(Radio Iowa) – All six members of the leadership team for the 36 Democrats in the Iowa House this year are women. “First of all, it’s history making and I think that’s worth noting.” That’s House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst. After each election, Republicans AND Democrats in both the House and Senate meet privately to choose senators and representatives to serve in leadership positions. This is the first time one of those four partisan groups will have women in every leadership post. “We’re going to continue to make sure that the voices that need to be heard from across the state are heard, including women’s voices, which are sometimes drowned out up here, let’s be honest,” Konfrst says.

Lindsay James of Dubuque is minority whip, the number two Democrat in the Iowa House. The assistant leaders for House Democrats are Representatives Sue Cahill of Marshalltown, Heather Matson of Ankeny, Amy Nielsen of North Liberty and Sharon Steckman of Mason City. Konfrst, who has been House Minority Leader since mid-2021, posted a photo of the group on social media. “I got a letter from a little girl who’s a third grader, that said she was so excited to see all girls in charge,” Konfrst says. “What they see is what they can be and so if we can show that women can lead, I think it’s really important for future generations.”

Republican Linda Upmeyer of Clear Lake is the only women to be elected by her peers to serve as Speaker of the House, a role she held from the fall of 2015 through late 2019. Republican Mary Lundy of Marion is the only women to be elected to be a floor leader in the Iowa Senate. Lundy held the position in 2006 and 2007. After this year’s General Election, Senate Republicans chose Amy Sinclair of Allerton to be Senate President. She’s the second woman elected by her peers to that post.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Red Oak Police, Sunday afternoon, arrested 32-year-old Chloe Marguerite Coburn, of Red Oak. She was taken into custody at around 2-p.m., for Violating a No Contact Order. Coburn ran from officers, but was found hiding in an un-related apartment next to a bed. She was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $300 bond.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports two arrests took place early this (New Year’s Day) morning. At around 1:10-a.m., Deputies, along with Red Oak Police, arrested 32-year-old Dylan Thomas Griffeth, on a Red Oak Police Department warrant for Domestic Abuse Assault/2nd offense, a serious misdemeanor. Thomas was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,000 bond. And, just before 3-a.m. today (Sunday), Deputies in Montgomery County initiated a traffic stop in the 1100 block of Highway 71. They ended-up arresting 18-year-old Cole Jacob Thornton, for OWI/1st Offense. He was also being held in the Montgomery County Jail, on $1,000 bond.

Red Oak Police reported also, the arrest at around 1:36-a.m. today (Sunday), of 54-year-old Richard James Linfor, of Red Oak. He was arrested following a traffic stop near 8th Street & Sunset Avenue in Red Oak, for driving while license revoked through the State of Iowa. Linfor was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors will meet 9-a.m. Monday, Jan. 2nd, in-person and via telephone conference call. On their agenda is the election of a Board Chair and Vice-Chair person, along with approving Deputy/Assistant Clerk appointments from Recorder, Treasurer and Attorney. There will also be a Public Hearing at 9:15-a.m., with regard to a FY23 Budget Amendment, followed by action on a Resolution to approve the amendment, and action on an Appropriations Resolution.

Here is their full agenda:

9:00 a.m.

• Oath of Office
• Elect Chairman and Vice Chairman
• Organizational Resolution
• Approve Deputy/Assistant/Clerk Appointments from Recorder, Treasurer, and Attorney
• Approve resolution authorizing chairperson to sign documents
• Travel Policy Resolution
• Set holiday closing dates for county offices
• Master Matrix Resolution
• FY23 Audit Services
• Designate official newspapers
• Claims
• Taxable Mileage
• Appointments of Supervisors to area boards/commissions and alternates:

Adair County Safety Committee; Adair County Tourism; Adair County Wellness; Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Zion); Broadband Study, Greater Des Moines Partnership; ATURA (Regional ISTEA); ATURA (Regional ISTEA) alternate; Crossroads Mental Health; DHS Advisory Board-Des Moines Service Area (2 members); De-Cat Governing Board for Creston Cluster; DNR Contact Person; E911 Adair County Board; E911 Seven County Board/Alternate; Emergency Management, Local Comm; Empowerment; Enterprise Zone Commission; Fifth Judicial District Corrections; Fifth Judicial District, Alternate; Hungry Canyons Alliance; Innovative Industries; Integrated Roadside Management; Jensen-Butler Foundation; JTPA-LEO/Workforce Investment Act; Landfill Board & Alternates; Loess Hills Development & Conservation; MATURA; Midwest Partnership; Middle River/North River Watershed; RC and D Committee; REAP; SICOG; Southern Hills CPC 28E Board; Southern Hills CPC 28E Board Alternate; Southern Iowa Trolley Board

• Appoint ADA Coordinator
• Approve Condemnation Board
• Appoint Conservation Board Member
• Appoint Board of Health Member
• Appoint Medical Examiner and Deputy Medical Examiners
• Appoint Civil Service Members
• Appoint RC&D Committee Member
• Appointment of Weed Commissioner

9:15 a.m. Public Hearing – FY23 Budget Amendment

Resolution to Approve Budget Amendment

Appropriations Resolution

Nick Kauffman, County Engineer

• Empowerment of County Engineer
• Designation of County Engineer to Authorize Utility, Telecommunication Permits
• Compensation for Fence
• Title VI Non-Discrimination Policy
• Authorizing Personnel to Issue Permits
• Report Maintenance and Activities

The conference phone will still be used for those who cannot attend in person and can be accessed by using the following dial in information:

Dial in Number: (605) 313-6157           Access Code: 526272#

(Cumberland, Iowa) – Officials with the P.R.I.D.E (Progressive Rural Iowa Development Enterprise) economic & community development organization, have invited area government officials and the public, to a “Pre-session Legislative Forum,” featuring Senator Tom Shipley and Representative Tom Moore. The event takes place Tuesday, January 3rd, from 6:30-until 8-p.m., at the Cumberland Fire Station.

You can listen to what our area Legislators have to say in advance of the January 9th session, and present your topic(s) for discussion.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Lottery plans to move to some more modern methods of payment for prizes in the new year. Lottery spokesperson, Mary Neubauer, says paper checks had been the standard. “It just became obvious pretty quickly that a check, which is the primary form of payment that you will receive, especially if you come to an Iowa Lottery office today, a check just isn’t used as much today, as it once was, ” Neubauer says. She says a working group in the organization studied the options and what Lottery customers want.

“People are looking for options that have, first of all, greater speed, and second of all, more convenience,” she says. Neubauer says cash payments won’t go away, but they do plan to start using prepaid debit cards that allow retailers or Lottery offices to load the prize money onto the card. “So if you go into a store, certainly cash would continue to be an option. But for example, if it’s a store, and it’s late at night, and the store doesn’t have a lot of cash on hand, a lot of times right now that store isn’t able to pay your prize,” Neubauer says. Neubauer says retailers could pay prizes from 20 up to 600 dollars on the cards — while lottery offices could use the prepaid debit cards for prizes from 20 up to five-thousand dollars. They hope to start a pilot project with the debit cards in six months.

The other change would allow prizes that have to be redeemed at Iowa Lottery offices to be made through what’s called an A-C-H payment that goes directly into a person’s bank account. “So the person wouldn’t get a hardcopy check, they wouldn’t have to cash it, they wouldn’t have to, you know, drive somewhere, or do that electronically, the payment would just be made directly into their account,” Neubauer says. “It’s going to take a little bit more time to put that in place, we’re looking at that probably somewhere in the second half of calendar year 2023, or at the end of fiscal year 2023.”

The A-C-H prize payments could go up to five million dollars. Neubauer says they are only making a couple of changes because they have to be very careful about the security surrounding the prize money. “There are so many forms of payment available in the marketplace today, especially when it comes to you know, consumers just paying each other money or sending money to each other. But we have to make sure that the security procedures in place and that whatever payment option we would be looking at that it has staying power,” she says. Neubauer says the large jackpots from lotto games would still be paid out by wire transfer, as that is the safest method.

(Elliott, Iowa) – A traffic stop at around 2:08-a.m. today (Saturday), in Montgomery County, resulted in the arrest of a woman on a warrant. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports the traffic stop was conducted at 5th and Elm Streets, in Elliott. Upon further investigation, Deputies arrested 24-year-old Ashley Nicole Fitzwater, on a Page County Class-D Felony warrant for Possession of Contraband in a Correctional Facility.

(Cass County, Iowa) – Griswold Rescue and Cass EMS crews were paged at around 4:46-p.m. to the scene of a rollover accident. The crash was located near 60100 Yankton Road. A Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy was on-scene with the victim, who complained of pain, but the extent of their injuries was unknown. The driver was out of the vehicle with the deputy at last report.

No other details are currently available.

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa woman and her husband from the small town of Swan south of Des Moines will be in New York for a special one million dollar Powerball drawing. Chris Manuel of Swan is among 29 nationwide finalists for the Powerball First Millionaire of the Year drawing on New Year’s Eve. The winner will be announced just after during A-B-C’s broadcast of “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” from Times Square. The 60-year-old Manuel is a locksmith who has undergone cancer surgery and radiation treatments — and says says the money would be a big boost.

“I see retiring early you know, I still got another year and a half but if I would win the money and I could retire a year early and enjoy this time with my husband,” she says. This is the fourth consecutive year for the Powerball First Millionaire of the Year promotion, and the first time since the inaugural edition in 2019 that finalists get to travel to New York City for the event. Manuel said she’s heard from nearly everyone in her Marion County community of 76 about her win, and she expect them to be watching. “My next door neighbor who I know she has told everybody and anybody about it so yeah there’s gonna be a lot of people watching,” she says. Manuel’s husband Randy says he thought it was going to be something bad when she told him she had something to tell him.

Chris & Randy Manuel

“She told me that her name was drawn. You sure? That’s what they said. She wasn’t sure either….I mean she’s pretty lucky so hopefully her luck keeps going,” he says. Each of this year’s finalists receives an exclusive trip for two to New York valued at more than 28-thousand dollars that includes round-trip airfare; a three-night hotel stay in Times Square; two tickets to a theater performance and other iconic excursions; all meals while in New York, one-thousand dollars spending cash. Just after the ball drops to usher in the New Year, Powerball’s First Millionaire of the Year will be announced live on the national broadcast at 11 p-m Iowa time.