(Radio Iowa) – Two Republican voters are asking a judge to rule that Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abby Finkenauer failed to qualify for the June Primary ballot. Finkenauer’s campaign was required to submit petitions from at least 19 counties showing the signatures of at least 100 eligible voters had been collected in each county. On Tuesday, the State Objections Panel decided some of signatures on her nominating petitions were invalid, but she had enough.

Republican attorney Allen Ostergren argued during Tuesday’s hearing that more signatures should have been thrown out. He said the panel was not following the same standards in Finkenauer’s case as it used on the first case of the day — and more signatures for Finkenauer should have been thrown out. In the morning, Secretary of State Paul Pate and Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg were the Republican majority on the Objections Panel. In the afternoon, it flipped to two Democrats — Attorney General Tom Miller and State Auditor Rob Sand.

At the conclusion of the Objection Panel’s review, the final tally on Finkenauer’s petitions from Allamakee County was just 100 signatures. Petitions from two other counties ended up with just one extra signature above the minimum requirement. Finkenauer’s campaign manager says the court challenge shows the GOP is insecure about Republican U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley’s reelection and “terrified of a matchup” with Finkenauer.

Two other Democrats running for the U.S. Senate have qualified to have their names printed on the June Primary ballot. Mike Franken is a retired Admiral from Sioux City. Glenn Hurst is a doctor from Minden.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A man was arrested Wednesday afternoon after Montgomery County Deputies investigated a reported suspicious person in the area of 1969 Evergreen Avenue. During their investigation, 64-year-old John Richard Mullenix, of Red Oak, was identified as the subject in question. After he left the scene in what was described as a careless manner and failed to yield to emergency vehicles, he led authorities on a chase.

Mullenix was finally stopped and taken into custody. He was booked into the Montgomery County Jail, and held on $2,000 bond.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a man was arrested following the theft of a vehicle from Griswold. Authorities were notified about the theft late Wednesday night. The vehicle was located near the 1100 block of Highway 48, and a traffic stop was initiated.

The driver of the vehicle (subsequently identified as 31-year-old Eric Vannausdle, from Red Oak) refused to yield and led deputies on a chase through Montgomery County. The chase finally ended when the vehicle ran over spike strips and became disabled.

Vannausdle was arrested and charged with Theft in the 2nd Degree. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $6,000 bond, with additional charges pending in Montgomery County.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County, Thursday, reported that three individuals were taken into custody on felony charges connected with a burglary and attempted burglary in the county. Authorities say 38-year-old Garret Allen Horgdal, of Henderson, was arrested March 8th, 38-year-old Jannell Marie Davis, of Henderson, was arrested March 11th, and 39-year-old Jacob Kimball, of Carson, was arrested March 30th.

An investigation into their alleged activities began on February 21st. A burglary at 1377 130th Street resulted in the loss of an estimated $117,927 in tools. An attempted burglary at 1172 D Avenue resulted in damage to a door.

The Sheriff’s Department says Garrett Horgdal was originally charged with Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Deliver (Class B Felony) following a traffic stop. He was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held without bond. Four additional charges arose after search warrants were conducted on his vehicle and residence. Law Enforcement found three loaded firearms while searching his Chevy Pickup on March 9th. This resulted in three Class D Felony Counts of Felon in Possession of a Firearm.

Two days later authorities uncovered numerous suspected stolen tools during a search of Horgdal’s residence at 501 Maple Street in Henderson. The search of the residence resulted in a Theft 1st Degree (Class C Felony) charge against Horgdal along with the arrest of Jannell Davis, who was also charged with Theft 1st Degree (Class C Felony) and transported to the Montgomery County Jail. Davis was arrested again on March 22nd, taken back into custody, and charged with Transfer of a Firearm to a Felon (Class D Felony).

On March 30th, the Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at 412 N Commercial Street in Carson. More stolen tools were seized and Jacob Kimball was arrested, for on a Theft 1st Degree (Class C Felony) charge. Tools seized from all three warrants have been identified as those of the 130th Street burglary. The incident remains under investigation.

CRESTON, Iowa – March 31, 2022 – A bridge deck and joint repair project on westbound U.S 34 between U.S. 71 and Montgomery County Road M-65 near Villisca will require reducing traffic to one lane in each direction beginning on Monday, April 4, until Friday, Aug. 26, weather permitting, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Creston construction office.

Work will begin on the westbound lane of U.S. 34. Temporary barrier rail will be in place. There will be a 12-foot-7-inch lane-width limit restriction during this project.

(Radio Iowa) – A Senate committee has approved a bill that would send a million dollars state funding to a private organization operating a crisis pregnancy center. Senator Mark Costello of Imogene and the other Republicans on the Appropriations Committee voted for the bill. “This is what I call the ‘Mom’s Bill,'” Costello says. “It’s an effort to provide more options for maternal support for mothers who find themselves in unplanned pregnancies.”

Senator Ken Rozenboom, a Republican from Oskaloosa, says he’s the proud father of a son who was given up for adoption by a 16-year-old who got support from this kind of an organization in Kansas City. “His mother and I are eternally grateful for the opportunity that that young girl was given 35 years ago,” Rozenboom said, choking back tears. The bill says the goal is to assist pregnant women to choose childbirth rather than abortion.

“This is in the public interest,” Rozenboom says. “This will save children.” Democrats on the committee voted against the proposal. Senator Janet Petersen, a Democrat from Des Moines, says the state should spend more money to keep labor and delivery departments in hospitals open rather than fund crisis pregnancy centers.

“You’re creating a new program that is not evidence based,” Petersen says, “and we’ve seen problems with this with fraud in other parts of the country.” A spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa says Crisis Pregnancy Centers prey on vulnerable women and have been known to shame and scare women planning to seek an abortion.

The second half of the bill — which has bipartisan support — would require the state’s Medicaid program to cover check-ups and other so-called “post-partum” care for up to a year after a woman has given birth.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – A “suspicious device” found at a fitness center in Council Bluffs, Thursday morning, resulted in an arrest. Authorities say the Pottawattamie County/Council Bluffs Bomb Disposal Unit was called at around 9:09-a.m to Planet Fitness (1442 Mall Drive, Ste. 500) when the object was found.

The business was temporarily shut-down while the bomb squad removed the item from the premises. Police say there are “No indications that the item was intended to disrupt the normal business operations [of the business] or the public.

Police said a person suspected of possessing the device was arrested, but their name, and other details, were not immediately released.

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S-S Sioux City is among a group of ships the U-S Navy is considering decommissioning to save money. The Navy’s plan is to eliminate five cruisers, nine littoral combat ships — including the U-S-S Sioux City — four landing dock ships, two submarines, two oilers, and two expeditionary transfer docks. That would save the Navy an estimated three-point-six (3.6) billion dollars over the next few years.

The nine littoral combat ships, including the Sioux City, are the Freedom class variant, which was found to have a major flaw with its combining gear that transfers power from the ship’s engines to its water jets.

USS Sioux City (Navy photo_

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak have arrested a man for 1st Degree Harassment (an aggravated misdemeanor). Authorities report 47-year-old David Eugene Anthony Fussell, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 11-a.m. today (Thursday), and held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds is urging her fellow Republicans in the Iowa House to approve her plan to provide state-funded scholarships to parents who’ll be enrolling their children in a private school. All but one Republican in the Iowa Senate voted for the plan last night, but — for a second year — it hasn’t come up for a vote in the House.“I’m going to be optimistic, right up until the end,” Reynolds told reporters yesterday, before last night’s vote. “It’s part of the process.” Some Republican lawmakers who represent rural areas say there are few, if any private school options for parents in their districts and that’s why they oppose the bill. Reynolds submitted a revamped plan this year that not only provides state money to parents cover the costs of private school expenses, but there’s additional money in it for public schools in rural areas.

“Every day, when I talk to parents, it underscores how important it is to give parents the choice in their child’s education, to pick an environment that’s conducive to them, and it shouldn’t just be available to parents who have the resources to do it,” Reynolds said. “That is fundamentally wrong.” Under the Senate-passed plan, parents with an annual income at or below 400% of the federal poverty level would be eligible to apply for the state scholarships. That means a family of four could have an annual income of up to $110,000 and qualify and get $5500 from the state to cover private school expenses.

“You’ve heard me say a hundred times education is the great equalizer and every parent needs to be able to make that choice, whether they have the funds or not,” Reynolds said, “and so we’re going to keep fighting on behalf of parents.”

The union that represents teachers — the Iowa State Education Association — said the governor’s plan calls for spending $55 million on 10,000 students, while the public schools that serve nearly half a million students need more state support.