(Radio Iowa) – The annual Pella Tulip Festival gets underway today (Thursday) as the community celebrates its Dutch heritage. Pella Historical Museum executive director, Jessi Galligan  says they’ve survived the recent warmer and wetter. “It’s been wonderful weather mixed with some not so wonderful weather but the weather can’t stop the fun,” she says. Some of the tulips did mature and bloom earlier than normal, but there’s still plenty of color for the event. “We plant early mid and late blooming varieties to extend that,” she says. “of course Mother Nature has the last word on how things actually end up. So we had tulips blooming already in February, but we still have tulips blooming today, so it was an extraordinarily long blooming season,” Galligan says. You’ll see a lot of different tulips around the town.

“Our early bloomers are for sure done. Our mid bloomers are looking a little rough, they’re on their way out, but our late bloomers are still just perfect,” she says. The recent storms and rains haven’t dampened the enthusiasm of organizers. “Yeah, tulips are a hearty flower so the rain obviously is good for them and their growth period. If the rain is too heavy and the tulips are on their way out then perhaps that will hasten their to their their petals falling,” she says. “But you know, we’ve gotten a decent mount of rain, nowhere near what some other communities in Iowa have gotten. But it really hasn’t hurt him too bad the ones that are still looking good or are still looking good.” The Tulip Festival will also have the old favorite foods, parades and other events, along with some new things.

“We are excited to have a brand new mural set up between the Vermeer Windmill and the entrance to the gift shop. Welcome to Tulip Time, so make sure you get your picture there. And I know a couple other new murals have popped up around the community sponsored by other organizations in town so make sure you check out all the murals in town. And I believe with this new one there will be for around the community to check out,” Galligan says.

The events run through Saturday. You can find the complete schedule at pellahistorical.org.

WASHINGTON – Following reports that the Biden administration is planning to welcome Gazan refugees into the United States, Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) led 34 of her colleagues in demanding the president stop his plan, citing concerns of potential terrorist ties, and instead focus his efforts on returning Americans held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.

“Your administration’s reported plan to accept Gazan refugees poses a national security risk to the United States. With more than a third of Gazans supporting the Hamas militants, we are not confident that your administration can adequately vet this high-risk population for terrorist ties and sympathies before admitting them into the United States…We are also frustrated that your administration is pushing ahead with a plan to evacuate Gazans from the Strip when there are still American citizens held hostage by Hamas. We demand that your administration cease planning for accepting Gazan refugees until you adequately answer our concerns and focus your attention instead on securing the release of U.S. hostages held by Hamas,” the senators wrote.

Ernst’s office says a recent poll found that over 70% of Gazans viewed Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel as the “correct” decision.

 They pointed out that, “We must ensure Gazans with terrorist ties or sympathies are denied admission into the United States—no easy feat, given the fact that the Gazans were the ones who voted Hamas into power in 2006. Without thorough vetting, your administration may inadvertently accept terrorists posing as refugees into the interior. This is especially the case as Hamas terrorists have a long track record of co-mingling with civilian populations in Gaza.”

The lawmakers added,  “Unfortunately, the risk of terrorists entering our homeland is no hypothetical matter. Border officials have arrested 169 people on the FBI terror watch lists in Fiscal Year 2023, a record-setting number that exceeds the total of the last six fiscal years combined. Apprehended terrorists include a Hezbollah fighter who intended “to make a bomb” and was headed for New York. Given your administration’s abject failure at countering the flow of potential terrorists at our border, how can Congress trust your administration to adequately vet the refugees crossing the Egypt-Gaza border, located nearly 6,000 miles away from Washington, D.C.?”

To prevent bringing a national security threat into our homeland at the taxpayer’s expense, the senators requested President Biden answer how many refugees his administration is planning to accept, what screening will be in place to prevent terrorist sympathizers from reaching our homeland, the cost to the taxpayer, whether the administration has consulted with partners in the region, and the locations for refugee housing.

Read the full letter here.

Johnston, IA – The National Guard’s Region IV Best Warrior Competition is a rigorous event where soldiers from various states demonstrate their skills in fitness, marksmanship, and combat readiness, competing to earn the prestigious title of “Best Warrior”. Soldiers from seven states have won their respective state’s competition and will gather to compete for the right to move on to the national competition. This is the first time is seven years that the regional competition has been hosted in Iowa.

The competition is scheduled to take place from May 3rd to May 5th, 2024, at Camp Dodge, and for the first time ever, other locations within the Johnston community. The competition will culminate with a community-focused town party and awards presentation at the Johnston Town Center.

The town party, set for Sunday, May 5th, between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., is free and open to the public. The event will feature live music by the 34th Army Band’s Rock Group 42R, food trucks, and activities perfect for all ages. An awards ceremony will be conducted at 1:00 p.m. to recognize the achievements of the soldiers participating in the competition.

Prior to the town party, members of the public are welcome to view select portions of the competition, which include physical fitness tests, obstacle courses, and water survival tasks. The public can observe the final leg of the ruck march at Crown Point and Terra Park from 8:00 a.m. to 8:40 a.m., and cheer on soldiers as they complete the competition at Johnston City Hall from 8:45 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.

Iowa National Guard soldiers, Sergeant Lucas Peterson, a 68W Combat Medic from Boone, and Private First Class Shawn Halverson, an 11B Infantryman from Ames, will be representing Iowa in the competition.

For more information on the Best Warrior Competition and the town party, attendees are encouraged to visit the Iowa National Guard’s Facebook event page.

(Creston, Iowa) – Officers with the Creston Police Department, Wednesday night, arrested 35-year-old Bryan Michael Vannausdle, of Creston. Vannausdle was taken into custody at his residence in the 500 block of S. Vine Street at around 8-p.m., on charges that include: Sexual Exploitation of a Minor; Receipt of Child Pornography; Possession of Child Pornography, and Transfer of Obscene Material of a Minor.

Vannausdle was being held without bond in the Union County Jail.