(Perry, Iowa) – The parents of the 17-year-od student who killed a sixth grader and wounded seven others in Perry High School last week say they had no inkling he intended to commit such heinous acts. In a written statement released by their attorney, Jack and Erin Butler said they simply do not understand why their son chose to do what he did. The Butlers say they are devastated and their grief for all the victims is immeasurable. The couple says they are helping authorities who are investigating the shooting and hope to find answers that will prevent other young people from harming others.

(Radio Iowa) – For many Iowans, this will be the first snow they’ve shoveled since -last- winter, and the experts say such strenuous exercise can be very hard on the heart. Meteorologist Peter Speck, at the National Weather Service office in Davenport, says this snowfall may be particularly difficult to remove from our sidewalks and driveways. “What we’re expecting with this is a lot of moisture with the snow, and what happens with that is, it tends to make the snow a bit heavier, more water content in the snow,” Speck says. “We call that a very low snow ratio here in weather terms, and when we see that, we typically have more weight to the snow.” It’s recommended you only try to shovel small amounts of snow with each pass, and that you stay hydrated and take plenty of breaks, especially with a heavy, wet snow.

“That can make things a bit more difficult for folks who have difficulties with lifting, or who are prone to more issues, such as cardiac issues, to be able to clear that snow,” Speck says. “We do encourage folks to take it easy out there if they do find themselves needing to clear the snow because this will be a bit heavier and wetter nature.” Temperatures are expected to drop throughout the week, and Speck says another winter storm could be just a few days away.

“We’re looking at potentially more accumulating snow,” Speck says. “We’re looking at very, very cold air coming in, temperatures potentially Saturday and Sunday only climbing into the single digits for most of us, and then when you combine any wind, that’s going to produce wind chills below zero, maybe even below minus-20 for some during the overnight hours, especially Saturday night and into Sunday morning.” Keep up with the changing forecast at weather-dot-gov.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds will unveil her 2024 legislative priorities during tonight’s (Tuesday’s) “Condition of the State” address.  “I’ll share some ideas that I think will continue our momentum and success,” Reynolds said, “continue to challenge the status quo and continue to empower Iowans.” Reynolds made THOSE comments Monday morning as she spoke at a Republican fundraiser. This is the 8th year Republicans will control the legislative and executive branches of state government.

“We’re not just about talk,” Reynolds said. “We’re about doing things and making a difference.” Reynolds, though, jokes that the House chamber where she’ll speak tonight (Tuesday) may not be packed.

“Might not be anybody there. I don’t know. It sounds like we’re finally going to get winter in the state of Iowa,” Reynolds said, drawing chuckles from the audience. “We’re been pretty lucky so far.” Tonight’s address is scheduled to start at six o’clock.

DES MOINES – Today (Monday), Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a disaster proclamation that authorizes the use and deployment of all available state resources, supplies, equipment, and materials to continue to assist Dallas County and the Perry Community in their response to and recovery from the tragic January 4^th shooting at Perry High School.  

“Through this proclamation, I am unleashing the full power of state government to help Perry High School, the Perry community, and Dallas County recover from this senseless tragedy,” said Gov. Kim Reynolds. 

The Department of Public Safety, the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, and other state agencies have been supporting the community since the shooting on January 4^th. The proclamation activates the emergency authorities of all state agencies, prompts enhanced coordination processes at the State Emergency Operations Center, and removes any administrative barriers to providing state resources and assistance in the days and weeks ahead. 

You can view the full proclamation here.  

(Radio Iowa) – Seven people have now been arrested in connection to a large fight at an event center in Storm Lake on December 24th that left one man unconscious. On Sunday, Storm Lake Police arrested 22-year-old Isaiah Rivera of Cherokee after he surrendered himself to authorities. Rivera allegedly displayed a handgun during the incident and pointed it at other people inside the event center. Rivera left before police arrived that night.

Rivera has been charged with Participating in a Riot, Going Armed With Intent, and Assault While Participating in a Felony.In late December, 30-year-old Yusnavy Cruz of Storm Lake and 31-year-old Yoandri Barista Valdes of Lakeside were each arrested on a charge of Participating in a Riot. The alleged fight happened on the dance floor of the Oasis Event Center. A man was hit in the head with a chair and found unconscious.

Storm Lake Police are still trying to identify one other male suspect who was allegedly involved in the brawl.

(Radio Iowa) – The 2024 Iowa legislative session has begun with moments of silence to acknowledge the victims of last Thursday’s shooting at Perry High School — and House and Senate leaders are promising to focus on school safety.

No bills have been proposed at this point, but House Speaker Pat Grassley provided an outline of school safety measures Republicans support. “It means investing in school security. It means prioritizing school resources officers. It means protecting children’s mental health. It means teaching resilience over victimhood,” Grassley said, “and it means ridding our classrooms and school libraries of inappropriate material.”

Grassley cited the underlying reason for a response. “People choose Iowa because our state is viewed as safe,” Grassley said, “so when we see these senseless acts of violence in our own home state, it shakes us to the core.”

The Grand Staircase at the Iowa Capitol. (RI file photo)

House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst also issued a general call for action. “People at the end of this session should feel safer taking their kids to school in the morning than they do today. That’s our job,” Konfrst said. “Let’s work together to get something done.”

Konfrst said people are scared to be in public places. “It’s not enough to just move on,” Konfrst said. “Ahmir deserves better and so do all of our kids.”

The funeral for 11 year old Ahmir Jolliff — the 6th grader who was shot to death last Thursday — is scheduled for Thursday of this week Perry. Senate Democratic Leader Pam Jochum daughter died in 2018 and she said there is “no pain” like the loss of a child. “In our grief, though, we must ask tough questions and acknowledge hard truths,” Jochum said. “How do we tame violence in our country, violence that touched East High School in Des Moines less than two years ago and now Perry?”

Jochum said gun safety must be part of the discussion. “We must find a solution to gun violence,” Jochum said. “No child should go to school fearing for their lives.”

Senate Republican Leader Jack Whitver promised action on school safety in general, but shared no specifics. “While we can’t legislate away evil and get rid of all the bad things in this world, we keep our thoughts and prayers with those in Perry as we move forward and put in place policies to make our state better and stronger,” Whitver said.

Whitver singled out the gravely wounded Perry High School principal who tried to stop the 17-year-old shooting suspect, giving other students time to escape.”It is a remarkable demonstration of courage and self-sacrifice,” Whitver said. “Being a servant leader is easy to talk about, but in moments like these it is hard to do. It shows how leaders act in times of crisis. It shows how Iowans act to protect and defend each other.”

The lawmakers made their remarks during opening day speeches in the House and Senate. A couple of hours before the legislature convened, Governor Reynolds spoke about Perry during remarks at an Iowa GOP fundraiser. Reynolds said all Iowans stand with the victims and the Perry community during this time of grieving and recovery.

“Our hearts remain heavy with the unthinkable and senseless tragedy that unfolded last week at the Perry High School and we continue evert dat to keep the families of the victims and the Perry community in our prayers,” Reynolds says. “…We’ll continue to work with the community to make sure they have the whole of government behind them as they work through this heartbreaking time in our state’s history.”

(Radio Iowa) – After three consecutive winters dominated by the La Nina weather pattern, we’re now a few weeks into an El Nino winter, which state climatologist Justin Glisan says could very well mean significant changes ahead for Iowa’s weather. “We’re in a moderate-to-strong El Nino and we have a 54% chance of this being a historically strong El Nino, meaning, exceedingly warm sea surface temperature anomalies,” Glisan says. “When we look at wintertime conditions for El Nino, we typically see warmer temperatures through December, January, February.”

That falls in line with what happened in Iowa last month, as snowfall during December was far below normal in what’s usually the snowiest month of the year. Plus, Glisan says, December concluded nine-degrees warmer than average statewide. The last El Nino was in 2019 and Glisan says there’s a consistent pattern over the decades. “If we look back at strong El Nino events, going back to 1950, we’ve had seven,” Glisan says. “Six of those, we’ve seen generally wetter conditions across the state.”

Iowa has been mired in drought for more than three-and-a-half years, and Glisan says we experienced what he calls a “snow drought” during December, while a shift could be coming in the weeks ahead. “In El Nino and strong El Ninos, we generally see below-average snowfall across much of the state, but not necessarily drier conditions,” Glisan says. “We see more rainfall, we see more wintry mix-type of precipitations. So if you couple that together with the 30-year trend, there is a potential for wetter conditions through winter along with those warmer temperatures.”

From year to year, Glisan says the average temperature over 365 days usually doesn’t even vary by one degree, up or down, but 2023 ended more than two-degrees warmer than the norm in Iowa, putting it in the state’s top 20 warmest years on record.