(Radio Iowa) – County auditors are raising concerns about proposed rules from the Iowa Secretary of State’s office that would require the same training for every part-timer and volunteer who works on Election Day. Jenny Hillary is deputy commissioner of elections in the Dubuque County Auditor’s Office.

“There’s a lot of election personnel at the elections and all of the required training might not be necessary for people who are just picking up election night results or dropping something off on election morning,” she says. Election workers who open absentee ballots are trained on the rules for early voting and election workers at each precinct who screen voters and hand out ballots are trained about Election Day voting rules.

“And our election staff who are just picking up results to get back to the courthouse so we can timely get them uploaded to the state, so the public can see, probably don’t need all of the voter check-in process,” Hillary says. Eric Gookin, legal counsel for the Secretary of State’s office, says he and others on staff are reviewing those concerns. “Part of the trick is that the (Iowa) Code language says, is pretty flat about anybody who works in a polling place on Election Day,” he says, “and so we’re really looking at that to see if we can further define that down to address some of those issues.”

The proposed guidelines for training of what Gookin calls “precinct election workers” or P-E-Os were discussed this week during a meeting of the legislative panel that reviews all the rules state agencies develop. “The list of training requirements, the topics we chose were those that we already do heavily training on, both us and the counties, as sort of a baseline starting point, so that way everybody — all PEOs across the state are getting a similar baseline training,” Gookin says. “They also are reflective of the questions that we most frequently get from either the public or counties as we’re doing trainings.”

Gookin says the secretary of state’s office is developing new training materials, too.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – A crash during heavy rain Tuesday night in Guthrie County claimed the life of a man from Coon Rapids. According to the Iowa State Patrol, a car driven by 60-year-old Jerry Hager, of Coon Rapids, was traveling east on Highway 141 at around 9:15-p.m., just east of Oak Avenue ( about a mile west of Bagley), when the vehicle crossed the centerline of the road and side swiped a westbound 2024 Jeep Wrangler driven by 56-year-old Michele Pudenz, of Carroll.

After the initial collision, Hager’s car – a 2009 Chevy Impala – collided head-on in the westbound lane, with a westbound 2018 GMC Terrain driven by 26-year-old Gillian Streit, of Manilla. The Jeep and GMC came to rest in the westbound lane of Highway 141. The car came to rest in the eastbound lane.

The Patrol says Hager, who was not wearing a seatbelt, suffered fatal injuries from the crash and died at the scene. The other drivers and a passenger in the GMC were wearing seatbelts, and were not injured. The crash resulted in the roadway being closed for about four-hours.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – A Public Hearing will take place during the Wednesday, June 18th Atlantic City Council meeting, with regard to an amended FY2025 Budget. The meeting at City Hall begins at 5:30-p.m.

In the Agenda packet, City Administrator John Lund explained this year, four of the nine budget categories require the amendments, including increases to:

• Public safety, in the amount of $88,593.
• Health and Social Services, $2,647 (for water, air & mosquito control).
• Culture and Recreation (a total increase of $72,795)
• and General Government, an increase of $45,815.

An additional $365,000 in transfers is also being amended. Lund says amendments such as those mentioned, are a routine matter. The hearing will be followed by action on passing a resolution “Declaring [a] surplus and Authorizing [the] Transfer” of funds, and passing a resolution approving the transfer of funds for FY2024-25.

The Council will also consider and act on passing the second reading of an ordinance amending the City Code of Ordinances, by changing the current run-off system of City elections back to a “Plurality takes all,” which the City previously had, up until July, 2021.  Other business includes action on the second reading of ordinances that:

• Change the speed limit on 29th Street from 35- to 30-mph, from Chestnut Street to the Southern City limits.
• Change the speed limit on 29th Street from 35- to 30-mph from Chestnut to Palm Street.
• Amends the language on Ordinance 1059 to read “On 29th Street from the Palm Street intersection to a point 800 feet West of [the] intersection.” The reduction to 35-mph remains unchanged.

In other business, the Atlantic City Council will hold a Public Hearing on the plans, specifications and Forms of Contract for the 2025 Concrete Street Improvements, followed by action on a resolution approving the aforementioned street improvements, and a review of the bids for the improvements, along with the awarding of a contract for the work.

(Des Moines, Iowa/ KCCI-TV) – Republican leaders of the Iowa House say they have enough signatures from its members to convene a special legislative session in order to vote to override Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ veto of House File 639. House File 639 was a key piece of legislation passed this spring by the Iowa House and Senate. Proponents said it would strengthen private property rights.

Iowa landowners have been fighting for this legislation for years, as Summit Carbon Solutions continued work on its proposed $8.9 billion, 2,500-mile carbon capture pipeline, which would run through Iowa and other states. In a statement released after vetoing the legislation, Reynolds said HF 639 was about more than eminent domain and would set a “troubling precedent that threatens Iowa’s energy reliability, economy and reputation as a place where businesses can invest with confidence.”

Immediately after Reynolds’ veto, Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, called for the legislature to reconvene in a special session to override the veto. The House petition collected signatures from 70 lawmakers, surpassing the two-thirds majority required to call for a special session. The Iowa Senate would also need to collect enough signatures — also a two-thirds majority — on a petition to convene the special session.

Last week, Iowa Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver, R-Grimes, said he did not believe the Senate would “be interested in any attempt to override her veto.” Two-thirds of both chambers would need to vote for an override for the bill to become law without the governor’s approval.

The last time the Iowa legislature convened to override a governor’s veto was in 2006.

(Radio Iowa) – The annual “Water Rocks” summit is underway at Iowa State University for some 31 teachers representing 24 Iowa school districts. Spokesperson Ann Stout says the workshop participants range from kindergarten to high school teachers. “It’s helping to build educators’ awareness and their knowledge base of different environmental and agricultural topics, the interconnection of our water, our land, our wildlife in the state of Iowa,” Stout says. One topic they learn about is watersheds.

“So a watershed is an area of land that all drains to a common water body. So, everything that happens on that land can ultimately affect the rivers, the streams, the lakes where that water ends up,” she says. Stout says it’s something that has been at the top of the news lately with high nitrate levels in rivers that are impacting the water supply for Des Moines and surrounding cities. The event focuses first on water issues, but Stout says they also include some other environmental topics. They will have a professor from Central College in Pella teaching about the various bats in the state.

“He’s going to share some information about the exciting role of bats, the different bats that we have here in Iowa,” she says. “And then as part of that, we will also be going on a field experience and netting bats. So, he’ll be setting out large nets and we’ll be going out at dusk to be able to see what sort of bats use different habitats here in Iowa.” Stout says the goal is to give the teachers information they can use to teach their students about these topics.

“We’re not giving them a curriculum, but we’re giving them, I would describe it as enhanced learning activities that they can then put into their existing curriculum,” Stout says. The “Water Rocks” summit got underway today (Tuesday) in Ames and wraps up tomorrow.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Two members of the non-profit Anita Economic Development Corporation (ADC) appeared before the Cass County Board of Supervisors this (Tuesday) morning, to seek a loan from the County for a new housing development project in Anita, to transform what Darrell Hockenberry said “What was once one of the worst parts of Anita into one of the best areas in town.”

He said they have acquired about 80-percent of the dilapidated trailer park for the construction of new homes. Snyder and Associates Engineers have surveyed the property for the organization. Hockenberry said they have a great deal of support for the project from the City of Anita, Atlantic Municipal Utilities and CADCO (Cass-Atlantic Development Corporation), which has agreed to provide a $100,000 interest-free loan.

The homes will be built with a crawlspace foundation and will include a detached two-car garage. Local builders will construct the homes. Hockenberry He 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.”

No decision on the request was made during Tuesday’s meeting. The matter will instead be placed on the next meeting agenda for possible approval.

(Radio Iowa) – Ryan Melton, the Democratic candidate in Iowa’s fourth congressional district the past two elections, has suspended his 2026 campaign. Melton, who lives in Webster City, announced on social media it was a tough decision to exit the race, but Melton has been notified he’s losing his full time job in the private sector and needs to focus on finding a new job to support his family. Melton also said he’s dealing with a health concern he needs to prioritize and his campaign schedule had been hard on his six-year-old son.

Melton finished his 2024 race against Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra with nearly 33 percent of the vote, about two points better than his finish against Feenstra in 2022. Melton says he doesn’t regret a single minute of his campaigning over the past several years and it was an honor to build up the Democratic Party in an area of the state that’s been dominated by the G-O-P.

Ryan Melton

Feenstra, who was reelected last year to a third term in the U-S-House, has set up a committee to explore a run for governor. Republican Lynn Evans, a member of the state senate, announced last month that he’s exploring a campaign in Iowa’s fourth congressional district.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors, today, Tuesday, June 17^th, approved, pending a review by the Cass County Board of Adjustment, plans by Landus for improvements to their newly constructed anhydrous ammonia storage site south of their facility just west of Highway 71 (formerly Wickman Chemical), because of the proposed increased capacity. Kasey Harken, Capital Projects Lead at Landus talked about their current anhydrous capacity.

In addition to the Atlantic facility, Landus has a couple of tanks in Exira.

Harken says the site plan conforms to IDALS requirements. Officials with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship have inspected the site, and according to the agenda comments, have no issues with adding the additional tank.

After Harken explained the project, the Board received a monthly report from Cass/Guthrie County Executive Director of Environmental Health, Jotham Arber, and a presentation from officials with Anita Economic Development.

The Board discussed a bond counsel proposal from Ahlers-Cooney Attorneys, but tabled action on the matter until Board Chair Steve Baier could get some answers to the Board’s questions. They pased a resolution calling for an adjustment to the Medical Examiner fees (+$250) and the Medical Examiner’s Fee to review the necessary legal documents ($100), for a total of $350.

The Board also passed a resolution for a Rural Transit System Joint Participation Agreement with SWIPCO/SWITA. They approved a payroll status change for Hannah Rochter from Auditor’s Clerk to Auditor’s Clerk and Elections Specialist, at a rate of $24/hour, effective June 16, 2025. And, they approved the hiring of Brook Lilly as Auditor’s Clerk, effective June 30, 2025, at a rate of $23/hour.

Other Board action included Renewing the contract of County Engineer Trent Wolken for three-years (June 20, 2025-June 30, 2028).

(Deadwood, South Dakota) – In an update to our story over the weekend, officials with Lawrence County, South Dakota, Sheriff’s Office, released details about a fatal shooting that occurred last last Thursday, and that resulted in the death of an Audubon County (IA) man.

According to news release from Lawrence County Chief Deputy Sheriff Tavis Little, at around 5:22-p.m. Thursday, June 12, 2025, the Lawrence County Dispatch Center received a phone call regarding an altercation occurring at a rental cabin off Highway 385 South of Lead (SD). The altercation escalated into a physical fight between four men, all from Iowa and Nebraska.

Three of the men were staying at the cabin, and all involved people were there together as a group of UTV riders. During the fight, a .9-mm pistol possessed by one of the men involved in the fight was discharged one time. The bullet struck 59-year old Larry Petersen, from Audubon.

Petersen was pronounced dead at Lead-Deadwood Hospital. The name of the person whose weapon discharged has not yet been OFFICIALLY released by law enforcement. Authorities say their investigation is ongoing and additional details will be released at a later date.

(Griswold, Iowa) – The Griswold School District’s Board of Education, Monday night, approved personnel changes, including resignations and new hires. Superintendent Dave Henrichs…

Henrichs said the Board also approved the hiring of Andrew Almelien, as Elementary Classroom Teacher. In other business, the Board discussed the prioritizing of items identified during their May 19th walk through of District facilities.

And, they established Nutrition Prices.

Superintendent Henrichs said the Griswold School Board left the Convenience Fees for the 2025-26 school year unchanged.