(Pocahontas, Iowa) – A jury in northwest Iowa deliberated for about two-hours before handing down a verdict in the case of a 41-year-old man charged with timber theft. They found Jason Levant Ferguson, of rural Rolfe, guilty of felony theft and 50 timber violations, for taking dozens of trees from public property. Ferguson’s criminal tree-theft case went to trial last week in Pocahontas County. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports court records indicated Ferguson had been accused of taking about 150 trees from a wildlife management area northeast of Rolfe last year, purportedly to build himself a house. Timber thefts are an uncommon but growing crime in Iowa, according to the state’s Department of Natural Resources. Ferguson’s thefts stood out for the number of trees taken and for one of the trees he was accused of felling: a bur oak that was about six feet in diameter at its base.

Ferguson’s prosecution hit a snag last month when a district court judge decided that search warrants for his rural acreage were improperly approved and the evidence obtained by the subsequent searches couldn’t be used to prosecute him. Those searches allegedly found evidence that someone had been growing marijuana and manufacturing methamphetamine on Ferguson’s property, and he faced numerous felony drug  and weapons charges. Those charges were dismissed, but the tree theft case continued with the evidence DNR officers had obtained before the searches. That evidence included an admission by Ferguson that he had taken the trees from the Stoddard Wildlife Management Area and photographic evidence of tree trunks on his property, court records show. The trial last week spanned four days and ended with a 12-person jury finding him guilty of every criminal charge he faced, according to court records.

Ferguson’s sentencing hearing is set for Jan. 26. He faces up to five years in prison for the felony theft charge and one year imprisonment each for the 50 counts of timber buyer violations, which were for cutting down trees he had not purchased and, according to court documents, “had no legal right to do so.”

DALLAS COUNTY, Iowa (KCCI) — Eight of the 46 horses seized from a rural Dallas County farm were brought back to the property over the weekend, according to neighbors. Their owner, Linda Kilbourne, was charged with livestock neglect in early November. Last Friday, the Dallas County Attorney reached a deal with Kilbourne, allowing eight of the horses to be given to a third party. The other 37 would stay in the custody of the ARL. One of those horses has died.

Neighbors said they believe the third party is a friend of Kilbourne’s and is the one who hauled them back to her farm.

(Radio Iowa) – A few days ago, forecasters were warning of the possibility of snow on or around Thanksgiving, but now that we’re closer to the holiday, the foul weather is being removed from the list of likely options. Meteorologist Allan Curtis, at the National Weather Service, says if you’ll be on the road to visit family and friends for Thursday’s big meal, the roads should be dry. “At least for Iowa itself, we’ll say the driving weather is going to be pretty good for the holidays, Wednesday through Friday timeframe,” Curtis says. “There is some still some snow within the region but primarily to our west and maybe even off to our southwest, so think of it as Nebraska, Kansas areas.”

It’s predicted Thanksgiving Day should be mostly sunny in Iowa with highs in the 40s and lows in the 20s. Curtis says it’s expected to cool off this week, but that’s par for the season. “No more 60s or even upper 50s, at least for the coming few days, but all that being said, for entering mid to late November, it really isn’t too bad. It’s about average,” Curtis says. “We’re looking at highs in the mid to upper 40s for most of those travel days, Wednesday might be on the warm side in the 50s, and then after Thanksgiving, we drop down into the 30s for highs.” Many parts of Iowa got rain overnight Monday into Tuesday morning. It’s the first precipitation we’ve had since before Halloween.

“From [Monday] morning through the beginning of the month, we’ve really had zero rain across a lot of the state, so even if it’s light, it’s still the first rain we’ve seen this month,” Curtis says. “I don’t think there’s going to be too many people complaining, although I think many wish we could get a little bit more.” Keep up with the forecast on the kjan.com Weather page, or via the National Weather Service, at weather.gov.

(Radio Iowa) – One of Iowa’s community colleges is seeing a shakeup at the top. The Northeast Iowa Community College board of trustees has voted to terminate the contract of college President Herbert Reidel. The board took the action at its meeting Monday.

Reidel was placed on administrative leave October ninth. He began at NICC in July of 2022. The college named vice president for finance and administration David Dahms as acting president last month.

(Radio Iowa) – The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics is getting a grant of two-and-a-quarter million dollars to help address child mental health issues. The grant will allow the Iowa Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program to expand its services into schools. Dr. Tom Scholz, a U-I pediatric cardiologist, says they’re working with the U-I’s College of Education to reach kids for mental health support. “It allows them to perform better in school, interact better with their family and neighbors, and just allow them to have more success in the short term,” Scholz says, “which will certainly translate to more success in the long term.” The three-year grant is through federal and state Health and Human Services agencies.

Scholz says the money allows the program to broaden and reach more school districts in Iowa, especially in rural areas.  He says, “What this grant allows us is to connect into those communities, into those school systems, where the mental health services are quite limited.” Scholz says the program has been running for five years and, so far, has focused on workforce development and providing mental telehealth services to kids across the state.

(Radio Iowa) – Creighton University Economist Ernie Goss says the two surveys he conducts don’t show a lot of promise for merchants this holiday season.  “Holiday and Christmas buying probably up about three to four percent — and most of that’s inflation,” Goss says. “So when you look at it, when you subtract out inflation, you’re at zero to one percent increase from last year at this time.” Goss says high interest rates will impact holiday spending. “One of the problems with it is credit card balances are maxed out, we’ve got the highest balances there on record. And of course that individuals are paying 20 to 30 percent on balances that are carried forward,” he says. “So that’s a real issue. And we got a nation of creditor of high a lot of debt out there right now.” He says the high interest rates are also taking away more income with increased mortgage rates.

“Individuals now are spending as much as 40 percent of their income on housing. Now, that shouldn’t be 28 to 30 percent, well it’s now that 40 percent,” Goss says. “Of course, that just that just reduces your ability to go out there and spend for the Christmas and holiday buying.” Goss says he’s seeing people opting to get out of town instead of spending on gifts. “A lot of buying is going into things like air travel and travel, even automobile travel to locations for leisure and hospitality,” he says.

Goss says October retail sales were not that good and were also down for September. He says some of that September buying was for seasonal purchases, so it’s going to be interesting to see what happens with Black Friday and the rest of the holiday season.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak, Monday evening, arrested a man wanted on a warrant out of Shelby County. Authorities report 31-year-old Drew Ashton Gagnon, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 5:30-p.m., in the 300 block of Nuckols Street, on the warrant for Probation Violation. The offense was connected to an original charge of OWI/1st offense. Gagnon was being held in the Montgomery County Jail, while awaiting extradition to Shelby County.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says it’s time to bolster literacy programs in the early grades in Iowa schools. Reynolds has indicated raising teacher salaries would likely be a priority as well.

“We’re going to continue to invest in education. It’s really important. We’re going to continue to invest in our teachers. We’re going to continue to invest in kids with special needs,” Reynolds says. We’re not where we need to be.” The annual Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress last spring shows students from low income households had English proficiency scores that were about 15 points below the overall average, while students learning to speak and read English scored even lower.

“They deserve better and so we’re going to make sure that teachers have the tools that they need, that we’re really focused on early literacy, ESL, and again students with special needs,” Reynolds says. “We can do better. We will do better and we just need to make sure that we’re providing consistency and the rigor that’s important that will help us get the results that we need.”

Last spring’s test scores showed gains in the subject areas of math and science, but students with disabilities, English language learners and students from low income households scored significantly lower than the statewide average.

(Creston, Iowa) – A collision Monday afternoon (Nov. 20) in Creston caused $5,000 damage altogether, but no one was injured. Creston Police say a 2011 Chevy Malibu driven by 54-year-old Melissa Lynn Raddatz, of Creston, was southbound on Birch Street at around 3:40-p.m., and had stopped at the intersection with Mills Street.

A 2000 Chevy pickup driven by 59-year-old James William Newton, of Diagonal, was heading east on Mills Street, and had the right-of-way. Raddatz looked, but did not see the pickup before proceeding into the intersection and striking the pickup on the driver’s side door.

Police say Raddatz was cited for Failure to Obey a Stop Sign, and Yield the right-of-way.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has proclaimed Friday, Nov. 24, 2023, as “Mia Peterson Day in Iowa,” to commemorate the 50th birthday of an under-recognized Iowan who worked throughout her adult life to promote self-advocacy and equal treatment. Peterson served in state and national roles while living in Iowa and Ohio. She returned to Iowa in 2005, and passed away in 2021, but her legacy endures. The proclamation includes Peterson’s belief that we should “let people with disabilities speak for themselves, and don’t let others speak for them.”

Iowa Developmental Disability Council Chair Brady Werger of Waverly will read the proclamation during a ceremony at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 21, at the State Historical Building of Iowa in Des Moines. It will be live streamed via Facebook Live. The program will serve as the official event for the proclamation.

“Mia Peterson created a lifelong advocacy legacy,” Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council Executive Director Brooke Lovelace said. “She was an inspiration to everyone, always encouraging people to be their own voice. This proclamation just keeps her legacy alive and will continue to encourage others to be their own advocate.”

Peterson was born in Sioux City in 1973, grew up in Webster City, and became the first person with Down syndrome to serve on the Iowa Planning Council for Developmental Disabilities, known today as the Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council. She would go on to testify before Congress, serve on the National Developmental Disabilities Council, and be viewed as a national trailblazer for self-advocacy.

“I learned of Mia Peterson’s importance shortly after her death,” said Leo Landis, state curator for the State Historical Society of Iowa. “She was a model for all Iowans to seek ways to shape society. When we wanted to recognize Iowans who changed our state and nation in our ‘Civics in Action’ exhibit, I wanted to include her, and we are honored to share a bit of her story. We can all learn from her example.”

“Civics in Action”

The State Historical Museum of Iowa’s “Civics in Action” exhibit features the Iowa caucuses and Iowans of action with more than 60 artifacts, including Peterson’s Olympic torch, a Ding Darling political cartoon, election tickets from the 1860s and ’70s, Iowa caucus artifacts – banners, buttons, brochures – and the pen Ambassador Terry Branstad used when he was governor to sign legislation for the construction of the State Historical Building