Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey says he’d be willing to serve as Kim Reynolds’ lieutenant governor once she takes over as governor.
[RIcapBN1] :24 :makes sense.”
(as said) “I certainly am there to support her 100 percent and am willing to help in whatever way there needs to be, so I just am very excited about the opportunity,” Northey says. “I’m excited about the governor being our ambassador to China. I think that’s great for the state and for the country, but I’m also existed about the lieutenant governor becoming our governor and being able to help in whatever way makes sense.”

There’s no firm timeline yet for the transition of power, as there’s no date set for when Governor Terry Branstad will be confirmed for his new post as U.S. Ambassador to China. During an interview Friday afternoon with Radio Iowa, Reynolds says she has a list of individuals she’s considering to invite to be HER lieutenant governor. Northey issued a statement earlier this week, announcing he would NOT run for governor himself in 2018 and calling on Iowa Republicans to rally behind Reynolds.
Northey says the “math certainly changed” with Branstad’s looming exit and — since it is well known in political circles that he’s been considering a run for governor — he wanted to make his intentions clear.
[RIcapBN2] :07 :the Iowa legislature.”
(as said) “I think it’s important to support our next governor, to be able to have a strong two years with the Iowa legislature,” Northey says.

Northey is in the midst of his third term as the state’s ag secretary.
[RIcapBN3] :03 :to serve Iowans.”
(as said) “I certainly am interested in being able to serve Iowans,” Northey says.

And Northey says he’s “open” to leaving his post to become the state’s lieutenant governor, but Northey says there are “a lot of great folks” who could fill that role. Northey made his comments on this weekend’s edition of the Iowa Public Television program, “Iowa Press.”

(Radio Iowa)

Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds says she and Governor Branstad have had an “excellent working relationship” and she’s prepared to take over as the state’s chief executive when Branstad leaves to become the U.S. Ambassador to China. Reynolds spoke Friday afternoon with Radio Iowa news director O. Kay Henderson. An outline for the transition of power is being developed, but there’s no date set for Reynolds to take the oath of office and become Iowa’s next governor.

Reynolds says she’s working with Branstad and the entire “team” in his office to put together a package of recommendations for the 2017 legislative session. And it will be Branstad who’ll deliver the annual “Condition of the State” message to legislators in early January and present a state budget outline for the coming year.

As for whether Reynolds might make significant personnel changes in state government, she says this is “just the second day” after confirmation of Branstad’s exit and her elevation to the governorship. Reynolds isn’t ready to say who she’s considering to invite to be HER lieutenant governor once she takes the oath and is Iowa’s 43rd governor, but she has “a lot of individuals” on her list.

Reynolds says she’s looking for “good chemistry” since she will consider her lieutenant to be a governing partner. After 42 previous governors who were men, Iowa’s 43rd will be a woman and Reynolds hints she’ll run as an incumbent in 2018 — to become the first woman ELECTED as the state’s governor.

Reynolds served in local government as the treasurer in Clarke County before a two-year stint as a state senator, then she accepted Branstad’s invitation to be his lieutenant governor running mate in 2010. She’s the fifth woman in a row to serve as lieutenant governor. Until 2014 — when Joni Ernst was elected to the U.S. Senate — only the states of Iowa and Mississippi had never elected a women as governor or to federal office. “I’m really proud to have the opportunity to be a part of history and be part of that,” Reynolds says.

Not only is Ernst the first female senator from Iowa, but Reynolds points to Linda Upmeyer, who last year became the first woman to serve as speaker of the Iowa House. “Probably the majority” of state agency directors are women, too, according to Reynolds. “Although I’m proud of that, what I’m most proud of is I think for all of them it was not really about gender, but it was about a passion to serve and to make a difference and that’s what I think is reflected in every one of the individuals that I just named and that’s what I think is really important,” Reynolds says. “So, kind of as a side bonus, though, young girls in this state have some wonderful role models.”

Reynolds, who is 59, is a native of St. Charles. She and her husband live in Osceola.

(Radio Iowa)

The area’s top news at 7:05-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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With the holidays approaching, many Iowans are sending and receiving packages but be warned. A new scam involves an email that claims there’s a problem with a package delivery and the message appears to be from U-P-S, FedEx or the U-S Postal Service. Jim Hegarty, head of the Better Business Bureau office in Omaha-Council Bluffs, says don’t be fooled. “Scammers use this time of the year, every year, to send these spoofed emails,” Hegarty says. “They look like they’re from legitimate delivery services but they’re designed to download malware into your system which can cause you all kinds of headaches.”

Should you get such an email, report it to your internet service provider and delete it. You can also call the agency to verify there’s no problem with your delivery. Hegarty also warns of recent scams on Facebook that appear to be from friends, touting federal grant money for people with disabilities. Hegarty says don’t accept “friend” requests on Facebook from people you don’t know.

“We’re in an environment now where this is a venue that’s being used very consistently to take advantage of people and get access to accounts,” he says. “We just have to be super cautious.” The grant scheme recently duped an Omaha-area woman out of more than two-thousand dollars, thinking she was following the advice of a “friend.”

(Radio Iowa)

It’s the most wonderful time of the year with local band Popcorn Button returning to the Elks Lodge to provide a holly jolly night of music and dancing on Friday, December 30th. As always, admission is free and dancers and listeners of all ages are invited to attend.

The sixteen-piece band will be playing a variety of classic Big Band era hits along with some special yuletide charts that will deck the halls and jingle bell rock all night for everyone to dance the night away to. There are even rumors that Santa Claus himself will be coming down to jam with the band to relax after his big day of deliveries.

Popcorn Button, founded in 2010, is a group of volunteer musicians from all walks of life. Many hail from the Atlantic community, including many alumni of Atlantic High School. Also featured are students and recent alumni from Iowa State University, the University of Iowa, the University of Northern Iowa, Buena Vista University, and the community at large.

Since 2012, the band has operated the Popcorn Button Community Music Scholarship. This award supports young musicians from the community as they attend honor bands, band camps, and music lessons.

Holiday Ball is a free public event. All ages and dancing abilities are invited and encouraged to attend on Friday, December 30th at the Elks Lodge on 501 Poplar Street in Atlantic. A free will donation will be accepted at the door to defray the band’s operating costs. For more information on Holiday Ball or the scholarship, email info@popcornbutton.org or visit www.popcornbutton.org.

Deputies with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Friday evening, arrested a woman from Pottawattamie County. Officials say 18-year old Sarah Jeanette Croson, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at around 6:20-p.m., following a traffic stop near the intersection of Boxelder/Highway 34, west of Red Oak.  Croson was taken into custody for Driving While Barred. She was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $2,000 bond.

Firefighters from Westphalia and at least four other departments responded to a house fire Friday night, at around 6:15-p.m., at 107 4th Street, in Westphalia. Scanner reports indicated crews from Earling, Panama, Harlan, and Portsmouth were called to the scene. When Westphalia Fire arrived on the scene, the roof of the single-family structure was fully engulfed in flames.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Photos submitted to KJAN

A central Iowa man was injured during a head-on, wrong-way vehicle collision Friday night, in Pottawattamie County. The Iowa State Patrol reports 22-year old Ryan I. Evans, of Johnston, was driving a 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse eastbound in the westbound lane of Interstate 80 about two-miles north of the exit to Highway 6 on the east side of Council Bluffs, when his car struck a 2013 Freightliner semi. The accident happened at around 10:11-p.m. in the right lane of westbound I-80.

Following the collision, the car came to rest in the median, and caught fire. The semi, driven by 57-year old Marvin L. Fielder, of Omaha, came to rest in the west ditch. Fielder was not injured in the crash. Evans, who was wearing his seat belt, was flown by LifeNet to the UNMC in Omaha.

The Patrol says the accident remains under investigation, but alcohol does NOT appear to be a factor in the crash.

Officials with the Council Bluffs Police Department report officers were involved in the pursuit Friday afternoon, of a stolen vehicle. The vehicle was seen at around 3:20-p.m. traveling southbound on the South Expressway. The vehicle eluded officers when they attempted to stop it and they pursued it through the city. At one point the vehicle left the traveled portion of the roadway and also drove in the wrong lanes of traffic on two other occasions.

Officers were able to follow the vehicle until it went into Omaha and communicated with dispatchers who relayed the information to Omaha Police Department (OPD) Officers. A short time later, OPD officers located the vehicle in the 5800 block of South 14th Street. Two suspects were also located in the area.

The OPD Auto Theft Unit is handing the investigation. Police have not yet released the names of those two suspects.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A state official credits increased use of overdose antidotes for a decline in deaths due to heroin and pain pills in Iowa. The director of the Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy tells The Des Moines Register that first responders now have more training and experience in how to respond to overdoses. He says more also carry antidotes like naloxone, which can counteract the effects of narcotic overdoses.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court seems to agree with Kevin Costner that there’s no better place to play baseball than on fields cut out of the corn. The court on Friday cleared the way for a 24-field baseball complex at the “Field of Dreams” movie site in Dyersville, upholding a lower court’s decision that the City Council properly rezoned the property from agricultural to commercial.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Sioux City police have revealed the name of an officer who fatally shot a South Dakota man during a traffic stop, as well as more details of the shooting. The Sioux City Journal cites a department release Friday that says Officer Dylan Grimsley fatally shot 36-year-old Daniel Anthony Riedmann, of Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, on Wednesday. Police say Riedmann ignored commands to show his hands and unlock the door of the SUV. Police say a gun was found in the vehicle.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities are investigating a Des Moines house fire that injured three firefighters. The Des Moines Register reports that the fire is believed to have started in the attic of the house Thursday night. Des Moines Fire Department spokesman Brian O’Keefe says one firefighter was injured when he fell through an opening in the attic roof to the floor below. A second dislocated his shoulder moving fire equipment, and a third was injured when the house’s ceiling collapsed.