GRIMES, Iowa – Aug. 22, 2024 – Nighttime construction work on the pavement of westbound Interstate 80 will require closing the road to traffic beginning at 10 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 27 until 5 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 28, weather permitting, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Grimes Construction office.
While the road is closed you will follow a marked detour route using the U.S. 65 bypass, Hubbell Avenue, Euclid Avenue, and I-235 (see map). 
CRESTON, Iowa – Aug. 23, 2024 – If you travel on Interstate 80 between De Soto (exit 110) and Van Meter (exit 113) you need to be aware of overnight closures of the roadway that may slow down your trip. The Iowa DOT’s Creston Construction Office reports crews need to close east- and westbound I-80 overnight from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 28, and Thursday, Aug. 29, weather permitting, so beams can be placed for the Old Portland Road bridge over I-80.
While the roadway is closed, you will follow a marked detour route that will use U.S. 169, U.S. 6, Dallas County Road R-16, and I-80 (see map).
The Iowa DOT reminds motorists to 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, drivers should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.
BROOKLYN, Iowa (KCRG) – City leaders in Brooklyn, Iowa, are asking for help finding out who is responsible for shooting cats with crossbow bolts. In a Facebook post on Thursday, city leaders said they have received several complaints.
They also shared images in the post, showing a cat that had been shot through the leg.
Photo from the City of Brooklyn (IA) Facebook page
Anyone with information is asked to call 522-7066.
(Des Moines, Iowa) – Iowa Republican congressional candidates and supporters are bumping up campaign advertising in races that Democratic officials have targeted as potential pick-ups in the 2024 general election. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports that while Republican incumbents are favored to win in Iowa’s congressional races, leaders with groups like the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the U.S. House Democrats’ campaign arm, have recently announced $2.5 million in ad buys for Iowa races they say pit Democratic challengers against “vulnerable” Republicans.
The ad reservations included purchases Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, where Democrat Lanon Baccam challenges U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, and in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, where Democrat Christina Bohannan challenges U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks.
As Democrats look to make these races more competitive, Republican organizations have also made advertising investments to help Nunn and Miller-Meeks defend their seats. The American Action Network, the advocacy nonprofit working alongside the U.S. House GOP’s Congressional Leadership Fund, announced Thursday that it would spend $5 million on campaign ads supporting 18 House Republican candidates, including Nunn and Miller-Meeks in Iowa.
U.S. Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, incumbent Republicans, are defending their seats against Democratic challengers in the 2024 general election. (Photos by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch; photo illustration via Canva)
The organization is running ads calling for Iowans to tell Nunn and Miller-Meeks to “keep fighting to lower costs” as well as asking for the Republican lawmakers to support the Red Tape Reduction Act, a measure supported by U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, another Iowa Republican. The proposal would codify some executive orders made by former President Donald Trump related to limiting and tracking federal regulatory costs.
Dan Conston, president of the American Action Network, said in a statement that the latest ad buys are a means to combat measures passed by Democrats during President Joe Biden’s administration. The group’s ads supporting Iowa Republicans both highlighted the incumbents’ efforts to lower Iowans’ cost of living, but advertising efforts in other states, like Colorado and New Mexico, focus on the Biden administration’s immigration policy. Republicans have heavily criticized Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, for inadequate enforcement of immigration laws along the country’s southern border.
On Friday, Nunn released an ad titled “Safe” that argues Biden and Harris “refuse to secure our border,” linking illegal immigration to increasing problems across the country. While Nunn has pitched himself as a moderate candidate committed to working across the aisle, he has also emphasized border security — an top issue for Republicans heading into the November election. Speaking at the Iowa State Fair earlier in August, Nunn said the U.S.-Mexico border is the “number one issue” he hears about from constituents.
Democrats and some advocates have argued that Republicans are unfairly linking immigration to issues like the fentanyl crisis, as the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has reported that most fentanyl is trafficked into the country through legal ports of entry by citizens, not by undocumented immigrants.
Additionally, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection has reported that undocumented migrant crossings have declined every month for the past five months, according to reporting by USA Today, with July having the lowest level of migrant apprehensions during Biden’s tenure.
In a news release on the ad, Nunn said he spent time in the military fighting to protect and defend America, but that “the Biden-Harris open border crisis is making that even harder.”
DES MOINES, Iowa [KCCI] — Reports from some Iowans and others across the Midwest, Friday morning, say they saw an unexpected spectacle in the sky. A fireball meteor streaked through the atmosphere around 6:15 a.m. The meteor itself was located over southwestern Wisconsin but was visible from hundreds of miles away.
NASA’s Meteor Watch reports that “over 70 eyewitnesses in the states of Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota have filed reports on the American Meteor Society website of a bright fireball seen this morning (August 23) at 6:13 AM Central Daylight Time. An analysis of these accounts indicates that the meteor was first seen at an altitude of 50 miles above the Wisconsin town of Fairchild, moving slightly east of South at 36,000 miles per hour. Traveling 39 miles through the atmosphere, it brightly flared twice before breaking up 29 miles above the town of Shamrock.”
Meteors often break up as they enter the atmosphere and can explode, which is just what Meteor Watch says happened: “The fireball broke apart with an energy of approximately 60 tons of TNT and the flares were easily detected by the Geostationary Lightning Mappers on the GOES 16 and GOES 18 satellites. The available data indicate that the meteor was produced by the atmospheric entry of a small asteroid 3.5 feet in diameter and weighing roughly 4000 pounds.”
Atlantic 48, Council Bluffs Jefferson 30
Boyer Valley 54, Moravia 21
Baxter 58, Springville 49
Colo-Nesco 60, Twin Cedars 0
Murray 74, Melcher-Dallas 26
Friday’s high was 80 degrees, our low this morning is 62. We received .10″ of rain last night (around 1-a.m. today) in Atlantic. Last year on this date the high was 98 and the low 72. The record high for August 24th in Atlantic is 105 degrees set in 1936 and the record low is 37 set in 1908.
(Atlantic) — Atlantic Football started the season off strong with a focused rushing attack against the Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson Yellow Jackets winning 48-30 in their season opener. A key part to their win was the commitment to the run game amassing over 300 rushing yards.
Atlantic came out in the first quarter aggressive and ready to establish a tone early. The run game immediately clicked as the Trojans committed to the I-Formation for the majority of the evening. Which methodically drove them down the field allowing Gavin McLaren to push his way through the goal line for a 3-yard touchdown score. The Trojans were then up 7-0 and they held onto the lead for the rest of the night.
The rest of the ball game a pass first versus run first philosophy between the two teams. The second quarter brought another McLaren touchdown score after a 4th and out from T.J. in the redzone and 43-yard pass from quarterback Tristan Hayes to Jarrett Hansen putting the Trojans up 13-0. Before the end of the second quarter the Yellow Jackets did score off a 4-yard touchdown throw from Jayden Fujii to Mayson Kramer making it 13-6 at halftime.
Coming out of halftime the Trojans immediately received a shot of adrenaline from a 72-yard kick return by Hansen to set Atlantic up at the goal line. McLaren would once again plunge his way into the endzone creating a 20-6 lead for the Trojans. Towards the end of the third quarter Atlantic threw in sophomore running back Ethan McNeal who took a pitch play and turned it into a 40-yard touchdown run. The Trojans lead then turned into 27-6 and the ball game seemed over.
Before the end of the third quarter the Yellow Jackets did manage to gain another score from a 65-yard touchdown pass from Fujii to Braxton Parks off of broken coverage and with a 2-point conversion successful the game was at 27-14. The fourth quarter would turn into a slug-fest for both sides as each side continually exchanged scores. The top of the fourth quarter saw Tyson O’Brien rush his way down into T.J. territory and collect a one-yard touchdown score to put Atlantic up 34-14. T.J. then had a sharp 23-yard touchdown pass from Fujii to Jimmy Ross-Cotton slashing into the lead for a 34-22 score.
Atlantic took control for the rest of the game on both sides of the ball scoring on back-to-back drives from a 5-yard O’Brien touchdown run and 4-yard score by McLaren to put them up 48-22. The Yellow Jackets final score of the game was by backup QB Daulton Garrison to Mayson Kramer on a 40-yard seam route for a final score of 48-30.
The victory was not the smoothest with some work needing to be done by the Atlantic secondary. But, Atlantic Head Coach Joe Brummer was pleased with his offensive line and rushing performance.
Atlantic finished the night with 324 total rushing yards. 204 of those yards were by leading rusher Tyson O’Brien who had 2 touchdowns of his own. McLaren had 4 td’s and 78 yards on the ground from 78 attempts. Ethan McNeal’s lone touchdown carry accounted for 40 yards on its own. Coach Brummer liked the way his team shared the ball throughout the evening.
Atlantic’s next game will be against the Clarke Indians, a team they beat 47-33 a year ago. It’s a matchup that Coach Brummer is not taking lightly.
Kickoff for the Trojans battle against the Indians is set for 7:00 PM, with the pregame on KJANTV beginning at 6:30 PM.
(U-S Dept. of Justice Press Release) – An indictment was unsealed today (Friday), in which an individual was charged based on his involvement with online groups dedicated to creating and distributing videos depicting acts of extreme violence and sexual abuse against monkeys.
Philip Colt Moss, of Iowa, was charged with conspiracy to create and distribute so-called “animal crush videos,” and with distributing animal crush videos. According to court documents, in March and April 2023, Moss allegedly conspired with Nicholas Dryden and Giancarlo Morelli to create and distribute videos depicting acts of sadistic violence against baby, adolescent and adult monkeys. Dryden and Morelli were previously indicted and are awaiting trial.
The videos alleged to have been created as part of the conspiracy included depictions of monkeys having their genitals burned, having their genitals cut with scissors, being sodomized with a wooden skewer and being sodomized with a spoon.
If convicted, Moss faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the conspiracy charge and a maximum penalty of seven years in prison for the charges related to the creation and distribution of animal crush videos. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 
Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker for the Southern District of Ohio made the announcement.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and FBI investigated the case.
Senior Trial Attorney Adam Cullman of the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Oakley for the Southern District of Ohio are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson is speaking out against Kamala Harris’s southern border policy outlined in her acceptance speech for the Democratic presidential nomination. Hinson’s comments came after Vice President Harris said she would approve the bipartisan border security bill the Donald Trump opposed.
Hinson says the bill simply wouldn’t do enough.
Hinson made her comments during her weekly conference call with reporters and says Harris’s stance on the southern border had been virtually nonexistent before the convention.
Hinson, who represents Iowa’s second district, went on to criticize the Vice President for not yet having met with the head of the Border Patrol Union so close to the election.
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