(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Red Oak Police Department says no injuries were reported following two separate collisions over the past couple of days. Authorities say just before 1-p.m. Thursday, a collision at the intersection of Broadway and Corning Streets in Red Oak, caused a total of $1,500 damage. According to the report, a 2015 International dump truck equipped with a plow and owned by Montgomery County, was behind a 2023 Nissan Rogue SUV driven by 70-year-old Julie Ann Wirth, of Red Oak. Both vehicles were stopped at the red light, waiting to continue south on Broadway Street.

The driver of the truck, 29-year-old Xavier Smith, of Villisca, told police the light turned green and he started to move forward, but then noticed the SUV was not moving. He tried to steer the truck away from the SUV in order to avoid a collision, when he realized he could not stop in-time. The plow attachment on the truck struck the right rear taillight of the SUV, causing minor damage.

The other accident happened at around 5:30-p.m. Wednesday, at 1st and Nuckols Streets, in Red Oak. Authorities say a 1995 Ford Bronco driven by 16-year-old Kendelyne Bartlett, of Stanton, was traveling south on 1st Street through the uncontrolled intersection, when the SUV was hit by a 2016 Ford F-150 pickup, driven by 21-year-old Jayden Ryan Archer, of Red Oak, as he was traveling east on Nuckols Street. Damage from the collision amounted to $8,000 altogether, according to the report.

No citations were issued in those accidents.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa housing market experienced a welcome October surprise, with every metric tracked by Iowa REALTORS® falling into the positive. A late September interest rate drop by the Federal Reserve buoyed buyer and seller sentiments throughout the pinnacle fall month.  Iowa Realtors President Shaner Magalhães says “Buyers and sellers across the state enjoyed a bountiful housing market harvest last month. Increases in inventory and sales show that while many Iowans are firmly planted in their homes, there’s opportunity and desire to make moves even in the typically slower fall months.”

The number of homes on the market across the state grew by double digits in October. With 3,925 homes on the market in October, new listings jumped 15.5% from the 3,397 listed last year at the same time. Monthly the increase was more conservative: a 1.3% increase from September’s recorded 3,873 new listings. Overall inventory saw similar increases in October with 8,819 homes for sale. The inventory represented a 21.9% increase from the 7,236 homes listed last year, and a 2.1% increase from the 8,636 homes listed last month.

Single-family home sales increased 9.1% in October with 2,973 sales completed compared to the 2,726 homes sold in October 2023. The increase was wider month-over-month, jumping 11.3% from the 2,668 homes sold in September. Pending sales continued to increase, showing that buyers continued to take advantage of the market throughout the month. With 2,685 pending sales, October saw an increase of 2.2% from the 2,627 pending sales of the prior year. Monthly, pending sales increased by 0.93% from the 2,660 pending transactions recorded in September. Days on the market increased 13.5% to 42 days compared to the 37 days of last year. Median sales price also increased by 9.3% to $235,000 from the $215,000 of a year ago.

Les Sulgrove, Iowa Realtors statewide housing analyst says “Real estate markets across Iowa vary significantly, with rural areas experiencing slower changes compared to the dynamic metro markets. Affordability, influenced by mortgage rates and the broader economy, remains the key factor driving sales statewide.”

Townhouses and Condos
The townhouse and condo market also benefited from a later fall boost, with positive movement across all metrics tracked. Overall inventory increased 18% in October with 1,598 properties listed compared to the 1,354 properties for sale last year. The increase was much smaller monthly, jumping just 2.9% from the 1,553 homes for sale last month. New listings experienced a similar boost, the 576 properties listed in October came to a 22.8% increase from the 468 townhomes and condos that joined the market in October 2023. Monthly, 30 more properties  were added to the market, a 4.9% increase from the 546 new listings recorded in September.

October saw 426 closed sales of townhomes and condos, a 19% increase from the 358 properties sold last year. Compared to September, sales increased 22.8%. Pending sales experienced a 16.3% increase from 343 pending transactions in October 2023 to 399 pending sales last month. Monthly, the increase was 6.7% from the 374 pending sales of September.  Days on the market increased 7.7% in October to 70 days compared to the 65 of one year ago. The median sales price increased 0.3% in October to $250,000 from the $249,195 median recorded in October 2023.

More housing stats can be found HERE.

(Radio Iowa) – A report shows a 38 percent drop in the number of abortions in Iowa after the state law banning most abortions after the sixth week of a pregnancy took effect in late July. The Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion, estimates about 260 abortions were performed in Iowa in August — down from an average of about 400 abortions a month during the first half of this year. Those stats include procedures performed in a clinic as well as medication abortions.

According to Planned Parenthood of North Central States, many of those abortions in August were likely “telehealth” abortions that involved a clinician in another state prescribing the medication to an Iowan seeking an abortion.

(Radio Iowa) – Record travel is predicted in Iowa and nationwide for the Thanksgiving holiday, and those who are flying somewhere else for the long weekend have likely already bought their tickets. Last-minute fliers might still be able to find some deals, and Gunnar Olson with Thrifty Traveler-dot-com says the best way to save money and time at this point is to avoid flying on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. “No matter what time of year, flying on Sunday is always where the pain is,” Olson says. “It’s going to be the most expensive to fly on Sunday, and everybody wants to be there at the same time, so the airports are going to be more busy, passengers tend to be more tense on Sundays. Everybody’s trying to get home. Flights are overbooked. I try to avoid Sundays like the plague.”

Olson says now is a good time to shop for Christmas airfares. He says if you look around, there’s still some value out there, even if you want to head to warmer places like Orlando and Los Angeles.”Because Christmas is in the middle of the week this year, it’s actually helping keep some fares low, travelers are not all traveling on the same days for Christmas this year,” Olson says. “So it’s going to make for a much more competitive flight pricing environment.” If you’re wanting to think even further ahead, he says the best travel deals right now could be for the summer of 2025. Olson says this past summer was disappointing for some of the airlines, so they’re testing the waters with cheaper airfares for next summer. “They haven’t pulled back yet and some fares for July, August, September of 2025 are really cheap right now, especially in the U.S.,” he says.

Olson says you can find cheap airfares for the summer on both coasts, and even normally expensive places like Nantucket Island in Massachusetts.

(Radio Iowa) – There’s an Education Committee in the Iowa House, but the House Speaker says a comprehensive review of the state’s colleges and universities is long overdue — and he’s establishing a new committee to do it. Republican Representative Taylor Collins of Mediapolis will be chairman of the House Higher Education Committee.

“It’s no secret that we have a workforce shortage in this state and I think many people have seen the fact that our institutions have been distracted by ideological agendas rather than actually filling the needs of Iowa’s workforce,” Collins says, “so we’ll be looking at a comprehensive review of Iowa’s higher education system.”

Collins led the effort to force the recent closure of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion offices at the three state-supported universities. Collins say there’s been great progress on that front, but the panel may push for the elimination of some courses or majors. “I think when you’re looking at some programs, for example when they focus on teaching literally a major in Social Justice, I think there is a question that needs to be asked: ‘What is the return on investment for the taxpayer and should our constituents be paying for those kinds of academic programs?” Collins asked rhetorically.

“…We have a lot of members in the House Republican Caucus that are passionate about reforming our system and making sure that we’re not wasting taxpayer money on initiatives or agendas that do not benefit Iowans. We have to make sure that Iowans are getting a return on their investment when it comes to these institutions.”

Collins says the focus will not just be on the three public universities in Ames, Cedar Falls and Iowa City, but on Iowa’s community colleges AND the state’s private colleges and universities. Taxpayer money is used to provide Iowa Tuition Grants to students at those private institutions who are Iowa residents. “Last year we looked at what kind of course offerings and what return on investment Iowa taxpayers are getting with the Iowa Tuition Grant,” Collins says. “I think there is work in the future where we could look on ensuring when we are providing dollars to these institutions that they are focused on those high demand fields.”

In recent years bills to eliminate tenure at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa were introduced in the legislature, but Collins does not expect that policy to become law. “That issue’s been considered in the past. I don’t think it’s something that that legislature’s serious about, though,” Collins says. “There is a value to tenure and making sure the individuals are able to freely teach ideas.”

Collins was just reelected to a second term in the Iowa House. Collins earned a degree in business management from Iowa State University. He also has a master’s in public administration from Drake University. House Speaker Pat Grassley has announced all House committee leaders for the 2025 legislative session. Next year’s list of Senate committee chairs has not been released.