(Radio Iowa) – Iowans in six cities will be able to celebrate the music of the Christmas season in an unusual way this weekend. Tuba, sousaphone, euphonium and baritone horn players of all ages and abilities will be playing in “TubaChristmas” concerts. Nationwide, it’s the 51st year that such displays of Christmas music have been happening. The first was in 1974 at the Ice Rink Stage of New York City’s Rockefeller Center as players gathered to honor the memory of world-renowned tuba player and Iowa native William Bell, who was born in Creston on Christmas Day 1902. The concerts in Iowa will be among the more than 200 similar concerts given throughout the United States and in several foreign countries this year.

This weekend’s performances include:
Dubuque — December 13 — 6:30 PM — University of Dubuque Heritage Center
Mason City — December 14 — 1:00 PM — Principal Pavilion, Southbridge Mall
Des Moines — December 14 — 2:00 PM — Drake University Performing Arts Hall
Cedar Rapids — December 14 — 3:00 PM — Downtown Cedar Rapids Public Library
Orange City — December 14 — 7:00 PM — Christ Chapel, Northwestern College
Ottumwa — December 15 — 4:00 PM — Indian Hills Community College St. John Auditorium

Photo by Bob Fisher

There’s one final performance in Perry on December 21st at 1 PM at First United Methodist Church. Performances were held earlier this month in cities including: Ames, Creston, Estherville, Oskaloosa, Sioux City and Spencer.

(Radio Iowa) – State Treasurer Roby Smith says more than 68 million dollars of unclaimed property has been turned over so far this year to the Great Iowa Treasure Hunt. “This is the largest amount that’s been turned over to us. It brings our total amount to 586 million dollars that we’re safe keeping, that we’re looking back, looking to get back to Iowans,” Smith says. The record amount easily surpasses the previous record of nearly 43 million. Smith believes the large amount of unclaimed money and property is linked to the chaos of the pandemic. “Don’t know exactly, but we have spoken to other states, and what we’ve kind of come up with is businesses keep the money for three years, and it’s turned over,” he explains. “Three years ago we were coming out of the pandemic, so we believe it was dealing with the pandemic where you had businesses that were closing, transferring ownership, being sold.” Smith says.

He says all those transactions likely led to the money not being claimed and its now been turned over. Smith says the average amount claimed is 150 dollars, but it can be a lot more and a lot less. “I gave a check away to someone for 317-thousand dollars in November, we had a record amount of over four million dollars given away a year ago, or given back, I should say, not giving away four million dollars, so you just don’t know, sometimes it’s 25 dollars and sometimes it’s ten-thousand dollars,” Smith says. Smith encourages everyone to go to GreatIowaTreasureHunt.gov and search for your name. “They can check for themselves, a family member, a friend, a business, a nonprofit. And we, like I said, we have 586 million dollars that we’re looking to reunite with Iowa and all across the state,” Smith says.

He says you may have found unclaimed property on the site already, but you check again as new items come in every year.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a woman from Red Oak was arrested Thursday evening on an active Montgomery County warrant for Interference with Official Acts. 33-year-old Brianna Marie Wagoner was arrested at around 6:30-p.m. in the 700 block of N. 5th Street in Red Oak. She was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is proposing a constitutional amendment to give judges authority to allow children to provide closed circuit testimony against an alleged abuser. It’s a response to a recent Iowa Supreme Court ruling that said defendants have the right to confront their accusers in the courtroom.

“When a child is testifying in court, they’re between six and 10 feet away from their abuser. Imagine testifying in that scenario. It’s scary even for an adult. How much more for a child who’s been hurt?” Bird said. “…Unless something changes, we will see fewer prosecutions of crimes against children, particularly those that are brutal. Kids will be too scared to testify and those cases will get dropped. Criminals will walk free.”

Deputy Attorney General Susan Krisko prosecuted the case that was overturned by the court’s ruling. A therapist told the judge the 10 year old siblings of a toddler who was severely beaten could not testify against their father in the courtroom. “Without that accommodation, those two little boys would not have been able to come in and we would have had to let that man walk and not prosecute the case. That two-year-old little boy would not have gotten justice,” Krisko says.

Sheriffs and prosecutors joined a statehouse news conference to express support for the constitutional amendment that would allow children to testify via closed circuit in certain cases. Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks recently prosecuted a case involving a 13-year-old girl he calls “A” who’d been molested by her dad for years. “Although we respect the decision of the Iowa Supreme Court and their authority to interpret the Iowa Constitution, we also have a choice,” he said, “and that choice is to enact a constitutional amendment to protect victims like A.”

Iowa Attorney General Brenna bird speaks at a statehouse news conference on Dec. 12, 2024. (RI photo)

Dallas County Attorney Matt Schultz says the court’s ruling creates a real problem for prosecutors pursuing child abuse cases and the constitutional amendment would let voters fix it. “I can’t tell you how disappointed I am in the outcome of the court decision from this summer. These are real crimes,” Schultz said. “…If the institutions of our government won’t protect those who are most vulnerable — our children, then it’s up to us as a people.”

Wayne County Sheriff Keith Davis — president of the Iowa State Sheriffs and Deputies Association — says it’s important to protect children, who are the most vulnerable in these situations. “It’s hard enough to get people to come forward, especially a five year old or a 10 year old when they’ve been a victim of violence, sex abuse,” Davis says. “Even in our small county we see plenty of that.”

The process of amending Iowa’s constitution takes a few years, so this fix would not be immediate. Legislators have to approve the language of an amendment twice and 2028 is the earliest it could be presented to voters in a General Election. Legislators COULD schedule a statewide special election on a constitutional amendment sometime in 2027, but the last time that happened was in June of 1999 — and both proposed amendments on that special election ballot failed.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports a man from Adair was sentenced today (Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024)  to 24 months in federal prison for possession of a firearm not registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Act.

According to public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, in December 2022, 43-year-old Randy Scott Shuey was found in possession of a silencer attached to a rifle, which also had a high-capacity magazine. In January 2023, law enforcement located a second silencer at Shuey’s residence. Shuey did not register the silencers with the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record as required by federal law.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Shuey will be required to serve a three-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was investigated by the Adair Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.