(Radio Iowa) – Some Iowa Christmas tree growers are concerned damage done by the drought could limit their supply in the next few years. Country Pines Farm owner, Justin Pritts, says last year’s lack of snow led to a loss of 100 fully grown Christmas trees at his operation in Marcus — and he also lost around one third of the saplings this year to drought.  “My big concern is going to be six or seven years down the road, if these little ones don’t start taking off or we lose more over the wintertime, I mean, we’re going to be in trouble down the road,” Pitts says.

Pritts says it takes around seven years for his trees to mature. He says the farm may have to rely more on getting trees from places like Michigan and Wisconsin where drought isn’t as pervasive. Robin Miller operates T&S Christmas Tree Farm near Hawarden in northwest Iowa. She says they usually lose around 25 percent of trees planted — but the drought pushed that number is up to 90 percent. ” I’ve been losing trees, I would say, it’s been all of three years. So that puts me at, you know, four years from now, I’m not going to have any of those trees. And there’s really no way to make up that time,” Miller says.

Miller says she’s especially worried about the supply of fir trees, which have taken the biggest hit. She fears she won’t be able to stock that popular tree type in the furture following the drought losses.

(reporting by Kendall Crawford, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans are being warned to look over their credit card statements during these first days of the new year as there may be charges for unwanted subscription services. Consumer protection advocate Michael Domke says many people agree to sample services for an introductory fee and don’t realize they’re being charged every month — or that the price went up.  “You may have signed up for online streaming service two or three years ago when it was a good deal,” Domke says, “and it’s auto-renewing and you’re not even recognizing that that fee has increased annually.”

The fine print can sometimes be tricky, and Domke says you also might have signed up for a subscription without even realizing it. “Even myself, I’ve fallen victim to that, thinking I was just signing up to explore something and next thing I know, there’s a monthly fee on the credit card,” he says. With so much click-bait on social media outlets, Domke says it’s very easy to get duped into paying — or overpaying — for an app or service these days.  “I think people would be surprised how many times they may sign up for that free trial, and either forget to cancel it or went past the trial,” he says, “or started paying for something they didn’t realize they were gonna get into.”

Domke says to go through your credit card and bank statements, line by line, to make sure you’re not paying for something you don’t use or don’t want.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Sheriff’s Office, Monday, released a report on arrests.

On Dec. 31st, 52-year-old Michelle Marie Waldhauser, of Orient, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault, and Going Armed with Intent. She was being held in the Adair County Jail on a $5,000 (Cash or Surety) Bond; And, 20-year-old Oscar Manuel Ramirez Betancourt, of Thornton, CO, was arrested at around 1:50-a.m., Saturday, for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He was subsequently released from the scene with a citation.

Last Friday (Dec. 30), 64-year-old Dianna Marie Ricketts, of Perry, was arrested in Adel on a felony warrant. She was later released on $2,000 (Cash or surety) bond.

There were two arrests on Dec. 29th, in Adair County: 33-year-old Kenny Joe Cunningham, of Greenfield, was arrested at the Adair County Sheriff’s Office, for Failure to Appear. He remains held without bond in the Adair County Jail; and, 35-year-old Kimberly Marie Baumann-Worth, of Atlantic, was arrested on I-80 near mile marker 83, for OWI/3rd offense, driving while license denied or revoked, assault on a law officer or others – without injury, and interference with official acts. She remains in the Adair County Jail on a $5,000 (c/s) bond.

The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports 47-year-old Justin Lynn Brock, of Des Moines, was arrested by Police in Stuart, for Theft in the 1st Degree, and False information for citation. His bond was set at $10,000 (c/s).  And, on Dec. 26th, 45-year-old Ismael Prieto Hipolito, of Des Moines, was arrested on the I-80 EB on-ramp near Menlo, for OWI/3rd Offense, and Stop/Stand/Park Prohibited. He was released on a $5,000 bond (c/s) later that same day.

Additional details concerning the aforementioned arrests was not available.

“It should be noted a criminal charge is merely an accusation the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.”

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – Officials with the Council Bluffs Police Department report Officers were dispatched at around 8-a.m. today (Monday), to the area of I-80 westbound, at mile marker 1, for a man who was experiencing a personal crisis, and had climbed up onto the signage board over the roadway.

Council Bluff Police negotiators, with the assistance of the Council Bluffs Fire Department, utilized a ladder/aerial truck to get close to and speak with the man. They were able to talk him into coming down and going for help.

During the incident, the I-80 West Express lanes were shut down, and traffic was re-routed into I-80 west local lanes, which caused minimal disruption to traffic. The Express Lanes were re-opened at around 9:05-a.m.  The name of the subject involved in the incident will not be released, according to Police.

(Radio Iowa) – With the Christmas and New Year’s holidays behind us and the cold reality settling in of three months of winter ahead, some Iowans may find themselves feeling like a dark cloud is looming overhead. Annette Shipley, a program therapist for seniors at Van Diest Medical Center in Webster City, says we all go through physiological changes when we start having less sunlight in our days. “When we have the lack of sunlight, sunlight gives us vitamin D, a very important nutrient in our body that helps give us energy, makes us feel good,” Shipley says. “When we don’t get outside in those winter months, we’re going to feel a lot of what’s called the winter blues.” If those blues last more than a few days, it may be Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD. Shipley says there’s a long list of potential symptoms.

Shipley says, “If you’re feeling depressed most of the day nearly every day, if you’re losing interest in your activities you once enjoyed, if you have low energy, having problems with sleeping, experiencing changes in your appetite or weight, feeling sluggish or agitated, having difficulty concentrating, feeling hopeless or worthless or guilty.” About five-percent of adults in the U.S. experience SAD and it typically lasts about 40-percent of the year. Also, it’s more common among women than men. “A lot of those symptoms are related to depression as well,” Shipley says. “Because of SAD, it only happens during the changing of the seasons, so that’s how we know the difference between the two.”

There are things you can do to boost your mood, including buying a special light that’s very bright and sitting under it — what’s called light therapy. You can also add foods to your diet that are rich in Vitamin B-12, like beef and other protein-rich foods, and increase your intake of food with Omega-3 fatty acids, like fish, and raise your Vitamin D-3 intake. One other easy potential solution — get more sunlight.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors met today (Monday) and elected new Officers. Board member Jerry Walker was elected as Board Chair, taking over from Matt Wedemeyer. John Twombly was elected Vice-Chair, which was the position Walker held for past year. In other administrative matters, the Board opted to keep their regular weekly meetings on Wednesday, at 9-a.m. And, they approved Deputy/Assistant Clerk appointments for the following staff members:

(That’s Board Chair Jerry Walker) The Board also approved the setting of holiday dates for closing county offices, and the County’s Master Matrix Resolution for hog confinements, which is essentially the same as that found in the Code of Iowa. Vice-Chair John Twombly was of the opinion the State’s rating in allowing approval of the Matrix leaves a lot to be desired.

In other administrative matters, the Adair County Supervisors approved: the FY23 Audit Services; the designation of official newspapers for publication of County business; one claim; and Taxable mileage in the amount of $480, for Steve Shelley. They also approved the appointments of Supervisors to area boards and/or commissions, along with Board alternatives.
The Board held a Public Hearing on a FY23 Budget Amendment. Auditor Mandy Berg…

A Resolution to approve the amendment was subsequently approved…

(Casey, Iowa) – One person died after being pulled from a burning home in Casey, Sunday morning. Casey Fire Chief Travis Corder told KJAN News crews were dispatched to 103 W. 3rd Street in Casey, at around 7:19-a.m., Sunday.

The man was identified as Roger Draman, who lived in the home by himself.  An autopsy will be conducted by the State Medical Examiner, to determine the cause of death. An initial investigation determined nothing suspicious as a cause for the blaze, which remains under investigation by the State Fire Marshal’s Office. Casey Firefighters were assisted by Adair Fire and Rescue and the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office.

(Minden, Iowa) – Authorities in western Iowa report one person died as the result of a house fire early Sunday morning. The fire happened at a residence on Park Street, in Minden. KETV in Omaha says the page went out about 4:30-a.m. It took seven different departments hours to get control of the fire. Minden’s fire chief said the family who lives there was babysitting their grandchild for the holiday. He said the grandmother ran out of the house with the child in her arms. A man inside didn’t make it out.

Authorities are not releasing the man’s name at this time. The house appears to be a total loss. Firefighters are investigating what caused the fire.

(Radio Iowa) – A week from now, the 2023 Iowa legislature will convene and Governor Kim Reynolds has made it clear she’ll ask lawmakers to pass what she calls “school choice.” “It’s critical that we have a robust and strong public school system. It’s inherent for our economy and for our future, but it’s equally as important that parents have a say in where their child should be educated,” Reynolds said during an online forum in December. Over the past two years, Reynolds has proposed a limited number of state scholarships for parents who enroll their child in a private school, but she’s now calling for EVERY parent to be able to get state money to cover private school expenses for their child.

“I made this a key priority of mine throughout the campaign,” Reynolds said, “and it will continue to be one of my top priorities as we moved into the next legislative session.” The previous proposals Reynolds made did not have enough Republican votes to pass in the Iowa House. Last June, the governor backed G-O-P primary candidates who defeated a few Republicans who were “no” votes. House Speaker Pat Grassley says he’s optimistic something will pass in 2023. “This was an issue that was a part of all of the campaigns in some form or another,” Grassley says. “Whether it was the governor’s race or every legislative race, this topic was brought up.” Grassley has created an education reform committee that will consider the governor’s new plan, whatever it may be.

“Whether it’s phased in over time, whether it’s everyone at once — there’s a lot of kind of figuring out kind of what the impacts would be of the decisions we make, ” Grassley says. “We’re kind of at the point where we know that’s what we’re going to look at, but we haven’t necessarily had a bill set in stone.” Grassley says there’s a general blueprint, though. “Ultimately the goal here is to make sure that every parent, literally every parent has that opportunity to choose where to send their kid to school,” Grassley says. Senate Republican Leader Jack Whitver says he expects the governor to unveil a “substantial” proposal this month. “That’s something that is important to us. It’s important to the governor. She campaigned on it,” Whitver says. “It was a top priority for her and it’s time for us to deliver on it.”

Senate Republicans passed the governor’s more limited private school scholarship plans in 2021 and 2022. Democrats in the House and Senate oppose spending more state tax dollars on private schools. Senate Democratic Leader Zach Wahls says the idea is of grave concern to rural residents. “Who have already seen the effects of cuts to school funding resulting in school consolidation and who I think are terrified that will accelerate under this voucher scheme, as families use a voucher to send their kid to a different school,” Wahls says, “and the challenge, of course, is that once you lose your school, you can lose your town.” House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst says 42 of Iowa’s 99 counties do not have a private school — so most rural families wouldn’t benefit from the governor’s plan. “When I hear that the governor’s proposing school choice for every parent, there’s just simply no way that that’s possible,” Konfrst says.

Governor Reynolds will deliver the annual “Condition of the State” address on Tuesday, January 10th and she may unveil her major policy ideas during the speech.

(Radio Iowa) – Key Republican lawmakers are making it clear property tax reform will be a priority for the 2023 Iowa legislature, which starts next Monday. Senate Republican Leader Jack Whitver suggests it may take a while to come up with a plan, though. “All options are on the table with property taxes,” Whitver says. “It’s a really complicated issue and so we’re really taking a holistic look at it to see what is the best long-term strategy as far as property tax goes.” Whitver and other legislators say it’s among the least popular forms of taxation. “You can look back at bumper stickers from the 1950s and ’60s and see people that were concerned about property taxes and those concerns still exist today and, with how complicated our system is, it’s not something that gets fixed in one year or one session or even one decade, ” Whitver says, “but we have to try to make progress.”

In 1934, the Iowa Legislature enacted a statewide sales tax and a state income tax as a property tax relief measures. House Speaker Pat Grassley says the property tax is among the hardest taxes to cut. He cites the recent move to have the state rather than counties pay for more than 100 million dollars worth of mental health services — but property taxes didn’t get cut by the same amount. “So I think what you’re going to see in what we’re working on is a combination of making sure we can provide relief through the state mechanisms we have, putting dollars into it, but also making sure that at the local level the taxpayer is seeing that,” Grassley says. More than 40 percent of the property taxes collected in Iowa go to public schools.

State funding for schools is based on a per student formula and House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst notes state law lets schools with declining enrollment raise local property taxes to keep their budgets stable from year to year. “The continual defunding of education across the state has led to an increase of property taxes, so we want to make sure that we’re being fair to the property owners while making sure that all Iowans’ priorities are met,” Konfrst says. In 2013, Governor Branstad approved a plan primarily designed to reduce commercial property taxes. Senate Democratic Leader Zach Wahls says Democrats favor property tax relief targeted to individuals, not corporations.

“I think that we’re ready and willing to work with Republicans to provide relief,” Wahls says. “What we don’t want is another huge tax giveaway to the ultra-rich and big corporations that leaves communities and middle class families shortchanged.” In 1992, Branstad signed a law that limited annual city and county property tax growth to the rate of inflation through 1995. Iowans for Tax Relief has called for a two-year freeze on property taxes, to give legislators time to come up with comprehensive changes to the system.