DES MOINES, Iowa – The Iowa National Guard is honored to announce the return of the two Soldiers, recently wounded in action in Syria, to the United States. The Soldiers arrived on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, and are currently in stable condition. Their families are with them while they begin the next phase of their recovery. The third Soldier involved in the Dec. 13 attack was treated locally and returned to duty.

“Caring for our impacted families and the safe return of our service members is our highest priority,” said Maj. Gen. Stephen Osborn, the adjutant general of the Iowa National Guard. “We are incredibly proud of their courage and sacrifice, and our focus is now on providing them and their families with the comprehensive support they need during this time. We ask that all Iowans keep them in their thoughts and prayers as they recover.”

The Soldiers will continue to receive medical treatment at a dedicated military facility. The Iowa National Guard is committed to ensuring these service members have access to the best care possible.

The Guard says “Further updates will be provided as appropriate.”

 MUSTANG DUALS

Interstate-35 58 CAM 18

Interstate-35 47 Chariton 34

Interstate-35 72 Millard West JV 6

Interstate-35 54 Shenandoah 23

Interstate-35 72 Griswold 0

Shenandoah 47 Griswold 5

Shenandoah 53 CAM 12

Shenandoah 47 Millard West JV 12

Chariton 42 Shenandoah 40 

Millard West JV 36 Griswold 24

Chariton 78 Griswold 6

Millard West JV 36 CAM 15

CAM 36 Griswold 24 

Chariton 81 CAM 0

Griswold winners: Alex Rasmussen, Hudson Perkins, Quinton Wilson (2), Gunner Amos (2), Jaden Jensen, Launie Smith (3)

CAM winners: Landon Calhoun (3), Parker Wilson (3), Brentyn Hoover (2), Jacob Gerlock (2), Reilly Becker (2), Raiden Mills, Oliver Becker

PRIDE OF IOWA CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT

TEAM STANDINGS

1. Nodaway Valley – 183.5 points

2. Southeast Warren/Melcher-Dallas – 164 points

3. Central Decatur – 145 points

4. Wayne – 144 points

5. Martensdale-St. Marys – 142.5 points

6. Mount Ayr – 129 points

7. Southwest Valley – 124 points

8. East Union – 106 points

9. Lenox – 66.5 points

Nodaway Valley Champions: 113: Josh Nelson, 285: Ashton Honnold

(Des Moines, IA) Drake University is working to launch a new degree program aimed at preparing students who want to dedicate themselves to helping “people with disabilities in living full and self-directed lives.” The Des Moines private university announced in a news release it will offer a bachelor of science in disability and rehabilitation services in its school of education, with enrollment set to begin in spring 2026.

Academic work and hands-on training will be included in the program, the release stated, focused on the cores of advocacy, employment, disability, business and working with people. The degree program will train students to be able to gain employment at agencies handling community rehabilitation or mental health, government programs, school systems and corporate human resources branches.

With both full-time and part-time paths to the degree available, the release stated students can also select “emphasis areas” to tailor their program, in topics including advocacy, counseling, deaf culture, human resources, leadership and youth services.

Students hoping to further their education after earning their degree can specialize in school counseling, rehabilitation counseling or clinical mental health counseling and forge a “strong pathway” into graduate programs in areas like occupational therapy or counseling, the release stated.

If a student wants to join a “state vocational rehabilitation or nonprofit agency” once they’ve earned their degree, they can apply to receive as much as $10,000 in “additional scholarship funds.” Money for the scholarships comes from a Rehabilitation Services Administration grant, the release stated.

“Every state in the country has a critical workforce need for rehabilitation professionals, and this program offers the flexibility to customize a student’s emphasis in pursuit of any number of highly in-demand careers,” said Matt Bruinekool, director of the National Rehabilitation Institute at Drake University, in the release.

(A report from the Iowa Capital Dispatch) – An Iowa nursing home where gift cards for residents were stolen has been fined $500 by the state. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports State inspectors allege that in September, a Walmart gift card belonging to a resident of REM Iowa’s care facility on 33^rd Avenue in Cedar Rapids was found to have been “spent fraudulently and no receipts could be located.”

Also that month, it was determined that at least four McDonald’s gift cards belonging to a different resident had also been spent fraudulently. The inspectors later determined the facility’s program supervisor had kept resident gift cards inside an unlocked cabinet within an unlocked office during the months of June, July and August, 2025.

The facility was cited for failing to ensure all allegations of abuse, neglect and exploitation were reported to the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing in a timely manner and was fined $500.

In southwest Iowa, inspectors with the Iowa Dept. of Inspections, Appeals & Licensing recently fined REM Iowa-Birch Cottage in Shelby $500, for failing to provide nursing interventions to meet a resident’s needs after a 44-year-old male resident of the home died due to a bowel obstruction that contributed to acute respiratory failure. According to inspectors’ reports, the man was breathing heavily the morning of Sept. 19, 2025, and at one point began convulsing and having seizures.

An ambulance was summoned at which point, inspectors said, the resident “acted normal, answered questions, and jumped up from the chair onto the cot” to be taken to a hospital. While at the hospital, the man’s heart stopped and he was pronounced dead at 10:40 a.m., about two hours after the incident at REM Iowa-Birch Cottage.

You can read about the other Iowa care facilities fined recently by the inspections department, HERE.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — Gingerbread houses are a staple of the holidays, but can you build one in just an hour? KETV reports that was the challenge laid out by Pottawattamie Arts, Culture & Entertainment, or PACE, Friday night at the Hoff Family Arts & Culture Center in Council Bluffs.

The group hosted a family gingerbread house-making competition. Awards were given for the wackiest, best quality and most creative houses. Paticipants got to take home the all the candy and goodies afterward.

The event also featured live music from the Council Bluffs Symphony Orchestra. The idea was to get people to spend time with their loved ones and turn-off their cell phone, be creative, have fun and conversations in-person.

PACE offers events almost daily. Go to www.paceartsiowa.org/events on the web to see future events.

DES MOINES, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – Iowa’s Office of Ombudsman, which investigates complaints related to local and state government, saw an almost 10% increase in cases opened during the last fiscal year. The agency’s annual report, published this week, indicates that during fiscal year 2025, the office opened 6,266 cases — a 9.6% increase from the previous year.

The number of opened cases represents the second-highest total in the history of the office, and is 57% higher than what was recorded in 2014. The highest number of opened cases was in 2022, when the COVID-19 pandemic was still creating issues for government agencies and the people they serve.

The ombudsman’s office consists of 16 employees, a total that includes two administrative staffers.

In the new report, Ombudsman Bernardo Granwehr said that “with such a big workload, we must be selective about the cases we choose to investigate.” He said the office is focused on prioritizing complaints and “as a result, we can better handle situations when we are called to do more with our finite resources.”

Granwehr credited the staff with building relationships with key employees of governmental entities across the state, which he said has made the office more efficient in its investigations and “increased the probability that state and local government officials will be receptive to our recommendations.”

With regard to the complaints dealing with state entities, the annual report shows that 56% of those cases involved the Iowa Department of Corrections, and 24% involved the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.

In December 2024, the office published a public report, “Sitting in Place: A Re-Examination of Restraint Device Use and Regulations for Iowa’s County Jails.” While restraint chairs can serve a legitimate function in protecting inmates and staff, prolonged use and a lack of medical oversight can lead to injury. The report noted that some Iowa jails lacked written policies that aligned with state standards, while other jails failed to document the duration and justification for their use of the devices.

The Office of Ombudsman says it will continue to monitor restraint-chair use in county jails, but notes that the Department of Corrections has yet to complete “needed revisions to jail administrative rules.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – The Iowa Department of Education released the latest enrollment numbers showing public schools continue to lose students while private schools gain enrollment across the state. Public school and public charter enrollment dropped about 1.5 percent from last year, while private school enrollment increased about 6.5 percent.

The uptick at private schools in recent years comes as Iowa launched its education savings account program in 2023, which pays qualified private school expenses, like tuition. These vouchers pay private schools up to about $8,000 per student this school year. This is the first year where all students qualify for ESAs.

About 98 percent of private school students used an education savings account voucher this year, the first year the program opened to any student in kindergarten through 12th grade regardless of income.

DES MOINES – The State Historical Society of Iowa and the University of Iowa have announced a new agreement that will maintain public access to the state’s historical collections. Public access will now be maintained by the University of Iowa Libraries.

Under the newly established memorandum of understanding, members of the public will be able to access select historical documents and images from the State Historical Society’s collection. Requests can be made to SHSI starting Jan. 1, 2026.

The agreement is similar to an interlibrary loan in practice, where requested materials will move from one repository to another upon request from a researcher or member of the public for a limited and defined period of time. The focus enables a mechanism to logistically streamline access to select materials from the State Historical Society’s Archival collections.

Leaders from both institutions say the agreement facilitates access to the State Historical Society’s collections.

Requested collections will be available during UI Special Collections and Archives Reading Room hours (M-F, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m), with access guidelines provided by SHSI. Additional details, including the process for requesting materials, will soon be posted to both institution’s websites.

DES MOINES—  Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, today (Friday), announced the appointments of Steve Lacy and Peter Cownie to the Iowa Board of Regents.  Steve Lacy is the former CEO of Des Moines-based Meredith Corporation. Lacy joined Meredith in 1998 as the media company’s chief financial officer before he was named chief executive officer in 2006 and executive chairman in 2018. After retiring in 2020, he became Chair-CEO Advisor and Executive Peer Board Leader at Vistage Worldwide, Inc. where he coaches and advises small and midsize businesses on the fundamentals of growth and success.

Lacy graduated from Kansas State University with a Master of Business Administration degree in 1977. In 2024, he and his wife Cathy Wiltfong Lacy were awarded the Kansas State University Medal of Excellence, the highest honor bestowed on KSU alumni, for their service and contributions to the university.

Peter Cownie served in the Iowa House of Representatives from 2008 to 2018 and was a member of several legislative committees during his time in the State House, including Education, Ways & Means, State Government Efficiency, and more.

Cownie also has extensive experience in the private sector and civic leadership, with a proven record of collaboration and innovation. He has been actively involved in efforts that support economic growth, workforce development, and community advancement across Iowa.

Cownie served as President of Junior Achievement of Central Iowa from 2008 to 2013. In 2013, he was named Executive Director of the Iowa State Fair Blue Ribbon Foundation, an organization that since its inception has raised more than $200 million to support more than 40 projects throughout the fairgrounds. The Des Moines Business Record named Cownie to its “40 Under 40” list in 2016.

Peter is a Des Moines native and graduate of Dowling Catholic High School. He attended the University of Virginia for an undergraduate degree and received a Master of Public Administration degree from Drake University.
Both appointments are subject to Senate confirmation.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says she and members of the Iowa House and Senate are laser focused on taking action on property taxes during the 2026 legislative session. “Total cost of government — that’s what we’ve really focused on and the impact it has on taxpayers,” There’s a lot of duplication out there. We’ve streamlined at the state level. It’s our expectation that local governments find a way to streamline as well. There’s a lot of that going on already, but there’s a lot of opportunity out there to scale those practices as well.”

Reynolds hosted an hour-long public hearing online today (Friday) and heard suggestions from a variety of interest groups. Iowans for Tax Relief President Chris Hagenow says state officials need to “right size” local government budgets and impose a two percent yearly cap on property tax growth. “There can’t be any loopholes or carve outs for that because as we have seen over and over if you create an escape hatch, local governments will find that often. They’ll find another way to collect that revenue,” Hagenow says. “and it gets back into the problem of how much Iowans are being asked to pay. What is their total cost of government? And that’s what needs to be addressed in this system.”

Hagenow spoke earlier today (Friday) during an online budget hearing hosted by Governor Reynolds. “Property taxes is incredibly complicated and we all understand that,” Hagenow says, “but the solutions here lie not in how we pay property taxes, but how much we pay in property taxes.” Governor Reynolds and key members of the Iowa House and Senate have said property tax changes are their top priority in 2026. Some have floated ideas like freezing taxes for Iowans 65 and older, but Hagenow says that favors one class of taxpayers over another.

“That’s why we think a hard, across-the-board revenue limitation benefits everyone, whether it’s seniors or any other kind of tax type,” Hagenow said. “Let’s just provide a benefit for everyone.” The Iowa Cattlemen’s Association is urging the governor to end a state property tax break for fruit orchards and timber areas. The association’s Kelli Klink says 830-thousand acres are enrolled statewide in this particular exemption. “When land comes off the tax rolls due to the fruit and forest tree reserve exemption, it places a greater tax burden on the Iowa cattlemen who own pasture and do live and work in this state and their communities.”

Representatives of other groups like the Iowa Farm Bureau and the Iowa Business Council told the governor they’re ready to work with her on property tax changes, but did not make any specific suggestions during the public hearing.