OMAHA, Neb. [KETV] — A Judge in Douglas County, Nebraska has allowed a western Iowa man charged in a fatal July 11th crash, to be released on bond. 22-year-old Christian Stephens, of Earling, will be allowed to live nearly an hour away in rural Iowa while he faces charges. His attorney also requested continuous alcohol monitoring, meaning he’ll report to Omaha twice daily for tests.

The crash occurred at around 2:10-a.m. on July 11th, on westbound I-480 near 14th Street in Omaha. Police said their preliminary investigation revealed a pickup driven by Stephens was traveling the wrong direction on I-480 when it struck a car nearly head-on. The impact caused the car to catch fire.

Stephens posted 10% of a One-million-dollar bond and was released from jail. Prosecutors charged Stephens with two counts of motor vehicle homicide for the deaths of 21-year-old Nicholas “Nico” Humbert and 15-year-old Adrianna Estrada.

He’s also charged with three more counts of DUI causing serious injury — to two teenage girls in the Buick Sedan he’s accused of crashing into, and a passenger in his Ford pickup.

(Radio Iowa) – Next week’s RAGBRAI — the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa — will cross into a neighboring state for the first time in the event’s 52 year history. Monday’s route from Milford to Estherville includes a 15 mile stretch in Jackson County, Minnesota. Ryan Krosch, the county’s administrator, has been in charge of planning to host over 10-thousand bicyclists. “I had heard of RAGBRAI, but I did not realize how large of an event it was…I was a little overwhelmed, but we pulled together a lot of volunteers and staff to greet the bicyclists and looking forward to the opportunity showcase Minnesota and Jackson County.”

Over 20 food and beverage vendors will be set up at a local park. “Brown Park South is just north of the Iowa border and is nestled between two lakes,” Krosch said, “Pearl Lake and Loon Lake.” Krosch says riders will be invited to use Pearl Lake to carry a RAGBRAI tradition into another state. “The bicyclists will be able to take their bikes and dip that into Minnesota waters,” Krosch says. Ceremonial tire dipping has been part of RAGBRAI for years.

Many cyclists start the route on the western edge of Iowa by dipping a tire in the Missouri River and ending seven days later in eastern Iowa with a tire dip in the Mississippi. Krosch will be working with his staff and local law enforcement to make sure the bicyclists have a smooth ride through Jackson County — and he’s not at all tempted to join the two wheeling. “I’m not a bicyclist, but I do actually have an uncle here in Minnesota who is participating,” Krosch says, “so looking forward to seeing all the folks come and hope they have a good time.”

Iowa State Patrol Trooper Kevin Krull says there’s been a good deal of communication to law enforcement agencies up north about how to direct traffic when thousands of bicyclists pedal up north. “The nice part is it’s only going to be one county, so it’s basically dealing with one county’s sheriff’s department and the state patrol in that area,” Krull said. “We’re going to pass the ride off to them and they’re going to assist while they’re in Minnesota and then they’ll pass them back off when they come back in.”

Krull is one of 14 state troopers who coordinate with local law enforcement to direct traffic along the RAGBRAI route. “I remember that one year I was at the bottom of a large hill near a four-lane highway. It was definitely a workout to make sure that the riders were all safe and that nobody got hurt,” he says. “…With us being there, it notifies the riders that, ‘Hey! There’s a change. Be prepared!’…If nothing else, a lot of the state patrol officers that are doing traffic control will have a music selection for you to listen to.”

A spokesman for the Iowa Department of Public Safety says some troopers will have a radio tuned to a local music station, but Krull and a partner who’ve been directing RAGBRAI traffic for years develop their own play list.

WINTERSET, Iowa — The chairwoman of the Madison County Supervisors, Heather Stancil, has filed a lawsuit against Madison County Sheriff Jason Barnes. Her action comes as Stancil is under investigation following a Facebook comment that raised concerns of election misconduct and voter intimidation. According to KCCI-TV, the lawsuit claims that Barnes “violated procedures in Iowa law that requires him to investigate alleged election misconduct at the direction of the attorney general, not on his own initiative, and to keep any report of his investigation confidential.”

The investigation stems from a Facebook post made by Stancil in response to a petition for a special election, instead of appointing to fill the county auditor’s position. In her comment, Stancil stated that if a special election were held, she would “work to find ways to offset that additional cost to taxpayers by shrinking government.”

On Monday, the Madison County Sheriff said that the sheriff’s office is fully aware of the online public statement and that the statement and a preliminary investigation were forwarded to the Iowa Attorney General’s office.

Stancil’s attorney does not have any public comment outside of the complaint.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, discussed recent changes to the law, with regard to setting the size limits of fireworks used within the City, and hours of sale for fireworks. In his City Council Agenda notes, City Administrator John Lund has said there are two questions that have been raised as the result of recent legislative action: “Does the City have the authority to set size limits for fireworks within the City?,” and “Can the City set business hours for the sale of fireworks?”

He said according to Iowa League of Cities Deputy Director of Services Mickey Shields, the Legislature intends to prevent local governments from placing restrictions specifically on fireworks vendors. While a city may have some leeway to regulate general business hours through zoning ordinances, such regulations must apply broadly and not single out specific types of businesses, such as those selling fireworks. Even then, Shields advised caution, given the current legal landscape surrounding fireworks sales and state law. Regarding the size and type of fireworks, Shields said a section of the Iowa Code outlines general restrictions on what qualifies as “consumer fireworks” and includes provisions for other categories. He said also, the State Fire Marshal has authority over what vendors can sell through the state’s permitting and licensing process.

Atlantic CC meeting, 7-16-25

A citizen of Atlantic voiced his displeasure with the way some of his neighbors have been using fireworks, and the resulting debris left on his property, along with the danger of a fire starting on his outdoor furniture and deck caused by the reckless use of fireworks.

He said it essentially boils down to being respectful of your neighbor and aware of the costly danger in using fireworks.

No action was taken by the Council during their meeting. In other business, the Atlantic City Council passed the second reading of an amended ordinance with regard to “Parking Violations.” The Ordinance (#1060) says “Uncontested Violations of parking restrictions…shall be charged upon a simple notice of a fine, payable at the office of the City Clerk.” The fine amounts to $30 for all violations EXCEPT snow route parking violations and improper use of a persons with disabilities parking permit. Those fines are $50 and $100, respectively. Any fines not paid within 30 days, will be increased by $20.

The Atlantic City Council passsed also, a Resolution “Assessing unpaid fees and costs to property taxes,” in cases where City employees have to deal with property cleanup and mowing, nuisance abatements, emergency services or utility disconnections, or other municipal services performed, due to non-compliance by the property owner. There are currently 10 properties where fees amounting to a total of $10,903.28 have not been paid.

(Creston, Iowa) – A collision this (Wednesday) afternoon in Creston resulted in a police-estimated total of $2,500 damage, but no one was injured and no citations were issued. Authorities say a 2018 Freightliner semi tractor-trailer driven by 19-year-old Cameron Jennings, of Prescott (IA), was traveling south on Lincoln Street in Creston at around 2:35-p.m., and turning left onto Townline Street.

As Jennings turned too sharply, the trailer struck a 2007 Chevy Tahoe SUV, driven by 34-year-old Brandi Craft, of Atlantic, as Craft was waiting in the left lane at the stop light on westbound Townline at the intersection with Lincoln Street.

Creston Police say Jennings’ failure to keep in the proper lane and operator inexperience were contributing factors in the collision.

(Radio Iowa) – Racing and Gaming Administrator Tina Eick says the money bet on sports went up in Iowa in the fiscal year that ended June 30th.  “The amount wagered in the last fiscal year was almost two-point-nine billion dollars ($2.9). That’s up nine-point-three percent (9.3%) over the last fiscal,” Eick says. Eick says there were some records set for the amount wagered that is known as the handle.

“Fiscal year 2025 marks the first time that a single operator, Draft Kings took in more than one billion in handle on its own in the state of Iowa,” she says. There were several monthly betting records set. “November in particular set an all time record for handle at 315 million dollars, ” Eick says, “and we set records for revenue in eight out of the 12 months.” A majority of the money bet is paid out in prizes, but the sports gambling operators and the state also got a cut.

“Revenue on that for the operators was over 240 million dollars, and tax dollar wise to the state, that was over 16-point-two million dollars, which is up just over 13 percent,” she says. Iowa was one of the first states to start sports betting in 2019, and Eick says as the industry grows, there continues to be more options. “New leagues are still being requested and approved for wagering from the Commission on a regular basis,” she says. “So we’re covering everything from those standard markets that everybody knows and loves, football, March Madness, to obscure European table tennis.”

While sports wagering has grown, Eick says it still lags behind casino revenue in Iowa. The last fiscal year taxes on casino wagering were approximately 345-million dollars, compared to 16-point-two million from sports wagering. Eick says Racing and Gaming also wants to be sure that no one gets in over their head in any type of gambling and there is help available.

If anyone finds themselves or a family members in need of those resources, information on the self exclusion program can be found on the Commission website,” she says. You can also go to yourlifeiowa.org or call 1-800-BETS-Off to get free confidential help.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Environmental Protection Commission has approved an update of rules on septic systems. Eric Wiklund of the D-N-R’s Water Quality Bureau says the change involves aerobic treatment units or A-T-U’s, which are an alternative to the normal septic tank systems. “An aerobic treatment unit is like a small activated sludge plant where you don’t have the physical media in there. They’re using aeration and mixing to create that environment where the microbes will consume the material and produce clean water at the other end. They use oxygen where the other ones use a media,” Wiklund says. Wiklund says the update drops the requirement that A-T-U’s run its water through a soil absorption system or a sand filter as a third step before discharging treated water.

“It ends up being kind of a prohibition A-T-U’s because if you can use soil absorption, you’re already required to do it, so if you have to use soil absorption on an A-T-U, you probably can’t because of the way that the soils are or just the groundwater. So it really has put them at a disadvantage,” he says. There were some people who spoke out against the change, saying the water from the aerobic units could lead to pollution. The majority of people who spoke at the Environmental Protection Commission meeting said they supported the change as studies show the treated water meets the same standards of other methods. Wiklund says the rules are now the same for whatever is used.

“All these alternative units, whether they’re media filters or aerobic treatment units, they all have to meet the same standards for testing in Iowa. And we want everybody to be able to. meet that same standard and be treated equally.” Wiklund says. The change came after the governor mandated agencies review their rules to cut burdensome regulations. Wiklund says the change allows for the use of new ideas. “We want innovation to be available to come to Iowa. So if there’s new treatment technologies and they meet that same standard, that same national standard, they can all be utilized in Iowa, ” he says. Those who spoke out against the rule change also say the aerobic systems require more maintenance and if that is not done there can be polluted water released. Wiklund says the extra maintenance is figured into the rule change.

“In the case of the A-T-U’s, everybody knows they do need more frequent maintenance, typically twice a year. So the rule supports that. If the manufacturer requires maintenance twice per year, then our rule is going to require maintenance twice per year. The counties are required to track those maintenance agreements and ensure that the maintenance is occurring,” he says. Wiklund estimates there are more than 10-thousand septic systems in Iowa, though he says it’s hard to get a count. He says the can be individual homes, or groups of homes that share one system together.

The new rules will go into effect in August.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – Police in Council Bluffs are investigating the circumstances surrounding the discovery this (Wednesday) morning, of a body in the Harrah’s Casino parking garage at 1 Harrah’s Blvd. Authorities and rescue personnel were notified about the discovery of a man’s body at around 9:50-a.m..

Council Bluffs Police and Council Bluffs Fire & Rescue found the male party deceased upon their arrival. The incident is
under investigation however, foul play is not suspected at this time and the name of the deceased is not being released
pending notification of family. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.

If you any information regarding this incident, please contact the Council Bluffs Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division at (712)328‐4728.

(Radio Iowa) – A business professor at the University of Iowa says she’s stunned by the results of a new survey that finds some parents will accompany their adult children on job interviews, and even make calls on their kid’s behalf. Jennifer Nahrgang, a professor of management and entrepreneurship in the U-I’s Tippie College of Business, says bringing mom or dad along for a sit-down with a potential employer sends the absolute wrong message.

“That’s a mistake on behalf of the child,” Nahrgang says, “and then it’s a mistake on behalf of the parent because they’re not letting their child showcase their own abilities and skills.” The survey released by TopResume found 26-percent of Gen Z job applicants said they’d brought a parent with them on an interview, which Nahrgang says demonstrates a critical error in judgment. “I think what employers are looking for is someone that’s proactive, that can be independent in their work,” Nahrgang says, “and so I think that signals the complete opposite.”

Prof. Jennifer Nahrgang (UI photo)

The survey found many candidates cited stress or anxiety as the reason, saying having a parent by their side provides emotional support, and makes them feel more relaxed and reassured. The roots may be traced to a rising deficit in social and communication skills, a boost in remote work, and an increased reliance on digital interaction instead of face-to-face conversations. At what age should someone be able to handle a job interview without a parental wingman?

“I think it depends on the type of job. I think teenagers, when they take summer jobs, they certainly should be able to handle that,” she says. “If you think about, if they’re able to do the work, they should be able to do the interview.” She says certainly a college-age person ought to be capable of a one-on-one interview without a guiding hand, though Nahrgang notes, parents are getting more involved in recent years.

There are guidelines against it, but she says parents aren’t above attempting to contact university professors to discuss a bad test score or a failing grade.

https://topresume.com/graduate-job-placement

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S Senate is debating a package of nine BILLION dollars in federal budget cuts — carrying out many of the cuts identified by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE. Iowa Republican Joni Ernst has been leading the Senate’s DOGE Caucus. “Overseas projects without merit are being ended and the tax-dollars that were paying for them will be refunded,” Ernst said, “if the Senate passes the recissions bill.”

Ernst says the U-S Agency for International Development became a rogue bureaucracy, operating with little accountability. “Money intended to aleviate economic distress in war-torn Ukraine was spent sending models and designers on junkets to New York City and ‘Fashion Weeks’ in Paris and London,” Ernst said, “at a cost of more than $203,000.” Ernst points to other U-S-A-I-D spending in Ukraine, including two million dollars for a custom carpet maker and 300-thousand dollars to a dog collar manufacturer.

U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Red Oak, Iowa) (official photo)

“Two million dollars went toward, get this folks, promoting tourism to Lebanon — a nation our very own State Department wars against traveling to,” Ernst said. Ernst says there’s no shortage of questionable spending by U-S-A-I-D. “President Trump is putting an end to this ‘Deep State’ operation,” Ernst said. “The foreign assistance programs that do advance American interests are now being administered under the watchful eye of Secretary (of State) Marco Rubio.”

Ernst also cites the bill’s cancellation of over one BILLION dollars in taxpayer support of public broadcasting networks. “NPR and PBS have a right to say whatever the heck they want,” Ernst said, “but they don’t have a right to force hardworking Americans to pay for their political propaganda being masked as a public service.” Once Senate debate ends, the bill appears poised to pass, with Vice President J.D. Vance casting the tie-breaking vote.

There were some procedural votes leading up to today (Wednesday) and Vance’s vote was necessary after three Republican senators joining Democrats in seeking to block debate of the bill.