(Pella, Iowa) – Two people were injured Tuesday afternoon near Pella, in a crash that involved three vehicles, including a school bus carrying members of the Pella girls’ soccer team. According to the Iowa State Patrol, the three vehicles, a 2010 VW Jetta, a 2001 Lincoln Navigator SUV, and a 2023 International bus were traveling west on Highway 163 west of Pella, at around 4-p.m. Tuesday, when the SUV slowed in the left lane to make a left turn. The VW failed to slow down, and ran into the rear of the SUV, causing the Lincoln to roll-over and hit the side of the bus, which was traveling in an adjacent lane.

A rear-seat passenger in the SUV, 65-year-old Rickey Maples, of Knoxville, was injured and flown by LifeFlight helicopter to a hospital in Des Moines. A front seat passenger in the SUV, 24-year-old Dante Dobbins, of Pleasantville, was transported to the Pella Hospital by Pella EMS. No one on the bus was hurt, and none of the drivers of the vehicles were injured.

The Patrol identified the drivers as: 21-yuear-old Breyton Schwenker, of Newton (VW); 56-year-old Betty Maples, of Pleasantville (SUV); and 59-year-old Gregory Dickenson, of Pella (the driver of the bus).

The girls’ varsity soccer game was cancelled Tuesday evening, as a result of the crash.

(Radio Iowa) – The Democratic presidential candidate who won the 2020 Iowa Caucuses says he’s not running for anything, but Pete Buttigieg is offering advice for how the party should respond to the Trump presidency. Buttigieg spoke in Cedar Rapids yesterday (Tuesday). “Anyone can come to Iowa just before an election’s coming up,” Buttigieg said and the crowd laughed. “I wanted to make sure I had a chance to talk with the people I got to know five or six years ago and people I’m seeing for the very first time.”

Buttigieg, a former officer in the Navy, spoke at forum hosted by the VoteVets Action Fund and answered questions from the crowd for about an hour. Buttigieg says Democrats have to talk about what they’re for rather than focusing on what Trump policies they oppose. “We are being tested on nothing less than whether the United States of America is, in fact, the freedom loving people that we know ourselves to be.

Pete Buttigieg (file photo)

“Let us meet that test,” Buttigieg said. “…What made America and makes American great is not something that we dust off by saying the word ‘Again.’ What makes America great is its ability to wrestle with its darkest demons and come out stronger and better for it.”

Buttigieg is the third high-profile Democrat to visit Iowa this year. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders spoke to a crowd in Iowa City in February and in march Minnesota Governor Tim Walz held a town hall in Des Moines. Iowa Republican Party chairman Jeff Kaufmann says President Trump is delivering delivering results, while Democrats like Buttigieg offer empty rhetoric.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House and Senate have agreed to redirect two-and-a-half million dollars that’s sitting unused in the Iowa Brucellosis and Tuberculosis Eradication Fund. The fund was created to test for the contagious diseases which were a threat to cattle and other livestock in the past, but have largely been eliminated in the United States. Representative Norlin Mommsen, a farmer from DeWitt, says the focus — and the funds — need to shift to other foreign animal diseases.

“Most of the time the only conversation that takes place about eggs is about how you want them cooked, but with the outbreak of Avian influenza the conversation has been more about price and availability,” Mommsen said. “…We tried to address this issue as best we could.” Mommsen is chairman of the House panel that drafts the annual budget for the Iowa Department of Agriculture. It calls for taking 100-thousand dollars from the State Brucellosis Fund and spending it on development of a bird flu vaccine.

“Second we appropriated money to the Vet Diagnostic Lab and third we appropriated money for the equipment that might be necessary in the event of an outbreak,” Mommsen said. “We attempted to take a broad approach to addresing the price of eggs and other potential disease issues that might affect the State of Iowa.” A 450-thousand dollar technology upgrade will help the state ag department better track outbreaks of livestock diseases in Iowa, based on what’s called a premise number that identifies each Iowa barn and pasture where animals are being raised.

There’s 250-thousand dollars in the legislature’s state bduget plan to cover moving into Iowa State University’s expanded Vet Diagnostic Lab. Another 450-thousand dollars is to be spent on state efforts to buy equipment, plan for, and address any foreign animal disease outbreak. The legislation also eliminates the property levy the Iowa Brucellosis and Tuberculosis Eradiction Fund. It amounts to less than 50 cents per year for the average Iowa homeowner.

(Radio Iowa) – A microbiologist from Brazil is the recipient of the 2025 Des Moines-based World Food Prize. Mariangela Hungria is the 10th woman to be named a World Food Prize Laureate. Mashal Husain — president of the World Food Prize Foundation — says Hungria changed the way fertilizer is used in Brazilians soybean fields. “Thanks to her work, over 40 million hectares of Brazilian farmland now benefit from this technology,” she said. “This achievement has saved Brazilian farmers an estimated $250 billion each year in input costs, mitigated greenhouse gas emissions and improved soil health.”

Hungria’s work has expanded to other crops and other continents. “Proving that the smallest organisms can create the most profound transformations,” Husain said, “…reshaping the very ground we stand on.” Each World Food Prize Laureate received a half a MILLION dollar award. The announcement of each year’s laureate is typically made in Washington, D.C., but the ceremony was held last (Tuesday) night at World Food Prize headquarters in Des Moines. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds addressed the crowd.

“Hosting this event in Iowa is more than a homecoming,” Reynolds said. “It’s also a powerful reminder of what this prize represents and where this story began.”

The World Food Prize was the dream of Iowa native Norman Borlaug, a Cresco, Iowa native who won the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize for his research that improved wheat yields in the developing world. Hungria is the 56th World Food Prize Laureate. She is scheduled to be in Des Moines this fall for the annual World Food Prize Symposium.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Senate has confirmed one of the members of the Iowa Utilities Commission to another term. Josh Byrnes, a former member of the Iowa House, has served on the commission since 2020. On a 45-to-one vote, Senators confirmed Byrnes to serve as state utility regulator for six more years. Senator Mike Klemish, a Republican from Spillville, says Byrnes is doing good work.

“He’s very dedicated. He digs in. He’s not afraid to tackle and solve complex issues.” The governor also nominated Commission chairman Erik Helland to another term, but senators have not considered his nomination. Several Republicans in the House have been highly critical of the way Helland handled the commission’s review of the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline project.

Iowa Utilities Commissioner Joshua Byrnes (Iowa Utilities Commission photo)

Legislators spent much of yesterday (Tuesday) discussing state spending plans and it’s possible the 2025 legislative session could conclude this week.

(Radio Iowa) – The implementation of the Real I-D driver’s license requirement for flying led to record numbers of people visiting D-O-T driver’s license offices. D-O-T Motor Vehicles Division director Kathleen Meradith-Eyers says traffic picked up as the May 7th deadline approached.”Starting with a 20 percent increase in April, early April, then 30 percent, then 40 percent. And this past week we issued 56 percent more cards across the state than normal,” she says.

Meradith-Eyers says the total impact of the Real I-D rush nearly doubled the visits they normally see. “All combined in the last two months, our overall volume and issuance has increased 49 percent,” she says. “We believe a significant amount of media coverage has contributed to this rush and this increased interest.” She says they made adjustments to meet the demand. “We have expanded service center hours. We’ve opened early and we’ve stayed late. We have worked overtime and we’ve shifted staff across the state to our high demand location to ensure that service is available to Iowans,” Meradith-Eyers.

Meradith-Eyers says driver’s license appointments wait times have taken longer to get, but they expect that to ease up. “In the mornings, our average appointment lead time is two to five days, and by the afternoon, our statewide lead time can be ten to 14 days,” she says.

You now need a Real ID driver’s license with a yellow star to use it to board a plane. (DOT photo)

“This shows that demand remains elevated, and we do expect things to level out to normal volumes around the end of May and early June.” Meradith-Eyers says 76 percent of Iowa license holders had already switched to Real I-D before the deadline, and that made things go smoothly as the requirement went into place.

“Since May 7th, T-S-A reported that over 33-thousand passengers were screened at the Des Moines and Cedar Rapids Airport. And of those, only one-and-a-half percent of passengers had a non-compliant I-D. So this amounts to less than 500 passengers total,” she says.

Meradith-Eyers says the national average for Real I-D sign up was around 60 percent heading into the deadline.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa DNR has released fish kill numbers from a spill last month in the south Branch of Lizard Creek in Fort Dodge.

The DNR says 71,933 fish  were killed after a fertilizer byproduct leaked from the CJ Bio America plant and into the creek on April 14th. A statement from DNR fisheries biologist Ben Wallace says cooler water and higher flow reduced the number of fish impacted, and larger fish species may have still been in the Des Moines River and not the creek.

Iowa DNR reports thousands of fish killed in Lizard Creek spill

The DNR says samples no longer show any byproduct in the water, and they will complete their investigation before determining any enforcement action against the company.

Atlantic, IA — A Community Baby Shower will be held on the afternoon of Sunday, June 8 at two locations in Atlantic. This free event is geared towards all new and expecting mothers in southwest and west central Iowa. “We want to show our support for new moms and families. This baby shower is a fun way that we can connect with moms in the area while making sure they are aware of all the resources here that can help young families thrive,” said Megan Roberts, Director of Cass County Public Health.

Any women who are pregnant, planning for the future, or who have an infant less than six months old are encouraged to attend along with their support person. All attendees can enter to win prizes, make a custom onesie, and enjoy refreshments while talking with representatives from the community.

Participating organizations include Cass Health, Healthy Cass County, Cass County ISU Extension, Iowa Total Care, Wellpoint, ZION Integrated Behavioral Health Services, Molina Healthcare, Catholic Charities, Firefly, WIC, and the Atlantic Public Library.

Two times and locations are being offered for the Community Baby Shower. The first is from 1:30 to 3:30 at the Cass County Community Center, 805 W. 10th Street. A second session will be offered from 4:30 to 6:00 pm at the Island Community Church, 600 Pine Street. Both sessions are free and open to the public.

(Radio Iowa) – A group of high schoolers in the Quad Cities has built a two-seater airplane that’s ready to take to the skies. The P-N-B Aviation Club is made up of students in the Pleasant Valley, North Scott and Bettendorf school systems. The students are being mentored by Tom Shelton, a member of the local Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 75.

“It is not about building the airplane,” Shelton says. “It is about educating students and developing a sense of responsibility, accountability, and bringing science and math to a practical, hands-on application.” It took two years of planning, starting in 2019, and then four years of construction. Shelton says the students have been meeting three times a week and put in over four-thousand labor hours on the project.

“Our chapter has been discussing this, I would say, for almost ten years,” he says, “because one of the objectives of our chapter is to promote aviation knowledge in younger students.”

The airplane is called an RV-12iS. It recently was granted its airworthiness certificate and will be test flown in the coming months.

(Radio Iowa) – A study at Iowa State University shows how packaging can affect your choice of bacon. Stephanie Major is a senior in meat science who looked into the issue as they tested natural antioxidants and their impact on the way meat looks. “My project kind of came about because we were just kind of interested in seeing how those natural antioxidants might hold up in kind of like a retail setting with LED lights and a couple of different types of packaging type,” Major says. The meat can take on a grayer color due to lighting and exposure to oxygen, but it is still okay to eat. Major says the vacuum packed bacon kept its color better than bacon that was simply wrapped in plastic.

“We all shop with our eyes and you see something that’s prettier in the store shelves is a little bit redder, pinker. And so we’re going to kind of shift our gear towards buying that product,” Major says. Major says the vacuum packaged bacon also did better than bacon in an open meat case. “What was interesting was, is we actually saw the bacon become redder in pigmentation so it became more desirable appearance wise,” she says. Major says the study leads to several tips for displaying bacon. “I would say with stores, pretty much controlling the atmosphere, controlling the lighting conditions, especially because you know as that lighting intensity becomes brighter and becomes more intense, especially with those LED lights. you see further oxidation occurring more rapidly and you also see that color fading occur more rapidly as well,” she says.

Major is from Albia and plans to do an internship with Tyson Foods after graduation, and then wants to return to Iowa State to attend graduate school.