NEWTON, Iowa – Officials with the Iowa Department of Corrections, Thursday evening, said an inmate at the Newton Correctional Facility, 23-year-old Malga Harun Yanga, has died. Yanga was pronounced dead at 6:06 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. No other details surrounding his death were provided.

Yanga had been serving a life special sentence from Buena Vista County. His sentence began on Aug. 17, 2020.

(Radio Iowa) – Attorneys for Libertarians nominated to run in three Iowa congressional districts say a state panel didn’t have the authority to kick them off November’s ballots. A Polk County judge heard arguments in the case Thursday afternoon. Jennifer De Kock, representing one of the Libertarian candidates, says her client’s free speech rights are being violated and that should outweigh strict enforcement of state rules for how political parties conduct business.

“What they’re trying to do is say: ‘If you don’t do it, if you don’t follow the minutiae, if you don’t make sure that all your T’s and I’s are properly crossed and dotted, then we’re going to take you off the ballot,” she said. Alan Ostergren is the attorney for Republicans who filed petitions showing the Libertarian Party failed to follow state law regarding the timing of the party’s county conventions. “No candidate has an unfettered right to access to the General Election ballot,” Ostergren says. “To get on the ballot, a candidate has to follow certain rules.”

Polk County District Judge Michael Huppert says he’ll issue a ruling soon, but it’s likely to be appealed by the losing side, so the Iowa Supreme Court may have the final say on whether the Libertarians’ names will be printed on ballots.

(Radio Iowa) – House Speaker Pat Grassley says if Republicans retain the majority in the Iowa House after the November election, his focus will be property tax reform. “We’ve made steps in the right direction, but I think we have to really look at it,” Grassley says. “We have to reshape the balance of the property tax conversation around the taxpayer.” Grassley says over the past six years Republican lawmakers have focused heavily on cutting income taxes, but the property tax bills Iowans are receiving from local governments also require response from state policymakers.

“We need to force the conversation that taxing authorities sit down in a room and decide: We’re only getting so much of Iowans’ money. How are we going to best spend it? Because right now I don’t think the system is in favor of the property taxpayer. I think we can fundamentally change that,” Grassley says. “Now, that being said, not everyone’s going to love that, but to really tackle that issue of property taxes, we’re going to have to be bold in doing this. We can’t just nibble around the edges. We’re going to have to take it head on.”

Grassley admits previous attempts at significant change in the state’s property tax system have stalled, but Grassley says Republican lawmakers have a recent track record of accomplishing tough things.) “We have proven with some of the things that we have done, this governor in partnership with the legislature have tackled issues that we have tried before and we’ve been successful,” Grassley says. “…Choice in education, you look at the largest tax cuts in state history.”

Back in 2003, legislative leaders from both parties formed a working group to tackle property tax reform, but were unable to come up with an agreement. In 2013, then-Governor Terry Branstad signed a bill designed to limit commercial property tax growth. During the 2023 legislative session, lawmakers passed an estimated 100-million in targeted property tax relief — including a new property tax credit for Iowans over the age of 65.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, a Republican from Marion is criticizing the Biden Administration’s continued effort to forgive college student loans. She says it shifts the burden to others. “Truck drivers, farmers, bartenders, electricians and plumbers shouldn’t have to pay for someone else’s degree. Those who sacrificed and worked hard to pay off their own student loans shouldn’t then have to take on someone else’s debt,” she says.

The Second District Representative says forgiving student loans does not stop the problem of college students building large amounts of debt. “This would not be a one time occurrence. This will incentivize students to take on more debt, knowing that someone else will ultimately pay it back,” Hinson says. “That’ll drive up tuition rates and perpetuate the accumulation of the cycle of debt instead of breaking it.”

Hinson says students need to be educated on the front end of what they are getting into. She says Iowa colleges are doing a good job of explaining to potential students how much it will cost and how much they can expect to earn in their respective majors. “I think that that’s the conversation that needs to happen in higher education before students are taking on literally thousands and thousands of dollars in debt and all the interest that goes along with that,” Hinson says.

Hinson’s comments come as several states led by Republicans have sued the Biden Administration over the plan to eliminate 73 BILLION dollars in federal student loan debt.

(Radio Iowa) – Several Sioux County school districts were placed in a lockdown today (Thursday) following a threat. According to authorities, a threat was found written on a bathroom wall in the Sioux Center High School referencing a school shooting and mentioning schools in the Rock Valley and Boyden-Hull school districts as well. Authorities ordered Sioux Center schools and schools in the surrounding communities of Hull, Orange City, and Rock Valley to lock down and secure their buildings.

Sioux Center Community School Superintendent Gary McEldowny issued a statement saying school safety is priority. In the statement, he says law enforcement was engaged immediately, and a thorough investigation took place. He says he’s confident the threat has been resolved. No weapons were found.

Superintendent McEldowny says law enforcement will be present to provide assurance to students, staff, and families that our schools are safe.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Auditor’s Office has released the final list of candidates and ballot measures for the Nov. 5th General Election. The candidates for County Offices include:

Partisan Offices

Supervisor (I= Incumbent)

District 1NW: Matt Wedemeyer (R) I
District 3SW: Jerry Walker (R) I
District 5GF: Michael Christoffersen (R)
Sheriff: Jeffrey L. Vandewater (R)  I
Auditor: Mandy Berg (R) I
Recorder (TFV): Kelly Mitchell (R)

Non-Partisan Offices

Washington Township Trustee (Vote for 1): No Candidate Filed
Washington Township Trustee (To Fill Vacancy) (Vote for 1): No Candidate Filed (To Fill Vacancy)

Richland Township Trustee (Vote for 1): Roy Maeder

County Public Hospital Trustees (Vote for 3): Willard W. Olesen; Jimmy Freeland; Deb Tindle

Soil and Water Conservation District (Vote for 3): Daryl Nelson

County Agricultural Extension Council (Vote for 4):Matt Mensing; Jessica Christensen; Trent Raasch; Amy Kading.

Judicial Retention

Supreme Court: David May

Court of Appeals: Tyler J. Buller; Mary Elizabeth Chicchelly; Samuel Langholz; Mary Ellen Tabor

District Court Judges (5B): Patrick W. Greenwood

Constitutional Amendments and Public Measures

Iowa Constitutional Amendments:

• Shall the following amendment to the constitution be adopted?

Summary: Provides for only U.S. citizens aged 18 or older and meeting state and county residency requirements to vote in all elections. Further provides that 17-year-olds who will be 18 years old by the General Election are eligible to vote in the primary election, subject to the same citizenship and residency requirements.

• Shall the following amendment to the constitution be adopted?
  Summary: Provides that the lieutenant governor will act as the governor if there is a temporary disability of the governor. Further provides that the lieutenant governor or lieutenant governor-elect will be the governor or governor-elect in the case of resignation, death, or permanent disability of the governor or governor-elect thus creating a vacancy in the office of lieutenant governor or lieutenant governor-elect, as appropriate.

Benefited District Public Measures

Iowa Western Community College

Public Measure SB:

Shall the Board of Directors of the Iowa Western Community College (Merged Area XIII) in the Counties of Adair, Adams, Audubon, Cass, Crawford, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie and Shelby, State of Iowa, be authorized to contract indebtedness and issue General Obligation Bonds in an amount not to exceed $55,000,000 to provide funds to construct, furnish, and equip a new academic building and renovate, remodel, and improve existing buildings within Merged Area XIII?

CAM Community School District

Public Measure B:

Shall the Board of Directors of the CAM Community School District in the Counties of Adair, Adams, Audubon, and Cass, State of Iowa, be authorized to contract indebtedness and issue General Obligation Bonds in an amount not to exceed $22,500,000 to provide funds to construct, furnish and equip a classroom addition to the High School building; to remodel, repair, improve, furnish and equip exterior and interior portions of the existing High School building, including mechanical, electrical, and fire systems improvements, secure entry improvements, and technology and security improvements; and improve the site?