KJAN News can be heard at five minutes after every hour right after Fox News 24 hours a day!
Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
KJAN News can be heard at five minutes after every hour right after Fox News 24 hours a day!
Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court rules an antique muzzleloading rifle is a firearm under state law. Adam Rhodes bought a replica muzzleloader rifle and killed a deer with it in Des Moines County in 2021. The D-N-R investigated reports of the big deer being shot and found Rhodes had been convicted of third-degree burglary in 2004 and he was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Rhodes appealed the charge saying the state should follow the federal law which does not classify muzzleloaders as firearms.
The Muzzleloader purchased by Rhodes.
The Iowa Supreme Court disagreed, saying the Iowa legislature declined to exempt antique firearms from the felon-in-possession law and the Court will not add an exception that the legislature chose to omit.
Pottawattamie County, Iowa – Officials in Pottawattamie County said today (Friday), “As the countywide response to the tornado events of April 26th and May 6th transitions into the intermediate phase of recovery, public use of the established rural tree debris staging site is seeing significantly decreased public traffic. In order to maximize staffing efficiency for ongoing disaster recovery priorities the rural tree debris staging site will move to an appointment-based operational schedule effective immediately.
Rural residents of Pottawattamie County impacted by the April 26th or May 6th tornadoes can make an appointment to drop off tree and vegetative debris. Residents can call 712-328-5608 during normal business hours (M-F, 7am-3:30pm) to schedule a drop-off. Appointments should be made with a 2-hour lead time for Monday through Friday between the hours of 9am-5pm. Weekend appointments will also be offered but the appointment must be made during the normal work week in order to schedule. Any appointment will be considered cancelled if the resident is over 30 minutes late.
The county tree debris staging site will cease operations on May 24th.
As a reminder, only vegetative debris will be accepted. Loads including scrap metal, lumber, and other material will be denied.
Map of best routes to drop-off location:
(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Glenwood Police Department reports two people were arrested on separate charges, Thursday. 48-year-old Amy Hunter, of Glenwood, was arrested for driving while barred (bond set at $2,000.00 cash or surety). And, 35-year-old Samuel Rosas Saldivar, of Malvern, was arrested Thursday for OWI 1st offense (bond set at $1,000.00 cash or surety – posted bond).
DES MOINES, Iowa [KCCI] — A pro-Palestinian rally ended Thursday evening, with several protestors being escorted out of the Neal Smith Federal Building by federal law enforcement. KCCI reports the Catholic Peace Ministry and the Des Moines chapter of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom hosted the rally in front of the downtown Des Moines building to urge Iowa’s senators to stop sending aid to Israel. A handful of demonstrators went inside the federal building where Sen. Joni Ernst and Sen. Chuck Grassley’s offices are. Luke Clausen was one of them that made it inside. He told KCCI they met with congressional staffers, delivering a list of names of people killed in Gaza and handing them flowers.
Clausen, along with a few others, then went up to the congressional offices and refused to leave after the building closed at five. He said he was issued an $80 citation. Clausen said he was told that he, along with others, would be arrested for trespassing if they go back without reason to. As demonstrators were inside, people outside were chanting and singing while holding flags and signs. They called out Ernst and Grassley by name several times.
In a statement made to KCCI, a spokesperson for Grassley’s office said: “Sen. Grassley affirms Americans’ right to peacefully protest, while reaffirming his support for Israel’s right to defend itself from the terrorist group Hamas. Israel has taken necessary, targeted measures to respond to Hamas’ attacks while working to minimize civilian casualties. Labeling Israel’s actions as genocide is inappropriate and incorrect.”
DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says many times, environmental improvement comes as a result of an enforcement action. That takes place when people choose to circumvent the law or do not understand the full impact of their actions on the environment. To that end, the DNR on Thursday (May 9th), said a consent order was issued against Waspy’s Truck Wash, LLC., in Audubon. A consent order is issued as an alternative to issuing an administrative order. A consent order indicates that the DNR has voluntarily entered into a legally enforceable agreement with the other party. The Order was issued to Waspy’s, to address discharges of wastewater to a publicly owned treatment works in volumes or quantities in excess of its treatment agreement. (View the Consent Order here: 6385075121705664052024WW03)
Officials say Waspy’s must “Comply with the treatment agreement effective April 7, 2016 or a new treatment agreement if one is accepted by the DNR; submit a plan of action to the DNR for approval that details a compliance plan to meet the treatment agreement’s limits; and pay a $8,000 administrative penalty.”
The DNR is charged with ensuring compliance with State of Iowa environmental laws and rules. Officials say the compliance portion of the DNR improves the environment through educating citizens and promoting awareness of the environmental impacts of our actions and awareness of applicable law. DNR staff work with individuals, businesses and communities to help them protect our natural resources by complying with state and federal laws.
In the few cases where compliance cannot be achieved, the DNR issues enforcement actions. You can find the entire, original orders on DNR’s website at www.iowadnr.gov/EnforcementActions
(Harlan, Iowa) – Shelby County Auditor Mark Maxwell reminds voters in his county that in-person absentee voting for the June Primary Election in the Shelby County Auditor’s Office, begins May 15th. Maxwell says you must declare a party the day you vote to receive a Democrat, Libertarian or Republican Ballot. If you change parties when you vote in the primary, you can not change back to your original party until the election is canvassed.
With the 2024 election processes already underway, questions regarding voter registration, polling information, absentee voting and more are sure to pop up. When questions do arise, it’s imperative you get the accurate and prompt answers you need to successfully participate in our democracy. Mark Maxwell says it’s not wise to seek election information from anyone other than your state or local election officials. He says he is “Joining the Iowa Secretary of State’s office in their support #TrustedInfo2024—a nonpartisan public education initiative highlighting the importance of always getting trusted, credible election information directly from election officials.”
Vote Early
For quick access to your voter registration and status, polling locations, voter ID requirements, information on becoming a poll worker, and more, go to VoterReady.Iowa.Gov. If you have friends and family in another state, encourage them to visit CanIVote.org, which is an excellent resource to get them started. This nonpartisan site will take eligible voters directly to the correct information on their state’s election website.
Learn more about voting in Iowa at SOS.Iowa.Gov or call the Shelby County Auditor’s office 755-3831 ext. 6
(Audubon, Iowa) – The Audubon County Secondary Roads Department reports Yellowwood Road will be closed to thru traffic, beginning Monday, May 13th. The closure will take place between 190th Street and 210th Streets, due to bridge repairs.
The road will remain closed until the repairs are complete. 
(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a man from Grant was arrested Thursday evening, following a traffic stop in the 1700 block of K Avenue. Authorities say 40-year-old Zachary Morrison, of Grant, was arrested for Driving Under Suspension. Morrison was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $491.25 bond.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Officials with Hy-Vee have announced the company will close two stores in eastern Iowa next month. The store on First Avenue NE store in Cedar Rapids will close on June 23rd, opening up a large area of the city without easy access to a grocery store.
Hy-Vee managers told KCRG-TV9 the chain is closing two locations, the Cedar Rapids one and a Waterloo Hy-Vee store on Logan Avenue. Both stores are in areas listed as “High Poverty” according to U.S. Census data. In a statement, spokesperson Tina Pothoff said the two locations have not consistently the company’s financial expectations and sales goals over the past several years. She added, that the employees at those stores will be offered a position at another Hy-Vee store in the area, at the same rate of pay and will retain their existing benefits.
Hy-Vee pointed out that despite the closure, it offers its Aisles Online grocery delivery service to the area. Pothoff also said Hy-Vee plans to open up e-WIC payments to allow recipients of the Women, Infant and Children food assistance to buy groceries online.
The City of Cedar Rapids had given Hy-Vee incentives to build the First Avenue store in 2001 and keep a grocery store in the area, including a 20-year tax increment financing. The Gazette reported the head of Hy-Vee at the time made it clear that the store was not financially viable without the city’s tax incentives.
Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnel said in a statement regarding the closure:
“Hy-Vee’s decision to close their First Avenue store is incredibly disappointing. Generations of customers have relied on this store for their basic needs. It is unfortunate the company is leaving at a time when the nearby neighborhoods are seeing significant improvements and public investment. We anticipate this momentum will continue when combined with efforts like the upcoming First Avenue Micro Area Action Plan community planning process. We know that access to fresh, affordable food is crucial for our community’s wellbeing and we will work with local agencies to meet the needs of those impacted most by this closure.”
(Radio Iowa) – The latest U-S Drought Monitor map of Iowa shows no red areas indicating extreme drought.
DNR Hydrologist Tim Hall says we’ve been seeing red for a long time. “The first time in almost two years that we’ve not had extreme drought somewhere in the state of Iowa,” Hall says. It is a big turnaround, but not all the color has washed out of the drought map. “We still have half the state are so impacted by drought conditions, but that area is shrinking all the time as we get these good rains,” he says.
Hall has continually said we need weekly rains every month to turn things around, and that’s the pattern we’re now in. “We’ve now had five out of the last seven months have had above normal precipitation and that’s exactly the recipe we wanted,” he says, “where you get month over month just above normal precipitation, and that’s what’s really helping us to get out of the drought,” Hall says.
He says depth of the drought is evident in the lack of any major flood issues. “Go back to this winter when we had all that snow in January that melted very quickly and we had no flooding. And we’ve now had a couple of above normal precipitation months, and yes, we got some flooding, but nothing even approaching a widespread or catastrophic flooding,” Hall Says. “So that really points to a couple of things, how dry the soil was, and the fact that the rain we have received has been fairly well spaced out.”
Half of the state’s annual rainfall usually comes in May through August, and Hall says if we are above normal in any of those months, we could go a long way toward pushing all the drought colors off the map.
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
RSS