(Radio Iowa) – After last year’s pandemic-related cancellations, all of Iowa’s 100 county fairs are a go in 2021 and five will be held this month. “Not to beat a dead horse about last year, but it was tough. This year, everybody’s back,” says Tom Barnes, executive director of the Association of Iowa Fairs. “…We’re hearing a lot of positive talk about people wanting to get back involved, be at the fair, help with the fair.” Barnes says the “curve ball” of last year’s pandemic prompted fair managers to improvise. For example, many staged competitions for the livestock 4-H and FFA members raised last year. “I believe the count was 85 or 86 fairs in Iowa did not happen at all, but did some sort of youth show-and-go type of event,” Barnes says. “…Early fairs in June was basically the guinea pigs of trying to make that happen and our later fairs learned by what the early fairs did correctly and did not do correctly.”

Barnes is also secretary of the Howard County Fair, which starts next week. Barnes says after years of emphasizing concerns about the spread of diseases among livestock, county fairs are being proactive about the human side as well. “We still have the sprayers and the hand sanitizers and all that. We’ll be utilizing that kind of stuff here during our fair, spacing things out as best as we possibility can, but what’s really helped the fairs be able to kick off this year is the vaccination,” Barnes says. “…There were skeptics three or four months ago. Whether you believe in the vaccination or not, it did change the public’s perception of getting back into a norm.”

The Wapello and Worth County fairs start this Wednesday, June 16. The Linn, Jefferson and Howard County Fairs begin on June 23. There are 99 counties in Iowa, but 100 counties fairs since Pottawattamie County holds two — one in Council Bluffs and the other in Avoca.

(Radio Iowa) – House Democrats have elected a new leader and she is the first woman to serve in the post. The 41 Democrats who serve in the Iowa House met last (Monday) night and elected Representative Jennifer Konfrst of Windsor Heights as House Minority Leader. Konfrst replaces Representative Todd Prichard of Charles City, who announced on June 2nd that he was stepping down after serving in the position for three legislative sessions.

IA House Rep. Jennifer Konfrst

Konfrst was first elected to the House in 2018, reelected in 2020 and she was the second-ranking Democrat in the Iowa House this past session. Konfrst has been a full time professor at Drake University since 2013, teaching course in political communication and public relations.  Konfrst released a written statement Monday night and will hold an online news conference later this (Tuesday) morning.

Sheriff’s Deputies in Montgomery County, early Tuesday morning (Today), arrested 43-year-old Justin Smith, of Villisca.  Smith was taken into custody at around 12:45-a.m. on a Fremont County warrant, following a brief incident in the 100 block of 4th Street, in Villisca. He was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held for two counts of Ongoing Criminal Conduct/Unlawful Activity. Bond was set at $50,000.

Montgomery County Deputies were assisted by Red Oak Police, Deputies with the Adams and Cass County Sheriff’s Departments, along with Red Oak Fire and Rescue personnel.

Police in Red Oak arrested a man wanted on a drug-related warrant following a brief standoff, Monday night. Authorities report at around 10:40-p.m., Officers were searching for a wanted subject. They found 21-year-old Jacob David Berggren, of Red Oak, at a residence in the 500 block of E. Prospect Street. After a short standoff with law enforcement, Berggren gave up without further incident.

Berggren

He was taken into custody on a warrant for Failure to Appear on a Possession of a Controlled Substance/Methamphetamine. Berggren was booked into the Montgomery County Jail on the warrant, along with an Interference with Official Acts, charge. His bond was set at $2,000. Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies assisted during the incident.

At around 8:23-p.m., Monday, Red Oak Police arrested 29-year-old Kyle Lee Foster, Sr., of Red Oak, on two counts of Child Endangerment. He was being held on a $2,000 bond, also.

Des Moines Water Works officials are asking customers to reduce lawn watering by 25%. KCCI reports Des Moines Water Works officials said Monday that drought-induced low river levels and record-breaking demand for water have forced the implementation of stage one of its water shortage plan. Des Moines Water Works officials said a 90% demand in production capacity triggered the stage 1 plan. On Friday, Des Moines Water Works delivered nearly 90 million gallons of water to its 500,000 customers.

Officials say the Raccoon River is so low, that you can walk across it, and they’re asking everyone to hold off using excess water on all Mondays, especially with regard to the watering of lawns. Even-numbered addresses are asked to water on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday. Odd-numbered addresses on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

As the Des Moines area continues into another week of high temperatures, Des Moines Water Works cautions that water usage guidelines could change on a daily basis. Customers should visit the utility’s website: www.dmww.com.

The following communities and agencies are served in whole or in part by Des Moines Water Works: Alleman, Ankeny, Berwick, Bondurant, Clive, Cumming, Des Moines, Johnston, Norwalk, Pleasant Hill, Polk City, Runnells, unincorporated Polk County, Urbandale, Waukee, West Des Moines, Windsor Heights, and rural water districts such as a Warren Water and Xenia Rural Water districts.