DES MOINES – The State Objection Panel, comprised of Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, State Auditor Rob Sand and Attorney General Tom Miller, met Tuesday to hear several challenges to candidates’ nomination petitions for the June 7 primary ballot.

The following rulings were made:

Tom Miller, Democratic candidate for Attorney General: Nomination petitions accepted, challenge rejected. Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg replaced Attorney General Miller on the panel for this objection.

Abby Finkenauer, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate: Nomination petitions accepted, challenge rejected.

Kyle Kuehl, Republican candidate for U.S. House, District 1: Nomination petitions rejected, challenge sustained by default ruling.

Anthony LaBruna, Republican candidate for Iowa Senate District 3: Nomination petitions accepted, challenge rejected.

Ken Rozenboom, Republican candidate for Iowa Senate, District 19: Nomination petitions accepted, challenge rejected.

Jack Whitver, Republican candidate for Iowa Senate, District 23: Nomination petitions accepted, challenge rejected.

Jeff Shipley, Republican candidate for U.S. House, District 87: Nomination petitions accepted, challenge rejected.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Atlantic Parks and Recreation Dept. Director Bryant Rasmussen says, if you’re “Looking for an opportunity to give back to the community?  There is a work day out at Sunnyside Park on Saturday April 2^nd from 1-3 pm.”

Rasmussen said also, ” We are gearing up for a busy summer season and appreciate all the help we can get.” If you have any questions, please give him a call at 712-243-3542, or e-mail brasmussen@cityofatlantic.com

Flyer created by an Atlantic High School student.

The Adair County Engineer’s Office reports Clay Avenue is closed to traffic roughly 0.5 miles south of 210th St. for a culvert replacement project. This project is expected to last 3-4 weeks. (May 29th to April 22nd)

(Atlantic, Iowa) – In a follow-up to our reports about Cass County Primary Election candidates, Wendy Richter has officially announced her candidacy for the Cass County Board of Supervisors, representing District 3. Richter says “I’ve been a resident of Cass County for most of my life, the exception while at college. For nearly twenty-seven years, I have worked and held numerous positions on local boards, as well as regional and state boards/committees. As the Director of Family Crisis Support Network, I served not only Cass County residents, but 7 other counties in southwest Iowa. During that time, I was trained as an expert witness for the State of Iowa, a certified advocate on behalf of crime victims and spent many hours collaborating with individuals & groups in each county working to get services for their residents.

Wendy Richter (Photo submitted)

“I worked with the State of Iowa and numerous other entities to begin programs and bring public and private funds to the area. Without going into details of every committee, group, and volunteer efforts I’ve participated with, I want people to know that I have a vested interest in making Cass County and our communities a place that people are proud to call home and look forward to returning to.”

In announcing her candidacy, Wendy Richter said, “I believe I have the qualifications necessary to hold the position as a Supervisor, making decisions to lead the county in the right direction. The skills I’ve gained have taught me to know how important it is to work together, listen to people, work together, to do your due diligence to get the accurate information, work together and that everyone has a voice to be heard – yes, work together needs to be in there multiple times!”

(Onawa, Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will host a public meeting at 6 p.m., March 31, at the Lewis and Clark State Park’s Visitors Center to discuss ongoing lake restoration efforts at the park, including a hydraulic dredging project slated for the 2022 open water season. Restoration activities planned for the park will be presented at the meeting, along with an opportunity for the public to ask questions about the dredging operations and potential impacts to the park throughout the construction season.

Over the past decade, members of the community have worked with DNR and other project partners to develop and implement a comprehensive lake restoration plan to improve water quality and recreational opportunities at Blue Lake. Hydraulic dredging is a significant step in the restoration process for improving water quality in the lake.

Blue Lake, Onawa, Iowa (Via Lewis-Clark.org)

The dredging project at Blue Lake wildlife area is being completed in two phases: phase one, completed in 2021, constructed a sediment containment site for holding dredge materials from the lake, and phase two will hydraulically remove approximately 434,000 cubic yards of sediment from the main basin of the lake to minimize sediment resuspension and improve water clarity. For more information about the Blue Lake Restoration project, check out the video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAlqglIxTBU

Blue Lake was added to the State’s list of Impaired Waters in 2004 due to poor water transparency attributed to sediment resuspension within the water column. A water quality improvement plan (TMDL) was completed for the lake in 2009, but water quality remains poor. Restoration planning efforts began in 2011 to address sediment resuspension within the lake and better manage water levels and nutrient inputs at Blue Lake.

Lewis and Clark State Park is a very popular recreation destination with more than 40,000 visitors each year. The campground is consistently one of the busiest in Iowa. The park is a popular place for boating, camping, relaxing, hiking or walking the trails, and fishing.

(Ida Grove, Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reports, an investigation that began as a turkey poaching case last fall has concluded with five individuals pleading guilty to 48 wildlife charges and assessed nearly $83,000 in fines and liquidated damages. State conservation officers were executing a search warrant at the home of 26-year-old Devon Lewis, of rural Washta, Iowa, on Nov. 21, when they discovered evidence of other poaching activity. Once an additional search warrant was secured, investigators uncovered evidence of a year-round poaching network involving at least 70 deer, four turkeys, ducks, raccoons and red fox dating back to at least 2018.

State Conservation Officer Kirby Bragg said evidence from the lengthy investigation showed that these individuals would shoot wildlife out of season, over bait and from vehicles, often without the proper tags. The deer were primarily bucks with antlers.

Iowa DNR photo

The following individuals pleaded guilty in January in Ida County court.

• Devon Lewis, 26, of rural Washta, pleaded guilty to 23 citations with fines and damages totaling $37,600 and a minimum seven-year hunting license suspension;
• Taylor S. Luvaas, 27 of Schaller, pleaded guilty to 14 citations, with fines and damages totaling $31,118 and a minimum seven-year hunting license suspension;
• Jacob R. Fouts, 23, of Cherokee, pleaded guilty to six citations, with fines and damages totaling $5,861 and his hunting license will be suspended;
• Dylan D. Lewis, 22, of Cushing, pleaded guilty to three citations, with fines and damages totaling $5,251 and his hunting license will be suspended;
• Austin T.L. Lewis, 19, of Cushing, pleaded guilty to two citations, with fines and damages totaling $4,300.

The judge condemned five rifles, three shotguns and three bows used to commit the crimes. “Our best chance to catch poachers is when the public provides us with timely information after witnessing illegal activity take place,” said Officer Bragg. “It was apparent that this activity had been going on for quite some time.”

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources was assisted by the Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office, Woodbury County Conservation Board, Ida County Sheriff’s Office and the Ida County Conservation Board.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest Monday evening, of a man from Woodbury County. Authorities say 53-year-old Darrin Lee Sulsberger, of Hornick, was arrested at the Woodbury County Jail, on a Mills County warrant for Contempt of Court. Sulsberger was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail.

Authorities said also, a woman from Silver City was injured during a single-vehicle accident that took place at around 10-a.m. today (Tuesday) on Barrus Road at 250th Street. 67-year-old Sharon Grauer was driving a 2013 Ford westbound on Barrus Road, when her vehicle went onto the north shoulder and then into the ditch. The accident happened as her vehicle was rounding a curve in the road.

In the ditch, the vehicle hit a culvert pipe and drove over 250th Street, before coming to rest on the northwest side of the intersection. Grauer told Deputies she accidentally went off onto the shoulder and over-corrected, causing the vehicle to enter the ditch. The woman was transported by Silver City Rescue to Mercy Hospital.

(Radio Iowa) – Several U-S senators have already declared how they’ll vote on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the U-S Supreme Court, but Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he’s not yet ready to commit one way or the other. “No, and I don’t think I’ll announce it until next Monday when we have a committee meeting,” Grassley says. “I might make up my mind before then but right now I’m going through the — I don’t know — 35 to 40 hours the hearing went on, through the records, because I had other committee meetings and couldn’t be there for all of it.”

Grassley says he and members of his party asked “tough, thorough” questions of Jackson and conducted a “fair” hearing, though he remains unhappy the Judiciary Committee didn’t have access to all of her non-public documents. “We’re still, as Republicans, some documents we’re trying to get,” Grassley says. “We may not get them but we’re not going to hold up the nomination from going forward just for that reason but I’m sure that most people are going through the same process I am.”

The Judiciary Committee has a vote on Jackson scheduled for Monday. As yet, there are no Democrats who have indicated they’ll oppose Jackson’s nomination, while no Republicans have yet said they would support her.
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Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he has no worries about Justice Clarence Thomas and any possible cases that may come before the U-S Supreme Court regarding the January 6th riot. Several agencies report Thomas’ wife, Ginni, exchanged more than two dozen texts with then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows about efforts to overturn the election.  “I think a wife has a right to have her own personal views on anything she wants to have them on,” Grassley says. “I mean, I don’t want to tell Mrs. Grassley what she can say or not say.”

Grassley, a Republican, says Justice Thomas is “a person of integrity” and it’s Thomas alone who should decide if he should recuse himself from any future proceedings. “It’s pretty well established in the Supreme Court that each justice themselves make a determination for recusal,” Grassley says, “and it’s worked this way for 240 years and that’s the way it’s going to have to work now.”

In the past, Ginni Thomas has said there is no conflict of interest between her husband’s position and her conservative activism.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Trevor Frederickson Memorial Fund has donated a set of 3D shooting targets to the Atlantic Community Schools’ archery program.  The program which continues to grow each year offers students in 6^th through 12^th grade the opportunity to shoot at both bullseye and 3D tournaments.  This year the Atlantic High School became the State Champions and several students from both the middle school and high school division will be traveling to Salt Lake City, UT at the end of April to compete in the NASP Western Nationals.

Frederickson Fund spokesperson Melanie Petty (Trevor’s mom), said “We look forward to watching this group continue to grow in the sport for years to come.”

Pictured: Grant Petty and Coach Clint Roland (Photo & info. courtesy Melanie Petty)

(Johnston, Iowa) – Two law enforcement officers from Cass County are set to graduate Friday morning from the 46th DPS (Dept. of Public Safety) Basic Academy. The ceremony for recruits takes place in Johnston. According to Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Alex Dinkla, for the past 10-weeks, the 17 recruits – including Dustin Gelner and Tyler Shiels, from Cass County – have completed courses on the laws of arrest, search and seizure, defensive tactics, arrest techniques, precision driving, firearms, emergency management services, criminal law, human relations, physical fitness, human trafficking, motor vehicle law and many other law enforcement-related courses.

Following graduation, Dustin Gelner, a former Atlantic Police Officer, and Tyler Shiels, formerly with the Cass County Sheriff’s Department, will both become members of the Iowa State Patrol.

Guests speaker for the ceremony is IDPS Commissioner Stephen K. Bayens. The event is open to family members of the recruits.