(Radio Iowa) – Volunteers are needed once again this summer to drive around and track the bat population in the state. D-N-R wildlife diversity biologist, Stephanie Shepherd, says the volunteers record the noises bats make as the fly through the night.The D-N-R has teamed with Iowa State University for the last ten years to track the bat signals with they can use to identify the species of bats. Shepherd says the survey begins 30 minutes after sunset and takes roughly two-and-a-half hours to complete.

They are looking for volunteers in Pocahontas County, Dubuque County, two routes in Franklin County — one in southwest Franklin and one in southeast Franklin, and then southwest Marshall County. The survey routes are run in June and July.

If you might be interested in monitoring bats, go to the D-N-R web page at iowadnr.gov/vwmp to sign up.

(Red Oak, Iowa/UPDATED) – Police in Red Oak arrested three men on separate charges, Tuesday. At around 1:15-p.m., 35-year-old Travis Ray Thompson, of Red Oak, was arrested on two Red Oak Police warrants for Felony Theft in the 2nd Degree. Bond on each warrant was set at $5,000. Thompson was being held in the Montgomery County Jail.

At around 12:33-p.m., Tuesday, 38-year-old Randon Daniel Phelps, of Red Oak, was arrested on a Red Oak Police warrant for Stalking, an aggravated misdemeanor. Phelps was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 cash or surety bond.

And, Officers with the Red Oak Police Department conducted a traffic stop Tuesday, in the 700 block of N. 7th Street. As a result, Bradley Clark Perry, of Red Oak, was arrested for Driving While License Revoked, as serious misdemeanor. Bradley was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $1,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – The pace of the current G-O-P presidential campaign hasn’t reached the level of the last one eight years ago, but South Carolina Senator Tim Scott entered the race yesterday (Tuesday) and will be in Sioux City today (Wednesday), plus former Vice President Mike Pence is making stops in Des Moines and Ottumwa.

Gloria Mazza, chair of Polk County Republicans, says it’s sort of like watching the candidates and potential candidates play chess right now. “You know: When do they make this move or that move?” Mazza says. Pence has said he hasn’t decided yet whether he’ll run for president, but last night at a Polk County G-O-P fundraiser Pence urged the crowd to ask hard questions of the people who are official candidates. “Men and women of Iowa, do your part. Do freedom’s work. We’ll keep you posted on our plans, I promise,” Pence said.

Bud Hockenberg, a veteran of innumerable Iowa campaigns, isn’t giving odds on how well Pence might do in the Iowa Caucuses. “I can’t speak for other people,” he said. “It’s kind of an open process and it’s quite early.” Dylan Engelbrecht, president of Drake University Republicans, says it was good to hear from Pence — but he expects to hear many other candidates on Iowa college campuses in the coming months. “We’re just welcoming everyone, no matter who they are, just to hear their ideas,” Engelbrecht says, “and that’s what the Caucuses are ultimately about.”

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says she hasn’t made a final decision on a bill to limit State Auditor Rob Sand’s access to some information, but Reynolds says Sand — the lone Democrat in statewide office — has gone too far in some of his investigations. “The constitution states that there shall be an Auditor of State and it’s the legislature’s responsibility to set what those duties are,” Reynolds says. “This doesn’t limit his access to information, but it does say that just information that he’s curious about, he doesn’t have access to that.”

The bill would prohibit the auditor from accessing things a person would expect to be kept private, like medical records or police reports. Sand says if the bill is signed into law, he’ll let the public know whenever state officials refuse to turn over records — and Sand says it will make Iowans wonder what they’re hiding. Reynolds says there’s an arbitration process in the bill that would let three people appointed by her, by Sand and by the agency involved decide if records should be turned over.

“The auditor’s office is part of the executive branch,” Reynolds says, “and I think Iowans expect the executive branch to be able to work things out.” The bill would also prevent the auditor’s office from seeking a court order to get access to documents from another statewide officeholder, like the governor, or a state agency. Sand says the bill’s arbitration process gives the governor’s office the final word on access to information because it prevents the courts from determining if any denials are justified. Reynolds says the private sector uses arbitration.

“I think it’s ridiculous, you know, if my agencies have some conflict we bring them in, we set them down and we ask them to work it out and for the first place to go or to go to the courts to have executive branch agencies competing against each other, the taxpayers have to pay for it twice,” Reynolds says, “and I just don’t think it’s unreasonable that we can’t come to some resolution through the arbitration process.”

Reynolds made her comments during a recent appearance on Iowa Press on Iowa P-B-S.

(Anita, Iowa) – Firefighters from Anita and Wiota were called to the scene of a house fire near 6th and Locust in Anita, Tuesday evening. Anita Fire Chief Eric Steffensen told KJAN News they were paged out at around 5-p.m.  When they arrived, there was heavy smoke coming from the attic.

Steffensen says the resident was able to get out of the structure with their pets. He said also, there ended-up being a lot of fire in the attic, so most of the damage came from water and smoke.

The cause of the fire remains undetermined at this time. Chief Steffensen said he wants to “Thank everyone who helped, including the Wiota Fire Department.”  Crews from Anita were on the scene until around 6:54-p.m. No injuries were reported.

(Lewis, Iowa) – Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) fisheries biologists have investigated recent reports of dead bluegill and crappie in southern Iowa lakes. Chris Larson, DNR fisheries supervisor said Tuesday (today) “These natural fish kills are a common occurrence at a number of lakes each spring during spawning season. There is little danger to the overall population of bluegill or crappie. Iowa lakes can support thousands of panfish per acre of water.”

The spawning season is very stressful. A variety of factors can cause this stress, including changes in water temperature, water quality and availability of food. Fish are more vulnerable to predators during spawning, which can add to their stress levels.

“Overcrowding is one of the main causes of spawning stress in bluegills and crappies,” Larson said. “When too many fish are in a small area, they can become stressed and agitated. This can lead to fights and injuries that can cause stressed fish to become more susceptible to various bacterial or fungal infections.”

If you see dead fish – especially when there are several species or sizes, or when you can see a pollutant present – call the DNR’s 24-hour spill line at 515-725-8694 as soon as possible. Quick reporting can help DNR staff identify the cause of a fish kill and potentially stop a fish kill in progress.

The Shelby County Board of Supervisors met in a Regular session May 16th. Auditor/Board Secretary Mark Maxwell reports Shelby County Sheriff Chad Butler briefed the Supervisors about recent hires and progress in the assumption of law enforcement duties in the City of Harlan. The process and the new hires have created challenges for the Sheriffs Department , but overall, things are going well.

Alex Londo, Shelby County EMA Director spoke and told the Supervisors that the siren issues have been resolved and it was just a malfunction that allowed the sirens to sound unexpectedly. Other facets and ambitions of the EMA department were presented as well.

Kyle Lindberg representing the Shelby County IT Committee put forth his recommendation to have Austin Staley approved as a full time IT person for Shelby County. Schaben made a motion to approve the hiring, Parkhurst seconded the motion, the motion was approved.

Todd Valine of the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce and Industry noted that the Chamber Board is meeting later this day to look at next year’s budget. Valline also mentioned that new business construction is progressing well in the County.

Following a brief recess, a hearing for public comment was then opened regarding the proposed budget amendment for the current fiscal year. Auditor Maxwell did not have any public comments at his office and no comments were heard from those in attendance. The Supervisors then voted to close the hearing after a motion by Schaben and a second by Parkhurst.

Back in session, the Board approved the proposed budget amendment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023. It calls for there to be no increase in taxes. (see details below)

In other business, Brandon Burmeister presented the Utility Permits 2023-05-04 for Nishnabotna Valley REC. The permit was jointly approved by the Board of Supervisors.  Resolution 2023-33 is a resolution to set a public hearing date and time to vacate Right of Way interests in and close a portion of the Shelby County Road, Yellowwood Road. The section of road #551 north of the area known as Fiscus to the structure (bridge) owned by Audubon County. A publication of hearing will be published by the Secondary Roads Department. Copies of the resolution are available in the Auditors office and the Engineers office.

The Supervisors then considered temporary storage of items for the Harlan Community School District and for the Harlan Community Library. As the items stored are small and/or the storage for most items are temporary it was motioned by Schaben to allow the Chairperson to sign a lease agreement in the amount of $1 a year for the temporary use of a room at the Shelby County Annex by the Harlan Schools and the storage of a piece of equipment that is infrequently used and owned by the Harlan Library. Parkhurst seconded the motion, the motion was approved.

The Board of Supervisors then discussed the disposal of County property in the City Limits of Earling.  Maintaining the property and assuming risk to the county and costs for upkeep throughout the year have been determined to be mitigated. It was suggested that the hearing be held June 20th at the hour of 9:00 AM to seek public comment on the sale of this county owned real estate. Sealed bids will be open that day following the hearing. A minimum bid of $8,700.00 needs to be placed to be accepted by the Supervisors. All bids must be received in the Auditors office at the Courthouse by 4:30 PM June 19th. No drop box bids will be accepted.

A resolution to set the publication and hearing date was passed unanimously. The Board also passed a Resolution appointing the following Sheriff’s Deputies: Noah Schilling and Wyatt Oviatt.

A Courthouse building and grounds use permit was discussed for the June 2023 and June 2024 Relay for life events, and subsequently approved.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa City is considering making its buses free to ride. Transportation director Darian Nagle-Gamm hopes the move will help bring back pre-pandemic ridership. “We think this could really make a difference. If you give people a service, a quality transportation service in town that they can just hop aboard. They don’t have to worry about a fare,” she says. “You know they can just hop on board and use the system. We will see, we will see an increase in ridership.”

Ridership on Iowa City’s buses is down 26 percent compared to 2019. Bus fares now make up eight percent of the department’s revenue and she says they’ll need to convince the Metropolitan Planning Organization to adjust the systems funding model.  “Because our ridership levels are down-like they are across the country-we have extra capacity on our buses. So this is really an ideal time for the city to consider moving to a zero fare platform because there is no additional staff or busses required at this time,” she says.

Nagle-Gamm says hybrid and remote work trends may mean fewer riders overall. But fare-free busing may coax some people who were on the fence.

(Radio Iowa) – Two teenagers have been charged with stealing 100 dollars worth of alcohol from a Storm Lake gas station — and a clerk at the Midtown Brew gas station faces charges for allegedly hitting one of the suspects with a vehicle. Police say the alcohol thefts at Midtown Brew happened on three nights last week. Storm Lake Police have filed fifth degree theft charges against a 16 and a 17 year old. The 16-year-old has also been charged in connection with a burglary to a vehicle that happened during the overnight hours of May 14th. The 16 year old has been transferred to a juvenile detention facility.

The 17 year old has been released to a parent. Police say the 17 year old was hospitalized after he was hit by an S-U-V early last Thursday morning. The driver of the S-U-V faces a number of charges, including assault with a dangerous weapon. Police say the S-U-V driver was a clerk at the gas station who saw the 17 year old shoplifting, got into his S-U-V, chased the teen, ran onto a sidewalk and hit him, then fled the scene.

(Radio Iowa) – A priest in Florida has been accused of sexual abuse of a minor while he was serving as a priest at a Dubuque parish in the mid 1980s. A news release from the Archdiocese of Dubuque says Father Leo Riley has been placed on administrative leave while a review board for the Archdiocese investigates the allegation. Riley was ordained in Dubuque and served at more than a dozen different Iowa parishes, but has been a priest in Florida since 2002.

About a decade ago, a man accused Riley of abusing him in 1985 when he was an altar boy at the Church of the Resurrection in Dubuque. When the Archbishop of Dubuque announced that investigation was dropped, the archbishop said the best information available didn’t support a reasonable belief the man’s allegation was true. This new allegation is from someone who says they were abused by Riley at the same church, sometime between 1985 and ’86.

Riley has been pastor of the San Antonio Church in Port Charlotte, Florida since 2019.