(Radio Iowa) – The northwest Iowa town of Hornick broke ground last (Thursday) night on a long-awaited berm project. It’s hoped the earthen structure will protect the community from future floods, like  “Congratulations, we’re starting a berm!” Mitchell shouted.It’s been three years since water from the Little Sioux River overtopped a levee and flooded the town. Since then, Mitchell has worked to make sure such a disaster isn’t repeated. He says it’s a relief to know the town will soon have a new barrier of protection. “When I get a text now from the National Weather Service about the creek going up, I don’t have to worry so much. To me, It’s amazing,” Mitchell says. “It’s kind of a life-changing thing for Hornick because what we happened in ‘19 will not happen again.”

Former Iowa Congressman Steve King attended the event and says he saw the community pull together in the wake of the disaster to protect the town. “It’s a well oiled machine of volunteers here that put out everything to save this town from the flood that they came in,” King says, “and put the solution in place to prevent it for the next time.”

The berm should be complete by this fall to protect the town of about 250. The project was made possible through an award of state flood recovery funds.

(reporting by Kendall Crawford, Iowa Public Radio)

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Polk County say a body recovered from Saylorville Lake was that of a man from Ankeny, who was seen struggling in the water at around 6:30-p.m., before he went under and failed to resurface. The victim was identified as 26-year-old Maximino Jarquin-Garcia. The search Jarquin-Garcia began at the Cherry Glen Boat Ramp. Emergency crews used personal watercraft, drones and boats to search the lake. The man’s body was recovered at around 8-p.m., Thursday.

A press released from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said “The victim had been under water for nearly 80 minutes at the time they located him. At this time, no foul play is suspected; however, the cause of death will not be known until an autopsy is completed by the Medical Examiner.”

Agencies responding to the scene, Thursday, included Ankeny Police and the Army Corps of Engineers, along with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office today (Friday) reports 32-year-old Marvin Blake Wright, of Omaha, Nebraska, was transported Thursday from Douglas County Corrections to the Pottawattamie County Jail, to address outstanding warrants for Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, Attempt to Commit Murder, Burglary 1^st, Carrying Weapons, Criminal Mischief 5^th, Discharge of Firearms in City Limits, Domestic Abuse Assault 1^st Offense, Going Armed with Intent, and Intimidation with a Dangerous Weapon. Wright was being held in the Pott. County Jail on bond amounting to $71,000.

(Updated/Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court has overturned its previous ruling on the Constitutional Right to Abortion. The Supreme Court reversed its 2018 ruling that the Iowa Constitution creates a fundamental right to an abortion. This ruling came after the Supreme Court reviewed the 24-hour waiting period for abortion that was passed in 2020. Planned Parenthood said the law was not legal under the 2018 court ruling. But the Supreme Court disagreed. The ruling says the Iowa Constitution is silent on the specific terms “abortion” and “pregnancy.” The High Court says there is no support for Planned Parenthood’s reading that the due process clause of the Consitution provides a fundamental protection for abortion.

Governor Kim Reynolds released this statement in response to the Iowa Supreme Court’s abortion ruling: “Today’s ruling is a significant victory in our fight to protect the unborn. The Iowa Supreme Court reversed its earlier 2018 decision, which made Iowa the most abortion-friendly state in the country. Every life is sacred and should be protected, and as long as I’m governor that is exactly what I will do.”

Iowa Democratic Party Chair Ross Wilburn released this statement:
“The majority of Iowans and the majority of Americans believe that abortion should be legal and not subject to the personal whims of a fringe minority. This decision introduces new barriers to accessing care and leaves Iowans exposed to even more attacks on our reproductive freedoms. We are one step closer to a future where Iowa Republicans could have free rein to outlaw abortion and restrict reproductive health care. I know that many of us feel afraid right now, but we have the power to elect Iowa Democrats this fall who will write the protections of Roe into law at both the federal and state level. This fight is not over – and I’m proud to stand alongside the Iowans organizing for a future where our personal freedoms are protected.”

Read the entire 182 page ruling HERE.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – A central Iowa man was arrested this week on two counts of Animal Neglect – Serious Injury or Death, in the case of two puppies who were found emaciated and dehydrated this past week, on one of the hottest days of the year. 32-year-old Nathaniel Darnell Bifford, of Des Moines was taken into custody. According to court documents, Bifford failed to provide the animals with adequate shelter and caused unjustified pain, distress or suffering.

Officials with the Animal Rescue League of Iowa (ARL), said “Zeus” and “Kyda” were suffering from starvation, and were rescued just in time. The animals were covered in their own waste. “The dogs were so weak from starvation and dehydration that their legs shook as they walked,” according to ARL officials. “Even scarier,” they said, “we learned that Kyda had been found lying on a balcony in the direct sun with no water, no shelter and no way to get indoors. The heat index was in the hundreds. It was dangerous for any animal to be out, much less a puppy who was already dangerously thin and dehydrated. If she had not been rescued when she was, she easily could have died.”

The rescued dogs & the man who was arrested for Animal neglect. (6/17/22)

(Radio Iowa) – After being pushed to the limit for two years of the pandemic, Iowa’s largest food pantry is seeing yet another significant rise in demand for its services in the past few months. Tamsin Webb, spokeswoman for the Bidwell Riverside Center in Des Moines, says when SNAP benefits were cut in April, they saw a 45-percent increase in clients. “We started to feel it then, but then May was when we really felt a large impact,” Webb says. “There was about a 68% increase.”

She says the pantry served more than 24-hundred people in May of 2021, but the numbers for this May bounded to nearly 41-hundred. During the first week of June, the facility reported a 63-percent increase in traffic from a year ago, and the numbers aren’t expected to go down. The average SNAP benefit for individuals dropped from $2.65 per meal to $1.52. Webb says it’s straining all of their resources. “We’re doing the best we can,” Webb says. “We definitely rely heavily on our volunteers, on donations, on donation and supply drives, because it’s not just helping the patrons come in and get their food that they need and the clothes that they need, it’s also keeping things organized. It’s maintaining our community garden we have, it’s a lot.”

The new stresses may cause clients to see even longer lines and potential food shortages as it becomes increasingly difficult for low-income families to make ends meet. Webb says it’s possible people who used to be regular donors to the pantry are now in need of its services. “With the rise in food costs and gas prices combined with the decrease in SNAP benefits, it’s hit a lot of people really hard and a lot of people have had to make changes and cutbacks in lifestyles,” Webb says. “I wouldn’t be surprised if some people would probably need to use our pantry now, just because money’s tight.”

Founded in 1893, Bidwell is one of 14 pantries that operate under the Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC) umbrella and provide a food supply meant to sustain families for a three-day period. Clients can receive this three-day supply once per calendar month. You can donate at: bidwellriverside.org/donate

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court is expected to release a key decision on abortion today(Friday). The ruling involves the 24-hour abortion waiting period passed in 2020 and struck down by a lower court last year based on a 2018 State Supreme Court opinion that said Iowa’s Constitution guarantees the right to an abortion. That effectively keeps the Legislature from enacting any restrictions on abortion.

Republican Governor Kim Reynolds has asked the Iowa Supreme Court to overturn that 2018 ruling. Reynolds has appointed a majority of the justices on the High Court since the 2018 opinion.