Iowa Congressman Zach Nunn is hoping to insert guaranteed federal investment in broadband infrastructure in the next Farm Bill.

Nunn, a Republican from Bondurant, is co-sponsoring a proposal with lawmakers from Minnesota and Illinois that would make the U-S-D-A’s ReConnect pilot program permanent. Since 2018, the pilot program has been providing grants and loans to extend high speed internet to rural areas.

Five years ago, President Trump’s ag secretary redirected 200 million dollars in agency funds to a pilot program and it has continued in the Biden Administration, but congress has not voted to make these U-S-D-A loans for broadband permanent. Nunn says Iowa currently has the second slowest internet speeds in the country and that’s unacceptable.

And Nunn says slow internet speed can be a health issue, as rural Iowans who have telemedicine appointments with a doctor who’s miles away can’t get a reliable connections.

Nunn says broadband is also critical for precision agriculture — farm equipment connected to the internet so it adjusts planting and fertilizer applications based on field maps. A U-S-D-A report in 2021 found 30 percent of U-S farms had either no or very slow internet.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – A Council Bluffs woman was sentenced June 15th for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. 33-year-old Amanda Marie Sprinkel was sentenced to 60 months in prison following her plea of guilty to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Sprinkel must serve a four-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents, on September 20, 2022, Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force executed a search warrant on a home in Council Bluffs. Amanda Sprinkel was located sitting in a vehicle in the driveway of the Council Bluffs residence. Officers witnessed Sprinkel throw an object on the driver side floorboard. A backpack was found containing 62 grams of suspected methamphetamine. A search of Sprinkel’s phone would later show messages negotiating narcotic transactions and other messages arranging and discussing narcotic sales.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force investigated the case

The Audubon School Board met for their regular meeting on Monday in the Elementary Work Room. The two major topics during the meeting were website upgrades and the progression of facility projects.

The board approved an agreement with Apptegy to update the district’s website and develop and app that the public will be able to use to get calendars, lunch menus, and other information from. Superintendent Eric Trager said they hope this will upgrade the user experience and provide a good face from the school to the public.

Mr. Trager said some work has been completed on some outdoor facility maintenance.

He also said that their main building construction project continues to progress on time right now.

The next regular meeting for the Audubon School Board will be Monday, July 17th at 7:00 p.m. in the Elementary Workroom.

The Adair County Board of Supervisors met in their regular session on Wednesday morning at the Adair County Courthouse. During the meeting they discussed the county handbook which will be approved at their end of the month meeting. Sheriff Jeff Vandewater pointed out that the family leave policy is slightly different for his department compared to the general handbook due to the nature of having overnight shift employees. The board agreed the policy appeared to be fair.

Sheriff Vandewater also made a request to push some vehicle purchase funds over to fiscal year 2024 due to production delays on vehicles they are waiting for.

The board moved to approve the fund shift. In other news the VA board asked for the re-appointment of John Schildberg to the VA board.  That request was also approved.

The board also decided to table approval of the secondary roads benefit policy until their next meeting. They also approved contract and performance bond for W14 Jefferson Bridge project.

The Atlantic Police Department reports six recent arrests.

On June 15th Atlantic Police arrested 46-year-old Amanda Bashor of Atlantic for Disorderly Conduct and Harassment 2nd Degree. She was booked in to the Cass Count Jail and held.

On June 17th Atlantic Police arrested 19-year-old Sam Sinatro of Atlantic for Public Intoxication and Possession of Alcohol by Person Under 21 years of Age. He was booked in to the Cass County Jail and held.

On June 18th 21-year-old Mym Attan of Storm Lake was arrested for Public Intoxication. 21-year-old Sitson Sapong of Atlantic was also arrested for Public Intoxication. Both men were booked in and held at the Cass County Jail. That same day 34-year-old Noel Marleyang of Atlantic was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault. He was booked in and held at the Cass County Jail.

On June 20th 22-year-old Ansan Ichita of Atlantic was arrested for Violation of a No Contact Order. He was taken into custody and booked in and held at the Cass County Jail.

The Griswold School Board met on Monday evening and one of the major topics of discussion was school lunch payment options and fees. Superintendent Dave Henrichs explained the new online payment options.

The old online payment system charged a percentage for a convenience fee. This new system uses a set dollar amount for that fee so the school had to decide where to set that amount.

Also during the meeting the board approved continuing an APEX program contract with the Glenwood schools.

In personnel news their was one major resignation that leaves a counselor void for next year.

Superintendent Henrichs said that lunch prices will stay the same for the upcoming school year except the adult price was set at $4,85 because it has to match costs by rule.

The latest U-S-D-A crop report shows increasing drought concerns across Iowa. Only 30 percent of the subsoil moisture was rated adequate and there is zero soil with a surplus. The percentage of topsoil moisture considered short to very short has gone from 25 percent 70 percent in the last month. Iowa State Extension crop systems specialist, Mark Licht (licked), says weekend storms provided a small help to some areas.

Licht says southeast and northwest Iowa are the driest areas and he saw issues in northeast Iowa Tuesday.

Licht says it’s not a time for major concern just yet, as the impacts in the spring from drought stress are minimal compared to later in the growing season.

He says the later stress can lead to a three to five percent per day yield loss. There are predictions June’s weather pattern will turn and we’ll get more rain. Licht says that would turn things around as long as they are not dumping huge amounts of rain all at once.

Licht says the one concern is corn or bean plants that haven’t fully established themselves yet.

The U-S-D-A found the corn condition continued to decline — with 59 percent rated good to excellent — down from 70 percent last week. The soybean condition dropped to 56 percent in good to excellent shape — compared to 66 percent last week.

A group of landowners, lawmakers, and environmentalists are speaking out after the Iowa Utilities Board announced it would move the hearing on the proposed Summit Carbon pipeline from October to August. Anna Ryon, a former attorney with the Iowa Office of Consumer Advocate, says the landowner testimony was moved to first in the hearing along with the change in the date.

Ryon spoke during a conference call hosted by the Sierra Club, and says the new schedule puts the issue on the fast track and will make it tough for landowners to find the help they need.

Ryon says landowners are forced to sort of defend their land against eminent domain before actually hearing the pipeline company’s case.

State Representative Helena (Huh-lay-na) Hayes, a Republican from Mahaska County, says the House did pass a bill 73-20 that did several things, including requiring 90 percent voluntary easements before the I-U-B could grant the eminent domain for pipelines.

The Iowa Senate failed to pass the bill and it didn’t make it out of the session. Hayes says lawmakers who supported the bill plan are drafting a letter to send to state regulators in response to the hearing change.

She says representatives in the Iowa House know there are thousands of people who have not signed on to pipeline easements and she says as a lawmaker she would love to see another session to have more conversations about it. Hayes says this issue goes beyond Iowa, and everyone should keep the big picture in mind.

The Sierra Club’s Jessica Mazour says they are calling for the hearing to be delayed. She says they are concerned that with two new members on the Utilities Board, the new members are unaware of past processes and the detailed work that goes into this decision-making process.
Summit Carbon Solutions released this statement in response:
“Summit Carbon Solutions appreciates the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) establishing a procedural schedule where the public comment and hearing for our project begins in August, with a final permit decision expected to be issued prior the end of the year. This will enable Summit and the farming community to coordinate planting, facilitating construction within a single crop year.   To date, Summit has signed more than 2,000 easement agreements with Iowa landowners accounting for 475 miles of our proposed project route in the state. We look forward to continuing to work with Iowa landowners, plus our 13 ethanol plant partners across Iowa, to advance our project through the regulatory process and support the region’s most important industries – agriculture and ethanol. “

Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa says she and the Michigan Democrat who’s chairwoman of the Senate Ag Committee are calling for creation of a public database of U-S agland owned by foreigners and it would set the stage for forced divestment of real estate owned by foreign entities.

Ernst says the proposal also would strengthen federal oversight and rejection of foreign investment in the ag sector of the U-S economy.

According to the U-S-D-A, 37 million acres of U-S farmland is under foreign ownership –384-thousand of those acres are owned by China. Iowa law forbids any foreign entity from owning more than 320 acres.

Other members of the House and Senate called for an outright ban on foreign ownership of U-S farmland. Ernst says the bipartisan proposal she’s working on would give the U-S-D-A authority to review the national security implications of Chinese companies doing business on American soil and block suspect deals.

China forbids foreigners from purchasing real estate in China.

A southwest Iowa county’s moratorium on wind turbine project development will remain in place through at least the rest of the year. The county’s original moratorium was set to expire July 1st and the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors have unanimously approved a 180-day extension. Supervisor Mark Peterson of Stanton read the resolution aloud during Tuesday’s board meeting.

The moratorium does not apply to construction permits already filed with the county. Diane Jacobs, who lives near Villisca, urged the board to act to avoid the kind of turmoil about turbines she sees in neighboring counties.

The moratorium does not apply to wind turbine construction permits already filed with the county. A report issued earlier this year by a national group that promotes energy with lower greenhouse gas emissions found 16 Iowa counties have established regulations for where wind turbines may be built. Seven counties have ordinances that prohibit wind turbine development. Nine other counties have moratoriums that are temporary — like Montgomery County’s.