(Radio Iowa) – Three people have now been charged after several animals said to be in poor condition were removed from a Storm Lake residence last Friday.

Officers captured and removed 50 cats and two dogs from the home, and they were transported to a local animal hospital for evaluation and treatment. Some of them had to be euthanized due to illness.

Animal being removed from Storm Lake home. (Storm Lake Radio photo)

Sixty-one-year-old Juana Munoz, 31-year-old Veronica Lopez Munoz, and 25-year-old Mayra Lopez Munoz have all been charged with two counts of animal neglect causing injury or death, .and one count of animal neglect without serious injury.”

(Radio Iowa) – The president of the Iowa Association of Realtors says the record-setting housing market has slowed some — but it is far from hitting a full stop. Byron Menke, of Treynor, says the nearly eight percent drop in homes sales in May was the signal of a slowdown that he says was not unexpected. “The demand is still extremely high, a lot of buyers still out there, you know, inventory continues to be short. And so that just kind of tempering this market a little bit,” Menke says. Menke says it has helped make things a little more manageable.

“It’s slowed. I mean, I’m not gonna say that it hasn’t slowed. But it’s I’ve told people I feel like it would be kind of common to say, instead of doing 100 miles an hour on the freeway, we’re getting close to doing the speed limit again here,” according to Menke. The median sale price in May was up nearly 13 percent — showing the impact of the high demand, and low supply.

Byron Menke. (Photo from Menke Realty.)

“You never want to see the market slow up and sell less homes were in the market to sell. But I think it was something that, you know, probably needed to happen, it was the market had gotten so fast and furious,” Menke says, “and it was extremely hard for a lot of buyers to even, you know, get into the market, just because a lot of the cash buyers just came in and sucked things up. If they weren’t cash buyers, you know, the beginning buyer, it made it extremely hard for them.”

He says some buyers have kind of stepped off to the sidelines for now. “Interest rates have doubled since the beginning of the year. And I know that’s got some people, looking hard, you know, what do we do now. You know, do we come in,?” he says. “I think you’re starting to see people go back to things that we haven’t heard of for a while adjustable-rate mortgages, those type of things.” Menke says there are still people out looking for homes and with the inventory still tight — it will remain a very competitive market for those looking to buy. He says interest rates will continue to be a brake for some.

“It’s going to I think continue to slow things down. It’s just anytime you have that much of a jump of interest rates and with the outlook of more interest rate increases coming,” he says. Menke says there’s always people relocating and he doesn’t see things completely slowing down right now.

(Radio Iowa) – The consumer protection division of the Iowa Attorney General’s office is seeing a dramatic upturn in complaints about solar energy companies in recent months. A-G’s spokesman Lynn Hicks says people go into the endeavor hoping to lower their energy bills, but some are finding more costs and headaches with solar than they’d expected. “We’re getting complaints about the delays in getting panels installed,” Hicks says. “We’re hearing that there are all kinds of promises and representations made, exaggeration of how much savings in energy costs. You may be told that you’re going to get a tax credit.”

From 2019 through 2021, the division received 15 total complaints over the three years regarding solar energy systems. So far in 2022, the division has already received 40 complaints.  “You may be promised that the utility will buy back power,” Hicks says. “We’ve heard of problems with financing. We’ve heard about problems in the actual installation, defects in the panels, complaints over warranties, somebody saying we’ll give you a refund and then they never do.”

In some cases, Hicks says consumers who started the process of purchasing solar panels have spent thousands of dollars — or tens of thousands — on the systems. Solar energy can lower your carbon footprint while powering your home with clean energy, but Hicks says it’s not for everyone and before signing a contract, you absolutely need to do your homework.  “That includes just looking at your utility bill and getting a very good idea of how much you could actually save,” Hicks says. “Then consider things like how long am I going to stay in this home? How big of a system will I need? Look at your house itself. Where is it located? How much sun do you get?”

While the average solar lease may save consumers money, he notes that if the homeowner changes their mind, moves, or the system experiences production issues, it can quickly become very costly. To contact the Iowa Attorney General’s consumer protection division, visit iowaattorneygeneral.gov or call 888-777-4590.

The Glenwood Police Department reports two arrests took place Monday, and one person was arrested today (Tuesday). On the 27th, 34-year-old Jeffrey Neppl, of Glenwood, was arrested for public intoxication (bond set at $300 cash or surety); and, 33-year-old Amanda Elrod, of Glenwood, was arrested for driving while barred. (bond set at $2,000 c/s).

On the 28th, 43-year-old Rebecca Leeper, of Glenwood, was arrested on a Mills County Warrant for Fraudulent Practice 2nd degree and Ongoing criminal conduct. Her total bond was set at $10,000 cash or surety.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County Treasurer Tracey J. Marshall, today (Tuesday), said her office remains closed until further notice. According to Marshall…

• NEW STAFF MUST BE PROPERLY TRAINED AND LEGAL TO ISSUE DOT FUNCTIONS. FEDERAL FINGERPRINTS AND BACKGROUND CHECKS ARE REQUIRED TO BE IN GOOD STANDINGS WHICH TAKE 4-6 WEEKS.
• DRIVER LICENSE – PLEASE MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH ANOTHER COUNTY OR STATE STATION; 24/7 SERVICES ONLINE WWW.IOWADOT.GOV
• MOTOR VEHICLE TRANSACTIONS ARE BEING DONE ON A DAILY BASIS
• NEW VEHICLE PURCHASES MAY BE PROCESSED WITH A NEIGHBORING COUNTY  – (CALL FOR AN APPOINTMENT)
• TAG RENEWALS MUST BE DONE IN THE COUNTY YOU LIVE IN. THERE IS A YELLOW DROP BOX NEXT TO THE COURTHOUSE DOOR.
• 24/7 SERVICES ONLINE AT WWW.IOWATREASURERS.ORG
• TAXES AND ADMINISTRATION – WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF FISCAL YEAR END.