(Red Oak, Iowa) — A man suspected of 5th Degree Theft was arrested Friday afternoon in Red Oak. According to the Red Oak Police Department, 21-year-old Mason Dean Franzen, of Red Oak, was arrested on the theft charge, and for driving while barred. He was taken into custody at around 1:15-p.m. in the 1000 block of Miller Avenue, in Red Oak.

Franzen was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $2,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – The recount of ballots in a race for a state senate seat in Des Moines has concluded and the incumbent has conceded. Election night results showed Republican Mike Pike leading State Senator Nate Boulton by two-tenths of a percent — or 44 votes. Senator-elect Pike is a plumber who had never run for office before. Boulton, an attorney, had been expected to compete to be Senate Minority Leader, but has concede the race today (Friday). Democrats in the Senate are scheduled to select a floor leader at a private meeting early this (Friday) evening.

Republican Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks says four of the 20 counties in Iowa’s first congressional district have completed recounts and her lead over Democrat Christina Bohannan has grown by two votes. Election Night results showed Bohanann trailing Miller-Meeks by just over 800 votes.

Two OTHER recounts for seats in the state legislature are not yet complete. The closest race is in a state senate district in central Iowa, where certified results showed the incumbent leading by 24 votes. Republican Mark Hanson, a current member of the Dallas County Board of Supervisors, requested a recount in his race against Democrat Sarah Trone Garriott, a state senator who’s a Lutheran minister.

The Iowa Senate chamber in the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines. (RI photo)

In a Scott County race for a seat in the Iowa House, Republican challenger Nathan Ramker asked for a recount. Certified results showed Representative Monica Kurth, a Democrat from Davenport, ahead by a few dozen votes.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa adults with several adverse childhood experiences or ACEs (AY-sez) are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, asthma and C-O-P-D later in life, according to recent state data and a report by the group Iowa ACEs 3-60. That nonprofit’s executive director Lisa Cushatt (kuh-SHAT) says early trauma prevention is a short-term investment that doesn’t always show immediate outcomes, but she says it’s worth it.

ACEs are hardships that happened before the age of 18, like physical abuse from a caregiver, neglect, or separated parents. About 40-percent of Iowa adults who have four or more adverse experiences have had depression diagnosis. The report found Iowa youth who have a trusted adult or friend to talk to don’t feel hopeless as often as youth who don’t. Cushatt says this is an important prevention tool.

The report finds nearly 60-percent of Iowa youth had at least one adverse experience, while 18-percent experienced more than four ACEs. Cushatt says investment in prevention is about more than home or personal issues, and a higher number of ACEs correlates with a higher risk of mental and physical health conditions later in life.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Education, this week, announced nine teachers, representing all education regions of the state, as the first-ever Iowa Regional Teachers of the Year. Each teacher represents outstanding achievements in K-12 instruction within Iowa’s nine education regions. Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow said “This year, the Department of Education was excited to establish a new Regional Teacher of the Year designation that celebrates excellence in teaching across all corners of our state. We recognize the expertise, commitment and care of each of Iowa’s inaugural 2025 Regional Teachers of the Year, and we thank them for choosing this honored profession, putting students at the center of all they do.”

In Southwest Iowa’s Green Hills Region, Sarah Stephens with the Creston Community School District was named Teacher of the Year.

Green Hills Regional Teacher of the Year: Sarah Stephens, Creston Community School District

Stephens, a special education teacher at Creston Elementary School, is a veteran educator with 14 years of experience working with first through fifth grade students. She earned her teaching degree at Northwest Missouri State and a Master’s degree in education from Morningside University. She has served as an instructional coach, lead team member, peer mentor and middle school basketball coach. Stephens also serves as a Paraeducator Certification Course instructor. She believes that infusing employability skills with community opportunities in the classroom engages students and sets them up for success.

Others selected across the State from nominations submitted by educators, students, families and fellow Iowans, include: Kevin Gartman; Susie Stark; Samantha Freeman; Blake Hammond; Alyssa Dalsing; Kaitlin Mahoney; Beth Oolman and Melanie Bloom. Each is an Iowa 2025 Regional Teachers of the Year. Those teachers will now serve as finalists for the 2025 Iowa Teacher of the Year award, which will be announced later this year. (Read more HERE)

Established in 1958, the prestigious Teacher of the Year award recognizes an Iowa teacher who advances student learning through evidence-based instruction, empowers students with multiple pathways to postsecondary success, learns from and invests in fellow educators and serves students in partnership with families.

Last year, Ann Mincks, an English Language Learner educator from Des Moines Public Schools’ Herbert Hoover High School, was named as the 2024 Iowa Teacher of the Year. The Iowa Teacher of the Year serves as an ambassador for the Iowa Department of Education and a representative of and liaison for all Iowa educators.

(Carroll, Iowa) – A western Iowa man has entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors, with regard to sex abuse charges. According to reports, 38-year-old Michael William Alexander, of Manning, will plead guilty to two Class-C Felony counts of lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14 years.

His plea hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 16, 2024. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and $20,000 in fines.

Court records say Alexander was originally arrested this past April (2024) on a charge of sexual abuse in the second degree, a class B felony. The charge was for crimes with a minor that occurred between March 1, 2019, and May 31, 2019. A jury trial had been scheduled in his case for January 14, 2025.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld a ruling that allows surveyors for a carbon pipeline company onto the land of a Hardin County man. Kent Kasischke argued that allowing surveyors from Summit Carbon Solutions onto private property violates both the Iowa and U-S Constitution’s clauses preventing the illegal taking of land. The Iowa Supreme Court ruled that Kasischke was properly notified by the company, so he has no right to exclude the surveyors because it does not take away a property right.

The unanimous ruling says Iowa has long authorized access to private property to conduct land surveys to determine routes for things such as roadways and utilities.