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KJAN News can be heard at five minutes after every hour right after Fox News 24 hours a day!
Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
(Radio Iowa) – A report from a national trade group suggests about half of U-S manufacturers already use artificial intelligence in their factories. Nicole Crain is president of the IOWA Association of Business and Industry, which represents about 600 manufacturers in the state and she says use of A-I probably isn’t at that level yet in Iowa factories. “Twenty-some percent are looking into it,” she said. “They’ve dabbled into a little bit.” A couple of manufacturers in Fairfield were early adopters of A-I technology, according to Crain.
“I look at the innovation that they have there,” she says. “They just invested in automation and robotics early on.” Google and Microsoft operate data centers in Iowa and both companies are building A-I infrastructure and some manufacturers are using the technology to speed up interactions with customers and accelerate the work of employees doing things like developing products. A-I is also being used to identify risks on the shop floor and manage the assembly line.
“So I think as far as competing, our members are leaning into A.I.,” Crain said. Crain says a state grant program for manufacturers with fewer than 125 employees is helping. The grants can be used to buy to buy things like 3-D printers, autonomous robots and augmented reality devices “We want to encourage the state to do that so those small and mid-sized folks can compete because as we’re looking at the rural economy…in order to keep those jobs in rural Iowa, those manufacturers have to invest,” Crain said.
“They want to invest, but we have to support that at the state level as well.” Applications for the next round of these grants are due in November. Crain made her comments during a recent appearance on Iowa P-B-S. A National Association of Manufacturers report suggests 80 percent of U-S manufacturers expect A-I will be critical to either growing or maintaining their business by the end of the decade.
(Calhoun County, Iowa) – The teenage driver of a pickup truck died Wednesday morning, after his vehicle collided with a semi northeast of Lytton, in northwest Iowa. According to the Iowa State Patrol, the accident happened at around 7:05-a.m. at U-S Highway 20 and Fletcher Avenue, when a Ford F-150 pickup driven by 15-year-old Cadyn Oscar Ogden, of Rockwell City, failed to stop at the posted stop sign, as the vehicle was traveling north on Fletcher Avenue. Dense fog was present at the time of the crash.
The pickup collided with an eastbound Mack truck driven by 71-year-old Richard Larence Kanne, of Lake View (IA). Following the collision, the pickup came to rest in the south ditch, while the semi ended-up in the median. Cadyn Ogden, who was not wearing a seat belt, died from his injuries at the scene. Ogden was a sophomore at South Central Calhoun High School. It is homecoming week for South Central Calhoun. Wednesday night’s homecoming activities were postponed out of respect for Ogden’s family. Richard Kanne was injured in the crash, but the report said he was not transported to a hospital.
The crash marked the second fatal accident in that occurred in nearly the same area, that also involved a teenager. As we reported, Tuesday afternoon, a teenager from Rock Valley died when the SUV he was driving was struck by a semi. That crash occurred near the junction of U-S Highway’s 75 and 18. The Patrol has identified the person who died in the crash as 17-year-old Axel De Santos, of Rock Valley. A second teen, 17-year-old Dominic Olvera Flores, of Rock Valley was injured in the crash and eventually flown to a hospital in Sioux Falls.
(Radio Iowa) – Iowa elected officials and candidates for office are expressing shock at the death of Charlie Kirk, a leading voice in the conservative movement who was shot Wednesday, while speaking in Utah. The statements Iowa politicians posted online included words like horrific, terrifying and heartbreaking.
Most called for prayers for Kirk and his family and many — from both of Iowa’s political parties — called for an end to political violence. The Iowa Democratic Party said Kirk’s shooting was appalling and political violence has no place in our country.
Iowa Republican Party chair Jeff Kaufmann wrote that: “In America, we settle our differences at the ballot box, not through threats or violence.”
Read the entire statements from Iowa’s political leaders at www.radioiowa.com.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – A candidate running for one of two seats on the Atlantic School Board, tonight (Wednesday night) informed the Board he had presented to the Board Secretary, a petition with more than 500 signatures, requesting that the proposed athletic facility (Field House) project be put to a public vote.
Justin Williams addresses the Atlantic School Board, 9-10-2025 (YouTube image)
During the Public Comment portion of the meeting, Justin Williams described the language in the petition calling for a Special Election:
Williams, who put the petition together, said more than 20 volunteers worked to gather these signatures of eligible voters, in just 10 days. The response, he said, was overwhelming.
Williams said if the District intends to spend $18.5-million dollars on the project, that should be authorized by the citizens.
In accordance with Board policy they took no action and had no comment on the statement made during the Public Comment part of the agenda. The Atlantic School Board approved: the resignations of Jessica Burcham, HS Nurse; Lillian Smith, Girls Wrestling Asst. Coach; Angela Gallegos, Nutrition Cook, and Megan Leeper, Nutrition Server.
The Board also approved a Recommendation to Hire Lynnae Grandin, as HS Activities & Athletic Secretary. Other action taken by the Atlantic School Board, included approval of…
The Board’s next meeting is a Work Session on Sept. 24th at 6:30-p.m. Their next regular meeting is Oct. 8th, also at 6:30-p.m.
(Eddyville, Iowa) – A 10-year-old girl* from Eddyville was injured Wednesday afternoon, when she ran into the side of a pickup truck in southeastern Iowa. The Iowa State Patrol says the incident happened at around 2:15-p.m. in Eddyville, as the pickup, driven by 58-year-old Mark A. Dalbey, of Blakesburg, was traveling south on N. Merino Avenue, and approaching the intersection with Elm Street.
The Patrol says the unidentified juvenile entered the roadway and collided with the passenger side cargo area of the vehicle. The girl suffered minor injuries and was transported by ambulance to the hospital in Oskaloosa.
Assisting the Patrol at the scene was the Wapello County Sheriff’s Office, Mahaska County EMA, and Mahaska Ambulance.
*The initial State Patrol report indicated the girl’s age was 7. That was changed a few hour later, in an update to their report.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Auditor’s Office reports Charles Bechtold, of Atlantic, filed nomination papers today (Wednesday) for one of three open seats on the Wiota City Council. Previously, it was reported the following candidates’ names will appear on the November 4th General Election ballot in Cass County (IA):
(Radio Iowa) – The Ankeny-based Casey’s convenience store chain reported good results in the first-quarter of the new fiscal year. Senior vice president Brian Johnson spoke about the results in a conference call. “Total revenue for the quarter was four-point-six billion dollars, that’s an increase of 469 million dollars or 11-and-a-half percent from the prior year. That’s due primarily to higher inside sales as well as higher fuel gallons sold, partially offset by a lower retail fuel price,” he says. He says summer is always a busy time for stores and that proved to be true in the first quarter that started in July.
“Total inside sales for the quarter were one-point six-eight billion dollars, an increase of 210 million dollars or 14-point-two percent from the prior year,” Johnson says. Some of the growth in sales is from recently acquired stores, though C-E-O Darin Rebelez says the conversions including kitchens have not yet been complete in the newly acquired stores in Texas. Rebelez says the acquisition market for smaller store chains continues to be active, while buying larger chains is dependent on decisions by those companies.
“We’re having some conversations with folks. We haven’t had anything active at the moment, but we’re in the market and we’ll see how things evolve as we get through the year,” he says. Rebelez says they are staying with the plan to expand with a 50-50 mix of purchased and newly built stores. “You know our geography that we operate in today can support a large number of new stores in it, there’s a lot of towns and a lot of white space that do not have Casey’s that would benefit from one,” he says. “So we see a really unlimited runway for unit development just within our geography, let alone in the adjacent states to that.”
Casey’s has approximately 29-hundred convenience stores in 19 states.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County Auditor Kathy Somers is reminding residents interested in running for office in the November 4, 2025 City/School election the best practice to obtain nomination paperwork is directly from the county auditor for city offices, or the school board secretary for school board office.
Somers said several nomination forms have been rejected because they were incomplete or inaccurate. To avoid this, candidates are encouraged to consult with the auditor’s office and school board secretaries to ensure their nomination forms are completed correctly before seeking signatures for nomination.
The filing deadline for both city and school offices is Thursday, September 18, 2025, at 5:00 PM. City candidates must file with the Auditor’s Office; school board candidates with their school board secretary. For more information, contact the auditor’s office at 712-243-4570, or your school district office.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – Another person hoping to serve on the Atlantic School Board, has announced their candidacy for one of two Director At-Large seats on the Board. In a Facebook post this (Wednesday) morning Jordan Zarbano said he was born and raised a member of the community, and cares deeply about the success of our students, the support of our teachers, and the future of our schools. “I believe every student deserves the best opportunity to learn in a safe, challenging, and supportive environment,” Zarbano said.
Jordan Zarbano (Official photo)
(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Police Department, today (Wednesday), released a report on persons arrested or cited between August 3rd and Sept. 9th. Those arrested include:
And, those who were cited into court on charges of 5th Degree Theft, include:
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