(Radio Iowa) – A federal jury has convicted the wife of a Woodbury County supervisor on 52 counts of voting fraud. The jury returned a guilty verdict on all charges against Kim Taylor after six hours of deliberations Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning. Taylor was accused of filling out or helping to file absentee ballots for numerous Vietnamese residents in the Sioux City area and had them signed by people who weren’t authorized to cast the ballot.

The charges date back to elections in 2020 when her husband, Jeremy Taylor, ran for congress and later for Woodbury County supervisor. Prosecutors referred to him as an undicted co-conspirator in a pretrial filing. After the verdict, Judge Leonard Strand ordered a pre-sentencing investigation and has not set a sentencing date for Kim Taylor, who will remain free until then.

Her attorney, F. Montgomery Brown, says he respects the verdict, but would no comment on a possible appeal until after her sentencing.

Breda, IA (November 21, 2023) – Officials with Western Iowa Networks (WIN), Tuesday (today), announced a groundbreaking partnership with Mills County to bring state-of-the-art fiber-optic technology to the community of Glenwood.

WIN says the transformative fiber construction project aims to revolutionize connectivity in the city, providing residents and businesses with unprecedented access to high-speed internet services as well as crystal clear landline phone. In addition to fiber internet, WIN will also offer businesses Hosted Phone Systems, Managed IT and more.

Key Project Highlights:
• Fiber-Optic Network Expansion: WIN will deploy advanced fiber-optic infrastructure throughout Glenwood, enabling lightning-fast internet speeds and unmatched reliability.
• Wider Service Coverage: The Fiber Construction Project is designed to extend WIN’s network reach, ensuring that more local residents and businesses can benefit from high-quality, high-speed internet access.
• Community Empowerment: By significantly improving internet connectivity, this project will help boost economic development, facilitate remote work opportunities, enhance online learning, and enable telehealth services, ultimately improving the quality of life for Glenwood’s residents.
• Customer-Centric Approach: WIN remains dedicated to providing exceptional customer service throughout the construction process.

WIN CEO Jeff Roiland says “This latest partnership between Western Iowa Networks and Mills County underscores a shared commitment to enhancing the community’s digital infrastructure. This project will provide residents and businesses with access to essential resources, fostering economic growth and innovation. We have already seen the immense benefits that fiber optics has provided to rural Mills County and are excited to see residents in Glenwood reap these benefits as well.

Mills County Chamber Executive Director Jennie Davis commented “The Mills County Chamber of Commerce is thrilled to hear of the partnership between Western Iowa Networks and Mills County, as well as the involvement of the City of Glenwood. Fiber optic internet is especially important to our local businesses who depend on reliable, fast service to conduct business and with the introduction of fiber to our community, Mills County is poised for additional growth, possibilities, and innovation. The Chamber proudly supports this leap forward and looks forward to continuing their partnership with Western Iowa Networks.”

Glenwood City Administrator Amber Farnan commented “The City is excited to partner with Mills County to help make it possible for Western Iowa Networks to bring fiber into the Glenwood city limits, we understand our citizen’s need for this service and are happy to be a part of the solution.” Mills County Auditor Ami Petersen added “It’s a great opportunity for the City and County to work together to connect the entire community to fiber.”

The investment of $500,000 from Mills County and the City of Glenwood will help greatly with the multi-million dollar project. In the past 4 years, WIN has invested over $20 Million in fiber optic construction in Mills County and has made gigabit service available to nearly 3,500 homes and businesses.
WIN CEO Jeff Roiland added “We greatly appreciate the City of Glenwood coming to the table and assisting Mills County in investing in this project. The impact of their investment will be felt immediately with expanded opportunities for communication, education, business, entertainment…the list goes on.”

The project will see fiber optics constructed past nearly 2,500 homes and businesses and make Gigabit Internet available in Glenwood. Construction of this project is scheduled to begin in 2024. Because of the large scale of this project, as well as the many stages involved in constructing a brand new utility, it will take a significant period of time to complete. WIN appreciates the public’s patience as they work towards a future of enhanced communication and connectivity for the Glenwood community.

The process of constructing this fiber network will use a combination of areas with a high concentration of customers who have signed up for services as well as network connectivity needs. Residents in Glenwood, even if they have previously filled out the online interest form, will need to sign up for services in order to have fiber optics constructed to their home. They can do so by calling 888-508-2946 and speaking to a Customer Experience Specialist or by signing up online at www.westianet.com.
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About Western Iowa Networks: Breda Telephone Corp. ~ d.b.a. Western Iowa Networks (WIN) ~ is a leading communications company based in Breda, IA. They are one of western Iowa’s largest independent telephone companies, and one of the area’s most diverse service providers.

WIN was founded in 1905 as Breda Telephone Company and today provides telephone, Internet, cellular, cable, and many complementary services to customers across Western and Southwestern Iowa including Arcadia, Auburn, Breda, Carroll, Council Bluffs, Dedham, Denison, Farragut, Glenwood, Glidden, Halbur, Hastings, Lidderdale, Macedonia, Malvern, Maple River, Mineola, Mount Carmel, Nemaha, Pacific Junction, Silver City, Treynor, Vail, Westside and Willey.

(Granger, Iowa) – The Iowa State Patrol today (Tuesday) released information about a fatal crash that occurred Saturday evening, in Dallas County. According to the report, a2005 Toyota Camry driven by 62-year-old Kevin Daryl Brown, of Grimes, was traveling west in the eastbound lanes of Highway 141 near 190th Street.

A 2023 Chrysler 300 S and a 2013 KIA Sportage were traveling eastbound, when the Chrysler was struck by the Camry as it passed. Following the collision, the Toyota spun around and was struck by the KIA. The Camry then reportedly caught fire. The crash happened at around 6:04-p.m.

Kevin Brown died at the scene. He was wearing a seat belt. The driver of the KIA, 29-year-old Veya Makuta, of Des Moines, who was also wearing a seat belt, was injured in the crash and transported to Mercy Hospital by Dallas County EMS.  The driver of the Chrysler – Daniel Alfred Gonzalez, Jr., of Ankeny – was not injured.

The Patrol was assisted at the scene by Granger Police, the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office and Dallas County EMS.

(Griswold, Iowa) – The Griswold School Board met Monday evening, and acted on a handful of resignations and a full-time contract. Superintendent Dave Henrichs….

The Board chose to activate the district’s retirement policy for both certified and classified staff members.

Henrichs said Early Retirement applications will go to the board for action during their meeting on January 15.

In other business, the Griswold School Board established their 2023-2034 Board Goals. The goals are the same as last year. They include establishing strategies for attracting, hiring and retaining quality staff. Their other goal was developing a strategy to reducing net open enrollement-out.