(Radio Iowa) – First District Republican Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks says Senate Democrats are to blame for the federal government shutting down. Miller-Meeks says proposals from Democrats to continue enhanced premiums under the Affordable Care Act would be a bailout for insurance companies.  “I think it’s interesting that, on one hand, the Democrats said that we gave tax cuts to the rich in the Working Families Tax Cuts, which, most of the cuts go to lower and middle-income people, but yet here, they’re directly trying to extend a tax cut to higher income individuals,” she says.

She says Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries refused to vote for a continuing resolution because they are facing pressure from members of their party. “Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jefferies refused to support it because the radical left wing of their party, like AOC, threatened them. Schumer is more afraid of being primaried by his own left flank than he is of real consequences that his constituents and all Americans are facing,” she says.

The Kaiser Family Foundation says Marketplace premium payments could, on average, more than double after the enhanced premium tax credits expire at the end of the year.

(Rock Rapids, Iowa) – The driver of a pickup truck died Friday afternoon, after his vehicle was struck by a semi about three-miles east of Rock Rapids, in Lyon County.

The Iowa State Patrol reports 64-year-old Steven Cuperus, of George (IA), was traveling east on Highway 9 at around 2:25-p.m., when his pickup was struck by the semi, which was traveling south on Indian Avenue.

Cuperus died at the scene of the crash. The driver of the semi, 28-year-old Matthew Wieber, of Benson, MN, was injured, and transported to a local hospital by ambulance.

The accident remained under investigation.

AVOCA – A man who has served as the City Administrator in Avoca for the past two-years, is leaving to accept a similar position in northeast Iowa’s Charles City. Tyler Trout announced his departure this past week. His last day in Avoca is Wednesday, Nov. 19.

Trout was hired in July 2023 to serve the Avoca community. In a news release, he was hired to “serve with dedication and vision, playing a key role in guiding city operations, strengthening community partnerships, and advancing projects that have contributed to Avoca’s continued growth and vitality.”

Mayor Tom Bruck noted that Trout was a tremendous leader for the community. During his tenure, Trout played a role in a number of transformative initiatives, including the development of a comprehensive 30-year capital improvement plan, the construction of a new public safety station and the renovation of the Avoca Veterans’ Community Center.

He also advanced innovation in code enforcement through the implementation of cutting-edge acoustic camera technology to address the city’s compression engine break ordinance.

The Avoca City Council is starting the transition process immediately, and an interim may be appointed to serve during the search for Trout’s successor.

(Radio Iowa) – Democrat Julie Stauch — who’s running for governor — says the Trump Administration’s immigration crackdown is not providing people with due process rights. “People who violate immigration rules should be penalized for that, but the process — hauling people away to another place — that part of it is just out of control,” Stauch said. “There’s a big shift in what ICE has historically been.” A week ago, soon after the arrest of now-former Des Moines Superintendent Ian Roberts, Staunch said many ICE agents do not have proper law enforcement training and do not belong in this state. And Stauch called on Republican Governor Kim Reynolds to resign for allowing ICE to operate here.

Stauch says she did not know at the time that a deportation order had been issued for Roberts — but Stauch says she stands by those sentiments. “My rationale in that was both my frustration in both the lack of due process occurring with ICE and the fact that she has agreed to have Iowa National Guardsmen and women participating in this,” Staunch said. “It is not how these things should be done.” Stauch says she’s particularly concerned about last week’s ICE arrest in an Iowa City grocery store. ICE says the 27-year-old man was under investigation for fraud. Stauch says federal agents can act if they have a warrant issued by a judge.”They’re just showing up and taking people,” Stauch said. “What we saw in Iowa City…there was just a guy showing up to work in a grocery store and being accosted there…This is not how ICE previously worked in this state.”

Stauch made her comments during taping of the “Iowa Press” program that airs tonight (Friday) on Iowa P-B-S. Jorge Gonzalez is the man arrested in Iowa City. An immigration advocacy group says Gonzalez and his wife left Columbia and moved to Iowa City last November to seek asylum in the U.S. Gonzalez was reportedly wearing an ankle monitor issued by ICE and had been living in the Catholic Worker House in Iowa City with his wife and baby.

(Denison, Iowa/KDSN) – A Crawford County man was sentenced this (Friday) morning to 10-years in prison on each of three counts of Third-Degree Sexual Abuse he was convicted on.

Timothy Craig Mitchell, of Dow City, received his sentence in Crawford County District Court. The assaults occurred between November, 2022 and January, 2023, while working at a Dow City bar. The court ruled the sentences will run concurrent making the total time behind bars 10 years including time already served.

Mitchell was found not guilty on two other counts tied to separate alleged incidents.

(Radio Iowa) – The Des Moines School Board met in closed session today (Friday) and then announced a lawsuit against the search firm used in the hiring of former Superintendent Ian Roberts. School Board president Jackie Norris read a statement says J-G Consulting did not do its job. “The firm failed its duty to properly vet candidates. Ian Roberts should have never been presented as a finalist,” she says. “And if we knew now what we if we knew what we knew now, he would never have been hired.” Roberts lost his authorization to work in the United States well before he was hired to lead Iowa’s largest school district, and was arrested by ICE agents one week ago. The arrest raised several other questions about whether the background information he gave was accurate.

“The contract required J-G consulting to bring all known information of a positive or negative nature to the board, because that did not occur we are pursuing pursuing legal action as allowed by law. This is about accountability. Taxpayer dollars were used and we are seeking accountability,” Norris said. The school board paid the consulting firm 41-thousand dollars to find candidates for the job. The story of Roberts’ arrest and the false information presented to the Board has draw national and international attention to the story. “Sadly, some have used this situation to advance hateful comments. We will not be deterred or distracted by that. We are using this as a moment to come together and build a stronger future,” she says. Norris was asked about a federal investigation into whether the district violated hiring practices, and comments by state officials that the situation needs to be investigated.

Des Moines School Board President Jackie Norris. (photo from stream of board meeting.)

“I think it’s important to remember that the Governor Reynolds and the state of Iowa Board of Educational Examiners also provided Dr. Roberts a license. So there are state entities that also provided acceptance of Dr. Roberts licensure,” she says. “So I think our job is to partner with federal and state agencies to work together to make sure that we are continuing to strengthen our processes. But I think this is a is an issue that’s bigger than just our district since this is something that happened to the state of Iowa as well.” A lot of the information on Roberts was discovered online after he was arrested. Norris says J-G Consulting was responsible for advertising, recruitment application and resume review and public domain search, and complete reference checks of qualified candidates. “Clearly they missed things of a negative nature because things are being identified now online in hours,” she says.

Roberts was born in Guyana, was charged Thursday by federal officials with being an illegal alien in possession of firearms. A-T-F agents found three guns in a search of his home after his arrest last Friday. A loaded gun was also found in his Des Moines Public Schools vehicle.

October 3, 2025 (DES MOINES, IA) — Shop Iowa Day is back on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, bringing together small businesses and communities across Iowa for a day dedicated to local shopping and hometown pride. The statewide online marketplace, ShopIowa.com, will once again spotlight the incredible products offered by Iowa’s entrepreneurs, makers and small business owners. Building on the momentum from previous years, Shop Iowa Day 2025 will feature exclusive promotions, small business highlights and community-driven campaigns encouraging Iowans to shop local.

Since its launch, ShopIowa.com has helped thousands of consumers shop from Iowa-based small businesses online. It’s the first time businesses from all 99 counties are side by side in one marketplace, and it’s changing the way Iowans find and connect with small businesses. Shop Iowa Day 2025 will feature a variety of sitewide deals, ranging from clothing to home decor, giving shoppers the perfect opportunity to support Iowa’s local businesses. Special promotions include:

• 30% off sitewide purchases using a coupon code available on October 8.
• A chance to win a $250 Shop Iowa shopping spree or Shop Iowa Day giveaways through social media.
• Limited-time discounts from small businesses statewide.
• A $5 Shop Iowa gift card for every $25 gift card purchased.
• Free shipping offers by select businesses, plus local pick-up where available.
• Sign up for text alerts to receive real-time updates on the day’s deals and unlock an exclusive 30% off discount on an order.
• Promotions will begin at 6:00 p.m. on October 7 with early access deals for Shop Iowa email and text list subscribers, and continue throughout the day on October 8 until 11:59 p.m.

Businesses can create a free profile on ShopIowa.com, listing products or gift cards for customers to explore. Shoppers can browse by category, community or interest, making it easy to find local gifts, everyday essentials or hidden gems. For more information and to shop the best of Iowa’s small businesses, visit ShopIowa.com.

How to Get Involved

• Shoppers: Visit ShopIowa.com on October 8 to explore deals and discover Iowa businesses.
• Businesses: Sign up for free at ShopIowa.com/sell to set up a storefront to be featured in Shop Iowa Day promotions.
• Communities & Organizations: Share the campaign to encourage participation and celebrate local entrepreneurs.

(Radio Iowa) – A report requested by a legislator suggests adding bachelor’s degree programs at the state’s community colleges could expand access to Iowans with a limited ability to travel and help fill gaps in Iowa’s workforce. The Community Colleges of Iowa report reviewed the experience in other states where community colleges offer four-year degrees. If the Iowa legislature approves the move in Iowa, the report recommends that community colleges be allowed to charge higher tuition rates for bachelor’s level courses that would start no sooner than the fall semester of 2028. It suggests community colleges will need 20 million dollar state seed grants over the next five years to hire faculty, prepare courses for 40 four-year degrees and expand services for those four-year students.

The report warns, though, the move would be a stretch for already tight community college budgets and it’s become more difficult for Iowa community colleges to find faculty in high-demand areas. The report was requested by Republican Representative Taylor Collins of Mediapolis, chair of the Higher Education Committee in the Iowa House. Over 200 community colleges in 24 other states are offering bachelor’s degrees. The Community Colleges of Iowa report says making that move here would provide students new pathways to high-demand careers with better pay by making a bachelor’s degree more affordable. It would also address what the report calls “regional educational deserts.”

(Radio Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa Association of Business and Industry are piling into a blue-and-green, made-in-Iowa Winnebago R-V today (Friday) to start an 11-day jaunt around the state that’s being dubbed the Elevate Iowa Manufacturing Tour. A-B-I president Nicole Crain says they’ll be stopping at factories, high schools, community colleges, and city halls to highlight Iowa manufacturers. “We are so excited to be on the road this week and this next week talking about Iowa manufacturing,” Crain says, “talking about who manufacturers are, what products they make in Iowa, and also raising the awareness of the great careers that there are for Iowa students who are in our communities to stay in Iowa and have a career manufacturing.”

The tour is designed to connect students and educators with Iowa manufacturers, while spotlighting the wide range of high-tech, high-demand career opportunities available in modern manufacturing. “Manufacturing actually is the number-one contributor to Iowa’s GDP, so more than $43-billion is added to the economy each year because of manufacturing, and that’s billion with the B,” Crain says. “It employs more than 215,000 people in the state of Iowa, so it’s very important to our state’s economy, very important to our communities, both urban cities and rural communities.” She says the average Iowa manufacturing job pays 80-thousand dollars a year, with wages and benefits. The list of cities on the tour includes: Ames, Ankeny, Cedar Falls, Conrad, Des Moines, Fairfield, Marshalltown, Oskaloosa, Pella and Waterloo.

“A couple of things when we were thinking of the route, we wanted to highlight manufacturers that were doing great things in the state that could really talk about their partnerships with education and manufacturing in the local community,” Crain says. “We also are highlighting the 2025 Coolest Thing Made in Iowa, which is the cotton picker, and then the 2024 Coolest Thing Made in Iowa, which is the ZR5-1200 baler.” The tour will wrap up October 14th in Altoona in conjunction with the A-B-I’s annual Iowa Manufacturing Conference.

More at: ElevateIowa.com