(Radio Iowa) – Forest City Police says they are following up on a report from two people who saw what they believed was a mountain lion in the northwest corner of the Hy-Vee parking lot Saturday around 3 a-m. Officers from the Forest City Police Department, D-N-R, and the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department were unable to locate a lion. Winnebago County Naturalist Lisa Ralls, says mountain lions are rare in the area — and those that are confirmed can usually be traced back to the Black Hills of South Dakota or out of the Ozarks
Forest City Police say they are continuing to investigate the report looking for confirmation.

(Radio Iowa) – Managers of the Knoxville Raceway are getting five more years to accumulate a state tax break of up to one-point-eight MILLION dollars to finance facility improvements. Iowa lawmakers originally approved a sales tax rebate nearly a decade ago, letting the track keep state sales taxes charged on services and goods sold at the track. Senator Julian Garrett of Indianola, who represents Knoxville, says the rebate was set to end in 2025.

“We all know what happened. COVID came along and that really disrupted things,” Garrett says. “Some of their big races they were not able to have and the ones they did have had very limited attendance, so they’re way behind in what they would have normally had in the amount of money collected from these rebates.” A state law that goes into effect Saturday extends the state sales tax rebate for the Knoxville track until 2030.

“In a way, you could say it’s not really changing anything,” Garrett says. “It’s just giving them a little more time to collect the money they would have been able to collect by 2025 had it not been for COVID and some of these other things.” One of them was a dispute with the Iowa Department of Revneue. It prevented the track from claiming the sales tax rebate for a couple of years. Knoxville’s population of about 75-hundred will swell to more than 30-thousand during each of the four days of racing for the Knoxville Nationals in August.

Senator Bill Dotzler says the races attract sprint car racing fans from around the world. “These are cultural events. They mean something,” Dotzler says. “People in Iowa love racing.” Weekly stock car racing began in 1954 on the Marion County Fairgrounds, but a few years later lighter weight sprint cars began racing on the track. The first Knoxville Nationals were held in 1961.

(Scranton, Iowa) – A multi-vehicle chain reaction crash Monday evening in Greene County claimed the life of a woman from Carroll. The Iowa State Patrol, Tuesday, reported that a front seat passenger in one of the vehicles, 84-year-old Mary Ann Haberl, of Carroll, died in the crash. The drivers of two of the vehicles were injured.

The Patrol says the accident happened at around 5:34-p.m. on Highway 30 near Forest Avenue, northeast of Scranton. Vehicles driven by 88-year-old Donald Clayton Haberl, of Carroll, 17-year-old Harley Marie Smith, of Jefferson, and 63-year-old Becky Jo Wolf, of Scranton, were stopped on the highway due to road construction.

A 2003 Toyota Prius driven by 30-year-old Amy Marie Yager, of Coon Rapids, collided with the rear of Haberl’s 2019 Chevy Equinox, which then proceeded to hit the rear of a 2007 Ford Focus, driven by Smith. The impact pushed the Ford into rear of the 2018 Ford Explorer driven by Wolf.

Amy Yager and Donald Haberl was transported to the Greene County Medical Center by Greene County EMS. Each of the crash victims were wearing their seat belts. The accident remains under investigation. The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Greene County Sheriff’s Office Office.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Auditor’s Office said Tuesday evening, that “Out of deepest respect, the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors would like to announce that some courthouse departments and other county department locations may be closed for the funeral of the late Montgomery County Sheriff, Joe Sampson on Thursday, June 29^th.

Joe Sampson died Sunday, June 25th, at the age of 67. His funeral services take place 10-a.m. Thursday, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, in Red Oak. Nelson-Boylan-LeRette Funeral Chapel in Red Oak is in charge of arrangements.

Sampson served as sheriff in Montgomery County from 2009 until his retirement in December, 2020.  A native of Elliott, Joe Sampson began his law enforcement career serving as a military police officer in the U-S Army during the Vietnam War. He then joined the Griswold Police Department in 1977, and served as an officer before becoming chief. Sampson joined the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office in September, 1992, and worked as a road deputy, civil process deputy, jail administrator and first deputy until becoming sheriff.

Sampson’s successor as sheriff, Jon Spunaugle, worked with Sampson for 22 years, including 12 years as his chief deputy.

(Radio Iowa) – We’re still a week from Independence Day but many Iowans are celebrating early by setting off fireworks and other explosives — and those sporadic, unexpected noises can scare your pets. The loud booms can also make dogs, in particular, feel threatened or trapped. Veterinarian Susan Lowum says you’ll know when your dog is stressed as they may be more alert than usual or downright terrified, trembling and trying to escape.

If your pet shows symptoms of stress, Lowum says don’t ignore or scold them, but instead, get them to a quiet place in your home away from the noise. That might be in the basement or a room that doesn’t have windows, and Lowum says if your pet’s safe place is in a kennel, be sure to leave the door open to avoid them injuring themselves by trying to get out.

(Radio Iowa) – Former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad recently returned to China, the country where he served as U-S Ambassador for three years. “We still do a significant amount of business with them,” Branstad says. “The Chinese appreciate the quality and the safety of American food. We sell them a lot of agriculture goods, but we’re very concerned about the aggressive relationship both in terms of economic and military.” Branstad resigned as ambassador to China in the fall of 2020. A year later he formed a consulting firm that gives advice on how to conduct business in China.

“Xi Jinping treated me well while I was there, but I’m certainly very concerned about the economic differences that we have,” Branstad says. Branstad met China’s president in 1985, when Xi was part of a delegation of Chinese officials who visited Iowa. Branstad says he’d like to see U-S relations with China get back to where they were when he was governor.

“I’m hopeful that it’ll get better,” Branstad says, “…It’s at a kind of a low point right now.” Branstad was in China with two other former U-S Ambassadors three weeks ago to launch the non-profit U-S China Green Institute, to promote collaboration on climate solutions in both countries.

(Radio Iowa) – Today (Tuesday) marks 28 years since the disappearance of K-I-M-T T-V news anchor Jodi Huisentruit. She was believed to have been abducted from the parking lot of her apartment complex early in the morning in 1995 and her body has never been found. She was legally declared dead by a Cerro Gordo County district court judge in 2001, and the case remains unsolved. Family and friends gathered in front of K-I-M-T late this morning and family friend Dean Hager read a statement from the Huisentruit family.

“We know that along with us, you feel the pain and agony over Jodi’s case still being unresolved. Jodi lived her life as an optimist and she had a great passion for living life to the fullest. She was a bright light in this world and we would often hear her exclaim ‘I love life!’. We know that she would want us to be happy, be positive about the future, and to make the most out of our lives. However, we have to admit that as much as we remind ourselves to do so, sometimes it’s just too hard to feel that way.” Hager says the family is hoping to someday find closure.

“Jodi had such a bright future ahead of her and she should be here every day enjoying it,” Hager says. “She deserves better and we continue to pray that someone will come forward with the missing piece that will finally solve this case and given Jodi the justice she deserves.” Doug Merbach was Huisentruit’s news director at K-I-M-T.

“It just gets back to we want justice, we want someone to be found. It’s not through a lack of effort. It’s not through anything that we haven’t tried,” Merbach says. “Law enforcement has done everything they can. Outside agencies like findjodi.com have done just an incredible job keeping Jodi’s story out there and keeping her memory alive.” Merbach says he thinks of Huisentruit almost every day and he doesn’t want to see anything like this 28-year saga happening again. Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation agent Ryan Herman asks everyone that if you know something, say something to law enforcement.

“I think that any bit of information, any clue, anything, whether it’s about Jodi’s disappearance or about Jodi herself, feel free to reach out to law enforcement, the Mason City Police Department or the D-C-I,” Herman says. If you possibly have any information regarding Huisentruit’s disappearance, you can call the Mason City Police Department at 641-421-3636.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – One person was cited, but no injuries were reported, following an accident Tuesday (Today) morning, in Guthrie Center. The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office says a 2015 Ford F-150 pickup driven by 18-year-old Jacob Carl Matthew Thomas, of Guthrie Center, was northbound on Highway 25, leaving a stop sign at the intersection with Highway 44.

A 1987 Ford F-150 pickup driven by 67-year-old Dan Webb, of Guthrie Center, was traveling east on Highway 44 and was stopped at the stop sign. When he pulled away to turn north onto Highway 25, Webb failed to yield the right-of-way (ROW) to the Thomas pickup. the vehicles collided, causing a total of $2,750 damage. The accident happened at around 10:55-a.m.

Webb was cited for Failure to Obey a stop sign, and Failure to Yield the ROW.

(Radio Iowa) – The new owner of the Keokuk hospital is seeking COVID relief funds to help reopen the hospital. Michigan-based healthcare provider Insight bought the hospital three months ago and is seeking two-point-two million dollars through the state from the federal American Rescue Plan Act. Mayor Kathie Mahoney says the city is including a letter about the plan in this month’s water bills, which they are asking residents and business owners to sign.

Mahoney says letters signed and returned to the city by July 5th will be sent to the governor’s office. Mahoney says the money would help Insight reopen the emergency room and offer other medical services on the Morgan Street campus by December. Without the money, it might be March or April of next year before the hospital reopens. Former owner Blessing Health closed the hospital suddenly last fall.

(reporting by Will Buss, Tri States Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Association of Realtors report shows some improvement in the availability of homes in May. The May report shows there were 14 percent more homes on the compared to April. But on a year-to-year basis the number of homes was down 13 percent compared to May of 2022. May saw a 29 percent increase in home sales from April — but sales were down by 13 percent compared to last May. Homes spent ten more days on the market in May compared to May 2022. The Median sale price increased two-and-half percent compared to last year at 225-thousand-500 dollars.