(Radio Iowa)- Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig is asking lawmakers to boost funding for the state’s “Choose Iowa” program that supports individuals and businesses that produce everything from locally grown food to trees and soy candles. There’s a one-hundred dollar yearly fee for enrolling in the program, which launched in 2023. The number of participating businesses jumped 113 percent last year. “We want to continue to grow that membership — recruit new members, retain existing members (and) increase consumer awareness. The more that consumers know that Choose Iowa’s out there, the more they’ll look for it, the most products will be sold,” Naig said. “And, of course, we also are now really going the next level of how do we help connect our Choose Iowa members with distributors, with retail, you know, try to get to where they can sell some larger quantities on a more predictive basis.”

Naig is asking for a 300-thousand dollar boost in the Choose Iowa program budget. He’d use part of that money to hire someone with experience in getting products placed in retail locations. “Recognizing that we’ve got members that are just getting started. You’ve got members who are in a growth potential,” Naig said. “You’ve got other members where they are at a point where they need to get into distribution now. They are really looking to grow big.”

The program handed out half a million dollars in grants to businesses this past year and Naig says each state tax dollar awarded to a Choose Iowa business led to nearly a dollar of matching local investment.

(Radio Iowa) – President Donald Trump announced work is underway to make E-15 available nationwide during his stop in Iowa Tuesday. Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, a fellow Republican, says supporters can’t let up until the issue is done. “While our farmers are hurting and our ag economy is on the brink….I’m telling in these conversations with my colleagues, half measures are unacceptable. And so we need to make sure we’re delivering on E-15,” Hinson says. Hinson says she recently had a conversation with a member of the U-S-D-A about the high cost of fertilizer.

“U-S-D-A is very aware, and so is Secretary Rollins, of input costs and what our folks are facing,” she says. President Trump also talked about the payments to farmers to offset loses from tariffs and Hinson says those will help. ” I think it’s a good start, but farmers don’t want checks, they want markets, and that is what we need to be focusing on,” she says.

Hinson is from Marion and currently represents Iowa’s Second Congressional District, but is running for the open U-S Senate seat.

(Atlantic, IA) – The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports two people were arrested Sunday on separate OWI charges. Deputies arrested 35-year-old Kyle Christian Jorgensen, of Anita, for OWI-2nd Offense. Jorgensen was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and later released on his own recognizance.

And, 26-year-old Will Garvey Brickner, of Evanston, IL, was arrested Sunday for OWI-1st Offense, Possession-Marijuana 1st offense, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Brickner was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and later released on bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans who yet haven’t upgraded to a Real I-D with the gold star in the top right corner will have to pay a 45-dollar fee at the airport if they want to fly, starting this Sunday. Jessica Mayle, regional spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration, says passengers 18 and older who don’t have a Real I-D or other acceptable form of government-issued I-D will have to pay the fee through the T-S-A website before passing through a security checkpoint.

“The payment site is pretty short and abbreviated,” Mayle says. “One thing that is on there is your first date of travel. The reason for that is that this is good for 10 days. So if you are there and back in 10 days, you can use that as a receipt more than once. If your trip is longer than 10 days, you would need to pay more than once.” Mayle says if you don’t have a Real I-D, you’ll have to verify you’ve paid the 45-dollars online at T-S-A-dot-gov before getting in the security line.”And then you’ll have that receipt either in your e-mail, or you can print it out as a hard copy, but the receipt is what they want to see at the checkpoint to prove that you’ve made the payment,” Mayle says. “You cannot pay in cash or by card at the checkpoint. We have no way of processing payments here. So it’s really important that passengers, if they need to use this option, take care of it before they arrive.”

Travelers who show up at the airport without that receipt or an acceptable form of I-D may miss their flight, unless they make the payment from a cellphone or laptop. Mayle says more than 94-percent of travelers at T-S-A checkpoints nationwide already present an acceptable form of I-D.

(Greenfield, IA) – Adair County Engineer Nick Kauffman, Wednesday, updated the County Board of Supervisors on Adair County Secondary Roads Department maintenance and activities, including the closing last week of a bridge on the Adams County line, one-half mile west of the Adams-Union line.

Board Chair Jerry Walker asked Kauffman if there are any plans for the bridge one-mile north of the one Kauffman mentioned.

In other news, Kaufmann said his crews are still stockpiling road rock for Adair County.

He said crews are cutting brush, and there will be a February letting for their asphalt project.

DES MOINES, IA – State Treasurer Roby Smith is highlighting Unclaimed Property Day, held annually on February 1, by unveiling a new display at the Iowa Capitol showcasing items found in safe deposit boxes from over the years currently held in safekeeping. The display, unveiled ahead of Unclaimed Property Day, serves as a visual reminder that there are many items — stocks, cash and abandoned checking accounts — being held in safekeeping until they can be reunited with their rightful owners. “Right now, there’s more than $648 million being held in safekeeping and it belongs to rightful owners, not the State,” said Treasurer Smith. “This display helps put into perspective some of the items we receive each year from safe deposit boxes and serves as a reminder for everyone to take a few minutes to search GreatIowaTreasureHunt.gov for what may rightfully be theirs.”

Each year, financial institutions, businesses and government entities turn over unclaimed property to Great Iowa Treasure Hunt after being unable to contact the owner for a time period set out in state stature. The office holds these funds in safekeeping and works to reconnect Iowans with their property.

Treasurer Smith stands next to new display in the Iowa Capitol on January 28, 2026. Photo is available for media use with credit to Iowa Treasurer’s Office. (press release photo)

The new Capitol display is located in the State Treasurer’s Office next to the State Vault and includes information on common types of unclaimed property and a QR code directing visitors to GreatIowaTreasureHunt.gov where people can search their name, the name of their favorite business and so much more. “Checking for unclaimed property is simple, secure and takes less time than brewing your morning coffee,” Smith said. “I encourage every Iowan — whether you’ve lived here your whole life or moved here recently — to search your name and see if you are among the one in seven with something to claim.”

Unclaimed Property Day is observed annually to raise awareness about the importance of reuniting individuals with their lost or forgotten assets. Connect with the Treasurer on Facebook, Instagram and X to stay informed of updates and news.

(Des Moines, IA – IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – Legislation allowing Iowa community colleges to offer four-year degrees in some subjects — an idea strongly opposed by Iowa private colleges — was narrowed Wednesday before passing out of an Iowa House committee. The Iowa House Higher Education Committee also passed a number of other bills Wednesday to change community college and public university operations, including bills that would tax university endowments and freeze tuition.

A majority of the bills discussed by the committee Wednesday came with amendments, including one attached to legislation that would allow community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees.While the original bill would have authorized all community colleges in Iowa to begin developing baccalaureate degrees, the amended legislation would create a pilot program in which only colleges that are 50 miles or more away from the main campus of a public university or the main campus of a private university already offering the same programs are allowed to start bachelor’s degree programs.

These degree programs must also meet certain requirements — they must lead to jobs in high-demand fields that have unmet workforce needs in the area, “as demonstrated by multiple workforce indicators” like job openings, wage data and more, the amendment stated. They also must fall under the areas of nursing, education, information technology, public safety, business, health care management, agriculture or dental hygiene. Community colleges would not be allowed to offer more than three bachelor’s degree programs, the amendment stated, and participating schools would need to submit reports to the Iowa Department of Education and the General Assembly showing enrollment, completion, workforce outcomes, alignment with regional workforce needs, tuition, challenges and more. Once the first students of community college baccalaureate programs start graduating, the General Assembly would examine the pilot program’s outcomes and decide if it needs to be changed or expanded.

House Study Bill 531, which would freeze tuition for all students from enactment until July 2031, was amended to strike references to mandatory fees, narrowing the legislation to just tuition.The bill, with an amendment, passed the committee.

House Study Bill 540, to make public universities responsible for a portion of defaulted educational loans of their graduates, also passed with amendments, and Committee chair Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis, said during the committee he would be open to discussing further changes. The amendment changed the amount of liability from 25% of the amount owed to 10%.

House Study Bill 530, which would implement an 80% residency requirement for the University of Iowa’s nursing bachelor’s program, passed without amendment.

ALGONA, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH)— The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has detected a second outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian influenza in a Kossuth County mixed-species flock in a week. A spokesperson with IDALS said the flock had about 25,000 birds. The outbreak occurred at a mixed-species game bird hatchery and included pheasants, quails and chukars, a game bird in the pheasant family. The previous bird flu detection in Kossuth County occurred Thursday in a flock of chickens and game-bird pheasants and affected about 7,120 birds. The spokesperson could not disclose if the outbreaks occurred at the same facilities.

This is the second, 2026 outbreak of the H5N1 strain of the bird flu in Iowa. Since the start of the current outbreak, which began in 2022, more than 186 million domestic birds, nationally, have been affected by the strain of the virus, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

The current public health risk of the highly pathogenic avian influenza is low, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as the flu is not currently known to spread between humans.

IDALS urges livestock producers to “continue bolstering” biosecurity measures on their operations to prevent future outbreaks. Additionally, producers who detect symptoms like lethargy, a sudden increase in deaths, swollen heads, or difficulty breathing in their flocks, should contact their veterinarians immediately. The highly pathogenic avian influenza has also been detected in wild birds in Iowa. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources urges Iowans who notice 20 or more sick or dead birds in an area to contact the department.