(Marshall County, Iowa) – WHO-TV in Des Moines reports one person was seriously burned during a large farm building fire that quickly spread to surrounding fields, in Haverhill. The incident occurred at around 3:30-p.m., Thursday. Firefighters from multiple area department arriving on the scene, found several farm buildings on fire, and that high winds and low humidity had  allowed the flames to spread to the surrounding grass,  and field, according to the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office.

Several tanker trucks relayed water to the scene because there were no hydrants nearby. Local farmers helped battle the blaze by using tractors and tillage equipment to create a fire break to slow down the spread of the flames. The Marshall County Sheriff’s Office said farmers’ efforts helped fire crews get the fire under control. The owner of the property suffered serious, but non life-threatening burns and was transported via air ambulance to a hospital.

An investigation into the cause of the fire was on-going.

(Rural Bagley, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Guthrie County report the operator of a tractor east of Bagley suffered burns over 50% of his body, Thursday morning, when a field fire the machine and operator were trying to contain, spread to tractor. Guthrie & Greene County Sheriff’s Deputies, and firefighters from the  Yale, Jamaica, Bagley and Bayard Fire Departments, as well as Panora EMS responded to the fire in the 2800 block of 110th Street. The blaze began in a field of corn stalk residue.

The Bagley Fire Chief said the tractor operator was apparently attempting a controlled burn of the field, which had flooded last year, but the current dry conditions and winds caused the fire to get out of control, engulfing the tractor and operator. The tractor is a total loss. Fire crews were able to control the blaze.

The tractor operator was flown to a hospital in Des Moines and subsequently transported to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Burn Unit.  The incident remains under investigation by the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office.

A burn ban remains in effect for Guthrie and Adair counties until further notice.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak arrested a man Thursday evening, on a warrant for Criminal Mischief in the 3rd Degree. 40-year-ol Michael Duwayne Cobb, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 5:40-p.m. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $2,000 bond.

Red Oak Police said also, 41-year-old Russel Albert McCullough, of Red Oak was arrested at around 3:30-a.m. today (Friday), in the 1700 block of N. Broadway Streetr. McCullough was arrested for Public Intoxication and was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.

(Shelby County, Iowa) – Multiple area fire departments responded Thursday afternoon to a structure fire north of Prairie Rose State Park. According to reports, the blaze at 1818 800th Street was initially said to be an attached garage fire. Crews from Irwin, Kirkman, Kimballton, Avoca, Harlan and Elk Horn were requested at the scene.

Additional information is currently not available.

(Radio Iowa) – A House committee has unanimously voted for legislation that would prevent the property tax bill on an Iowa residence or Ag-land from going up more than three percent a year. Republican Representative Bobby Kaufmann is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. “This is centered around the increase for your actual bill, which is designed to give taxpayers not only predictability but also stop the bleeding for continually increasing property tax bills,” Kaufmann says.

The legislation does have a property improvement exception, so a property tax bill could go up more than three percent if someone spent one-hundred-thousand dollars building an addition on a house, for example. A SENATE committee has voted for a three percent cap on most property tax bill increases, but using a slightly different mechanism.

Republican Senator Dan Dawson of Council Bluffs — chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee — says he’s talking almost daily with Kaufmann about property tax limitations. “We’re not talking apples and oranges on different topics,” Dawson says. “We’re all in agreement. It’s just kind of working on those details and where we land on in the end.”

The bill that cleared the HOUSE Ways and Means Committee also calls for all bond referendums to be decided in November General Elections. It proposes a reduction in the local school district levy — replacing over 200 million dollars in PROPERTY taxes with state tax revenue. Representative Dave Jacoby, of Coralville, says Democrats on the committee voted for the overall package.

“The property tax affects every single person in the state of Iowa and we like what we see,” Jacoby says. But Jacoby says Democrats would like to see some assurances that the state would be REQUIRED to provide local school districts with that 200 million dollars every year, to avoid budget woes for public schools.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill to require more screening for Iowans receiving government food and health care assistance is headed to the governor for her signature.A household with more than 15-thousand dollars worth of assets that could be quickly sold or turned into cash would be ineligible for food stamps. Iowans receiving food stamps AND those enrolled in Medicaid would have to more frequently show their income is low enough to qualify for the programs. Representative Joel Fry, a Republican from Osceola, says the bill strikes a balance for taxpayers and those who are eligible for benefits.

“House Republicans believe that maintaining the safety net is critical for all Iowans, those who receive as well as those who give,” Fry said. Democrats cite a non-partisan report suggesting errors will deny government assistance to Iowa adults and kids who are eligible. Representative Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, a Democrat from Ames, says the fraud rate for food stamps is virtually non-existent.

“The rate is 0.07%. Our laws should be based on reality, on the state of things as they actually exist,” she said. “This bill makes it so more kids will go to school hungry.” Representative Josh Turek. a Democrat from Council Bluffs, says including vehicles in an asset test makes no sense, since Iowans — particularly those who live in rural areas — need reliable vehicles to get to work, school or the doctor. “In my opinion, this bill is a disgrace,” he said. “It’s morally reprehensible. The bill takes away food from veterans, the elderly, poor children and disabled individuals.”

Fry is the Republican who guided the bill through nearly four hours of debate. “It protects the program for those who need it most and I would suggest to you that we are creating a safety net today that is sustainable for the long term,” Fry said. “Without creating that safety net, the benefits won’t be in existence in my children’s lifetimes.”

The Senate approved the bill three weeks ago on a party line vote. It passed the House last (Thursday) night with the support of 58 Republicans. Five other Republicans and all 36 Democrats in the House voted no.

(Cass County, Iowa) – Firefighters from Atlantic were called to the scene of a side-by-side (UTV) fire, this afternoon. The call went out at around 2:45-p.m, for the incident at 620th St., just south of Jasper Road, a little south of the Atlantic City limits.

Lewis Fire was requested for mutual aid, as the wind whipped flames were spreading to a nearby field.  Additional information is not currently available.

(Radio Iowa) – Estherville’s fire chief is praising four men for a daring rescue from a locked apartment in a burning building.

A fire was reported Monday night in Estherville at the Country View Apartments and emergency responders rushed to evacuate several elderly and disabled residents A firefighter from Wallingford and a deputy sheriff could hear someone inside an apartment, behind a locked door. An Estherville policeman and a businessman from across the street who ran to help joined the two other men in getting the person out of their apartment.

Estherville fire. (Estherville FD photo)

Estherville’s fire chief says the four men encountered heavy smoke and flames above their heads as they saved someone they didn’t know. The apartment’s resident was taken to a local hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation.

(Radio Iowa) – A key Iowa Democrat is hinting his party might sue if the Republican-led legislature passes a bill to forbid Democrats from using a mail-in system for participation in the 2024 Iowa Caucuses.

Scott Brennan, a former chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party, is one of Iowa’s representatives on the Democratic National Committee. “I am a practicing lawyer and I have my own thoughts on the subject but maybe, ultimately, somebody will have to make a decision who’s wearing a black robe,” Brennan told statehouse reporters late this morning.

Republicans on a House committee have approved a bill that would require in-person participation in the Iowa Republican and Democratic Party Caucuses. New Hampshire’s Secretary of State has said if Iowa Democrats use mail-in voting for their 2024 Caucuses, New Hampshire’s presidential Primary would be moved ahead of Iowa’s Caucuses.

Scott Brennan. (file photo from Iowa PBS)

Republican Representative Bobby Kaufmann said his bill is about saving the Iowa Caucuses. “If we do nothing, we lose first in the nation status period,” Kaufmann said. “When you do mail in, it’s a primary. New Hampshire is obligated by law to jump us. This bill is protecting the integrity of the Iowa Caucuses for Republicans and Democrats.”

Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee suggest Kaufmann as the bill’s sponsor has a conflict of interest because he is a paid senior advisor to Donald Trump’s Iowa Caucus campaign. Brennan, the former Iowa Democratic Party chairman, said Democrats were blindsided by Kaufmann’s bill, which was publicly released this week.

“It’s a solution in search of a problem. I don’t understand it. It makes no sense,” Brennan said. “We have decades of history where the two parties came together and talked about issues important to Iowans in our (Caucus) process. Nothing this time.”

National Democrats have voted for five other states to lead the voting in the 2024 presidential campaign and Brennan said Iowa Democrats have not yet announced when or exactly how they will conduct their Caucuses next year.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Natural Resources Commission has given final approval for a continuous open season for hunting and trapping raccoons on private lands. The DNR says there has been a steady increase in the raccoon population in the last 20 years, and they get many reports of the animals being a nuisance in attics, barns, and farm equipment. The DNR’s Chris Ensminger says they had two public hearings on the issue.

“There were 117 comments received, 75 of those were in support, two were partially supportive, and 40 were opposed,” Ensminger says. He says there were concerns about having an open season for public lands, so that was removed. “There was just some concern that if it was continuously open trapping and hunting — sometimes that’s dogs and other things — that on public lands and road right aways. that there could be conflicts with non-hunting parties using public land and different groups,” he says.

Raccoons. (DNR Photo)

Ensminger says trappers didn’t seem to have a concern with the change. “My impression is, Iowa’s trappers are pretty concerned about making sure that their reputation stays strong and good,” he says. “And they do not want to see places where there’s conflict, because it doesn’t benefit their sport.”

Ensminger says you can hunt on your own land without a license, but you need a license if you hunt raccoons on someone else’s land. He says you would need a general hunting license or a fur harvester license. The Iowa House passed a bill on a continuous raccoon hunting season, but there has not been any action on it in the Iowa Senate.