(Clinton County, Iowa) – A man from eastern Iowa was injured during a collision Tuesday evening between his motorcycle and an unknown vehicle. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 1999 Harley Davidson motorcycle operated by 60-year-old Ronald David O’Haver, of Toronto, IA, was traveling westbound on U-S Highway 30 between Calamus and Wheatland, and approaching 154th Avenue. An unknown vehicle was southbound on 154th. The driver of the vehicle failed to yield the right-of-way. The vehicle struck the motorcycle, causing serious injuries to O’Haver. The accident happened at around 6:50-p.m.

O’Haver was transported by MedForce to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. The Patrol said he is expected to recover. The vehicle that struck him left the scene of the crash. It is believed to have been a black, 2007-to 2012 Nissan Sentra. The crash remains under investigation.

The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office and Wheatland Fire/Rescue.

(Radio Iowa) –  Monday’s Iowa State Fair attendance dropped below 100-thousand after three straight days above that mark. Rain may have been the reason it was the first day that this year’s event didn’t beat the attendance for the same day last year.

Saturday broke the single-day attendance record by about ten thousand, hitting 128-thousand-732.

(Radio Iowa; UPDATED) – While we’re in the season of state fair corndogs and cotton candy, soon enough, the wicked winds of winter will blow into Iowa, and the new edition of the Farmers’ Almanac isn’t boding well for the seasons to come. Almanac editor Sandi Duncan says their forecast for what lies ahead is under the headline “Wet Winter Whirlwind,” and it predicts Iowa and the rest of the Great Plains states will be facing lower-than-normal temperatures.

“We do see a lot of cold, not freezing cold, it’s going to be overall cold,” Duncan says. “We do see a stormy start to winter in December. January doesn’t look too bad, but then the snow and the wetness and the whirlwind really comes in February in your neck of the woods, with some major storms coming at the beginning as well as the end of the month of February.” Since 1818, the almanac has been using a proprietary formula to forecast the weather, based on historical and celestial factors. In addition to the cold, Duncan says they’re calling for an Iowa winter with average snowfall.

“The whirlwind comes from the idea that looking at both December and February, we do see some back-to-back storms with both snow, rain, sleet, you know, the fun stuff,” Duncan says, “but definitely some snow in February, but nothing too major. Overall, it doesn’t look too bad as far as precipitation goes, but you just expect some snowy days.” The almanac contains 16 months of weather forecasts, including for the Summer of 2025. In recent months, Iowa has emerged from a four-year drought, and the almanac predicts the heat will be back on a year from now.

“We do see scorching temperatures with average rainfall, so hopefully, you won’t have to go into some type of drought, especially with the kind of wet seasons before that,” Duncan says. “It looks like average rainfall for next summer and hopefully you won’t get back into any type of drought conditions, since you guys need a little break, for sure.” Iowa’s had a rough spring and summer, with widespread flooding in many areas that followed severe storms, along with a record 130 tornadoes. Some point to climate change as the root cause, and Duncan says you’d have to be blind to say the climate isn’t changing.

“Definitely there’s something going on and things are changing, so we are trying to adapt to the ever-changing environment that we all live in,” Duncan says. “I would say that, unfortunately, this change that’s going on is bringing some more extreme weather, so we’re trying to adjust as we can and try to give people an idea of what may come so they can be prepared.” The Lewiston, Maine-based almanac boasts a forecast accuracy rate of 80% to 85%. The prognosticating formula was developed more than two centuries ago, based on factors including sunspot activity, planet positions, and the effect the Moon has on the Earth. Besides long-term weather predictions, the Farmers’ Almanac also contains a wealth of information on gardening, cooking, home remedies, folklore, managing your household, living in harmony with nature, and more.

FarmersAlmanac.com

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A man and a woman were arrested Tuesday evening in Red Oak. Red Oak Police says 40-year-old Susan Marie Wasson, and 38-year-old Anthony Charles Wasson, both from Red Oak, were arrested at around 7:45-p.m. in the east 200 block of Nuckols Street, in Red Oak. Both were charged with Violation of a No Contact Order. They were transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $300 cash-only bonds, each.

BURLINGTON, Iowa (KCRG) – A Burlington, Iowa man was arrested and faces charges of attempted murder and child endangerment for allegedly shooting his father in the face over an argument about stinky feet. KCRG-TV reports a criminal complaint says 48-year-old David Carpenter called police on Sunday, admitting to the shooting and that his child was in the room where the incident happened.

Police responded to a home in the 2000 block of Monarch Drive in Burlington at around 9:30 p.m. on Aug. 11. The father was taken to the hospital for his injuries. Officers at the scene said there were two children under the age of 14 at the home.

Detectives said the father was in the hospital when he told them that he and his son, David, were having a heated argument about David’s stinky feet. A criminal complaint for David Carpenter says he made a comment about shooting his father as the argument escalated. Then David allegedly went into his bedroom to retrieve a firearm, before walking back to the living room where his father was sitting in a motorized scooter.

The complaint says David was yelling at his father about guns when he pulled the firearm out from behind his back, pointed at his father’s face, and accidentally pulled the trigger. Detectives said David admitted that at least one of his kids was in the living room watching TV when the incident happened.

Carpenter faces charges of Attempted Murder and Child Endangerment. Officials have not reported the condition of the father who was injured in the shooting.

(Radio Iowa) – Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United States is on a tour of Midwest states, to discuss the stakes in Ukraine’s battle with Russia. Ambassador Oksana Markarova says she was encouraged by conversations she had during her visit to the Iowa State Fair yesterday (Tuesday). “So many people just said that they keep us in their prayers and there is nothing more I want to hear because this is what we need in this moment, you know, more prayers and more weapons,” Markarova said.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022 and this past week thousands of Ukrainian troops have crossed into Russian territory.  “We are the army that actually is holding the ground against Russia, which was supposed to be the second most powerful army on the globe,” she says. Last week, the Pentagon announced the U-S has provided over 55 BILLION dollars in military assistance to Ukraine in the past two and a half years.

Markarova says the U-S is Ukraine’s number one strategic partner, but Ukraine’s war time experience is of value to the U-S as well as Europeans. “We have now the largest battle tested army among all our of friends and allies,” Markarov said. “…The reason why we want to be members of the NATO is not for NATO to defend us, but for NATO to become stronger because we will have a lot to contribute to it.”

Markarova also met with Governor Reynolds, Des Moines city leaders and U.S. Senator Joni Ernst yesterday (Tuesday). Her trip was arranged by the German Marshall Fund, an organization that promotes alliances among the U-S and European nations.

(Radio Iowa) – The Democratic candidate in Iowa’s second congressional district is calling for repeal of the IOWA law that bans most abortions and an end to the taxpayer funded accounts for private K-through-12 students in Iowa. Sarah Corkery of Cedar Falls, says those issues can motivate potential supporters of her bid to unseat Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson.

“I say: ‘If you’re mad about women’s rights and you’re mad about education, you’ve got to turn up in Iowa to get anything done,'” Corkery says. Corkery, whose father is a retired Lutheran minister, says Iowa’s private schools are lovely places, but the vast majority are Christian schools.

“We are Christianizing the next generation and it’s not right,” Corkery says. “We should all be able to have our own beliefs and our own thoughts.” Corkery would support a bill in the U-S House to make abortion legal in all 50 states, by putting the language from the overturned Roe v Wade decision in federal law.

Sarah Corkery, Democratic candidate in Iowa’s second congressional district, speaks at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 13, 2014 (RI photo)

“I truly believe all medical decisions should be between a person and a doctor and there should be no government involvement in this conversation at all,” Corkery says, “so we’ve got a long ways to go from a six week ban to where it’s just a protected health care decision.”

Corkery made her comments late Tuesday afternoon at the Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair.

Des Moines, IA – Butter sculptor extraordinaire, Sarah Pratt, on Monday bestowed State Auditor Rob Sand with the honor of naming the 2024 Iowa State Fair Butter Cow. Without hesitation, Sand paid homage to his cow-naming predecessor, Brogan Malcolm who grew up in Truro, Iowa. “Brogan named the butter cow for 10 years and her story can inspire all of us,” said Sand. “So, it makes perfect sense that this year’s butter cow be named after her.”

Malcolm, born without sight, made a tradition of attending the Iowa State Fair with her grandfather, who at the time, called Pratt with a special request. “He called and asked if there was a way that Brogan could have a hands-on experience with the butter cow,” said Pratt, who immediately agreed to allow her into the refrigerated unit housing the butter cow and her companions. “Being a special education teacher, I wanted her to feel the sculpture, to smell the butter, and it became a tradition that was just so lovely.”

Sand and Pratt with Butter Cow

Brogan with Butter Cow

Malcolm, now 20 years old, says she distinctly remembers the smell of the butter, which is recycled year after year. “It smelled old,” said Malcolm jokingly. The decade-long, Iowa State Fair pastime solidified the bond between Malcolm, Pratt, and Pratt’s two daughters who have helped sculpt the 600-pound butter bovine on and off since their mother took over the job in 2006.

Malcolm currently interns at a daycare center where she reads to children from books written in Braille, and will soon graduate from Des Moines Public Schools’ Secondary Transition Employment Program (STEP).  “Brogan teaches us an important lesson,” said Sand. “What some might view as a disability, is really just a different way of experiencing the world.”

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department says there were no injuries during a collision this (Tuesday) afternoon, but a brand new car sustained several thousand dollars damage. According to the police report, a pickup truck driven by 55-year old Shawn Bakken, of Creston, was stopped at the posted T-intersection of Devoe and Sumner Streets.

Bakken saw a truck with a trailer making a right hand lane turn in the close lane/right lane, with a vehicle behind it in the same lane. A 2024 Subaru Outback driven by 49-year-old Kerri Stode, of Orient, was traveling north in the left lane. The pickup pulled out to make a left turn south, but Bakken didn’t see the Subaru on the other side of the trailer.

When the pickup pulled out in front of the car, the vehicles collided. The accident happened at around 1:50-p.m. Police say the 2021 Chevy Silverado sustained an estimated $1,000/minor damage, while the Subaru sustained damage estimated at $7,000.

The Police report said Bakken failed to yield the right-of-way from a stop sign, but there were no citations issued.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Sheriff’s Office today (Tuesday), released a report on arrests that occurred from July 26th to August 12th (today).

On August 12th, 2024, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office arrested Andrew Nickum, 35, of Casey, on a warrant for Theft 5th Degree.  Nickum was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked; and 33-year-old Jennifer Avey, of Casey, was arrested on a warrant for Theft 5th Degree.  Avey was transported to the Cass County Jail where she was booked and held pending her later release after her initial appearance.

Four arrests took place Sunday (August 11th), in Cass County: 54-year-old Craig Griffin, of Atlantic, was  arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance – 2nd Offense, Possession of Marijuana – 2nd Offense and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.  Griffin was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on his own recognizance; 33-year-old Tera Reyes, of Atlantic, was arrested for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.  Reyes was transported to the Cass County Jail where she was booked and held pending her later release on her own recognizance.; 57-year-old Danny Devore, of Cumberland, was arrested on a warrant for a Controlled Substance Violation as well as an additional charge of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.  Devore was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held; and 49-year-old Stacey Ashton, of Elk Horn, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance.  Ashton was transported to the Cass County Jail where she was booked and held pending her later release on her own recognizance.

On August 10th, Cass County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 36-year-old Timothy Chandler, of Atlantic, on the charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance, Possession of Marijuana and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.  Chandler was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on his own recognizance. And, 33-year-old Morgan Leeder, of Lewis, was arrested on three charges of Child Endangerment as well as Interference with Official Acts.  Leeder was transported to the Cass County Jail where she was booked and held pending her later release on bond.

On August 7th, 2024, the Cass County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Jeremy Nolan, 43, of Westville, IL, on the charges of Driving while Revoked, Providing False Identification to Law Enforcement and Speed.  Nolan was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on bond.

On August 6th, 2024, 69-year-old Ricky Roby, of Atlantic, was arrested on two warrants for Possession of Methamphetamine.  Roby was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on bond.

On August 4th, 2024, 65-year-old Timothy Meyer, of Massena, was arrested on the charges of OWI 1st Offense, Driving Under Suspension and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.  Meyer was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on his own recognizance.

On August 2nd, 2024, Edward Neff, 34, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Child Endangerment causing Bodily Injury.  Neff was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held.

On July 29th, 2024, 45-year-old Ronnie Chandler, of Avoca, was arrested for OWI 1st Offense and Open Container.  Chandler was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on his own recognizance.

On July 26th, 2024, 22-year-old Walter Sanchez-Balcazar, of Kennesaw, GA, was arrested for Trespass 1st Offense.  Sanchez-Balcazar was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on his own recognizance.

All criminal charges are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in the court of law.