(Radio Iowa) – Republican Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says she doesn’t support Democrat calls that ICE agents be required to carry out arrests only with warrants, clearly display identification, and operate under strict use of force standards. “Because ICE needs to be able to operate and do their jobs. The bigger problem here is that we have sanctuary cities who are not complying with ICE detainers and cooperating with the federal government,” she says. “In places where you see that cooperation happening, things are running very, very smoothly.” Hinson says Democrats are wrong to call for defunnding and shutting down ICE.

“That’s a non-starter for us, and I would argue for the majority of Congress, but the package the House voted on would not only fund ICE, I remind everybody, but the T-S-A, the Coast Guard, and FEMA, and those are all very important agencies that we need to be serious about funding,” Hinson says. Hinson says the latest shooting of a man by ICE agents in Minneapolis is tragic and she supports a full investigation, but she says people are interfering and not complying with law enforcement.

” I asked three people yesterday, you know, have you ever had an unfavorable interaction with law enforcement? And all of them said ‘no.’ And I think that is at the root here,” Hinson says. “You’ve got a Minneapolis mayor who is saying that you shouldn’t comply, you should resist, a governor in Minnesota that’s saying you shouldn’t comply, you should resist. And so I think that’s the issue here is they have inflamed things so much that now people don’t know who they can trust.” Hinson is from Marion and currently represents Iowa’s Second Congressional District, but is running for the open U-S Senate seat.

(Radio Iowa) – Four of the Republican candidates for governor say life begins at conception and they would work to make Iowa abortion law reflect that. Adam Steen — a former member of Governor Reynolds’ cabinet — says abortion will be the number one issue in the race against the Democratic Party’s likely nominee. “And Rod Sand will say the heartbeat went too far. The heartbeat bill did not go too far. We need to push that further We need to put a conception bill in,” Steen said. “We need to decimate the chemical abortions.”

The G-O-P candidates were asked about the issue last (Tuesday) night during a debate hosted by Moms for Liberty. The crowd laughed when a host opened the event by noting Congressman Randy Feenstra, the perceived front-runner in the G-O-P race for governor, had turned down their invitation and they cheered when Steen criticized Feenstra’s absence. “Why is Randy Feenstra not answering questions like we are answering?” Steen said. “We do not have an ability as a populace to drag him across the finish line to beat Rob Sand. That’s why this is so critical right now and it’s because of life.”

Feenstra was at President Trump’s events in central Iowa Tuesday afternoon and, in a written statement, Feenstra said he will always defend the unborn and protect the right to life.

Zach Lahn says a candidate’s stand on abortion is a foundational issue. “My wife and I went through a process and we were at a fertility clinic. We are now banned for life from that clinic because we refused to discard the embryos and the ones we refused turned into our youngest son, Fritz,” Lahn said, to applause. “And so that’s how far you have to go with this.” Brad Sherman, a pastor who’s a former member of the Iowa House, says the state should immediately ban abortion pills from being mailed into Iowa. “I was happy to vote for the heartbeat bill which prevented surgical abortions after six weeks,” Sherman said, “but folks, we need to do better.”

Eddie Andrews, a current member of the Iowa House, also voted for the six-week abortion ban. “It’s not that we’re one issue voters,” Andrews said. “It’s that it’s the first issue. If you can’t get life right, then I can’t trust anything else that you’ve got.” Life at conception bills that would ban all abortions in Iowa have been introduced in the Iowa legislature, but have never made it to the governor’s desk. Democrats say the bills could make contraceptives and some certain fertility treatments illegal.

Alabama’s Supreme Court recently ruled frozen embryos are children and those who destroy embryos could be held liable for wrongful death.

(Greenfield, IA) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors, today (Wednesday) approved a request for an increase in wages for Sheriff’s Office dispatchers. The request came from Sheriff Jeff Vandewater, who said he was informed the current wages are not enough to retain and hire persons for those positions. Vandewater said he took that input and and came up with a proposed wage scale that was based at least in part on what other area counties are paying, and the job stress level that requires and extraordinary amount of multi-tasking, especially during potential life and death situations.

Vandewater says the starting wage now, while on probation for the first six months is $21.06. With the Board’s approval today (Wednesday), it will go to $25.00 on February 7th the new pay period begins.

The Board also approved the Jailer/Dispatcher resignation of Gwendy Rice and her request to move from full-to part-time employee.

In other business, the Adair County Supervisors passed a resolution awarding an OEC Paving project for the Orient Energy Center facility in the amount of a little nearly $1.3-million ($1,290, 943.90) to Grimes Asphalt of Des Moines. There were six bids for the project, according to County Engineer Nick Kauffman, with the bottom two bids separated by a little over $8,000. The engineer’s estimate for the project was $1.6-million.

The Board also passed a resolution awarding the W-18 Harrison Bridge Project. Govco, Inc., in Red Oak was the low bid, at $325, 221. The engineer’s estimate was $380,000. Kauffman said he’d budgeted for $350,000.

(Creston,IA) – Police in Creston arrested a man Tuesday night. Authorities say 35-year-old Alex Richard Cunningham, of Creston, was arrested a little after 8-p.m. at his residence. Cunningham was charged with Violation of Probation. Cunningham was taken to Union County Jail and held without bond until making his initial court appearance.

OMAHA, NE. — Delta Air Lines, the parent company of Endeavor Air, says one of their commuter planes en-route from the New York-LaGuardia Airport to Epply Airfield in Omaha, made an emergency landing in Omaha late Tuesday night, after a crack was discovered in the left side window during descent.

Delta said Endeavor Flight 4900 – a Canadair Regional Jet CRJ-900 (twin-engine jet) – landed safely at around 10:30-p.m. without further issue, and there were no injuries. The passengers departed the plane as normal. Several emergency vehicles followed the jet to the gate.

(Radio Iowa) – The state Environmental Protect Commission has approved the use of federal funding to continue support of the Lake Rathbun watershed protection program in southern Iowa. Ginger Murphy from the D-N-R’s Water Quality Bureau oversees the project to improve aquatic habitat, and to reduce excess nutrient runoff. “It’s Iowa’s second largest lake and the 11th most visited in recent statistics. It is actually a reservoir formed by the Chariton River. And it continues 142 river miles downstream into the Missouri River,” she says. The lake helps with flood control and as the source of drinking water for 18 counties in Iowa and Missouri. The Rathbun Land and Water Alliance was created as a non profit organization in 1996 to provide the foundation for partnerships and cooperative management of the reservoir.

“The Alliance meets quarterly to update and collaborate with stakeholders and partners on the goals and progress of their watershed efforts, and the alliance has been implementing watershed management plans since 2004,” Murphy says. “The plans are updated to reflect changing land use, changing technology and practices, water quality monitoring and research, and improved soil loss models.” She says an E-P-A Clean Water Grant helps fund the watershed practices designed to improve the lake. “An emphasis on structural best management practices has been most effective in the Rathbun watershed, so they’re installing practices based on N-R-C-S standards that have maintenance requirements anywhere from ten to 35 years,” she says.

Murphy says there’s progress as landowner participation rates and sediment and phosphorus load reductions are encouraging. But she says in the past 20 year estimates show watershed cropland has increased from about 30 percent use to nearly 50 percent, which can mean highly erodible lands used for pastures may have been converted to row crops. Murphy says tests are done with a disc that’s dropped into the water to see how clear it is, with the goal of seeing it one meter down. They have 2024 results and will soon review 2025 data. “None of the sites, this would be the main basin and then some of the arms of the lake that have different tributaries feeding them, none of those sites met the one meter goal. We expect the 2025 data will probably be similar. This is just a trend with high turbidity in Rathbun Lake right now,” Murphy says.

She says they’ll look at that 2025 data at the Alliance’s spring meeting as they talk about moving ahead with the latest plan.

(Radio Iowa) – As Iowans prepare their state tax returns, they’re reminded to remember the Fish and Wildlife Fund on Line 21 of Form 10-40, what’s also known as the Chickadee Check-off. Stephanie Shepherd, a wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Diversity Program, says the fund was created in the 1980s to help protect many hundreds of species of non-game wildlife. Shepherd says, “If you were someone who cared about bald eagles or songbirds, or frogs and toads, or bumblebees, all those other wildlife and enjoyed watching them and how they enrich your life, then you could make a donation towards those species and protecting them.”

Programs devoted to game animals, like deer, ducks and pheasants, are paid for through hunters’ license fees, but more than a thousand other species, from salamanders to monarchs, — which make up the majority of wildlife in Iowa — rely on this fund. Last year, only about 46-hundred Iowans checked the box to contribute to the fund on their state tax forms. That’s barely three-tenths of one-percent of Iowa taxpayers. “The number of donors has been dropping for several years, but the amount of money donated has stayed relatively the same,” Shepherd says. “In fact, from the 2023 tax year to 2024, the number of people donating dropped by about 800 people, but the amount donated went up by four- to $5,000.”

Funding helps to improve wildlife habitat, restore native wildlife, and provides opportunities for people to learn about Iowa’s natural resources and more. The number of donors to the long-standing check-off has dropped by more than half in the last 20 years, so Shepherd is working to raise awareness. “It would be nice also if more people knew about the check-off and how easy it was to make a donation,” Shepherd says. “It doesn’t have to be huge. It could be as low as a dollar to Wildlife Conservation in Iowa so that we could get the number of donors up as well.” Before the fund was created, non-game wildlife had no dedicated funding.

The Wildlife Diversity Program still receives no state income tax funds and is primarily supported by this voluntary donation program on the state tax form — and from the sale of Natural Resources license plates. Donations can also be made online at: https://programs.iowadnr.gov/donations

(Red Oak, IA) – Two adults were arrested early this (Wednesday) morning in Red Oak, on Disorderly Conduct – Loud Noise, and two-counts of Child Endangerment, charges. Red Oak Police report 26-year-old Jeffery Allen Arnold, of Red Oak, and 29-year-old Tylea Lynn Barnes were taken into custody in the 1600 block of E. Summit Street. Arnold was arrested at around 2:10-a.m., and Barnes was arrested at around 2:35-a.m.

Both were transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $2,000 bond, each.

(Red Oak, IA) – A woman from Red Oak was arrested on numerous charges at around 7:30-p.m., Tuesday. According to the Red Oak Police Department, 38-year-old Vanessa Rene Sickels was taken into custody following the execution of a search warrant in the 600 block of Washington Avenue, in Red Oak. Authorities say upon further investigation, Sickels was arrested with the assistance of Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies, and charged with:

• 1 count of Drug Distribution Violation to a person under 18 (A Class-B Felony)
• 2 counts of Child Endangerment – Aggravated Misdemeanors, and
• 1 count of Harboring a Juvenile Runaway – Also an Aggravated Misdemeanor.

Vanessa Sickles was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $25,000 bond. In addition, two juveniles were arrested on serious Misdemeanor charges that include:

• Possession of a Controlled Substance/1st offense
• Poss. of Carrying Dangerous Weapons While Under the Influence
• Minor Armed with a Dangerous Weapon (Firearm) – Carry/transport within City Limits.
• One minor was arrested also on a valid juvenile pick-up order through the juvenile courts.

The juveniles were transported to the Juvenile Detention Center near Council Bluffs.