(IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH)-  An Iowa Senate subcommittee advanced a bill Monday that would make it a crime to engage in any acts attempting to alter the weather. Senate Study Bill 3010 bans “geoengineering” activities for acts intending to “manipulate or alter the weather.” The legislation specifically points to activities like “cloud seeding,” “weather engineering” and “polluting atmospheric activity” — meaning the deliberate discharge of materials, including chemical substances, electromagnetic fields or pulses, sound waves or light pollution — with the intention to alter weather.

The measure would create a Class D criminal felony for people engaging in these activities, punishable by up to five years of incarceration and fines between $1,025 and $10,245. The bill states each day a person commits a violation of this ban counts as a separate offense. It also specifies that if an entity is suspected of committing “geoengineering” activities, the Iowa Department of Public Safety is directed to issue a cease and desist letter.

The measure is similar to a bill advanced through the Iowa House committee process during the 2025 session, House File 927. The two measures have slightly different language, with the House language prohibiting specifically “intentional emission of air contaminants into the atmosphere with the express purpose of affecting temperature, weather, or the intensity of sunlight.” The House measure would not impose criminal penalties, but would have required the Environmental Protection Commission to adopt emergency rules related to air quality that would address these practices.

Sen. Charlie McClintock, R-Alburnett, who introduced the Senate bill, said the measure was “the most compact version and the most reasonable version we could put together” to address some constituents’ concerns about cloud seeding and other alleged weather-altering methods. Rep. Jeff Shipley, R-Fairfield, told senators at the subcommittee meeting he appreciated the measure being brought forward, and said he believed it was important for the state to establish rules on how these practices can take place.

Shipley said currently, “if I wanted to say, deploy a cloud seeding program over Van Buren County, there’s nothing in law, to my knowledge that’s currently preventing me from doing that, or any sort of regulation of oversight of that sort of activity.” He pointed to a 2025 law signed Florida as an example of what could be brought up in Iowa.

One of the main drivers of conversations on geoengineering and related practices is the “chemtrails” conspiracy theory, which posits some aircraft are spraying certain chemicals that impact weather patterns as well as people’s health and fertility. Advocates with groups like the Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers spoke against the bill, saying the proposal is referencing and validating “pseudoscience” instead of addressing real environmental concerns.

One confirmed practice referenced in the bill is cloud seeding, where certain particles, like silver iodide crystals and salt, are added to existing clouds in order to cause rain or snow to fall that would not occur naturally. While there are not reports of the widespread use of cloud seeding in Iowa, this practice has been used in several western states to address drought or minimize hail damage.

Grayson Gee with the Rainmaker Technology Corporation, a U.S.-based cloud seeding startup, spoke in opposition to the inclusion of cloud seeding in the measure targeted at geoengineering practices. Gee said cloud seeding has been “researched, regulated and transparently conducted in the United States for over 70 years,” and that it does not change weather patterns outside of encouraging precipitation.

He said other proposed technologies related to geoengineering, like solar radiation modification or other stratospheric aerosol injection, are not well-studied or researched and have the potential to cause serious harm. Gee said it was important to distinguish between these ideas, which he called “conspiratorial and, frankly, somewhat concerning,” and existing practices like cloud seeding.

The measure was passed out of subcommittee unanimously. Sen. Izaah Knox, D-Des Moines, said he supported the bill moving forward as “there needs to be more conversation about this,” though he was not sure the current language is the correct approach. McClintock said there are still many steps before the bill would become law, but said he believed lawmakers are moving with “due diligence” to address Iowans’ concerns on the issue.

(IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – Young hunters could skip the in-person elements currently required by Iowa’s hunter safety program under a bill that advanced from a House subcommittee Monday. Currently, Iowa hunter education for those under the age of 17 requires either in-person classes or a combination of an approved online program, plus an in-person field day.

House File 2020 was filed by Rep. Jason Gearhart, R-Strawberry Point, who explained that the in-person requirements were difficult to attend for some families — like his own — who live in more rural areas and have limited opportunities to attend. Gearhart said to get around this, his children took an approved hunter safety course from the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, which does not have a field day requirement, but is accepted in Iowa through reciprocity.

The bill adds language that a hunter over the age of 11 may obtain a hunter safety certification from a “nationally recognized organization, including the national rifle association.” HF 2020 also said the requirement could be satisfied by an online course either offered or approved by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Tammie Krausman, DNR’s communications director, said the language pointing to “recognized organizations” could affect Iowa’s reciprocity with other states since certifications are issued by a government entity. Krausman said the field days are a time for hunters to learn about handling firearms, Iowa-specific laws and how to interact with landowners. The department was not registered for or against the bill.

Gearhart said the field days should be optional for hunters who have someone to show them how to shoot and be responsible hunters.

(Creston, IA) – Firefighters with the Creston Fire Department responded a little after 6:20-p.m., Monday, to a structure fire in Union County. The blaze occurred in the 1000 block of 242nd Street in Kent, Iowa. Officials say when the incident commander arrived on the scene, the building was fully engulfed in flames. With the residents accounted for, firefighters initiated a defensive attack to protect the surrounding properties.

Photo credit: Chuck Spindler (Creston Fire Dept. via Facebook)

Additional personnel arrived on the scene, along with mutual aid from the Lenox Iowa Fire Department. Once the fire was under control with the remaining burning debris confined in the basement walls, the Creston Fire Department returned to their quarters just before 8-p.m.

Thanks also to Greater Regional Health‘s Medic 1, the Union County Sheriff’s Office, and Alliant Energy for their support at the scene. The cause of the fire is unknown at this time. 

(Red Oak, IA) – And, at around 7:40-p.m., Monday, crews with the Red Oak, Elliott and Stanton Fire Departments responded to a possible field fire at 148th/J Ave (near Stennett). The caller reported there were structures nearby. Upon arrival, fire crews located multiple piles of burnt ash, with fire extension to surrounding vegetation.

Red Oak FD photo via Facebook

(Radio Iowa) – President Donald Trump returns to Iowa today (Tuesday) in what is described as a shift to focus on the 40 weeks until November’s General Election. The White House chief of staff has said Trump’s speech in the Des Moines suburb of Clive will mark the first of weekly campaign-related travel for the president.

Today Trump will be in one of the most competitive congressional districts in the country, Iowa’s third district, where Republican Congressman Zach Nunn is seeking a third term. Nunn is likely to face Democrat Sarah Trone Garriott. She defeated the Iowa Senate’s Republican president in 2022 and has won two more races for a seat in the state senate. There will be two major statewide races, too, since Governor Kim Reynolds and Senator Joni Ernst are not seeking reelection.

1968 was the last time Iowa saw open races for governor and U.S. Senate in the same ballot. Trump’s Iowa visit also comes after what appears to be a shift in immigration enforcement in Minnesota following last weekend’s shooting of a U.S. citizen and resident of Minneapolis. Trump has asked Border Czar Tom Homan to oversee the Minnesota operation and Trump talked with Minnesota’s governor by phone Monday. Both men have described the conversation as productive.

(Radio Iowa) – State Senator Catelin Drey of Sioux City says she’s been diagnosed with stage one uterine cancer and will undergo surgery today (Tuesday). Drey was elected to the Iowa Senate last year in a special election held to fill the vacancy created when Senator Rocky De Witt died of pancreatic cancer.”The irony of being elected because my predecessor passed away from this horrible disease is not lost on me,” Drey said “Ignoring the environment that Senator De Witt and I shared is a disservice to our constituents. Silence is what perpetuates bad systems.”

Drey announced her diagnosis on the Senate floor yesterday (Monday). “I have insurance. I don’t have to worry about how to pay my bills. I have people who can drive me, provide child care and fill the gaps while I recover. Many Iowans do not have that full stack of support which is why I refuse to be quiet about this,” Drey said. “We live in Iowa, unfortunately the cancer capital of the country, and yet we continue to tolerate policies that make early detection harder, treatment more expensive, and recovery more precarious.”

Drey says initial tests have indicated the cancer has not spread, but after her hysterectomy, her doctors will determine if she needs additional surgery and if chemotherapy or radiation is necessary. “This diagnosis did not come out of nowhere for me,” Drey said. “Given my family history and the environment in which I live it felt less like a remote possibility and more like a foregone conclusion.” Sioux City recently received over half a million dollars from 3M and DuPont to address drinking water contamination.

“I am not interested in pretending this is just a private medical matter. It is a public policy failure playing out in my body,” Drey said. “I am going to be transparent, not because I owe anyone my vulnerability, but because sunlight is a tool, and I intend to use every tool available to me.”

The latest report indicates Iowa has the second-highest cancer rate in the country and is one of only two states where the cancer rate is rising. The Iowa Cancer Registry will provide updated information in a few weeks.

(Red Oak, IA) – Police in Red Oak, Monday night, arrested a woman on an Assault charge. Authorities say 18-year-old Ashlynn Marie Reafleng, of Red Oak, was taken into custody just before 7-p.m.,  in the 200 block of S. 8th Street. Reafleng was charged with Domestic Abuse Assault/1st offense, and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where she was being held without bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Former Democratic Iowa Houseleader Jennifer Konfrst has ended her campaign for Iowa’s third congressional district seat. Konfrst has endorsed fellow Democrat Sarah Trone Garriott’s bid to face off against Republican Congressman Zach Nunn in this year’s General Election.

In northeast Iowa, Republican Shannon Lundren of Peosta has announced she’ll seek reelection to the Iowa House rather than run for Iowa’s second congressional district seat in the U-S House of Representatives.

And Democrat Taylor Wettach, a Muscatine attorney, has announced he’ll run for State Auditor. Wettach had been running for congress in the district currently represented by Republican Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks.

Two other Democrats are running in the first district.

(Glenwood, IA) – The Glenwood Police Department reports two separate arrests occurred Friday, Jan. 23rd:

• 41-year-old Jacob Nickolas Davidson, of Mapleton, was arrested in Glenwood for Driving Under Suspension (Bond $300).
• 48-year-old Corey Lee Manley, of Pacific Junction, was arrested in Glenwood for OWI/1st offense (Bond $1,000).

(Atlantic, IA)  – The Atlantic Senior Alumni Scholarship Foundation (SASF) recently held its annual meeting and welcomed new members, Denise Speer and Wendy Richter, for five year terms. According to spokesperson Mark McNees, the board also held elections and C.J. Heithoff was re-elected as President. J.C. Van Ginkle was elected Vice-President along with Deb Schuler as Secretary, and Mark Smith as Treasurer. The board also thanked Cathy Hansen for more than 15 years of service and Ted Robinson for 5 years.

McNees said rhe SASF will again this year award a total of five – $2,500 scholarships for qualifying Atlantic Class of 2026 Seniors. SASF was created by Atlantic alumni to provide need-based scholarships to seniors who have a GPA of 2.5 or higher. The first scholarship of $500 was awarded in 2003. Through the generosity of individuals and alumni of AHS, the foundation has continued to grow and expand the total amount of scholarships along with increasing the dollar amount of each.

Individuals or alumni interested in donating to the 501c3 can find more information from the website https://atlanticsasf.org or the Facebook page under Atlantic High School Senior Alumni Scholarship Foundation.

L to R. Jackie Sampson, Becky Stahr, C.J.Heithoff-Pres, Mark McNees, Wendy Richter.
Back Row L to R. Billie Hoover, Steve Wallingford, Cathy Baragary Exec Dir, Tammy Wickman, Deb Schuler, Ann Johnk, and Linda Robinson Exec Dir.
Not present- J.C. Van Ginkle, Mark Smith, Brad Pellett, and Denise Speer.

(Glenwood, IA) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports four arrests took place over the past week:

Sunday night (1/25), 18-year-old Rhylee Jo Klein, of Omaha, was arrested in Pacific Junction, for Domestic Abuse Assault/1st offense. Klein was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail, pending a court appearance.

Early Saturday morning (1/24), Mills County Deputies arrested 22-year-old Dylan Patrick Shanahan, of Elkhorn, NE, for OWI/1st offense. He was arrested in Glenwood, with bond set at $1,000.

Early Friday morning, 33-year-old Nile Johnathan Packett, of Pacific Junction, was arrested for Assault on a Law Officers/others-without injury, and Interference with Official Acts. Bond was set at $2,300.

And on Jan. 19th, Mills County Deputies arrested 32-year-old Alyssa Marie Edfors, of Clinton, IA, for Failure to Appear. Her bond was set at $2,000.