(Radio Iowa) – Governor Reynolds has issued a moratorium on new rule-making by state government agencies. After the governor signs laws passed by the legislature, state administrators draft rules to implement those laws. “Over time, Iowa’s Administrative Code has ballooned to over 20,000 pages and over 190,000 restrictive terms,” Reynolds says. “Many of these rules are unnecessary. Some are actually counterproductive, short-circuiting legitimate economic activity and making our state less competitive.”

Gov. Kim Reynolds (1/11/23)

Reynolds has directed state agencies to review every rule and regulation they have on the books today, make a cost-benefit analysis and repeal those that have an undue economic burden. “When it’s all said and done, Iowa will have a smaller, clearer and more growth friendly regulatory system,” Reynolds said. Representative Megan Jones of Sioux Rapids will become chair of the legislative panel that reviews proposed state government rules and regulations in February.

“I’m excited to review that executive order and see how we’re going to implement this,” Jones says. “For years, now, I have been trying to reduce the burden or regulations on our businesses and Iowans and just the volume of that code because the Administrative Code is burdensome and a lot of people tend to forget that those are laws, too.” Jones, who is an attorney, has been on the legislative committee that can approve or reject proposed state government rules since 2013. Jones says during that first year, the far reach of state government rule-making became clear.  “We were regulating the amount of dog poop that someone could have in their yard,” Jones says. “It was a certain circumstance. These people were having a state license and things like that, but it was like: ‘Wow, this is really getting into the weeds here.'”

Governor Reynolds says this initiative to freeze development of state government rules is paired with her plan to consolidate state agencies. She says these two proposals will minimize the burden of state government regulation.

(Radio Iowa) – It’s a chaotic day for Iowans who planned to fly home, to fly somewhere else, or to pick up a loved one at the airport. All flights nationwide were grounded this (Wednesday) morning for a few hours. Kayla Kovarna, spokeswoman for the Des Moines International Airport, says the Federal Aviation Administration shut down all air traffic after a key computer system called Notice to Air Missions or NOTAM failed. “It’s the FAA’s tool to communicate and ensure safety among all airline operators,” Kovarna says. “This morning, there was an outage of the entire system. They worked swiftly to try to get that up, and out of an abundance of caution, they wanted to do system checks before they opened back up the sky.”

While flights started resuming around 8 A-M Central, many thousands of connecting flights nationwide were delayed, causing cascading backups and many hundreds of cancellations. “Any passenger who has a flight today, I would strongly suggest that you check the flight status before you even head to the airport,” Kovarna says, “as there may be ripple effects and impacts in delayed flights or even maybe some potential cancellations throughout the day.”

Only one commercial flight was able to depart from Des Moines at 6 A-M, while starting at 6:04, all other flights were delayed until after 9 A-M. Now, airlines are scrambling to resume flights and get passengers — and their luggage — to their destinations. “A significant number of passengers were impacted this morning with the delays,” Kovarna says, “however, passengers are able to check their flight status via their airline’s mobile app or via FlyDSM.com to check the status of their flight to make sure that the new scheduled departure is on time.”

Federal officials say there was -no- evidence a cyber attack caused the vital computer system to fail, but an investigation is underway.

(Harlan, Iowa) – The Shelby County Board of Supervisors met in a special session Tuesday morning, in Harlan. During their session, the Board held a public hearing on a proposed Shelby County Stream Mitigation ordinance. Auditor Mark Maxwell noted in his minutes of the meeting that no public comment made in-person, or had previously been received by the Auditors office. Maxwell explained the intention of the ordinance is to make it allowable for Shelby County to sell flood mitigation credits and recognition of that practice possibly being in competition with private entities. The Ordinance was unanimously approved as written.

The Shelby County Supervisors also held a Public Hearing with regard to a proposed Resolution declaring Emergency Medical Services (EMS) an essential service in Shelby County. The Resolution allows for voter approval of a Local Option Income Surtax and an “Ad Valorem property tax not to exceed 75-cents per $1,000 of assessed value on all taxable property within the county,” to be imposed after an election, during which 60-percent of those voting on the question of imposing the tax or combination of taxes, vote in favor of the question. The Resolution specifies the establishment of an EMS System Advisory Council comprised of several members from law enforcement, the Mayor and/or Council, and others.

Auditor Maxwell says several people spoke during the hearing. Among them was:

• Alex Londo, Shelby County Emergency Management Agency Coordinator, spoke of the need of funded EMS in Shelby County. Londo noted that the Iowa legislature has created legislation to guide Counties through this process.
• Jordan Sanders, Shelby County Assistant EMA Coordinator noted that Volunteerism is down nationwide and cities in Shelby County with volunteer ambulance service have issues with staffing and having volunteers available at all times. Sanders told the Supervisors that when the private company that now serves Shelby County, and stops service, there will be a need for county officials to fill this need.
• Barry Jacobsen, Shelby County Myrtue Memorial Hospital Administrator, recommended that EMS be declared an essential service and that the current ambulance commission is seeing a shortage of EMTs and rising costs are not generating the revenue needed by these services.
• Roger Bissen, Chief of the Harlan Fire Department, mentioned that fire departments have a funding stream and have had for years. EMS needs a revenue stream soon and that Shelby County should stay on top of this and declare EMS as an essential service to County residents.
• Tim Plumb, veteran EMT from the City of Irwin, spoke and said he has been an EMT for 25 years, the City of Irwin once had 18 volunteers and is now down to 4.
• Gene Gettys, Harlan City Administrator, supported all previous comments, and added that the emergency medical services field has changed in the last few years in Shelby County. Also placing this issue on an election ballot and successfully getting the ballot measure passed will require educating voters on the issue at hand.
• Jenny Lefeber Shelby County Myrtue Memorial Hospital Emergency Room coordinator shared concerns that the ability to transport patients will be lost in Shelby County, if the current private ambulance service shuts down and no Countywide ambulance service has been created.
• Janice Gaul echoed the common theme of Countywide EMS service being needed as the ambulance in Earling is all volunteer.
• Neil Gross, Shelby County Sheriff, also spoke and made a point that a centralized ambulance staffing and service is needed.

A motion to adopt the Resolution was passed as presented. Discussion and explanation of a waiver to be considered was then heard. The waiver allows attorneys from the same law firm to work, if necessary, on a law enforcement agreement between Shelby County Iowa, and the City of Harlan. The waiver is needed in the event Attorneys from this firm are needed to complete any discussion or agreements in the future between these two parties in this exploratory matter. A motion to allow the Chairperson to sign the waiver was seconded and passed unanimously.

Auditor Maxwell says the proposed pipeline interests of Shelby County were presented, dates are closer to being set for litigation. Some schedule Iowa Utility Board rulings are expected soon. Kossuth County has joined the joint representation agreement with other counties expected to join. He said also that Chairman Kenkel notified the public that Shelby Counties Zoning Ordinance has been in effect since November 11th and that anyone entering into agreement with a hazardous pipeline company in Shelby County must get a conditional use permit from the Shelby County Zoning Commissioner, Tony Buman.

Kenkel also brought up that in 2002 the County had the Public Measure to go to a 5 member Board of Supervisors, the measure failed with it receiving only 26% of the vote in favor.

Landowners/tenants with land registered with the Iowa DNR in one of the 21 counties open to the January antlerless season are eligible to participate on the farm unit in the open county. The January antlerless season is Jan. 11- 22. Licenses will be available beginning Jan. 11, from license vendors in the open counties.

The January antlerless season is open in Adair, Adams, Allamakee, Appanoose, Clarke, Clayton, Dallas, Davis, Decatur, Fayette, Jefferson, Lee, Lucas, Madison, Monroe, Taylor, Union, Van Buren, Wapello, Wayne and Winneshiek counties. Landowner/tenant licenses are not subject to county quotas.

Due to the compressed timeline, these licenses will not be available online. Only antlerless deer may be taken during this season. Only centerfire rifles .223 caliber to .500 caliber with a published or calculated muzzle energy of 500-foot pounds or higher are allowed in the excess tag January antlerless season. The excess tag January antlerless season was approved by the Iowa Legislature during the 2022 session.

The Iowa State Patrol reports two people died in separate crashes on opposite sides of the State, Tuesday. The first happened in eastern Iowa’s Johnson County at around 11:25-a.m. The Patrol says traffic on Interstate 380 northbound had slowed and started to back up, while a towing operation was underway at mile marker nine. A 2002 Volvo driven by *37-year-old Eric Taylor, of Cedar Rapids, rear-ended a trailer pulled by a 2018 Peterbilt semi at mile marker seven. Taylor died at the scene. He was wearing a seat belt. The driver of the semi, 46-year-old Mark Fensterman, of Dubuque, was not injured.

The second fatal crash occurred at around 6:04-p.m. in northwest Iowa’s Sioux County. The Patrol reports a 2008 Chevy Impala driven by 18-year-old Emma Nibbelink, of Luverne, MN, was traveling south on Highway 75, went the car drove onto the west shoulder, which was covered in snow and ice. Nibbelink over-corrected, causing the vehicle to cross the center line of the road, before her car was struck broadside in the center lane, by a northbound 2018 Chevy pickup.

Following the impact, both vehicles entered the east ditch and came to rest. Authorities say Emma Nibbelink died at the scene. She was wearing a seat belt. The driver of the pickup, 25-year-old Dylan Taylor, of LeMars, was not injured. Hull Fire and Rescue assisted at the scene.

(Radio Iowa) – The American Farm Bureau has reached an agreement with John Deere that will allow farmers to repair their own equipment, or take it to independent repair shops. The director of the Drake University Agricultural Law Center, Jennifer Zwagerman, says it is a good solution for both sides. Zwagerman says Deere needs to protect the investment it has made in developing high tech systems to run tractors and other equipment. “If you can limit who can repair your products, you maintain not just the market, but you also ensure more privacy and more secrecy,” She says. “What we’re really I think seeing companies most concerned about are trade secrets.”

She says the computerized systems, programming or technology that’s used in the equipment is more important than the equipment itself. “From a legal standpoint, the more you allow people to have access to information, you’re starting to limit your ability to protect those trade secrets,” Zwagerman says. “And so I think that’s something that is very valid, that they wanted to maintain access and control over, but at the same time, was not fully recognizing or meeting the needs of their customers.” The agreement voluntarily makes available manuals or parts to vehicles or equipment.

“And that’s something that’s important to remember as well that they have voluntarily agreed to do it. And so there’s a big question about what this is actually going to look like, moving forward? Who’s going to enforce it? What sort of limitations will they put on it,?” she says. Farmers had been able to do their own repairs or have them done without concern before tractors and other equipment started to involve much more technology. “And so that’s definitely something that farmers are really pushing for — and have been very, very loudly. I think it says a lot that Deere listened,” Zwagerman says.

Zwagerman says John Deere has a long history in agriculture and working with farmers and the company wants to maintain that relationship into the future. Zwagerman says there are still some outside factors that could impact the agreement. “Either party can withdraw from this agreement at any time, particularly if any state or federal legislation tied to this is either introduced or enacted. And so it really in some ways is an effort to try and keep it voluntary like this,” she says.

Zwagerman says there have been a lot of states and the federal government looking at this type of right to repair legislation — and this agreement would keep it out of the government’s hands and out of that type of regulation. She says the Deere agreement will extend beyond that company’s products — as the memorandum of agreement says the Farm Bureau is looking to enter into these types of agreements with other companies as well.

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston, Tuesday, arrested 26-year-old Tiffany Jo Scott, of Creston, for Harassment in the 1st Degree. She was taken into custody at a residence in the 300 block of N. Pine Street in Creston, at around 3:25-p.m., and transported to the Union County Jail. Scott later posted bond, and was released.

(Stanton, Iowa) – A collision in Montgomery County, Tuesday morning, between a semi tractor-grain hopper trailer, and a pickup pulling a grain vac, caused $14,500 damage, but no one was injured. The accident happened at around 10-a.m. west of Stanton, on Highway 34 at the intersection with Nature Avenue. Upon arrival, Deputies saw a 1998 Chevy K2500 pickup driven & owned by 78-year-old John L. Poston, of rural Villisca. The vehicle was facing southeast on Nature Avenue. Attached to it, was an AFI Rem grain vac, owned by Keast Enterprises, of Henderson (IA). It was overturned onto its right side.

Also on the scene, and located on the south shoulder of Highway 34 to the east of the pickup/grain vac, was a 2022 Kenworth W900 semi tractor and a hopper-bottom trailer. Both are owned by Kaiser Trucking out of Winning, SD. The semi was driven by 62-year-old William L. Assarsson, of Bassett, NE.

Authorities say as a result of their investigation, it was determined that the pickup pulling the ag equipment was traveling west on Highway 34 and slowing to make a left-hand turn onto Nature Avenue. A non-contact car behind the pickup heading westbound slowed to prepare for Poston’s turn. As the semi approached from the rear, Assarsson saw the vehicles ahead of him were slowing. He tried to avoid hitting the vehicles, by entering the eastbound lanes while still westbound. As the pickup & grain vac were turning, they were struck by the semi on the left side, causing the grain vacuum to overturn and come to rest on its side.

Assarsson drove the semi onto the shoulder of the road and parked it, to minimize the danger to other motorists. The semi sustained $2,500 damage. Damage to the pickup was estimated $5,000, and the grain vac sustained $7,000 damage. There were no citations issued.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic School District’s Board of Education will hold their first regularly scheduled meeting of the New Year, this evening, at in the High School Media Center. Their session begins at 5:30-p.m.  Action items on the agenda include approval of two resignations: Lisa Krogman, K-1st Reading Support (at the end of the 2022-23 school year), and Mark Andersen, Assistant Boys Soccer Coach. The Board will act on several of Superintendent Steve Barber’s Contract Recommendations and/or Letters of Assignment, as well, including those for:

• Aya Hamanaka, English Language Learn (ELL) Teacher
• Savannah Bell, Title 1 Teacher
• Cale Roller, Volunteer Wrestling Coach
• Gaylord Schelling, Interim Head Baseball Coach
• Sam Kennedy, Preschool Bus Monitor
• Jenny Madsen, Mentor, and,
• Hannah Misner, Long-Term Substitute.

Other action items include Resolutions: To consider participation in the ISL (Instructional Support Levy), and the setting of a Public Hearing. By passing the Resolution, the District may receive $748,572 for FY 2023; and a Resolution re: Public Purpose Expenditures in the amount of $3,000 in addition to $5,000 that was approved in Aug., 2022. The Board will act on approving a two-year Driver’s Education Contract with Deluxe Driving Academy, at a proposed rate of $350 per student, and $335 for individuals who qualify for free and reduced lunch.

The Atlantic School Board will also act on Fall 2023 Coaching Contracts for:

And, they are expected to approve an application to the SBRC (School Budget Review Committee) Allowable Growth in the amount of $519,614, for At-Risk/Dropout Prevention. The funds are used to help fund the District’s CCEOC Alternative program, and to allow support services for students at all levels. Superintendent Barber says the work that is done in the college and career readiness are enhances with these funds. In other business, the Board will act on approving a $15,000 Architect/Engineer Contract with Snyder and Associates, to complete the scope of work outlined in a proposal for a High School Storage Shed.

CLIVE, Iowa — A southwest Iowa woman won $30,000 on a scratch ticket she received from her husband as a Christmas gift. April Miller, from Walnut, said her husband Mitch bought the ticket at the Walnut Kum and Go and put it in her stocking.

She won the big prize in the Iowa Lottery’s “Merry Money” scratch game.

April Miller, of Walnut, IA (Photo & story courtesy of the Iowa Lottery)

Miller said she plans to put her winnings toward home improvements, a new purse and a tropical vacation.

Merry Money was a $3 scratch game with a holiday theme. It began sales in October and ended this month after the conclusion of the holiday season.