As Ranking Member of the Senate Small Business Committee, Ernst plans to recognize a small business in every one of Iowa’s 99 counties. 

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Ranking Member of the Senate Small Business Committee, today announced her first Small Business of the Week for 2023: Guthrie County Quality Meats. Throughout this Congress, Ranking Member Ernst plans to recognize a small business in every one of Iowa’s 99 counties.   Ernst has been traveling Iowa from river to river visiting with small business owners, hearing the concerns of job creators, and celebrating the successes of Iowa’s entrepreneurs. Recently, she had the honor of presenting the owner of Guthrie County Quality Meats, Grant Sheeder, with a Congressional Record recognizing his small business.

“I’m proud to name Guthrie County Quality Meats my first Small Business of the Week for 2023! Grant’s vision to bring a meat locker to Guthrie Center has come to fruition: Guthrie County Quality Meats is now a full-service butcher and retail business. I look forward to seeing this Iowa small business continue to grow,” said Ranking Member Ernst. 

Senator Joni Ernst presents Grant Sheeder with the Congressional Record honoring his business.

Guthrie County Quality Meats, owned by Grant Sheeder, is located in Guthrie Center, Iowa, and provides locally sourced meat for both custom order and retail customers. The business recently opened its butchering facility and retail space, a service requested by the community. Along with serving as a meat locker, the business offers a wide array of locally sourced products including pies, ice cream, and more.

(Radio Iowa) – A Fort Dodge barista got the surprise of his life when he was escorted to the parking lot at his worksite and found that some of his customers had joined together to buy him a car. Taylor Bratland has worked at the Starbucks inside the Target in Fort Dodge for about two and a half years. “I was incredibly blown away,” Bratland says. “I did not think anything like this was going to happen, especially on a random Thursday night in January.”

Linette Nelson spearheaded the project. She and her husband first met Bratland when they walked into the coffee shop and had no idea what to order. “Taylor approached us and asked us if he could help us pick out anything and I just asked him, from there: ‘What would you recommend?'” Nelson says, “and he was extremely excited to put together a surprise order for my husband and I.” Nelson wrote a Facebook post about the experience and found out the barista had many fans in the Fort Dodge area. “Looking back at that experience and interaction that my husband and I had with him, you could just tell he was just extremely kind in his genuiness that he shows to people,” Nelson says.

Nelson also discovered Bratland had been walking to work — even on the most frigid days — because he did not have a car. “From all the comments that were on the post that I put on Facebook, it’s very obvious that he is well loved around the community,” Nelson says. “…Everybody was more than happy when we started adding to them to that group chat to get involved and see how we could make this happen for Taylor.”

Nelson says it took about two days for a group of people to put the plan together and get Bratland a used car.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports four recent arrests. A little before 1-a.m. Sunday, Officers arrested 52-year-old Brent John Thompson, of Shannon City, was arrested at Highway 34 and Birch Street, in Creston. Thompson was charged with OWI/1st offense, and Interference with Official Acts. He was later released on a $1,300 bond. Just before 3-a.m., Saturday, Creston Police arrested 47-year-old Xochitl Mari Cruz De Rodriguez, of Texas, for OWI/1st offense. She was transported to the Adams County Jail and later released on a $1,000 bond.

Friday night, 21-year-old Malachi Shon Elms, of Orient, was arrested for Disorderly Conduct, Public Intoxication, and Interference with Official Acts. He was being held in the Union County Jail on a $900 bond. That same night, 18-year-old Riley Dean Stark, of Kellerton, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. He was later released on a $1,000 bond.

A Creston man reported at around 2:25-a.m. Friday, that sometime between Jan. 13th and Feb. 9th, someone entered his apartment in the 500 block of W. Montgomery Street, and stole a Glock handgun, two Glock cases, and a Glock 19 holster. The loss was estimated at $500.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office says no injuries were reported after an SUV struck a deer Saturday evening. Authorities say a 2018 Subaru Forester driven by 67-year-old Kirk Douglas O’Riley, of Lenox, was traveling west on Highway 34 at around 6-p.m., Saturday, when the vehicle struck a southbound deer on the roadway.

The vehicle sustained about $4,000 damage.

(Emerson, Iowa) – Sheriff’s Deputies attempting to initiate a traffic stop Saturday night near Emerson, were lead on a chase that ended with an arrest. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports the incident began at around 9:24-p.m. with a traffic stop in the 1300 block of A Avenue. The driver of the vehicle began to elude deputies, resulting in the pursuit, which traversed several miles on gravel roads, at speeds of up to 94 miles per hour.

The driver made several attempts to lose pursuing officers. The vehicle turned onto 110th Street and westbound into Mills County. Once on pavement, the vehicle increased speed to 110 mph. It came upon the intersection with Highway 59 and hit a large bump, causing damage to the vehicle, but it continued westbound on Brothers Avenue, before turning north onto 395th Street, where it came to rest due to mechanical damage.

The driver, 61-year-old James Edward Wiese, of Red Oak, was arrested on an aggravated misdemeanor charge of Eluding. His passenger was released without charges.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office was assisted during the incident, by the Montgomery County Communications Center, Mills County Sheriff’s Office, Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa State Patrol and Henderson Fire Department,

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak, Sunday afternoon, arrested 21-year-old Chad Stanley Padilla, of Red Oak, on a trio of charges. Padilla was taken into custody for: Disorderly Conduct; two counts of Interference with Official Acts – one of which is a Class D felony; and a Simple Misdemeanor charge of Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree. Padilla was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $5,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa G-O-P’s chairman says there will be layer upon layer of safeguards for voting in the 2024 Iowa Republican Party’s Caucuses that will kick off the G-O-P’s presidential campaign.  “Any system we use will have multiple checks and it will be open to anyone in the media, any Republican to take a look at it,” Kaufmann says. Jeff Kaufmann was just re-elected to another term as chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa. He also led the party during the 2016 and 2020 Iowa Caucuses.

“We’re going to be aware of all the shenanigans that can potentially occur, especially if it’s just the GOP,” Kaufmann says. “We all know if it’s just the GOP Caucuses, there’s going to be a lot more people interested in the GOP not being able to get this right.” The Democratic National Committee voted earlier this month to replace the Iowa Democratic Party’s Caucuses and have the South Carolina Primary kick-off voting as Democrats select a presidential nominee.

Kaufmann says he’s not ready to give up on Iowa Democrats somehow getting that decision reversed. However, Kaufmann has assembled a committee to consider what needs to happen to ensure an Iowa voter doesn’t participate in the Iowa G-O-P’s Caucuses AND in the Democratic Party’s Caucuses, if they’re not on the same night. “We are having conversations about that very potential problem,” Kaufmann says, “and that would not be in the spirit of the Caucuses and we are searching for solutions.”

Kaufmann says the pressure’s on because there will be Republicans in other states lobbying to end the Iowa G-O-P’s first in the nation status if something goes wrong here next year.”We are working overtime and have been in terms of how to make sure that this Caucus, that’s entirely funded by the party unlike a primary — taxpayer dollars don’t go into this and making it right and making sure the country and the 168 (Republican National Committee) members know…we can handle this,” Kaufmann says. “And we will.”

Kaufmann made his comments during this weekend’s “Iowa Press” program on Iowa P-B-S.

(Radio Iowa) – Arizona Republican Kari Lake is urging Iowans to ask the presidential candidates who’ll be campaigning here where they stand on election integrity.  “I don’t care is they call us election deniers,” Lake said. “I’m an election reform advocate. That’s what I am.” Lake lost her 2022 race for Arizona governor by 17-thousand votes. She’s asking the Arizona Court of Appeals to revive her lawsuit alleging illegal voting and problems with ballot printers cost her the election. Lake, an Iowa native, drew large crowds at events in Bettendorf and Ankeny this weekend.

“We’re off the sidelines. We are ready to hire people — I say ‘hire.’ I mean, ‘vote for,’ but we’re really hiring them for the job — who are going to go and represent us and give us back our government,” Lake said, “because we’re tired of it being tied up with a bunch of crooks and criminals.” Lake’s events had the features of an Iowa Caucus campaign stop. After addressing the crowds from a stage, she lingered to speak with individual Iowans, but Lake told reporters she’s a big supporter of Donald Trump’s campaign to return to the White House and does not plan to run for president herself.

(Muscatine County, Iowa) – A collision between an SUV and a pickup truck Sunday afternoon north of Muscatine, left three people dead and six others injured. According to the Iowa State Patrol, a 2019 Toyota Highlander SUV was traveling east on County Road F-70 at around 2:30-p.m., at the same time a 2012 Dodge Ram pickup was traveling north on Highway 38.

The SUV failed to stop at the controlled intersection and was struck by the pickup truck. The name of the dead and injured were not immediately released. The accident remains under investigation.

The patrol was assisted at the crash scene by Muscatine Sheriff’s Deputies and Police, Wilton Fire and Muscatine Fire/EMS.

[UPDATED 6:30-P.M. (Atlantic, Iowa) – Firefighters, medics and law enforcement responded to the scene of a garage fire in Atlantic, Sunday evening. The blaze was reported at around 4:38-p.m.  Law enforcement on the scene said the structure located south and nearly adjacent to 807 E. 6th Street, was fully engulfed in flames. Thick black smoke from the fire could be seen for blocks.

The occupants were able to escape the home. Atlantic Fire Chief Tom Cappel told KJAN News flames from the garage spread to the south side of the house, as well.

The owner apparently was able to save a classic Ford Mach 1 from the fire, but the vehicle sustained some damage to its bumper/front end. As for the cause of the blaze…

A male resident of the home was transported to CCMH for treatment of smoke inhalation. Crews remained on the scene for about 90-minutes. Cappel thanked everyone who helped out at the scene.

(Ric Hanson/Photos)