Iowa Democrats presented dramatic changes for the 2024 Iowa Caucuses to national party leaders today (Thursday). Iowa is one of 16 states and Puerto Rico applying to be among the five states that will vote first in the next presidential election cycle. Iowa Democrats propose using mail-in voting in the weeks ahead of Caucus Night, with the winner announced that evening. Iowa Democratic Party chairman Ross Wilburn says that means precinct leaders will no longer have to count heads in the room and use complex mathematical formulas to determine which candidates get how many delegates.

Former Iowa Democratic Party chairman Scott Brennan, a member of the Democratic National Committee, says a mail-in process to indicate presidential preferences was used in Nevada, North Dakota and Hawaii in 2020.

Democratic National Committee member Mo Elleithee (eh-LAY-thee) in January suggested Iowa’s Caucuses didn’t meet the list of standards party leaders are looking for in a state that kicks-off the presidential campaign, but he’s praising these proposed revisions.

Frank Leone (lee-OWN), another member of the Democratic National Committee, was in Iowa to observe the 2020 caucuses.

Other members of the committee suggested if New Hampshire retains the first primary, it would consider the new Iowa Caucus process very similar to their primary. New Hampshire also has a state law requiring it to hold the nation’s first presidential primary. Brennan, the former Iowa Democratic Party chairman, pointed out Iowa law requires both major parties to hold Caucuses eight days before any other state votes.

A final decision from the national Democratic Party is expected in August. Republicans have already set their 2024 calendar and the Iowa G-O-P’s Caucuses remain first.

The town of Denison is holding its very first Immigrant Heritage Festival today (Friday). The president of the Denison chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens, Alma Puga, says she organized the festival as a way for immigrants of all backgrounds to share their cultures.

The 2020 census showed more than a third of the community is foreign-born. Puga says in recent years she’s seen a growth in the immigrant community – with residents from Sudan, Laos, and Central American communities. Patty Ritchie is helping organize the event. She says it will be a chance to highlight all the different languages and customs that makeup Denison. She says she wishes more Iowans understood the amount of diversity the state holds.

The event will also serve as a fundraiser for a scholarship fund for Latino seniors at Denison High School. Ritchie hopes the festival can help them increase the number of students who receive financial aid. The festival will feature everything from cultural dances to a parade to the unveiling of the community’s newest mural. It’s a work of local art that reads “Immigration is Beautiful.”

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports two arrests on Thursday.

The first arrest involved Sheriff’s Officials serving three separate warrants on 53-year-old Rene Telesforo Valdivia of Fort Collins, Colorado for Failure to Appear on two counts of Possession of Marijuana and one count of Possession of Methamphetamine 3rd Offense. Valdivia was booked into the Montgomery County Jail on $5,000 bond.

Also Thursday Montgomery County Deputies met with Deputies from Mills County Sheriff’s Office who were transporting 18-year-old Michael Anthony Monson of Omaha to the Mills/Montgomery County line. Monson had a warrant for OWI 1st Offense. He was booked into the Montgomery County Jail on $2,000 bond.