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KJAN News can be heard at five minutes after every hour right after Fox News 24 hours a day!
Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
(Radio Iowa) – The chairman of a key House committee says he and other legislators have begun discussing new limits on the powers Iowa governors may exercise during emergencies. Representative Steven Holt, a Republican from Denison, says in California, for example, churches could not hold indoor services, but strip clubs got a court order in November to stay open.
“It really is not related to Governor Reynolds. Governor Reynolds is not always going to be the governor,” Holt says. “…We need to have a discussion as to how far we believe these emergency powers should be allowed to go.”
House Speaker Pat Grassley says Republicans are in total agreement that Governor Reynolds has done a tremendous job during the pandemic. “There wasn’t a playbook that we had to work with,” Grassley says. “The governor didn’t have a playbook to work with that you can look back to another situation.” Senate Republican Leader Jack Whitver says there’s a time and a place to address general concerns about emergency powers for Iowa governors, but it’s not during the 2021 session. “In the middle of a pandemic is a really difficult to have that conversation and try to change executive powers,” Whitver says.
Whitver says the pandemic has been an extremely difficult time for everyone. “I’m not sure that anyone’s had a more difficult year than governors in this country and the decisions they have to make every day, sometimes with not nearly the information they need to make those decisions,” Whitver says. “…I commend Governor Reynolds on quick, decisive action, trying to balance the various interests.” Holt, who also commends Reynolds for the way she’s handled the pandemic, says it will take a while to ponder the profound questions that could be answered by lawmakers next year, before the next emergency happens.
“What right does government have to pick winners and losers and tell businesses that they have to close and that this one’s essential and this one is not when every job is essential when you’ve got to put food on the table and every business is essential when you’re put your life savings into it and your heart and soul into it for decades and maybe your parents and grandparents before you?” Holt asks. “So I think these discussions are absolutely essential.”Governor Kim Reynolds issued her first public health emergency proclamation last March. She ordered churches, schools and a variety of businesses to close at the start of the pandemic.
“Governor Reynolds, compared to many other governors, has taken very reasonable approaches,” Holt says. “…Nonetheless, there have been a lot of businesses and families profoundly impacted by government’s response to the coronavirus and it is no secret I have said on social media that I believe that government’s response to the coronavirus is now worse than the virus itself and I will stand by that.”
The governor’s current public health emergency proclamation calls for mask wearing in many public places. The proclamation will expire this Saturday, February 6th unless that governor extends or amends it, which she has done through the pandemic.
(Radio Iowa) – A building collapsed this weekend in Hinton, partially blocking traffic on Highway 75 for a time. No one was inside the 120-year-old brick and concrete building when its west wall collapsed at about 8:10 a-m Saturday. Owner Sara Smith says the building was used for storage of equipment, and her husband had noticed earlier that something didn’t seem right. “I’m thinking it had something to do with the roof. My husband was down here yesterday looking at it. Something just didn’t seem right so he wanted to get the insurance company down here to get it looked at,” Smith says. She says the trouble her husband noticed may’ve been the cause of the collapse.
“The beams have crisscrossed, they weren’t in alignment any more. We get a lot of truck traffic, so it vibrates the whole building every time they go by. I don’t know if that had something to do with it or not,” she says. The Le Mars Fire Department checked the building with its drone to see if there were any additional concerns with the integrity of the building. Smith estimated the damage to the building’s contents at “hundreds of thousands of dollars.” She wasn’t certain as to the value of the building itself.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new monthly survey shows continued economic improvement in nine Midwest and Plains states, but business leaders indicated the coronavirus pandemic is still hurting business. The overall index for the region in January suggests improved growth, coming in at at a strong 67.3 from December’s 64.1. Any score above 50 on the survey’s indexes suggests growth, while a score below 50 suggests recession. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey. He estimated a rosier economic outlook in the coming months, citing an increase in the survey’s confidence index.
The monthly survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
A traffic stop January 26th in Adams County resulted in numerous drug charges being filed on two people from Corning. The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports deputies saw two vehicles driving onto the Corning Hotel property. They knew one of the drivers had a suspended license. Deputies then made contact with the individuals, who were identified as 38-year old Jackie Ann Dimmler, and 37-year old Clay Ryan Pettit.
Upon further investigation, both were taken into custody for:
Dimmler was additionally charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm or offensive weapon, and Driving Under Suspension with four withdrawals. Pettit was also charged with Driving Under Suspension, times seven. Both were transported to the Adams County Jail, where Dimmler was being held on $50,000 bond, and Pettit’s cash or surety bond was set at $34,000.
(Des Moines) The Girl Scout Cookie Program® kicks off in Greater Iowa February 1, and Girl Scouts are selling in creative, socially distant, and contact-free ways to keep themselves and their customers safe. Girl Scouts are adapting their sales methods to share the joy of Girl Scout Cookies through the largest girl-led entrepreneurship program—including taking contact-free pickup and delivery orders through a new national collaboration with Grubhub. Customers can also buy cookies online and have cookies shipped to their house or picked up at a local virtual cookie booth.
Beth Shelton, CEO of Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa, says “When you buy delicious Girl Scout Cookies, you are helping girls not only discover their inner leadership potential but also use their earnings to power amazing experiences for themselves and their troop. Many girls put the money toward impactful community projects right in their own backyards, from supporting animal shelters and food banks to working with local and state legislators to change laws.”
Cookie Varieties include: Toast-Yay!, Caramel Chocolate Chip, Girl Scout S’mores, Lemonades, Shortbreads, Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Patties, Caramel deLites, and Peanut Butter Sandwiches.
Price: $5 per package
When: February 1 – March 28, 2021. Customers can place orders starting on February 1, and booth sales will begin on February 12.
New Girl Scout Cookie – Meet the Toast-Yay! This year, Greater Iowa will offer the new Toast-Yay!™ cookie, a French toast–inspired cookie dipped in delicious icing and full of flavor in every bite. Toast-Yay! gives consumers a new way to celebrate moments of joy alongside other favorites, like Thin Mints® and Caramel deLites®.
The proceeds from each and every purchase stay local to power Girl Scouts’ essential leadership programming.
How to Safely Purchase Girl Scout Cookies This Season: Girl Scout Cookie season is recognized in Greater Iowa from February 1 through March 28. Consumers can support Girl Scouts by purchasing cookies a few different ways:
To learn more about the history of Girl Scout cookies and the Girl Scout Cookie Program, visit girlscoutcookies.org. To join or volunteer, visit girlscoutsiowa.org/join and girlscoutsiowa.org/volunteer.
Organizers of the 2021 southwest Iowa Legislative Coffees are collaborating this year. The coffees will be held together via Zoom, Saturday, February 13, Saturday, March 13, and Saturday, April 10. The February coffee will take place from 9 – 10:30 a.m., with the option to continue longer, should conversation and participation encourage extending discussion.
Collaborating counties are Adams, Cass, and Union.
Ellen Gerharz, executive director of the Creston Chamber of Commerce, says “It makes sense for safety and convenience this year to hold our legislative time together online. We have space for 100 total participants. People may join on their phones to listen in and participate. Depending on how many join, we may adapt the March meeting for time.” Nancy Turner, organizer for the Corning coffee event, says “We asked Senator Tom Shipley and Representative Tom Moore, who agreed to this format. It also saves travel time, safety, and cost for our state legislators, enabling them to devote their morning engaging with residents.”
Kim Spillers, representative for the Progressive Rural Iowa Development Enterprise economic, says “We’re excited to use Zoom, because of the potential for greater participation. Connecting with our state legislators is valuable for them to hear what’s important to us as they discuss and make decisions on our behalf at the state Capitol.”
To be efficient in this format, people with questions for Senator Shipley or Representative Moore are asked to submit them AHEAD, by noon on Thursday, February 11. Questions will be given to our legislators to be prepared to answer. For those not submitting questions ahead, participants may ask in the “chat” feature of Zoom during the coffee, and will be taken as time allows. The coffee will begin with a brief update by each legislator of the work taking place in his chamber.
If you plan to attend the February 13 coffee, please send questions and requests for the Zoom link to any of the following organizers (listed below). Be sure to leave a message, if no answer to a phone call.
The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports four arrests. At around 3:45-a.m. Saturday, 46-year old Jason Eugene Burg, of Creston, was arrested following a traffic stop near the intersection of Bridgewater Road and Highway 92. Authorities say Burg failed to stop at the intersection. A deputy followed him and observed the pickup weaving back and forth from the center line to the fog line. Upon further investigation, Burg was arrested for OWI/1st offense, when his breath tested at .135%. He was released later that morning on a citation.
Friday night, 33-year old Austin James Hill, of West Des Moines, was arrested by the Iowa State Patrol, on an Adair County warrant for Driving While License Denied or Revoked. He was released the following evening on a $1,000 cash or surety bond. On January 27th, 20-year old Joel William Blazek, of Greenfield, was arrested on an Adair County warrant for Sexual Abuse in the 3rd Degree, Child Endangerment, and Lascivious Acts with a Child – solicitation. The charge is not new. Sheriff Jeff Vandewater says Blazek’s arrest was for failure to comply with the conditions of his release. He was being held in the Adair County Jail on a $35,000 cash or surety bond, with 10% acceptable.
And, on Jan. 26th, Stuart Police arrested 31-year old Manuel Duran-Arellanes, for Theft in the 1st Degree, following an incident that took place on Nov. 26th. Authorities say a witness saw a vehicle accident at the intersection of the I-80 eastbound off-ramp and the Stuart Road. The vehicle’s driver – who was described as an Hispanic male – fled on foot. The vehicle – a 2019 Nissan Versa, valued at more than $10,000 – was determined to have been stolen. Authorities later caught up with Duran-Arellanes, and detained him based on the information they had received. After the witness positively identified the man as being the driver, Duran-Arellanes was taken into custody and transported to the Adair County Jail, where he was being held on a $10,000 cash or surety bond.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Arizona man accused of threatening to shoot Iowa lawmakers has been sentenced to five years in prison. The Des Moines Register reports that Cody Leveke, also identified as Cody Meyers in court records, was sentenced Friday in Des Moines’ federal court. Leveke was arrested in December 2019 and convicted in September of interstate communication of a threat.
Authorities say Leveke sent emails to state Sen. Herman Quirmbach saying he was “angry enough to pull a mass shooting down at the State House,” among other things. Prosecutors say Leveke was angry over the failure of a bill that would have allowed him to apply to be removed from the sex offender registry without moving back to Iowa.
After a record 250 deaths linked to the coronavirus that was reported Sunday, the IDPH today (Monday), said five people had died over the past 24-hours, for a pandemic total of 4,907. There are also 292 new cases, for a pandemic total of 319,495. The health department said earlier that of the Covid deaths reported Sunday, some actually occurred on October 15th and many happened in November and December and early January, but had just been included in the latest batch of data the Centers for Disease Control sent the state. State officials say in some instances, it takes time for the National Center for Health Statistics to confirm a death is caused by or related to Covid.
The IDPH said Monday, 4,447 of the deaths were attributed to Underlying Cause, and COVID was a contributing factor to 459 deaths. Long-Term Care (LTC) deaths make up for 2,009 of the total deaths. The Iowa DPH reports there are 55 COVID-19 outbreaks among Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities in the state. Those facilities account for 1,641 of Iowa’s current positive cases. Health officials say 910 LTC patients have recovered.
Iowa DPH today 368 persons are hospitalized with COVID or its symptoms. Officials say 92 patients are in intensive care units, 41 COVID patients were admitted to hospitals over the 24-hours, and there are 20 people are on a ventilator. In RMCC Region 4 (Western/southwest Iowa hospitals): 25 are hospitalized w/Covid; 9 are in an ICU; two people were admitted since Saturday, and two people are on a ventilator.
The health department reports a total of 254,043 vaccine doses have been administered. Of those doses, 133,895 individuals have received an initial inoculation, while 60,074 have received a second dose. Iowa’s average reported 14-day positivity rate is 9.9%. The past 7-day average is 7.5%. Of the state’s confirmed cases, 283,040 Iowans recovered.
In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County; The # of new cases since yesterday {+} – if any; and the total number of deaths in each county to date:
Atlantic Police conducted multiple arrests during the month of January. On Jan. 26th, 32-year old James Vanatta, of Atlantic was arrested for shoplifting (Theft in the 5th degree). The day before, 28-year old Cody Christensen, of Atlantic, was arrested for Driving While License Denied or Revoked. And, on Jan. 24th, 32-year old April Medina, of Atlantic, was arrested for Criminal Mischief in the 5th Degree. All three subjects were cited into court and released at the scene.
On January 23rd, 61-year old Joseph Hahn, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Violation of Probation. And, 33-year old Jessica Mayo, of Atlantic, was arrested for OWI. January 15th, 48-year old Dwayne Rollins, of Atlantic, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault. That same day, 19-year old JR Berdon, of Atlantic, was arrested for Public Intoxication. On Jan. 14th, 23-year old TK Narios, of Atlantic, was arrested by Atlantic Police, on a Cass County warrant for Probation Violation. And, 42-year old Arthur Clark, of Atlantic, was cited for Simple Assault.
January 10th, Atlantic Police arrested 40-year old Dustin Vanhorn, of Atlantic, for OWI. A day earlier, 26-year old Nicholas Renner, of Atlantic, was cited for Driving While Barred. On Jan. 8th, Atlantic Police arrested 30-year old Ashley Fuentes, of Atlantic, for Domestic Abuse Assault. On the 5th, 57-year old Marjorie Lengyel, of Atlantic, was arrested for Driving while barred, and driving while license denied or revoked. She was released with a citation to appear in court.
On Jan. 2nd, 19-year old JR Berdon, of Atlantic, was arrested for Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree, Disorderly Conduct and Public Intoxication. And, 21-year old SK Kovac, of Atlantic, was cited for Criminal Mischief in the 3rd Degree. On January 1st, Atlantic Police cited 50-year old Binte Binios, of Atlantic, into court for Driving While License denied or revoked. All of the aforementioned subjects were booked into the Cass County Jail.
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