(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Board of Supervisors in Montgomery County, Tuesday morning (Today), approved the donation of a portion of the Clark Subdivision Road to the County. The road – which was donated by Jeremy Clark – will be referred to as 220th Street. Clark said it’s a win-win for everyone involved.

Clark said the advantage to the County is getting more houses built in the area, which generates more tax revenue.

There are basically five lots for homes and two possibly for businesses. Clark said they’ve sold five lots already, and Supervisor Mike Olson agreed it would be easier to sell the lots if it was a county property with road maintenance. After approving the road subdivision, the Montgomery County Supervisors approved a related aggregate agreement for the upgrade of that portion of 220th Street that was donated to the County.

Montgomery County BOS mtg 10-29-24

Montgomery County Engineer Karen Albert provided the Board with her weekly Secondary Roads report.

Board Chair Mike Olson mentioned several County gravel roads are extremely rutted and jarring. He asked Albert if anything can be done about them.

In other business, the Board discussed a request to remove a fence on the County Farm. Mike Olson…

The Board voted unanimously to approve the request. The next meeting of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors is 8:30-a.m. November 6th.

(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – With one week left until the Nov. 5 election, the Iowa Secretary of State’s office reported that more than 400,000 ballots have been received in the 2024 general election. In addition to the total 401,760 absentee ballots received as of Monday morning, 483,806 total ballots have been issued since the early and absentee voting period began Oct. 16. In that group, 82,046 ballots have been issued by state election officials that voters have yet to return.

Though the absentee voter participation is higher this year a week out from the election than in 2022, when 238,979 absentee ballots had been received by Iowa election officials a week prior to the midterms, the pace of early and absentee voting in the state is behind the previous two presidential election cycles. In 2016, 472,085 absentee ballots had been received a week before the election.

There’s a much larger gap between this year’s voting figures and 2020, when the state reported that 783,310 ballots were received by Oct. 27, a week prior to the election. However, more people voted absentee in 2020 than in typical election cycles due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate sent out absentee ballot request forms to voters statewide in the previous presidential election cycle, an action which is no longer allowed under state law. Iowans must now submit the request form to their local county auditor to receive an absentee ballot, or vote early in person at the county auditor’s office or a satellite voting location.

Nearly 46 million Americans have cast early votes in the 2024 election as of Monday according to the University of Florida’s election lab, with more than 23 million voting early in person and another 22 million returning their mail-in ballots. Democrats comprised 39.9% of the early votes cast, data from states that report party affiliations found, while 36.1% were registered Democrats and 24.1% voters were registered as third-party or with no affiliation.

Democrats are also slightly ahead of Republicans in Iowa absentee ballots received. A total of 167,734 ballots from registered Democrats had been received by elections officials as of Monday morning while 156,463 registered Republicans had returned their ballots across the state’s four congressional districts. Another 74,558 voters who have no party affiliation had early voted, as had 1,730 registered Libertarians and 275 voters registered as an “other” party.

The two U.S. House districts where races are marked as most competitive in the state are where Democrats have pulled ahead in early voting. In the 1st Congressional District, Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks faces Democrat Christian Bohannan. In the 3rd Congressional District, Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn faces Democrat Lanon Baccam. In the 3rd District, more than 9,000 more ballots have been returned by registered Democrats than from Republicans, and the gap grows above 11,000 for the 1st District. Democrats are ahead by a roughly 5,000-ballot margin in the 2nd Congressional District, where U.S. Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson faces Democratic challenger Sarah Corkery.

Republicans only outpace Democrats in early voting in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, long considered the state’s GOP stronghold. Registered Republicans have a 15,431 early vote advantage on Democrats in the northwest Iowa district, where Democrat Ryan Melton challenges U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra to a rematch.

The deadline has passed for Iowans to request an absentee ballot from their local county auditor. However, people who have received their absentee ballots in the mail still have time to return them. To be counted, ballots must be received by the county auditor’s office by the time polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 5.

In-person early voting is also still available through Nov. 4 in the state. Interested voters can head to their county auditor’s office to cast their ballot, or visit satellite polling locations as designated by the county auditor. These addresses are available on local county auditors’ websites, and can be found through the Secretary of State’s website.

(Corning, Iowa) – [In an update to our previous social media posts] – Officials with the Adams County Sheriff’s Office tell KJAN News no injuries were reported following a single-story residential structure fire early this (Tuesday) morning, in Carbon. The call about a blaze at 203 5th Street in Carbon came in at around 1:30-a.m.  Corning and Prescott Fire initially responded to the scene, and would request mutual aid for personnel and equipment from the Villisca, Cumberland and Massena Fire Departments between 1:45 and 2-a.m.

Fire command was terminated but then some crews were recalled at around 4:47-a.m. for a rekindle of the flames. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Creston Police Department report the arrest at around 6-p.m. Monday, of 32-year-old Brandon James Case, from Creston. Case was arrested at the Creston McDonald’s restaurant, for Failure to Appear on a Union County warrant for Driving While Barred. He was being held in the Union County Jail without bond.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak were called a little after 7-p.m. Monday, to the Pizza Ranch in Red Oak, for a reported physical assault. Upon arrival and further investigation, Police arrested 35-year-old Madison Marie Jones, of Red Oak, on charges that include Assault with Intent to Inflict Serious Injury (an Aggravated Misdemeanor), Disorderly Conduct – Fighting/Violent Behavior (Simple Misdemeanor), and Child Endangerment (Aggravated Misdemeanor).

Jones was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $2,000 bond.

(Estherville, Iowa) – Iowa Lakes Community College is using an almost $500,000 Federal Aviation Administration grant, received this spring, to take its aviation education offerings to new heights. The community college, with five locations throughout northwest Iowa, received $493,657 through the FAA Pilot Workforce Development Grant Program, allowing the college to launch a course in drone piloting for high school students and expand its aviation and airport management program, according to a news release.

“We are thrilled to receive this grant from the FAA’s Pilot Workforce Development Grant Program,” said Tim Busch, director of the aviation program and chief flight instructor, in the release. “The funding will enable us to enhance our top-ranked aviation program, currently recognized as the number one program among community colleges and third nationwide.”

High school students from Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Kossuth and Palo Alto counties will be able to enroll in the remote pilot course, according to the release, which will start with its first class in early 2025. The program will teach students about flying unmanned aircraft systems, or drones, and earn them up to four college credits. This will also help them more easily transfer into the college’s aviation and airport management program.

Executive Dean Kyle Norris said in a previous interview that programming like the course being offered to students next year will help the college connect with more young people. He said he hopes to show them there is more to the aviation industry than flying commercial planes.

Those interested in joining a prospective student list can email FAA Grant Coordinator Emily Mullaly at emullaly@iowalakes.edu, the release stated.

In addition to the new course, the community college will also use grant dollars to expand the drone program and implement the first “rotary wing curriculum” offered in Iowa, according to the release.

“Our focus is on creating new learning opportunities for high school students, and we are excited to expand our drone and rotary wing programs while building a connection with area high school students and the aviation industry,” Busch said in the release.

NEWTON, Iowa — A motorcyclist was hospitalized after a multi-vehicle crash in Newton on Sunday.  According to an Iowa State Patrol crash report, at around 5 p.m. a Suzuki GSX-R1000 motorcycle, driven by 23-year-old Harley M. S. Howe, and a Cadillac CT4, driven by 40-year-old Ryan J. Smith, were traveling eastbound through the intersection of 1st Avenue East and East 17th Street when a Ford Explorer, driven by 67-year-old Randall W. Gunsaulus, pulled out of a business driveway. Despite evasive maneuvers, both the motorcycle and the Cadillac collided with the Ford Explorer.

According to the crash report, Howe was ejected from the motorcycle and was not wearing a helmet. Howe was transported to a Des Moines hospital via air ambulance. No other injuries were reported.

The crash remained under investigation.