(Radio Iowa) – Over the upcoming holiday weekend, tens of thousands of Iowans will be declaring their independence from their houses and heading off on road trips. Brian Ortner, spokesman for Triple-A Iowa, says travel records are being forecast for the four-day weekend, both for the Midwest and for the nation. “Looking at our region, AAA is forecasting more than 3.7-million travelers are going to be taking a trip of at least 50 miles or more between this Friday and Tuesday, July 4th,” Ortner says. “That’s 140,000 more holiday travelers than the previous high that was set last year, which tied the record that was originally set in 2019, our pre-pandemic numbers.”

For the nation, Triple-A predicts 50-point-seven million Americans will be traveling over the long weekend, which is over two-million more than over the 4th of July last year. As far as the travel industry is concerned, the pandemic is a distant memory now, as all travel numbers are back to where they were before COVID-19 disrupted the world. “This year is really going to be the benchmark for that, because we were looking back at pre-pandemic numbers,” Ortner says, “and if we look at where we were for holiday travel during Christmas and Thanksgiving last year, we were edging up on those pre-pandemic numbers, and then Memorial Day we broke pre-pandemic numbers.”

Since the majority of travelers will be in cars, trucks, SUVs and other motor vehicles, gasoline prices are key, and Ortner says compared to a year ago, they’re down considerably. “Last year, between July 1st and July 6th across the state of Iowa, the average price per gallon for gas was $4.57 to $4.61 a gallon, so definitely, we were over that $4 mark last year,” Ortner says. “If we look at gas prices today in Iowa, the average is $3.36, so a dollar-plus more in savings.”

The financial news isn’t all good for vacationers, though, as Triple-A also says airfares and hotel rates are more expensive than last year.

(Radio Iowa) – A southwest Iowa couple who are the parents of twins born prematurely at 22 weeks say taking their son home from a Des Moines hospital five and a half months later is exciting. Cristal Alvarez of Lenox went into labor on January 11th. “I didn’t think they were going to make it,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes. “…Seeing them here and alive is a miracle and it was really scary for us because you know you never really see babies this early make it…so seeing them now, you know, it’s overwhelming.”

Jacob was one pound, six ounces when he was born 167 days ago. His twin sister, Luna, was three ounces smaller. Luna remains in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines. She’s in stable condition and will be released when she starts getting her food from a bottle. She was the vocal twin, chiming in, as her parents spoke at a news conference Monday afternoon at the hospital.

“It’s exciting to start this adventure with them at home,” Alvarez said. “I know Luna will eventually come home soon, but just seeing them do good is exciting for us, to take them home and be a family.” Dr. Samir Alabsi is medical director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Blank Children’s Hospital. Dr. Alabsi says the hospital had not been providing active treatment for babies born before 24 weeks, but that changed January 1st. On January 11th, he got a call about Crystal’s early labor and the twins.

“I said: ‘We are ready and we prepared to provide the best care for those babies,'” Alabsi says. “And they came and we did it.” The twins are the first babies born at 22 weeks at the hospital to survive.  “They are not only alive, they are alive with good condition,” Alabsi said, “and that’s a big achievement for the team here.” Dr. Alabsi says the survival rate for 22 week old babies in U-S hospitals is between 30 to 50 percent and for twins that age, the survival rate is even lower.

Junior Mendez, the father of the twins, spoke through an interpreter at the news conference. He says after visiting the babies in the hospital for 166 days, it was a happy day to be able to leave the hospital with Jacob.

(Radio Iowa) – A settlement with the governor in an open records lawsuit is now final. A-C-L-U of Iowa attorney, Thomas Story, says there will be some oversight along with the payment in case. “We have now settled this case by an agreement that the court has approved and adopted We are pleased that the governor’s office has agreed to a one year term of judicial oversight of its compliance with the open records law,” Story says.

Clark Kauffman and The Iowa Capital Dispatch, Randy Evans and the Iowa Freedom of Information Council, and Laura Belin and the Bleeding Heartland blog sued after the governor failed to turn over records requests during the pandemic. An Iowa Supreme Court ruling against the governor led to the settlement. “We look forward to working closely with the governor’s office to ensure our clients can access public records in a timely manner and report on state government so that we the people can understand oversee and engage with our elected officials,” Story says.

Iowa Freedom of Information Council executive director, Randy Evans, says the settlement will hopefully send a message to others. “The governor’s failure to comply with the law would cost Iowa taxpayers 135-thousand dollars. Those are 135-thousand reasons why state and local government officials and employees should understand they cannot ignore their duty to comply in a timely manner with records requests,” Evans says.

Story and Evans made their comments in a news conference on the finalized settlement.

The Red Oak Police Department reports the arrest of 21-year-old Drake Leslie Brown of Red Oak at 7:11 a.m. on Sunday, June 25th for OWI, 1st Offense. Brown was arrested in the 300 block of West Coolbaugh Street in Red Oak and taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $1,000 bond.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest at around 5:20-a.m. Saturday, of 26-year-old Edy Geovani Baltazar-Franciso, of Omaha. Baltazar-Franciso was arrested following a traffic stop on Interstate 29, and charged with OWI/1st offense. His bond was set at $1,000.

The Sheriff’s Office said also, a man from Malvern reported Sunday afternoon, an incident of Theft in the 2nd Degree. The only other information provided was that the incident occurred at a location on Rains Avenue.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s two U.S. senators say NASA’s lunar research may help improve food production and resource conservation on Earth. The lawmakers joined NASA astronaut Raja Chari for a discussion at Grinnell College this (Monday) morning. Chari, who was raised in Cedar Falls, says as astronauts learn to live on the moon through NASA’s Artemis Project, they’ll need to learn to grow food.

“I think it’s important that we invest in the technology in getting there so that we can continue to lead as a nation and lead the world,” Chari says, “just as we did during the Apollo era.” Chari is the leader of astronaut development and testing for the Human Landing System for NASA’s Artemis Program. Republican Senator Joni Ernst says what astronauts learn from living on the moon may wind up influencing a wide range of federal policies.

“It’s important not just for the Farm Bill, but it’s important for other departments as well as we’re moving forward doing research on crops, on protecting our water — water purification,” Ernst says. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley says NASA’s ag research may be more quickly adopted by the private sector. “What we learn from research out of gravity is very important for agriculture research,” Grassley says. Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, a Republican from Marion, was also at the event in Grinnell.

“My key takeaway is that collabortation is essential to making sure we can continue to collaborate,” Hinson says. “Hearing about the work happening on the International Space Station down to the work we’re going to be doing on the Farm Bill to make sure that research and that innovation is supported, I think it’s absolutely critical.”

NASA’s Artemis crew has begun training, with a target date in 2026 for landing on the moon and spending nearly a month living on the surface.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is hiring three new attorneys for the Statewide Prosecutions Section in the Iowa Department of Justice.  “Back in 1997, there were 11 prosecutors who could travel around Iowa and do cases in every corner of Iowa. When I took office in January, they were down to seven,” Bird says. “Sexual assault cases are up about 101% (and) homicides are up about 70% since then, so there’s clearly an even greater need than there was before.” According to a job posting on the Attorney General’s website, the salary range for the new prosecutors is between 120- and 135-thousand dollars and they will assist county attorneys in the prosecution of felony-level crimes, like murder. The legislature provided Bird’s office with extra money for these positions, as well as others.

“A victim witness coordinator, also someone who can help as an investigator to help put together those cases,” Bird says. The government reorganization plan lawmakers approved this spring included language saying Bird may intervene in criminal prosecutions, even if a local county attorney does not request assistance. The Iowa County Attorneys Association objected, saying county attorneys are elected officials who answer to their constituents and they should retain prosecutorial discretion. A representative from Bird’s office told lawmakers it was important for the legislature to weigh in, so Bird’s authority would be clear.

“The attorney general has had statewide criminal jurisdiction since the 1860s and they further clarified that to make that clear, but as far as how we’re working with county attorneys, that hasn’t changed,” Bird says. “We have county attorneys here in this state who doing a great job and we work with them on different cases that come up in their county.” Bird, who’s been attorney general for nearly six months, says she has not intervened in any county-level prosecutions. Bird, a Republican, defeated Tom Miller last November. Miller, a Democrat, had served as Iowa’s attorney general for 40 years.

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S Court of Appeals has ruled the federal government bears responsibility for causing atypical recurrent flooding that damaged farms and property in the Missouri River basin since 2007. Initially filed in 2014, the plaintiffs in the case include more than 370 landowners from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. Seth Wright, the lead counsel for the plaintiffs, says while some landowners were frustrated with how long the case is taking, they were pleased with this latest ruling.

“In some respects, our clients feel vindicated that the government has caused the flooding — which is something they knew all along — and that they are now hopefully going to receive some compensation from the government,” said Wright. “It’s been almost a decade since we filed this case and a decade-and-a-half since the first flood began in 2007.” Wright says the primary allegation from the plaintiffs was that the changes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers made to the river through the Missouri River Recovery Program (or M-R-R-P) caused flooding along the river — which the court also ruled violated the 5th Amendment.

“The 5th Amendment also provides that the government cannot take private property without just compensation,” Wright explained. “That’s what this case was about — that the government had taken the property rights of the plaintiffs through the appropriation of a flowage easement and had not compensated them for that flowage easement.” Wright says it was a massive win for the ruling to favor their cross-appeals, including compensation for crop losses, damages from the 2011 floods, and the value of the permanent flowage easement on the impacted landowners’ properties.

“The changes they made to the river through the MRRP is what’s caused this flooding and they have appropriated a permanent flowage easement over our client’s property, which will allow the government to continue to flood their property,” said Wright. “So, the only recourse through the 5th Amendment is just compensation.” Wright says it’s unclear whether the federal government will choose to appeal the ruling. “The next appeal from this would be to the United States Supreme Court,” he said, “so, we’ll have to wait and see what the government does and whether they want to appeal this ruling.”

Unless appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals has ruled to remand the case back to the trial court.

(Elliott, Iowa) – A woman from Cass County (IA) was injured during a single-vehicle accident late Sunday evening north of Elliott, in Pottawattamie County. According to the Pott. County Sheriff’s Office, an SUV driven by Olivia Kay Ewing, of Griswold, was traveling east on Pioneer Trail at around 7:50-p.m., Sunday, when the vehicle went out of control while she was trying to turn north, onto 535th Street.

The SUV slid into the northeast ditch and hit an embankment before rolling over. Ewing was transported by Griswold Rescue to Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs, for treatment of minor injuries.

The SUV, a 2017 Nissan Rogue, sustained $18,000 in damage.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – A central Iowa woman faces a Class-D Felony charge of Insurance Fraud – Presenting False Information. The Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau reports 25-year-old Kayla Dennis, of Johnston, was also charged with one count of Forgery, and one count Theft in the 3rd Degree, following an investigation by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau.

The charges against Dennis stem from an investigation that began in May 2023. According to criminal complaints filed by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau, Dennis provided false information and fabricated documents in support of a short-term disability claim and to receive benefits she otherwise would not have been entitled to. On June 19, 2023, Dennis was arrested and booked into the Polk County Jail where she posted a $10,000 bond.

Kayla Dennis (Photo courtesy the Polk County Sheriff’s Office)

Iowans with information about insurance fraud are encouraged to contact the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau at 515-654-6556.

Note: A criminal charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.