(Radio Iowa) – Iowans are being warned that spending too much time outdoors today (Friday) could be dangerous, as an extreme heat warning is posted for Iowa’s southern half and western third. Forecasters say heat indices this afternoon may reach 110 to 115 degrees. Meteorologist Cory Martin, at the National Weather Service, says parts of Iowa escaped the heat Thursday with cloud cover and rain. “While it didn’t produce heavy rainfall that really cooled us down, what it did do is it left behind some cloud debris that helped keep the temperatures down a little bit,” Martin says. “But right now, for today, we’re looking at sunshine. It’s probably going to be a bit more likely, so we’re a bit more confident in the temperatures getting up a little higher today compared to yesterday.”

It’s a hot, steamy 81 miles from Tama-Toledo to Coralville on this next-to-last day of RAGBRAI, as thousands of bicycle riders near their final destination. Nick Pfeiffer is Coralville’s RAGBRAI publicity chairman and says the city has been working toward this day for months. “A lot of preparation. A lot of planning,” Pfeiffer says. “We’ve been talking about all of our plans since January, and knowing that this is the 50th anniversary of RAGBRAI, we knew it was going to be large crowds and so we’re ready for it. We’re preparing for 50,000.”

Given the extreme heat, Pfeiffer says there will be multiple E-M-T teams available for riders. He notes, past experience with the week-long bike ride has helped. “This is the sixth time Coralville has hosted, plus, we’ve assisted with Iowa City and North Liberty hosting, as well,” he says, “and that absolutely helped a lot, because it’s a lot of the same people that are helping, so we’ve got a lot of experience.”

Coralville is the last overnight stop on this year’s ride, which concludes tomorrow in Davenport on the banks of the Mississippi River.

(Ames, Iowa) – Thousands of visitors flocked to Iowa this past week for RAGBRAI. This annual event shines a spotlight on bicycling as recreation, but there are also many Iowans who rely on bicycling to get to where they need to go every day.

The Iowa DOT says, regardless of the reason for bicycles being on the road, many people misunderstand the laws and rules as it relates to all of us sharing the road together. The Iowa Bicycle Coalition has put together a website (https://www.iowabicyclecoalition.org/iowa-bicycle-laws/) to help bicyclists understand Iowa law as it relates to two-wheeled transportation.

Here’s a little earworm from Queen – https://youtu.be/KwvWtZl2ICY

So far this year in Iowa, 202 people have been killed in traffic crashes. That’s an increase of eight since last Friday. In Iowa in 2022, there were 338 traffic-related deaths. To see statistics published daily by the Office of Driver Services, go to the daily fatality report at https://www.iowadot.gov/mvd/stats/daily.pdfDOT

(Davenport, Iowa) – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports a Long Beach, California man was sentenced July 21st (2023) to 12 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine resulting in the death of a victim. According to public court documents, 61-year-old Ray Bustamante conspired with Dr. John Robert Muriello and Eric Hojka, both of Iowa City, and others, to obtain and distribute methamphetamine. An investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service revealed that since early 2020, Bustamante mailed packages of methamphetamine to people he met online. In March 2021, a parcel, mailed by Bustamante, was intercepted by Postal Inspectors and found to contain approximately 137 grams of “ice” methamphetamine.

In a separate investigation in May 2021, first responders were dispatched to Hojka’s Iowa City apartment for a report of an unconscious victim, who was later pronounced dead. An autopsy revealed the victim ingested methamphetamine which caused his death. It was later determined that the methamphetamine ingested by the victim originated from Bustamante and was sent to Dr. John Robert Muriello and Eric Hojka in Iowa City for distribution.

After his prison term, Bustamante was ordered to serve a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Iowa City Police Department.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Legislation passed last Thursday night through the House Financial Services Committee, serves to protect investment saving accounts from politically-motivated investing that reduce returns for Iowans. Iowa 3rd District Republican Representative Zach Nunn says “Inflation and rising costs have made it harder and harder to save for retirement, which is why I pushed for this legislation to maximize Iowans’ retirements savings. Investment decisions should be made to maximize returns, not reward companies for their policies or political views. This legislation ensures profits are driving decisions.” The bill now heads to the House Floor for further discussion and action.

Under current law, investment managers may make investment decisions based on a company’s policies or political views, rather than maximizing returns for the original investor. In fact, just two consulting companies are making these decisions on 97% of the shareholder votes nationwide, and corporations and asset managers accept this advice without even reviewing the recommendations through a method called robo-voting. Often, these two consulting companies have financial or political conflicts of interest that are never disclosed to the original investor. Accounts managed this way see an average of 14% decrease in returns.

The Protecting Retirees’ Savings Act would eliminate these conflicts of interest for financial managers by:

Requiring the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue final rules prohibiting the use of robo-voting with respect to votes related to proxy or consent solicitation
Prohibiting institutional investors from outsourcing voting decisions with respect to votes related to proxy
Removing requirements to vote, so no one would be required to cast votes related to proxy
The Protecting Retirees’ Savings Act was passed as part of the Protecting Americans’ Retirement Savings from Politics Act.

(Radio Iowa)- A fire in northwest Iowa last night (Thursday) caused major damage at the site of Rembrandt Enterprises, an egg production facility north of Storm Lake. A total of 14 fire departments from four counties, as well as other agencies, responded to the scene near the town of Rembrandt. The first call was received at 6:18 Thursday evening, and the fire was extinguished a little over three hours later.

Fire crews remained on the scene for the next couple of hours dealing with hot spots and debris. Two facilities were completely destroyed, according to the Buena Vista County Emergency Management Coordinator. There were no injuries. The cause of the fire has not been determined.

City of Storm Lake Facebook page

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston report two people were arrested on separate charges, Thursday. At around 10:15-a.m., 37-year-old Bridget Gabrielle Carroll, of Afton, was arrested in the 300 Block of N. Elm Street, in Creston. She was charged with Possession of Controlled Substance Marijuana 1st Offense. Carroll was taken to Union County Jail, and later posted at $1,000 bond.

And, at around 12:10-p.m., Thursday, 44-year-old Crystal Marie Mack, of Creston, was arrested at Howard and Maple Streets. She was charged with Driving While Revoked. Mack was taken to Union County Jail and later released on a $1,000 bond.

(Audubon, Iowa) – The Rose Theater in Audubon reports an anonymous donor is sponsoring free admission this weekend, for anyone wanting to see the movie “Sound of Freedom.” All weekend show times are included.

The Sound of Freedom is a 2023 American action film starring Jim Caviezel, Mira Sorvino, and Bill Camp. It’s about former government agent Bill Ballard, who embarks on a mission to rescue children from sex traffickers in Colombia.

The plot centers around Ballard’s Operation Underground Railroad, a non-profit, n anti-sex trafficking organization.

The film was released on July 4th.

(Radio Iowa) – New drugs which may help slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease may soon be available to Iowans. The F-D-A recently approved the drug Leqembi (lah-KEM-bee). Dr. Lynn Rankin, a clinical neurologist at UnityPoint Health in Des Moines, says researchers have waited three decades for a treatment that could impact the progression of Alzheimer’s, but this new treatment can be intensive. Rankin calls Leqembi “a little messy” as it requires an I-V every two weeks, plus M-R-Is multiple times during treatment.

Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly is seeking F-D-A approval for its experimental Alzheimer’s drug, Donanemab. Rankin says the new drugs may be more of a challenge to distribute in Iowa because the state has a shortage of neurologists. The Iowa chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association estimates there are 66,000 Iowans living with Alzheimer’s or another dementia, and another 98,000 Iowans are their caregivers.

(Corning, Iowa) – The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports six arrests took place from July 8th through the 22nd.

• On July 22nd: Deputies in Adams County arrested 38-year-old Bihn Duc Nguyen, of Missouri, on a charge of Domestic Abuse Assault. He was being held without bond in the Adams County Jail; 28-year-old Adam Bauman, of Cumberland, was arrested on the 22nd, for Driving While Revoked. His bond was set at $1,000; And, 32-year-old Brandon Sanders, of Pennsylvania, was arrested Saturday (7/22), for Public Intoxication, with bond set at $300.
• On July 12th, Adams County Deputies arrested 47-year-old Shayne Magnuson, of Carbon, for Driving While Suspended. He was released from the scene on a Summons to appear in court.
• On the 8th: 27-year-old Montana Smith, of Bethany, MO., was arrested in Adams County, for Possession of a Controlled Substance/1st offense, and Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia. Her bond was set at $1,300; And, 19-year-old Kale Haffner, of Corning, was arrested at around 1:20-a.m. on July 8th, for OWI/1st offense and Poss. of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 1st offense. His bond was set at $2,000.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report the arrest at around 12:30-a.m. Friday (today), of 61-year-old Daniel Mark Kinnersley, from Red Oak. Kinnersley was taken into custody in the 700 block of N. Broadway, and charged with Felony – Burglary in the 3rd Degree. His bond at the Montgomery County Jail, was set at $5,000.

Thursday afternoon, Red Oak Police arrested 44-year-old Wendi Ann Wilkins, of Red Oak, on a Red Oak P-D warrant for Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree. Wilkins was taken into custody at around 4:35-p.m. in the 200 block of E. Hammond Street, and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where her bond was set at $1,000.