(Lisbon, Iowa) – The driver of a 2016 Mack truck died, when the vehicle was struck by a train Friday afternoon, in eastern Iowa’s Linn County. The Iowa State Patrol says the driver attempted to cross the railroad tracks in the 120th block of 115th Street in Lisbon at around 1:36-p.m., when it the truck was hit on the driver’s side, by an eastbound train.

The truck driver’s name and other accident information was being withheld by authorities, pending notification of family.

The State Patrol was assisted at the scene, by the Lisbon/Mt. Vernon Police Department and Ambulance, Mechanicsville Fire Dept., the Iowa DNR and DOT.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says legislation she voted for along with other House Republicans is a conservative border security package that could address the humanitarian and safety crisis issues. “Well, I certainly hope that Senate will step up to the plate and work with us in the house to deal with this situation because it is unprecedented as a result of this administration’s policies,” Hinson says.

Hinson’s comments come as coronavirus restrictions on asylum allowing the U-S to quickly turn back migrants at the U-S-Mexico border ended today (Friday) She says Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas should have taken action to ensure that immigrants weren’t rushing the border as the restrictions ended. “I would support moving forward with an impeachment trial if Secretary Mayorkas refuses to do the right thing and resign because of his failures at the southern border,” Hinson says. Hinson hopes there can be a bipartisan solution to dealing with the issue.

“We have heard from a number of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle that they realized that this is a problem, they realize that the Biden administration has failed in this case,” Hinson says. “They knew the deadline was coming. And they did not take steps to address the coming surge of illegal immigration. So I’m counting on some folks in the Senate to have a little political courage here and step up and realize we have to do the right thing to secure our country and secure our border.”

Hinson says we’re coming up on almost 300 people on the terror watchlist that have been apprehended at our southern border that we know of,so this is a safety and security issue.

(Radio Iowa) – The governor has signed a bill into law that extends new liability protection to the trucking industry. When someone is injured or killed in a crash with a semi, a large commercial vehicle or tow truck, the new law sets a five MILLION dollar limit on so-called pain and suffering awards for non-economic damages in most cases. Iowa’s trucking industry lobbied for the bill, arguing there had been nuclear verdicts connected to lawsuits in other states.

The new law does not limit compensation to accident victims for things like medical expenses or lost wages.

(Radio Iowa) – Two Iowans have filed a lawsuit accusing Governor Kim Reynolds of violating state law when she ended federal unemployment benefits that had been expanded at the beginning of the pandemic. Americans who were eligible for unemployment benefits were getting an extra 300 dollars a week under a program first approved during the Trump Administration. The number of weeks someone was eligible for unemployment was also extended. That federal expansion ended in September of 2021, but Governor Reynolds and some other Republican governors ended it a few months earlier, arguing the expanded benefits were hurting the job market and allowing people to choose not to work.

The Iowa Capital Dispatch was first to report on the lawsuit filed on behalf of Holly Bladel of Clinton and Karla Smith of Pleasantville. The lawsuit claims the governor violated a state law which requires the state to cooperate with the U.S. Department of Labor and get all advantages available for unemployed Iowans.

Governor Reynolds has issued a written response. She says the federal government doesn’t get to run the state of Iowa and paying people to stay home at a time when there are more jobs available than people to fill them defies common sense.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court has thrown out a lawsuit against the D-C-I by a Marion County man who was accused of killing his mother. Jason Carter was found liable in a civil action for the wrongful death of his mother Shirley Carter in 2015 and was ordered to pay ten million dollars to her estate. Another jury acquitted Carter on the criminal murder charge. Carter filed the lawsuit accusing the D-C-I agent who investigated the murder of wrongly targeting him. The Iowa Supreme Court dismissed that lawsuit based on its recent ruling that overturned a 2017 opinion allowing such claims. The High Court says under their recent ruling, the D-C-I agent has immunity and Carter’s case cannot proceed.

(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Creston DOT Construction Office report motorists who travel on Iowa 92 between U.S. 59 and Pottawattamie County Road M-47 east of Carson should be aware of an upcoming bridge deck replacement project that could slow down their trip.

Beginning on Tuesday morning, May 30, until Thursday, Aug. 24, weather permitting, construction crews will work on replacing the bridge deck on the Iowa 92 bridge over Graybill Creek, 1.2 miles east of the junction with U.S. 59. Motorists on the bridge will be directed by traffic signals. A 10-foot-4-inch lane-width restriction and a 15-foot height restriction will be in place during this project.

Help keep everyone on the road safer. Drive with caution, obey the posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, you should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.

(Glenwood, Iowa) -Officials with the Mills County Sheriff’s Office, Friday, reported four recent arrests. On Thursday, 48-year-old Anthony Troy Adams, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Theft in the 1st Degree (Bond: $10,000), and 42-year-old Randy Dean Burton, of Glenwood, was arrested on a warrant for Theft in the 3rd Degree (Bond $5,000). On Wednesday, Mills County Deputies arrested 34-year-old Brittney Nicole Jenkins, of Malvern, for Violation of a No Contact Order. She was being held without bond. And, 42-year-old Kenneth Wayne Jenkins, of Malvern, was arrested for Violation of a No Contact Order, on a Warrant for Contempt of Court – Violation of a No Contact Order. He was also being held without bond in the Mills County Jail.

(Audubon, Iowa) – Iowa Republican Senator Charles Grassley made stops in Council Bluffs, Atlantic and Audubon, Friday, before heading home to his farm in rural New Hartford. In Audubon, Grassley spoke at the Feed Mill restaurant with a small group of farmers and those with Ag interests, as well as a Waspy’s owner Lawrence Handlos & his wife Lois. He was asked questions about the county’s Debt Ceiling and Farm Bill, Reparations “being pushed by the Biden Administration,” EPA control over WOTUS (Waters of the U-S), E-15, the Cattle Bill and the recent U-S Supreme Court 5-to-4 ruling in favor of California’s Proposition 12, with regard to animal confinement operations and the sale of pork and chickens.

Grassley was able to make his planned stops because Congress was not in session. Otherwise he would be in Washington, D-C Monday through Friday’s.  He said he enjoys having the opportunity to speak with Iowans face-to-face.

Grassley said “We have a lot of serious issues facing our country.” He said the Farm Bill get can’t get any traction right now, because it’s tied in with other bills related to the Debt Ceiling.

Senator Charles Grassley speaks at the Feed Mill restaurant inside Waspy’s Truck Stop in Audubon, 5-12-23 (Ric Hanson/photo)

He says “Until we get an agreement on what we call the “Top Line” in spending for all government for the next year, we really don’t know what will be allocated to agriculture.” Grassley says farmers have told him what their most important Ag issues are: Crop Insurance; Increase Ag Research & Foreign market sales; and a “tweaking of CRP.” He said if he can’t get his Cattle Bill passed separately, he wants to include it in the Farm Bill.

Grassley said also, with regard to the U-S Supreme Court passage Proposition 12, he’s in favor of adding the “Exposing Agriculture Trade Suppression Act” to the Farm Bill which would federally preempt laws like those in California. But it must be bi-partisan to get a better chance of getting in the bill. Proposition 12, the “Humane Pork Law,” bans the sale of pork within the state of California unless pregnant pigs are allowed at least 24 square feet of space and the ability to stand up and turn around in their pens. The National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation, which sued in 2019, say the measure violates the so-called dormant commerce clause, a doctrine that says the U.S. Constitution limits the power of states to regulate commerce outside their borders without congressional authorization.

Senator Grassley, a former chairman and senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, began his day, Friday, welcoming juniors and seniors from southwestern Iowa high schools to his fourth annual Federal Judiciary Youth Summit in Council Bluffs. Grassley was joined by Chief Judge for the Southern District of Iowa, Stephanie Rose, who gave high school students and educators a glimpse into the daily workings of the federal justice system. Each high school was invited to bring juniors or seniors to the summit. In total, 13 high schools from eight counties participated in the program with 57 students in attendance.  Students and teachers from Griswold, CAM and Tri-Center were among those in attendance.

Federal Judiciary Youth Summit in Council Bluffs May 12, 2023 (Photo courtesy Grassley’s Office)

From there, he traveled to Atlantic for a luncheon, Q&A Town Hall at the Nishna Valley Family YMCA, where he spoke about the “Stop Pills that Kill Act,” which would implement new penalties for counterfeit pill production.

May 12, 2023 (DES MOINES, IA) – Today, the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) Board approved awards for an established company in Ankeny and innovation funding in support of four startups located in Ames and Des Moines.

SPAL-USA to expand manufacturing operations from Italy to Ankeny

SPAL-USA, Inc. is the North American subsidiary of Italian company SPAL Automotive Srl, a market leader in the design, manufacture, sales and distribution of products across all types of vehicles and equipment. The company plans to build a 160,000-square-foot building to localize manufacturing and assembly operations in Ankeny with plans for further expansion. The existing sales and distribution center will be consolidated under the new structure. The project represents a $33.5 million capital investment and is expected to create 39 jobs, of which 15 are incented at a qualifying wage of $33.31 per hour. The board awarded the company a $200,000 forgivable loan and tax benefits through the High Quality Jobs program.

Awards made to four startups

Ag-tech startup SoilSerdem LLC in Ames provides scientific soil mapping to help with agronomic decision making. The service streamlines soil fertility mapping through high-resolution, up-to-date, accurate digital models for organizations that provide agronomy support to farmers. The company was awarded a $32,000 POCR loan for market and competition analyses and proof of concept work.

Varsity Music, Inc., owned and operated by marching band enthusiasts in Ames, produces illuminant instrument lights. The product is a programmable lighting unit that can be placed on instruments or uniforms to be used as a teaching tool or to enhance performances through a mobile app or computer software. The company was awarded a $50,000 Proof of Commercial Relevance (POCR) loan for product refinement, key personnel and equipment.

Ames-based Zymosense, Inc. created a platform to enable faster and more accurate high-throughput discovery of new enzymes for food, feed and pharmaceuticals. The technology will be used by enzyme manufacturers to secure intellectual property rights and get to market faster. The company was awarded a $100,000 Demonstration Fund loan for market and competition analyses, market planning and entry activities and key personnel.

Upvote, LLC, headquartered in Des Moines, is a scalable communication platform where users can find summarized, objective information related to policy and current events in plain language. Through advanced technologies, the model allows for constituents and elected officials to communicate real-time updates and messages on issues with access to different viewpoints and data insights. The company was awarded a $50,000 POCR loan for IP development and evaluation, market analysis, product refinement and marketing planning and entry activities.

Award recommendations for these funds are made by the Technology Commercialization Committee to the IEDA Board for approval.