(Radio Iowa) – There are two statewide races in Tuesday’s Primary Election for Iowa’s U-S Senate seat. Three candidates are competing in the Democratic Primary. In the Republican Primary, Jim Carlin is challenging incumbent Chuck Grassley. Grassley is seeking an eighth term. Carlin is an attorney and a state senator from Sioux City. “I feel that the base of people that are going to align themselves with us is very energized,” Carlin said.

According to the most recent campaign filing, Carlin raised over half a million dollars for his campaign and had about 56-hundred left in mid-May.  “I’m very fortunate to have some very good staff around the state and they’ve done a really good job getting us in front of a lot of people,” Carlin says. “….I think the message of the preservation of freedom has really resonated with a lot of people.”

Carlin says too many politicians care more about power than about representing their constituents.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office, Monday (today), reports four arrests took place over the past week. At around 1:17-a.m. today (Monday), 19-year-old Anthony Michael Bobzien, of Council Bluffs, was arrested on Bunge Avenue, for Driving While Barred (Bond $2,000).  Saturday night, 23-year-old Andrew James Hughes, of Glenwood, was arrested at 284th Street & Highway 34, for OWI/1st offense (Bond $1,000).

Friday afternoon, Deputies in Mills County arrested 47-year-old Toby Leland Blankenship, of Omaha, at Mills County Corrections (Jail), on a warrant for Sex Abuse Assault/2nd offense. He remains held in the jail without bond. And, on June 1st, 18-year-old Christopher John Goynes, of Omaha, was arrested following a traffic stop on I-29. He was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance & Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia (Bond $1,300).

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Primary Election will be upon us in less than a day. Secretary of State/Elections Commissioner Paul Pate spoke with KJAN News about the day, it’s importance, and what it means for incumbents and challengers for County, State and Federal positions.

While the General Election determines who steps into office on January 1st, 2023, Pate says the Primary set the stage for the nominating process.

The Primary serves as a way whittle-down the number of candidates for a given seat, before the General Election in November.

An incumbent who doesn’t win the Primary, will not be on the ballot for the November General Election, but that person does have the option to their name as a Write-in. Otherwise, their current term in office will expire at the end of the year.

Almost 65,000 people have voted absentee in this year’s primary election. This outpaces absentee vote totals from the previous midterm primary in 2018. ALL absentee ballots MUST be received by your county auditor no later than 8:00 P.M. on Election Day. The main thing Sec. Of State Pate wants Iowans to know one more thing….

The polls open at 7-a.m. Tuesday and close at 8-p.m. We’ll have the local election results on-air and on the web at kjan.com, as soon as they are released from the County Auditor’s Offices.

Washington, D-C: A Judge in Washington, D-C , Monday (June 6), set the trial date for a mother and son from the Des Moines metro area, who were allegedly involved in the January 6^th 2021 riot in the nation’s capitol. During the hearing, Judge Thomas Hogan ruled Deborah and Salvador Sandoval will be tried together. Their defense teams argued their cases should be tried separately because they say the two did not travel to Washington together and were not in the capitol building together. The judge denied that motion.

The unknown element at this time, is where the trial will occur. Attorneys for the pair want the case moved back to the Southern District of Iowa because they say they cannot get a fair trial in Washington, D.C. due to political opinion. Des Moines-based defense attorneys for Salvador Sandoval, William Kutmus and Trever Hook cited a survey that states 73% of respondents believe anyone who occupied the capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, should be convicted of insurrection.

Judge Hogan said he would likely deny the change of venue request, but did not rule on the motion Monday. He denied a motion to drop one of Salvador’s charges. Attorney’s had claimed the charge of obstruction of an official proceeding is not applicable because the Jan. 6, 2021, certification of the Electoral College was not an official proceeding. Hogan ruled otherwise.

DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs today (Monday) announced 17 projects and individuals in 14 Iowa communities received the state’s highest honors for historic preservation during the 2022 Preserve Iowa Summit held last week in Mason City. The summit, presented annually by the department’s State Historic Preservation Office, is the state of Iowa’s premier conference for professionals and volunteers involved in historic preservation.

During the awards ceremony on Thursday, the State Historical Society of Iowa’s Board of Trustees awarded four projects – in Bettendorf, Council Bluffs, Davenport and Mason City – with a Preservation Project of Merit Award, which recognizes projects that exemplify the best practices of historic preservation, meet federal standards, and make use of state tax credits for historic preservation. The board also presented Leah Rogers of Mount Vernon with the Petersen-Harlan Lifetime Achievement Award for her 40-year career in historic preservation, scholarly research and educational outreach programs.

In addition, the nonprofit group Preservation Iowa presented 12 awards for “Preservation at its Best” in Bloomfield, Centerville, Des Moines, Dubuque, Keosauqua, Mt. Pleasant, Newton, Red Oak and Sioux City. The annual awards honor properties and educational efforts that meet the highest standards of preservation practices. “Preservation Iowa is thrilled to honor the people and projects that truly demonstrate preservation’s power to change the future,” Preservation Iowa board president Bruce Perry said. “These awards honor thousands of volunteer hours and more than $120 million of investment in Iowa’s economy. Without the combination of private funding, historic tax credits, grant awards, and public dollars, projects like these would be impossible.”

Western Iowa/Area award recipients include:

Margaret Keyes Award
Project: McCormick Harvesting Machine Company Building, Council Bluffs
Video and Image

This award recognizes outstanding preservation of a larger historic preservation project that uses tax credits from State Historic Preservation and Cultural & Entertainment District programs. The award is named for a nationally recognized historic preservationist who led the restoration of the Old Capitol in Iowa City.  Built in 1894, the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company originally served as a farm-implement warehouse. After an extensive renovation spearheaded by Pottawattamie Arts, Culture & Entertainment (PACE), the building is now the Hoff Family Arts & Culture Center, with nearly 95,000-square-feet that houses a 280-seat theater, rehearsal and exhibition spaces, artist studios, teaching kitchens, classrooms and more. By the end of 2023, the building is expected to serve more than 54,000 patrons annually with an estimated $4.6 million impact on the local economy.

Residential (Single-Family) Structure Award
Project: Dearborn House, Red Oak
Image

With just a single historic photo and some correspondence from the original homeowner’s family, the home’s current owner, Cecelia Lock, and her project team began a complete renovation of the exterior after a hail storm in March of 2020. They used insurance money and private funds to remove aluminum window wraps, screens, downspouts and vinyl siding; restore the original cedar siding; and rebuild two porches to return this Red Oak home to its former glory.

Large Commercial Award
Project: Warrior–Davidson/Warrior Hotel, Sioux City
Image

Owned by Restoration St. Louis, the 10-story Warrior Hotel was built in 1930, served as a hotel until 1972 and then was vacant for 40 years. It was redeveloped in 2020 with a $72 million investment including State Historic Tax Credits. The hotel now offers 146 rooms, including full-service amenities with a restaurant, bar, exercise centers, hotel lobby, ballroom, banquet kitchen and commercial retail space. Careful attention to detail and preservation standards has created a catalyst for Sioux City’s downtown redevelopment.

(Radio Iowa) – Authorities are investigating a hit-and-run accident near Duncombe on Sunday night which may have involved a police officer. It was determined that one vehicle had left the scene. There were no injuries reported. As a result of the information developed during the investigation, Sergeant Bryce Presswood with the Fort Dodge Police Department has been place on administrative leave until further notice. Both the Webster County Sheriff’s Department and Iowa State Patrol are continuing to investigate.

Any further action will be determined pending the outcome of the full investigation.