(Cumberland, Iowa) – The next-to-last Cass County Legislative Coffee sponsored by the Progressive Rural Iowa Development Enterprise (P.R.I.D.E), takes place tomorrow (Saturday, March 5th), at the Cumberland Fire Station, beginning at 9:30-a.m.  P.R.I.D.E Vice President Clark Gerlock is hosting the event. Unlike the last time a legislative coffee was held in Cass County, there will be no ZOOM access to Saturday’s meeting.

During the event, Senator Tom Shipley, of Nodaway, and Representative Tom Moore, of Griswold, will take about five-minutes to update persons attending, on the happenings in their respective chambers. A time for questions from the public, will follow.

The final legislative coffee will be held on April 2, at 9:30 a.m. at the Marne Community Center.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Union County Sheriff’s Office says no injuries were reported following a rollover accident this (Friday) morning. Authorities report a 2002 Nissan Xterra SUV driven by 16-year-old Bryce Kelly Hull, of Creston, was entering a curve and traversing a hill, while traveling westbound in the 1600 block of REA Road. When the rear side wheels of the vehicle went onto the gravel, Hull swerved and over-corrected, causing the SUV to enter the north ditch and roll over one-time. The accident happened at around 7:51-a.m.

Hull was able to exit the vehicle on his own.  The SUV was declared a total loss ($7,000 value). No citations were issued.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley has formally declared his bid for reelection to the U.S. Senate, submitting more than nine-thousand petition signatures to qualify for the June Primary ballot. Surrounded by campaign staff and volunteers, Grassley gave a speech in the Iowa Secretary of State’s office, emphasizing his 40 year tenure in the Senate.  “It’s not about Chuck Grassley,” Grassley said. “It’s about serving the people of Iowa, about being the senior member of the United States Senate, to work for the people of Iowa in a stronger position.”

The most senior member of the U.S. Senate today is a Vermont Democrat who’s not seeking reelection. That means Grassley — who’s been a Senator since 1981 — would gain that top seniority spot next January if he’s reelected in November. “Being chairman of the Judiciary Committee if we’re in the majority,” Grassley said. “Being the president pro tem of the United States Senate if we’re in the majority.”

Grassley, who is 88 years old, is seeking an eighth six-year term. Grassley says the political environment is leaning in Republicans’ favor.  “If the election were held today, we’d take control of both the Senate and the House,” Grassley told reporters. “Eight months ahead, to make sure that happens, is just to keep up the hard work.” The key issues for the 2022 election aren’t going away, according to Grassley. “Whether it’s Afghanistan, inflation, open borders, parental rights — you know, things of that nature, crime, energy policy — those things,” Grassley said. “I don’t want to say about the bad handling of Ukraine because I think it takes time to come to the conclusion of where we are there, but we probably know that the bad handling of Afghanistan probably emboldened people like Putin to do what he’s doing.”

Abby Finkenauer of Cedar Rapids, one of the Democrats running for the U.S. Senate, has been criticizing Grassley’s long tenure in office and has pledged to exit the Senate after 12 years if she is elected in 2022 and reelected in 2028. Retired Admiral Mike Franken, western Iowa physician Glenn Hurst and veterans advocate Bob Krause have also announced they’re running for the Iowa Democratic Party’s U.S. Senate nomination.

A pursuit was reported this morning in Adair County. According to scanner traffic, an Adair County Sheriff’s Deputy was in pursuit of a black Dodge Charger, eastbound from Orient, at around 10-a.m. At last report, the suspect vehicle was apparently on I-80 near mile marker 102, in Dallas County.

And, we understand a collision between a car and a semi took place north of Harlan at around 10:10-a.m.  The crash occurred at the intersection of Highway 59 and Shelby County Road F-32. Both vehicles ended-up in the ditch.

Additional details on these incidents are currently not available. If we receive any updates, we’ll pass them along on this post.