(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Auditor’s Office has released the final list of names on the ballot for the June 7th Primary Election.

Local candidates who have filed papers for the Primary Election are as follows:

County Supervisor District 2NE – Democrat:                        No Candidate Filed

County Supervisor District 2NE – Republican:

• Jodie Hoadley [currently the District 4 SE Supervisor]
• Steven Shelley [Incumbent]

County Supervisor District 4SE – Democrat:                         No Candidate Filed

County Supervisor District 4SE –

Republican:

• Nathan Baier
• Nick Carson

County Treasurer – Democrat:                                                No Candidate Filed

County Treasurer – Republican:                                              Brenda Wallace [Incumbent]

County Recorder – Democrat:                                                No Candidate Filed

County Recorder – Republican:                                              Janelle Schneider [Incumbent]

County Attorney – Democrat:                                                Melissa Larson [Incumbent]

County Attorney – Republican:                                              No Candidate Filed

A reminder: Voter pre-registration deadline is 5:00 p.m. Monday, May 23, 2022.  Pre-registered voters are required to provide an approved form of identification at the polling place before receiving and casting a regular ballot.

Voters who are not pre-registered – such as voters registering to vote on election day – and voters changing precincts must also provide proof of residence.  A voter who is unable to provide an approved form of identification (or prove residence if required) 1) may have the voter’s identity/residence attested to by another registered voter in the precinct, 2) prove identity and residence using Election Day Registration documents, or 3) cast a provisional ballot and provide proof of identity/residence at the Auditor’s Office by 12:00 p.m. (noon), June 13, 2022.

Election Day Registrant attesters must provide an approved form of identification.  For additional information about providing proof of identity and/or residence visit: https://sos.iowa.gov/voterid or phone (641) 743-2546.  Voters may request an absentee ballot from the Auditor’s Office.  Voters may vote in the office between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, beginning May 18, 2022 or they may request a ballot be mailed to them.  The deadline to request an absentee ballot be mailed is 5:00 p.m. Monday, May 23, 2022.

The last day to vote absentee in the Auditor’s Office is Monday, June 6, 2022 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  Polls will open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Election Day June 7, 2022.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The deadline to file nomination papers for the June 7th Primary Election in Cass County has passed, and we know now the names of the candidates who will be in the ballot. The last person to file by Friday’s (March 25th) deadline, was Republican Robert J. Engler, for Cass County Attorney. In advance of the November General Election, Clarke Gerlock has filed for Union Township Trustee.

Here is the final list of names on the ballot for the Cass County Primary Election:

Board of Supervisor District 2:

Democrat – (No one has filed);

Republican – [Incumbent] Mark O’Brien, of Atlantic

Board of Supervisor District 3:

Democrat – (No one has filed);

Republican – [Incumbent] John P. Hartkopf, of Atlantic; Wendy Richter, of Atlantic

Cass County Attorney:

Democrat – (No filings)

Republican – [Incumbent] E. Vanessa Strazdas, of Atlantic; Jay W. Mez, of Council Bluffs; Robert J. Engler, of Atlantic.

Cass County Recorder:

Democrat – (No filings)

Republican – Incumbent Mary Ward

Cass County Treasurer:

Democrat – (No filings)

Republican – [Incumbent] Tracey J. Marshall.

Winners of contested seats will move on to the November General Election.

(Radio Iowa) – With new online scams emerging almost daily, Iowans are being encouraged to brush up on their computer security precautions. Consumer protection advocate Michael Domke says you should consider using a password manager on your computer and phone, instead of reusing old passwords. “Humans are creatures of pattern,” Domke says. “With so many different sites and places that you go needing a password, it gets tough to remember all of them.” Domke says it’s important to keep the password you use for your personal email account or cell phone as strong as possible and never use it for other apps or websites.

One really good idea, he says, is to put your most important accounts — like your email, banking and credit card accounts — behind two-factor authentication. “There are apps and other devices that can help you do that and make a little bit stronger and help protect your information,” he says. That way, even if someone can work out your password, your information will stay safe and you can be alerted to update your password. He notes, even cursory knowledge about you could let people get past basic security questions.

“Some of those that are generalized and asked nowadays, even close friends or family might be able to get some of those,” Domke says. “So pick a question that isn’t just easy for you to answer, make it hard for somebody else to answer.” Making a password “strong” may involve having it be at least eight characters, with some upper and lower case letters, as well as numerals and symbols.

(Radio Iowa) – A top U-S-D-A official who’s visiting Iowa says containment is key now that highly-contagious bird flu has been detected at six poultry sites in Iowa. Jenny Lester Moffitt is the Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“So far the data shows that we’re really not seeing spread between producers, but we’re always reminding producers about biosecurity.” Moffitt spoke with reporters earlier today (Friday), right after she and Iowa Congresswoman Cindy Axne of West Des Moines met with Iowa meat locker owners and others connected to the industry. Moffitt says the U-S-D-A is releasing more than 23-and-a-half million dollars, in a second round of grants for existing meat lockers. The grants can be used for things like equipment and marketing.

“We need more and better markets for producers,” Moffitt says. “Producers need more places to be able to bring their cattle, their sheep, their swine, their bison to market — all sorts of different animals.” The agency has signed contracts with three firms that will help meat locker owners complete the grant applications. Moffitt says grants can be used to help lockers get certified to sell meat across state lines — and she heard from Iowans at the event who lobbied for more U-S-D-A meat inspectors.

A few participants mentioned ethanol promotion, too. Axne says she spoke last week with the E-P-A Administrator about ensuring E-15 — gasoline with 15 percent ethanol — can be sold year round in every part of the country. “I’m going to hit some people over the head pretty soon because they’re not understanding the logic here,” Axne said, laughing along with the group, “and we need them to just be logical and help us get ethanol out the door.” The vast majority of gasoline sold in the U.S. is E-10 — a 10 percent ethanol blend. E-15 sales are banned from June 1st through mid-September in many areas of the country, however.

Axne says expanding E-15 sales year-round means consumers would have access to a less expensive fuel.  “There’s a war with Russia and Ukraine. We are seeing prices go up at the gas pumps, so let’s put our own product out there across the country,” Axne says. “We have the capacity to do it.” A federal appeals court tossed out a 2019 Trump Administration move to allow E15 sales year round. The ethanol industry has asked for a panel of judges to review the case.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds will soon get to decide whether to approve a state law that would nullify a recent Iowa Supreme Court ruling on “garbage grabs.” Last summer the court ruled that under the state’s constitution, Iowa residents have an expectation of privacy when they place their garbage in a publicly accessible area — meaning law enforcement has to get a warrant for these kind of trash searches. A bill that passed the House would restore the status quo in Iowa, according to Republican Representative Steven Holt of Denison.  “The searching of abandoned garbage makes our communities safer because numerous crimes are solved each year using this essential law enforcement tool,” Holt says, “and this legislation seeks to restore that important precedent.”

A Clear Lake man who served two days in jail on a drug conviction argued the search warrant for his home was improperly obtained because it was based on evidence police found in trash bags outside his home. Representative Mary Wolfe, a Democrat from Clinton, says the ruling was a big deal because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled law enforcement doesn’t have to get a warrant to search trash bags and garbage cans in a driveway or at the curb. “Now, I’ll acknowledge that reasonable people can and do disagree as to whether Iowa citizens should have a protected liberty interest in their trash,” Wolfe says, “but our Supreme Court is the final arbiter.”

Wolfe says the legislature can’t pass a law and should propose a constitutional amendment to take away this constitutional right.  “Even one that you may think is silly or ridiculous or doesn’t make any sense or you don’t care if they look through your garbage, none of that matters,” Wolfe says. “Our Supreme Court says this is a constitutionally protected liberty right.” Holt says the legislature routinely passes bills to legislatively overturn court rulings. “There has never been an expectation of privacy for abandoned garbage sitting on a curb,” Holt says. “Let’s be clear here, we’re talking about publicly accessible areas, such as curbs and sidewalks. We’re not talking about garbage outside on your back porch and your yard. Publicly accessible area is the key and, again, this legislation is returning us to the status quo.”

The bill passed the Senate unanimously last month and was approved in the House this week on a 58 to 36 vote.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports two separate arrests took place, Thursday. 21-year-old Nathan Edward Lee Richardson, of Glenwood, was arrested on a warrant for three counts, Violation of Probation. Bond was set at $30,000. And, 26-year-old Timothy James Black, of Emerson, was arrested for Driving Under Suspension ($300 bond).

(Harlan, Iowa) – The Shelby County Supervisors will meet in a special session 9-a.m. Tuesday, March 29th. The Board has one action item on their agenda: a Hearing for, and Approval of a Resolution on, the  fiscal year 2023 Shelby County budget. There will also be general county business discussion, with no action to follow.

(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Creston Police Department today (Friday), reports the arrest at around 3:45-a.m. today, of 30-year-old Christopher Cerda-Roma, from Lenox. Cerda-Roma was arrested at Oak and Montgomery Streets, for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. His bond at the Union County Jail, was set at $300.

Authorities say two incidents of vandalism and/or theft were reported over the past few weeks. On Wednesday (March 23rd), a man told Police his vehicle had been vandalized while parked near a fitness business in the 500 block of W. Taylor Street, in Creston. He said his driver’s side window was broken out, and a fitness card worth an estimated $200, was missing. On Feb. 13th, a person with the Smoke Shop in Creston reported the business was broken into. The loss from damage and missing inventory, amounted to slightly more than $2,387.

And, on March 21st, a woman reported to Creston Police that her purse went missing while she was at the Creston Walmart Store. The loss was estimated at $100.

(Radio Iowa) – The latest figures show only 67 people were hospitalized in Iowa (as of Wednesday), for treatment of COVID-19, which is down significantly from the peak in January near one-thousand patients. The C-D-C says death rates, too, are slowing dramatically. Lisa Ridge, C-E-O of Van Diest Medical Center in Webster City, says even after two years, coronavirus is still making a critical impact on the facility. “While we’re grateful for these low numbers and low mortality, as a small, rural hospital with limited resources and limited ability to increase our covered lives or services rapidly,” Ridge says, “we are grappling with the ongoing effects of the pandemic.”

Lisa Ridge. (photo from Van Diest)

Since early 2020, many people have chosen to retire or quit the health care profession and the hospital has a long list of open positions, making a tough situation even more difficult for those who remain. “From our staffing and supply challenges to decreased utilization of our services, we’ve really had to embrace and show our agility,” Ridge says. “We’ve cross-trained staff. We’re showing the ability to flex-staff between departments. We’re being creative with supplies and really with our supply chain as a whole.”

The hospital is investing in new technologies, she says, in order to support its many virtual platforms.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig reports the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has awarded nearly $250,000 in grants to help 13 Iowa farmers, businesses and non-profits increase or diversify their agricultural product offerings. Among the grant recipients, was Brun Ko Farm, owned and managed by Emily and Nathan Paulsen. The farm, located near Exira, is being awarded $15,000 toward a total project cost of $30,000, to increase vegetable production by increasing washing and storage capacity.

Naig said “Iowa agriculture is the envy of the world as our farmers continue to lead the way in producing healthy, high-quality, affordable food. It is essential that consumers have access to the Iowa-grown products they know and love. The Choose Iowa grant program makes this possible through value-added projects that help Iowans grow their businesses and access new markets. I am proud to invest in these projects that continue to position Iowa as a top place to grow, today and in the future.”

To view the entire list of Choose Iowa Marketing and Promotion grant recipients, click HERE.