(Muscatine, Iowa) –  One person died and another was injured during a collision this (Tuesday) morning in eastern Iowa’s Muscatine County. The Iowa State Patrol reports the accident happened at around 7:15-a.m. in the 2300 block of Burlington Road, in Muscatine. The Patrol says a 2015 VW driven by 39-year-old Daniel Owen Lincon, of Muscatine, was traveling at a high rate of speed on eastbound Burlington Road, when it crossed the center line and struck a westbound 1995 Chevy passenger car. Both vehicles came to rest on the roadway.

Lincon was injured in the crash and flown to the University of Iowa Hospital. The driver of the other vehicle – whose name was being withheld pending notification of family – died at the scene.

(Radio Iowa) – Two people escaped from a house fire in Estherville yesterday (Monday) and one was taken to a hospital for treatment. Estherville Fire Chief Travis Sheridan says there was heavy smoke inside the house when firefighters arrived. “The person that they were communicating with was not completely coherent. They transported him by ambulance because he had injuries to his arm (from) coming out the window,” Sheridan says. “He was cut on some glass.”

Sheridan says the fire started next to a recliner in the living room and there were smoking materials and electrical cords in that area. Firefighters were on the scene for about 45 minutes and the fire chief says most of the damage to the home is from the smoke.

(Radio Iowa) – A study of the Food and Drug Administration tobacco compliance checks in Iowa from 2017 to 2023 found about seven percent of inspections resulted in violations. Many inspections were suspended during the pandemic and violations spiked in 2021 to more than ten percent. University of Iowa assistant professor of pediatrics Tony Fischer says the spike is a concern.  “This is a weak point in in terms of our ability to prevent tobacco use. If it’s really accessible, then it makes it easier for people to try it. And if they try it, they might get addicted,” Fischer says.

The study found tobacco and vape shops, liquor stores and some gas station chains had the highest number of violations. “It’s likely that that we need to do more surveillance to keep retailers honest and not sell tobacco to underage persons,” he says.

The study says federal penalties to retailers totaled nearly 153-thousand dollars in the seven years, while tobacco marketing in Iowa exceeds 100 million dollars annually.

(Radio Iowa) – A special investigation by the State Auditor’s Office has found the former city clerk in a small eastern Iowa town improperly spent about 127-thousand dollars in city funds. Yamira Martinez, the part-time city clerk in Conesville, left the job in March of 2024 and her replacement raised concerns about the city’s accounts. State Auditor Rob Sand says auditors have determined Martinez overpaid herself by about 47-thousand dollars. “Unfortunately what we have seen across the state of Iowa far too commonly happened in Conesville,” Sand said, “a city clerk who had the keys to the kingdom made off with taxpayer money.” Auditors conclude that over the 34 months Martinez was the city clerk, she failed to deposit nearly 18-thousand dollars worth of utility payments AND failed to send out bills for about 23-thousand dollars worth of sewer and garbage services. Sand says Martinez adjusted accounting records to make it appear bills that were due had been paid on time.

“We don’t know if someone paid their bill and it went into her pocket with cash or it was uncollected,” Sand says. The report from the state auditor’s office also shows Martinez used the town’s credit card to make 14-thousand dollars worth of Amazon purchases for things like clothes and make-up, Gucci sunglasses, mattresses, Apple air pods and toys for children. The report from the auditor’s office has been forwarded to Muscatine County officials. “The consequences that she will face will be up to law enforcement,” Sand says. Sand has recommended changing Iowa law to require mandatory prison time for a public official convicted of large scale theft of taxpayer dollars.

“It doesn’t mean that we lock people up and throw away the key, but we shouldn’t be giving them probation when they are stealing tens of thousands of dollars from taxpayers. If we did that, if we made that a mandatory prison sentence, it would send a message across the state of Iowa that this kind of crime is taken seriously and that it will have consequences,” Sand says, “and that would stop some people from doing it.” Some cases involving the theft of taxpayer dollars are referred to federal courts.

Last year, the former city clerk for the small Tama County town of Clutier was sentenced to nearly two years in FEDERAL prison after pleaded guilty to stealing over 100-thousand dollars from the town of about 200 residents.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports four arrests took place over the past week. Two men were arrested June 18th on charges of Theft in the 2nd Degree (re: Property valued at $1,500 to $10,000): 39-year-old Steven Michael Trotter and 35-year-old Jonathan Jo Arrick, both of Glenwood, were taken into custody at a location on Bunge Avenue, and held on $5,000 bonds, each.

On June 20th, 28-year-old Devin Michael Ramirez, of Bellevue, NE, was arrested in Glenwood for Violation of Probation, with bond set at $2,000. And, on June 17th, 22-year-old Colten James Sorensen, of Pacific Junction, was arrested in Glenwood, for OWI/1st offense. Bond was set at $1,000.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors held their regular weekly meeting this (Tuesday) morning, in Red Oak. During their session the Board heard from Attorney John Danos with Dorsey & Whitney, LLP, with regard to the County’s options when it comes to a county-wide Urban Revitalization. Danos explained the difference between a property tax abatement and Tax Increment Financing (TIF), support tools, as they pertain to Urban Revitalization and development. With regard to a Residential/Multi-family and single family residential tax abatements, Danos said….

He says the option is more limited for single-family residential properties, unless there are special needs, such as in a blighted area, or historical preservation area.

John Danos speaks via video conference w/the Montgomery County BOS on June 24th 2025

He said recent legislative action may impact abatement of residential properties.

The school district levy, he said, does not apply to abatement of commercial properties. Danos said designation an entire county as an Urban Revitalization Area, would present a legal challenge because of the ag land restrictions.

He said one-way to get around that is to implement tax abatements on a case-by-case basis, and with certain limits. TIF, which Danos calls the “Cousin of Abatements,” has its own advantages and drawbacks. One of the advantages is…

Any ordinance created with regard to Urban Revaitalization, would need to have public input (i.e: a public hearing). He suggested the Board establish a non-binding policy that shows the County is open to conversation and willingness to work with prospective project owners, whether it be residential or commercial, and then move forward as necessary with the steps needed to make it happen. No action was taken following discussion on Danos’ presentation.

In other business, the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors authorized Board Chair Charla Schmid to approve and sign the plans for the L and Q Avenue Railroad Bridges. They also approved the appointment of Jerald Palmquist to a three-year term on the County Veterans Affairs Commission, with the term ending June 30, 2028.

(Radio Iowa) – After repeated delays, the countdown clock is again ticking toward launch for Iowa native astronaut Peggy Whitson and her record-setting fifth space mission. The Axiom Space mission was originally scheduled for liftoff June 8th, but saw pushbacks due to bad weather at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and mechanical issues on the Falcon 9 rocket and the docking area on the International Space Station. The launch of Ax-4 is now set for early Tuesday at 1:31 AM/Central time.

Whitson is commander of the mission along with three crewmates from India, Hungary, and Poland. The crew is scheduled to spend two weeks at the space station, conducting a series of some 60 experiments in biology, material and physical sciences, as well as technology. Whitson, who grew up on a farm near Beaconsfield, has spent 675 days in orbit, so far. She holds the record for the longest cumulative time in space by an American astronaut.

(Radio Iowa) – A pedestrian who was the victim of a hit-and-run in Des Moines last night (Monday night) has died.Des Moines police say witnesses tell officers the man was standing on the median of a busy intersection about 8 PM when he was hit by a pickup — which fled the scene. The man was rushed to the hospital with critical injuries and later died.

Des Moines Police Department photo

Witnesses reported the pickup was a 2020 Dodge Ram and officers say they’ve found the vehicle and identified the driver, an adult male. As yet, no charges are filed and no names were released. It’s Des Moines’ seventh traffic-related fatality this year.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa [KCCI-TV] — An Ohio man is accused of threatening to blow up an insurance building in West Des Moines. KCCI reports according to court documents, 57-year-old Christopher Webb posted an Instagram video Saturday outside of the American Equity Life Insurance building on Westown Parkway. In the video, he expressed frustration with his insurance company. According to a criminal complaint, Webb is heard saying, “Am I going to blow up the insurance agency or did I just need gas?” The camera then shows five separate gas canisters on the curb.

Documents say someone reported it to a police department in another state, which passed it on to West Des Moines police. Webb told police he only stopped at the building because of its architecture but later admitted to knowing it was an insurance company. Webb admitted to officers that he thought the actions in his video would help him get more Instagram followers.

He is charged with threat of terrorism.

(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – Across the state of Iowa, approximately 2% of planted corn acres are beginning to silk, and 13% of soybean acres are blooming, which is five days ahead of the five-year average, according to the crop progress and condition report. The report, put out weekly by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, showed Iowa corn rated 83% good to excellent and soybeans rated 77% good to excellent. Iowa’s oat crop also rated highly with 85% good or excellent. Nearly all oats in the state, 81%, have headed and 27% are coloring. The first cutting of alfalfa hay was nearly completed during the reporting period from June 16 through June 22. Twenty-four percent of the second cutting is complete.

Map for the reporting period of June 16-22 of average temperature departure from normal. (Map via the Midwestern Regional Climate Center)Soil moisture conditions were the worst in southern regions, in particular the southwest region, and also rated poorly in northwest and west central portions of the state.

The state had an average precipitation of 1.82 inches during the reporting period, which was about six-tenths of an inch above the normal. Some areas of the state had higher precipitation for the reporting period, like Mason City which accumulated 4.41 inches — the most for the week. Soil moisture conditions improved slightly from last week, on average 73% of topsoil moisture was adequate, and just 16% of topsoil was short of moisture. Subsoil moisture for the state as a whole rated 65% adequate and 21% short.

Temperatures across Iowa were high during the reporting period, with an average of 76 degrees Fahrenheit, which is nearly 5 degrees above normal, according to State Climatologist Justin Glisan.  “Exceedingly warm daytime temperatures in concert with high dewpoints and sustained strong southerly winds produced anomalous conditions not seen at many locations in the observational record,” Glisan wrote in the preliminary weather summary for the state.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said the hot, humid and windy conditions from the past week “really made it feel like summer.” “Some areas across north-central Iowa received several inches of rain with other locations receiving uninvited hail and high winds,” Naig said. “The warmer temperatures and increased chances for rain are likely to continue through the end of the month.”