(Radio Iowa) – A Democrat from Boone in central Iowa has filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run for Iowa’s open U.S. House seat in northeast Iowa. Guy Morgan says while he doesn’t live in the second district, he has family ties in the area and graduated from the University of Northern Iowa. The U-S Constitution does not require U.S. House candidates to live in the district they’d representing, but they must be a resident of the state they’d represent. Morgan says he’s running an environmentally focused campaign.

In 2023, 3-M agreed to pay over 10-BILLION dollars to settle lawsuits filed by public drinking water systems contaminated with so-called “forever chemicals” used in products like the foams used to fight fires. Morgan is the fifth Democrat to announce they’d seek the seat currently held by Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, who is running for the U.S. Senate in 2026.

(Radio Iowa) – An eastern Iowa man has been arrested and charged with vote fraud. Thirty-five-year-old Cody Swain of Marion is accused of voting in last year’s General Election after listing an address in Cedar Rapids on his voter registration form. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports Swaim has lived in Marion for the past three years, but listed a Cedar Rapids apartment he moved out of in 2018 as his home address.

Swaim faces a charge of first-degree election misconduct. It’s a felony that carries a sentence of up to five years in prison.

(Radio Iowa) – Congressman Randy Feenstra — a Republican who’s planning to launch a campaign for governor soon — supports the federal tax credits that could go to the developer of a proposed carbon pipeline, but Feenstra opposes the Iowa Utilities Commission’s decision to give Summit Carbon Solutions authority to seize land from unwilling property owners along the pipeline route.

Republicans have been divided on the issue since Summit announced in early 2021 that it planned to build a pipeline to capture carbon from ethanol plants in Iowa and other Midwestern states. This spring, a dozen Republicans joined Democrats in the state senate and passed a pipeline-related bill. Governor Reynolds wound up vetoing that bill, which would have limited the use of eminent domain for construction of carbon pipelines. Feenstra hasn’t indicated whether he would have done the same.

That’s the same eminent domain position taken by the three Republicans who’ve already launched campaigns for governor this year. Feenstra has long argued that homegrown Iowa ethanol will help make the U.S. energy independent and that carbon capture would enhance Iowa’s ethanol industry and support Iowa’s corn growers.

The proposed pipeline was an issue in Feenstra’s 2024 re-election campaign when a G-O-P challenger got the votes of nearly a third of the Republicans who voted in the fourth congressional district primary.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, a Republican from Marion, says her party is willing to talk about health care with Democrats if the government shut down ends. Hinson says the Senate Majority Leader says he is open to discussion. “Basically, he has said he’s willing to sit down with folks on the other side of the aisle to talk about the unaffordability of Obamacare, and he’s willing to give him a vote on it. But we have to end the government shutdown. And so he made that offer,” she says. But Hinson says Democrats really want to add more spending to the budget, including health care for illegals.

Cong. Ashley Hinson (File photo from Iowa PBS)

“If they wanted to really work together with us to lower the cost of healthcare, they would have kept the government open so we could actually work on it,” Hinson says. Hinson says they have to face the facts on the current health care system. “Obamacare is unaffordable, and that needs to be the root of the conversation, is how do we lower healthcare costs for everyone. I am for protecting access to healthcare,” Hinson says, “I wanna make sure we are trying to keep those premiums down and we need to keep the government funded and open. And Democrats are playing these political games and again risking all three of those things.”

Hinson made her comments on her weekly conference call with reporters.

(Atlantic, Iowa) — Vision Atlantic officials, Thursday (Oct. 16th), welcomed the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors to the site of the Camblin Hills Development, where progress is underway on the housing project. Officials say the visit marked a significant milestone in the community’s growth, with construction now underway on the first condos and preparations actively being made for the upcoming tiny homes.

During the visit, Vision Atlantic President Christina Bateman shared updates on the residential construction timeline. Within the next 15–30 days, work will begin on the single-family homes, which will include:

• Homes ranging from 1,200–1,300 sq. ft. with 2-car garages and unfinished basements
• Larger, more custom homes between 1,800–1,900 sq. ft. featuring 3-car garages and unfinished basements
• Residential lots available for future custom builds, and,
• A planned three-story town home to be constructed at a later phase.

In total, 48 units are scheduled to be built this year, including 10 tiny homes and 38 homes available for sale. Vision Atlantic will announce when prospective buyers can begin submitting offers through local brokers and realtors.

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Vision Atlantic, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was established in 2022 with a clear and determined mission: to help reshape the future of Atlantic, Iowa, and foster a vibrant, thriving community for all. The organization is committed to building a strong foundation for generations to come by focusing on key areas that impact the daily lives of residents—housing, childcare, quality of life, and future development.

Nick Hunt also spoke on Vision Atlantic’s philanthropic mission, highlighting fundraising efforts for two cornerstone community projects: the Child Development Center and an expansion of the YMCA. To date, Vision Atlantic has reached 70% of its fundraising goal, with $27 million raised, led by a generous $8.6 million donation from the Charles E. Lakin Foundation.

Vision Atlantic continues to seek support through donations or 3–5 year pledges, which can be made in various forms including IRA contributions, grain donations, in-kind gifts, stock transfers, and more. The team is ready to assist anyone interested in contributing to these transformative initiatives.

“We’re building more than homes—we’re building a future for Atlantic,” said Hunt. “This development is a testament to what’s possible when community, vision, and generosity come together.”

To learn more about Vision Atlantic, please visit visionatlantic.org or contact the group at visionatlanticiowa@gmail.com.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) Board today (Friday) approved awards for a company expansion in Story City and a quality of life project in Tabor. The City of Tabor was awarded $90,000 to construct a splashpad at the city park with a walkway to connect it to the existing sports courts and fields. The enhanced features will support increased foot traffic and overall appeal for the park. The total project cost is $326,848.

The CAT program provides financial assistance to communities for the construction of recreational, cultural, educational or entertainment facilities that enhance the quality of life in Iowa. Award recommendations for these funds are made by the CAT Review Committee to the IEDA Board for approval.

Established in 1902, the American Packaging Corporation in Story City creates custom packaging solutions for a variety of companies that offer food, beverage, healthcare, pet care, home care, lawn care and other consumer products. The company plans to construct a 20,000-square-foot addition to their Story City facility and acquire two large format bag machines and ancillary equipment.

The project represents a nearly $8 million capital investment and is expected to create 25 jobs, of which 13 are incented at $33.67 per hour. The board awarded the company tax benefits through the High Quality Jobs (HQJ) program.

(Radio Iowa) – State Representative Eddie Andrews — one of the Republicans who’s running for governor — says there are several pathways to the ultimate goal of getting rid of property taxes in Iowa — but the process will take time. “Obviously we can’t eliminate it on day one, or day three for that matter,” Andrews said. “We can set it up to phase out.” Andrews says there should be immediate relief for seniors and veterans, some of whom own their homes but cannot afford the property taxes. Andrews says he’s crunching the numbers on a plan that would phase out the property tax — and likely have the state of Iowa pick up the cost for some services local governments now provide.

“It’s is very doable,” Andrews said. “…Other states are now starting to talk about this as well.” Florida lawmakers have introduced a slate of bills this week that would completely eliminate property taxes in their state. Andrews is suggesting he’ll propose three different alternatives that would offset the loss of property tax revenue to local governments. “The simplest one that people talk about is simply increasing the sales tax,” Andrews says, “and letting all those vistors — and people who show up every four years for our Caucuses — help pay for that.”

Andrews, who is from Johnston, made his comments during a recent appearance on Iowa P-B-S. Andrews was first elected to the state legislature in 2020 and is in the middle of his third term in the Iowa House.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – In a statement to area media this (Friday) afternoon, Red Oak mayoral candidate John Haidsaik withdrew his name from consideration for the Nov. 4th election. Haidsaik said that while it’s too late to take his name off of the ballot, he is “No longer running for the office of Mayor in Red Oak,” and added his apology for what he “Said recently at the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council Conversation with The Candidates.” He said he “truly did not intend to offend anyone.”

Our story leading up to his decision follows….

The Red Oak Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council, a group of Red Oak High School students, hosted a conversation on Wednesday (Oct. 15th), with the mayoral and city council candidates, in advance of the November 4th City/School election. The event was held at the Red Oak Public Library, from 5-until 8-pm. None of the local media was invited to attend, or were in attendance. The forum included five young people, with their three advisors: Mayor Shawnna Silvius, Cynthia Bangston and David Dimmit.

Red Oak mayoral candidates present included John Haidsiak and Tim Fridolph. Red Oak City Council candidates included: Jeanice Lester and John Gross, running for the at-large position; Terry Koppa running for Ward 2, and Levi Franks, running for Ward 1. The youth had an opportunity to pose questions that each candidate could answer. One of the final questions was if they were elected how they would plan to deal with the poverty and drug use in the community.

In what appears to have been unedited audio of the entire event provided anonymously to the media, included answers to the question “What to do about drug abuse and mental health in Red Oak”. Mayoral candidate John Haidsiak responded “It’s a cruel fact, but people who’ve went through drug abuses, teenagers and young people, when they have children, they do two things. They get them involved, and they steal from ’em….”

Haidsaik compared the problem to a neighborhood full of rabid cats.

Haidsaik said “But, you know, it’s… People become little bit horrified when you talk about putting other people down. But life is life. You’re born, you’re gonna live, hopefully in a good way, then you’re gonna die. Nobody lives forever. The time of your death is… A lot of it’s predetermined by how you grow up and act in your younger years as to how good your older years are gonna be.”

He said that child “learns not to touch the stove because he knows it’ll burn his fingers. But if he’s never given that opportunity to learn, he never will. And after a certain amount of time, it, it’s too late to try to teach him because his mindset is already set. His vision is zeroed in on, uh, on what he wants to do, or what he thinks he’s going to do.”

Full audio of his response can be found here:

(A transcript of Haidsaik’s response to the question, What to do about mental health and drug abuse in Red Oak is as follows):

“It’s a cruel fact, but people who’ve went through drug abuses, teenagers and young people, when they have children, they do two things. They get them involved, and they steal from ’em. There’s… They’ve, they’ve got that habit so bad that that kid will go without before I go without. And it just escalates the problem to where there’s no reasonable fix-it solution other than mass extermination. I mean, you know, it’s…

If you’ve got a neighborhood full of rabid cats, you go out and shoot ’em, then you don’t have to worry about the rabid cats. But, you know, it’s… People become little bit horrified when you talk about putting other people down. But life is life. You’re born, you’re gonna live, hopefully in a good way, then you’re gonna die. Nobody lives forever. The time of your death is… A lot of it’s predetermined by how you grow up and act in your younger years as to how good your older years are gonna be.

So, you know, it’s… In a way, there’s a, there’s a cure, but, see, the cure just scares the living hell out of people. While they may agree with it, if you hand them a pencil and say, “Oh, no, no. Not me, not me,” I mean, they’ll, they’ll be for it until, until they got to be a part of it, and then it’s a different story. It… And it is a problem that’s handed down, because that child, when he’s young, has no idea or any conception of difference between right and wrong.

I mean, he learns by making mistakes. He learns not to touch the stove because he knows it’ll burn his fingers. But if he’s never given that opportunity to learn, he never will. And after a certain amount of time, it, it’s too late to try to teach him because his mindset is already set. His vision is zeroed in on, uh, on what he wants to do, or what he thinks he’s going to do. So, in, in a lot of instances, it’s…

Sorry to say it, but it’s too late to do anything. You just have to try to deal with it the best you can.”)

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Atlantic Community School District Director of Finance, Lisa Jones, at the request of school board candidate Justin Williams, provided a report on the District’s certified enrollment count which was due to the Iowa Dept of Education on Wednesday, October 15th. Jones said each year, the district counts all students enrolled as of October 1st. The count helps determine funding from the state for the following school year.

This year, according to Jones, total enrollment decreased by 107 students, as compared to last year. Most of the decline (65 students), she said, “is due to families moving out of the Atlantic area for reasons such as jobs or housing, outside of the school district’s control.” Jones said also, :It’s important to note that while the total number of resident students is down, our open enrolled-in students have increased (from 118 to 124) and open enrolled-out students have decreased (from 41 to 15)  which is very good news. ”

2026-27 students she said, generate $7,988 each but students can carry a different weighted funding depending on their program. This means Atlantic Community School District funding for next year will be affected differently than the headcount number, and, according to Lisa Jones, most likely reflects only a decrease of 79.09 students.