(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa State University Presidential Search committee met for the first time today (Tuesday) as it starts the process of replacing Wendy Wintersteen when she retires. The committee discussed confidentiality and the leader of the search firm, Rod McDavis, says it is important before and after the process.  “Afterward, whatever we have talked about should stay with the with the search process, and never be discussed publicly or privately well into the future,” he says. McDavis says they will start the process with listening sessions to get input on what students, faculty, staff and others want in a new president. “Listening sessions will be held in the next few weeks and we want to launch the search if we possibly can by July 23rd,”McDavis says.

Members of the Iowa Board of Regents spoke with the managing principal of the search firm selected to help find a replacement for ISU President Wendy Wintersteen. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

McDavis says they will reach out to a variety of different candidates and will set a cutoff for applications in late September. “This is when we will say the candidates that if they are serious about the position and really want to be considered, we’re encouraging them,” he says. “We will encourage them to have their application submitted. September the 19th.” McDavis says the committee will then weed out the candidates to get to finalists. “The number of semifinals interviews and then after those interviews, your finalists will be identified. Those finalists will be scheduled for campus visits November the 3rd through the 7th,” he says.

The names of the finalists will be released once their visit to campus is scheduled. McDavis says the goal is for the Board of Regents to chose the president-elect at the board meetings on November 11th through the 13th. Wintersteen plans to retire in January.

(Radio Iowa) – The U.S. Senate has approved an amendment Iowa Senator Joni Ernst offered on the massive tax and spending bill senators have been debating since Sunday. “My amendment ends freebies for free loading fat cats by disqualifying anyone making a million dollars or more from being eligible for unemployment income support,” Ernst said. Earlier this year, the Senate unanimously approved a bill to implement the policy and the Ernst amendment easily passed overnight by a voice vote. “Too many of the idle rich are living high off the hog, collecting government checks for not working,” Ernst said, “while at the same time earning a million dollars or more from some other side venture.”

Ernst, who has been proposing this policy since 2023, said during the first two years of the Biden Administration thousands of millionaires were paid $271 million in unemployment assistance. Nearly 15,000 millionaires got unemployment checks in 2021 according to the IRS. “In 2022, the most recent year data is available, nearly 6000 millionaires were paid almost $58 million in jobless benefits. That’s about $10,000 each for each millionaire not to work,” Ernst said. “…Able-bodied millionaires shouldn’t expect handouts made possible by the overtaxed and overworked Americans.”

U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Red Oak, Iowa) speaks during debate on bill to implement Trump’s tax and spending plans.

Another Ernst amendment would remove a new tax on wind and solar energy projects from the bill. That amendment has the support of Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, but it is not yet on the senate’s schedule for a vote. Critics say taxing wind and solar projects would lead to higher electric bills and fewer construction jobs in the renewable energy sector.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors, today (Tuesday), discussed and then acted on a motion to approve a request for funds from the Valley Business Park (VBP) to help the Anita Economic Development Corporation, with regard to their housing development project. Supervisor Mark O’Brien made the motion.

The project is expected to transform a former, currently dilapidated trailer park, into what was described during the Board’s meeting June 17th, as potentially “one of the best areas of town.” Two members of the non-profit Anita Economic Development Corporation (ADC) appeared before the Cass County Board of Supervisors during the meeting on June 17th, asking for a loan to make the project a reality. ADC representative Darrell Hockenberry said previously, they had acquired about 80-percent of the property intended for the construction of new homes. Hockenberry told the Board during their meeting today (Tuesday), that they don’t need the County to commit to the funds for another four-to six-months.

Cass County Supervisors mtg. 7-1-25

Before the Board’s vote, Supervisor Wendy Richter asked if the County could use funds from the sale of farmland instead of the VBP economic development fund.

During the June 17th meeting, Hockenberry said that they have a great deal of support for the project from the City of Anita, Anita Municipal Utilities and CADCO (Cass-Atlantic Development Corporation), which has agreed to provide a $100,000 interest-free loan. He said the County would likely get its money back within about two-years, or when the first constructed home is sold. The homes will be built with a crawlspace foundation and will include a detached two-car garage. Local builders will construct the homes. Hockenberry had previously asked the county if they would be interested in backing a loan of about $250,000 so the AEDC can place their order for two of the homes. He said “We’re not looking for a hand-out. We’re just looking for some help to fund the project.”

In other business, the Cass County Supervisors passed resolutions approving the contracts for two bridge projects. County Engineer Trent Wolken said bids for the bridges 73 and 133 projects were let last month.

Dixon Construction out of Correctionville was awarded the bridge projects in the amount of $837,106.10. Christensen Brothers from Cherokee was awarded the F-M road contract, in the amount of $669,706.50. Wolken then provided an update on Secondary Roads Department maintenance and activities. He mentioned work on County Road N-28 is 90-percent complete.

He said also, crews are working on the north abuttment to bridge 269 by the landfill. Three other bridges are in the design phase.

The Board approved issuing a County credit card to Deputy Assessor Stacy Huss. The card will have a $2,500 limit. And, they passed a resolution canceling outstanding warrants (those more than 1-year old). In a final order of business, the Board approved the Safety Manual, as recommended by the County Safety Committe.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – The Board of Supervisors in Pottawattamie County during a closed session on Monday, formally voted 3-to-2 to deny a grievance filed by County Engineer John Rasmussen.

Their decision not to renew Rasmussen’s fiscal year 2026 contract last month and place him on administrative leave through June 30^th, came on the heels of a special meeting last week, during which no action was taken on a request by Rasmussen and his attorney to reinstate Rasmussen’s contract for a period of no less than three years, to uphold the grievance, and have the details of the contract hashed out between the attorneys.

Supervisors Scott Belt, Jeff Jorgensen, and Tim Wichman voted in favor, while Supervisors Susan Miller and Brian Shea dissented. Shea, who has also been supportive of retaining Rasmussen as the county engineer, feels the move will cost the county financially. Rasmussen’s attorney Raymond Aranza had argued that Rasmussen’s termination was in retaliation from when he “went to bat” for his department’s two female employees earlier this year, asking for higher pay from the board. Aranza says that retaliation would not be legal, floating the potential for a lawsuit.

Rasmussen had served as the Pottawattamie County engineer for more than 20 years.

(Radio Iowa) – An eastern Iowa college is using a new method to give prospective students more accurate information about the cost to attend. Cornell College in Mount Vernon is sending personalized cost estimates directly to students through a program called Save Your Seat. Wendy Beckemeyer, Cornell’s vice president of enrollment, says the system is designed to help families who may not know about net price calculation tools. Beckemeyer says, “The idea behind Save Your Seat is to take away the friction and to use the tools that we can, that we have available to us, and the information that we have to send each student a refined estimate.”

Those estimates are based on calculations from the U.S. Department of Education and a database of financial aid information from within the school. Beckemeyer says the approach is meant to make the college application process easier for students. “This has really resonated with families, this clarity in the conversations we’ve had with parents, they are excited because they see a pathway to Cornell for their student. It is relieving a lot of anxiety that people generally feel about the unknown.”

In late June, the school sent out more than 19-thousand postcards and 16-thousand emails to prospective students. Beckemeyer says she’s already seeing the estimates spur students to move forward in the application process.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – The driver of a vehicle that struck a deer Monday morning in Guthrie County escaped injury, after the deer smashed into her windshield when the car and deer collided. The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office says 31-year-old Kanion Rose Marie Hacker, of Guthrie Center, was driving a 2013 Hyundai Sonata eastbound on Highway 44 near Oak Avenue at around 6:50-a.m., when the vehicle struck the deer. The car sustained an estimated $7,500 damage.

(Muscatine, Iowa) – A woman was shot and killed and the suspected shooter suffered what authorities say was a self-inflicted gunshot wound Monday, in southeast Iowa. According to the Muscatine Police Department, the Muscatine Communications Center received multiple shots-fired reports coming from inside the Muscatine Hy-Vee Store, at around 2-p.m., Monday. Police and Medics responded immediately and located the victim, 37-year-old Kalista Rae Hallberg, of Letts (IA), who had suffered from multiple gunshot wounds. She died at the scene.

The suspect, Ian Antonio Hernandez, of Davenport, fled the scene in a mini-van. The vehicle was located at the intersection of Highways 61 & 38. Officers found Hernandez inside the vehicle. Officers rendered medical aid to Hernandez until Muscatine Fire Dept. personnel arrived on the scene. Hernandez was transported to a local hospital and later flown to the University of Iowa Hospital, where he was in critical condition at last report. Authorities say a preliminary investigation determined the shooting originated from an ongoing domestic dispute between Hallberg and Hernandez.

Muscatine Mayor Brad Bark shared a statement on social media that said, in-part:

“This act of violence, perpetrated by an individual who does not call Muscatine home, is a shameful affront to the values of our community. It has wounded the spirit of our close-knit community, and I explicitly condemn it. No one should fear for their safety in Muscatine, a place we call home—a place where we shop, gather, and build our lives. This tragedy reminds us how precious and fragile our sense of security is, and it strengthens our resolve to ensure such heartbreak does not define us.”

(Creston, Iowa) – Three people were arrested on separate charges in Creston, over the past few days. Two people were arrested Monday (June 30th):

38-year-old Christina Marie McDonald, of Creston, was arrested at Bomgaars and was charged with Theft in the 5th degree. McDonald was transported to the Union County Jail and was released on a $300 cash or surety bond; And, 29-year-old Glen Scott Loe, of Creston, was arrested at the intersection of Clark & Chestnut St on a warrant for Possession of Controlled Substance/1st Offense. Loe was transported to the Union County Jail and later released on a $1,000 cash or surety bond.

Just before 1-a.m. Sunday (June 29th), Police in Creston arrested 53-year-old Julie Christine Valasek, of Creston. Valasek was arrested at her residence and charged with Domestic Abuse Assault – Causing Bodily Injury. She was transported to the Union County Jail and held without bond until seen by Judge. Valasek was later released on a promise to appear in court.

(Radio Iowa) –  Democrat Second District Congressional candidate Kevin Techau is suspending his campaign. A statement from Techau says the campaign’s fundraising hasn’t met the level the race demands. Techau announced his run in April. He is a former U-S attorney and Iowa commissioner of public safety, and the only Democrat running against Republican incumbent Ashley Hinson.

(Radio Iowa) – Police found the bodies of two adults inside a house in Webster City on Monday morning. Police Chief Steve Hansen said the cause of death remains under investigation. The identities of the deceased are being withheld pending the notification of relatives.

The investigation remains ongoing by authorities. At this time investigators believe this is an isolated incident with no known threat to the public.