(Radio Iowa) – Iowa County Supervisor Abigail Maas says she’s running state auditor in 2026. Maas, a Republican, says her experience as a county supervisor and in helping cities balance their budgets will set her up for the role of state auditor.  “I know better than most people would on where to look to find the issues and where to find the fraud, and just even the gray area…It’s not always black and white,” she said. “There are things that are not explicitly illegal, but I question are they the best use of taxpayer dollars.” Maas plans to visit each of Iowa’s 99 counties over the next four months and learn from local government officials how to make the auditing process more efficient.

Abigail Maas

“I think what we need to do is also reach out and mend the bond between the state and local governments,” Maas says. “We have our county auditors. We have city clerks…They’re really the boots on the ground. They know what’s going on. They know where to look — where, you know, where we’re missing things.” Maas is a farmer who owns a flooring company in South Amana. She says because of that experience and her role as a county auditor, she’s learned how to cut costs and make local government budgets work without raising taxes. Maas says if elected state auditor, she hopes to implement statewide software for local governments to input their budgets line-by-line.

Lieutenant Governor Chris Cournoyer — a Republican from Le Claire — announced this spring that she’s running for state auditor.

(Radio Iowa) – Many Iowans will try to beat the summer heat with a boat ride, but if they’re also sipping suds while zipping around on the water, there could be legal — and lethal — consequences. Nate Carr, an Iowa D-N-R conservation officer, says the state’s annual Operation Dry Water will get underway later this week, as the busy 4th of July holiday weekend begins. “Operation Dry Water is a national outreach and enforcement campaign aimed at raising awareness about the dangers of boating under the influence,” Carr says, “and just removing impaired operators from our nation’s waterways.”

During the statewide operation last year, the D-N-R and its partners stopped nearly 13-hundred boats carrying more than five-thousand boaters, resulting in a total of 477 warnings or citations for boating under the influence. “It is an issue, and it’s an issue we see here in Iowa, especially on some of our our bigger, more popular waterways,” Carr says, “but it goes down all the way to the smallest waterways, too.” Carr says alcohol use is the leading contributing factor in recreational boating deaths, as intoxicated passengers can easily slip and fall overboard or suffer other life-threatening incidents. “Anytime you’re operating with a blood-alcohol concentration of .08 or higher, just like driving, that is illegal in the state of Iowa,” Carr says. “Obviously, alcohol can impair boaters’ judgment, balance, vision and reaction time, which are all things that you really need when you’re operating a boat on a waterway.”

Iowa DNR photo

The D-N-R says one-third of all boating fatalities nationally involve alcohol, and many of those victims are innocent bystanders.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds, Tuesday, ordered all flags in Iowa to be lowered to half-staff and remain at half-staff from sunrise to sunset this Thursday, July 3rd, in honor and remembrance of Iowa Senator Rocky De Witt. De Witt, of Lawton, was a former Woodbury County Sheriff’s Department Deputy. He was elected to the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors in 2016, and had served as the board’s Chair. In 2022, De Witt was elected to the Iowa Senate as the representative for District 1.

In early 2024, De Witt announced his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. He died on June 25^th of this year. Flags will be flown at half-staff on the State Capitol Building and on flag displays in the Capitol Complex. Flags will also be at half-staff on all public buildings, grounds, and facilities throughout the state.

Individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties and other government subdivisions are encouraged to fly the flag at half-staff for the same length of time as a sign of respect.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A traffic stop early today (Wednesday), in Montgomery County, resulted in an arrest. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports Deputies stopped a vehicle in the 2500 block of 240th Street, near Stanton at around 1:55-a.m., and upon further investigation, arrested 42-year-old Jason Andrew Miller, of Braddyville, for Driving Under Suspension. Miller was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on bond amounting to $491.25.

SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. – The body of a missing 23-year-old swimmer is believed to have been found Tuesday night just before 5:30 P.M. KTIV-TV says according to the South Sioux City Police Department, the body was recovered in the area of Onawa, IA and Decatur, NE on the Missouri River after a boater on the river made the discovery and contacted area law enforcement.

Members of the South Sioux City Police Dept. and the Monona County Sheriff’s Dept. believe this is the body of the missing female who they believed drowned Sunday afternoon in the Missouri River near South Sioux City, Nebraska.

The victim’s body was transported to the Iowa Medical Examiner’s office for formal identification.

The South Sioux City Police Dept. released a statement saying the department “extends our thoughts and prayers to the victim and her family and friends as they grief this tragic loss.”

(Radio Iowa) – The state is paying a Des Moines-based non-profit to manage the mental health and substance abuse services being provided under the new statewide behavioral health system. Aaron Todd is C-E-O of the Iowa Primary Care Association, the non-profit that’s been overseeing the 14 community health centers that primarily serve low income Iowans.

“The Community Health Centers in the last nine years have been a 440% increase in behavioral health visits at the Community Health Centers themselves,” he said. “They have waiting lists in the behavioral health services and so they’ve seen first hand that there is a great need.” Todd says the goal of the new system — which launched yesterday (Tuesday) — is to create a statewide safety net that connects those who need services with a provider.

“That works better for all Iowans, ultimately,” Todd says. A decade ago, the state hired private companies to oversee Iowa’s Medicaid program — and hospitals, doctors and other health care providers have complained about delays in getting reimbursed for providing care. Marissa Eyanson of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services says the state has created a simplified claim process for the new behavioral health system.

“So no more weird invoicing to multiple spaces in order for providers to be able to submit a bill,” she says. Officials say by Monday, contracts were signed with about 80 percent of the agencies and individuals that will be able to bill for mental health or substance abuse services — and the rest of the contracts were being reviewed and were nearly completed.

(Johnston, Iowa) – The Iowa Recorders Association is warning residents about a scam involving a letter you may receive in the mail. In a social media post earlier this week, officials said a constituent of an Iowa recorder received a very official-looking letter in the mail claiming to be a “FINAL ATTEMPT TO NOTIFY” them about their property, with vague language about a “Private Lender” and a so-called “$199 allocated waiver.”

The Records Association said “This is a scam or a deceptive marketing ploy.” They pointed out some Red Flags that you be aware of when receiving questionable correspondence:

• There letter has No actual company name listed—just “Private Lender”
• There is pushy wording like “Call RIGHT AWAY”
• A fake-looking “waiver” is meant to grab your attention
• There is no clear explanation of the issue—just vague threats
• A toll-free number that likely connects you to a scam or high-pressure sales call

Officials say “DO NOT call the number,” and to “Shred the letter and toss it.” They said also, “If you’re ever unsure, contact your mortgage company directly using a phone number from your statements—not from random mail like this. Stay alert and protect your information!”

(Iowa Capital Dispatch; Washington-D.C.) – President Donald Trump hinted Tuesday that he may share good news for farmers at his July 3 event in Iowa. In a social media post, Trump shared information on his upcoming trip to the Iowa State Fairgrounds scheduled for Thursday. He is slated to speak at the America250’s Kick-Off Celebration launching a year of festivities leading up to the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding on July 4, 2026.

While inviting people to RSVP for the event, Trump praised Iowa for supporting him in the past three presidential elections, writing that Iowans “love my Policies for our Wonderful Farmers and Small Businesses.” He also wrote there will be information shared about his current administration’s work on issues impacting farmers in his Thursday remarks.

“I’ll also tell you some of the GREAT things I’ve already done on Trade, especially as it relates to Farmers,” Trump wrote. “You are going to be very happy with what I say — Should be a BIG Crowd!”

President Donald Trump, shown here in a July 2023 file photo, promoted his upcoming Iowa visit on July 1, 2025.(Photo by Jared Strong/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Some farmers, agricultural producers and other business owners in Iowa and worldwide expressed concerns about Trump’s tariff plans earlier this year, when he had announced plans to set a baseline 10% levy on all international imports beginning in early April. Though he set a 90-day pause shortly after the announcement on many of these tariffs, that break is set to expire July 9.

The window before tariffs are set to go back into place was meant to give time to countries that have said they are open to negotiating new trade deals. The president has said this deadline could be extended, but has not offered additional details on timelines or ongoing negotiations.

While tariffs have not been finalized for many countries, Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement and levies on certain goods already in place caused massive economic unrest earlier this year. In Iowa, many local business owners and farmers said the tariffs could cause disruptions to their businesses, and lead to higher costs for consumers. A study from the nonprofit advocacy group Farmers for Free Trade found tariff costs for Iowa importers increased by 304%, roughly $68 million, from April 2024 to April 2025.

There are also agricultural producers who say tariffs have not significantly impacted their business outlooks. In the pork industry, where 25% of U.S. pork production is within the export market and 55% of exported U.S. produced pork going to China, some business owners and producers said profitability is up despite trade war concerns.

(Bayard, Iowa) – A collision between a car and a tractor Tuesday afternoon in Greene County, resulted in the death of the tractor’s operator. The Iowa State Patrol reports 63-year-old Michael Thomas Dahl, of Bayard, was driving the tractor south on Highway 25, just south of 320th Street at around 3:40-p.m., when the machine was struck from behind by a 1989 Mercury passenger car. The accident happened north of Bayard.

The driver of the car was identified as 62-year-old Neal Schoon, of Bayard.

The Patrol says following the collision, the car came to rest in the center of the road. The tractor was pushed into the west ditch. The impact caused Dahl to be knocked-off of the tractor. He died at the scene.

The crash remained under investigation. The Greene County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies assisted at the scene.