(Red Oak, Iowa) — Police in Red Oak arrested a man early this (Monday) afternoon, on an Assault charge.  38-year-old Anthony Charles Wasson, of Red Oak, was arrested in the 200 block of E. Nuckols Street a little after 1-p.m.  Wasson was charged with Domestic Abuse Assault/2nd offense. He was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held without bond.

(Radio Iowa) – An eastern Iowa museum that’s dedicated to preserving the German immigrant experience for future generations is getting a new accolade. The German American Heritage Center and Museum in Davenport will be named this week as the newest site in the Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area, which covers a large portion of northeast Iowa. Jori Wade-Booth is spokeswoman for Silos and Smokestacks.

Wade-Booth says, “We have about 100 sites that all include farms, museums, historic sites, businesses and so forth, all tell some part of the story of agriculture.” The facility at the foot of the Centennial Bridge and near the banks of the Mississippi River opened in 2004 in a historic building. It offers visitors an interactive experience to learn about the immigrants’ journey by sea, train and foot, to their final destination — the museum — which was originally a busy hotel for thousands of immigrants in the 1860s.

“The German American Heritage Center and Museum is important because not only does it preserve the heritage of our German-speaking ancestors that came to Iowa,” Wade-Booth says, “but it also tells the important story that German Americans had a huge impact on industry and agriculture in Iowa.” Those thousands of German immigrants played a significant role in helping Iowa to develop as an early ag powerhouse, something the state maintains to this day.

Photo courtesy German American Heritage Center and Museum

“A lot of people think of agriculture inside a box, like there’s tractors and crops and mud on your boots,” Wade-Booth says, “but really it’s the science, technology and math, and it encompasses a whole lot more than just growing corn and soybeans or having animals.” The museum details other elements of agriculture, like how Davenport used to be one of the nation’s top cigar-producing cities, as tobacco was a widely grown crop here more than a century ago. Lumber was also big for Iowa then, as were the state’s many fisheries. Wade-Booth says her organization works in partnership with the National Park Service.

“Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area was designated in 1996 by Congress to tell the story of American agriculture,” she says. “We’re the only heritage area in the country that tells that story. We covers 37 counties in northeast Iowa, basically everything east of I-35 and north of I-80.”

The ribbon-cutting at the museum is scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday) at 11 A-M to welcome the facility as a new national heritage area site.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa delegates at the Republican National Convention have cast their votes for Donald Trump for president. Iowa G-O-P chairman Jeff Kaufmann was chosen to kick off the process with a nominating speech.

Kaufmann began his remarks by talking about the Iowa Caucuses, the lead-off contest in the presidential election.

Trump got over half of the votes cast in the Iowa Caucuses, 30 points ahead of his closest competitor. Kaufmann says the vast majority of states seconded Iowa’s choice.

Kaufmann, a former state legislator, became chairman of the Iowa G-O-P 10 years ago. While Kaufmann declared neutrality as the party’s leader in the competitive 2016 and 2024 Iowa Caucus campaigns, he has been a stalwart supporter of Trump’s General Election campaigns.

Kaufmann closed by repeating the themes for each of the four nights of the Republican National Convention.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is a temporary chair of the Republican National Convention. She will preside over the nominating of Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance. Bird is scheduled to speak at the convention tomorrow (Tuesday) night.

(Radio Iowa) – The executive director of the Iowa Regents’ Lakeside Lab says they’re seeing an increase in toxic blue-green algae in the Great Lakes. Mary Skopec says after years of drought, the lakes are filled with high levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and contaminated sediment. It’s a combination that causes the algae to grow, especially when things warm up.

“It’s very concerning. The lakes are our drinking water source, and we want to make sure that we don’t pull those toxins into our drinking water. But when people are recreating being exposed to that can be quite, quite damaging to health,” Skopec says. There are more than 70 places, where the shorelines have also collapsed, compounding the problem. Skopec says people can still swim in the Iowa Great Lakes but need to watch out for debris and stay away from water that looks green and murky and occasionally bright blue.

Blue Green Algae on West Lake Okoboji. (photo by Sheila Brummer)

“Obviously don’t want people or pets in that water. We know that dogs can succumb to the toxins within hours.” Skopec says the good news is E. coli testing in almost a dozen spots around the Great Lakes showed levels meeting recreation standards.

(reporting by Sheila Brummer, Iowa Public Radio)

Des Moines, IA — After a year-long deployment to the Middle East, 150 Soldiers from the Iowa National Guard’s 831st Engineer Vertical Construction Company (EVCC) are returning home.

Those Soldiers were federally activated in September 2023 to support Operation Spartan Shield under U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), a region encompassing 27 countries including Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. This federal activation was the unit’s first since 2005 when they were deployed in support to war on terrorism. During their deployment, the 831st EVCC completed over 50 construction projects, contributing more than 60,000 hours of troop labor across seven U.S. bases in Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan, and Kuwait. These projects significantly enhanced the protection and operational capabilities of U.S. Forces in CENTCOM, particularly for Operation Spartan Shield and Operation Inherent Resolve.

In recognition of their exceptional service, the unit received numerous awards: 7 Meritorious Service Medals, 87 Army Commendation Medals, and 65 Army Achievement Medals, alongside many coins for excellence.

A welcome home ceremony is scheduled for July 19, 2024, at the Des Moines Airbase, located at 3100 McKinley Ave, Building 100, Main Hangar, Des Moines, IA. They will arrive at 3:35 PM with the ceremony to commence shortly after arrival. Iowa National Guard senior leadership, distinguished guests, family, and friends will be in attendance to honor the returning soldiers.