(Radio Iowa) – Events with the G-O-P presidential candidates are getting cancelled or postponed today (Friday) due to the weather conditions. Nikki Haley’s campaign is holding telephone town halls instead. The Super PAC backing Ron DeSantis indicated it will make a call on events late today (Friday). Former President Donald Trump is due in Iowa tomorrow (Saturday). Stacy Bronner says the forecast for frigid temperatures MONDAY won’t keep her from showing up at her Caucus in Cedar Rapids. “I really think people will turn out. This is Iowa,” she says. “I mean people are used to it, you know, if you live here long enough you’re used to it.”

GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley campaigning in Cedar Rapids on Jan. 11, 2024. (RI photo)

Last (Thursday) night, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley told an eastern Iowa crowd that if she can brave the cold, they can too. “Look, I know what’s going to be negative 15 on Monday. I don’t even know what that is that’s so like I literally can’t comprehend it it’s going to be negative 15 But I’m going to be out there and I want you to go out there.”

The current forecast shows a low of minus 18 is expected on Monday.

(Radio Iowa) – Pam Jochum, the Democratic leader in the Iowa Senate, will not run for reelection. Jochum, who was chosen in June by Senate Democrats to be their leader, made the announcement this (Friday) morning. Jochum has represented Dubuque in the Iowa legislature since 1993, first as a member of the House and she’s been a state senator since 2009. Jochum served four years as Senate President when Democrats were in the majority. She’s one of three women to have served as senate president — but the only Democratic woman to do so.

“In my lifetime I’ve cracked a few ceilings. I’m not so sure they’re glass. Sometimes they feel like marble,” Jochum told Radio Iowa in December. “…In fact, I was the first woman from Dubuque to get elected to the Iowa legislature.”

Senate Minority Leader Pam Jochum (D-Dubuque) has announced she will not seek reelection. (Official photo)

Jochum, who is 69, said in a written statement released this (Friday) morning that she’s excited to pass the torch to a new generation of leaders.

Double click on the image to enlarge.

(Radio Iowa) – Much of Iowa is under a Blizzard Warning and the Iowa State Patrol is posting photos taken this (Friday) morning on its Facebook page of mangled cars on snow-packed roads to discourage motorists from venturing out. With heavy snow falling and strong winds, many areas are seeing white-out conditions. Woodbury County Emergency Management’s Michael Montino says everyone should think twice about going out the next few days. “This can be dangerous at times,” Montino says, “so we recommend that people take appropriate precautions and do what they can to keep themselves and their families safe.” Forget driving on the iffy roads, just going outside to shovel the walks or driveway is extremely risky, as he says the bitter cold is dangerous, especially with those strong winds.

“If you can avoid going out and traveling during this time, I would highly recommend staying indoors. It is going to be very, very cold, and we’re going to see those wind chills drop into the negatives,” Montino says. “As a result of that, I would recommend avoiding long-term exposure outside to avoid hypothermia and frostbite.” National Weather Service meteorologist Kristy Carter says storms of this magnitude are fairly rare and usually only occur once or twice per decade.

Crash on I-80 near Hickman Rd. in Des Moines (ISP Facebook photo)

“We’re already seeing plenty of blowing and drifting snow from what’s already fallen,” Carter says. “We’ve had rates around half an inch to an inch per hour at times through some of our stronger bands in central Iowa. So overall, conditions are pretty hazardous out there on the roadways with completely snow-covered roads.” Schools and businesses across Iowa are closing by the dozens and many churches are already calling off their Sunday services. One Des Moines TV station has a closing list 266 items long. Carter says it’ll be a good weekend to stay home and stay safe.

“We are going to be looking at dangerous temperatures that are going to be following all the snow, blowing snow, as we get into the weekend and early next week,” Carter says. “We have wind chills as low as 45 below zero, so some of the early mornings — Sunday and Monday — it’s gonna be dangerously cold out there.” Keep up with the changing forecast at weather-dot-gov.

LE MARS, Iowa (KCAU) — A former Iowa police chief who was accused of misusing his position to stalk his ex-girlfriend has been sentenced to what amounts to essentially one-month in jail. KCAU-TV in Sioux City says according to court documents, 55-year-old James Dunn, of Kingsley, was sentenced Jan. 8th. All six felony counts of unauthorized access to or dissemination of intelligence history were deferred with all but one fine of $1,025 being suspended.

On the three counts of non-felonius misconduct in office, a serious misdemeanor, he was sentenced to 364 days in jail on each count and to be served concurrently, but the sentence was suspended to 30 days in jail. The fines were also suspended. Dunn will also have to serve three years on probation.

Dunn started his jail sentence on Wednesday. Dunn pleaded guilty to the nine charges on Oct. 13, 2023, as part of a plea agreement. Two felony stalking charges, six misdemeanor counts of unauthorized access to or dissemination of criminal history data, and one felony count of unauthorized access to or dissemination of intelligence history data were dismissed as part of the agreement.

Dunn, the former Kingsley police chief, was in a relationship with his now ex-girlfriend before it ended in November 2022. He later learned in February of 2023 that she was in a new relationship. In the plea agreement, Dunn admitted to misusing his position as police chief to obtain intelligence data on his ex, her boyfriend, and the boyfriend’s roommate. Dunn was arrested on Feb. 15, 2023, on the 19 charges.