(Radio Iowa) – A special election in northwest will determine whether Republicans keep their “supermajority” of 34 seats in the Iowa Senate. The state senate district had been represented by Republican Rocky De Witt of Lawton, a former Woodbury County Supervisor who died of pancreatic cancer in June. The Republican candidate in Tuesday’s special election is Christopher Prosch, who owns a media consulting firm in Sioux City. Prosch says his priority issues are eliminating the state income tax, creating jobs and protecting the rights of property owners against eminent domain.*

(as said) “If I do win, I would still be a vocal supporter of working across the aisle,” Prosch said. “…That’s the great thing about a constitutional republic, the fact that every voice– no matter how big or small — still matters and we still need to work with both parties to get things done.”

Iowa Senate Chamber on 2nd floor of Iowa Capitol (RI file photo)

The Democratic candidate is Catelin Drey of Sioux City, who works for an advertising company. She’s the founder of “Moms of Iowa,” a group that helps Iowans contact their elected officials.

(as said) “We have an affordability crisis in Iowa — in our child care, in our health care and in our housing,” she said. “And now, with the federal policies that have come down, it’s also at the grocery store.”

Woodbury County’s auditor — the top election official in the county — predicts this race will draw higher than normal turnout for a special election. Over two-thousand ballots have already been cast during the early voting period. Republicans have a sizable voter registration edge in the district.

(Radio Iowa) – A Marshalltown man who’s accused of stealing a vehicle is now jailed after a pursuit in Mason City on Thursday night. The Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office says at about 7:25 P.M., a deputy located the vehicle stolen earlier on Thursday from Marshalltown. An attempted traffic stop led to a pursuit, with a passenger during the pursuit jumping from the vehicle and fleeing on foot.

The driver continued but eventually was stopped a few blocks later. Thirty-two-year-old Alexander Kew, formerly from Mason City but currently residing in Marshalltown, was arrested and charged with first-degree theft, second-offense eluding and driving while barred.

He’s being held in the Cerro Gordo County Jail on a total of $14,000 bond. The passenger has not been located.

This is the time of year when some of the rural intersections can be dangerous for drivers who aren’t taking precautions. Trooper Paul Gardner of the Iowa State Patrol says cornfields are a big concern.

Gardner says the rain that helped the corn grow can cause another problem for drivers.

There’s already been at least one fatal accident in Boone County this month at an uncontrolled intersection where the tall corn obstructed the vision of both drivers.

Trooper Gardner says slow down every time and be sure the way is clear before proceeding.

Arrests

8/21/2025 @ 2:00pm

Angel Valdovinos Rodriguez, 42, 309 N. Maple St., was arrested at 215 N. Elm St. Rodriguez was charged with Disorderly Conduct. Rodriguez was taken to Union County Jail. Bail in the amount of $300 cash or surety was posted.

8/22/2025 @ 1:28AM

Harley David Van Scoy, 31, 612 N. Pine St., was arrested at his residence. Van Scoy was charged with Domestic Abuse Assault. Van Scoy was taken to Union County Jail. Bail was set in the amount of No Bond Until Seen by Judge.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak, this (Friday) morning, arrested a man on an OWI charge. Authorities say 41-year-old William Christopher Suggs, of Red Oak, was charged with OWI/1^st Offense. Suggs was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $1,000 bond.

(An article by the Iowa Capital Dispatch, this story was originally published by Pennsylvania Capital-Star) – Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is calling on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in a joint letter to take emergency action to schedule a drug that has been linked to deaths in the state and across the country.

Bromazolam (pronounced Broh’MAZ-uh-lamb) is described in the letter penned August 17th and 20 other state attorneys general as a “designer Xanax.” The prosecutors say the drug is increasingly contributing to overdose deaths and posing a growing threat to public health. It is also highly potent and unpredictable, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday’s office wrote, especially when mixed with opioids. Narcan, which is used to reverse an overdose, is ineffective against the drug in such emergencies.

Bromazolam is unscheduled under the federal Controlled Substances Act. “Despite its clear dangers, bromazolam remains unscheduled at the federal level, creating significant challenges for law enforcement and public health officials trying to respond to this emerging crisis,” the attorneys generals wrote. “Without scheduling, this drug continues to evade traditional regulatory and prosecutorial tools, hindering interdiction efforts and enabling continued distribution through illicit channels.”

“Taking emergency action to schedule bromazolam will help law enforcement remove it from circulation, give prosecutors the tools to hold traffickers accountable, and send a clear signal that this dangerous substance has no place on our streets,” the attorneys general wrote.

“Bromazolam, or ‘Designer Xanax’ is a lethal, counterfeit drug with no medical use that is highly addictive and killing Americans,” Bird said in a statement. “It is already an illegal drug in Iowa, and I strongly urge the DEA to take swift and definite action at the federal level to give law enforcement the tools they need to stop this crisis, save lives, and hold traffickers accountable.”

(Blair, NE) – Police in Blair, Nebraska, late Thursday morning, arrested a woman from western Iowa, after Officers and the Blair Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department responded to a report of a locked vehicle with two small children- ages 3 years and 16-months old – left alone inside, crying and screaming. Fearing the kids were suffering from heat exposure, a Blair Police Sergeant entered the vehicle and recovered the children, who were secured in car seats.

As the Sergeant was removing the children from the vehicle, the children’s mother, later identified as 37-year-old Tanya Knudsen, from Missouri Valley, approached him. The woman said she had been delivering online orders and left the children in the vehicle while she made the deliveries. Witnesses and nearby surveillance cameras confirmed, that the children were left unattended in the vehicle for 25 minutes.

Tanya Knudsen

Blair Fire Rescue used a thermal heat detector and found the temperature inside the vehicle to be over 120 degrees. The two children were taken to Memorial Community Hospital in Blair for heat exposure. They were treated and released to family members under the supervision of Nebraska HHS Child Protective Services.

Tanya Knudsen was booked into the Washington County, Nebraska Jail, for Felony Child Abuse.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa will soon have ten charter schools open statewide, including a new high school in Des Moines’ East Village. Des Moines Prep is operated by Opportunity Education, a nonprofit founded by billionaire Joe Ricketts. This year, Des Moines Prep will offer eighth and ninth grades, with plans to add higher grades in the coming years. Matt Lakis is the school’s founding principal. He says the school is open to students across the state, regardless of learning needs.

(As above) “We don’t tell families you have to be at the top of your class, you don’t have to have a certain skill set or even know what you want to do,” Lakis says. “That’s our job to help them unlock that within themselves. All that we ask is that kids are just willing to work and be challenged, and that’s the sort of student that we’re looking for.”

Lakis says the school is focused on college preparation and fostering connections with the business community. He says offering eighth grade wasn’t part of the original plan but it was added after a number of families expressed interest.

(As above) “With the ability to serve 150 students in our first school year, to get to that number, we’re allowing for an eighth grade, early high school program to be a part of our building,” he says. “As our ninth graders grow, it will become an eight, nine, ten building, then an eight, nine, ten, eleven building and so on.”

The nonprofit is also opening a school in Cedar Rapids and is slated to open one in Davenport next year. Charter schools receive public money and can be tied to a school district but most are independently run after a law change in 2021.

(Radio Iowa) – A parade in Ottumwa tomorrow (Saturday) will celebrate “traditional marriage” after the city council passed a proclamation saying that is a union of a man and a woman. Local Baptist pastor Travis Decker has been leading the effort and says he and others wanted the proclamation after a Pride month proclamation was passed in June. Decker says it celebrates one good thing and he won’t allow hateful messages in the parade.

(as said)“It’s not an attack on anybody. It is the promotion of something that we hold near and dear to our heart, and many people in the community do, and we just wanted to go out and have a fun time with it,” Decker says.

Ottumwa Pride leader Kristen Payne says the proclamation and parade sends a negative message of privilege to L-G-B-T-Q residents because heterosexual marriages have never been under threat.

(as said)“You’ve literally never had this taken away from you. You’ve never been in danger. You’ve never had your life, I mean, just for being who you are, put at risk,” Payne says.

Ottumwa Pride will host a brunch at downtown restaurant during Saturday’s parade. Ottumwa Mayor Richard Johnson said in a statement the proclamation was revised to be more inclusive. It was revised to acknowledge all legal forms of marriages in Iowa.