The Audubon Area Chamber of Commerce celebrated its annual Chamber Banquet and Awards Saturday, at St. Patrick’s Parish Center, in Audubon. The event featured not only dinner and awards, but an auction and entertainment. The dinner was catered by Jan’s Catering, and featured asiago chicken and pork loin as the main entree’.  During the awards portion of the event, the 2017 Citizen of the Year Award was presented to Tim Wahlert, who was born and raised in Audubon.

After graduating from the Audubon High School in 1975, Wahlert developed his skills in the work force and came to work for Davis & Wahlert, running heavy equipment. During that time, they completed development projects such as the Littlefield Recreation Area, and Lynn Avenue. His other occupations over the years include owner/operator of a semi, while working for Gene Fenton. In 1988, Tim Wahlert purchased at auction, his first D&H dozer, and started his own, small business in Audubon County. He’s a member of many area organizations and has served as President of the southwest Iowa District for the Land Improvement Contractors of America (LICA), and President/Vice President for LICA in the State of Iowa. Since he began his own construction firm, Tim Walhert has instructed his daughters and grandchildren in how to run the equipment, and they have become part of his business, as he mentors them in soil conservation.

The 2017 Community Service Award was presented Saturday night in Audubon, to Matt Heller and Sara Slater, with the Thrivent Financial office for their Action Team Program. Officials say the community has benefited greatly from their support and contributions with their program, that began in 2014. Last year, Thrivent members led 107 action teams in Audubon County, which was $26,750 of seed money. The funds were used for things like providing food for fundraisers, educational outdoor equipment, and landscaping for The Children’s Nest and Friendship Home. Supplies were also purchased to make bags for local foster children. Many events and other projects were spurred-on by the seed money. Six of the Thrivent Action Teams last year helped with fundraisers in the county that raised over $55,450.

Officials say looking forward to 2018, there are 944 Action Teams and $248,500 in seed money available to members in Audubon County. Matt and Sara encourage more members to use the benefit throughout the year by promoting a positive change, and leading an Action Team. And, finally, the 2017 Junior Citizen of the Year Award was presented during the Audubon Chamber’s Program on Saturday, to McKenna Nielsen, who has maintained straight A’s in school, has held a place on the Honor Roll, and been very active in sports as well as community activities. She’s also active in 4-H, FFA and National Honor Society. McKenna works on a horse farm when she’s not feeding the homeless, helping to clean up the community by raking leaves, and playing bingo with nursing home residents, among other things.

She will be attending Morningside College this fall. McKenna Nielsen is the daughter of Randy and Melanie Larsen and the late Todd Nielsen. She has a sister, Kerrigan, and a brother, Hayden.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — An 18-year-old man is facing charges after two Sioux City teenagers died after being stabbed over the weekend. The Sioux City Journal reports that Sioux City Police arrested the 18-year-old not long after the victims were found in a neighborhood around 1:15 a.m. Sunday. Police say that 18-year-old Felipe Negron Jr. and a 17-year-old girl from Sioux City were both found with knife wounds. They died later at an area hospital.

The suspect was found after he walked into a grocery store around 2 a.m. with apparent injuries. After police interviewed him, the man was charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

GLENWOOD, Iowa (AP) — Iowa brewers are toasting the recently approved federal tax changes, saying a tax break targeting their industry could spur expansion and more profits.

Keg Creek Brewing is a large craft beer producer in southwest Iowa. Keg Creek is also one of the about 80 local breweries eligible for a tax break from President Donald Trump’s tax plan that went into effect this month, the Des Moines Register reported .

The new “Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act” approves a $3.50 barrel tax on the first 60,000 barrels made every year by breweries that produce fewer than 2 million barrels annually. Brewers saw a $7 barrel tax previously.

The Brewers Association found that Iowa produced about 61,000 barrels of craft beer in 2016, which means every ounce of state-brewed beer would benefit from the tax break. The Beer Institute said the cut should encourage $320 million in economic growth for the industry each year.

Keg Creek would have potentially saved around $5,200 with the tax break last year. This year, the brewers said they hope to increase production by 50 percent. “(These) breweries . if they’re not growing, they’re dying. It is a small-margin industry,” said John Bueltel, a co-founder of Keg Creek Brewing. “This tax has given us more money to continue that growth.”

J. Wilson, head of the Iowa Brewers Guild, said the tax break won’t turn a $5 pint into a $4 pint, but is a step toward permanent reform.

The tax is planned to sunset in 2019, which will restore the $7 barrel tax. Wilson said the tax break would see a real impact if it were extended beyond 2019. Wilson plans to lobby for a permanent cut. “This is one of those things where you’re excited but you’ve also got to be realistic and manage expectations,” said Wilson.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa has jumped into the national debate over immigration with an expansive enforcement bill that would require local governments to comply with federal immigration agents or risk losing state funds. The measure is scheduled for at least one vote this week in the Republican-controlled statehouse.

It would force law enforcement to hold a jailed person for possible deportation if requested by federal agents. Legal experts say holding people longer than normal is unconstitutional. The bill is framed as a ban on so-called sanctuary cities, a catch-all label for jurisdictions that limit local involvement in federal immigration enforcement.

Supporters say the bill focuses on immigrants in Iowa illegally who are accused of crimes, but the legislation has a wide scope and raises questions about local government control.

The bill could plunge Iowa into costly litigation.

Officials with ISU Extension in Adair County have announced that there will be a Raasch Family Benefit event on Friday, February 2nd from 5:00-8:00pm at the Sixteen Oaks (1308 Main Street) in Fontanelle. Trent and Terri Raasch (along with their four young sons) lost their home and possessions in a devastating fire on November 22nd. The benefit event will include a hot meal for a free will donation and a live auction with Tim Baier and the Baier Auction crew.

If you would like to donate auction or dessert item, please contact Lisa Carstens at 641-745-7055. Auction items can be dropped off at Adair County ISU Extension, 154 Public Square (east side of town square), in Greenfield. Items must be dropped off by January 19th or contact Lisa for further arrangements. Extension officials say the family has donated countless hours to help with various organizations and causes in Adair County, and were in the process of starting a new bakery/café business in Fontanelle.

All proceeds from the benefit go to help the family get back on their feet.

The Planning Committee: Lisa Carstens, Dianna Goetz, Kara Starr, Deena Wells, and Tiffany Johnson. We thank you for your support!

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 4:55 a.m. CST

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Trial has been delayed for a Cedar Rapids teen accused of killing a man and injuring another teen in a 2016 shooting. Television station KCRG reports that 17-year-old Kenyauta Vesey-Keith is being tried as an adult on charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder, willful injury causing serious injury and intimidation with a dangerous weapon. Prosecutors say Vesey-Keith shot 21-year-old Brandon Johnson and a 16-year-old boy in March 2016. Johnson died from his injuries.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — A central Iowa city could welcome a new outdoor pickleball complex later this year. The Cedar Falls City Council has approved a project for new pickleball courts at Orchard Hill Park that will be financed with public and private money. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that the Cedar Falls Pickleball Club and locals fundraised to move the project up to this summer.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A $1.25 million lawsuit has been filed in U.S. District Court in Omaha over the construction of the Omaha National Cemetery. The Lincoln Journal Star reports that Seedorff Masonry Inc. of Strawberry Point, Iowa, has sued a Chicago construction company and the project’s insurer over what it says is $1.25 million in unpaid bills.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Dozens of tissue samples from hunted deer in Iowa have been turned over to be tested for chronic wasting disease. The samples are part of a nine-day collection effort by deer hunters and state officials that ends Sunday. The first weekend of the effort in Allamakee and Clayton counties provided 54 samples. Chronic wasting disease is a neurologic disease of deer, moose and elk that is always fatal for the animals.

The 2018 RAGBRAI route was announced Saturday night, in Des Moines. The Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) runs July 22nd through the 28th. It begins in Onawa with the traditional dipping of the tires in the Missouri River and concludes in Davenport with the tires dipped in the Mississippi River.

In between, riders will stop overnight in Denison, Jefferson, Ames, Newton, Sigourney and Iowa City.The path includes Highway 30 on parts of the western leg.Full route details will be announced in March.

The Register reports the route is just over 428-miles long and has about 12,576 feet of climb. Officials say it should be fairly easy, compared to past rides. It will be the fourth flattest in RAGBRAI’s 46-year history, and the seventh shortest.

For more: https://ragbrai.com/2018/01/27/ragbrai-2018-route-overnight-towns-have-been-announced/

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — A central Iowa city could welcome a new outdoor pickleball complex later this year. The Cedar Falls City Council has approved a project for new pickleball courts at Orchard Hill Park that will be financed with public and private money. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that the Cedar Falls Pickleball Club and locals fundraised to move the project up to this summer.

Pickleball has become a popular game among seniors and students in Cedar Falls. It’s played on a badminton-sized court with a tennis net, plastic paddles and a pickleball.

The project would be financed by the pickleball club’s $50,000 and private grants. The city would offer $50,000 with general obligation bonds. Another $50,000 is being requested from the Black Hawk County Gaming Association, which will make a decision next month.

A star of the television show “Shark Tank” was in Iowa Friday to speak at an event. Billionaire businessman Kevin O’Leary is a one of the “Sharks” who hear pitches from entrepreneurs and then decide if they will invest in that person’s business. The show is heading into its 10th year — and O’Leary tells Radio Iowa he is surprised by its longevity. “I am and we all are. This was a show about business and business is boring — at least we thought — and that’s not the case,” O’Leary says.

O’leary, who is also known as Mr. Wonderful on the show. He can be very blunt in telling an entrepreneur what he thinks of their chances to succeed. “I get a lot of flack for telling the truth and I’m not going to stop. The truth is going to be the truth and the fact that your business has no merit is going to play itself out and you are going to lose all your money,” O’Leary “I just think the other sharks are disingenuous. They try and make themselves feel better by saying to somebody ‘I’m not going to write you a check, but keep doing what your are doing.’ I’d rather say, ‘look you are going to go to zero…and really entrepreneurship is about success and failure. And I have a very simple metric — if it’s not making money in 36 months — take it behind the barn and shoot it.”

O’Leary says he’s had some big failures and some big successes in the investments he’s made on the show. “Probably my biggest surprise is a company called Potato Parcel, which ships a picture of you on a potato to somebody. I’m making a fortune on that,” O’Leary says. He says you never know what’s going to work. O’Leary says he does get a lot of people who come up to him and ask to borrow money, and he says people need to know they can’t pitch him a plan and be on the show. “There’s a law about this, you can’t predetermine the outcome of something like Shark Tank. They simply ask these entrepreneurs if you have ever petitioned or pitched a shark,” O’Leary explains. “And if you lie about it when I see you I’ll stand up and say I can’t talk to this person. Because I want the show to go on, I’m very proud of it, I’ve got 40 plus deals to protect, and I’m just thrilled to where we’ve gotten to.”

O’Leary gave the keynote speech at the Land Investment Expo in West Des Moines.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa Senator Joni Ernst hopes the attention received by the sentencing of former Michigan State and Olympic sports doctor Larry Nassar for abusing female will help push through legislation that’s passed the Senate on the issue. “Our bill requires amateur athletics governing bodies to immediately report sexual abuse allegations to local or federal law enforcement, or a child welfare agency,” Ernst says. The Republican from Red Oak says the legislation also makes it safer and easier for victims to report abuse. “It ensures organizations develop and enforce policies to prevent these horrendous crimes from happening in the first place,” according to Ernst.

Ernst called the abuse of female gymnasts “horrifying and disgusting.” She co-sponsored the bill with both Republicans and Democrats and wants to see it become law. “I am urging the House to act quickly on this legislation so that we can better protect the young athletes of our nation. With the winter Olympics right around the corner, we must insure that athletes are protected,” Ernst says.

Ernst talked about the bill during her weekly conference call with reporters.

(Radio Iowa)