(Emerson, Iowa) – The Iowa State Patrol today (Tuesday) released information on a fatal, fiery crash that took place in Mills County, Saturday. Authorities say the person who died was not identified. Their name was being withheld pending confirmation of identity. The accident happened at around 8-p.m. Saturday on Highway 59, south of Bradford Avenue, in Emerson. According to the report, a Chevy SUV was traveling south on Highway 59, when it dropped-off onto the right shoulder of the road. The driver over-corrected, causing the vehicle to skid across the road and strike a guardrail.

The Chevy SUV then hit a northbound 2022 Ford Explorer driven by 61-year-old Dwight Charles Mayer, of Essex, and then came to rest on the guard rail before becoming engulfed in flames. The Ford SUV came to rest in the northbound lane. Mayer, and a passenger in his SUV, 59-year-old Christy Lee Mayer, also of Essex, were injured. Both were flown by LifeNet to the UNMC in Omaha.

The crash remains under investigation.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors, during their meeting this (Tuesday) morning, in Atlantic, received a monthly report from Cass/Guthrie County Environmental Health Executive Director Jotham Arber. During his report, Arber had the latest information with regard to Radon Mitigation.

The cost of radon mitigation for an older home, he said, is about $1,500. But the price tag could be much higher, depending on the age and size of a home.

Newer homes are better sealed against radon seeping in to the structure, according to Arber. Iowa has a significant radon problem, according to the EPA, with elevated levels found in a high percentage of homes. Radon is a radioactive gas that can cause lung cancer and is the leading cause of the disease in non-smokers.

Cass Co BOS 7-15-25

Health officials say testing is crucial, as radon is colorless and odorless, and high levels can be found in any type of home. Free test kits are available from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services or the American Lung Association https://action.lung.org/site/Ecommerce?store_id=34304) There are two types of test kits: short-term and long-term.

The test results are then sent-off to a lab. The kits are offered through the Cass/Guthrie County Health Department, for a modest charge. In other business, the Cass County Supervisors discussed and then approved the retention of Ahlers-Cooney as bond counsel. Board Chair Steve Baier…

And, Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken updated the Board on Secondary Roads Department construction projects.

He also reported on maintenance activities.

The next meeting of the Cass County Board of Supervisors is August 5^th.

(Radio Iowa) – One person remains unaccounted for after Monday’s fire in a historic building on Albia’s town square. Albia Fire Chief John Freshwater says crews are still monitoring the smoldering structure, which had three businesses at street level and apartments on the second floor. “We kind of rotated some guys through. We had some guys come back around 3:30, 4,” Freshwater says. “The Edward Jones building over there had some hot spots on it earlier, so we were up on that. Everything is under control, just basically mopping up stuff.”

About two-thirds of historic building in Albia’s town square knocked down to stop today’s fire from spreading. (KIIC photo)

The State Fire Marshal was unable to determine the cause of the fire yesterday (Monday). Freshwater has called the Marshal this (Tuesday) morning to check on the timing of his return to the site. “We’re going to try to get in this back portion and see what we can figure out,” Freshwater said. The fire started in a portion of the building that dates back to 1884.

(Radio Iowa) – A three-part docuseries about Mason City T-V anchor Jodi Huisentruit, who vanished just over 30 years ago, is premiering today (Tuesday) on the streaming service Hulu. “Her Last Broadcast: The Abduction of Jodi Huisentruit” is one of three new true-crime docuseries from A-B-C News Studios. Twin Cities-based Maria Awes is the executive producer of the series and has covered the Huisentruit case for years. “There’s been just a lot of twists and turns and persons of interest and things over time, and I think it’s time we get this case solved,” Awes says. “It’s tragic just to think about it, and I do think about it a lot.” Awes says they profile four different “persons of interest” in the case, one who recently died, as well as convicted rapist Tony Jackson, who lived in Mason City at the time of her disappearance. Awes says two other leads will be examined that came to light after a “20/20” special aired on A-B-C in 2022.

A memorial to Jodi Huisentruit outside the station where she worked. (KLKK photo)

“There was a tip that came in from one of Jodi’s best friends. She had some suspicions about whether or not her ex-husband might have been involved,” she says. “That happened as a result of our broadcast, that she came forward to Mason City police with that information. She had reached out one other time before, and there was some soft search kind of material done on them within the department, but this really ratcheted it up when there was a little bit more information that came out this time.” Awes says Mason City police want to solve this case and it remains an active investigation.  “The police would always say ‘We don’t know who did it until we know who did it’, right? And it’s all about investigating and lining up all these different pieces of the puzzle to fit that one final piece. They have a lot of pieces, but they don’t have the full picture. I think hopefully this series can be a catalyst for someone with the missing piece to finally come forward.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Mason City Police Department at 641-421-3636.

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston, Monday, arrested a man wanted on a warrant for an original charge of Theft in the 5th Degree. Authorities say 22-year-old Jorge Luis Alvarez, of Creston, was arrested at the intersection of Highway 34 and Industrial Parkway. Alvarez was being held in the Union County Jail on a $300 bond.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Mills County report three arrests took place over the past week. Two separate arrests occurred Saturday, July 12th:

• 30-year-old Karla Yareli Ridner, of Omaha, was arrested following a traffic stop at Karns Road and 180th Street, near Pacific Junction. Ridner was charged with OWI/1st offense. Her bond was set at $1,000.
• and, 62-year-old Christine Yvonne Scheef, of Omaha, was arrested during a traffic stop on U-S Highway 34 east, near Glenwood. Scheef was charged with: Possession of Marijuana/1st offense; Open Container-Driver (21+); Speeding; and OWI/1st offense. Her total bond amounted to $2,600.

And on July 7th, Mills County Deputies arrested 23-year-old Justin Albert Fichter, of Glenwood, for Domestic Abuse Assault/1st offense, and on two counts of assault (Simple Misdemeanors). He was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail.

(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – Two more contenders have entered the race for Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, which is expected to be an open race as U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra considers a run for governor. Kyle Larsen, a farmer and land appraiser, announced he would run as a Republican for Iowa’s 4th Congressional District Monday. He is the latest contender in the primary to succeed Feenstra, joining Iowa House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl, who entered the race last week, and Siouxland Chamber of Commerce President Chris McGowan, who announced his campaign in late June.

Larsen said in a campaign launch video he is running on a campaign platform of “faith, family, farm” — the issues he said are most important to voters in the 4th District, the district covering much of northwest Iowa. The Republican is an Iowa State University alumnus who runs a pig and row crop business in Humboldt, where he lives with his wife and two children. He has previously served as president of the Humboldt County Farm Bureau Board. Larsen said he would want to serve on the U.S. House Agriculture Committee and use his experience as a third-generation farmer to ensure that Iowa farmers’ interests are represented in Washington. Feenstra had announced an “exploratory” committee for governor after Gov. Kim Reynolds said she will not seek reelection in 2026. Feenstra has represented Iowa’s 4th District since 2021, when he won against incumbent former U.S. Rep. Steve King in the longtime conservative stronghold.

A voter in Carroll County fills out a ballet for the June 4, 2024 primary election. (Photo by Jared Strong/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

While there are multiple Republicans competing for the seat — which is regularly ranked as a “safe Republican” House race by political forecasters — there was a period when no Democrats were running for the position. Democrat Ryan Melton, who ran against Feenstra in 2022 and 2024, suspended his campaign in June because of issues related to his family and career. But last week, a new Democratic contender entered the race. Ashley WolfTornabane, a Democrat from Storm Lake, announced her campaign earlier in July. On her page on the donation site ActBlue, WolfTornabane, said if elected, she would work on issues like funding education, advocating for LGBTQ+ individuals and people from other marginalized populations and creating a “feasible pathway to citizenship for our immigrant neighbors.”

WolfTornabane, a stay-at-home mother, also said she supports raising the minimum wage and a “health care for all” system.

(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – Eighteen percent of soybeans are setting pods across the state, which is several days ahead of the 5-year average. Other crops across Iowa continue to progress close to the normal schedule amid another week of above-average precipitation, according to the crop progress and condition report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Corn and soybeans both rated well for the July 7-13 reporting period, respectively at 85% and 79% good to excellent.  Corn silking reached 36% on average across the state, and 5% of corn entered the dough stage. The central regions of the state and southeastern Iowa continue to lead the state in terms of acres reaching various development stages.

On average, more than half of soybean acres across the state are blooming, according to the report. The second cutting of alfalfa hay is 66% complete across the state and 7% of hay acres have undergone their third cutting already. Hay rated 83% good to excellent for the week. Oats rated 86% good to excellent and nearly all, 96%, of the crop has headed and 71% has colored.

Farmers had fewer than four days suitable for field work during the reporting period due to what State Climatologist Justin Glisan referred to as an “anomalously wet and active” weather week.  On average, the state received 2.37 inches of precipitation during the period, which is more than an inch above the normal. Precipitation accumulation maps for the period show a band of heavy rain from river to river across the central portion of the state. These areas received 2-4 inches more than the normal for the reporting period. Asbury in Dubuque County clocked the most precipitation for the period with 6.77 inches. Several towns in eastern Iowa had flash flooding warnings and there were tornadoes in Canton, Clarinda and in Scott County.

Accumulated precipitation from July 7-13. (Map courtesy of Midwestern Regional Climate Center)

Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation Monday for Scott County, due to damages from the storm. The disaster proclamation opens up state funds to help with repairs to an area and allows affected residents to apply for grants to help pay for repairs and other expenses caused by the storm. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said it was a “wild weather week” for the state.  “Though the rainfall is improving drought conditions and helping the corn during tasseling and pollination, there are now parts of the state that could use a break from the rain,” Naig said in a statement.

According to the report, north central Iowa has the wettest soil, with 37% of topsoil and 38% of subsoil moisture conditions rated as surplus for the period. On average, topsoil moisture conditions for the state rated 71% adequate and 23% surplus. Subsoil moisture conditions for the state were 74% adequate and 16% surplus. Southwestern Iowa continued to have the driest soil conditions as 31% of topsoil and 35% of subsoil rated short.

(Radio Iowa)- The SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying Iowa native astronaut Peggy Whitson and her three crewmates splashed down about 4:30 Central this (Tuesday) morning in the Pacific Ocean just off the coast of San Diego.

It completes an 18-day research mission aboard the International Space Station. Whitson is America’s most experienced astronaut, now with nearly 700 days in space over five missions.

Axiom Dragon space capsule after splash down Tue. morning (Axiomspace.com screenshot)

(Radio Iowa) – A launch party will be held tonight (Tuesday) in northwest Iowa for a new book that’s rich in area history, written by Judy Bowman, who died in May. Bowman was a local journalist and the 25-year administrator of the Plymouth County Historical Museum. Bowman’s friend, Judy Stokesberry, says the book is called “Down at Dalton.” “It’s basically a compilation of 42 of her columns that she wrote for The Messenger,” Stokesberry says. “The Messenger is the newsletter that she owned that printed the news from the courthouse.” Stokesberry says the last chapter of the book was transcribed in the final days of Bowman’s life.

“When she was confined to her bed towards the end, she had a friend come in and she dictated the final chapter to her,” Stokesberry says. “She called the chapter, Six Miracles, and it was six things that had happened to her since she lived in Plymouth County that she considered miracles.” The title of the book comes from the former town of Dalton, what’s now a ghost town, which had also been known as West Le Mars, where Bowman owned an acreage.

“From about 1890 to 1912, there was a settlement there. It had a church, it had a school, it had a hotel, it had businesses,” she says, “and then as Le Mars started to grow and transportation got better, Dalton kind of died out.” The book launch will run from 5 to 7 PM at Lally’s Eastside Restaurant in Le Mars. Profits from book sales will go to the Wet Nose Animal Rescue in Le Mars, which was founded by Bowman, who loved animals.