(Radio Iowa) – Democrat Ras Smith kicked off his campaign for governor with an online video Tuesday morning and an in-person rally in his hometown of Waterloo last (Tuesday) night.  “I believe that together we can accomplish so much more…and that means starting by being bold about the basics,” Smith said. “You see Iowa can once again have the best schools in the nation.” Smith’s mother, the pastor at the Faith Temple American Baptist Church in Waterloo, started the rally with an invocation.

“Bless this marvelous city of Waterloo, Iowa, that we might be a beacon of hope for this nation that needs to see that you are working in us to make this a more perfect union,” she prayed. A CeeLo Green song with gospel undertones played as Smith walked on stage. And Smith began his speech with a story about an Easter Sunday experience. “And so today, I’m inviting you to be a part of this campaign, to be a part of this movement and to come as you are,” Smith said, to cheers.

Smith, who is 33, has served in the Iowa House since 2017, and is seeking to be the first black Iowan to be elected to statewide office. Smith says the state’s civil rights heritage can be its path forward.  “Iowa desegregated schools before the federal government,” he said, to cheers. “We developed agriculture that feeds the globe, recognized the love is love before any other Midwestern state.” Smith is the first Democrat to officially enter his party’s race to challenge Republican Governor Kim Reynolds’ bid for reelection in 2022. Smith criticized her signature on a bill that bans teaching that the United States is systemically racist or sexist.

“We all know that something’s not right. Our government and political systems are sick,” Smith said. “…Our leaders are using their words and policy to tell you that you don’t belong here, that your black life doesn’t matter.” A statement from the Republican Governors Association accused Smith of being a tax and spend liberal and described Reynolds as a battle tested leader.

(Radio Iowa) – A fire has destroyed the Dobson Pipe Organ Builders workshop in Lake City. A company statement on Facebook says an employee who discovered the fire and tried to put it out was burned, but he is expected to make a full recovery. Dobson, founded in 1974, has grown to have an international customer base and was building a pipe organ for a historic church in Sydney, Australia.

According to the company’s website its workshop in Lake City was originally built in 1898 and had been damaged by fire in the 1970s. The Dobson company currently maintains about 120 organs in the Midwest. Dobson pipe organs were just installed at the University of Dubuque and a church in Massachusetts.

(Radio Iowa) – Police say a 20-year-old has been charged with shooting his parents and sister to death in the family’s Cedar Rapids home. Police were called to the home on the northeast side of Cedar Rapids shortly before 8:30 Tuesday morning. They found 61-year-old Jan Perry Jackson, his 68-year-old wife Melissa and their 19-year-old daughter Sabrina had been shot to death.

Twenty-year-old Alexander Ken Jackson had a gunshot wound to his foot, according to a news release from Cedar Rapids Police, and was arrested last night after he was discharged from the hospital.

(Radio Iowa) – As debate over the origins of Covid-19 continues, the Biden Administration is launching an audit of federal grants that may have supported coronavirus research in China. Republican Senator Joni Ernst has been pushing for an investigation of a U-S non-profit that sent about 600-thousand dollars in federal grant money to China’s Wuhan Institute over a six-year period.

“The information EcoHealth Alliance possesses could strengthen the case for or against the lab leak theory,” Ernst says. “It’s absolutely critical that we get access to that information.” The head of the EcoHealth Alliance has called the lab leak theory pure baloney and suggests it’s more likely China is covering up the role its wildlife markets played in spreading Covid from animals to humans.

Ernst says EcoHealth Alliance failed to respond last summer to Trump Administration questions about the work it subcontracted to the Wuhan lab. She’s seeking other senate co-sponsors of legislation that would cut off federal grant money to organizations that fail to provide all the information federal investigators seek about federally-funded research. “There’s no reason Iowa taxpayers should continue to foot the bill for organizations that fail to follow federal laws,” Ernst says, “particularly one that could hold answers to the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

C-N-N is reporting today (Tuesday) that the Inspector General’s Office in the U-S Department of Health and Human Services is launching an audit of how some organizations and subcontractors used National Institutes of Health grants over the past seven years. Several news organizations have reported recently that classified intelligence indicates three researchers at the Wuhan Institute got sick in the fall of 2019, before the Covid outbreak was reported. In May, the U-S Senate unanimously passed an Ernst proposal that would ban any federal funds from being spent at the Wuhan Institute.

(Radio Iowa) – The mother of a Council Bluffs woman who was killed in an accident by a man who was in the country illegally testified at a U-S Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today (Tuesday) on an immigration amnesty bill. Michelle Root’s daughter Sarah had just graduated from college with honors when the accident happened in January of 2016.

“She was taken way too soon because people failed to follow our laws, and the administration at the time failed to secure our borders. To date, justice has not been served for my daughter and her killer remains on the loose,” Root said. Omaha police said 19-year-old Eswin Mejia, a native of Honduras, was drag racing and caused the crash, but he was released on bail and disappeared. Root says the same thing could happen again under “The Dream Act” legislation. She says the bill has no age limit — which allows anyone to apply.

“This bill allows illegal immigrants who have been deported from the United States previously to still apply. This bill protects people who simply apply to remain in the United States while their application is pending,” she says. Root says the bill does not include an office that would help Americans who have been harmed by illegal immigrants. She says the Trump Administration created such an office.

“This office has helped many families, and it appears that the Biden Administration wants to dismantle it,” Root says. “In fact, last week they changed the name of the office and vowed to help illegal immigrants who claim to be victims to gain access to support services — diminishing its sole mission of helping Americans.” Root says this law opens immigration up with no consequences for those who shouldn’t be here.

“I know people come here to live a better life, to live out their dreams,” according to Root. “My family, like many American families, holds no ill will toward people but there have to be limits and boundaries. People need to be vetted and they have to be deported when not eligible for immigration benefits.” Root says her daughter Sarah had dreams — and they will never be realized because of someone who was here illegally. She says this law won’t keep the same thing from happening again.

“Our laws are intended to keep us safe, and this legislation does not do that. It rewards the illegal behavior that my daughter’s killer carried out. It excuses their criminal history and does not make America better,” Root says. Root says there needs to be passage of Sarah’s Law, which would require ICE to detain illegal immigrants who have been charged with a crime that resulted in the death or serious bodily injury of another person.

Authorities in Adams County report a man and woman from Corning were arrested last week, following a joint drug investigation between the Adams and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Departments. Officials say 45-year-old Stephanie Ann Marie Currin and 59-year-old Phillip Eugene Currin were arrested last Thursday after authorities executed a search warrant at 605 and 607 13th Street in Corning in connection with a joint narcotics investigation with Montgomery County.

Stephanie Currin was charged with possession of a controlled substance–methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance–marijuana, two counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, two counts of possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver and possession of drug paraphernalia. Her bond was set at $18,000. Phillip Currin was charged with possession of a controlled substance–meth, 3rd or subsequent offense, possession of meth with intent to deliver, and possession of drug paraphernalia. His bond was set at $10,000.

Authorities says the charges will be enhanced due to the resident’s location on certain property.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports also, 32-year-old Robert Carter,of Walnut, was arrested June 9th on an Adams County warrant for Eluding, Operating without Owners Consent, and Interference with Official Acts. On June 11th, Adams County Deputies arrested Daniel Lee Mattox on an active warrant for Failure to Appear. And, Linda Sitzman, of Corning, was arrested for Violation of a No Contact Order. Both were being held in the Adams County Jail pending an appearance before a Magistrate.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office says no injuries were reported following a rollover accident that took place at around 5:45-a.m. Saturday. Authorities say 25-year-old Samanta Rae Klever, of Lamoni was driving a 2006 Jeep Liberty northbound near Division Street and U-S Highway 169 in Arispe, when she fell asleep at the wheel. Her SUV went into the north ditch and rolled numerous times before coming to rest on its passenger side. Damage to the vehicle was estimated at $5,000.

And, Creston Police report two men suffered minor injuries during a single-vehicle accident Monday afternoon, in Creston. Authorities say 33-year-old Eyser David Marroquin-Cigarroa, of Afton, was driving a 2006 Ford Fusion northbound on Pole Road near the Harmony Cemetery, when his car went out of control on the loose gravel. The vehicle entered the east ditch and struck a culvert before rolling over and coming to rest on its wheels.

Marroquin-Cigarroa and his passenger, Joachin Matildes Jhosimar, of Afton, complained of neck and arm pain, but refused transport to the hospital after they were checked out by medics. The vehicle sustained about $5,000 damage.