(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.”

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Character Awards for 2025 are being announced, highlighting the people, teachers, communities and organizations that are helping to make positive changes across the state. Amy Smit is spokesperson for the Robert D. and Billie Ray Center at Drake University. She says there are a dozen awards this year, while the highest honor is called the Robert D. and Billie Ray Pillar of Character Award.  “We chose Mike Knapp to receive the award,” Smit says. “Mike has provided us with some visionary leadership and helped advance our mission for many, many years, and we know that he’s really worked hard to carry on Governor Ray and Mrs. Ray’s legacy.”

Knapp, of Des Moines, has served as the president and C-E-O of Iowa Realty, and chairman emeritus of HomeServices of Iowa. A news release says: “Knapp has spent more than five decades shaping Iowa’s business and civic landscape through his leadership, service, and unwavering commitment to character.” Another one of this year’s key awards is going to a city in northwest Iowa as the recipient of the Community of Character Award.

“The City of Spencer is really a great example of Iowans coming together after facing tough times,” Smit says. “In 2024, after they faced some devastating floods, they had homes that were damaged and families displaced, but in the midst of the crisis, Spencer really showed up and they showed what it means to live by the Six Pillars of Character.” Those pillars are: Caring, Citizenship, Fairness, Respect, Responsibility, and Trustworthiness. The program was founded at Drake in 2005 and has since honored more than 200 Iowans. Smit says it’s important to have role models.

“Part of that is being able to know who those people are and hear more about them,” Smit says. “Our Iowa Character Awards highlight the best of Iowans. We hear from citizens throughout the state who nominate their friends, coworkers, family members, organizations, schools, to tell us all about the great things that they’re doing in Iowa.” This year’s awards ceremony is scheduled for August 1st in the Des Moines metro.

See the full list of 2025 honorees here:
https://raycenter.drake.edu/iowa-character-awards/

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s law changed so you can now legally shoot off fireworks anywhere in the state on July 3rd and 4th this year. Kim Sandtoe operates one of two permanent Jakes Fireworks buildings in central Iowa and says they’ve already had people calling to ask about it. “We’ve seen an increased interest in fireworks products. People that are new to new to fireworks, as well as those that have maybe bought more conservative items previously and are now looking to try some things they haven’t tried in the past,” she says. Sandtoe runs the Urbandale operations, and estimates sales are up ten to 15 percent across their two buildings and 60 tents. Before this year’s change cities and counties were able to put restrictions on fireworks, and many banned them altogether. Sandtoe says to her it seems like the competition has leveled off since fireworks became legal to sell again in 2017.

“You know when it first became legal, there was a huge uptick in the number of tents. We’ve seen over the last several years, that’s kind of dwindled a little bit,” she says. She says people realized that you need to be able to buy in quantity to get better prices on fireworks, and some didn’t have that capacity. Sandtoe says you also have to plan ahead and buy in advance to have enough stock. “That’s a big thing for us, we place our orders a year in advance so all the tariffs and such haven’t really impacted us this year, because our orders were all in and a lot of our product was in before the first of the year,” Sandtoe says. She says There are hundreds of options for those who want to buy fireworks.

“The Big 500 gram cakes, which is what most people consider fireworks, where you’re lighting them off and multiple things happen. I’ve got almost 100 skews of just those items alone,” Sandtoe says. “We’ve got stuff for everybody. We’ve got smokes and sparklers and snakes and little spinners, fountains for those people that want to air a little bit more conservatively. The fountains are kind of the showers of sparks. They only go at most ten to 14 feet in the air, so those are great for neighborhood environments.”

The law now allows you to shoot off fireworks on July 3rd from 9 a-m until 10 p-m, and July 4th from 9 a-m until 11 p-m.

(Radio Iowa) – Former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, a Republican, will be speaking in Algona this weekend — about a Democrat who served in the Iowa House. Joshua Manske is one of the Kossuth County Democrats organizing the event in honor of the late Dolores Mertz of Ottosen.

“When we were talking about Dolores, we were like, you know, ‘Who would be somebody that could highlight the public service that she had done so well?’ As we thinking about it, we go, well, we know that (Mertz) and Governor Branstad…had a really good working relationship,” Manske says. Branstad was governor during 16 of the 22 years Mertz served in the Iowa House and he has often called Mertz his favorite Democrat. There is no charge to attend Saturday’s event at the Performing Arts Center in Algona, but donations will be accepted for the scholarship fund that’s been established in Mertz’s name.

“I called up the governor and he said: ‘Absolutely would love to do an event,'” Manske said. “Just seemed like it made sense.” Manske and another host will be on stage with Branstad Saturday afternoon, asking Branstad questions and there will be a selfie line afterward for people who want a photo with the nation’s longest serving governor. Mertz died in the fall of 2022 at the age of 94. “(She) and Governor Branstad were really, really good friends so it’s kind of a way to bring a little nostalgia back between somebody who was a member of the Democratic Party and a person who is a member of the Republican Party and have an event to honor her and the friendship (Mertz) and Governor Branstad had,” Manske says.

Mertz served as secretary of the Kossuth County Democratic Party for 13 years. Her husband, Pete, died of a heart attack in 1983 and she was appointed to serve the remainder of his term on the Kossuth County Board of Supervisors. She was elected to the Iowa House in 1988 and did not seek reelection in 2010. Branstad, who is 78, recently retired from his role as president of the Des Moines-based World Food Prize. In May of 2017, Branstad resigned as governor to become U-S Ambassador to China, where he served for just over three years.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Severe storms erupted across parts of Montgomery, Cass, Adair, Audubon and other area Counties Monday evening. Storms that struck Atlantic at around 5-p.m. brought intense wind and heavy rain, that resulted in street flooding and much tree damage. It appears the eastern side of Atlantic was hardest hit, with a tree at 15th and Olive coming down very near and possibly on a home. (Photos by KJAN News Director Ric Hanson)

Numerous streets were blocked or at the very least littered with tree/branch debris. A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for southeastern Cass County at around 4:15-p.m., Monday.  A severe thunderstorm watch was issued for many counties across southwest and central Iowa just at around 4:45-p.m., and a warning for northern Cass County was issued at about the time the storm hit Atlantic.

15th & Olive

3rd Street Place off of Mulberry (Still frame of the wind/rain)

(Radio Iowa) – America 250 — the commission created to plan events celebrating the country’s 250th anniversary — has released a few more details about the kick-off event planned on the Iowa State Fairgrounds next week. America 250 says President Donald Trump will speak on Thursday evening, July 3rd at the Iowa State Fairgrounds and provide a glimpse into the grand festivities planned for the country’s 250th anniversary.

There’s a link on the America-250-dot-org website to register to attend Trump’s address. The commission says the speech will be the first in a series of events in every state and U-S territory that will culminate in a monumental celebration on July 4th, 2026. A spokesperson for America 250 says Trump’s speech next week in Des Moines will provide a “vision for a renewed commitment to America’s future.”

President Trump walked down the Grand Concourse during the 2023 Iowa State Fair. (File photo courtesy of Trump’s 2024 campaign)

Trump has visited the Iowa State Fairgrounds several times. Trump walked through the crowds during the 2015 and 2023 Iowa State Fairs and he spoke at campaign rallies on the fairgrounds in December of 2015 and October of 2021. Trump was also the keynote speaker at a fundraiser in August of 2016 for Senator Joni Ernst that was held in the livestock pavilion on the state fairgrounds.