(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congressman Randy Feenstra says Congress needs to work towards a balanced budget to get the nation’s economy back on track, but the 4th district Republican says that is proving difficult: “You have to have what we have in Iowa — a 99 percent spending limit — and yet the Democrats, they want to add another three to five Trillion dollars to our debt, even adding more cash to the system,” Feenstra says. “And that’s what boggles my mind. Who are their economists? Who thinks this is right? Even the Federal Reserve…are saying this is not the right way to do this.”

Feenstra says the talk of the federal reserve raising interest rates won’t fix the problem. He says we have traditionally kicked up interest rates when there is inflation — but he says that also kicks up the interest rate on our Trillions of dollars in debt. “So all of a sudden you create a debt spiral — and that’s why we are in such a serious situation right now in our country,” he says. The Republican from Hull says there is no leadership being shown by President Biden or majority democrats to address the nation’s inflation: “Everybody is just asleep at the wheel right now when we’ve got these big issues. And we’ve got to have strong leadership — but that’s not what’s happening right now,” Feenstra says.

He says it’s frustrating being in the minority party in Congress where it’s tough to get any movement on possible solutions to the economic problems facing the country.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The latest data released by the Iowa Department of Public Health shows COVID-19 numbers are moving in the right direction. The IDPH website, Monday, reported 13,744 positive virus tests in the last 7 days, down from 16,643 on Friday. The state’s 14-day test positivity rate dropped from 18.9% to 17%.

The number of patients hospitalized with the virus continues to drop as well. There are currently 638 patients hospitalized with the virus, down from 741 on Friday. Of those hospitalized, 55% had a primary COVID-19 diagnosis, while the remaining 45% were hospitalized for another reason but tested positive for the virus.

State data shows 54.6% of those hospitalized with COVID-19 are unvaccinated, while 66.7% of those listed in critical condition with the virus are unvaccinated. Long-term care facility outbreaks have decreased for the first time in several weeks. There are currently 112 Iowa care facilities reporting an outbreak, down from 115 on Friday.

(Radio Iowa) – A Spirit Lake man is now facing a murder charge following a shooting last week in Milford. The charge against 25-year-old Christian Goyne-Yarns was upgraded to first-degree murder this morning after Shelby Woizeschke died of her injuries over the weekend at a Sioux Falls hospital.

Goyne-Yarns is accused of shooting Woizeschke multiple times Thursday morning in the parking lot of GrapeTree Medical Staffing in Milford. She called 911 and told police he was the shooter and he was arrested less than an hour later in Spirit Lake. Goyne-Yarns is scheduled for a preliminary hearing next Monday according to online court documents.

Bond was originally set at half a million dollars on Friday, but that was doubled at the request of the Dickinson County Attorney as the charge was upgraded.

(Radio Iowa) – It’s the dead of winter and Iowans are driving much less, especially compared to summertime, but gasoline prices are defying the basic lessons of economic by rising, even though demand is falling. Meredith Mitts, spokeswoman for Triple-A-Iowa, says crude oil prices are setting the bar. “In the last couple of weeks, we’ve seen an increase in total stocks and a decrease in demand which typically puts downward pressure on those pump prices,” Mitts says, “but because we are seeing these rising crude oil prices, the pump prices continue to go up.”

Part of the reason for the higher prices is rising concerns over the potential for war overseas. “This time of year is usually a time that we would see a little bit of those lower prices at the pump but it will depend a little bit on that tension between Russia and Ukraine,” Mitts says. “That’s a major contributor to these oil prices, so it will depend on any sanctions that come out of that and how those conversations go.”

The average price for a gallon of gas in Iowa is three-23, which is up eight cents a gallon in the past week and it’s up 18-cents in the past month. A year ago, gas in Iowa was averaging two-36, almost a dollar less. The national average is now three-44. Across Iowa, the cheapest gas is three-19 a gallon in both Iowa City and Davenport, while the most expensive gas is in Dubuque at three-32.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic City Council will hold a Special Session beginning at 5:30-p.m. on Wednesday, in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall. According to City Administrator John Lund, the Council will act on an “Order to Enter into Closed Session,” to ” Discuss Strategy with Counsel in Matters that are Presently in Litigation or where Litigation is Imminent where its Disclosure Would be Likely to Prejudice or Disadvantage the Position of the Governmental Body in that Litigation.”