WASHINGTON – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley’s regional directors based in Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Des Moines, Sioux City and Waterloo will hold traveling office hours in 38 counties across Iowa throughout July. Iowans are invited to stop by during the scheduled hours to seek assistance regarding a personal issue with a federal agency or share concerns on matters of federal policy. Grassley’s state offices regularly help constituents contact federal agencies to resolve problems with Social Security payments, military service matters, immigration cases and other issues. They are located in Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Des Moines, Sioux City and Waterloo.

Should constituents have any questions, please contact Grassley’s Council Bluffs office at 712-322-7103, or his Sioux City office at 712-233-1860.

The area office hours schedule is as follows:

Wednesday, July 11, 2018 – Regional Director Donna Barry:

Audubon County: 8 a.m. – 9 a.m.,  Exira City Hall

Carroll County: 10 a.m. – 11 a.m., Carroll County Courthouse Meeting Room

Monona County: 1 p.m. – 2 p.m., Mapleton City Hall City Council Chambers

Crawford County: 3 p.m. – 4 p.m., Crawford County Courthouse Meeting Room

Monday, July 16, 2018 – Regional Director Adam DoBraska:

Ringgold County: 9 a.m. – 10 a.m., Ringgold County Courthouse

Union County: 12 p.m. – 1 p.m., Union County Sheriff’s Office Law Enforcement Conference Room

Adair County: 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m., Greenfield Public Library

KEOKUK, Iowa (AP) — Iowa authorities say they’ve recovered a body from the Mississippi River in Keokuk. The Hawk Eye in Burlington reports that Lee County law enforcement officers pulled the body from the river shortly after 1 p.m. Wednesday. The body was taken to an Iowa City hospital for an autopsy. Keokuk Police Chief Dave Hinton says the death remains under investigation, but there’s no threat to the public.

Hinton says police won’t disclose additional details until after authorities positively identify the body. He did not say if investigators suspect foul play. It’s not clear how long the body has been in the water or whether law enforcement has received any reports of missing people in the area.

The Audubon County Engineer’s Office report NextEra Energy will start mowing and working in the road ways, beginning Monday July 9th. NextEra Energy will be working on the Heartland Divide Wind Energy Center in Audubon County until the end of the year. Officials say there will be many different phases to the project. There will also be extra traffic in the area and crews in different parts of the road way so please be aware as you travel. Parts of this project will also go into Guthrie County.

Crews will be in the area until the project is done, hopefully by the end of the year. The wind turbines themselves are not schedule to come until the end of the October but there will be lots of trucks, cement haulers, rock haulers and so on in the area getting sites ready.

Local band Popcorn Button will be back on stage at the Elks Lodge in Atlantic for a night of free music and dancing. As always, admission is free, and dancers and listeners of all ages are invited to attend on Saturday, July 14th, from 7 to 10 pm. The dance, titled “Let Freedom Swing” will see the sixteen-piece ensemble perform big band favorites like “In the Mood,” “Stardust,” and “Hoop-de-Doo Polka.” Event organizers encourage dancers of all skill levels to enjoy the live music and get out on the dance floor.

Popcorn Button, founded in 2010, is a group of volunteer musicians from all walks of life. Many hail from the Atlantic community, including alumni of Atlantic High School. Also featured are students and recent alumni from Iowa State University, the University of Iowa, the University of Northern Iowa, and the community at large. Since 2012, the band has operated the Popcorn Button Community Music Scholarship. This award supports young musicians from the community as they attend honor bands, band camps, and music lessons.

“Let Freedom Swing” is a free public event. All ages and dancing abilities are invited and encouraged to attend on Saturday, July 14 at the Elks Lodge at 501 Poplar Street in Atlantic. A free will donation will be accepted at the door to defray the band’s operating costs and support the scholarship program. For more information on Let Freedom Swing or the scholarship, email info@popcornbutton.org or visit www.popcornbutton.org.

A Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Deputy on routine patrol a little after 8-p.m. Thursday, in Oakland, noticed an SUV traveling south on Highway 59 from Highway 6, and decided to run the license plate. The registered owner of the vehicle came back as having a warrant for being a Fugitive from Justice. 56-year old Kelly Jo Horgdal, of Henderson, was taken into custody and transported to the Pott. County Jail.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa State Patrol reports Trooper issued six-times more citations for texting while driving in the past year, after a new law allows law enforcement officers to stop drivers who are texting. This past year, Troopers issued 1,131 citations for texting while driving.  That is up from 182 citations the year before. John Gaspar, a research scientist with the National Advanced Driving Simulator, found that it takes two seconds to impair a driver’s safety.  It usually takes 5 seconds to send or read a text.  At 55mph, that is the same as driving the length of a football field with your eyes closed. The Center for Disease Control says that every day an average of 9 people are killed and more than 1,000 people are injured because of a distracted driver.  Teens are affected most by texting while driving.

Troopers in the Iowa State Patrol have developed innovative methods for finding drivers who are texting.  They take these violations seriously because it puts the texting driver at risk, along with everyone else on the road who may be affected by the distracted driver. The Patrol’s Sgt. Nathan Ludwig says “Put down your phone and focus on your driving. Every day and every night, Troopers are on the lookout for drivers who are texting when they should be focused on their driving.”

A new texting-while-driving law that took effect one year ago made texting while driving a “primary” offense.  That means an officer can stop a driver and issue a citation for texting while driving.  Before last July, it was a “secondary” offense, meaning that officers could only issue a citation for texting while driving if the officer stopped the driver for some other offense.

July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017:     182 citations issued by Iowa State Patrol
July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018:  1,131 citations issued by Iowa State Patrol

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:07-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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Creston Police report 61-year old Martin Eugene Baker, of Creston, was arrested Thursday afternoon in the 200 block of W Montgomery Street. Baker was charged with Operating While Intoxicated, and was transported to the Union County Jail, where his bond was set at $1,000.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say an eastern Iowa man set his apartment on fire in hopes of getting arrested. The Telegraph Herald in Dubuque reports that 33-year-old Matthew R. Voseberg was arrested Wednesday evening on a first-degree arson charge. Authorities say Voseberg was sitting on his apartment’s front porch when they arrived. They say he told them he was in his apartment when he started thinking about where he could get “three hots and a cot.”

Another resident in the building told authorities that Voseberg came to her apartment, said he had started a fire in his apartment and told her to get out. Authorities say the fire caused about $7,800 in damage.
Voseberg faces up to 25 years in prison.