(Radio Iowa) – A 20-year-old man from West Liberty who was arrested last week during his annual ICE check-in, has been deported to Guatemala. Pascual Pedro Pedro’s lawyer Timothy Farmer says he is now back in Guatemala after undergoing the expedited removal process. Farmer says he found out as he was delivering a request in Omaha this morning (Monday) seeking to keep Pedro Pedro in the country.

“If we didn’t have the holiday weekend, we might have been able to get the application filed on Friday of last week, but even that would have been very…it would have been real tough to get everything together that we did that quickly,” he says. Farmer says he just got involved in the case on Thursday, and the rapid process left him little time to do anything.

“You know, we would have had to file this application that day, which, you know, obviously we didn’t do. And I don’t think we even could have managed that. So, it’s unfortunate, but I know this is part of…this is the strategy, I think, to just deport people so quickly that they don’t have time to respond.”

Pedro Pedro’s family is demanding answers for his arrest and organizing protests across eastern Iowa.

(By James Kelley, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa historians are being asked to sign a petition to prevent administrators from closing one of the State Historical Society’s facilities. The Department of Administrative Services plans to shut down the Centennial Building in Iowa City because of an 800-thousand dollar budget shortfall. The petition was started by Mary Bennett, a retired special collections coordinator with the State Historical Society. She says no other facility in Iowa can take the archives if the Iowa City center closes.

“As an employee, I entered into deeds of gifts with people and made promises on behalf of the state that we would take care of their treasures and that we valued them, and so they gave them up,” Bennett says, “and then now I feel like that trust has been violated.” Bennett says administrators made the decision to downsize the State Historical Society without public input. She says state administrators are desecrating the archives she worked for almost five decades of her life to build.

“If you think about taxpayers paying 168 years to make sure this treasure was kept safe and sound and intact,” Bennett says, “and then now for, as I said in the board meeting, it is a joke that for less than a million dollars, you’re going to take the thing down.”

She says the Des Moines facility can only take 40 percent of Iowa City’s collection. The rest would be privatized, divvied out or destroyed. The center is scheduled to fully close next year.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Senator Chuck Grassley says, as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he’s making it a priority to work with whistleblowers to get information about people who worked on federal indictments against President Trump.

“Everybody who had anything to do since President Trump went down that golden elevator in 2015 (and) have been trying to get him out of the presidency or what he was out of the presidency into prison,” Grassley says. Grassley says he’s concerned the F-B-I and Department of Justice have conducted politically-charged investigations of Trump.

Senator Grassley (file)

“I’m going to make sure that everybody is exposed and the documents prove it for the eight years that the opposition was trying to put President Trump in prison,” Grassley said. Grassley made his remarks during Trump’s rally on the fairgrounds to kick off the 4th of July holiday and the year-long celebration of the 250th anniversary of American independence.

In 2023, Trump was charged with mishandling classified records and attempting to overturn with results of the 2016 election. Both cases have been dismissed. The Justice Department abandoned appeals after Trump’s election.

(Council Bluffs, IA) – Representatives of the Iowa West Foundation are once again hitting the road and taking their grants workshop to another rural community – this time to Hastings, Iowa on July 31st. Interested applicants from nonprofit organizations and government entities in the Foundation’s funding area are invited to learn about the grants process, policies, and procedures, and to ask staff questions about proposals ahead of the final funding cycle of 2025.

The session will be held Thursday, July 31 from 10:00 am-noon. To register, go to https://bit.ly/IWFHastings.
Venue details will be shared upon registration. Registrations will be accepted until noon on Monday, July 28 or until registrations meet the workshop’s maximum capacity.

Ideally, attendees will come to the grants workshop with a specific grant idea in mind. They will have an opportunity to:
• hear from program officers,
• ask questions about the grant application process,
• work through budget inquiries, and
• learn about the grants management system.
About the Iowa West Foundation

The Iowa West Foundation has awarded more than $550 million in grants to nonprofits and governmental entities throughout southwest Iowa since the inception of its grant program more than 25 years ago. Funding for the grants comes from investment earnings and the Iowa West Racing Association, which receives contractual fees from Council Bluffs’ casino operators. The Foundation targets resources into programs and projects that focus on belonging, opportunity, financial stability, and wellbeing.

For more information on the Foundation, visit www.iowawestfoundation.org.

(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Creston Police Department say two people were arrested on separate charges last Thursday night. 34-year-old Juan Carlos Troconiz Atencio, of Creston, was arrested at around 8-p.m. at Highway 34 and Vine Street. Troconiz-Atencio was charged with Driving While License Suspended. He was cited and released on a Promise to Appear in court. And, just before 9-p.m., Thursday, police in Creston arrested 49-year-old Elizabeth Lea Reents, of Creston, for Failure to Appear in court. Reents was charged with Driving While License Suspended. She was cited and released on a Promise to Appear.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s biodiesel producers says a credit in the spending and tax bill signed by President Donald Trump last week should help the industry. Iowa Biodiesel Board Executive Director Grant Kimberly credits Iowa’s Congressional delegation for negotiating several provisions that will help smaller biodiesel producers, who have been struggling recently.  “Senator Grassley in particular, was, was really solely instrumental in making sure that also the small producer biodiesel credit was added into this. They call it the 40-A, the, the old program bringing it back, and adding that in, and, and that’s going to, in particular help plants in Iowa, the independent biodiesel plants in Iowa and throughout the Midwest,” he says.

Some smaller biodiesel plants in the state have been idled due to market uncertainty.  “This is really important to get this legislation passed. I mean, the, the biodiesel industry has been struggling, to put it lightly here in the last, really in the last year and a half.”

Kimberly says they’ll still need more guidance on tax credits before production returns to full capacity.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Sunnyside Pool Aquatics Coordinator Chelsie Rush says the Pool is thrilled to invite the community to unwind and relax at a special Adult Night: Sip and Dip THIS Thursday, July 10th from 6:30 to 8:30 PM. This exclusive 21+ event offers the perfect blend of relaxing, swimming, and socializing under the sun-setting evening sky.

Guests can expect a refreshing night of:

• Live Poolside Music from Riverside Drive featuring Paul Hart and Jackie Johnson

• Lucky Wife Wine Slushies, flavored wine slushies and beer options

• A delicious Dip Buffet to snack and mingle

• Pool side yard games like bags, golf, jenga and more

• The chance to relax by the pool or take a dip without the splashing of the kids

Admission is just $5 per person (no member passes accepted), and the atmosphere is tailored for adults to gather, lounge, and enjoy the best of summer in a laid-back setting. Rush says “The community has been asking for this and we are excited to give it a try. Sip and Dip is all about community, connection, and making the pool a great place for all ages to utilize.”

This event is made possible thanks to generous sponsorship from The YMCA, SHIFT ATL, and Atlantic Carriers. Don’t miss this opportunity to kick back, sip a slushie, and soak in some summer vibes with friends at Sunnyside Pool.

(Radio Iowa) – A federal report on economic activity shows Iowa’s gross domestic product — or G-D-P — fell just over six percent in the first three months of the year. The G-D-P fell in 39 states, but Nebraska and Iowa tied for the biggest drop. Iowa State University economist Peter Orazem says Iowa’s has been growing more slowly than the rest of the country. “We started growing more slowly than the U.S. in 2018 and if you go back to the start of the pandemic, we’ve not added any jobs,” Orazum said, “so I don’t think Iowa has been doing particularly well not in just the last quarter, but the last seven years.” The latest figures show about about 36-thousand fewer people are in the Iowa workforce compared to early 2020.

“And Iowa goes into the pandemic as one of the older labor forces in the country,” Orazem says, “and so one of the problems that Iowa has faced since the pandemic recovery has been we simply don’t have enough workers to fill jobs, and atypically compared to other states.” Iowa State University ag economist Chad Hart says the feed grains side of Iowa’s agricultural sector is struggling right now, which has had an impact on ag-related manufacturing. “We think of Deere. We think of Kinze,” Hart says. “…We’ve seen the layoffs over the past year with those two big giants, along with a lot of other smaller firms doing that.” Hart says agricultural sector of Iowa’s economy took a hit a few years ago and then farm income dropped about four percent again in 2024.

“When we think about agriculture here in Iowa, it impacts all other sectors as well,” Hart says. “…When you think about what’s the biggest thing on the real estate side, that’s farm values…The crop insurance industry is a big industry here and so when you think about, ‘Ag slows down,’ all these other industries related to that slow down as well.” The two I-S-U economists made their comments during a recent appearance on Iowa Press on Iowa P-B-S. Last week, Governor Reynolds said the recent drop in Iowa’s G-D-P is linked to declines in Iowa’s ag sector, plus challenges in the state’s financial services and insurance industries. Iowa’s insurance industry accounts for about 11 percent of the state’s G-D-P.

WATERLOO, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Corrections, today (Monday), reports Tony Cecil Orr Jr., convicted of Intimidation with a Dangerous Weapon in Black Hawk County, failed to report back to the Waterloo Residential Correctional Facility as required on Saturday, July 5, 2025.

Orr is a 21-year-old, 5’9″, 161-pound Black male. He was admitted to the work release facility on May 7, 2025.

Persons with information on Orr’s whereabouts should contact local police.

Tony Cecil Orr Jr.

For more information on the state’s work release program, please see Iowa Code 904.901-904.910.

AMES, Iowa — Farmers, landowners and friends of farmers are invited to participate in Practical Farmers of Iowa’s 2025 field day season. This year, more than 60 farmer-led events are happening across Iowa and surrounding states from June through November. All events are led by PFI farmer members who are eager to share their knowledge, discoveries, mistakes and successes so others can learn and grow their own operations. One of the PFI Field Day events will take place July 22nd, from 10-a.m. until Noon, near Elliott (IA). The event is free to attend and open to the public.

Liz Kolbe, PFI’s farmer-led education director, says “It doesn’t matter if you’re just getting started or have been farming for decades, or if you farm 2 acres or 2,000 – there’s something for everyone at a PFI field day.” Field days cover a wide range of topics, showcasing farmers with operations of all sizes and production practices. This year’s events explore conventional and organic field crops, cover crops and small grains; livestock systems of various scales and species; fruit and vegetable production; flowers and orcharding; efforts to add habitat and conservation practices; and more.

Health and Happiness With Pastured Farrowing

To continue to serve PFI’s growing network, 13 field days will be held in states outside of Iowa, including Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin. PFI field days are free to attend and open to all – membership in Practical Farmers of Iowa is not required or expected. Events are marked by a welcoming atmosphere, a spirit of curiosity, a culture of mutual respect and farmers openly sharing their knowledge and experience.

All events occur rain or shine. While RSVPs are not required for most field days, they are appreciated to help with event and meal planning. The full list of events – along with additional information about PFI field day policies and logistics – is available at practicalfarmers.org/field-days.

Practical Farmers’ 2025 field days are supported by Level A sponsors Choose Iowa | Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship; Diverse Corn Belt; Grain Millers; Green Cover; Mad Capital; Naylor Seed; Niman Ranch; Organic Valley; Sunderman Farm Management Co.; and Tidal Grow AgriScience.