(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds is using eight-and-a-half million dollars of federal pandemic relief funds to provide bonuses to teachers whose students make big gains in the classroom. The money may be used to supplement the salaries of the top 10 percent of teachers in a district whose students show their reading, math, and other skills have advanced beyond their grade level.

Each Iowa school district may apply for up to half a million dollars in grant money for the current year and another 500-thousand in the next academic year.

An individual teacher may receive a bonus of up to 25-hundred dollars in both years. Schools have until January 10th to apply for the grants.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Creston man was sentenced today to 20 years in federal prison for receipt of child pornography.

According to public court documents, between approximately September and November 2023, Bryan Michael Vannausdle, 34, communicated with a minor victim. Vannausdle used his cell phone to send, receive, and store images and videos of child sexual abuse material, including material of the minor victim.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Vannausdle will be required to serve a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Creston Police Department, Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, and Federal Bureau of Investigations.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the resources tab.

(Radio Iowa) – A Luther College student has been charged after allegedly posting threats on social media early Monday. Decorah Police say 20-year-old Peter Bumba of Illinois has been charged with terroristic threats, a Class D Felony. A post on Instagram referred to a violent anime series and suggested killing 80 percent of students at Luther and police say Bumba confessed the post was his. A search of Bumba’s room and vehicle found no weapons and authorities say there is no ongoing threat to Decorah or Luther College.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Area Chamber’s Annual Scrooge Contest was held the month of November. This year’s contestants included Graydon Schmidt, Schmidt Family Funeral Home; Randy & Michelle Roy, Randy’s Computers; Jeremiah Thompson, Landus & Atlantic Volunteer Fire Department, and Ben Winford, New Life Church. This year’s winner is Graydon Schmidt, who raised $8,611 and 90 food items. Together, they raised a total of $26,859 and 1,666 food items.

“Every year, I ask myself how the community can one up themselves and, every year, I’m always impressed that they manage to do just that. This benefits a growing number of individuals and families in our community,” Bailey Smith, Executive Director at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce stated.

In 2016, the Atlantic Food Pantry saw an average of 18 homes each week. Today, they are averaging 110 homes weekly with the need expected to rise. This contest allows the food pantry the monetary funds to purchase food items and continue serving a large population in Atlantic.

Scrooge contestants

This Year’s Scrooge winner: Graydon Schmidt

“Our food pantry continues to see an increase of individuals and families in need of food assistance. We had such a great group of candidates this year and I’m grateful to Jackie Sampson and Karen Miller for volunteering a lot of their time to make this contest happen. What a blessing to live in a community that serves others so well,” mentioned Smith.

Past Scrooge titles have been awarded to: Mary Ann Moorman 2007, Dana Halder 2008, Tammy Wise & Janet Huey 2009, Ritchie Anderson 2010, Janet Cappel 2011, Melanie Petty 2012, David Miller 2013, Mark McNees 2014, Ted Robinson 2015, Jon Johnson 2016, Rob Stamp 2017, Rob & Sonya Clausen 2018, Billie Hoover, Jackie Sampson & Lori Christianson 2019, Brain Ruge 2020, Ray Paulin 2021, Dr. Matt Weresh, 2022, and Sheryl Dusenberry 2023.

(Iowa DNR News) – Nearly $416,000 in 50 percent cost-share grants were recently awarded to 138 Iowa rural fire departments to help their efforts to protect Iowan’s and their property from wildfires. The grants offer valuable funding assistance for wildfire suppression, personal protective and communications equipment.

Among the fire departments receiving 2024 Volunteer Fire Assistance grants, are those in:

• Anita
• Avoca
• Clarinda
• Creston
• De Soto
• Early
• Farragut
• Glenwood
• Grant
• Hamburg
• Jamaica
• Logan
• Menlo
• Oakland
• Onawa
• Shelby
• Shenandoah
• Sidney
• Stuart
• Underwood
• and Yale.

The grants are made possible through Iowa DNR Forestry, in cooperation with US Forest Service – State and Private Forestry. Jason Walker, fire supervisor with DNR Forestry, reminds all fire departments of the importance of submitting Wildland Fire Reports whenever they respond to a wildland fire or provide assistance to a prescribed or controlled wildland fire. Wildland fire reporting forms are available atwww.iowadnr.gov/fire.

Departments returning these reports receive priority points when the Fire Assistance grant applications are scored. These wildland fire reports are compiled locally and nationally and are reported to Congress.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – State, city and county inspectors have cited Iowa restaurants and stores for hundreds of food-safety violations during the past four weeks, including roach infestations, mouse droppings, spoiled fruit, moldy chicken batter and kitchens littered with trash. According to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, the findings are reported by the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing, which handles food-establishment inspections at the state level. Listed below are some of the more serious findings that stem from inspections at Iowa restaurants, stores, schools, hospitals and other businesses over the past four weeks.

The state inspections department reminds the public that their reports are a “snapshot” in time, and violations are often corrected on the spot before the inspector leaves the establishment. For a more complete list of all inspections, along with additional details on each of the inspections listed below, visit the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals’ website.

Among the restaurants that were cited, was BC’s Pizza Company, 311 E. 7th St., Logan – During a Nov. 21st visit, a state inspector cited this restaurant for failing to have a certified food protection manager on staff and noted the sliced and shredded cheese had no date markings to ensure freshness and safety. Also, the restaurant appeared to be using commercially made sauces that had discard dates going back to October and August of 2024. The visit was in response to a non-illness complaint pertaining to contaminated equipment, improper holding temperatures, food from unsafe sources, poor personal hygiene among the staff and general facility sanitation. “Complaint is verified,” the inspector reported.

The Chuong Garden Restaurant, 903 W. Townline Road, Creston, was cited following a visit on November 8th, during which a state inspector cited the establishment for 13 risk-factor violations, an exceptionally high number. The inspector reported that inside a walk-in cooler, he “observed a large bowl of raw chicken in a batter with what appears to be a build-up of mold-like substance in the interior of bowl.” Also, the inspector found raw eggs that appeared to have been acquired from an unapproved source. The inspector also observed food-service employees handling cooked chicken with their bare hands as they placed it in to-go boxes. In addition, the cooked chicken was measured at 72 degrees, close to room temperature, and cooked pork eggrolls were measured at 94 degrees. The chicken and egg rolls were discarded.

The inspector also observed that the kitchen-prepared crab Rangoon filling was measured at 60 degrees – neither hot nor cold enough to ensure safety. On the kitchen’s food-prep table, the inspector found several raw, unpasteurized eggs that were warm to the touch and which had to be discarded. In addition, there were multiple unspecified food items inside the walk-in cooler, the freezer and the cold-make table that had no preparation dates to ensure freshness and safety. The kitchen’s dishwashing machine had no detectable amount of sanitizing solution; shrimp was left to thaw on a countertop at room temperature; a separate large bowl of raw shrimp was stored on the floor; and the kitchen scoops used with cooked rice were being stored in a container of stagnant water.

The visit was in response to a non-illness complaint that pertained to adulterated food, food procured from unsafe sources and general facility sanitation. “Complaint is closed and verified,” the inspector reported.

Other establishments that were cited following an inspection, include:

• Lampliter Inn, 143 S. Grove St., Walcott
• Love’s Travel Stop, 2280 Key Ave. SW, Le Mars
• Kwik Stop, 515 Broadway, Waterloo
• Pizza Shack, 6616 Northwest Boulevard, Davenport
• Strawberry Foods, Deli and Bakery, 128 W. Mission St., Strawberry Point
• Treehouse Pub & Eatery, 2239 Kimberly Road, Bettendorf
• El Toreado Mexican Bar & Grill, 3751 EP True Parkway, West Des Moines
• Hong Kong Buffet, 2406 Park Ave., Muscatine
• Stout’s Irish Pub, 4471 53^rd Ave., Bettendorf
• Siam Thai Café, 903 State St., Bettendorf
• California Restaurant, 1500 Villa Ave., Sioux City
• Dynasty Buffet, 5388 Elmore Ave., Davenport
• WalMart, 2200 17^th St., Spirit Lake
• Boyden-Hull Junior and Senior High School, 801 1^st St., Hull
• Spencer Golf & Country Club, 2200 W. 18^th St., Spencer
• Crossroads Bistro, 232 16^th Ave. SW, Cedar Rapids
• The Central Market, Central College, 812 University Ave., Pella
• McDonald’s, 129 S. Duff Ave., Ames
• Boozie’s Bar & Grill, 114 1/2 W. 3^rd St., Davenport