(Radio Iowa) – It’s an Iowa State University tradition to hold a special ceremony on the Monday before Veterans Day to honor three former I-S-U students who died while serving our country. This (Monday) afternoon’s service is being held in Gold Star Hall, within the I-S-U Memorial Union. Megan Moore, an I-S-U marketing specialist, says it’s an annual privilege to recognize and remember these veterans, while several family members of the veterans will also attend.

This year’s honorees are: Thomas Delamore, of Ames and Clare, who died during World War Two; Alfred Agan, of Chariton, who served in both World War Two and Korea; and James Miller of Maquoketa who fought in Vietnam. The ceremony is scheduled to start at 4:15 P-M.

WALNUT, Iowa — It’s been nearly two months since 15-year-old Grace Pauley, from Shelby, crashed her car near Avoca. KETV reports that on Sunday, people from surrounding communities offered much-needed support to her family during a benefit dinner and silent auction at the Walnut Community Center.

Inside of the facility, the smell of pancakes filled the air and silent auction items spanned the length of the gym. The benefit was put on by Steele McLaren, of Atlantic, who, at the age of 17, suffered a traumatic head injury three-years ago when he fell off of a moving pickup truck. McLaren spent almost three weeks in a coma, followed by months in rehab. McLaren said the community rallied around him and his family when they needed it most, and hosted a number of fundraisers to help them out.  He says he simply wanted to “pay it forward.”

The support is something her family needs right now. Pauley’s brother says she was on her way home from a school event on September 18th.That’s when she rolled her car near Avoca.

She was flown to Nebraska Medicine where she stayed for 30 days. Now she’s doing well, and undergoing physical therapy at Madonna Rehabilitation in Omaha. A Facebook page dedicated to following her recovery, and a GoFundMe account, have been set up for Grace Pauley.

(near Coin, Iowa) – A traffic stop at around 1-a.m. Saturday in Montgomery County, resulted in an OWI arrest. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a vehicle driven by 47-year-old Jessie Gregory McFarland, of Farragut, was pulled over at 260th Street and B Avenue, west of Coin. Upon further investigation, McFarland was arrested for OWI/1st offense. He was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $1,000 bond.

(State/Area News) – Iowans will head to their polling sites Tuesday, November 7, 2023, to cast ballots in their respective county for City and School Elections. The polls are Tuesday from 7-a.m. until 8-p.m.  A reminder from the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office: Absentee ballots must be received by the respective county auditor by 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

Iowans looking for their polling location, Voter ID requirements or to track the status of their absentee ballot should visit VoterReady.Iowa.gov. All 99 counties will conduct post-election audits for the City-School Election. On Wednesday, November 8, the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office will conduct a random drawing to select one precinct in each county to be audited.

In the KJAN listening area, here are just a few of the contested races we will be following (The results will be posted on our News page soon after they come in from the county auditor’s offices or the Iowa Secretary of State’s website, whichever comes first):

In Cass County, Ben Daughenbaugh and Kevin Littleton are vying to become Mayor, in Anita, while three people are running for two seats on the Anita City Council. They include Mark Harms, Cheryl Sokol and Roger L. Huffman. In Atlantic, incumbent Pat McCurdy faces a challenge from Mike McDermott for the City Council Ward 3 seat, and, incumbent Linda J. Hartkopf is being challenged for the Ward 4 seat by Shawn Sarsfield.

In Lewis, Rick Sanny and Russell Hansen are running for Mayor. Seven candidates are running for three seats on the Lewis City Council: Roy O. Wheatley; Betty F. Auten; Russell L. Miller; Leland M. Baxter; Roger Lockwood; Larry W. Perdue, Jr., & Donna Roberts. And, there are five candidates for three At-Large seats on the Atlantic School Board, including: Kristen Holoday; Gini Jordan; Jordan Dailey; Jodi Stowater-Goodrich, and, incumbent Laura McLean.

In Adair County, Joanne Byars and Kim Hodne are running to become Mayor in Adair. Seven candidates are running for 3 At-Large seats on the Adair City Council. There are also three candidates for two Director At-Large seats on the Adair-Casey School Board, and a Public Measure with regard to the adoption/renewal of a Revenue Purpose Statement.  In Bridgwater, two candidates are running to fill a vacancy seat on the city council. Four people are running to fill 3 At-Large seats on the city council in Casey. There are also 3 candidates running to fill 3 At-Large vacancy seats on the Fontanelle City Council, and three running for two At-Large seats on the city council in Stuart.

Voters in Adams County will select 2 of three candidates for At-Large Lenox School Board Director, and there are Public Measures to vote on in Corning as well as Prescott.

In Audubon County, five candidates are vying for two seats on the Audubon City Council, Tuesday. There’s also a Public Measure for Audubon residents to vote on, with regard to a 1% local sales & service tax for street construction and repair. Three people are running to become Mayor in Brayton. Four candidates are running for three seats on the Brayton City Council. Exira voters will decide the fate of a Public Measure pertaining to the composition of the Library Board of Trustees. Three candidates are running for two seats on the City Council in Kimballton, and five people are running for 3 At-Large seats on the Audubon School Board, while only three people have filed to run for 4 At-Large seats on the Exira-EHK School Board.

Other City races can be found: in Guthrie County, and, for the Panorama School District; The Mayor’s contest in Grant and City Council At-Large in Villisca; Council elections in Avoca, Walnut, Elk Horn, and Harlan, and School Board elections in the Riverside, Tri-Center and IKM-Manning School Districts, along with a variety of Public Measures in those communities and/or school districts.

(Radio Iowa) – Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman is urging Iowa Democrats to back Joe Biden’s bid for re-election. Fetterman was the keynote speaker this weekend at the Iowa Democratic Party’s annual Liberty and Justice fundraiser. “If you are a Democrat that wants to criticize and go after Joe Biden, our president, just go ahead and write a check for Trump,” Fetterman said. Fetterman, who won a seat in the U-S Senate last year, says he got to know Biden when the president campaigned with him in Pennsylvania.

“He is a strong, decent, committed dude,” Fetterman said, to applause. Fetterman blasted James Carville, a widely known Democratic pundit who has criticized Biden and Fetterman accused California Governor Gavin Newsom of running a shadow campaign for president. Fetterman drew the crowd of Iowa Democrats to their feet as he made his pitch for the party to unify behind Biden. “He is your president. He is my president. He is our guy!” Fetterman said.

Iowa Democrats will hold in-person Caucuses on January 15th, but the results from a new mail-in system using presidential preference cards won’t be announced until March.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds will endorse Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis this (Monday) evening at a rally in Des Moines according to sources familiar with the governor’s plans. Reynolds has appeared with the Florida Governor often in Iowa, starting in March during DeSantis’ first visit to the state. Early this year, Reynolds said she intended to remain neutral, so all candidates would feel welcome to campaign in Iowa, but after she hosted most of the candidates at the Iowa State Fair, Reynolds indicated she wa considering an endorsement.

In late August, the chairman of the Iowa G-O-P told Radio Iowa Reynolds is likely the only Republican in Iowa whose endorsement could move the needle for a candidate. Reynolds is viewed favorably by a solid majority of Iowa Republicans according to polling and the recent Des Moines Register “Iowa Poll” shows DeSantis is in a battle for second place with former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley in Iowa. On Sunday, former President Trump called Reynolds disloyal.

The Trump campaign calls her appearance at tonight’s DeSantis rally the beginning of the Reynolds retirement tour. DeSantis often contrasts how he and Reynolds easily won reelection with Trump’s 2020 loss. “This nomination is not something you’re entitled to. You have to earn it,” DeSantis said during an interview Friday night. “…You have places like Iowa under your governor and Florida where we’ve shown how Republicans can win.”

During DeSantis’ book tour in March, the two governors were on stage together and touted their approaches to the pandemic and their decisions to re-open schools in Iowa and Florida. “They called Kim and I a lot of names for doing that,” DeSantis said. Reynolds interjected, drawing laughter and cheers from the crowd: “I think you were ‘DeathSantis.’ Is that right? ‘COVID Kim’ and ‘DeathSantis.’ Who was right, by the way?” At a fundraiser for Congressman Randy Feenstra this spring, DeSantis made a similar argument.

“Governing is not about entertaining. Governing is not about building a brand or talking on social media and virtue signalling. It’s ultimately about winning and about producing results and that’s what you’ve done in Iowa and that’s what we’ve done in Florida,” DeSantis said, to applause.

Since 1980, just one other governor has endorsed a presidential candidate before the Iowa Caucuses. Terry Branstad endorsed Bob Dole and campaigned for the Kansas Senator before the 1996 Iowa Caucuses. Senator Chuck Grassley endorsed Dole before the Caucuses in 1988 and 1996, but has not publicly endorsed a candidate since. then.