until 4:30-p.m. The free tickets are available for the Nov. 5^th performance. Andy Mitchell said the Andersen’s will keep track of the adult and student tickets used for the musical.

He says there will be a special presentation prior to the performance, in honor of Avery.

(Radio Iowa) – The two-day annual Iowa Mission of Mercy (IMOM) free dental clinic will get underway in eastern Iowa Friday. Iowa Dental Foundation Executive Director, Laurie Traetow (tray-tow), says the offer all sorts of dental services from cleanings up to some partial dentures during the clinic in Waterloo. The services are all on a first-come, first-served basis, and they usually have people lined up when the doors open at 6 a-m.

More information can be found at IowaMOM.org.