(Radio Iowa) – State Senator James Carlin, a Republican from Sioux City, will announce this (Monday) morning (8-a.m.) that he plans to run for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Chuck Grassley. Carlin told the conservative Iowa Standard website he’s very concerned about the direction of the country. Carlin aired similar sentiments during a speech in the Iowa Senate on January 28th.

Iowa Senator Jim Carlin

“I think we have cause for concern,” Carlin said. “Are we free today? What have our legislators done on national and state levels?” Carlin didn’t use the phrase “cancel culture” in that late January speech, but Carlin argued freedom of speech is under attack.

“If you don’t think so, ask President Trump,” Carlin said. “The moment he lost the election, they took away his free speech on every media platform, immediately.” Twitter and Facebook banned Trump after congress certified the Electoral College results on January 6th. Carlin did not directly mention Grassley’s vote in the Senate to certify that Joe Biden won the Electoral College, but Carlin did question the outcome.

“Many of us believe, and I am one of those people, that our last election was the result of widespread fraud that never got a fair hearing,” Carlin said. “Representative government never got a fair hearing.” Carlin, who is 58, has been a trial lawyer in Iowa for 23 years and a member of the state senate since winning a special election in late 2017. Grassley, who is 87, has not announced yet whether he’ll seek an eighth term in the U.S. Senate.

A spokesman for Grassley’s campaign says the 2020 campaign just ended and Grassley is focused on serving Iowans and holding government accountable, as he’s always done.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst are among the 43 Republicans who voted to acquit President Trump of inciting the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Both senators issued written statements Saturday night. Grassley said the acquittal does not excuse Trump’s conduct on and around January 6th, but Grassley said the House managers did not prove Trump committed incitement to insurrection.

Ernst said congress should not be in the business of using impeachment as a political tool to enact partisan revenge. In addition, both Ernst and Grassley said the Senate did not have the authority to try a private citizen like Trump.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Bitter cold temperatures and dangerous wind chill levels are expected across much of the central United States at the start of the week. The National Weather Service has issued wind chill warnings for Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri at least through Monday because a blast of arctic air will dominate the weather in the region. Several inches of snow is also expected to fall across much of Kansas and Missouri Monday.

Forecasters warn that wind chill levels could fall below -40 degrees in parts of Nebraska and Iowa on Monday morning, creating concerns about frostbite and hypothermia for anyone out in the cold for long periods. Many school districts on Sunday announced they had cancelled classes for Monday.

Several meetings are set to take place Monday evening in the immediate listening area:

At 5:15-p.m. Atlantic Parks and Recreation Board: Action items/new business includes updates on…

1. The Snow sculpture contest.
2. Nishna Park.
3. Prairie seeds
4. Trailhead landscaping
5. The Treasure Hunt
6. “Snow Fun Afternoon.”

Director Bryant Rasmussen will provide information about: Snow removal; Walkability Maps; The Schildberg (Rec Area) washout; tables/benches; Winter Rec, and Dog Park Equipment. The meeting takes place via Zoom (Meeting ID: 857 7087 3324 Passcode: 855978)

At 5:30-p.m.: The Griswold School Board meets in the Conference Room. Among other business, they are set to receive a COVID-19 update, and consider approval of: An E-Rate application (the E-rate program, helps schools and libraries to obtain affordable broadband); Chemical Application bids & mowing specifications, along with the first reading of 400-Series Board Policies. The meeting will conclude with a closed-session for strategy negotiations discussion with a Certified Bargaining Unit.

And, the Audubon School Board will meet at 7-p.m. Monday in the High School Board Room. Action items on their agenda include approval of: the Audubon Education Association as the official Teacher Bargaining Unit; Adding a Freshman Baseball Coaching position, and approving the transfer of funds ($191,175.20) from the General- to PPEL/SAVE – fund. The Board will also set the date and time for a Public Hearing on the School Calendar, and act on any Personnel matters to come before them.

ARMSTRONG, Iowa (AP) — The police chief of a small Iowa town, who was charged with several crimes along with three other local officials last week, has been arrested in Minnesota. The Martin County, Minnesota, Sheriff’s office said Armstrong, Iowa, Police Chief Craig Merrill was arrested Saturday just over the border from the town where he was employed.

Armstrong’s mayor and the current and former city clerks were all arrested Friday and charged with several felonies and misdemeanors after a long investigation uncovered embezzlement and other offenses. Merrill is awaiting extradition to Iowa to face the charges.

The Iowa Department of Public Health, Sunday, said there were 458 new positive cases of COVID-19 test results returned from the labs over the past 24-hours, for a pandemic total of 329,098 positive cases. There were NO additional deaths reported, for a total of 5,236. Statewide, 4,726 COVID deaths are attributed to Underlying causes. COVID was a contributing factor to 510 deaths. Deaths at Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities account for 2,131 of the total number of deaths.

Long-Term Care facility outbreaks went down from 36 on Saturday to 35, Sunday. Officials say 947 LTC patients have tested positive for the virus, and 623 have recovered.

The State data show 240 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, compared to 225 on Saturday. Two more patients were in an ICU, for a total of 57……54 were admitted over the previous 24-hours, compared to 37 on Saturday, and 29 patients were on a ventilator, down from 33 previously. In RMCC Region 4 (Hospitals in western/southwest Iowa), 14 are hospitalized with COVID symptoms, six people are in an ICU, one persons was admitted over the past 24-hours, and two people remained on a ventilator.

Iowa’s statewide positivity rate Sunday was 8.0%. The 7-day average was 6.1%.

A total of 301,773 Iowans have recovered from the virus.

In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County; The # of new cases since yesterday {+} – if any; and the total number of deaths in each county to date:

• Cass, 1,231 cases; {+3}; 47 deaths
• Adair, 762; {+1}; 25
• Adams, 316 {+0}; 3
• Audubon, 453 {+1}; 9
• Guthrie, 1,071 {+2}; 28
• Harrison County, 1,645; {+0}; 68
• Madison County, 1,359; {+0}; 16
• Mills County, 1,457; {+3}; 20
• Montgomery, 953; {+1}; 36
• Pottawattamie County, 9,597; {+10}; 139
• Shelby County, 1,124; {+1}; 32
• Union County,  1,168; {+2}; 31

By DAVID PITT Associated Press
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Public health experts say Iowa’s lagging ability to broadly deliver coronavirus vaccines to people is due to inadequate preparation, confusing communication and a lack of staff and resources at local agencies. Iowa has hovered for weeks near the bottom among all U.S. states in its ability to deliver coronavirus vaccine to people. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says some counties have had to cancel vaccination clinics due to bad weather and others with unused vaccine will get additional help with contract nurses.

She’s been criticized for not having a statewide registration and call center established. Reynolds announced this week she’s contracted with Microsoft for the statewide registration and appointment system. The state on Friday delayed plans to award a private call center contract.

Police in Council Bluffs are investigating a shooting incident. Officers were called at around 11:55-p.m. Saturday to the 10 block of Voorhis Street, in Council Bluffs, for a report of a male subject with a gunshot to his abdomen. Officers arrived and located the victim in his residence lying on a couch and alert. Medics arrived and transported him to a local hospital. At this time it appears as though the gun shot may have been self-inflicted. No other persons were injured in the incident.

This investigation is ongoing by the Council Bluffs Police Criminal Investigation Division. Anyone with any information that was in the area at the time of this incident is encouraged to contact the Criminal Investigation Division at 712-328-4728 or they may call Crime Stoppers at 712-328-7867