(Washington, D-C) – A statement issued Friday from the White House indicates five Iowans serving federal prison time for methamphetamine charges will be released, soon. President Joe Biden, Friday, commuted the sentences for 31 people convicted of non-violent drug-related crimes across seven states.

In Iowa, Jennifer Chastain of Delhi, Kevin Burdock of Keswick, Bart Hyde of Clinton, Gregory Peasley of Onawa and Ryan Vick of Cedar Rapids had their sentences commuted.

According to a release, they will all be released from federal prison by June 30, but will serve the remainder of their sentences in house arrest.

(Radio Iowa) – Senator Chuck Grassley says he’ll urge the U-S Senate to respond if the U-S Supreme Court sides with pharmacy operators rather than two whistleblowers. In 1986, Grassley led Senate passage of an update of the False Claims Act. It lets whistleblowers who allege a person or company is defrauding the government sue for damages for themselves and the government.

“At the time I didn’t know it was going to be the big fight against the fraudulent taking of taxpayers’ money like it has turned out to be,” but every year it brings in about $3-4 billion dollars and the Justice Department announces that.” At issue now are two whistleblowers who sued, alleging Safeway and SuperValu pharmacies overcharged Medicaid and Medicare for prescription drugs. The U-S Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the companies’ appeal last month. The companies argue they did not knowingly overcharge the government programs.

“And so I filed a brief saying to the Supreme Court exactly what we intended in 1986,” Grassley says, “and, in fact, Justice Sotomayor referred specifically to ‘Senator Grassley’ and ‘Senator Grassley ought to know what he’s talking about because he wrote the legislation.'” Grassley says he hopes the court rules in favor of his view, but if it doesn’t, he’ll prepare legislation. “More or less just say to the judges and the justices: ‘How come you can’t figure out what we meant to do? But we’re going to prove to you what we meant to d by passing legislation that overturns your court cases,'” Grassley says.

Grassley is the top ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa legislature is planning to spend an extra 750-thousand dollars to prepare for a possible outbreak of African Swine Fever. Representative Norlin Mommsen of DeWitt says the virus, which causes severe bleeding and death, has killed pigs in the Caribbean Islands.

“It would be devastating for Iowa agriculture and the Iowa economy if it ever came here, so we’re trying to be as prepared as we can,” Mommsen says. “All we have to do is look at Avian Influenza and how that’s upset the poultry market and how that affected egg prices and food prices.” The Senate has already approved a budget for the Iowa Department of Agriculture that includes 250-thousand dollars toward development of a vaccine and 250-thousand dollars to buy equipment to euthanize pigs. Mommsen says it ensures state officials could quickly respond at the first report of an Iowa herd getting African Swine Fever.

“There comes a point in time when the only response is to euthanize the animals and do it as humanely and quickly as possible to stop the spread, so we want to make sure we have the proper equipment here if that ever were to occur,” Mommsen says. “My hope is it rusts and never gets used.” The House is expected to approve the budget bill this week. It includes another 250-thousand dollar boost to the state’s program for responding to an outbreak of a foreign animal disease.

“We already had $750,000 in a Foreign Animal Disease Preparedness program,” Mommsen said. “There’s a veterinarian hired, running that program, so this is in addition to all of that trying to upgrade our facility and our preparedness.” According to the Iowa Pork Producers Association, on a typical day there are about 24 million hogs in Iowa. African Swine Fever is not a threat to humans, but once a pig is infected it is highly contagious to other pigs — and the mortality rate is 95 percent.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic City Council will meet in a regularly scheduled session this Wednesday, May 3rd, 2023, in their Chambers at City Hall. On their agenda is action on passing a Resolution “Designating distribution of Sales Tax Revenue to various funds for specific purposes,” followed by a Resolution Adjusting the Budgeted amounts in the LOST Progress Fund for FY 2024. The City’s Personnel & Finance Committee met on April 24th and reviewed the funding options for the Community Promotion Commission (CPC), Chamber of Commerce and CADCO. A Deputy Auditor with the Iowa State Auditor’s Office confirmed that contracts cannot be executed by Commissions or Boards of a municipality, even if they were formally delegated with that authority. City Administrator John Lund says that would make the CPC an advisory body when it comes to dispensing funds.

The Personnel & Finance Committee, when given two alternative budget scenarios for Fiscal Year 2024, unanimously decided that Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) dollars be diverted from the CPC to the LOST Progress Fund, and that both the Chamber and CADCO receive increases to their funding. Both organizations, Lund said, have been budgeted $35,000 per year since FY 2009. Adjusted for inflation, the allocation would amount of $47,700 for each organization.

The Council will then act on approving a Resolution “Approving the Updated Cass County Public Safety Commission Articles of Agreement,” which originally was signed on Oct. 4, 1999, but for which no minutes were found indicating the Council’s approval at that time, and leaves unclear under what authority then Mayor Sid Winchell to sign the agreement. John Lund said in his agenda packet to the Council, that …”Further, that City Clerk Deb Wheatley Field did not attest to the agreement, but City Administrator Scott Flory, did, under the City Clerk signature line.” Regardless, Lund says, the agreement was filed with the Cass County Recorder’s Office and signed by all other parties. It was formally accepted by the City Council, on Nov. 16, 2017.

The original 28-E agreement between the City and Cass County has been updated periodically since then. The latest changes, according to Director of 911 Communications Mike Kennon, makes it clear that this is not a County Law Enforcement consolidation, and that “The 911 Services Coordinator” will prepare the budget, due to some minor restructuring within the Communications Center. In other business, the Atlantic City Council, on Wednesday, will hold the Second Reading of an Ordinance amending the provisions pertaining to the Sewer Service Charges. The first reading passed April 19, 2023. The current charges for the wastewater utility in Atlantic have not changed in nearly 10-years, according to John Lund, and “to  ensure the stability of the Wastewater Utility Fund, the City needs to adjust the rates, as population loss has reduced overall customers, and inflation has made sustaining the plant’s labor and equipment needs unsustainable in the 10-year horizon, without a rate adjustment.

If passed, the new, scheduled rate changes will be phased-in over a period of two-years, beginning with July 1, 2024 and again on July 1, 2025. Under the new rate schedule:

• The 1st 3,000 gallons or lesser amount per month will increase July 1, 2023 from $28.50 to $30.00, $31 on July 1, 2024, and $32 on July 1, 2025.
• All gallons over 3,000/month will be billed at $6.00 per 1,000 gallons (up 20 cents from the current rate), effective July 1, 2023, to $6.25 by July 1, 2025.

The Council, Wednesday, will hold the first reading of an amendment to downtown “Special Parking permits.” The changes, if approved after three readings, would change allowed parking hours reduced by two-hours, to 7-p.m., in order to reflect current business hours. It also deletes a subsection of the Ordinance referring to parking downtown being prohibited on the first Wednesday of the month from 5-p.m. until the next day at 8-a.m., for the purpose of street sweeping. Since the City does not have a street sweeping schedule, the Ordinance becomes a moot point. And, an amendment cleans-up the wording pertaining to parking on downtown streets, when the is an accumulation of more than 1-inch of snow.

The Council’s final order of business is to set the date for a Public Hearing on Amending the FY2023 Budget, as their next meeting on May 17, 2023.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Police in Des Moines say a woman reported missing from her home since April 27th, was found deceased Saturday afternoon. Authorities say at approximately 3:41 p.m., Saturday, first responders from Clive and West Des Moines responded to the 12400 block of Woodlands Parkway, Clive, to investigate a report of a deceased person found at a pond.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Red Oak Police, late Saturday night, arrested 33-year-old Mildred Helenora Douglas, of Red Oak. Douglas was taken into custody at around 11:10-p.m. on a valid Adams County warrant for Theft in the 2nd Degree. She was transported to the Adams County Jail to be booked-in on her charges, and was being held without bond.

(Battle Creek, Iowa) – A collision between a pickup and a car Friday morning in northwest Iowa’s Ida County, left one man dead and another injured. The Iowa State Patrol reports the crash happened at around 7:30-a.m. on Ida County road L-51 south of Battle Creek, near 297th Street.

A 2013 Dodge pickup driven by 33-year-old Colton Claussen, of Schleswig, was traveling north on L-51, when the pickup crossed the center line, for reasons unknown. The vehicle struck a southbound 1999 Pontiac sedan driven by 59-year-old Russell Mefferd, of Battle Creek.

Following the collision, the pickup truck rolled over and landed on its wheels before coming to rest. The car spun around and came to rest in the west ditch off L51. Russell Mefferd died at the scene. He was wearing a seat belt. Claussen was not wearing his seat belt. He was transported by Ida County EMS to Horn Memorial Hospital, in Ida Grove.

The accident remains under investigation.

(Shenandoah, Iowa) — Officials with the Shenandoah Police Department, Friday, said a traffic stop for a seat belt violation Friday afternoon, resulted in the arrest of a man from Essex. 34-year-old Eric Michael Kievit was pulled-over in the 100 block of North Railroad Street, at around 2:48 PM. Following a further investigation, Officers arrested Kievit for driving while revoked. He was unable to post the $1,000 bond and was being held in the Page County Jail.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – The Council Bluffs Police Department reports a technician who was servicing an ATM at the US Bank located at 2901 W. Broadway, was attacked at around 6:06-p.m., Friday.  Authorities say a black male approached the technician and assaulted him, in order to gain access to the ATM. The suspect stole cash from the machine and left the area in a silver 4 door vehicle.

The technician was not seriously injured during the Robbery. Officers were unable to locate the suspect(s) after a search of the area. If anyone has information about this incident please contact the Council Bluffs Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division at 712-328-4728.