(Radio Iowa) – In-person visits will resume at the state’s prisons Saturday after being shut down for some 16 months following the COVID-19 outbreak. Department of Corrections director, Beth Skinner, says they are going to start out by allowing just half the normal capacity for visitors. “We know COVID is still around, there are variants around…so we want to start off slow and carefully watch the numbers,” Skinner says. She says they will still have online visitation available and may expand the in-person prison visitation if everything goes well.

“We’ll reevaluate that in a couple of months to see — making sure that the numbers stay stable — so we don’t have any spread of COVID in our prisons,” she says. Skinner spoke at the Board of Corrections meeting today (Friday) and says they now only have two COVID cases in the system. Skinner also announced a change she says the staff is excited about. “We are no longer requiring staff to wear masks, it is completely optional at this point,” according to Skinner. “There are exceptions in terms of when you are required to wears masks For example, in the infirmary.”

Skinner says the prison population has crept back up and is now 11-point-eight percent above capacity. She says it was 22-percent above capacity prior to COVID. Skinner says the population is expected to increase even more in the coming weeks. She says there are still around 350 people waiting in jails to be processed, and that number could increase as the court system gets back to full capacity. Skinner was asked about filling the open positions — and she says it has been a priority to find people to fill them.

“Our wardens have done a terrific job — we are actually working with DAS, the Department of Administrative Services as well — to figure out recruitment, some new strategies in terms of getting people in the door, new applicants,” Skinner says. The Iowa Board of Corrections voted today (Friday) to make interim warden Chris Tripp the permanent warden of the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison. They also approved Shawn Howard as the Warden of the Newton prison and Marcy Stroud as warden at the Mount Pleasant prison.

COUNCIL BLUFFS – Sen. Chuck Grassley’s (R-Iowa) regional director based in Council Bluffs will hold traveling office hours in seven counties around Western Iowa throughout July. Iowans seeking assistance regarding a personal issue with a federal agency or wishing to share views on matters of federal policy may stop by during the scheduled hours. The meetings will follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the State of Iowa. Participants must adhere to local COVID-19 guidelines. Grassley is represented by his regional director, Donna Barry, and will not be in attendance.

Grassley’s state offices regularly help constituents contact federal agencies to resolve problems with Social Security payments, military service matters, immigration cases and other issues. Iowans can also seek assistance via Grassley’s website.

The schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, July 20:

• Audubon County, 2 p.m. – 3 p.m.; Audubon County Courthouse Supervisors Room (318 Leroy St.), Audubon.
• Carroll County, 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.; Manning City Hall (717 3rd St.), Manning.

Wednesday, July 21:

• Page County, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.; Clarinda City Hall (101 N. 15th St.), Clarinda.

Tuesday, July 27:

• Pottawattamie County, 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.; Crescent City Hall (102 W. Florence St.), Crescent.
• Harrison County, 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.; Missouri Valley City Hall (223 E. Erie St.), Missouri Valley.

Friday, July 30

• Mills County, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.; Glenwood City Hall (107 S. Locust St.), Glenwood.
• Fremont County, 1 p.m. – 2 p.m.; Fremont County Court House (Meeting Room, 506 Filmore St.), Sidney.

Atlantic City Clerk Barb Barrick, today (Friday), sent an e-mail to the company tasked with conducting the July 4th City-paid for fireworks show. The e-mail delivered to J-and-M Displays said the Mayor and City Council asked Barrick to reach out to J&M. Their request came during Wednesday’s meeting of the Atlantic City Council, during which some members expressed displeasure with the brevity of the fireworks display.

The e-mail says “We have received many complaints that the show was extremely short (reports of 11-15 minutes).  In addition, the Fire Chief noted that it didn’t look like the City received as much product as it had in the past.  I am requesting that you look into the matter to ensure that there was not discrepancy between what the City paid ($6,000) and what it was supposed to receive ($6,000 plus 8% for early payment).  If the City did receive all of its product, would you please explain why the show took such a short time?”

As of late Friday morning, a response had not been received from J&M. We’ll update this report if additional information comes in.

The ground was white for a brief period of time this (Friday) morning, after Quarter (1″ diameter) to Golf Ball-size hail (1.75″ diameter) fell about five-miles south/southeast of Fontanelle. The National Weather Service in Des Moines says the observation was reported by a trained Spotter, who also said there was no wind at around 8:15-a.m. when the storm hit…just a lot of hail.A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued at around 8:10-a.m. for Union, Eastern Adams County and southwestern Adair Counties, where a large cell had the potential to deliver ping-pong ball sized hail (1.5″ in diameter), according to radar estimates.

The National Weather Service in Valley/Omaha, NE, says quarter-size hail was reported at around 2:23-a.m., Friday (Today), five-miles west of Portsmouth, in Harrison County. There have been no reports of damage associated with either storm cell. Forecasters say additional thunderstorms are expected later today and through the overnight. Severe storms are possible, especially over southern Iowa. Locally heavy rainfall is also expected overnight into Saturday morning across southern Iowa and northern Missouri.

(Sidney, Iowa) – Fremont County Chief Deputy Sheriff Tim Bothwell, Friday, said a Fourth of July weekend “Step Wave” (Special Traffic Enforcement Program) in the county, finished with only one property damage accident. There was one Driving While Barred, ten Motorist Assists and nine other citations and warnings.

So far this year in Fremont County there have been 57 total crashes involving 84 vehicles. There have been four fatalities and 24 injuries or possible injuries during this period. During the same period in 2020, there were 64 crashes during the heart of the pandemic. This includes two fatality accidents with a total of 26 injuries.

FORT MADISON – The Iowa Board of Corrections voted today (Friday) in support of three new wardens to lead within the Iowa Department of Corrections. The Board approved the Department’s selection of Shawn Howard as the Warden of the Newton Correctional Facility (NCF), Marcy Stroud as the Warden of the Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility (MPCF), and Chris Tripp as the Warden of the Iowa State Penitentiary (ISP).

Howard, who will serve as Warden of the NCF, is the current Deputy Warden of the Clarinda Correctional Facility (CCF), where he has served in this position since August of 2019. Howard has had over 29 years of experience in the field of corrections. He has held such positions as Juvenile Court School Liaison Officer and Probation and Parole Officer in the 5th Judicial District Department of Correctional Services.  He has worked at the CCF for the past 16 years in the positions of Treatment Director and Deputy Warden.

Stroud, who will serve as the Warden of the MPCF, is the current Deputy Warden of the MPCF. She has worked with the Department of Corrections since she started her career as a Correctional Officer in 1989. Over her career she has held many positions within the department to include Activities Specialist, Counselor, Treatment Director, Forensic Hospital Director and her current position of Deputy Warden.

Tripp has served as the Deputy Warden of the ISP since 2017, and has been serving as the interim Warden since April of this year. He started his career in Iowa Corrections at the ISP in 1990. Over the course of his career, he has held multiple positions including Correctional Officer, Correctional Supervisor, Food Service Coordinator, and Food Services Director.

Commenting on the approval of these new wardens, Department Director Beth Skinner said: “I am grateful for the opportunity to appoint these wonderful leaders to their new positions as wardens. The decades of service these individuals have given this state and department will serve them well in their new roles as wardens. Throughout their careers they have had the opportunity to not only prove their devotion to our mission as an agency but to exercise the level of leadership required to guide the amazing team members at their respective prisons which they will now lead. I thank them for their willingness to lead, and the Board for their support of these new wardens.”

AMES, Iowa – July 9, 2021 – The Iowa Department of Transportation has awarded $5,308,286 in funding for 59 Volkswagen Settlement Environmental Mitigation Trust program projects, including an electric vehicle charging station in Stuart. In the Type 1 Direct Current (DC) Fast Charger Corridor program, Kum & Go in Stuart received a requested $160,000, toward the total project cost of $284,676. And, in the Type 2/Level2 Community Charging category, Coon Rapids Municipal Utilities received $7,266 of their request $12,000 for their project, which has a total cost of $16,195.

In 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed a complaint alleging Volkswagen violated the Clean Air Act with the sale of motor vehicles between 2009 and 2016 equipped with “defeat devices” designed to perform differently during normal vehicle operation than during emissions tests. This meant that vehicles exceeded the EPA compliant levels of nitrogen oxides during normal use. Volkswagen agreed to settle some of the allegations with the creation of an Environmental Mitigation Trust (Trust) to fund strategies that will reduce the emission of nitrogen oxides. Iowa will receive approximately $21 million in Trust funds for mitigation projects which will be distributed through competitive application programs over the next several years.

Applications for the third funding cycle for categories 1, 2, and 3 were received in March from private organizations, public transit system operators, cities, counties, and schools that own and operate diesel fleets and equipment in Iowa for $4.9 million in funding available across the three eligible project categories listed below. In addition, $1.1 million was available for the second funding cycle of Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Supply Equipment toward two types of electric vehicle charging sites.

A full listing of applications received and awarded projects for each application type is available on the program website at https://www.iowadot.gov/vwsettlement/default.aspx.  A solicitation for the next cycle of funding is planned for fall 2021 with applications due in early 2022.

DES MOINES – Governor Kim Reynolds has requested  $222 million in pandemic relief from the American Rescue Package of 2021 (ARPA) that will allow 930 city governments to access federal funding starting today (Friday). The Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund will provide $19.53 billion nationally to support tens of thousands of non-entitlement units of local government (NEUs), which are local governments typically serving a population under 50,000.

$111 million in Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds will be available this fiscal year and an additional $111 million will be in the next fiscal year. Cities have 30 days to submit paperwork to the Iowa Department of Management to receive these federal funds. Cities will also have complete jurisdiction over how this money is spent following compliance with federal guidance and parameters.

Prior to making the request from the federal government, the state of Iowa has worked with hundreds of municipalities and the Iowa League of Cities on pre-spending plans in order to reduce the red tape and ease the administration of the federal funds they will receive. Over one-third of all eligible cities in Iowa have already completed their paperwork to access these funds.

The Department of the Treasury will make payments to each State for distribution to NEUs within each state. Treasury is providing the guidance to assist States with their distribution of these funds to NEUs.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks is hailing a new state law that shortened Iowa’s early voting period and shaved an hour off Election Day voting. The law reduced county auditors’ authority to make some election-related decisions and limits who can handle absentee ballots.  “Thank goodness Iowa changed election law or updated and modernized their election law both in 2019 and in 2020 and in 2021,” Miller-Meeks said. “And you’ve done the right things.”

Miller-Meeks made her comments last (Thursday) night at an Iowa Republican Party fundraiser in her hometown of Ottumwa. Miller-Meeks won her race for Iowa’s second district congressional seat by just six votes. In late June told a crowd in Davenport she had been cheated down to that margin in the district-wide recount. Last (Thursday) night, Miller-Meeks took issue with how some county auditors handled tabulation errors, but she says Iowans can trust the final certified result. “I don’t think that there was fraud in this election,” Miller-Meeks says. “I think that Iowans can be confident of election integrity and they can be confident of the process.”

A lawsuit filed on behalf of the League of United Latin American Citizens is challenging the election changes Republican Governor Kim Reynolds approved this spring, arguing the new law restricts nearly every form of voting Iowans used in 2020.

In an update to our earlier reports, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office today (Friday), said Deputies responded at around 3:32-a.m. to a two-vehicle accident on eastbound Interstate 80, near mile marker 72. Four subjects were transported to Cass County Memorial Hospital for treatment.  Two of the subjects were later transferred to CHI/Bergen Mercy in Omaha.  The accident is still under investigation.

The Sheriff’s Office reports also, there were three people arrested from June 25th through July 6th. On Tuesday (July 6) Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 42-year-old Monty Wayne Casteel, of Atlantic, on a Cass County warrant for failure to appear.  Casteel was taken to the Cass County Jail where he later plead guilty and was released. On July 3rd, Deputies arrested 23-year-old Levi Branson Glover, of Lewis, for OWI 1st offense.  Glover was transported to Cass County Jail and was later released on his own recognizance.

And, on June 25th, Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 46-year-old Brad James Smith, of Perry, on a Cass County warrant for failure to appear. Smith remains held on bond in the Cass County Jail.