(Glenwood, IA) – Officials with the Mills County Auditor’s Office report an administrative recount was conducted for two of polling places, Thursday. The administrative recount did confirm when the machines experienced a ballot jam, and the jam was clear – the corresponding ballot was not counted on election day. The election results remain unofficial until canvassed by the Mills County Board of Supervisors.

The election results can be found here: Mills County_Unofficial Results_After Administrative Recount

Or on the Iowa Secretary of State’s website at https://electionresults.iowa.gov/IA/Mills/124261/web.345435/#/summary?v=364569%2F

(Radio Iowa) – Some 80-thousand Iowans are now caregivers for more than 62-thousand loved ones who have Alzheimer’s or another dementia. One such caregiver, Lori Phillips of Madrid, leads an online support group and attends an in-person meeting as well. Phillips says the two groups have been a tremendous help, as she was struggling to cope with all of the responsibilities she’d taken on to care for her mother. “The virtual support group was what really spoke to me,” Phillips says, “because so many people are so busy, and being able to just jump online and be able to support one another and to share things we’ve learned was extremely helpful to me.” After Phillips’ father died more than two years ago, she moved her mother back to Iowa from Arizona and into a local memory care facility.

Phillips visits her several times a week to spend time with her and help with her care, including showering, dressing and eating. “The biggest challenge is the emotional toll that it’s taken on me and my family,” Phillips says. “Thank goodness for the caregivers and the nurses and all the people at the facility where she is, because I’ve had several meltdowns. I mean, actually sobbing, because it’s such a roller coaster. There’s good days and there’s bad days and I never know what I’m walking into.” Phillips’ virtual support group is among more than 60 such groups in Iowa through the Alzheimer’s Association. They provide resources and support to spouses, children, friends and family of loved ones living with dementia. Phillips says they discuss a wide range of topics revolving around the ups and downs of being caregivers.

“One time she pulled the fire alarm and I didn’t know how to react, and so I’m like, ‘Are you sure she did it? I want to see the video.’ And then it was like, ‘Okay, well, it says PULL on it,’ you know?” Phillips says. “Just all the phases I go through, from defensive to sad to an advocate to supporting to celebrating.” Phillips, a former school principal, says she’s learned a host of helpful tips from the Alzheimer’s Association to help her care for her mother, and now she helps other caregivers as a support group facilitator. “Getting to know my mom as the new mom who’s ill, and grieving the mom who she was is where I’m at right now,” Phillips says. “It’s just finding ways to make my mom happy now, but knowing her as a whole new person has been extremely helpful for my mental state.”

The Alzheimer’s Association offers local support and programs to families, along with a 24-7 Helpline at 800-272-3900. The next virtual support group Phillips will lead is scheduled for 4 P-M on Monday, HERE: bit.ly/virtualcaregiverSG

(Radio Iowa) – Officials in Iowa’s fourth largest county have adopted a temporary ban on construction of data centers in rural areas of Johnson County. Jon Green, chairman of the Johnson County Board of Supervisors, read the details during this week’s board meeting. “A resolution establishing a temporary moratorium on the approval of applications for rezoning, subdivision, or site plan; and on the issuance of building permits for data centers in unincorporated Johnson County,” Green said.

The resolution passed unanimously without debate or comments from the public. Data centers serve as the digital hubs for tech giants like Google and Microsoft and Meta. Critics worry about the impact on local utilities due to the amount of water and electricity data centers use.

This summer, the Clarke County Supervisors approved a temporary moratorium on the construction of data centers in rural areas of their southern Iowa county.

(Atlantic, IA) – Officials at Cass Health, in Atlantic, says the Cass Health Nurses Honor Guard will hold a fundraising event at Pizza Ranch in Atlantic on Thursday, November 20, from 5- to 8-pm.  Portions of every dine-in or take-out purchase will directly support the Nurses Honor Guard’s mission to honor the dedicated nurses who devoted their lives to caring for others. Proceeds from the event will be used to purchase meaningful gifts for families such as Florence Nightingale lamps, flowers, and blankets. Those items are presented during funeral services to the families of nurses who have passed, as well as during living tributes for those still with us, celebrating their remarkable careers.

Founded in 2003, this national organization has more than 250 groups across the United States. The Nurses Honor Guard is a volunteer program made up of current and former nurses that attend the services of nurses who have passed away, as well as parades, honor walks, living tributes, and more. The Cass Health chapter was founded in 2024 and has quickly grown to 25 members. Current or former nurses interested in joining this volunteer organization can call 712-243-7575 for more information.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – The Iowa Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) website, now lists new details regarding layoffs at Collins Aerospace. Collins Aerospace confirmed October 30 it would lay off workers as part of a restructuring plan. Iowa WARN says three people will be affected by the layoffs. Workers were given notice on November 4. Layoffs will go into effect on December 31. A spokesperson told KCRG-TV the company is realigning resources and ‘optimizing organizational structure.

In a statement, officials with Collins Aerospace said “To ensure we are best positioned to address our customers’ greatest needs now and into the future, we are taking actions to reduce costs and optimize our organizational structure. This includes conducting a small reduction of positions. These actions will allow us to reinvest in high-priority programs, reduce complexity and increase efficiency to better meet the strong demand for aerospace and defense products.”

DES MOINES, IA – Officials with the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau have announced a Johnston man, 46-year-old Shawn Heuss, was arrested October 30th and charged with one count of Fraudulent Submission (Class D Felony), one count of Theft in the Second Degree (Class D Felony), and one count of Fraudulent Practice in the Second Degree (Class D Felony). He was also arrsted on a warrant for Failure to Appear on one count of an Animal at Large.

According to criminal complaints filed by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau, Heuss filed an insurance claim in September 2024 for weather-related damages to his home’s roof. His insurance company approved the repairs and issued an initial payment for the actual cash value.  Instead of making the approved repairs, Heuss painted part of his roof to change its appearance and created a fraudulent invoice from his construction company, Allure Roofing & Construction, indicating that the repairs had been completed.  On January 2, 2025, Heuss submitted this invoice to his insurer and received the recoverable cash value insurance proceeds to which he was not entitled.

Heuss was arrested on Thursday, October 30, and is currently being held at the Polk County Jail.

Shawn Heuss

Photo courtesy of Polk County Jail.

Note: A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and defendants should be presumed innocent until they are found guilty.

(Creston, IA) – The Creston Police Department reports a woman was arrested Thursday afternoon. 29-year-old Crystal Whitney Pingree, of Creston, was arrested in the 400 block of W. Livingston Street at around 12:45-p.m. She was charged with Contempt – Violation of No Contact or Protective Order/1st offense. Pingree was transported to the Adams County Jail and held without bond.

(Red Oak, IA) – Sheriff’s Deputies in Montgomery County arrested a man early this (Friday) morning on a warrant for Probation Violation. 55-year-old Todd Allen Konz, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 5-a.m.. He was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $2,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – The second finalist to take over as the president of Iowa State University made his visit to campus Thursday and held a public forum. David Cook is an Ames native and I-S-U graduate. He became the president of North Dakota State in 2022 after 14 years in administration at the University of Kansas Medical Center. “That for me really was my first entree into to what a land grant is about, getting out in the rural community, serving the state, caring about workforce, providing in that case, access to desperately needed health resources,” Cook says.

Cook says he took the opportunity to become a president at North Dakota State and loved it and the people, but says I-S-U is a unique situation. “This opportunity, it’s the only one I probably would ever even consider, but it’s home, it’s deeply personal,” he says. “Our family are here, it’s where we grew up. It’s where education opened my eyes to what it can do and what it can do for generations of people and how important that is…. I mean, it’s coming home.” Cook says he understands that agriculture and engineering are top priorities at I-S-U, but he says you have to understand the environment education is currently in. “We’ve got to have our graduates better prepared. They’ve got to learn how to write, they’ve got to learn how to communicate, they have to work in teams, they have to have critical thinking skills,” Cook says. “Those are all hallmarks of a liberal arts education, so we can’t forget that.”

He says I-S-U has and influence in all of the state’s 99 counties, and that too is a big responsibility. “What can we do to impact all those small business owners that are out there across the state of Iowa, that’s our job and our responsibility. I stumbled across this report that talks about the brain drain. Our college graduates in this state who have four-year degrees, they’re leaving. What’s our role and responsibility to do better?,” he says. Cook has a series of other events while on campus.

Cook and the other finalist, Benjamin Houlton will be interviewed by the Board of Regents next Tuesday and the Board is then expected to announce its choice. The new president will replace Wendy Wintersteen who is retiring.