(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congressman Zach Nunn visited a Boys and Girls Club in Des Moines today (Wednesday) to announce bipartisan legislation he says will help improve the reporting in child pornography cases. Nunn says the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Cyber Tipline received more than 32 million reports of online child pornography last year.”Sadly in Iowa last year, in 2021, we became one of the top five states in the nation. for child sexual abuse associated with this type of exploitation,” Nunn says. He says it’s up to everyone to help change the situation.

“Too often, child sexual assault happens within a known family member or community. Equally, the good news is our communities are the first safeguard to be able to provide awareness and protection for those children when these types of assaults occur,” he says. Nunn, a Republican from Bondurant, says it is long past time for Congress to take a leadership role in making sure the victims of abuse can seek justice for their exploitation trauma, and this legislation will do that.

“It will strengthen the cyber tip line to prevent and respond to online Child Sexual Abuse material,” Nunn says. “It is imperative that we use the full extent of the law to hold accountable those who would exploit and sexually assault a child in violation of the laws and moving it from pornography to what it truly is — a sexual crime against the minor.” Nunn says the Child Online Safety Modernization Act will help law enforcement prosecute the crimes.

Congressman Nunn. (photo from Nunn video)

“It will modernize our cyber tip line and require online platforms to have a role in preventing the exploitation holding and distribution of child sexual assault,” Nunn says. “It will also preserve our cyber tip line reports for a year allowing our law enforcement the ability to not only build a case, but to hold those accountable. Unfortunately, in today’s world, these are only held for days at a time.”

Representatives of the Union County Sheriff’s Department and the Altoona and Des Moines police departments were on hand for Nunn’s announcement. Nunn represents the Third District and hopes the bill will get passed this year.

DAVENPORT, Iowa – An Elvaston, Illinois man was sentenced yesterday (Tuesday) to 25 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

According to public court documents, and evidence presented at sentencing, Randy Glenn Price, 63, was identified by law enforcement through a confidential informant, who purchased pound quantities of methamphetamine from Price. In 2022, Price received multiple pounds of methamphetamine from out-of-state sources and distributed it in and around Johnson County, Iowa. In total, Price was attributed with distributing 33,046 grams (33.05 kilograms) of ice/actual methamphetamine.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Price will be required to serve five years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. The Court also levied a $4,000 fine against Price.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Johnson County Drug Task Force.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – The Council Bluffs Police Department today (Wednesday), reports a suspect charged following the death of a Council Bluffs woman, now faces additional charges. Officials say 61-year-old Ivan Samuel Brammer, of Council Bluffs, was served at the Pottawattamie County Jail, with a warrant for Murder in the Second Degree. Brammer was being held in the jail on previous charges of Abuse of a Corpse and Theft in the 2nd Degree. The charges follow an investigation into the discovery of a woman’s body earlier this year. The case has been forwarded to the County Attorney’s Office for prosecution.

On February 15, 2023, 60-year-old Ilene Gowan was reported as being missing to the Council Bluffs Police Department. According to Gowan’s daughter, her mother had not been seen or heard from since February 13, 2023. Gowan’s deceased body was located on February 26, 2023, in a roadside ditch in the area of 152nd Street and Old Mormon Bridge Road, near Crescent, Iowa.

Ivan Samuel Brammer (CB PD photo)

On May 23, 2023, an arrest warrant application was submitted and approved charging Ivan Brammer with the aforementioned charges  (Abuse of a Corpse and Theft 2nd Degree), which are alleged to be related to Gowan’s disappearance. The investigation into the circumstances of Gowan’s death remains active. The State of Iowa Medical Examiner’s Office, after Gowan’s autopsy, indicated an unknown cause and manner of death.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — Aug. 9, 2023 – Get ready to change the way you get around the Council Bluffs area. Construction on Interstate 29 near I-480 and West Broadway in Council Bluffs is nearly complete. The re-opening is anticipated to occur early next week, weather permitting. Before that happens, a series of overnight closures will be needed to change pavement paint and install new wayfinding signs. Once work is complete, both north- and southbound I-29 will be fully open.

Sunday Night, Aug. 13:

Northbound I-29 is expected to be closed at Nebraska Avenue on Sunday, Aug. 13, from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. The ramp from Nebraska Avenue to northbound I-29 will also be closed. Northbound I-29 will be fully open and available to traffic at the end of the closure on Monday morning.

Monday Night, Aug. 14:

Southbound I-29 is expected to be closed at 16th Street on Monday, Aug.14, from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. The ramp from 25th Street to southbound I-29 will also be closed. Southbound I-29 will be fully open and available to traffic at the end of the closure on Tuesday morning.

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Iowa DOT is in the process of reconstructing I-80, I-29, and I-480 in the Council Bluffs metropolitan area as part of the Council Bluffs Interstate Improvement Program. This comprehensive interstate redesign will modernize the highway system and improve mobility and safety of approximately 18 miles of interstate.

(Missouri Valley, Iowa) – A crash Tuesday morning in Harrison County claimed the life of a man from Nebraska. The Iowa State Patrol reports 61-year-old Chris Phillip Sweetman, of Omaha, died at scene, after a 2015 Kenworth tractor-trailer traveling south on Interstate 29, crossed the center median for reasons unknown. The semi collided with Sweetman’s 2020 Hyundai Sante Fe SUV. The crash happened at around 8:50-a.m. near mile marker 74.

The semi driver, 63-year-old Gino Marco Lollio, of Cape Coral, FL, was injured in the crash and transported to the Mo. Valley Hospital.

The crash remains under investigation.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa D-N-R heard public comment Tuesday on a new manure management plan for a large cattle feedlot in Clayton County near the headwaters of Bloody Run Creek trout stream. Supreme Beef’s first plan was reversed by a Polk County judge, and Michael Schmidt with the Iowa Environmental Council questioned the details of the new plan. He says Supreme Beef has given no basis for a manure nutrient concentration figure that he says “are inconsistent and untrustworthy numbers.”

Iowa chapters of the Sierra Club and Trout Unlimited successfully challenged the initial manure management plan in court arguing the state agency used “illogical interpretations and applications” in its approval.

(Story City, Iowa) – One person died and two others were injured in a three-vehicle chain-reaction accident late Tuesday night in central Iowa. The Iowa State Patrol reports the three vehicles, a 2017 Nissan Rogue, a 2001 Triumph Daytona motorcycle, and a 2008 Suzuki GSX-R600 motorcycle, were traveling northbound on Interstate 35 near mile marker 125, at around 11:03-p.m., when the driver of the Nissan changed lanes, and was struck by the Triumph motorcycle.

The operator of the Suzuki motorcycle took evasive action by laying the bike down. The cycle came to rest on the roadway. The operator of the Triumph motorcycle, 31-year-old Jeffrey Lawrence, of Grimes, died in the crash. The operator of the SUV, 50-year-old Scott Peel, of Ankeny, was injured and transported to Methodist Hospital, in Des Moines. And, the operator of the Suzuki motorcycle, 26-year-old Daron Kent, of Des Moines, was injured, but not transported to a hospital.

The crash remains under investigation.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Barn Foundation has hosted a barn raising on the Iowa State Fairgrounds, in hopes of raising fairgoers’ awareness of what it takes to preserve barns. A 16 foot tall barn now stands in the center of the Ag Building on the fairgrounds. Iowa Barn Foundation board member Dwight Hughes says the project has several goals. “We’re looking for memberships to spread the word and create sparks of interest,” Hughes says.

The Iowa Barn Foundation has raised over two million dollars in the past 25 years, providing grants that have helped preserve nearly 300 Iowa barns — but Hughes says the number of grant applications far exceeds their current capacity to help. “So this is in effect a way to try to bring awareness and locate that needle in the haystack which turns out to be people who are willing to part with their hardearned money,” Hughes says, “to help foster the preservation and the saving of the heritage barns in Iowa.”

In 1920, there were about 300-thousand barns in Iowa, but fewer than a third are still standing. “The major element that was on every farmstead and that was a farm that housed the feed and the animals to support the family,” Hughes says. Half of the siding on the model barn at the State Fair is 140 year old red barn boards. “And half covered with new painted barn boards, with new windows and old windows,” Hughes says, “to show people the difference between restored and preserved and how important it might be on their farmstead or their grandpa’s or their great grandpas or whatever.”

Hughes, who lives in Cedar Rapids, says barns were a critical element in all parts of his family’s history. “As a matter of fact, my grandpa grew up in Wales in what was called a long barn,” Hughes says. “Half of it was for animals. Half of it was for family.”

In addition to its first-ever barn raising at the Iowa State Fair, the Iowa Barn Foundation will host its annual barn tour next month. On the weekend of September 16th and 17th, 72 barns will be part of the All-State Barn Tour and open to visitors.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors met this (Wednesday) morning, and acknowledged the receipt of a Manure Management Plan (MMP) Update from Westlake Swine out of Creston. They approved Homestead and Military Disalllowances as presented, and agreed to change their regular weekly meeting on August 23rd to Aug. 22nd, because of a scheduling conflict.

The Adair County Supervisors also approved Auditor Mandy Berg’s request for an employee classification change.

They also approved her request to begin the hiring process for the positions of Auditor Payroll Clerk and Courthouse Custodian. The Board received Berg’s annual report with regard to the Opiod Settlement Funds and authorized the Chair to sign-off on the report.

They also approved a Longevity raise for 5-year Secondary Roads Department employee Troy Cormeny and a Wage Progression amountingto $1.12/hour for Dave Spieker (Speaker), who has been with the department for 18 months. County Engineer Nick Kauffman presented for the Board to approve and Chair Jerry Walker to sign, the final voucher for the N33 Orient Bridge, and N24 Prussia (township) RCB (Reinforced Concrete Box) Culvert project. The RCB will replace a wooden box culvert currently in-place along 190th Street. The $185,000 cost of the project will come out of the FY 2024 LOST (Local Option Sales Tax) Budget. Kauffman said he doubts he’ll have to amend his budget, since the cost will come out of LOST.

Kauffman updated the Board on the various bridge and road projects underway in Adair County.

He said they will be replacing all the culverts along the Henry Wallace Road – to the Henry A. Wallace Center – since the road is set to be repaved. Nick Kauffman updated the Board also, on equipment and vehicle purchases, and surveillance cameras for the exterior of one of the county fuel depot/shop.