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Gov. Reynolds appeals court decision on school masking

News

November 2nd, 2022 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES  Gov. Kim Reynolds today (Wednesday) announced she has appealed a district court ruling issued yesterday that allows school districts to impose universal mask mandates, despite a state law passed and signed into law in May 2021.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated an injunction that had halted the state law from going into effect, noting that COVID-19 conditions in the classroom have changed significantly since the beginning of the pandemic. But because the lawsuit was not dismissed entirely, the case returned to the district court for further litigation.

“As I’ve said all along, whether a child wears a mask to school is up to the parents, not the government,” said Gov. Reynolds. “I will appeal this ruling so that Iowa families have the right to decide what’s best for their children.” 

Cass County (IA) man arrested on drug & eluding charges in Council Bluffs

News

November 2nd, 2022 by Ric Hanson

Police in Council Bluffs report an officer on patrol a little before 2-a.m. today (Wednesday), in the area of the Target Store (3706 Metro Drive), in Council Bluffs, noticed a vehicle traveling behind the store. The Officer called for other Officers to assist in checking the vehicle. As the other Officers arrived, they saw 42-year-old Christopher Rae Holz, of Lewis (IA), by a storage container.

Authorities say it appeared as though Holz was trying to make entry into the store. When he was ordered to stop, Holz fled on foot and refused orders to stop. He was eventually taken into custody. On his person, Holz was in possession of 42.5 grams of methamphetamine. 

He was booked into the Pottawattamie County Jail on charges that include:

  • Conspiracy with Intent to Manufacture/Deliver Meth over 5g but under 5 kg;
  • Eluding a Police Officer;
  • Failure to affix a drug tax stamp for 42.5 grams or more.

Iowans can now enroll in health care plans through the ACA

News

November 2nd, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans are now able to open enroll under the Affordable Care Act Marketplace. Federal data shows more than 72-thousand Iowans enrolled in health care plans through the marketplace last year. Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen says enrollment in marketplace plans has risen in recent years as more options became available. Ommen says Iowans who haven’t done this before should talk to marketplace navigators or contact the Iowa Insurance Division for help.

Ommen says, “We would encourage all Iowans, if they’re new into the market, that they need to make some effort to talk to somebody that can provide some help to them.” He says Iowans who are interested in enrolling in a plan shouldn’t wait. “We encourage people to don’t delay on their decision,” Ommen says. “Get the decision made and get things sort of locked in. That will impact the coverage in those early months, so it’s really important to get things settled, in my view, before the end of the year.”

Iowans who are interested in signing up for a plan or need help doing so can go to healthcare-dot-gov. Open enrollment opened Tuesday and runs through January 15th.

Campbell Named Rotary Lombardi Award Semifinalist

Sports

November 2nd, 2022 by admin

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa senior linebacker Jack Campbell is one of 12 semifinalists for the 2022 Rotary Lombardi Award. The Rotary Lombardi committee made the announcement Wednesday.

The four finalists for the Rotary Lombardi Award are announced Nov. 17, with the winner being announced  Dec. 7 at the annual awards gala in HoustonCampbell is also a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award and the Dick Butkus Award.

Campbell (6-foot-5, 246-pounds) is one of 15 finalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy. He was recently named to five midseason All-America teams and was named to the Rotary Lombardi Midseason Watch List. Campbell was named the Lott IMPACT Trophy Defensive Player of the Week for his play against South Dakota State, and he was a preseason All-American by no fewer than five national media outlets. He has 259 career tackles.

Campbell, a native of Cedar Falls, Iowa, leads the Big Ten with 82 tackles and ranks 11th nationally at 10.3 tackles per game. He recorded a safety in Iowa’s win over South Dakota State, recovered a fumble on special teams at Illinois, and recorded his fourth career interception at Ohio State.

Campbell, who will earn his degree in December, carries a 3.49 GPA with a major in enterprise leadership and a minor in sport & recreation management. He earned Big Ten Distinguished Scholar recognition in 2021, has earned Dean’s List honors three semesters and is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. He has been a member of Iowa’s Player Leadership Council for three years.

Center Tyler Linderbaum was a finalist for the Rotary Lombardi Award in 2021 and defensive end Adrian Clayborn was a finalist in 2010. Other Hawkeyes who have been semifinalists include offensive lineman Brandon Scherff (2014), offensive lineman Robert Gallery (2003), defensive lineman Jared DeVries (1998), offensive lineman Mike Devlin (1992) and defensive lineman Jeff Drost (1986).

Iowa (4-4, 2-3) travels to Purdue (5-3, 3-2) Saturday (11:03 a.m. CT, FS1). The Hawkeyes host Wisconsin on Nov. 12 (TBA).

Shelby County Sheriff’s report, 11/2/22

News

November 2nd, 2022 by Ric Hanson

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office reports the following 13 arrests occurred over the past month….
  • 10-1-22: Alberto Diaz, age 23, Omaha, NE, was arrested on an active Shelby Warrant. Diaz was transported to the Shelby County Jail on a warrant for Failure to Appear; Brandon William Henderson, age 25, Harlan, IA was arrested following a traffic stop on Durant St. Henderson was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance, 2 counts, Eluding, Prohibited Acts 2 counts, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia 2 counts, No Valid Driver’s License, Speeding and Failure to Obey Stop Sign and Yield Right of Way.
  • 10-14-22: Megan Nicole Gettys, age 27, Harlan, IA was arrested on an active Shelby County warrant. Gettys was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with Violation of a No Contact Order.
  • 10-15-22: Jacob Jon Keller, age 23, Ida Grove, IA was arrested on an active Shelby County Warrant. Keller was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with Violation of Probation; Joey Lee Ranney Jr, age 35, Harlan, IA was arrested following a traffic stop at 7th St and Willow St. Harlan, IA. Ranney was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with Violating One Way Traffic Designation; Zachary Thomas Scheffler, age 36, Harlan, IA was arrested following a traffic stop at 7th St and Willow St. Harlan, IA. Scheffler was transported to the Shelby County Jail and Charged with Possession of Controlled Substance Marijuana 3rd or Subsequent Offense and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.; Kaleigh Marie Turner, age 31, Harlan, IA was arrested following a traffic stop at 7th St and Willow St, Harlan, IA. Turner was transported to the Shelby County Jail and Charged with Possession of Controlled Substance Marijuana 3rd or Subsequent Offense and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.
  • 10-21-22: Michael John Tremayne, age 31, Harlan, IA was arrested following a traffic stop on Hwy 59. Tremayne was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with Driving while License Denied or Revoked, Operate without Interlock, and Speeding; Andrew Allen Malloy, age 25, Audubon, IA was arrested following a traffic stop on Hwy 59. Malloy was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia; Skyanne Michelle Christensen, age 22, Atlantic, IA was arrested following a traffic stop on Hwy 59. Christensen was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance, Keeping Premises or Vehicle for Controlled Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Failure to Provide Proof of Financial Liability, and Improper Registration Plate Lamp.
  • 10-23-22: Jonathan Ryan Davis, age 42, Ute, IA was arrested following a traffic stop on Hwy 59. Davis was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance, Keeping Premises or Vehicle for Controlled Substances, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.
  • 10-26-22: Spencer Lee Miller, age 25, Manilla, IA was arrested on an active Shelby County Warrant. Miller was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with Possession of Controlled Substance, Keeping Premises or Vehicle for Controlled Substance, Failure to use Seat Belt, and Operating Non-Registered Vehicle.
  • 10-29-22: Jonathan Anthony Montoya, age 33, Greenfield, IA was arrested following a traffic stop on Rd M16. Montoya was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with Driving While License Denied, Suspended, Canceled or Revoked and Failure to Provide Proof of Financial Liability.
Note: Criminal charges are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.

Adair County Supervisors discuss & send Draft Pipeline Ordinance to County Attorney

News

November 2nd, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday morning, approved a Courtyard use permit for Mainstreet Greenfield, for events taking place on November 22nd. Board Chair Matt Wedemeyer…

On a separate note, Mainstreet Greenfield representative Lyne Don Carlos, discussed courtyard flower pots and a bit of rearranging of the benches.

The Board approved the request, which will be accomplished with help of city crews. The Board discussed, and then agreed to send to Adair County Attorney Melissa Larson, an amendment to the Draft version of the county’s hazardous pipeline ordinance. Matt Wedemeyer said the draft they received last week, is pretty basic. Supervisor Joadie Hoadley initially set she would like to see language added to indicate the pipeline set-back is 250-feet from existing, operational private wells, and leave issue of soil compaction off, for now. The ordinance will go back to Larsen, and eventually onto a public hearing.

In other business, Kerry Aistrope with the County Ag Extension, discussed Extension Summer Programming, some of the funding for which came through a grant from the County.

Aistrope said there are funds left over from the grant, and she asked for the Board’s permission to use $800 for supplies used during the Clover Kids Summer Camps. The Supervisors gave their blessing to continue with the funds. And Terri Raasch talked about the Master Conservation Program and coursework available beginning at the end of April, working in conjunction with the Conservation Board.

And, Adair County Engineer Nick Kauffman discussed with the Board, the sale of used equipment, as well as the use of ARPA funds for the fuel system as mentioned in our previous reports. The Board approved the sale of four single-axle dump trucks, and an updated list of Safety Committee Members. But they voted 3-2 against using some of the remaining ARPA funds for the fuel storage/delivery system they previously discussed and we’re reported on. The Board opted instead to hold onto them for emergencies. The matter will be re-evaluated at budget time.

Hy-Vee to close all stores on Thanksgiving, first time in 92 years

News

November 2nd, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans will have to carefully plan ahead for their Thanksgiving meals this year, as the state’s largest grocery chain won’t be available for last-minute shopping trips. If you forgot the cranberry sauce, need more sweet potatoes or don’t have time to bake a pumpkin pie, get it the day before, because you won’t be able to buy it on Thanksgiving Day at Hy-Vee. The West Des Moines-based chain is announcing that all 285-plus retail locations will be closed on November 24th.

A news release says it will give the company’s 80,000-some employees across eight states the holiday off to spend with friends and family. This is a first in Hy-Vee’s 92-year history.

Many Iowa schools are finding it easier to hire substitute teachers

News

November 2nd, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Substitute teachers aren’t as hard to come by as they were last year, according to some Iowa school administrators. Mason City School District officials say the district has boosted its substitute fill rate by around 15-percent in the last year. The district’s Human resources director Tom Drzycimski says an increase in pay and training offerings have aided the school’s search. “The local community college has been providing more authorization classes,” Drzycimski says. “We’ve had a number of people that have taken advantage of those, some of them are our own paraprofessionals.”

Despite the progress, Drzycimski says they could still use more staff. This time last year, school board meetings at Sioux City Community School District were full of tense discussion on how to improve its substitute fill rate of 70-percent. The district settled on raising rates by at least 25-dollars a day and providing a one-hundred dollar recruitment stipend. It helped, as district human resource director Jen Gomez says the fill rate has risen to 87-percent. “Staff aren’t having to help fill in during their planning time or during their duty time,” Gomez says, “so, when that fill rates higher our existing staff is less stretched.” Des Moines Public Schools is seeing a similar situation.

It’s increased its fill rate from 46-percent to 64. District officials say they’ll will continue pushing recruitment efforts.

(reporting by Kendall Crawford, Iowa Public Radio)

Shelby County supervisors approve restrictions for carbon pipeline routing

Ag/Outdoor, News

November 2nd, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Shelby County’s Board of Supervisors has voted to establish regulations for the location of hazardous liquid pipelines. The proposed Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline route would run through the city limits of Early. Supervisor Steve Kenkel says the community is worried about the safety of the project.  “If you want to build a house, or you want to build a shed, or you want to put in a utility line, you have to get a permit and you have to follow zoning ordinances,” Kenkel says. “I don’t know why hazardous pipelines would be any different.

Jennifer Lefeber is the manager of the emergency room at Harlan’s hospital. She says if there’s a pipeline rupture, most emergency responders in the southwest Iowa county are volunteers. “This places more responsibility and burden on an already very limited valuable resource in our community,” she says.

The ordinance establishes separation distances between the proposed pipeline and homes and other community buildings. Representatives of Summit Carbon Solutions say the Iowa Utilities Board has sole authority to regulate pipelines and county restrictions on pipelines violate state law.

(Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Kendall Crawford)

URGENT: 9-1-1 Outage Impacting Verizon Wireless Customers in Pottawattamie County

News

November 2nd, 2022 by Ric Hanson

[COUNCIL BLUFFS] – Pottawattamie County Emergency Management Agency Director Doug Reed reports “9-1-1 Communications Officials in Pottawattamie County have discovered an 9-1-1 service outage impacting Verizon Wireless customers throughout the county. There is no indication as to the cause or potential duration of the outage. All Verizon Wireless customers living or working in Pottawattamie County should call 712-328-5737 and press Option #1 for access to emergency services OR call 9-1-1 from another non-Verizon phone number. This policy will be in effect until normal service is restored.”

Reed says also, “These types of disruptions are planned for, and the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office 9-1-1 Communications Center has excellent redundancy and emergency procedures in place for situations just like this.” Verizon customers in Pottawattamie County should monitor local media outlets and Emergency Management’s Facebook and twitter pages for updates. Also, residents should sign up for Alert Iowa emergency notifications at https://pcema-ia.org.

Pott. County EMA

“The first alert we send is through Alert Iowa,” said Doug Reed. The system was used this morning for the 9-1-1 outage and distributed over 35,000 alerts by multiple methods (voice, email, text, social media). “The system isn’t just for weather notifications. Real-life, everyday emergency notifications are sent over this system. We can’t inform you if we can’t contact you, so sign up today to help keep yourself, your family, and your coworkers safe.”