(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a man was arrested this (Thursday) morning on a warrant for Failure to Appear. 41-year-old Cory Ross Smith, of Elliott, was arrested on the warrant out of Adams County at around 8:10-a.m., in the 200 block of Cherry Street, in Elliott. He was turned-over to the Adams County Sheriff’s Office and was being held on a $500 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds and Iowa’s congressional delegation are calling on U-S Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins to relocate U-S-D-A research projects to central Iowa. Iowa was not included in the plan released in July that would shift most U-S-D-A employees out of the Washington, D.C. metro to cities in five other states. Senator Chuck Grassley says Ames is a prime location. “Ames has the means and the USDA relationship needed to provide a very smooth transition since it’s already got a large concentration of USDA facilities and employees,” Grassley said. Secretary Rollins plans to start shifting functions at the Agricultural Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland, to other sites and permanently close the facility in a few years.

“The current facility in Maryland is named after a native Iowan and former Secretary of Agriculture Henry Wallace,” Grassley said. “Seems very fitting, because of Henry Wallace, locate some of that facility’s ag research to its namesake’s home.” Four units of the Agricultural Research Center are already located in Ames, including its National Animal Disease Center. Grassley says Iowa State University works closely with those facilities and U-S-D-A researchers use I-S-U’s high-performance computing services. “Ongoing projects at the Beltsville Research Facility in Maryland, right outside of Washington, align with the efforts that have been happening at Iowa State University for decades,” Grassley said.

Grassley, the governor, Senator Ernst and all four Iowans who serve in the U-S House signed onto a letter to the ag secretary. It cites Iowa’s low cost of living for employees who might move from the nation’s capitol to Iowa as well as the real-world experience U-S-D-A research would find in Iowa’s fields.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Montgomery County Auditor Jill Ozuna reports the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing at the Montgomery County Courthouse Board Room, 105 E Coolbaugh Street, Red Oak, Iowa at 9:15 a.m., on October 21, 2025, to discuss a proposed Floodplain Management Ordinance. All written and oral comments will be heard, and action may be taken regarding this ordinance by the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors at this meeting.

The public is invited to attend said hearing to express their views concerning the proposed ordinance. The proposed ordinance can be viewed in the Auditor’s office or on the County’s website www.montgomerycountyia.gov.

Montgomery County Auditor Jill Ozuna

All written comments must be delivered to the County Auditor’s office at 105 E. Coolbaugh St., Red Oak, IA 51566 or by email auditor@montgomerycountyia.gov prior to 8:00 a.m. on October 21st, 2025, if they are to be presented to the Board.

(Radio Iowa) – The calendar says October but Iowa’s forecast says August. The National Weather Service predicts much of the state will see high temperatures in the upper 80s today (Thursday), low 90s likely Friday and Saturday, with cooler weather moving in on Sunday. Highs the next few days may be 20 degrees hotter than average. State climatologist Justin Glisan says the just-ended month of September rounded out much warmer than usual, too. Glisan says, “If you look at the average temperature for all stations in Iowa, it’s 67-degrees, and that’s about three-and-a-half degrees above normal.” Along with the warmer weather, he says Iowa ended the month short on rainfall.

“The driest conditions were found in eastern Iowa and in pockets of northwestern Iowa,” Glisan says. “Overall, the preliminary average total for September was one-point-seven inches, and that’s almost one-and-three-quarter inches below average.” The month ends as the 25th warmest and driest September in Iowa history, based on 153 years of record keeping. As for the month ahead, Glisan predicts more of the same, at least for several days. “If you look at the short term outlooks through the middle of October, we’re seeing an elevated warm signal for much of the United States,” Glisan says, “but the warmest signal is centered across the central part of the United States, including much of Iowa.”

The forecast models also show the chances of rain picking up during the second week of October.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ weekly Fall Colors report, says Cottonwood and black walnut tress are starting to change color in north central and northwest Iowa. Red maples in town are starting to change colors. Early fall colors have started in central Iowa, but are still very spotty with only about 10-15 percent of the foliage showing color. Reds are beginning to appear on some maple trees, especially in towns. Maroon colors are appearing on sumac, dogwood, and Virginia creeper vines. Walnut, cottonwood, basswood, elm, and hackberry trees are turning yellow.

It’s early in the season in southeast Iowa. Mostly bottomland species are starting to change colors and lose leaves. Cottonwood, walnut, and elm trees are showing a little yellow and brown. Some dogwoods and roadside shrubs are starting to show fall colors. Walnut and cottonwood trees are starting to show a little yellow in south central Iowa. Shrubs and vines are showing some purples and reds.

Cottonwood, white ash and red maple trees are starting to change color in southwest Iowa. Upland shrubs (sumac.dogwood, plum) on south/west slopes are starting to turn red and purple.

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(Radio Iowa) – A state legislator from north-central Iowa is being named the new executive director of the Iowa F-F-A Foundation. Shannon Latham of Sheffield says she brings 30 years of experience spanning business, government and communications to her F-F-A responsibilities. Latham says she’s thrilled to be giving back to an organization that had a profound impact on her life. “In fact, my FFA advisor is the one who led me toward an agricultural career path,” she says. “He took me to my college visit at Iowa State. He introduced me to the major of agricultural journalism just because he knew all of the things that I was interested in when I was in high school.”

While some people may not be familiar with the foundation itself, Latham says many people in central Iowa will recognize the F-F-A Enrichment Center on the DMACC campus in Ankeny. “A lot of groups come here, have conferences all throughout the year, and the foundation helps raise money actually for Team Ag Ed,” Latham says, “and Team Ag Ed is a bunch of partners that include the Iowa FFA Association. That is what our chapters across the state belong to.”

In addition to her F-F-A duties, Latham says she will continue in her role as a state representative. There are 20-thousand-500 members in the Iowa F-F-A program in some 270 chapters statewide.

(Radio Iowa) – While federal offices are shut down by the stalemate in Congress, area operations such as county Veterans Affairs offices remain open. Winnebago County Veterans Affairs Director May Lou Kleveland, there are other areas within the V-A which will be closed during the shutdown. “V-A Regional benefits offices will be closed and that’s going to be the most impactful to veteran service officers in Iowa, because we use the regional offices to be able to find information for us on a claim that we’re working on if there’s like any kind of snag,” she says. “And then they’re the ones that deal with our more complicated appeals for pension or disability compensation claims.” Kleveland says the shutdown won’t impact healthcare.

“The V-A medical centers clinics will stay open, so the one that most people use in this area is the Mason City outpatient clinic, and it is open, will stay open. And there’s not going to be any affect to V-A benefits, they’ll be processing compensation, pension, education and housing,” she says. Kleveland is thankful that the 9-8-8 Veterans Crisis Line is still operating. “Because when the veterans call that line, they talked to another veteran and then that the person that receives the call talks with them and then can assess what needs are and then they can either provide immediate needs for them immediate resources, or they can, you know, refer them to resources that will help them in the long term,” she says.

Kleveland says she is disappointed that the career counseling service is shutdown during this time as veterans often need to change jobs and can use the service. Kleveland says veterans should call local offices to find out what services are available.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Sheriff’s deputies in Montgomery County, Wednesday night, arrested a man on a Public Intoxication charge. Authorities say 66-year-old Gary Michael McKnight, of Villisca, was arrested at around 7:20-p.m. in the 100 block of W. 4th Street, in Villisca. McKnight was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A reported disturbance at around 6:50-p.m. Wednesday, in Red Oak, resulted in the arrest of two people. Red Oak Police officers were called to the 400 block of E. Nuckols Street, and following an investigation arrested 65-year-old Lee Allen Edds, and 63-year-old Tracy Lin Craven, Sr., both of Red Oak. Edds was arrested for Assault with Bodily Injury. Craven was arrested for Harassment in the 3rd Degree. Both men were transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where their bonds were set at $1,000 and $300, respectively.

Atlantic, Iowa — Cass Health has been awarded a Top Workplaces 2025 honor by Iowa Top Workplaces. “Earning a Top Workplaces award is a badge of honor for companies, especially because it comes authentically from their employees,” said Eric Rubino, Energage CEO. “That’s something to be proud of. In today’s market, leaders must ensure they’re allowing employees to have a voice and be heard. That’s paramount. Top Workplaces do this, and it pays dividends.”

Earning this recognition is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by employee engagement technology partner Energage LLC. The confidential survey uniquely measures the employee experience and its component themes, including employees feeling Respected & Supported, Enabled to Grow, and Empowered to Execute, to name a few.

With more than 475 employees, Cass Health is the largest employer in Cass County and a huge economic engine for the region. Cass Health has been previously recognized as an Iowa Top Workplace, a Top 100 Critical Access Hospital in the USA, and as a Top 20 Critical Access Hospital in the USA for multiple years running.

Energage is a purpose-driven company that helps organizations turn employee feedback into useful business intelligence and credible employer recognition through Top Workplaces. Built on 18 years of culture research and the results from 27 million employees surveyed across more than 70,000 organizations, Energage delivers the most accurate competitive benchmark available. With access to a unique combination of patented analytic tools and expert guidance, Energage customers lead the competition with an engaged workforce and an opportunity to gain recognition for their people-first approach to culture.