(Radio Iowa) – Iowa-based Casey’s General Stores — the country’s 4th largest pizza chain — is asking the Iowa legislature to let 16 and 17 year olds man the machines that roll out the pizza dough. “Casey’s, like any other employer across the state of Iowa, we’re really struggling in finding employees.” That’s Tom Cope, a lobbyist for Casey’s. He says unlike surrounding states like Illinois and Missouri, current Iowa law bars anyone under the age of 18 from operating a pizza dough rolling machine.

“We make the dough fresh every day at the store. It’s not a froze dough,” Cope says. “And so the way it works is we have a ball of dough and (for) each pizza that’s order, that dough has to go through a rolling machine before it then can be made into a pizza.” A Senate subcommittee has approved the bill that adopts federal guidelines, so 16 and 17 year olds would be able to operate pizza dough machines in Iowa.

Senator Todd Taylor, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, says as long as minors aren’t allowed to do maintenance on the machines, which could be dangerous, he’ll support the move. “I think that’s all we need to do and it’s a win-win, you know, kids make pizza all over this state,” Taylor says, “but we want them to be safe.” Peter Hird, a lobbyist for the Iowa Federation of Labor, says unions aren’t opposing the attempt to add older teenagers to Casey’s pizza-making enterprise, but Hird questions whether increasing child labor is the best way to address Iowa’s workforce shortage.

“We do really worry about bringing more kids into the workforce,” he says. “Are we protecting them during these years, too?” He cites last year’s vote in the legislature to let 16 and 17 year olds operate the rides at Iowa amusement parks as well as legislation proposed this year that would no longer require adult supervision of older teens working in child care facilities.

(Radio Iowa) – State Auditor Rob Sand says he found no significant concerns about the state’s Covid-19 data reporting during the first 14 months of the pandemic. Sand says issues with the Iowa Department of Public Health’s online Covid dashboard that drew public complaints were out of the state’s control.

“The late entries that a lot of people were talking about and suspicious about early in the pandemic were not because the state was messing anything up,” Sand says. “It was because the private labs that were doing the testing were regularly submitting results very late to the state of Iowa.” Sand says state officials calculated Covid positivity rates correctly, but could have more clearly explained what formula they were using.

Kelly Garcia, the interim director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, says the report highlights the need to upgrade the agency’s outdated I-T and data systems before the next emergency.

(By Natalie Kreb, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – Three state agencies have started to review plans for how the State of Iowa would respond to a significant drought. Iowa Department of Natural Resources director Kayla Lyon says her agency issued weekly reports on drinking water supplies last year as extreme drought hit some areas of the state. “We were really close to having a real problem,” Lyon says, “and it was pretty dire in some parts of the state.”

Despite heavy rains in the fall, the U.S. Drought Monitor shows more than half a million Iowans live in an area where drought conditions persist. The state’s current drought response outlines were developed in the 1980s according to Lyon. “So our staff are working together with some of the same players to modernize our state drought plan,” Lyon says.

A D-N-R spokesperson says the plan will likely look at how water users in the public and private sectors are prepared for drought conditions and how the state would respond if water supplies are endangered by a long-term drought. It’s expected to take a year for the D-N-R, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and the Iowa Department of Homeland Security Emergency Management to produce an updated drought plan.

(Radio Iowa) – New details show a Cedar Rapids man rescued from a grain bin last week was lucky to get out — and the first fireman on the scene was working his last full day on the job. Darrell Benish, of Cedar Rapids, was rescued by members of the Cedar Rapids and Swisher Fire departments. Benish tells K-C-R-G T-V he was trying to push the auger in with his foot, and it slipped.

“The suction sucked me in there, and in the meantime, nobody saw what was happening,” Benish explains. Benish was stuck for about two hours with freezing grain covering his body up to his shoulders. Firefighters attempted to insert a barrier to keep more corn from completely covering him. He says he couldn’t breathe. “Because even when they took the corn out — it was still kind of rolling down all the time. It was probably the most pain I’ve ever had in my life,” Benish says.

Cedar Rapids fire captain Brian Hall was the first on the scene, and tells K-C-R-G T-V they were lucky. “To have a situation like this where we can make a rescue and the person survives, very rare,” Hall says. First responders cut four holes in the side of the bin to release as much corn as possible. Hall says Benish’s position in the bin was a factor in the corn trapping him. “He was probably six feet inside the door,” Hall says, “which also I think accounted for some of the crushing factors. He was not in the center and everything coming at him from all directions.”

It was Hall’s first-grain bin rescue in his 33-year career — and also his last full shift — before he retired Sunday. He says the rescue made him think about his work in those years. “Kind of reflected back to a lot of those type of scenarios where we’ve truly made a difference in people’s lives,” Hall says. “Not just in his life, but his family’s lives and all of us.” Hall says his retirement plan at this point is to not have a retirement plan.

(Radio Iowa) – The chairman of the House Education Committee has come up with a plan that would let college graduates with three years of work experience get a teaching license within a year. Republican Representative Dustin Hite of New Sharon said Iowa school administrators tell him they’re having a hard time hiring teachers. “Making sure that we have quality, qualified teachers for years to come is just important to all Iowans,” Hite said during a news conference on the House floor. “It’s certainly important to people like me who have kids in school.”

These alternative licenses would be for potential teachers in 7th through 12th grade courses and Hite’s proposal would require applicants to complete an internship in a classroom and 15 additional hours of college credit. That’s faster than the current pathway for college grads seeking a license to teach in Iowa. Hite said he’s hoping his plan will appeal to people with life experience in key occupations who are looking for a second career.

Rep. Dustin Hite. (RI photo)

“They’re saying, you know: ‘I’m done with that job. I’m done with the rat race…but I’d love to give back to my community through becoming a teacher,’” Hite said. Hite expects his idea would find new teachers for urban and rural schools. “There’s people who have a range of different jobs,” Hite said. “Down where I live we have a lot of different industries. We have Cargill, so we have chemists who work there. We’ve got Vermeer and Musco, so we have engineers who work there, so I think you actually will find a lot of those people throughout the state.”

Hite expects his plan will be considered in the House Education Committee later this week or early next week. A copy of the bill is not yet available on the legislature’s website.

(Radio Iowa) – Parts of western Iowa are facing an acute shortage of emergency youth shelters for children in foster care. In the last year, three of the region’s four shelters closed due to staffing shortages caused by COVID-19. The Crittenton Shelter in Sioux City just reopened after being shut down for more than six months and its executive director Kim Scorza  says it was a tough time.

“It’s a huge gap because it means that kids are not going to receive the care that they need to (have) in a timely manner,” Scorza says. “It may mean that some kids get bounced to multiple facilities.” Within the first week of opening, the shelter was already housing six children. The pandemic is also creating a critical need for more foster families to take in children. Dawn Leutje, of Lutheran Iowa Services, says the number of children in foster care has continued to climb, but the number of homes available didn’t keep pace.

Leutje asks, “But if there’s a shortage of foster homes, and there isn’t an available family in that area, and there’s not a shelter available, then where are the children going to go?” There are 342 foster families in the 30 counties across western Iowa, but Leutje says that number isn’t filling the high number of referrals. She says many people became unable to host kids amid the uncertainty of the pandemic.

(by Kendall Crawford, Iowa Public Radio)

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports three recent arrests and three accidents. Last Thursday, Deputies arrested 38-year-old Garret Horgdal, of Henderson. He was taken into custody for being a Felon in Control of a Firearm.  Horgdal was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held until his later release on his own recognizance.

On Saturday, Deputies arrested 31-year-old Jeffrey Rowland, of Council Bluffs, on a warrant for Probation Violation.  Rowland was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held. And, 28-year-old Austin Klinghammer, of Griswold, was arrested on charges of Child Endangerment Causing Bodily Injury.  Klinghammer was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on bond.

Deputies responded at around 3:20-p.m. on Jan. 25th, to a single vehicle accident near 725th and White Pole Road.  Investigating officers found a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado being operated by Garret Horgdal had driven off the side of the road to the left, entered the ditch and struck a culvert.  The Silverado sustained approximately $18,000 worth of damage, no injuries were noted.

On the 26th, 2022, Cass County Deputies responded at around 4:30-p.m., to a 2-vehicle accident at the intersection of Mills St. and Main St. in Griswold.  Investigating Deputies found that a White 2005 Hyundai Sante Fe being operated by a juvenile female of Griswold failed to yield for a stop sign and struck a Red 2014 Mazda that was operated by 19 year old Jenna Pelzer, of Elliott.  The Hyundai sustained approximately $1,500 of damage while the Mazda sustained an additional $1,500 of damage.  No injuries were reported during this accident.

And, at around 2:42-p.m. Friday, deputies responded to a 2-vehicle accident at the intersection of Adair and Whitney St in Griswold.  Investigating Deputies found that a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox being operated by David Anderson, of Atlantic, was traveling South on Highway 48 when a 1995 Ford F-250 being operated by Alan Arp, of Griswold, turned in front of it.  Both vehicle’s front ends sustained significant damage; the Equinox had approximately $15,000 worth of damage with airbags deploying as well while the F250 had approximately $3,000 worth of damage.  A passenger within the Equinox sustained possible injuries and was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital by Griswold Rescue.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports four arrests from the past week. Sheriff Jeff Vandewater says 51-year-old Jo Louise Shaw, of Fontanelle, was arrested Jan. 23rd, at 3rd and Scott Streets, in Fontanelle, for Driving While License Denied or Revoked/OWI-related. Shaw was cited and released at the scene.

On the 24th, 53-year-old Glenn Lee Rochholz, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at around 12:20-a.m. for: Felony Possession of Controlled Substance (PCS)/3rd or subsequent offense; Drug Tax Stamp Violations; OWI/1st offense; and Felony charges of PCS 3rd or subsequent offense/methylphenidate hydrocholide (HCL) [Ritalin]; PCS 3rd or subsequent offense/marijuana. Rochholz was released on a Recognizance Bond later that same day.

On the 26th, 41-year-old Douglas Kelton Reeves, of Greenfield & Des Moines, was arrested by Stuart Police in Stuart, for Theft in the 5th Degree (for taking a recliner in an apparent property dispute), Burglary in the 2nd Degree (for entering an occupied home) and Criminal Mischief in the 5th Degree (for damaging a bicycle). He was released later that same day on a $10,600 cash or surety bond.

And, 48-year-old Jay Ryan Ladd, of Greenfield, was arrested Jan. 26th, on an Adair County warrant for Domestic Assault/Injury or Mental Illness – 1st offense. He was released the following day on a $1,000 cash or surety bond (w/10% acceptable).

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The February 5th legislative coffee featuring Iowa Senator Tom Shipley and Iowa Representative Tom Moore, will take place via Zoom this Saturday at 9:30 a.m. The event is being hosted again this year by the Progressive Rural Iowa Development Enterprise, (P.R.I.D.E.) economic development organization. To register use the following registration page link: https://ghorizons.ac-page.com/pride

When you register, you will be sent the Zoom link within minutes. To protect the integrity of the meeting, all participants must register via the Zoom link. There is room for 100 attendees. This is a powerful tool to share thoughts with legislators and be involved in our Iowa democracy. There are lots of issues in discussion at the Capitol and our voices, positions, and experiences are important to our legislators making decisions.

The second coffee will take place Saturday, March 5 at 9:30 a.m., hosted by P.R.I.D.E. Vice-President, Clarke Gerlock, at the Cumberland Fire Station for an in-person gathering.

The final coffee will take place Saturday, April 2 at 9:30 a.m. at a location TBD. Save the date!

The Progressive Rural Iowa Development Enterprise is an economic and community development nonprofit whose purpose is community growth and engagement through education.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Monday morning, approved a Class-C Beer Permit for the rural Griswold Dollar General Store, and they passed a Resolution with regard to economic development, using the Valley Business Park fund. Board Chair Steve Baier explains the purpose of the VBP account….

Baier said, in a nutshell…

In other business, the Supervisors moved to appoint four persons to the Condemnation in Eminent Domain Commission.

(Krista Young, Melissa Ihnen, Mary Anstey, & Scott Leighton)

And, Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken made his weekly report to the Board, which covered ongoing maintenance activties and staff education.