(Atlantic, IA) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors held a very brief Special Meeting this (Friday) afternoon with regard to a request to Order a recount of the Atlantic School District Director At-Large race from the November 4, 2025 City/School Election.

In attendance in the Supervisor’s Board Room were Supervisors Green and Wendy Richter, along with Cass County Auditor/Election Commissioner Kathy Somers. Supervisors Mark “O’Brien and Bernard Pettinger joined electronically.

O’Brien made the motion to act on the Order as requested.

(The qualifying request was made by from candidate Justin Williams, who received less than 1% difference of the votes cast than the winner.)

Cass County Board of Supervisors Special meeting, 11-14-25

The Board’s approval allows the recount to take place beginning at 9-a.m. Monday, Nov. 17th. Because there were no other, additional qualifying requests for a recount, no action was taken on that part of the special agenda, Friday.

(Clarinda, IA) – Page County Attorney, James L. Varley reports the following activities in the Iowa District Court for Page County for the week of October 20, 2025.

• 32-year-old Samuel Robert Good, of Cedar Rapids, pled guilty to Possession of a Controlled Substance, Marijuana-1st Offense. The Defendant was fined and ordered to pay court costs, surcharges and court-appointed attorney fees.
• 55-year-old Charles Thomas Harmsen, of Clarinda, pled guilty to False Imprisonment. He was sentenced to 33 days in the Page County Jail, with credit given for time previously served and fined $430. The fine was suspended, and Harmsen was ordered to pay any fines, penalties, and surcharges not suspended.
• 33-year-old Dy Ifraim, of Clarinda, pled guilty to two counts of Assault on Persons Engaged in Certain Occupations. For each count, the defendant was sentenced to 1 year of incarceration, to run concurrently with each other, and fined $430. The fines were suspended. The term of incarceration will run consecutively to the term he is currently serving. Ifraim was ordered to pay court costs, surcharges and court-appointed attorney fees.
• 25-year-old Bryce Robert Neal, of Nodaway, pled guilty to Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated-1st Offense. He was sentenced to two days in jail and was given credit for time served for completing the OWI 1st Program. A fine of $1,250 was imposed and Neal was ordered to pay court costs, surcharges and court appointed attorney fees.
• 62-year-old Thomas Thakadipuram, of Shenandoah, plead guilty in Page County District court, pursuant to an Alford Plea to Count I: Theft in the 1st Degree and Count II: Theft in the Fourth Degree. On Count I, he was sentenced to 10 years of incarceration and fined $1,370. Both were suspended and Thakadipuram was placed on probation for 3 years. For Count II, he was sentenced to 90 days of incarceration, with all but 14 days suspended and fined $430. The sentences will run concurrently. Thakadipuram was also ordered to pay court costs, surcharges, court-appointed attorney fees and victim restitution.
• 18-year-old Braylyn Andrew Wilcoxson, of Clarinda, pled guilty to Simple Assault. Wilcoxson was sentenced to 7 days in jail and fined $105. The fine was suspended, and he was ordered to pay court costs, surcharges and court-appointed attorney fees.
• 37-year-old Nathan Andrew Wilcoxson, of Clarinda, pled guilty to Child Endangerment. He was sentenced to 2 years of incarceration, suspended and fined $855, also suspended. Nathan Wilcoxson was placed on probation for 1 year and was ordered to complete a Substance Abuse Evaluation, Mental Health Evaluation and follow-up with all recommendations.

**All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.**

(Radio Iowa – Three fire departments fought a fire last (Thursday) night that destroyed an abandoned, century-old farmhouse south of Storm Lake, near the Buena Vista/Sac County line. At about 9:30 p.m., the Storm Lake Fire Department was dispatched after a passerby spotted flames. When fire fighters arrived, the two-story house was fully engulfed in flames. The Newell and Early Fire Departments provided additional water to fight the blaze.

Century-old farmhouse near Storm Lake destroyed by Nov. 13, 2025 fire. (Radio IA affiliate KAYL photo)

MidAmerican Energy crews shut off power to the property. Buena Vista County Secondary Roads crews later brought in an excavator to know down unstable portions of the home that continued to smoulder. Crews used thermal imaging cameras to check for hot spots and the fire was brought under control. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

(Radio Iowa) – As NextEra Energy moves ahead with plans to reopen the Duane Arnold nuclear plant in eastern Iowa, concerns are being raised about waste storage and water use. The Iowa Utilities Commission held an informational meeting Thursday where NextEra officials spoke to residents. Rich Patterson, of Cedar Rapids, says he wants to know more about the potential impacts on the water supply during a drought if a data center is built nearby.

The Duane Arnold Energy Center in Palo, Iowa. (Photo: NextEra Energy)

“You’re going to go again, taking water from the river. We have droughts,” Patterson says. “I remember 1988, there will be droughts. We are going to want to drink water and make coffee and take showers.” Though Google has not announced plans for a data center near the plant, NextEra did sign an agreement to provide Google with most of the plant’s energy. Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell says restarting the plant would provide an economic boost for the surrounding community and the state.

“Here in Linn County, we’ll see the benefits firsthand, from new residents and families putting down roots to local businesses, restaurants and service providers thriving with increased demand,” O’Donnell says. “The plant will also generate millions in local tax revenue.”

NextEra Energy needs approval from the Iowa Utilities Commission to start construction on the project near Palo next year.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – Nov. 14, 2025 – The Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) announced today the final traffic shift for the Interstate 80/I-29/I-480 corridor in Council Bluffs, marking the substantial completion of the Council Bluffs Interstate System Improvement Program. The shift is scheduled to occur overnight, weather permitting, on Monday, Nov. 17. This milestone marks the substantial completion of the Council Bluffs Interstate Improvement Program.

“As the Council Bluffs Interstate System Improvement Program construction is ending, we recognize the transformative investment made in our region’s transportation infrastructure,” said Iowa DOT District 4 Engineer Scott Schram. “This project has delivered lasting benefits to our community—enhancing safety, mobility, and economic vitality.”

The Iowa DOT extends its sincere thanks to the Council Bluffs community and all motorists for their patience and cooperation throughout this multi-year construction effort. Your support has been vital in helping us reach this milestone.

What to Expect

Beginning at 9 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 17, eastbound I-80 will be temporarily closed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. as crews implement the final traffic configuration. The interstate is expected to reopen by 5 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 18. Occasional lane closures in the spring will be needed to finalize permanent markings.

Motorists are advised to use caution, reduce speed, and be attentive to new signage and traffic signals as they navigate the new layout. This final phase will significantly improve traffic flow and safety by moving traffic to its final configuration.

About the Program

The Council Bluffs Interstate System Improvement Program began in 2008 as a multi-phase initiative to modernize and improve approximately 14 miles of interstate through the Council Bluffs metropolitan area. Over the years, the program has delivered major upgrades to interchanges, bridges, and traffic flow—enhancing safety and supporting regional growth.

Program information is available at www.CouncilBluffsInterstate.IowaDOT.gov.

(Radio Iowa) – A retired University of Iowa researcher who leads a non-profit group focused on water quality issues is exploring a run for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture. Chris Jones, a Democrat, is the author of The Swine Republic, a collection of essays about agricultural pollution that was published as a book in 2023. “I don’t see any other candidates in either party trying to tackle or embrace these issues that we have in Iowa, you know, with our water and the environment in general,” Jones said. “I think it’s frustrating for people to read about the condition of their environmental day after day after day and politicians won’t address it.” Jones lives near Lansing in the northeast corner of Iowa. He is president of the Driftless Water Defenders, a group formed to focus attention on agricultural runoff into Iowa lakes and streams. Jones says Iowa’s alarming cancer rate — the second highest in the nation and one of only two states where it’s growing — has changed the conversation.

“We know that there’s multiple drivers of disease, right? And so it’s very difficult to pin a disease like cancer onto one thing,” Jones said, “but we also know that we’re sort awash in chemicals here, right? And we know the research is out there that shows nitrate in drinking water is a driver of cancer.” Jones says Iowa’s agriculture sector needs to diversify. “We can’t get the environmental outcomes that we want with only two crops on the landscape. We have two species covering 75% of our land area in Iowa. We’re never going to get good water when that’s the case,” Jones said. “We need a diversity of economy. We’ve got way too much invested in ethanol.” Jones says the ethanol industry produces way too few jobs when compared to the 11-thousand square miles of land planted with corn that’s used to produce ethanol.

Chris Jones

“That’s less than one job per square mile on the best land on earth. That’s ridiculous,” Jones said. “We need to think about something different than ethanol. We need to think about something different about CAFOs.” Iowa has at least four-thousand confined animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, according to the latest E-P-A data. Jones has formed an exploratory committee which allows him to start raising money for a potential campaign. Jones says he’ll decide in January whether to take the next step and run for office. Jones was a research engineer for the Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research at the University of Iowa for eight years before his retirement in May of 2023. Jones graduated from Simpson College in 1983 with a degree in chemistry and biology and earned a doctorate in analytical chemistry from Montana State University.

(Atlantic, IA) — Cass County Auditor and Commissioner of Election, Kathy Somers, Thursday, November 13th oversaw the post-election audit of the November 4, 2025 City/School Election. The audited results matched the election night ballot count with 100% accuracy.

Under Iowa law, post-election audits are mandatory. Following Election Day, the Secretary of State’s office randomly selects one precinct and race to be audited. For this special election, the Noble/Pleasant/City of Griswold precinct, Griswold mayor’s race, was chosen.

A post-election audit board, comprised of representatives from both the Republican and Democratic parties, conducted a hand-count of the mayor’s race. The audit results perfectly matched the original machine count, reinforcing confidence in the integrity and accuracy of the election process.

Auditor Somers expressed appreciation to all who contributed to the election process including those who served as Precinct Election Officials at the polling location, the absentee board, the post-election audit board, and the auditor’s office staff for their time and dedication to ensuring the election was conducted securely and in compliance with state law.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Natural Resource Commission has approved leasing a 575 foot stretch along the Mississippi River to the fertilizer plant in southeast Iowa’s Lee County for just over 14-hundred dollars a year. Managers of the Koch Fertilizer Plant in southeast Iowa have told state officials they plan to load and unload barges in that part of the river. Two years ago, Koch Industries paid three-point-six BILLION dollars to buy the Iowa Fertilizer Plant near Wever.

A member of the Iowa Natural Resource Commission says he appreciates Koch’s investments in Iowa, but the panel is concerned that the fee to lease that land along the Mississippi is well under the fair market value of the property. After extended discussion of the state law used to calculate the fee, five of seven commissioners approved the lease yesterday (Thursday), but several called for the law to be updated so the fees for similar leases in the future will be higher.

Koch representatives who attended yesterday’s (Thursday’s) commission meeting said their company didn’t set the fee and the company’s application to lease the land had followed state law.

(Radio Iowa) – Dozens of stores, breweries and other Iowa merchants that sell products containing T-H-C may face closure as the bill President Trump signed to end the federal government shutdown included an amendment to cap T-H-C sales. That part of the law won’t take effect for a year, and merchants hope to sway Congress to change it before then. During a conference call with Iowa reporters today (Friday), Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley was asked if he’d consider reversing the restrictions. “No, I won’t vote to change that, because as Senator McConnell said, it was never intended to go with this intoxicating effect of the product,” Grassley says “He says there’s a loophole, the industry took advantage of it, and it was never intended, and it should be closed.” The law caps the amount of T-H-C to less than a half milligram per container for hemp products, while current Iowa law allows up to 10 milligrams of T-H-C per container.

Grassley says stores will have a year to clear out the more potent items. “The product you’re talking about is not sold as the only product in the stores,” Grassley says. “It’s sold along with hundreds or thousands of other products, and the product might go away, but the stores aren’t going to go away.” At least one Iowa merchant strongly disagrees. Ashley Lambson, founder of The Happy Can in Urbandale, tells Iowa Public Radio the new restrictions would “wipe out everything,” including ointments, gummies, chocolates, and beverages. Grassley, a Republican, says the more powerful products need to be taken off the shelves. “Senator McConnell of Kentucky authored this legislation to legalize hemp,” Grassley says, “because we were thinking in terms of industrial hemp, with about the 2% THC in it, and not the strong stuff.”

Several Iowa companies make cannabis-infused beverages, including Toppling Goliath Brewing Company in Decorah and Des Moines-based Climbing Kites.