DES MOINES, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – Gov. Kim Reynolds’ budget request for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is seeking an additional $1 million for the department’s derelict building program, more than doubling the program’s current budget.  The program helps small communities across the state deal with things like asbestos, deteriorating structures or hazardous chemicals found in abandoned buildings.

DNR works with local communities to promote material recycling and landfill diversion as these rundown buildings are taken down to make room for new community spaces. According to DNR, the program has diverted more than $3 million in landfill disposal fees for communities across the state.

DNR Director Kayla Lyon said in a House appropriations subcommittee Monday that currently the program is funded through landfill tipping fees – a fee on solid waste – at a rate of about $400,000 annually.  Lyon said those funds went to 10 different projects in 2025, and that every year there is more demand for the program than what the department can fund.

Reynolds’ fiscal year 2027 request for the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund seeks $1 million toward DNR’s derelict building program, a program not previously funded outside of the landfill tipping fees.  Lyon said the $1 million appropriation, if the Legislature approves it, would fund the program in addition to the approximately $400,000 coming from tipping fees.

According to a presentation from the department, to date the program has helped to repurpose 91% of the demolition materials generated from the projects.  Many of the past projects have included asbestos abatement and the deconstruction of buildings. Once razed, the spaces have accommodated new construction projects, or have been converted into community spaces like parks.

Lyon said the money that communities with under 5,000 residents receive from the program is important, but so is the technical advice the department is able to provide through the process.

The remainder of the fiscal year 2027 request for the department mirrored that of the current fiscal year. The governor’s request totaled $113.9 million for the department. This figure includes everything from department operations, state park maintenance, water and air quality monitoring, fish and wildlife operations, state water trails and other areas overseen by DNR.

(Red Oak, IA) – A man from the central Iowa town of Grimes was arrested Tuesday evening in Red Oak, on a warrant out of Johnston. Red Oak Police report 23-year-old Devon James Jackson was arrested at around 6:20-p.m., in the 800 block of Senate Avenue, in Red Oak.

Jackson’s arrest was based on a warrant for 3rd Degree Sexual Abuse/1st offense.

He was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held without bond.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has passed a bill that would require at least 70 percent of the University of Iowa’s nursing students to be Iowa high school graduates. Representative Timi Brown-Powers, a Democrat from Waterloo, says nursing programs at other Iowa schools have more openings than students — and this would put pressure on them to close.

“House File 2226 would worsen the problem by requiring the University of Iowa to admit 70% of those Iowa residents, pulling those students from our small or private colleges,” Brown-Powers said. Representative John Wills, a Republican from Spirit Lake, says this move follows last year’s law that requires at least 80 percent of students admitted to the University of Iowa’s Dental and Medical Schools be Iowa residents or a student from another Iowa college.

“I’ve got several stories, many stories in fact of people from Iowa who’ve graduated from our high schools, one particular woman — a young lady from Dubuque who had a 29 ACT and above 4.0 grade point average and was denied admission to the University of Iowa Medical School.”

Another bill eligible for House debate this year would require that 80 percent of students accepted into the University of Iowa College of Law be Iowa residents or a student who’s graduated from an Iowa college or university.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill that would freeze undergraduate tuition at Iowa’s three public universities for five years has won overwhelming approval in the Iowa House. The tuition rate set for this fall at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa would be in place through July of 2031 if the bill becomes law. Representative Taylor Collins, a Republican from Mediapolis, says it would give students predictability and push the universities to cut costs.

“I think we’re at a point when it comes to higher education that we can’t just keep giving them more money and hoping and praying they don’t raise tuition and so that’s one of the reasons why we moved forward this tuition freeze, to make sure that we’re drawing a line in the sand,” Collins says. “We have to find other ways to cut expenditures.” The bill passed on an 86-to-five vote. Democrats like Representative Adam Zabner of Iowa City have recently proposed freezing students’ tuition, but they also argue the state support Iowa, Iowa State and U-N-I needs to increase.

“In the year 2000, about a third of the universities’ funding came from tuition and two-thirds was covered by the state appropriations,” Zabner said. “Nowadays because the legislature has starved our universities, that mix has flipped.” Zabner says the state needs to provide more than a third of the funding for the three state universities.

If the tuition freeze were to go into effect, the Legislative Services Agency estimates Iowa, Iowa State and U-N-I would get about 200 million dollars less in tuition revenue during the five year period.

(Creston, IA) – Officials with the Creston Police Department say there were no serious injuries reported following a collision that occurred just before 7:30-p.m. Tuesday, on Highway 34 (the 500 block of W. Taylor St.), in Creston. Authorities say both drivers had been checked-out by my medics and did not require transport to the hospital.

The investigating report said a 2012 Chevy Travers driven by 18-year old Seth Gordon, of Creston, was beginning to turn left off of Highway 34 into a parking lot, when his vehicle was struck from behind by a 2016 Chevy Malibu that was driven by 17-year-old Ryan Reed, of Ellston.

Reed told officers he looked in his side view mirror to change lanes, and when he looked up, all he saw was brake lights, before his car hit the SUV.

Both vehicles sustained disabling damage, with the Malibu’s damage estimated at $15,000. The vehicle was declared a total loss. Damage to the SUV was estimated by police to be approximately $5,000. Creston Police cited Reed for Following too Close.

(Photo from Facebook by Chuck Spindler with the Creston Fire Dept.)

LEWIS, Iowa – The Wallace Foundation will hold an educational event for the public, followed by its annual business meeting, on March 6 at the Armstrong Memorial Research and Demonstration Farm in Lewis. Registration will begin at 9:30 a.m., followed by a welcome address from Mark Bentley, president of the Wallace Foundation. From 10 a.m. to noon, attendees will hear updates from two Iowa State University experts in nitrogen management and usage in Iowa.

Matt Helmers, professor and director of the Iowa Nutrient Research Center (INRC) at ISU, will discuss what the center has observed regarding nitrates. Melissa Miller, project director of the INRC at ISU, will follow and share how to best manage nitrogen applications for maximum return, as well as new research on nitrogen management in Iowa from field trials conducted over the past several years.

The Wallace Foundation is a non-profit organization focused on research specific to farmers in Southwest Iowa and is actively looking for new members to set the direction of research to benefit farmers in the area. The annual business meeting of the Wallace Foundation will be held at 1 p.m.

The event is offered at no cost to attend and includes lunch by Downtowner Cafe and Catering. Attendees are asked to pre-register by March 2 to help with facility and meal planning. To register, email farm superintendent Matt Groves at mjgroves@iastate.edu or call him at 712-769-2402. The meeting will be held at the Wallace Foundation Learning and Outreach Center, located at 53020 Hitchcock Avenue, Lewis, Iowa 51544.

For more information, contact Aaron Saeugling at 712-254-0082 or clonz5@iastate.edu.

(Atlantic, IA)  – The Atlantic Police Department says nine people were arrested on various charges from Feb. 14th through the 23rd.

On the 14th, 24-year-old Benard McGee, of Atlantic, was arrested for Robbery in the 2nd and Theft in the 5th Degrees.

Three people were arrested by Atlantic Police on the 15th of this month: 45-year-old Matthew Steffen, of Atlantic, was arrested for OWI/3rd or subsequent offense; 33-year-old Nathan Frazier, of Atlantic, was arrested for Violation of a No Contact Order; and, 39-year-old Ruben Eram, of Atlantic, was arrested for Harassment in the 2nd Degree.

The A-PD says 23-year-old Dayleen Ruben, of Atlantic, was arrested Feb. 16th for Simple Assault. The following day, 36-year-old Ryan Beach, of Atlantic, was arrested for: Going Armed with Intent; Assault while displaying a dangerous weapon; Possession of a controlled substance/1st offense (Marijuana), and Possession of drug paraphernalia.

On Feb. 18th, Officers with the Atlantic Police Department arrested 45-year-old Matthew Steffens, of Atlantic, on a warrant for Violation of Probation. On the 19th, 40-year-old Tony Mayo, of Atlantic, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault/Display-use of a Weapon.And, 21-year-old Auni Nowell, of Atlantic, was arrested Feb. 23rd for Disorderly Conduct – Fighting/ Violent Behavior.

Two people were cited into court by Atlantic Police:

On Feb 10th, 41-year-old Elizabeth Jackson, of Atlantic, was charged with Lottery – Forgery or Theft of Tickets, and Lottery – Fraud, Coercion, or Tampering. And, on the 18th, 22-year-old Todd Schwab, of Atlantic, was charged with Simple Assault.

(Griswold, IA; Updated 2:04-p.m., 2/24/26) – Sheriff’s officials in Cass County (IA) have confirmed one person died during a residential structure fire early this (Tuesday) morning, at 68444 560th Street, east of Griswold.

In a statement, authorities say firefighters from Griswold, Lewis, and Cumberland responded to the at approximately 6:07 a.m. on February 24. Upon arrival, the home was fully engulfed and starting to collapse. After the fire was extinguished, responders located a deceased individual inside.

Photo submitted to KJAN News

The Iowa State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire. The victim’s name is being withheld pending an autopsy and notification of next of kin.

Other agencies assisting at the scene included Cass EMS, and the Cass County Sheriff’s Office.

(Radio Iowa) – Republicans on the Iowa House Government Oversight Committee have issued a report blasting the court system for concealing its misdirection of 25 million dollars’ worth of court fees and fines. It also criticizes State Auditor Rob Sand for failing to investigate the problem. Representative Charley Thomson, a Republican from Charles City who wrote the report, says court officials failed to fix a computer glitch that distributed the money incorrectly.

“When the judicial branch discovered a massive problem with public funds, they made a choice,” Thomson said. “They chose silence over transparency. They chose consultants who couldn’t audit over auditors who could. They chose three years of quiet fumbling over one honest phone call to this legislature.” The report recommends hiring a private firm to take over distributing court debt to more than a dozen entities — including cities, sheriffs’ departments and victim service organizations. Thomson says the court system has proven it cannot handle the job.

“The judicial branch holds Iowa attorneys to exacting standards, which they should. Handle client money wrong, you lose you license…Make excuses about how complicated it is, the courts don’t really want to hear,” Thomson said. “But when it’s their money, their systems, their mistake suddenly the rules are too complicated…Suddenly it’s somebody else’s fault. That’s not accountability. That’s arrogance.” Thomson says the State Auditor’s Office was notified about the court system errors in the fall of 2022 and failed to take action.

“They deferred to the judicial branch to fix its own mess,” Thomson said. “…When we asked Auditor Sand about this he told us it was ‘fundamentally not an audit issue.’ $25 million send to the wrong accounts and the state auditor says it’s not an audit issue. If it’s not an audit issue, I don’t know what is.” The report recommends hiring a private auditing firm to trace every dollar of court fees and fines over the three year period to identity when the errors started and when they were fixed. Thomson — who is chairman of the House Government Oversight Committee — says he’s not sure the problem has been completely solved.

“I have no reason to think that there’s a particular malicious person who stole the money, but until we have traceability on the funds, I’m concerned about it,” Thomson said. “We’re going to keep chasing it.”

The six Republicans on the House Oversight Committee approved Thomson’s report. The four Democrats on the panel voted against it, citing a concern about hiring a private company to start handling court fees and fines. Neither the court system nor Sand’s office have responded to Radio Iowa’s request for comment on the report.