(Radio Iowa) – April showers may bring May flowers but September is only bringing the heat. Forecasters say most of Iowa will have high temperatures in the 80s this (Friday) afternoon, but the rest of the Labor Day weekend will be unseasonably steamy. Meteorologist Brad Small, at the National Weather Service, says this hot spell will run Saturday through at least Tuesday. “Much of central Iowa, and much of the state for that matter, will be well into the 90s for highs all those days,” Small says, “and we may even touch 100 in spots on Sunday, not widespread but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a few.”

There is a silver lining to this cloud, Small says, even though there are no rain clouds likely to be spotted for a while. “The humidity won’t be as oppressive as the previous heat episode, and there will be a little bit more in the way of wind with a south-to-southeast breeze in the afternoon,” Small says. “So those two things will make it feel a little bit better, but still, highs in the 90s is something we really need to be cognizant of and take some heat safety precautions.”

The prolonged heat wave last week saw upper 90s and low 100s for five straight days, including a host of new high temperature records, with Sioux City reporting a record heat index of 122.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – The Council Bluffs Police Department reports a juvenile suspected in an Omaha homicide, was arrested Thursday a little before 5:30-p.m., in the Lake Manawa area. The unidentified suspect was taken into custody without injury, after the victim’s vehicle he was driving was tracked and a perimeter was established. Officers were coordinated in their search efforts by Omaha Police helicopter “Able 1.” A K9 unit assisted in the arrest.

The juvenile is suspected in the death of 43-year-old Juan Carlos Tobar-Abarca, who was found deceased in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Omaha, at around 3-a.m., Thursday. The incident remains under investigation, and no other names are being released at this time.

Other agencies assisted in the search and arrest, including: Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Deputies; The Iowa State Patrol; Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and Omaha Police.

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston are reporting two recent arrests. Thursday afternoon (8/31), 35-year-old Jeffrey Michael Hoffman, of Shannon City, was arrested at 510 W. Spencer Street, in Creston. He was charged with Violation of Probation and was being held without bond in the Union County Jail, until seen by a Judge.

And, Wednesday evening, 42-year-old David Junior Richman, of Creston, was arrested at 400 N. Elm Steet. Richman was charged with Domestic Abuse Assault 2nd Degree and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He was being held without bond in the Union County Jail, until seen by a Judge.

(Radio Iowa) – A tax debate is looming for federal policymakers because Trump era tax cuts expire at the end of 2025. Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is proposing a change in federal tax policy rather than an extension of the tax cuts approved in 2017.

Ramaswamy says the 59 percent inheritance tax he proposed in his book last year was a thought experiment and the 12 percent flat tax he’s proposed this year would be assessed to all income, including inherited money or assets. Ramaswamy says a 12 percent flat tax means a broad base of Americans would be paying the lowest possible rate.

Ramaswamy has proposed the complete elimination of some federal agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service.

Ramaswamy made his comments during a recent interview with Radio Iowa. This is not the first time a G-O-P presidential candidate has proposed a flat tax. Steve Forbes made a 17 percent flat tax the hallmark of his campaigns in 1996 and 2000, but the Forbes plan included personal exemptions, so a family of four would pay no federal taxes on their first 36-thousand dollars of income. Ramaswamy’s 12 percent flat tax would apply to every dollar of income, without exemptions. Ramaswamy campaigned in Clear Lake, Marshalltown, Nevada and Boone yesterday (Thursday).

TREYNOR, Iowa — Work on constructing a new trail in Treynor began Thursday. The trail is in honor of Tristan White, who was 14-years old when he was struck and killed by a car in 2015. The accident happened while he was running to prepare for his freshman year of wrestling. The trail will be near Zion Drive and Main Street in Treynor.

His family says the goal is to create a trail where citizens of Treynor can exercise and do everything they need to do safely, in avoidance of the type of accident that claimed Tristan’s life. Part of the project includes “Dexter’s Dream Playland,” which will be an inclusive playground where kids of all abilities can have fun.

The trail is expected to be ready for use by the spring of 2024.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – The Guthrie County Fair began Thursday, in Guthrie Center, and continues through Labor Day (Sept. 4th).

Activities today (Friday) include:

• 4-H and FFA Swine show, 8:00 am.
• 4-H and FFA Horse Show, 8:30 a.m., followed by Open Class.
• Sheep and Goat Show, 12:30 pm.
• Clover Kids Show, 4:00 p.m.
• The grandstand event at 7-p.m. is the Grand River Rodeo.

Gate admission is $10-dollars, but Carnival rides and Grandstand Shows are FREE. Learn more at www.guthriecountyfair.com, or follow them on Facebook at Guthrie County Fair.

(Radio Iowa) – There will be some changes for fans as the college football season gets underway Saturday with Iowa State hosting U-N-I at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames. I-S-U Associate Athletic Director, Nick Joos, says a lot of work has been going on in the parking lots north of the stadium.

The work on the parking lots is part of the preparation for the Cy Town area that is being built. Joos says another change is the move to cut the use of cash inside the stadium.

They are also requiring you to have your game ticket on your phone.

Joos says you can find all the information you need about these things on the Cyclones.com website. They will be making adjusts for fans as the forecast is calling for the very warm temperatures to return. Joos says you will be able to bring a water bottle into the stadium.

The ground floor of the Jacobson administrative building is air conditioned and open to the public if someone needs to come in and get out of the heat. Iowa State and U-N-I kickoff at 1 p-m in Ames. The University of Iowa hosts Utah State on Saturday at Kinnick Stadium. A spokesperson for Iowa says there are no major changes from last year, other than construction on the streets outside the stadium. They will also be allowing you to bring in water bottles due to the expected warm temperatures.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa has been vexed by too much water — or not enough — this year, leading to natural disasters in multiple counties for flooding and for drought. The federal government is now offering low-interest loans to help Iowa businesses and non-profits recover. Kevin Wynne (WIN), spokesman for the U-S Small Business Administration, says they’re working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to aid non-profits in seven eastern Iowa counties that were hit by Mississippi River flooding between April 24th and May 13th, which prompted a federal disaster declaration. “They may be eligible for a FEMA Disaster Assistance Grant,” Wynne says, “so they’ll go to what’s called an applicant briefing and then they’ll come back to SBA if FEMA determines that they are not a critical service, meaning that they’re not a food kitchen or something along those lines, or a hospital or some kind of public infrastructure that supports a community.”

The low-interest federal disaster loans are now available in Allamakee, Clayton, Des Moines, Dubuque, Jackson, Lee and Scott counties. “The loans can go up to $2 million to meet the financial obligations and operating expenses and it’s got about a one year deferral on these as well,” Wynne says. “Low interest rate of 2.375% for the private nonprofits, and of course the businesses have it at 4%. Terms up to 30 years, makes recovery very affordable for these loans.”

The S-B-A loans can be used to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory and other assets. They can also be used to pay for improvements to protect, prevent or minimize the same type of disaster damage from happening again. “These loans are for economic injury only,” Wynne says. “That means that they didn’t suffer any physical damage but they’re starting to see a decrease in revenues due to the fact that there was a declared disaster in those counties.”

The S-B-A is also offering low-interest loans to small, non-farm businesses in 18 Iowa counties that are being worst-hit by drought. “Businesses in farming towns are going to start seeing a decrease in revenue because farmers are unable to have any disposable income to go and shop in those cities and small towns,” Wynne says. “That’s why we offer these low-interest Disaster Assistance loans to these counties that were economically impacted by the drought.”

The counties covered under this program are: Cedar, Clarke, Decatur, Jasper, Johnson, Louisa, Lucas, Madison, Mahaska, Marion, Monroe, Muscatine, Polk, Ringgold, Scott, Union, Warren, and Wayne. “Those loans are also up to $2 million,” Wynne says. “They have to be used to do any kind of keeping the business afloat such as making payroll, making your rental expenses, keeping the lights on and getting your notes payable paid, just so that they can keep the operating expenses of the economically-impacted business through the disaster recovery periods.”

For information on any of the loans, call 800-659-2955 or visit SBA-dot-gov and follow the “Disaster” link.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak, Thursday night, arrested a woman on a Theft charge. 59-year-old Rhonda Joann Sperber, of Red Oak, was arrested in the 1700 block of Eastern Avenue at around 8:20-p.m., for Theft in the 5th Degree. Sperber was being held at the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center on a $300 bond.