(Radio Iowa) – The University of Iowa’s Stanley Museum of Art has become the first North American institution to return artwork from its collection directly to the royal family of Benin in Nigeria. The two pieces are part of a group of thousands of artifacts, known as the Benin Bronzes, stolen from the kingdom during a British invasion in 1897. Peju Layiwola is a curator at the museum, who attended a ceremony at the royal palace in Benin City to return the art to the oba, or king, of Benin.

“The palace still exists. The lineage and the kings are still there,” Layiwola says, “and so going to the palace of the oba of Benin, to the very place that was sacked, that was plundered, is absolutely the right thing to do.” Cory Gundlach, the museum’s curator of African art, also attended the ceremony. “It’s very exciting for the Stanley Museum of Art to be a leader in this particular context,” Gundlach says, “and to develop a direct relationship with the royal family and the oba in particular.”

His Majesty, Oba Ewuare II, holds up the brass plaque presented to him by Dr. Cory Gundlach (right) during the restitution ceremony at the Royal Palace. (Photo courtesy Stanley Museum of Art)

The pieces that were returned included a brass plaque and a wooden altarpiece.

(contributed by Josie Fischels, Iowa Public Radio)

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports there were four arrests that took place Friday evening through Sunday night. At around 10:30-p.m. Sunday, 33-year-old Anthony Roger Cross, of Creston, was arrested for Burglary in the 3rd Degree. He posted a $5,000 bond and was released from the Union County Jail. A little after 1-a.m., Sunday, Creston Police arrested 40-year-old Brian James Ferry, of Gowrie, for Driving While Suspended. He was cited at the scene and then released on a promise to appear in court.

At around 1:30-a.m. Saturday, Police in Creston arrested 31-year-old Kevin William Wessel, of Creston, for Criminal Mischief in the 5th Degree, Public Intoxication/1st offense, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Interference with Official Acts. Wessel was later released on a $1,200 bond.

And, at around 6:35-p.m. Friday, Ryan James Corder, of Storm Lake, was arrested for Theft in the 3rd Degree. Corder was being held in the Union County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors are set to meet at 9-a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6th in their Atlantic courthouse Board Room. On their agenda, is: Action on a resolution approving the use of Valley Business Park (VBP) interest for use by CADCO’s (Cass-Atlantic Development Corporation) Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) to support local economic development; action on the EMS Advisory Council’s recommendation to place a Public Measure on the November General Election ballot, with regard to making Emergency Medical Services an essential service in Cass County, and an associated levy that supporters say will provide a revenue stream that is a dedicated county fund that can’t be redirected by politicians to less important needs.

The levy would not exceed 75-cents per $1,000 assessed property evaluation in Cass County, plus a 1% surtax upon the State individual income tax. Supporters say passage of the measure in November would allow cities, the hospital and county to reduce their respective tax levies, since they would no longer be funding EMS through their budgets, as is currently the case. The fund would pay for 24/7 paramedic service, and help to fund all the volunteer EMS departments in the County, with regard to operational expenses, training and equipment. The Cass County EMS Association, which is made up of EMS members from every town in the County, will set a budget and distribute funding.

The Cass County Supervisors will also discuss remaining ARPA request priorities, and hear reports from County Conservation Director Micah Lee (Quarterly report), as well as a monthly report from Cass County Community Services Director & Mental Health Advocate, Debbie Schuler. Engineer Trent Wolken will present his regular report to the Board, also.

See the full agenda below:

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Board of Supervisors in Montgomery County will hold their regular, weekly session on Tuesday (Aug. 6) beginning at 8:30-a.m.  On their agenda is action on approving the designation of Snyder and Associates, Inc., to serve as Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline inspector during construction of the carbon transport pipeline.

The full agenda is shown below:

(Radio Iowa) – Looking for fresh-picked sweet corn or ripe strawberries right out of the patch? Iowa has more than 220 certified farmers markets and many of us know they’re a great place to find a wide variety of produce, to interact with local growers, and to support the community. U-S-D-A Undersecretary Jenny Lester Moffitt says farmers markets offer Iowa’s small producers what’s known as a low-barrier entry point, where it’s affordable to sell directly to consumers. “It’s really important because when we have direct sales, right now in mainstream supply chains, anywhere from 14 to 15 cents of that consumer dollar, our food dollar, goes directly to farmers,” Moffitt says, “but at farmer’s markets, that price is seven times that.”

This is National Farmers Market Week and Moffitt says communities in Iowa and across the country are celebrating the role farmers markets play in supporting local agriculture. “Farmers are able to capture and keep a lot more money of the consumer dollars in their own pockets, which means they’re reinvesting in their farms, they’re reinvesting in local jobs in their communities,” Moffitt says. “Really importantly, they’re able to get healthy food that’s grown in their region to the members in their communities as well.” She says Iowans who are on SNAP or other nutritional programs can use their benefits at many farmers markets. The markets are also known for offerings like local honey, giant heirloom tomatoes, and fresh-baked pies and pastries.

Farmers Market (USDA photo)

“What’s really great is you can find products that you normally can’t find on store shelves, whether that is locally-grown produce or other types of grains,” Moffitt says. “Also, it’s a really great opportunity to be able to buy things from other local producers, whether that is jams and jellies, and other value-added products, or craft products as well.” Even in an agricultural state like Iowa, people can forget where their food comes from, so farmers markets are a perfect way to rediscover our roots.  “It’s also just a really great place to engage with farmers, to talk about how the food is grown, to be able to have that personal connection,” Moffitt says. “I know we all really love and thrive when we’re talking with producers that are growing the food that we’re enjoying.”

You can find a farmers market near you by visiting the USDA’s Local Food Directory (https://www.usdalocalfoodportal.com). Before entering the government sector, Moffitt raised organic walnuts on a family farm in California. She’s now the U-S-D-A’s Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, the first woman to hold the post.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Lottery is hosting game show on the opening day of the Iowa State Fair. Lottery spokeswoman, Mary Neubauer says the game show is part of their first ever scratch ticket is linked to the Fair. “Just a different way for people to win rather than just having a traditional drawing and so there will be 20 contestants out there who will be competing for prizes,” Nuebauer says. Some 67-thousand people who didn’t win a prize on a State Fair scratch ticket entered them to be chosen as one of the 20 who are competing on the game show. “Anybody who is on that stage will win at least 10-thosuand dollars, and the finalist has a chance to win up to five million dollars, which my goodness to find a time when the Lottery has given away a prize of that size, you have to go back to the very earliest days of the Iowa Lottery,” Nuebauer says.

She says they will also have prizes for people watching the game show. “Specifically for the people who are in the audience that day, so we’re going to have prizes for audience members,” she says. The live game show is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p-m on the Grand Concourse of the Iowa State Fairgrounds on opening day (Aug 8th). The contestants will gradually be eliminated through a series of games until just one remains. The last time the lottery held a live game show was in 2012 on the final day of the Iowa State Fair, and the top prize was one million dollars.

The Iowa Lottery last held a contest at the Iowa State Fair in 2012. (IA Lottery photo)

The 20 people chosen to be in this year’s game show are: Craig Bergman, Cedar Rapids; Jolene Murray, Cedar Rapids; Michelle Cerwinske, Nashua; Mary Olin, Des Moines; Margo Fox, Johnston; Dawn Petersen, Colfax; Kristine Frye, Des Moines; Timothy Roberts, Ottumwa; Nicole Gulick, Des Moines; Scott Stewart, Waterloo; Ryan Habeger, Algona; Steven Stout, Indianola; Gerald Johnson, Iowa City; Christine Tatman, Orange City; Gerald Kennicker, Dubuque; Rodney Tucker, Des Moines; Tamara McMahon, Council Bluffs; Jeff Weiland, Dubuque; Steven Moore, Urbandale; David Wesley, Des Moines.

NEWTON, Iowa — [KCCI] – Gates Corporation, a fluid power and power transmission solutions manufacturer, has announced it’s laying off 41 workers at its Newton location later this year. The closure was posted on the Iowa Workforce Development’s WARN notification list. Frank Liebl, the executive director of the Newton Development Corporation, told KCCI  it wasn’t that big of a shock considering John Deere is one of the company’s primary partners.

Liebl said the Gates Corporation has been a John Deere supplier since the business first came to Newton in 2017. He says for those who are left jobless, the city will work hard to find them new positions. Liebl also said that every business comes with its own highs and lows. And that while it’s difficult to know exactly what’s coming for John Deere, he sees a brighter future ahead.

According to the posting, all of the workers will officially be laid off in November.

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (KCRG) – A coal train derailed just outside of Marshalltown Sunday afternoon. Around 5:30 roughly 38 Union Pacific rail cars transporting coal derailed about two miles east of Marshalltown. That’s near Quarry Road.

Union Pacific said no one was injured in the accident and cleanup was underway Sunday evening.  The derailment is currently under investigation.

(Johnson County, Iowa) – A multi-vehicle accident Sunday evening south of Kalona, in eastern Iowa, resulted in one dead and four others injured. According to the Iowa State Patrol, the crash happened at around 5:36-p.m., when a 2015 Jeep Cherokee driven by 41-year-old Thomas Richard Hebel Perkins, of Cedar Rapids, failed to stop on westbound 140th Street. approaching the intersection with Highway 1.

The Jeep collided with the rear portion of a camper being pulled by a pickup, that was traveling north on Highway 1, and driven by 63-year-old Randy Rae Rouse, of Mechanicsville. The Jeep then went through the rear portion of the camper and struck a 2018 Toyota RAV 4 SUV on the driver’s side. That vehicle was being driven by 77-year-old Usha Malik, of Iowa City.

A 2011 Honda CRV driven by 22-year-old Beckyy Lu, of Bettendorf, struck debris and flying debris from the camper.  The  Patrol says Usha Malik died at the scene. Thomas Perkins and his passengers, 34-year-old Samantha Perkins, and a one-year-old child. all from Cedar Rapids, along with 46-year-old Matthew John Charles, of Paris, France, were injured in the crash. All were transported to the UIHC in Iowa City.

Thomas Perkins was flown to the hospital  by helicopter. The others were taken by Johnson County Ambulance. The crash remains under investigation.

(Radio Iowa) – This fall’s presidential election was the focus of Republican gatherings in Iowa this weekend. Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, who hosted a campaign fundraiser in Cedar Rapids, is running for a third term in the U-S House, but she did not focus on her Democratic opponent Sarah Corkery. Instead, Hinson told the crowd they cannot sit this presidential election out.

“I think President Trump has a really great vision for the future of our country,” Hinson says. “It’s a vision that a minivan-driving mom like me — we should all be supporting this.” Hinson said Vice President Harris “may be a new face” at the top of the ticket, but her policies will be the same as President Biden’s. “Kamala Harris has been in lockstep with him for the last three and a half years. They’re been trying to turn our country into a liberal wasteland with their policies,” Hinson says. “…They’re not fooling any of us. We all know what’s at stake here.”

Both of Iowa’s U-S Senators spoke at Hinson’s event. Senator Joni Ernst told the crowd Harris was an ineffective member of the U-S Senate. “Don’t let her remake herself,” Ernst said. “She is what she is and she will be a detriment to our great United States of America.” Senator Chuck Grassley told the crowd Obama campaign veterans are working for Harris.  “We can’t afford two more terms of a Harris Administration to be the 4th and 5th terms of the Obama Administration,” Grassley said.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird hosted an event in Adel Saturday night to raise money for her 2026 reelection campaign. During her speech at the end of the evening, Bird emphasized Trump’s need to appear in so-called battleground states where the race is close. “Here in Iowa, we will take care of turning out Iowa for President Trump and putting that in the win column, won’t we?” Bird asked and the crowd cheered. Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan was the keynote speaker at campaign fundraisers for Hinson and Congressmen Randy Feenstra and Zach Nunn this weekend.

Jordan, a former wrestling coach who’s co-founder the U-S House Freedom Caucus, cautioned against overconfidence. “One of the first things they teach you when you’re a kid starting to learn to wrestle is they say: ‘Wrestle to the whistle. Don’t stop early. You keep going until you hear the whistle,'” Jordan said in Cedar Rapids Saturday afternoon. ” That’s the attitude we have to have.”

Minnesota Congressman Tom Emmer — the third-ranking Republican in the U-S House — joined Jordan at Hinson’s fundraiser in Cedar Rapids. He told the crowd to ignore this month’s polls.  “You hang in there and when we get to September, after Labor Day when people start paying attention again, that’s when the game begins,” Emmer said.

Labor Day is 28 days away. Election Day is in 92 days.