(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – The 2025 Guthrie County Fair gets today (Thursday), and continue through Labor Day Monday, Sept. 1st. Some activities began Wednesday, but the bulk of the activities begin today. View the complete schedule below, go to www.guthriecountyfair.com, or follow the Fair on Facebook.

(Radio Iowa) – A South Dakota man has been charged with first-degree murder following the beating death of a man in Spencer. First responders found the body of 38-year-old Djay Loudner in an alley in Spencer late Tuesday. Court documents show officers reviewed surveillance video from a nearby business and discovered Loudner had been repeatedly punched and kicked by another man. Police arrested 44-year-old Wade St. John of Eagle Butte, South Dakota early Wednesday morning, and he’s being held in the Clay County Jail on a 750-thousand dollar bond.

(Radio Iowa) – A former Iowa House Democrat is running the Fourth Congressional District seat. Dave Dawson is a lawyer from Lawton, who served two terms in the Iowa House. The 51-year-old Dawson says there’s momentum after Democrats won two special elections in the heavily Republican district.  “As long as we are focusing on issues that matter to people like education funding, healthcare funding, and making sure we’re working to increase incomes and wages for Iowa workers. I think those are the things that mattered most to people when they sit down and take time to vote,” Dawson says.

Dawson says the 4th District has been forgotten by current congressional representation.  “And it’s time to have somebody who is a public servant and proven leader step forward who’s going to put people before politics or partisanship,” he says. He says Congress should focus on policies that grow Iowa. “My priorities include expanding healthcare options and research, investing in rural communities, raising incomes and increasing competition, strengthening Social Security and Medicare, and protecting our rights and freedoms,” Dawson says.

Dawson served in the Iowa House from 2013 to 2017 but did not seek re-election. Two other Democrats are also in the race, in addition to four Republicans. Incumbent Congressman Randy Feenstra plans to make an announcement soon if he will run for governor.

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa City man will spend 11 years in federal prison for receipt of child pornography. Court documents and evidence presented at sentencing of 49-year-old Heath Harmon, says he received, uploaded, and distributed files containing child sexual abuse material from August 2023 through January 2024. Officers used a search warrant at Harmon’s Iowa City residence and say they seized several electronic devices which stored child pornography.

Harmon was ordered to pay 35-thousand dollars in restitution.

(Des Moines, Iowa) –  Officials with the Powerball Lottery say the jackpot for the top prize has climbed to an estimated $950 million for Saturday night’s drawing after no one won the jackpot after Wednesday night’s numbers were pulled.

While there was no ticket matched all six number drawn Wednesday night, The Powerball lottery, in an early morning news release on Thursday, said six tickets won prizes worth $1 million or more in Wednesday’s Powerball drawing, after matching all five white balls. Here are the winning numbers for the Aug. 27, 2025, drawing: 09-12-22-41-61 Powerball 25. The Powerplay Multiplier was 4x.

(Iowa Lottery photo) – file photo

The $1 million-winning tickets for Wednesday’s drawing were sold in Arizona, New York and Virginia. Additionally, there were three tickets in Mississippi, Ohio and Virginia that increased their winnings to $2 million by including the Power Play option, the lottery said. Powerball officials said there were also 40 tickets that won $50,000 prizes and 10 tickets that won $200,000 prizes.

The Powerball lottery said this (Thursday) morning that the Saturday, Aug. 30, drawing will be the 39th since the jackpot was last won on May 31, 2025, in California. “If a player wins Saturday’s jackpot, they will have the choice between an annuitized prize estimated at $950 million or a lump sum payment estimated at $428.9 million,” the Powerball said in its release, adding that both prize options are before taxes.

Powerball tickets cost $2, and are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball drawings air at 10:59 p.m. ET every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee, Florida.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has ordered all flags immediately lowered to half-staff until sunset on Sunday. The gesture echoes an order from President Trump, and is intended to pay tribute to the victims in Wednesday’s shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school.

Two children were killed and 17 people were injured at the Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis. Governor Kim Reynolds released a statement after the shooting, saying “What occurred this morning at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis is unspeakably senseless violence against innocent and defenseless children. Such evil acts have no place in our great nation.”

She said she and her husband Kevin “are praying for the victims and their families of this horrific and senseless act of violence.”

The State Capitol Building and flag displays in the Capitol Complex will be at half-staff. All public buildings, grounds, and facilities will also fly flags at half-staff in Iowa. The flags will stay at half-staff until sunset on Sunday.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa  — Officials in western Iowa are investigating a deadly shooting involving an officer. The incident began at around 6-p.m. during a traffic stop, when an individual reportedly pulled a shotgun on an Iowa State Patrol Trooper.

A pursuit of the suspect ended at around 6:30-p.m. near the Pottawattamie County Jail, in the area of Interstate 29 and North 16th Street in Council Bluffs. Multiple agencies responded to the incident, the conclusion of which ended with the armed individual being shot and fatally wounded. No officers were injured during the investigation.

Police had urged the public to avoid the area while the preliminary investigation was being conducted. I-29 at Exit 56 in Council Bluffs reopened to traffic at around 2:45-a.m. today.

(Atlantic, Iowa) –  Public hearings were held this (Wednesday) in the Atlantic High School Media Center, as a precursor to a SPECIAL MEETING of the Atlantic School Board. (You can view the entire session HERE).

During the hearing, concerned District patrons and others, expressed their thoughts on the proposed replacement of the High School Roof, and the issuance of $18.5-million in School Infrastructure Sales, Services and Use Tax Revenue Bonds. No one spoke with regard to the roof replacement project, but Justin Williams addressed the Bond Issuance, which he said is a move that is not fiscally responsible to the taxpayers.

Justin Williams

Williams, an Atlantic High School graduate and former educator with the Atlantic Community School District, is also a candidate for the Atlantic  School Board this Fall. If it is approved by the voters in November, the bonds would provide funds to build, furnish and equip a new multipurpose indoor practice facility/fieldhouse at the high School with related site improvements, including costs of issuance and a debt service reserve fund if required by the purchaser.

Any bond proceeds remaining after completion of this project will be used for other school infrastructure projects as authorized by the School District’s Revenue Purpose Statement. Justin Williams said the Field House is an extravagance that is not necessary, and not one person he’s spoken with is in favor of using the bond for that purpose.

He urged the Board to vote no on the issuance of the bond. Atlantic School Board President Laura McLean said the District also received an e-mail comment on the matter, from Tammy Rush DeBord, who graduated from AHS.  McLean summarized the e-mail…

McLean acknowledged during discussion with regard to the Bond referendum, there have been issues with communicating this District’s reasoning and intentions behind asking for the Bond.

She said the purpose is to reduce the tax burden by borrowing against current and future the SAVE funds. Board member Kristy Pellett addressed the perceived sense of urgency in pushing the bond through.

Board member Josh McLaren said there is confusion about the use SAVE funds and Bonds.

During the action portion of their meeting, the Atlantic School Board approved a bid from Rigid Edge Exterior for the High School Roof Replacement with the addition of a protective matting, in the amount of $117, 550. Afterward, they unanimously passed both a Resolution Approving Revenue Purpose Statement, Ordering an Election on a Revenue Purpose Statement to Authorize Expenditures From Revenue Received From the State Secure an Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE) Fund, Ordering the Publication of a Notice of Election, AND, a Resolution Supporting the Proposed Issuance of Approximately $18,500,000 School Infrastructure Sales, Services and Use Tax Revenue Bonds.

In other business, the Atlantic School Board approved (previously mentioned) hiring recommendations (see our post earlier this week), and resignations. They also approved Vendor Contracts, including:

• An Athletic Training Contract (Proposal #2) with Peak Performance, Owner Bobby Reisz, to provide an athletic trainer for Football, Wrestling, Cross Country and Soccer Athletic Training Contract (Proposal #1) which includes Football, Wrestling, Cross Country, Soccer but also includes Home Basketball games, On-site hours on Tuesdays and away Varsity football games.
• A Council Bluffs Consortium Agreement for Children’s Square (learning services)
• Heartland Family Service (therapeutic services), Heartland of Omaha.
• A two-year Athletic Sharing Contract for Swimming with the Griswold School District.
• and, Early Childhood Consultation.

The entire meeting lasted a little more than 90-minutes. The Board’s next, REGULAR meeting, is at 6:30-p.m. on September 10, in the High School Media Center.

(Radio Iowa) – A leader in Iowa’s hospitality industry says most Iowa restaurants, bars and pubs are struggling financially and up to 600 may close this year. Iowa Restaurant Association president and CEO Jessica Dunker said the price of food and labor costs are exceptionally high and raising menu prices any higher could drive away customers.

“While revenue is high — and people see the record revenue into the restaurant industry — there is no profitability,” Dunker said during an interview with Radio Iowa. “…We’ve hit that threshold of what we can charge…We’re worried Iowa’s restaurants. We’re worried that people that just found their way through the COVID mess are now dealing with the difficulties of being able to survive in the marketplace and, unfortunately, the data backs up that there’s a lot of struggle out there.”

The association’s 2024 survey of Iowa restaurants found half were not profitable and, while about 17% of U.S. restaurants close in their first year, Dunker said there’s another trend she’s watching. “Long time owners who are just choosing…to say: ‘It’s gotten too tough,’” Dunker said. “When we start to lose those, that’s when we start to get worried and that’s the trend that concerns us the most.”

Dunker indicated there’s another troubling trend nationally. About a third of Americans say they’ve cut back on eating out, getting food from a drive through or ordering take out. Iowa has nearly 6500 eating and drinking establishments that employ over 147,000.

(Harlan, Iowa) – Officials with the Shelby County Auditor’s Office say they have been made aware of a recent letter sent by The Center For Voter Information to some residents, suggesting that the recipient may not be registered to vote. The Auditor’s Office says emphatically, that those letters were not issued by the Shelby County Auditor’s Office or the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office. The information contained in these letters is based on outdated voter data and may not accurately reflect your current voter registration status.

To ensure your voter registration is up to date, the Shelby County Auditor’s Office strongly encourages you to verify your status directly on the Iowa Secretary of State’s website at https://apps.sos.iowa.gov/elections/voterreg/regtovote/search.aspx.

For any questions or concerns regarding your voter registration, please contact the Shelby County Auditor’s Office at 712-755-3831.