(Radio Iowa) – Around 600-thousand central Iowans would get their water from the Central Iowa Water Works, under a plan to combine the Des Moines Water Works with 12 other systems. They would share wells, river intakes, treatment plants and other infrastructure under the plan. Des Moines Water Works C-E-O Ted Corrigan says a combined system would be more resilient, for instance, when drought makes water scarce.

“The last thing we want to do is start fighting over which community, which growing community, which established community, has the rights to use that water,” Corrigan says. “We want to work together.” Once a final agreement is approved, Corrigan says it would take about one more year for the new entity to take over operations. West Des Moines Water Works General Manager Christina Murphy says sharing infrastructure will spread out the cost of expanding in the future.

“Those technologies are not cheap,” Murphy says. “Going where you can find the best source water quality or the best quantity of water helps keep costs down for everybody.” Public meetings are planned in Des Moines and West Des Moines beginning this week to take public comment on the proposal.

Under the plan, the regional utility would provide water at the same wholesale rate to member utilities, and those members would still be in charge of delivering drinking water to homes and businesses.

(Radio Iowa) – A review committee is recommending the elimination or consolidation of 43 percent of state boards, commissions and advisory groups — slightly fewer than were listed in the committee’s initial report. The temporary review panel was established by the state government reorganization law Governor Kim Reynolds signed this spring and its report will be forwarded to state lawmakers, who’ll make the final decisions. Iowa Department of Management director Kraig Paulsen, who led the group, says it’s an important conversation.

“We searched and could not find a single other instance in our state’s history where there’s been a global conversation about boards and commissions,” Paulsen said. The review panel is recommending the consolidation or elimination of one-hundred-11 (111) state boards or commissions. “I realize some struggle to conceive of a situation where government is smaller and less intrusive,” Paulsen said, “but everyday Iowans can conceive of that.”

State Senator Tony Bisignano, a Democrat from Des Moines, says he’s concerned by the recommendation to get rid of the so-called gender balance requirement that men and women be represented equally on state boards and commissions. “My concern has always been that we reflect who Iowa is when we put these boards and commissions together,” Bisignano said. The committee’s final report will be publicly released later this week.

The panel met this (Monday) morning at the statehouse and approved about two dozen changes to its initial recommendations. Iowa’s membership in the Midwest Higher Education Compact is no longer in doubt, after the group learned the compact saves the state millions through group purchasing. The Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service had also been targeted for elimination in the review committee’s initial report, but that endangered 32 million dollars in federal funds for seven-thousand AmeriCorps volunteers who do community service work.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Sheriff’s Office report the arrest on September 21st, 2023, of 29-year-old Nicholas Renner, from Atlantic. Renner was arrested on two warrants for Violation of Probation.  He was picked up and transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on his own recognizance.

On September 20th, 36-year-old Jonathon Jones, of Houston, TX, was arrested in Cass County, on warrants for Theft 1st Degree and Burglary 3rd Degree.  Jones was picked up and transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held.

On September 17th, Cass County Deputies arrested 40-year-old Casey Anders, of Walker, MO, on the charge of Felon in Possession of a Firearm.  Anders was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held.

And, on September 15th, 64-year-old Kenny Carl, of Harlan, was arrested in Cass County on a warrant for Harassment 3rd Degree.  Carl was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on bond.

(Rural Stuart, Iowa) – A man riding an ATV Saturday morning in Guthrie County, was seriously injured when the machine went out of control and collided with a tree. The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office says 19-year-old Jack Matthew Winter, of Dallas Center, was riding a 2006 Yamaha ATV on a trail in the timber on private property near 3136 Wagon Road, when the accident occurred at around 9-a.m., Saturday.

Winter was transported by LifeFlight to Iowa Methodist in Des Moines, for treatment of suspected serious/incapacitating injuries. The ATV sustained $1,500 damage.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart says she’s working to ensure the party has leadership at the local level.  “We’ve got some counties that don’t even have a county chair. They have no structure whatever,” Hart says. “And we have counties that are totally engaged, have got tons of volunteers and have raised a lot of money and then we’ve got everything in between.”

Democrats have temporary county chairs in Ida, Louisa, Marion and O’Brien Counties. Hart was the Clinton County Democratic Party chair when she was elected in January to lead the state party. She spoke this weekend at a fundraiser for Kossuth County Democrats. “In November, I am sure that you guys felt the same way I did: a little upset, a little depressed, a little despondent…Not too many of you thought, ‘Therefore I’m going to run for state chair?’ Did ya?” Hart said and the audience laughed.

Hart cites Republican Brenna Bird’s defeat of Democratic Attorney General Tom Miller in last year’s election as a great example of why rebuilding the party at the county level is important. “Why didn’t we elect him? Because he lost by 20,000 and some votes and 92,000 Democrats who voted in the cycle before did not vote in that election.”

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Sheriff’s Department reports five arrests. Sheriff Jeff Vandewater says 21-year-old Dakota Lane Paxton, of Greenfield, was arrested Sept. 19th by the Iowa State Patrol. Paxton was taken into custody on an Adair County warrant charging him with more than 30 counts each of Sexual Abuse in the 3rd Degree (child victim 4 or more years older), Enticing a minor under 16 for sexual purposes, five counts Sexual Exploitation of a minor, and two counts Purchase/Possession Depiction of a Minor – cause to engage in act. Paxton was released the same day on a $20,000 cash or surety bond.

44-year-old Tanya Lynn Funke, of Stuart, was arrested Sept. 17th by an Adair County Deputy. She was taken into custody on Adair County warrants for Domestic Abuse Assault/1st offense, and Child Endangerment. Funke was released the following day on a $2,300 c/s bond.

On Sept. 19th, 29-year-old Bianca Linette McGhee, and 29-year-old Antanea Lashay Burton, both of Des Moines, were arrested at the Kum-and-Go in Stuart, by Stuart Police. Both were charged with Theft in the 3rd Degree after admitting to stealing several bottles of liquor from the store valued at more than $416. Police discovered several other bottles of liquor in the women’ vehicle, for which they could not provide proof of purchase. A strong odor of marijuana was also coming from the vehicle. A clear plastic bag of a green leafy substance thought to be marijuana, was found in the center console. McGhee said the vehicle was hers, and the pot belonged to her “baby daddy.” An additional investigation revealed the women had also been in the Adair, Walnut and Neola Kum-and-Go Stores, but nothing was stolen from the Walnut or Adair stores, because they were notified in advance to be on the lookout for the suspects. Two bottles of liquor were determined to have been stolen from the store in Neola.

McGhee’s charges were enhanced to Theft in the 3rd due to prior convictions for Theft in Iowa and Nebraska. She was additionally charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana, and transported to the Adair County Jail in Greenfield. Both McGhee and Burton were released later that day on bond amounting to $3,000 and $2,000 respectively.

And, on Sept. 21st, 24-year-old Drew Brian Steckelberg, of Adair, was arrested by a Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy, after a pickup stolen from Adair on the 20th, was pulled over. Once the theft was confirmed, an Adair County Deputy took custody of Steckelberg, and charged him with Theft in the 2nd Degree. His bond was set at $5,000.