(Glenwood, Iowa) –  The Glenwood Police Department reports the arrest on Friday (June 6), of 18-year-old Cameron Germar, of Glenwood. Germar was arrested on a Mills County warrant for Violation of Probation. He was subsequently released on his Own Recognizance.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services warns that cases of whooping cough are on the rise. Over the past three months health officials in Iowa’s largest county have confirmed 19 cases of pertussis — the scientific name for whooping cough. Addie Olson is a spokesperson for the Polk County Health Department. “I wouldn’t say we’re raising alarms at this point, but we certainly think that folks should be aware that pertussis is present in the community,” she said, “and also there are steps that you can take to prevent it, like ensuring you’re up to date on the pertussis vaccine.”

Whooping cough or pertussis symptoms start out like the common cold, but can develop into fits of coughing — as many as 15 coughs a minute — followed by a whooping sound as the patient inhales. “Pertussis outbreaks tend to occur every three to five years,” Olson says, “and the current trend aligns pretty well with this pattern.”

Whooping cough is most dangerous for infants. In the past six months, two babies in Louisiana and a five-year-old in the state of Washington have died from whooping cough. Federal health officials say twice as many cases of whooping cough have been reported so far this year in the United States.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has issued “swimming not recommended” advisories for five beaches at state parks after testing this week. It’s the third consecutive week that Black Hawk Beach near Lake View is on the list and second for Pine Lake South Beach near Eldora.

New this week are Lake Manawa Beach near Council Bluffs, Nine Eagles Beach near Davis City and Prairie Rose Beach near Harlan.

All five had tests that exceeded the standard for E. coli. This can indicate that other more harmful bacteria or viruses could be present in the water. The Iowa DNR’s latest beach monitoring reports can be found here.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senate President Amy Sinclair says the state is likely to be sued if Governor Kim Reynolds approves a bill that would establish new state regulations for the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline.

“That’s a bill that’s just going to facilitate activists and there were so many problems with that and ultimately it will cost the state of Iowa money both in economic impact as well as potential lawsuits and I think we have to say those words out loud,” Sinclair said during taping of “Iowa Press” on Iowa PBS. “…That’s what’s going to get us into legal trouble for liability issues related to the U.S. Constitution and Article I Section 10 — the contracts clause. With what we did in the ultimate bill that passed, we are violating the U.S. Constitution and that causes me great concern.”

Last year, the Iowa Utilities Commission awarded Summit a permit to build and operate a pipeline to capture carbon from ethanol plants and ship it to underground storage in North Dakota. However, Summit must get a similar permit in South Dakota before construction can begin in Iowa. The bill has provisions that not only apply to Summit’s project, but to other hazardous liquid pipelines and energy infrastructure, like transmission lines. Sinclair, a Republican from Allerton, said she has no idea what the governor will choose to do with the bill.

Senate President Amy Sinclair (R-Allerton) on the “Iowa Press” set on June 5, 2025.. (Iowa PBS photo)

“I have not spoken to the governor at all,” Sinclair said. “I believe in a separation of powers and a separation of duties and that is her job to determine whether or not that bill makes sense for Iowans.”

The bill easily cleared the House with bipartisan support in March. Sinclair is among the 22 Republican senators who voted against it last month, while a coalition of 27 Republicans and Democrats in the Senate voted to send the bill to the governor.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says the recent arrest of a Chinese couple accused of smuggling a dangerous fungus into the country should be a wake-up call about the intentions of the Chinese Communist Party — and the danger TikTok poses. “I do think it’s time to ban the app,” Hinson says, “or make sure we’ve come up with a deal that protects Americans’ private information.” Congress passed a law last year to ban TikTok, which is owned by a Chinese company, but President Trump has issued two executive orders to keep the ban from going into effect. Hinson, a Republican from Marion, says the Trump Administration should provide congress with an update on negotiations with potential U-S investors.

“I know they had been working on trying to secure a buyer for TikTok so that we could keep the app up and running in the United States and make sure that it’s an American run app,” Hinson says, “not a CCP propaganda and information spy-gathering app.” Hinson is a member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. She says the Chinese are trying to exploit their access to America and that includes this week’s case in Michigan. A Chinese man is accused of trying to smuggle a fungus into the U-S that damages crops and sickens people and take it to the University of Michigan lab where he girlfriend, also a Chinese national, worked.

Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson (R-Marion) on the Iowa Press set. (Iowa PBS photo)

“I applaud President Trump and Secretary Rubio for wasting no time in revoking Chinese students’ visas with ties to the CCP or those who are studying in critical fields for Beijing’s benefit,” Hinson said. “We must ensure that no American institution enables China’s technical and miliary modernization ambitions, especially under the guise of academic exchange.” Hinson says this case is an attempt by China to undermine American agriculture and the global food supply. “The dangerous attempts we saw this week by these Chinese nationals should really serve as a wake up call here,” Hinson says. “…It is past time we hold the CCP fully accountable for undermining our safety and security and I am thankful for President Trump’s efforts holding the CCP’s feet to the fire this week.”

The Trump Administration has announced it will aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students to prevent the theft of U-S academic research and technology. The Institute for International Education estimates there were over 120-thousand graduate students from China enrolled at U-S universities last year.

DENISON, Iowa – Officials with the Crawford County Emergency Management Agency on Friday (Today) updated information concerning an incident that occurred on Monday June 2^nd. On that date, a Denison City employee observed what appeared to be oil leaking from Wheels and Deals, LLC on South 15th Street. The fluid continued West on 5th Avenue South and entered a storm sewer at the corner of 5th Avenue South and South Main Street.

Thursday afternoon (June 5th, 2025), the Denison Fire Department removed the booms (absorbent rolls utilized to contain oil) that were placed on June 2nd, 2025, and noted a minimal amount of oil on the booms, which indicates that product in the river was contained effectively.

Authorities say “The timely response on Monday evening by Denison Municipal Utilities, Denison Public Works, Denison Fire Department, Denison Police Department, Crawford County Emergency Management, and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources kept this incident from escalating any further.”

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s spring planting season is wrapping up, with the majority of corn and soybean fields statewide now fully planted. Angie Rieck Hinz, a field agronomist at the Iowa State University Extension, says weather conditions have been all over the map the past few months. “It was warm when we started and then it turned off a little wet, and then it turned off a little cool, and then it got really windy, and then it warmed up, and then it got cool again,” Rieck Hinz says. “It really was a lot of stress on those earlier planted crops.” Those temperature variations, she says, can really do a number on newly planted crops.

“We were waffling between warm in the 90-degree temperatures and then back in the upper 40s and lower 50s and that causes a lot of stress on those emerged plants,” she says, “but in this last week, with a little bit of rain and now some sun and heat, the corn and soybeans really seem to be exploding in growth.” Many parts of the state have seen healthy rains in recent days, though most areas still lack moisture and could use another inch or two. Plus, she says weeds could be starting to cause a problem.

“If you did an early post-application of herbicide, I would be scouting those fields again,” Rieck Hinz says. “We really struggled with our pre-emerged herbicides this year to work because it was so dry in some places. So it might be the year where we need two post applications of herbicide to keep those weeds down.”

The latest Iowa Drought Monitor map shows about 28-percent of the state has -no- sign of drought, with almost 60-percent of Iowa in the “abnormally dry” category, and about 13-percent considered in moderate drought.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with Vision Atlantic report Cook Sanitation in Atlantic has donated $1,000 to Vision Atlantic’s transformative project that includes housing development, a new child development center, and YMCA expansion, in Atlantic. Cook Sanitation owner Dalton Cook, says he wants “…to see the community grow and keep younger generations here for years to come.” Cook says “This project addresses these issues, giving current and new residents reasons to want to stay in Atlantic.”

Vision Atlantic, through extensive research and surveying of the community and surrounding region, identified three areas that will help increase Atlantic’s population: expanded childcare, quality housing and quality of life amenities. Infrastructure for the 142 mixed unit Camblin Hills housing development and 300 capacity child development center is almost complete, with construction of 48 homes set to begin early this summer. Construction of the child development center and YMCA expansion is slated to begin late this year.

From left-to right: Debbie Waterbury, Christina Bateman, Don Cook, and Dalton Cook. (Photo courtesy Vision Atlantic Communications Chair, Bailey Smith)

Vision Atlantic has a fundraising goal of $39 million, which will be used to construct the YMCA expansion and child development center. To date, they have raised $23.2 million of that goal, thanks to an $8.6 million lead grant from the Charles E. Lakin Foundation and significant support from local donors. In addition to their grant support, the Lakin Foundation has established a separate investment fund of $23 million, which Vision Atlantic will borrow from to construct all 142 homes in Camblin Hills. As the loan is repaid, up to 5% of the fund balance will be donated back to Vision Atlantic to establish a long-term community endowment fund to help support local needs, like affordable childcare.

Vision Atlantic’s Project Committee is actively working to secure the remaining $15.7 million needed to meet their fundraising goal. If you are interested in helping transform Atlantic, whether it’s through monetary donations or acts of volunteerism, please contact Vision Atlantic at visionatlanticiowa@gmail.com. Visit www.visionatlantic.org and follow on Facebook for behind-the-scenes access to project updates and in-depth information of the project scope.

Vision Atlantic is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose mission is to empower growth, enhance lives, and build a thriving community together through the economic development of Atlantic, Iowa.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Families in Iowa can now sign up for the Healthy Kids Iowa (HKI) summer meal program, which provides an alternative to the USDA summer EBT program known as Sun Bucks. Each eligible child will receive up to $40 of healthy foods once per month in June, July and August. Participating pantries across the state have applications available on-site for families to enroll.

In this area, HKI some locations include:

• MATURA in Greenfield (354 Public Square)
• A-C Food Pantry at the Adair Fire Dept.
• MATURA in Corning (1402 Hull St.)
• Exira Christian Church
• Food Bank For the Heartland (FBFH) Mobile Distribution in Atlantic (805 W. 10th St.)
• FBFH Mobile Distribution in Griswold (51 W. Harrison St.)
• A-C Food Pantry in Casey
• New Opportunities in Guthrie County
• FBFH Mobile Distribution at the Red Oak Fire Dept.
• Together Iowa food pantry in Pottawattamie County
• Harlan Lions Club (FBFH)

A full list of locations can be found here.