(Radio Iowa) – A northwest Iowa family is publicly thanking a delivery driver who alerted them to a fire last month. Matt Dorr of rural Ashton says the U-P-S driver was dropping off a package and saw smoke rising from a shed. “Normally our UPS guy doesn’t ring the doorbell. He knows we have a small child. Well, this UPS man wouldn’t stop ringing the doorbell until we came to the door,” Dorr says. “At first we were frustrated, but when we got to the door, he’s like: ‘Is that building supposed to be doing that?’ And we were like: ‘What are you talking about?’ and we ran around to the side of our house. It was totally in the back and we wouldn’t have seen it from the house until the whole building was engulfed.”

Dorr says he ran to get a water tank and his wife started dragging the garden hose toward the shed to fight the fire when U-P-S driver Daniel Groen grabbed it.  “He runs into the building himself and starts putting the fire out for us,” Dorr says. “I came back and started to…pull equipment out because it…had tractors and combines and all sorts of stuff in there.”

Groen was covering the delivery route for another driver and it was the first time he’d been on the property. The Dorrs are renters and someone else owns the shed. Dorr says the fire was started by someone burning a brush pile in the backyard of the property when the wind picked up and blew the fire up the side of the shed.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley vows to work with his colleagues to address restoring the year-round sale of the 15-percent ethanol fuel blend, even though in his words, “fighting big oil is not an easy job.” On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed the rule enacted by the E-P-A that allowed E-15 to be sold between June and September, a move that was encouraged by then-President Trump. “The previous administration made the right call to allow E-15 to be sold year-round,” Grassley says, “and to allow consumers to make their own decisions about what kind of fuel they want to choose at the pump.”

The decision to allow E-15 to be sold year-round put that blend on a par with the popular 10-percent ethanol blend which has been available for sale all year for decades. “Banning this higher blend of ethanol for part of the year never made sense in the first place,” Grassley says, “but it was still the rule and the Trump administration corrected that silly rule that you couldn’t sell it during the summer.” Grassley says he’ll push for a legislative solution to the issue to give some certainty to farmers and producers as he says the court ruling is a “big hit” to ethanol. “We all know that ethanol is good for the economy, good for national security and good for the environment,” Grassley says. “This is what’s puzzling to me because I constantly hear from my colleagues, particularly on the Democratic side of the aisle, that they’re concerned about the environment.”

Governor Kim Reynolds issued the following statement after the court’s ruling: “Iowa proudly leads the country in the production of renewable fuels, and today’s ruling is a gut punch to not only our renewable fuel industry but our fuel retailers as well. I worked closely with the Trump Administration to secure year-round sales of E-15, and I disagree with today’s court decision. We will continue to stand up for renewable fuels and fuel retailers, and pursue every avenue to ensure they can continue to offer lower cost, cleaner burning E-15 to Iowans.”

The Adair County Board of Supervisors are not happy with the new elevator that was installed in the courthouse, in Greenfield. The original elevator was installed in the 1980’s but received an addition/upgrade that was opened in late September, 2019, to make it more handicapped accessible. Board Chair Steve Shelley brought up the issue of the elevator during Wednesday morning’s meeting of the Board. He asked Auditor Mandy Berg what she knew about the problem with the elevator. Berg said there’s something wrong with the door, and it’s the latest in a string of problems they’ve had since it was installed.

Supervisor John Twombly asked if there was a maintenance contract. Berg responded “yes we do.”

Schindler Elevators and Escalators, with a location in West Des Moines, is responsible for repairs and maintenance.

The head of Maintenance at the Adair County Courthouse, Rich Wallace, told KJAN News the elevator was inspected by the State in March, and passed, but he was twice stuck in the lift. The problem, he says, appears to be with a motor on the door. The second time the lift was stuck with him inside. When he managed to get the doors open, the lift was six-inches below ground level. Schindler has a motor on order, but like with most things these days, the machine is made in China, and it’s unclear when the part will arrive. Wallace said one of the magistrate judges was frustrated he’s had to take the stairs most times court is scheduled. The elevator being out of service means it’s no longer handicapped accessible.

Board Chair Steve Shelley suggested the County Attorney should examine the contract with Schindler and make a determination on what their liability is, and express the County’s frustration with the apparent lack of attention to resolving the matter. In other business, the Adair County Board of Supervisors approved the reappointment of Lee Ashmore to the Veterans Affairs Commission. The Board approved a Child Abuse Prevention Grant Draw Down amounting to $2,018, and a budgeted increase in salary for Treasurer Clerk Cindy Lundy from 65% to 67% of Treasurer Brenda Wallace’ salary, upon recommendation by Wallace.

(Update) Police in Council Bluffs confirm one of their detectives was arrested by a separate agency while on duty, Tuesday. According to Capt. Todd Weddum, Detective Craig Schuetze, was arrested, on July 6th, 2021, by the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office related to an assault allegation. Schuetze has been placed on Administrative Leave pending the outcome of the criminal case. Capt. Weddum said also, “As this is a personnel matter, no further information will be released by CBPD.”

Detective Craig Schuetze (Photo courtesy Pott. Co. S/O)

Pott. County Chief Deputy Jeffrey Thuelen said Wednesday, “On Tuesday July 6th, 2021, the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office was asked to assist the Council Bluffs Police with a domestic assault investigation in the City of Council Bluffs. The accused in the assault is a City of Council Bluffs Police employee. Upon the Sheriff’s Office Investigation, and in consultation with the Pottawattamie County Attorney, Craig Schuetze, was arrested for domestic abuse assault and strangulation with bodily injury. Schuetze was booked for the charges in the Pottawattamie County jail. He was later released by the Court.

Information as to the charges and prosecution of this case will be provided by the Pottawattamie County Attorney. As the investigation is continuing no additional information will be released by the Sheriff’s Office.”

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown is still battling COVID-19 and staffing shortages.  The state’s largest long-term health facility is one of two facilities in the state listed on the outbreak list per the state’s COVID-19 website. Acting Commandant Penny Cutler-Bermudez, responding to a report in the Iowa-based Bleeding Heartland blog, says that while two residents who recently died while in the IVH COVID unit, their deaths were related to other significant health concerns and were not COVID-related. Cutler-Bermudez says the facility has had seven residents with the virus during the outbreak, but five of the seven have returned to their home unit.

Cutler-Bermudez, who is also IVH’s Licensed Nursing Home Administrator, says while staffing is a challenge, the facility continues to be rated five stars. The other long-term care facility listed classified as being in an outbreak as of Wednesday morning is Marian Home in Webster County.

The broadcast News at 8:06-am, from Ric Hanson.

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The broadcast News at 7:07-am from News Director Ric Hanson.

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A local businessman who, for many years helped to promote and organize tractor rides in southwest Iowa, died Saturday. In memory of Maynard Hansen, owner of the Tune Up Inn in Wiota, tractor Ride enthusiasts are being asked to bring their tractors to Hansen’s funeral service on Friday, July 9, at 10:30 a.m. at the Brayton Lutheran Church located on the northwest edge of Brayton.

Maynard Hansen (Kessler Funeral Home obituary photo)

Ride participants are asked to show up with their tractors one hour prior to the service (or at 9:30 am) Friday. Steve Best of B & B Barrett Trailer Sales at 3270 J Avenue will be the tractor unloading point.

WASHINGTON – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley’s office reports an Audubon County native, Grace Christensen,just completed a four week internship in Washington, D.C with the Senior Senator. Christensen is a junior at Iowa State University, majoring in Animal Science and Pre-Veterinary Medicine. She’s the daughter of Jason and Tracie Christensen, of Audubon.

Grassley said in a news release, “Interning in Washington D.C. is one of the best ways to get a grasp on the inner workings of Capitol Hill and government. Interns play an important role in my office and fulfill meaningful tasks for staff and myself.  An internship is a unique opportunity for college age students to be right in the middle of the political world and gather essential office experience.”

Senator Grassley and Grace Christensen. (Photo submitted)

Christensen served as a Legislative intern aiding Grassley’s Legislative staff.  Her duties included performing research to aid in answering constituent questions, working on special projects for Legislative Assistants, such as keeping track of legislation as it moves through the House and Senate, preparing binders for bills, as well as filing and organizing paperwork. Christensen says  she thoroughly enjoyed her brief time in our nation’s capitol with Senator Grassley’s office. She says it pushed her out of her comfort zone. Grace said also, “I was able to network with so many admirable people. I acquired knowledge about the legislative process within Congress, and gained a new level of respect for those in this profession.”

College students interested in participating in the internship program for Grassley in Washington, D.C., or any of his state offices, should visit Grassley’s website here.