(Radio Iowa) – Hundreds of workers at a J-B-S plant in Ottumwa were given 90 days to find new work authorizations after the Trump administration revoked their legal statuses. Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice spokesperson Elena Casillas-Hoffman says workers at other plants across the state are facing the same pressures.  “With the limited options that they have, what you’re going to see is that many individuals are going to be pushed to an undocumented status, potentially. So, you know, J-B-S in Ottumwa is one example of many, as more and more statuses are pulled and individuals are trying to find, what are their next steps?,” she says. Casillas-Hoffman says her organization has also heard of status terminations impacting workers in Marshalltown, Storm Lake and Sioux City.

“They’re now potentially going to face the idea that they and their families could become undocumented,” Casillas-Hoffman says. She says they’re trying to find new ways to legally remain in the country. “The increasing terror, the increasing surveillance and the increasing possibilities that come with being an undocumented person in the United States is a very real threat to many,” she says. The move affects Haitian, Venezuelan, Cuban and Nicaraguan immigrants who lived and worked in the United States under a special humanitarian parole program.

Individuals under humanitarian parole work in a variety of different fields, but Casillas-Hoffman says a large number work in meatpacking.

(Radio Iowa) – Long before there was T-V or the internet, Iowans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries would gather during the summer for events called “chautauquas,” to share food and drink, and to hear speakers on topics like history, art, and philosophy. An event later this month aims to recapture the spirit of those gatherings. Nathan Beacom is founder of the Lyceum Movement, which is sponsoring the third annual Des Moines Festival of Ideas. “We have speakers coming from around Iowa, but also around the country, people who are scholars and thinkers and writers and leaders,” Beacom says. “We’re talking about this theme of Trust in America, which I think is really timely right now. And there’s food, we have Australian pies and beer and wine and things like that.”

Polls continue to find public trust is failing in institutions like the media and the government. “We’re going to consider why that is and what it would mean to be trustworthy,” Beacom says. “So, Trust in Media, we have a few well-known journalists who are going to talk about what do they think it would mean for the media to be trustworthy and why have people lost trust? Similarly, we’ve got some figures from local government who are going to share their thoughts on that as well.” Other topics will include trust in religion, trust in technology, and trust in medicine. The two-day festival is designed to inspire those in the audience to discuss the topics and actually talk to one another face to face, Beacom says, with the goal of being conversational, not confrontational.

“We’re not trying to talk about heated topics. In general, we’re talking about the bigger ideas of why does trust matter in a society and what can we do to build trust together,” Beacom says. “We try to keep things on the level of big ideas rather than talking about this or that politician, or this or that law.” The non-partisan event is scheduled for next weekend, August 15th and 16th, in downtown Des Moines.

https://www.lyceummovement.org/tallgrass

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak arrested a Mills County man Tuesday evening, on a Montgomery County warrant for Violation of Probation. 32-year-old Matthew Russell Archer, of Glenwood, was arrested at around 5:30-p.m., and transported to the Montgomery County Jail. His cash-only bond was set at $5,000.

(Radio Iowa) – The Algona Municipal Airport’s concrete runway has closed this week for a project to address potential safety issues flagged by the Federal Aviation Administration. An F-A-A Flight Obstruction study identified U-S Highway 18 as an obstruction to planes approaching from the north. Barb Smith, Algona’s Deputy City Administrator, says the south end of the runway is being extended by 240 feet.

“The FAA said we could not have night landings on the concrete runway approaching from the north because it was too close to the highway,” Smith says, “so what we’re doing is we’re displacing that part of the runway and moving it to the south end.” The construction is expected to take four months, but weather could cause delays.  “We’re hoping this is the last stage of this project that’s been going on since, I believe, 2013,” Smith says.

New lighting that helps pilots see the approach path to the concrete runway is being installed. Smith says the Algona airport’s grass runway is still open and can handle all the planes that typically land on the concrete runway. “Some of your jets don’t want to use the grass runway,” Smith says. “They’ll have to divert somewhere else for the time being.”

The Algona Airport is two miles west of the intersection of U.S. Highways 18 and 169 and it can accommodate small and mid-sized jets. According to a 2022 report from the Iowa D-O-T, Algona’s airport has over 25-hundred visitors and generates five MILLION dollars in economic activity each year.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Officials with the Glenwood Police Department, Tuesday evening said the Glenwood Redevelopment Corporation has chosen to invest in additional security at the former Glenwood Resource Center Campus, and has partnered with the Glenwood Police Department and the Mills County Sheriff’s Office, to provide the added security, in light of the increased trespassing, vandalism, and thefts that have been occurring.

Authorities say “Anyone caught in violation of the campus hours or committing crimes will be charged to the full extent of the law.”

Campus hours are from daylight to dusk. After dusk, campus is closed unless present for a lawful purpose with Glen Haven or the Glenwood Community School District. The Glenwood Redevelopment Corporation took ownership of the 250-acre property earlier this year after the state closed the GRC last year.

CRESTON, Iowa – Aug. 5, 2025 – If you travel on eastbound Interstate 80 to reach I-35 and I-235 at the Southwest Mixmaster in West Des Moines you need to be aware of an upcoming nighttime road closure that may slow down your trip, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Creston construction office.

Crews will close eastbound I-80 from Grand Prairie Parkway (exit 118) to the Southwest Mixmaster from 9 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10, to 5 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 11, weather permitting, so a reconfiguration change can be made to the roadway because of a closure to the eastbound I-80 loop at Jordan Creek Parkway (exit 121).

During this closure you will follow a marked detour route using Grand Prairie Parkway (exit 118), and University Avenue, to reach I-35/I-80 (exit 124).

Detour map for I80 Eastbound from Grand Prairie Parkway to the SW Mixmaster.

The Iowa DOT reminds motorists to drive with caution, obey the posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, drivers should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.

Farm tenants and landowners are invited to attend the August 13 meeting in Atlantic

Atlantic, Iowa – Iowa State University Extension and Outreach in Cass County is hosting a farmland leasing meeting on Wednesday, August 13 at 2 PM. The meeting will be presented by Tim Christensen, Farm Management Specialist with ISU Extension and Outreach at the Cass County Community Center, 805 West 10^th Street in Atlantic. The annual meeting is offered to address questions that landowners, tenants or other interested individuals have about leasing farmland. The 2025 annual survey of cash rental rates for Iowa farmland shows that rates decreased, on average, by 2.9% in 2025 to $271 per acre. This is the first decline in cash rents since 2019, after a peak of $279 per acre the previous two years of the survey.

Topics will include land values, market outlook, and cash rent trends, cost of production, methods for determining a fair rental rate, legal updates regarding leases and communicating with tenants or landowners. Farm Management Field Specialists will also address common questions when a lease is impacted by a farm estate or succession plan.

“More than half of Iowa’s farmland is rented, and strong landlord/tenant relationships are important for the long-term viability of Iowa’s valuable farmland,” said Ann Johanns, program specialist at Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. “While the trend in rental rates is fairly steady, individual agreements vary and attending a workshop is a great way to learn more or ask questions on specific aspects of farm lease arrangements.”

Tim Christensen, ISU Farm Management Specialist, speaks with an attendee at a previous meeting in Atlantic. (Photo credit: Lisa Scarbrough)

The two-and-a-half-hour workshop is designed to assist landowners, farm tenants and other agri-business professionals with current issues related to farmland ownership, management and leasing arrangements. Attendees will gain a better understanding of current cash rental rate surveys and factors driving next year’s rents such as market trends and input costs.

Each registrant will receive a 100-page workbook with resources regarding land leasing agreements such as surveys, sample written lease agreements and termination forms, along with many other publications. The workbook may be included in the registration fee in some county meetings and available for purchase in others.

Attend a local meeting

Registration is $25 per individual and includes materials. Pre-registration is encouraged as an additional $5 fee may be added if registering less than two calendar days before the meeting date. To register contact the Cass County Extension office at 712-243-1132 or email keolson@iastate.edu.

The leasing meetings being held across Iowa are facilitated by farm management specialists with ISU Extension and Outreach, for other locations, visit the Ag Decision Maker events page at https://go.iastate.edu/AGDMEVENTS.

The Ag Decision Maker website provides useful materials for negotiating leases, information on various types of leases, lease forms and newly updated Decision Tools.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The 2025 Cass County Fair wrapped up on Tuesday, July 29^th with the annual livestock auction. A total of 333 head of livestock were auctioned off, capping many months of work for Cass County 4-H and FFA livestock project members. Market beef, sheep, goat, swine, rabbit and poultry exhibitors participated in the sale, gaining a little extra reward from local community supporters for their hard work.

Including the Bucket of Junk participants who took part in the Monday night auction, 99 total youth will be receiving proceeds from the sale to help support their future project and educational activities. The Monday night fundraising auction also featured a sale of pies baked by local celebrities and fair supporters. Over 90 local community supporters chipped in to help support the youth members, with proceeds from both sales totaling $288,303 according to officials with Rolling Hills Bank & Trust, who volunteer their services to clerk the sale each year.

For more information about the Cass County Fair or the Cass County 4-H program, call the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132 or visit www.extension.iastate.edu/cass.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa City Fire Department is using a new system that will let drivers know when they are approaching a truck that is on a call. Battalion Chief Zach Hickman says it will be particularly important when crews are responding to calls on Interstate 80. “It puts out a signal and alerts drivers of an emergency vehicle ahead. So when we turn on our lights and sirens, it activates the system and sends out an automated message,” Hickman says He says the automatic nature of the system is important.

“That’s one of the best things about this, we don’t have to do anything on our end, and then the civilian in their vehicle, they don’t have to do anything on their end,” he says. Hickman says the volume of traffic on I-80 makes it important for drivers to know what is happening. “The interstate is one of the most dangerous places that anybody can be from a civilian to a first responder, so the more notice we can give, the better,” Hickman says.

Iowa City’s fire department is using a new warning system for motorists. (photo from Iowa City FD)

The automated warning doesn’t go out to every car and truck on the road, but he says they have continued to expand the number of those that will get the signal. “If they’re using either Waze maps or Apple maps it automatically pops up, but otherwise if they’re driving a RAM, Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, or Volkswagen, it’s going to just pop up on the dash that there’s an emergency vehicle ahead,” Hickman says. And hopefully that will be enough warning for them and they’ll take notice of that to slow down and move over or at least be prepared for it.”

Hickman says they currently have the device on the battalion command vehicle and get reports on its use. “Just last month, just the emergency calls of the battalion chief truck went on, it says over 150 drivers were notified, received notification of alerts,” he says. Hickman says they hope to add the system to more vehicles in the next six months. He is not aware of any other departments using this system in Iowa.