(Sac City, Iowa) – A man from northwest Iowa’s Sac County was arrested Monday on sex abuse and other charges. The Sac County Sheriff’s Office reports 38-year-old Antonio Deon Pharms from Lytton, Iowa, is charged with three counts of sex abuse 2nd degree and three counts of lascivious acts with a child.

(State News) – The Iowa State Patrol is investigating three separate accidents that resulted in the deaths of three people. According to a report, 78-year-old Jerome Leach, of Fredericksburg died, when he was struck by a 1999 Toyota Camry in Chickasaw County, at around 4:45-p.m., Tuesday. The car, driven by 85-year-old Edmund Emerson, of Cedar Rapids, was traveling east on U-S Highway 18, west of Falcon Drive, when Leach was hit as he was walking on the road in Fredericksburg.

Another accident happened at around 6:50-p.m., Sunday, in Winnebago County. The State Patrol reports a 2017 Ford F-150 pickup driven by 65-year-old John Connolly, of Glennwood, MN, was pulling a two-axle trailer with benches on the Winnebago Industries lots, when the trailer became unhitched. The tongue of the trailer traveled backwards, sapping the safety chain. 76-year-old Joyce Engstrom, of Frontena, MN, who was a passenger of the trailer, tried to jump off, but was drug under the trailer. She later died from her injuries.

And a man walking on the shoulder of U-S Highway 30 in Cedar County, was struck and killed by a 2004 Ford Expedition, Tuesday. The accident happened at around 11:25-p.m.  The State Patrol says the unidentified victim was walking on the south shoulder of the highway, when for reasons unknown he crossed the road before being hit by the SUV. The name of the SUV’s driver was being held withheld while the accident remains under investigation.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds has unveiled a new logo and slogan for the state of Iowa. Governor Reynolds calls it a “brand mark.” It features IOWA in big blue capital letters. The O is filled in with yellow to depict the sun, green to signify the landscape and a white winding road. Three words — FREEDOM TO FLOURISH — are printed below.

“The road to the horizon in the letter O is a familiar scene in Iowa and one that represents a journey to opportunity,” Reynolds says. “The tag line, ‘FREEDOM TO FLOURISH,’ communicates a motivating message that in Iowa, you can reach your potential.” Last fall, the state hired FleishmanHillard, a public relations agency based in Kansas City, to work on a unified state brand.

“It included state agencies, directors, communications teams from across state government who really helped inform the development of the unified brand strategy for our state,” Reynolds said, “and one that will not only attract visitors, but opportunity seekers of all types.” Some state agencies began using this new logo yesterday (Tuesday) and others will as old stationary is used up and new letterhead is ordered. “We conducted research that included Iowans and other neighboring states and beyond to ensure that the logo and the tag line would connect with people in the right way,” Reynolds said, “and it did.”

The new logo and “FREEDOM TO FLOURISH” slogan soon will be seen on road signs that welcome motorists as they drive into Iowa from neighboring states. The current design for signs at 68 different locations along Iowa’s border crossings was unveiled at the 1999 Iowa State Fair by Governor Tom Vilsack. They say: “The People of Iowa Welcome You” at the top. There’ a sunrise and a green swoosh to symbolize the horizon in the middle along with the words: “Iowa” and “Fields of Opportunities.”

In 1970, Governor Robert Ray unveiled the “Iowa: A Place to Grow” slogan along with a clover leaf symbol that Ray said depicted growth in all directions.

(Radio Iowa) – Just before a trip to Iowa, President Donald Trump announced he’s been notified he’s a target in a grand jury investigation of the January 6th attack on the U-S Capitol. During remarks at a meeting of Linn County Republicans last night, Trump called federal prosecutors “evil…deranged people” who want to put a person in jail for the rest of their life if they say something about an election.

During an interview on W-H-O Radio, Trump doubled down on his criticism of Governor Kim Reynolds’ decision to remain neutral in the presidential race. Trump said he gets along with Governor Kim Reynolds, but he’s very disappointed she is not endorsing him. Trump, who endorsed Reynolds during her 2018 race, said without him, she would not be governor.

During a news conference in Des Moines, Reynolds was asked if she owed her 2018 victory to Trump. “I owe it to Iowans who actually put their trust in me,” Reynolds said. “They put their trust in me in 2018. It was a tough year for Republicans. I was one of the few that made it across the finish line and then I overwhelmingly won in 2022.”

Reynolds told reporters she hopes Trump accepts her invitation to join her on an Iowa State Fair stage. Reynolds is planning one-on-one interviews with all the presidential candidates during the fair

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says more than 26 hundred state employees have transitioned to a different state agency after her state government reorganization plan took effect July 1st. The number of state agencies has been cut from 37 down to 16. Over 500 open positions in state government have been eliminated. Reynolds says the workforce may shrink more as state employees resign or retire.

“We’re going to continue to look at ways that we can be lean and mean and just really provide a one-stop shop for Iowans,” Reynolds says. Reynolds hired a consulting firm to examine how other states operated, examine agencies within the executive branch of Iowa’s state government and come up with a realignment plan to present to the legislature. The governor says that was critical because her small staff didn’t have the capacity to do an enterprise wide assessment.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says an appeal will be filed as soon as possible to challenge a judge’s injunction that has blocked enforcement of a ban on most abortions in Iowa. “It’s just a matter of time, but we’re working with the AG’s office on the details,” Reynolds told reporters this afternoon, “so hopefully that will be filed yet this week.” Reynolds signed a bill into law last Friday that immediately banned most abortions at or near the sixth week of a pregnancy, when cardiac activity is first detected.

A district court judge issued a temporary injunction to block enforcement as a lawsuit challenging the policy makes its way through the court system. “For three days we were saving babies and then the temporary injunction was filed,” Reynolds says. “I think the right to life is the most important right we have and without it we have nothing.” The bill that passed the legislature a week ago is nearly identical to a 2018 law that was ruled unconstitutional by the Iowa Supreme Court.

Five years later, Reynolds has appointed five of the seven justices on the state’s highest court. That court ruled in June of last year that the Iowa constitution does not guarantee a right to an abortion, a week before the U-S Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. Reynolds says last month, the Iowa Supreme Court got it wrong when it failed on a tie vote to let the 2018 Fetal Heartbeat Act go into effect and that’s why G-O-P lawmakers approved a nearly identical bill last week in a special legislative session.

“And I think the bill we passed is constitutional,” Reynolds said, “especially with the changes that we’ve seen.” House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst says Reynolds and Republican lawmakers have stopped listening to the strong majority of Iowans who do not support their abortion ban.

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowan has found a hidden treasure in Utah. Chelsea Gotta of Pella went to Utah three times before solving the riddles in a poem and finding the 25-thousand dollar prize. The annual Utah Scavenger Hunt was first held in 2020. This year’s clues led Gotta to find the treasure box near the mountain hiking trail in a Bountiful, Utah.

Bountiful is about 12 miles north of Salt Lake City. The box was hidden for 51 days before Gotta found it. Gotta told K-T-V-X in Salt Lake City she plans to sponsor a treasure hunt in Iowa.

(Radio Iowa) – The Alzheimer’s Association is releasing its first-ever nationwide report, offering a county-by-county breakdown of the prevalence of that form of dementia, including in all 99 Iowa counties. According to the report, the average Alzheimer’s prevalence rate in Iowans age 65 and older is 11%.

Brianne Fitzgerald, a senior director with the association’s Iowa chapter, says two rural counties topped the state’s list: “Our highest two counties in Iowa were Monona in western Iowa at 12.6%, and Ringgold in southern Iowa 12.9%.” By comparison, the nation’s highest incidence of Alzheimer’s is nearly four points higher at 16.6% with a three-way tie between Miami-Dade County, Florida; Baltimore City, Maryland; and Bronx County, New York.

None of Iowa’s 99 counties made the national top 20, but the news from the report wasn’t all good.

“Iowa is definitely a dementia desert, meaning, we don’t have enough persons that are working in the field as far as gerontologists are concerned to continue to help our aging population,” Fitzgerald says. “We are concerned about taking care of our elderly as we move forward.”

The report shows what appears to be a higher prevalence for Alzheimer’s in Iowa’s northwestern counties, with lower rates in eastern Iowa. Fitzgerald says they’ll be studying this map carefully.

“For one thing, it’s nice to see this map and say, ‘Okay, well, in our work with public health and other community partners we need to make sure we’re concentrating for sure in these Iowa counties that are of a higher rate,’” Fitzgerald says, “but we need to understand the why behind it and that guides us a little bit more.”

Researchers found the highest prevalence of Alzheimer’s in the east and southeastern regions of the U.S. There are varied levels of Alzheimer’s spread across Iowa, but Fitzgerald says there are theories about why there appears to be a higher prevalence in northwestern Iowa.

“We do know that with this report, a combination of some specific demographic characteristics could explain some of the higher prevalence in some of these counties,” she says, “including the older average age and then possibly higher percentages of black and Hispanic residents.”

Here are the Alzheimer’s prevalence rates for the seven Iowa counties with the highest number of residents age 65 and older:

· Polk (68,200) – 10.5%
· Linn (38,000) – 10.8%
· Scott (29,800) – 10.9%
· Black Hawk (22,900) – 11.1%
· Johnson (19,700) – 10.1%
· Dubuque (18,200) – 11.1%
· Pottawattamie (17,200) – 10.5%

For Iowans who want to learn more, she directs people to the website, alz.org. “We have so many ways for people to get involved, learn more information,” Fitzgerald says. “We have a 24/7 helpline for people who really want to learn more about the disease and chat with somebody, maybe about their concerns or concerns of a loved one, and that’s 1-800-272-3900.”

It’s estimated there are 66,000 Iowans living with Alzheimer’s or another dementia, and another 98,000 Iowans are their caregivers.

(Radio Iowa) – A state board has voted to extend tax breaks to a company planning to hire 65 more people once its Red Oak facility has expanded. Parker Hannifin is a Fortune 250 company that makes hydraulic equipment for aerospace and industrial uses. The company plans to spend two-and-a-half million dollars to expand its plant in Red Oak. The Iowa Economic Development Authority’s board has approved tax incentives to offset all or part of that investment. In June, the Southwestern Community College Board of Directors approved using nearly 600-thousand dollars worth of bond money to finance job training for the company’s 65 new employees.

Family-owned Osmundson Manufacturing in Perry is getting state tax breaks for a 19-million dollar expansion. The facility makes blades for agricultural equipment and the company plans to hire 17 more employees once the expansion is done. The Iowa Economic Development Authority board also extended tax breaks for remodeling a building in Waterloo that will become home for a garment business. Dignity Apparel uses fabrics made in the U.S. and marketed under the Image Pointe brand. The four-and-a-half million dollars project includes the purchase of equipment and software. The company says it will hire seven employees to work at the facility.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors were asked Tuesday morning, to get on with the business of writing and passing a hazardous pipeline ordinance. Jan Norris, a West Township resident, implored the Board to act, said the urgency to do so is because of next month’s Iowa Utilities Board meeting with Summit Carbon Solutions.

The proposed 706-mile long pipeline passes through 30 counties, including the western third of Montgomery County. In June, a representative for the pipeline told the Supervisors about 75% of the easements needed had been secured, or about 13.4-miles, and $4.6-million in easement payments had been issued.

Jan Norris said if the Board is set against passing an ordinance, whether their opinion is based on legal advice or not – they should communicate their intentions to the public.

Maggie McQuown, a 4th generation resident of Garfield Township, living on her family farm. She also serves on the Montgomery County Board of Adjustment. She said while the individual Board members are entitled to their opinion on the carbon pipeline, but it is more so important to do “everything in [their] power to prepare Montgomery County for the CO2 pipeline, for safety of the residents.

She told the Board “Don’t be bullied,” by the threat of a lawsuit from Summit Carbon Solutions, should the County enact an ordinance.

She said the ordinance guidelines can be adjusted to allow for variances to be granted, but a “life-threatening incident” can’t be undone. The Board thanked both women for their input, but because the matter was not on their agenda, no action was taken at this time.