(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, this (Tuesday) morning, passed a resolution accepting a bid for a new pipe culvert on G Avenue. Barry Byers, Assistant to County Engineer Karen Albert provided the Board with a report on Secondary Roads Department maintenance and activities.

Representatives with TKE Elevator were on-hand during the meeting to discuss the Montgomery County Courthouse elevator repair/replacement project options that are available. It was estimated a complete “turn-key” elevator could be in-place and ready to go in about four-to-five weeks at the most, once the Board approves the plan.

MC-BOS 7-22-25

The current elevator was installed in 1984. Replacement parts -especially the technology needed to operate the elevator – are either impossible to find or not available. The Board wants to be pro-active in keeping the elevator operational. No decision was made on the project at this time.

The Montgomery County Supervisors passed a resolution with regard to the Interfund Transfer of funds from Capital Projects to the Debt Service Fund. Auditor Jill Ozuna explained…

The Board also discussed a DNR proposed ordinance with regard to a the County’s participation in a National Flood Insurance Plan.

(Griswold, Iowa) – Members of the Griswold School Board, Monday evening, approved the purchase of an app for all students, athlete and non-athlete alike, that will help determine their cognitive ability, following a concussion. The idea came from Griswold Athletic Director Cole Cooper, who conducted a lot of research on ways to better serve the District’s kids.

(That’s Griswold Superintendent Dave Henrichs) Henrichs says Cooper found a program called SWAY that is available to students and parents on a phone app.

The Griswold School Board liked the idea so much, Henrichs said they will ask all students in seventh-through 12th grade to download the app, whether they are an athlete or not.

The app will cost the District roughly $700 plus four-dollars for every student over the 150 student athletes that wishes to use it.

(Polk County, Iowa) – A collision Monday morning in central Iowa’s Polk County, east of Rising Sun, resulted in three adults and two teens being injured. According to the Iowa State Patrol, a 2019 Honda Insight driven by 74-year-old Bruce Kyle Spates, of Overland Park, Kansas, was traveling south on NE 112th Street at around 9:15-a.m., and had stopped at the posted intersection before pulling away from the stop sign and in front of a 2014 Buick Enclave (SUV) driven by 38-year-old Cody Bryan Hedgecock, of Agency (IA).

The impact caused the car to roll down an embankment and become submerged in water. The SUV was sent spinning following the collision, and came to rest in the median. Both drivers were injured in the crash. Three other passengers in the SUV, 37-year-old Katie Hedgecock, 16-year old Peyton McKenzie Hedgecock and 14-year-old Asa Cole Hedgecock, all of Agency, were also injured. Occupants of the SUV were transported by ambulance to Mercy One Hospital in Des Moines. Bruce Spates was transported by LifeFlight helicopter to Methodist Hospital in Des Moines.

Numerous agencies assisted at the crash scene, Monday morning.

(Radio Iowa) – [UPDATED] A northwest Iowa county is looking at changing its zoning code to permit nuclear power. Woodbury County Supervisor Mark Nelson says for the county to grow, more power is needed, and that could include a small water nuclear reactor. “It’s kind of the future because it’s such a small footprint it’s really not dangerous,” he says, “and you can produce a lot of power without all the carbon emissions and everything else.” Nelson says a small water nuclear reactor would help provide enough energy for a major employer, including a data center.

“We just want to be known and be open that we want to grow,” he says. “And if there’s infrastructure or things that we need to do to entice people to come here, we want to do that.” Nelson says there isn’t a specific project in the works and, if one were to happen, it would take a minimum of ten years. MidAmerican Energy currently operates two coal plants in Woodbury County. Environmental groups say coal fired power plants cause higher rates of asthma and other health issues.

A public hearing was held Tuesday in Woodbury County to discuss a zoning change for nuclear power plants. Following the hearing, the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed the first reading of the zoning ordinance change. The next two public hearings are scheduled for July 29th, and August 5th, at the Woodbury County Courthouse.

The owner of the Duane Arnold nuclear power plant in eastern Iowa, near Palo, is considering whether to bring the plant back online to meet growing electricity demand. The plant was scheduled to be decommissioned permanently in the fall of 2020, but was shut down early due to damage from the derecho in August of 2020.

(Radio Iowa) – A federal judge has temporarily blocked parts of a new state law regulating pharmacy benefit managers — the P-B-Ms that negotiate prescription drug prices — but only for businesses that joined in a lawsuit challenging the law. The law does several things, like requiring a nearly 11 dollar fee for every prescription filled. The Iowa Pharmacy Association says that will help independent and rural pharmacies that P-B-Ms are forcing to fill prescriptions at a loss. Critics say the law will escalate costs for companies that provide prescription drug benefits.

The Iowa Association of Business and Industry, the benefit plan for the Iowa Bankers Association, Des Moines Orthopaedic Surgeons, Iowa Spring Manufacturing in Adel and a health and welfare fund for union members sued — and those groups will not have to follow parts of the law the judge put on hold while the case makes its way through the courts.

The federal judge’s ruling says the law likely crosses constitutional lines in multiple ways — like suppressing the First Amendment rights of companies to tell their employees which pharmacies offer the best price for medications.

(Griswold, Iowa) – The Griswold School Board held it’s regular monthly meeting Monday evening (July 21st). Superintendent Dave Henrichs told KJAN News the Board approved resignations, transfers and new hires.

Henrichs said there are still a couple of para-professional positions to fill.

The Board also approved priority maintenance projects for the District’s outside facilities, as a follow-up to their walk-through in May, and prioritization of those projects.

In other business, the Griswold School Board re-appointed Dan Rold as Business Manager/Treasurer, a position he’s held for 12 years, and Hannah Bierbaum as Board Secretary, a position she’s held for 6-years. They set September 4th at 5:30-p.m., as the date and time for a Board Work Session to continue work on their Strategic Plan. The Board has been working on that for a couple of years.

They also discussed the results of staff exit interviews conducted by Hannah Bierbaum or Dan Rold. The administration will dive into further discussion at a later date on how to address matters brought-up by departing District employees that might make for a more positive working environment.

(Creston, Iowa) – A southwest Iowa man was arrested Monday night on drug charges, in Creston, According to the Creston Police Department, 41-year-old Douglas Matthew Sheldon, of Lenox, was arrested a little before 8-p.m. Sheldon was charged at the Union County Law Enforcement Center with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Possession of a Controlled Substance, Marijuana – 1st Offense. He was being held in the Union County Jail.

(Radio Iowa) – Forecasters say Iowa is in for a string of hot, humid and MUGGY days. National Weather Service meteorologist Alexis Jimenez says most of the state will be cooking this afternoon, tomorrow, and likely daily into the weekend. “We’ll see highs probably in the low 90s,” Jimenez says, “but the bigger story will be how hot it will feel because of that humidity.” The combined heat and humidity creates a heat index, what some call a misery index, and it’s expected to feel like it’s at least 105 degrees in many Iowa communities during the afternoons, and in some places, it’ll feel like it’s even hotter.

“Portions of southeast Iowa especially will not only be hot during the day, but even overnight their lows probably won’t get much lower than 75 degrees,” Jimenez says, “so even at night, there won’t be a ton of relief.”

Today’s (Tuesday’s) leg of the statewide bicycle ride RAGBRAI is the longest of the week-long adventure, at nearly 74 miles from Estherville to Forest City. State softball and baseball tournaments are also underway.