Police in Creston report 23-year-old Maxim Kozlov, of Shannan City, was arrested at around Noon, Tuesday. Kozlov was taken into custody at the Creston Walmart, on a charge of Indecent Exposure. He was later released from the Union County Jail, on a $300 bond. And, at around 12:22-a.m. today (Wednesday), 38-year-old Angel Valdovinos Rodriguez, of Creston, was arrested for Public Intoxication and Disorderly Conduct. Rodriguez was being held in the Adams County Jail, on a $600 bond.

Police in Red Oak arrested a man Tuesday evening, for Disorderly Conduct/Fighting, and Criminal Mischief in the 3rd Degree. Authorities say 37-year-old Michael Eugene Squires, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 6:18-p.m., in the 100 block of W. 2nd Street, in Red Oak. He was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $2,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – The owner of a northwest Iowa dairy will testify today (Wednesday) about milk prices before the U-S Senate Agriculture Committee. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says the problems with government regulation of the dairy industry date back decades, perhaps as far as the 1930s. He says the trouble originates with what are known as federal milk marketing orders which set up provisions for dairy processors.

“Things that happen in Minnesota and Wisconsin might be different than how they work in California,” Grassley says, “and even in eastern Iowa, I’ve heard of instances where some dairy farmers are getting help from some government program a lot more than they are in another part of eastern Iowa.” Grassley says it’s a troubled system that varies from state to state and significant reforms are needed.

“What you might do to help Iowa people would hurt Wisconsin people or what you might do to help Minnesota and Wisconsin versus California,” Grassley says. “It’s just a terrible, muddled mess to get corrected or it would’ve been done a long time ago.” The hearing in Washington D-C is scheduled to begin at 8:30 A-M/Central. The witnesses appearing before the panel include Christina Zuiderveen of Granville, managing partner of Black Soil Dairy.  “I’m happy that we’re bringing in the Iowa dairy people to speak to us, to have a voice in the Senate,” Grassley says, “even though we’re probably 10th, 11th or 12th in the production of dairy compared to some other of the 50 states.”

The Iowa State Dairy Association says Iowa ranks 12th in total milk production nationally and 8th in milk production per cow, while Iowa’s milk production represents 2.45-percent of the total U.S. milk production. In 2018, the ISDA says Americans consumed 646 pounds per capita of milk and dairy products, while in Iowa, the average was 670 pounds.

(Radio Iowa) – Public meetings are underway this week in several Iowa cities, the first steps an Iowa-based company must follow as it seeks a state permit to build an underground pipeline for carbon through 30 counties. As we reported last month, the potential pipeline has been dubbed the Midwest Carbon Express by its developer, Summit Carbon Solutions. Jesse Harris, a spokesman for the company, says it would be the largest carbon capture and storage project in the world.

“Our project would connect 31 different ethanol plants across the Midwest, including 12 plants here in Iowa,” Harris says. “We would capture the CO2 emissions before they were emitted into the atmosphere. We would compress those emissions into a pipeline and we would transport it to North Dakota, where it would be permanently stored.” Harris says ethanol plants that feed into the pipeline would become a so-called “net zero” fuel source by the end of the decade.

“It would allow ethanol plants to be able to sell their product and sell it at a premium in low carbon fuel standard markets like California, Oregon, Washington and more,” Harris says, “and give them a real competitive, economic advantage in the years to come.” Businessman Bruce Rastetter of Alden, the former president of the Iowa Board of Regents, owns the company that ultimately hopes to get Iowa Utilities Board approval for the project.

The pipeline would stretch through more than 700 miles of Iowa and the first informational meeting about the plan was held Monday in Steamboat Rock. Meetings are scheduled today (Wednesday) in Rock Rapids and Sioux Center. Two more meetings on Thursday will be held in Le Mars and Sioux City.

(Radio Iowa) – A long-time aide to Republican Governors Terry Branstad and Kim Reynolds has been elected to the Iowa House. Unofficial results show Republican Mike Bousselot won yesterday’s (Tuesday’s) special election in House District 37, which covers parts of Ankeny and northern Polk County. Bousselot got nearly 52 percent of the vote. Democrat Andrea Phillips finished with just over 48 percent in her second run in the district.

The seat had been held by Republican John Landon of Ankeny, who died in July. Bousselot, who is an attorney, had most recently served as director of the Iowa Department of Management. He was not confirmed for the post by the Iowa Senate this past spring and resigned from the job last month. Bousselot had previously served as Governor Branstad’s top health care advisor, then as Branstad’s chief of staff.

Late yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon, Governor Reynolds set Tuesday, October 12th as the date for a special election in Iowa House District 29, which covers most of Jasper County, including the city of Newton. State Representative Wes Breckenridge, a retired Newton policeman, resigned from the seat last week. He is now the assistant director of the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.

Voters in the Audubon Community School District (Tuesday) approved the adoption of a Revenue Purpose Statement (RPS. According to unofficial results, the measure passed with 92.13% in favor (117 to 10). Voter approval means the District can use revenue from the State of Iowa’s SAVE (Secure an Advanced Vision for Education) Fund, to finish the Middle School/High School Renovation project.

Voters in the district also approved Anne Bomstad-Miller to fill an At Large seat on the Audubon School Board. She had been running unopposed. She garnered 118 votes (92.91%).

[Updated/correction] (Manning, Iowa) – Patrons of the IKM-Manning School District have failed to approve by a 60% majority, a $19.5-million General Obligation Bond Referendum that would have allowed the district to address a series of facilities needs in both Irwin and Manning. That was 56% in favor. The measure needed 60% of the votes to pass.

The results (which are unofficial until canvassed) show the measure was approved in Carroll County by a vote of 847 Yes to 68 No, while in Shelby and Audubon Counties, it failed 450 to 162. Crawford County voters cast 407 NO votes and 170 YES votes.

According to district administrators, the tax rate impact would have amounted to $118 per year on a home with a $100,000 assessed value. For agricultural property, it would have meant an additional $2.63 per acre/year, depending on where you live. The district’s tax rate would have increased from $9.51/$1,000 of taxable valuation to $11.81.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court has set December 1st as the deadline for Iowa lawmakers to approve new boundaries for Iowa congressional and legislative districts. The Legislative Services Agency will release new maps Thursday, part of the once every 10 years process of redrawing congressional and legislative district lines based on new Census data. That data showing shifts in Iowa’s population didn’t get delivered until August — four months late — making it impossible to meet the September 15th constitutional deadline for having a redistricting plan approved.

Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Christensen has issued an order that sets December 1st as the new deadline. The chief justice says Iowa’s redistricting law has been recognized as the nation’s gold standard and has been studied and praised by redistricting commissions in other states. Christensen’s order cited the strict criteria the Legislative Services Agency uses to reconfigure the districts as she granted the legislative branch permission to proceed with the process that’s been used since 1981.

Senate Republican Leader Jack Whitver of Ankeny says he appreciates the supreme court’s work in helping to maintain Iowa’s nationally recognized redistricting process. Governor Kim Reynolds has set October 5th as the date for legislators to reconvene in special session to vote yes or no on the set of maps that will be released this Thursday.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Transportation Commission has approved some driver’s license rule changes to comply with changes passed by lawmakers in the last legislative session. D-O-T Motor Vehicle Division director, Melissa Gillett, says one change involves school licenses. She says the changes allow driving for farm-related purposes with a minor school license if the holder is employed by a farm and the distance driven is no more than 50 miles. Those who are 14-and-half can get a minor school license and drive to and from school and school activities by themselves between 5 a-m and 10 p-m.

“Prior to the 2021 legislative change, driving for farm-related purposes was not a permitted operation of the minor school license,” Gillette says. Gillette says they did have one question about home-school kids being able to use a minor school license for farm work. “A school administrator is required to approve the minor school license — and home school students are eligible to be issued a minor school license if they are dual-enrolled in a school — and their designated school official provides that certificate of need for the license,” according to Gillette.

The Transportation Commission also approved rules allowing drivers who have a commercial driver’s license or C-D-L to renew online. “Prior to the 2021 legislative change, a C-D-L holder was not able to renew their license electronically — even though online renewal has been an option for several years for non-commercial driver’s license holders,” Gillette says. She says the rules create the online C-D-L renewals with a few special provisions those license holders must meet to renew online.

DES MOINES –  Governor Reynolds and the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), Tuesday, announced the recipients of the State of Iowa Broadband Grants Program.  Thirty-nine applicants have been awarded a total of $97,500,000 for broadband infrastructure as part of the latest Empower Rural Iowa Broadband Grant Program. OCIO received 178 applications from broadband providers for the Grant Program with requests nearing $300 million.

Among the recipients in this area, was:

• The Casey Mutual Telephone Company: Rural Fiber Project, $2,648,200.05.
• Manning Municipal Utilities: Manning Rural, Highway 141 north & south NOFA 006, $2,195,220.67.
• Marne & Elk Horn Telephone Company (METC): POtt. County/Underwood rural fiber build – MEH, $4,550,861.64.

(The other Award announcements can be found online here.)

Due to the overwhelming amount of interest and success of this program, the State of Iowa will expedite a new grant opportunity utilizing ARPA federal funds to build upon the $100 million in state funding for this grant program. Details on this new grant opportunity will be released in the near future.