COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA — A man from Nebraska was sentenced Tuesday (July 20) in Council Bluffs U-S District Court, for drug and firearms offenses. The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa, reports 35-year-old Daniel James Haacke, of Omaha, received a sentence of 160 months in prison. His term of imprisonment is to be followed by four years of supervised release.

According to court documents, Haacke pleaded guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking in February of 2021. Acting United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement.

The Council Bluffs Police Department, Southwest Iowa Narcotics Task Force, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case.

(Radio Iowa) – Legal experts say a federal court’s decision on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, means more waiting for Iowans. The court’s ruling in Texas last week found DACA unconstitutional, which means many peoples’ status is up in the air, according to Jody Mashek, co-legal director at Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice. She says people can still apply for DACA, but their applications won’t go anywhere.  “It’s got to be excruciating for people who have an initial application pending, probably a little scary, too,” Mashek says. “They’ve voluntarily submitted their information to the federal government, when maybe the federal government most likely did not have any knowledge of them.”

Mashek says people in Iowa who either just applied for or were about to apply for DACA are now in a state of limbo. “Based on what I’m hearing, it’s just kind of like, ‘Yeah, what else is new?’” she says. “Like DACA has just been so all over the place for four years and there have been so many times when we thought ‘Okay, this is it.’”

Mashek says the court’s decision is not necessarily final, as the case still needs to go through the appeals process. She estimates there are at least 20 people on her organization’s waiting list to apply for DACA. Before proceeding, the agency is waiting for more guidance from U-S Citizenship and Immigration Services.

(By Kassidy Arena, Iowa Public Radio)

The Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton School Board met Monday evening in a regular session. During their session, the Board approved the 2021 FFA Convention Trip. There are more than 40 FFA members, with at least half attending the convention. This year, the FFA Convention takes place Oct. 26-29 in Indianapolis, IN.

In other business:

• The Board appointed Jan Greving as Board Secretary, following the retirement of Tammy Jacobsen.
• The Board approved the hiring of: Lexi Griffin as Middle School English Language Arts Teacher, and Dara Svendsen, as Human Resources/Administrative Assistant.
• The Exira-EHK Board also accepted the resignation of JoAnne Morenz, High School English Teacher.

DES MOINES, Iowa — The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa today (Wednesday, July 21) announced federal search warrants were executed at more than a dozen located in the Des Moines metropolitan area. The addresses are as follows:
• 1100 block of 24th Street, Des Moines
• 1300 block of 13th Place, Des Moines
• 800 block of Loomis Avenue, Des Moines
• 1200 block of East 32nd Street, Des Moines
• 6300 block of Hickman Road, Des Moines
• 1300 block of Clark Street, Des Moines
• 5100 block of Ingersoll Avenue, Des Moines
• 1700 block of Logan Avenue, Des Moines
• 400 block of Aurora Avenue, Des Moines
• 2200 block of 32nd Street, Des Moines
• 1800 block of 2nd Avenue, Des Moines
• 300 block of East Grand Avenue, Des Moines
• 800 block of East County Line Road, Des Moines

Authorities say the searches were an official law enforcement action involving officers, agents, and investigators from:

• The Mid-Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force & Mid-Iowa NEF Task Force -East
• Central Iowa Gang Task Force
• Des Moines, West Des Moines, Ankeny, Ames, Altoona, and Norwalk Police Departments
• Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement
• Polk and Story County Sheriff’s Offices
• The ATF
• Iowa State Patrol/Iowa State Patrol SWAT
• Iowa Division of Intelligence and Fusion Center
• United States Marshals Service
• Central Iowa Drug Task Force
• DEA
• Homeland Security Investigations
• METRO Star
• SERT
• Iowa 5th Judicial District;
• FBI from Kansas City, Omaha and Minneapolis Divisions

Additional details were not immediately released.

The broadcast News at 8:06-a.m. w/Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.0MB)

Subscribe: RSS

The broadcast News at 7:08-a.m., with Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.0MB)

Subscribe: RSS

(Radio Iowa) – It’s been pretty hot in Iowa in recent weeks, but our grandparents or great-grandparents might recall another sweltering summer many decades ago that was much worse. National Weather Service meteorologist Brooke Hagenhoff says you’d have to go back 85 years to find when many Iowa communities had their all-time steamiest summer. “July of 1936 is the hottest month on record,” Hagenhoff says. “In fact, there were 15 days that had temperatures over 100 degrees, including eight days straight of 100-plus-degree temperatures.” While Iowa is experiencing moderate to severe drought conditions now, we’re still not seeing anything like it was in during the Dustbowl Days of 1936.

“Not only was it really hot, it was extremely dry,” Hagenhoff says. “In fact, only six-hundreds of an inch of rain fell during the entire month of July.” Even though Iowa has come a long way since the 1930s, with modern air conditioning in our homes and vehicles, heat remains the number-one weather killer in the state, not lightning, flooding, tornadoes or anything else. That long-ago summer was also exceptionally deadly. “By July 15th of 1936 in Iowa alone, there were over 232 fatalities due to the heat,” Hagenhoff says, “and there would be more that would occur later that summer as well.”

High temperatures for the next several days are expected to climb into the 80s and 90s for much of the state.

(Radio Iowa) – Forecasters say temperatures across much of Iowa will be climbing into the low to mid 90s for the next several days and pet owners are being reminded about what should be obvious by now. Four dogs were left in hot vehicles in Des Moines last weekend. Joe Stafford, Director of Animal Services at the Animal Rescue League of Iowa, says in one case, two dogs were trapped in a locked car at Blank Park Zoo. “It was into the low to mid 80s at the time and the inside of the car reached 109 degrees,” Stafford says. “There were two dogs left in the car by a customer of the zoo that appeared to be in distress. Luckily, the Des Moines Police Department was quick to respond.”

The owner of the vehicle was paged in the zoo but didn’t respond, so police broke out a window to rescue the animals, both of which were conscious but with very high body temperatures. Stafford says, “They just needed to be cooled down by putting them into an air-conditioned vehicle, giving them water and eventually, transporting them back to our facility so they could be checked out by our medical staff.” In the other case, two dogs were left in a vehicle at Merle Hay Mall. In addition to having broken windows, each of the owners were issued citations for neglect.

ARL photo

Leaving a window cracked open does virtually no good for cooling the passenger compartment, Stafford says, and neither does parking in the shade.

“Anything over 80 degrees, just leave your furry family members at home where they’re safe and comfortable,” Stafford says. “Take them on a car ride to the dog park or something if we’re looking to go for a car ride but just do not leave animals unattended in a vehicle.” In his 20-plus years in the industry, Stafford says he hears about cases like these every summer and he’s confounded as to why some pet owners don’t ever seem to get the message. “When your vehicle has been parked out in the sun, go get in your vehicle and try to sit in it for ten minutes,” Stafford says. “Most people will find that you’re immediately perspiring as your body is trying to keep itself cool. If you’re reacting that way, your animals are certainly going to react that way because most of them are wearing a fairly heavy fur coat.”

He urges Iowans, if you see a pet (or a child) alone in a car, call it in, as your action could save a life. For more information on summer pet safety tips: https://www.arl-iowa.org/news/pet-tips-/5-summer-heat-safety-tips-for-pets/.

6:00 am All livestock (not poultry) may begin arriving
7 am – 8 am Enter Rabbits (west end of the Dairy Barn – exhibitors: do not enter through the pit area)
7 am – 8:30 am Weigh Swine
10 am – 2 pm 4-H/FFA Center Open for Clubs to Decorate
8:30 am – 10 am Weigh lead market beef followed by junior feeder pen cattle
10 am – 10:30 am Weigh Bucket/Bottle Calves
10:30 am – 11 am Weigh Meat Goats
11 am – 12 pm Weigh Sheep
12 pm – 3 pm Quilt Show Entry – Varied Industries Building
1:00 pm Bucket/Bottle Calf & Bottle Lamb Records Due to 4-H/FFA Center Supreme Showman Written Test – 4-H/FFA Center
1 pm – 7 pm Mobile Glass Studios (glass blowing creations)
2:00 pm Dog Show – Mid American Arena
4:00 pm Announce results Crops Contest – Swine Show Ring Livestock Judging Contest (Registration 3:30 pm) – Swine Show Ring
4 pm – 6 pm Discover the Fair Scavenger Hunt – Courtyard
4 pm – 7 pm Conservation Station Trailer – Courtyard
5 pm – 8 pm Jesse and the Medicine Men – Gazebo Quilt Show – Varied Industries Building
6:00 pm Free BBQ Hamburger/Pork Burger Meal – Courtyard 4-H Silent Auction Begins – 4-H/FFA Center Ice Cream Social (Historical Society) – Courtyard
6:00 pm Photos: Exhibit Building State Fair Selections – 4-H/FFA Center
8:00 pm GAZEBO PRESENTATIONS

• Little Miss and Little Mister Adair County
• Local Conservation Awards – Adair County Soil & Water Conservation District
• Fair Quilt Auction
• Adair County Extension & Outreach: 4-H Hall of Fame and 4-H Senior Recognition
• Adair County Fair Queen
• Fireworks