(Radio Iowa) – As the world’s largest retailer launches its annual summer sale today (Tuesday), Iowans are being warned to shop with caution. Amazon Prime Days runs through Friday, and Bao Vang at the Better Business Bureau reminds people to think before they click. “Scammers are really great at mimicking official sites with photos and brands and logos that look and feel like legitimate sites,” Vang says, “so just because a website or email looks official, does not mean it is.”

In addition to Amazon, many other companies are offering summer sales, but Vang says you need to be absolutely sure you’re on a secure, legitimate site before clicking the “ORDER” button.  “We suggest at BBB that people use credit cards,” Vang says. “Credit cards offer additional protections when you need to fight a fraud situation. Avoid wire transfers, pre-paid money gift cards, or other cards.”

(Wikipedia image)

She says being vigilant can save you a lot of money in the end, and Vang advises against making a quick purchase through social media, and to always do your homework before finishing a purchase.

(Creston, Iowa) – The driver of a semi tractor-trailer was injured during a crash Monday afternoon, in Union County. The Sheriff’s Office reports a 1987 Freightliner semi pulling a loaded grain hopper, was traveling north on the High and Dry Road at around 1:37-p.m., approximately a quarter mile north of the Ringgold County line, when – according to the driver, 44-year-old Russell Peterson, of Creston – the right front wheel of the semi’s tractor locked-up, causing him to lose control of the semi and trailer.

Authorities said the truck apparently entered the east ditch and then swerved to the west ditch, where it overturned, with the top of the truck digging into the west embankment of the west ditch. The Sheriff’s Office said it then appears the vehicle overturned and struck the east embankment of the same ditch before coming to rest upright on its wheels.  The semi – registered to Cunningham Trucking, LLC. from Shannon City – sustained an estimated $40,000 damage. (Creston Fire Dept. Facebook page photos)

Peterson told deputies he was ejected, and crawled to the front of the truck, when officers located him when they arrived on the scene. Peterson was transported by ambulance to the Greater Regional Medical Center in Creston. Creston Fire and Rescue responded to the scene. Officials with the Union County Sheriff’s Office and Creston Police Department conducted the accident investigation and managed traffic.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – A regular, monthly meeting of the Atlantic School Board will take place beginning at 6:30-p.m., on Wednesday, July 9th, in the High School Media Center. The meeting will be held in-person, and electronically, via YouTube.

The (full) agenda for the Board’s session is as follows:

1. Call to Order
2. Roll Call
3. Approval of Agenda
4. Welcome Visitors and Public Comments
5. Special Presentation Steve Andersen, Transportation Overview
6. Reports Principal – Year end Review Presentation
a. Activities/Athletics
b. PK-3rd Grade Report
c. 4th-5th Grade Report
d. 6th-8th Grade Report
e. 9th-12th Grade Report
f. Student Services
g. Superintendent Report
h. Board Report
i. June Financial Reports
7. Consent Items*
8. Discussion Items:
a. Review IASB Legislative priorities b. Discuss SVPA Pre-Bond Referendum Services Fee Proposal c. Discuss Bond Election Engagement Letter, Ahlers & Cooney d. Discuss Sales Tax Bond Issuance Letter, Ahlers & Cooney
e. Review School Bus Bids with Director of Transportation Letter of Recommendation
9. Action Items
a. Approve Washington Elementary Repair Bids TKE Kone Letter of Recommendation
b. Approve IASB Legislative priorities if known
c. SVPA Pre-Bond Referendum Services Fee Proposal d. Bond Election Engagement Letter, Ahlers & Cooney e. Sales Tax Bond Issuance Letter, Ahlers & Cooney
f. Approve Bus Bids
g. Approve Employment Contracts for 25-26 – can all be approved with one vote or individually, if applicable
h. Board policy review: The following policies are currently expired. The Board should approve these with a first reading and waive the second reading. If any changes are proposed, a first reading will occur now, followed by a second and final reading in August:
i. 606.05 Student Field Trips
ii. 406.01 Licensed Employee Compensation
iii. 507.03(E)3 Communicable Diseases.
i. The following policies require annual review. If there are no changes, the Board may approve them with a first reading and waive the second and final reading. If changes are proposed, a first reading will be held now, with a second and final reading in August:
i. 505.08 Parent & Family Engagement
ii. 505.08(R)1 Regulation for Parent & Family Engagement

iii. 506.01 Education Records Access
iv. 506.01(R)1 Regulation Use of Education Records
v. 506.01(E)1 Exhibit for Non Parent access to Education Records
vi. 506.01(E)2 Exhibit for Authorization for release of records
vii. 506.01(E)3 Exhibit for Request for Hearing
viii. 506.01(E)4 Exhibit for Request for Examination
ix. 506.01(E)5 Exhibit for Notification of Transfer of Records
x. 506.01(E)6 Exhibit for Letter to Parent
xi. 506.01(E)8 Exhibit for Annual Notice of Education Records
xii. 506.02 Student Directory Information
xiii. 506.02(E)1 Exhibit for releasing Student Directory Information
xiv. 506.03 Student Photographs
xv. 506.04 Student Library Circulation Records
xvi. 507.09 Wellness Policy
10. Upcoming Dates
a. Board Work Session, July 23, 6:30 pm; Achievement Center Conference Room b. School Board Candidate filing period begins Monday, August 25, 2025, and ends Thursday, September 18, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. Signature minimum requirements for this election: at least 50 eligible electors within the school district. c. 2025 City-School Election held on Tuesday, November 4, 2025
11. Board Meeting Evaluation
a. Question to the Board
12. Adjournment
*Consent Items
a. Meeting Minutes from June 11, 2025
b. Current bills for July and prepaid bills since last board meeting
c. Open Enrollment Applications
d. Resignations
i. Jill Miller, Certified Teacher, effective June 2, 2025
ii. Jim Brauer, Certified Teacher, effective June 2, 2025
iii. Carolyn Bruck, Mental Health Professional, effective June 30, 2025
iv. Kerry Jepsen, High School Secretary, effective July 4, 2025
e. Recommendation to Hire
i. Liz Reid, Asst Middle School Volleyball Coach
ii. 25-26 Sponsor Rehires: HS Student Council, Cayleigh McBee; FBLA, Mary Jensen; Skills USA, Noah Widrowicz and FCCLA Rebecca Wallace
iii. Molly O’Hara, Asst HS Girls Tennis Coach
iv. Emily McLaren, Athletic/Activity Ticket Manager
v. Crystal Sunderman, Evening Custodian for Achievement Center & Washington Elementary
f. Gifts, Grants and Donations from prior month
g. Upcoming Fundraising Request(s), not applicable this month

Note: Any item may be removed from the consent agenda by a board member and considered separately.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Sen. Herman Quirmbach, a Democrat from Ames, announced Monday he submitted a request to Senate leadership, calling for a special session to override the governor’s veto of a bill pertaining to eminent domain and carbon dioxide pipelines. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports Quirmbach joins 70 members of the House, from both parties, who signed a petition in June, calling for a special session to override the veto. Two-thirds of senators would have to agree with Quirmbach for a special session to be called. Advertisement

Quirmbach said he’s not sure if his request, submitted July 3 to Senate President Amy Sinclair, R-Allerton, will be effective in mobilizing enough senators for a special session, but said he “personally felt it was important to make (his) opposition clear.”

The bill, House File 639, was highly controversial during session, resulting in hours of floor and closed-door debates before eventually passing the Senate 27-22. This followed several years of bills aimed at eminent domain reform, and limiting the abilities of carbon sequestration pipelines, that passed the House but were not taken up by the Senate.

HF 639 was vetoed by Gov. Kim Reynolds, who said the bill included “sweeping mandates that reach far beyond their intended targets.”

(Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

About the bill

House File 639 would have increased insurance requirements for hazardous liquid pipelines, limited carbon pipeline permits to one 25-year term and changed the definition of a common carrier for pipelines, making it more difficult for the projects to use eminent domain. It also included several provisions related to the Iowa Utilities Commission. In her explanation of her decision to veto the bill, Reynolds instructed the IUC to follow a provision in the bill requiring commissioner attendance at hearings and meetings.

The bill would have affected the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline, which would stretch close to 1,000 miles through Iowa to connect to biofuel facilities and transport their captured carbon dioxide to underground storage in North Dakota. The project would allow the biofuels industries, and the associated feedstock industries, to enter the ultra-low carbon fuel market.

Quirmbach, in a statement, said he’s not opposed to the pipeline project, nor the ethanol industry, but said the project would need to clear certain “hurdles” related to safety and land acquisition.

Summit Carbon Solutions has said in previous statements it has secured voluntary easements for 75% of its first-phase route through Iowa, which equates to $175 million in contracts with more than 1,300 Iowans.

Quirmbach said he submitted the request as a “personal desire” and said he had not spoken with any of his Democratic colleagues. Iowa Senate Democrats did not respond to requests for comment on their willingness to support a petition for special session.

(Radio Iowa) – A Republican leader in the Iowa House is running for Iowa’s fourth district seat in the U-S House of Representatives. Matt Windschitl of Missouri Valley was first elected to the state legislature in 2006 — and he’s been House Majority Leader since the fall of 2019. “I talked to the two most important people in my life, my daughters,” Windschitl told Radio Iowa. “They’re both adults now and they both said, ‘Dad, you’ve got a heart for service, why don’t you take this opportunity, put yourself out there as you always have and see if they want you.”

Windschitl served eight years in the Marine Corps and did a tour of duty in Iraq in 2005. Windschitl was elected to the Iowa House when he was 22 years old and was honorably discharged from the Marines three years later. Windschitl says his approach to lawmaking is simple. “I want to look at every piece of legislation that’s passed under the lens of how does this make the constituents in Iowa 4, but all Americans more free,” Windschitl said, “getting government out of the way and making sure government works for the people, not against the people.”

Windschitl says national security, whether it be at the U-S-Mexico border or internationally, is a top issue. “President Trump has done a fantastic job reasserting our dominance as the greatest country to be on this globe,” Windschitl says, “and I want to help continue to move that agenda forward.” Windschitl, if elected, pledges to push to reduce the national debt. “We’re at, what, $36 trillion in debt and growing,” Windschitl said. “We’ve got to put a curb on that somehow, someway and I want to be there to help make sure that we’re not saddling the next generation and generations to come with debt that they just can’t handle.”

Iowa House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl (R-Missouri Valley) (official photo)

Windschitl currently works for Doll Distributing, a business that distributes beer in 44 Iowa counties and eight counties in Minnesota. He previously worked as a conductor for Union Pacific Railroad and as a gunsmith. Iowa’s fourth congressional district is currently represented by Republican Randy Feenstra, who’s running for governor. Two other Republicans in the fourth district have announced plans to seek the seat. “I’m a trusted conservative,” Windschitl said. “I’ve got a track record I’ll stand up against anybody else that might jump into the race.”

Last month, Siouxland Chamber of Commerce president Chris McGowan announced he would be seeking the G-O-P’s nomination in the 4th congressional district. In May, Republican state Senator Lynn Evans of Aurelia formed an exploratory committee for a fourth district campaign.

(Anita, Iowa) – In an update to our posts on social media, the Iowa State Patrol late Monday evening reported an adult and three teens were injured during a single-vehicle rollover accident a little after 5-p.m. Monday, on Interstate 80. The crash happened near mile markers 69-70 westbound.

The Patrol says a 2014 Toyota Highlander SUV driven by 19-year-old Mapior Agany Mapior, of Omaha, ran off the road to the left and collided with a downed cable barrier, causing some minor damage to the vehicle (The cable barrier had been damaged in a previous collision).

The SUV over-corrected and ran-off the road to the right, where it rolled-over into the north ditch. During the rollover, a passenger in the vehicle, 50-year-old Agany Mapior Agany, of Omaha, was ejected. The SUV struck a speed limit sign and came to rest on its wheels.

Agany Mapior Agany and Mapior Agany Mapior, were transported to the Cass County Hospital in Atlantic by Cass EMS and Exira Ambulance, respectively. Two other passengers, a 13-year-old male and a 15-year-old male, were transported by Anita Ambulance and Life Flight helicopter to the UNMC and Childrens Hospital in Omaha, respectively. All of the victims were wearing their seat belts.

The State Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Cass County Sheriff’s Office and Adair Fire and Rescue, in addition to the aforementioned rescue crews.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports a man from Greenfield was arrested last week for Assault with Bodily Injury, and Child Endangerment. 38-year-old Daniel Robert Moser was arrested at around 4:30-p.m. on July 2nd, at a residence in rural Greenfield.

His arrest was the result of an incident involving his 11-year-old son that was recorded on video. The boy and Moser’s wife said there were previous incidents where Daniel Moser allegedly assaulted the boy, causing injury.

Deputies took Daniel Moser into custody and transported him to the Adair County Jail, where his cash-only bond was set at $10,000.

(Radio Iowa) – A 20-year-old man from West Liberty who was arrested last week during his annual ICE check-in, has been deported to Guatemala. Pascual Pedro Pedro’s lawyer Timothy Farmer says he is now back in Guatemala after undergoing the expedited removal process. Farmer says he found out as he was delivering a request in Omaha this morning (Monday) seeking to keep Pedro Pedro in the country.

“If we didn’t have the holiday weekend, we might have been able to get the application filed on Friday of last week, but even that would have been very…it would have been real tough to get everything together that we did that quickly,” he says. Farmer says he just got involved in the case on Thursday, and the rapid process left him little time to do anything.

“You know, we would have had to file this application that day, which, you know, obviously we didn’t do. And I don’t think we even could have managed that. So, it’s unfortunate, but I know this is part of…this is the strategy, I think, to just deport people so quickly that they don’t have time to respond.”

Pedro Pedro’s family is demanding answers for his arrest and organizing protests across eastern Iowa.

(By James Kelley, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa historians are being asked to sign a petition to prevent administrators from closing one of the State Historical Society’s facilities. The Department of Administrative Services plans to shut down the Centennial Building in Iowa City because of an 800-thousand dollar budget shortfall. The petition was started by Mary Bennett, a retired special collections coordinator with the State Historical Society. She says no other facility in Iowa can take the archives if the Iowa City center closes.

“As an employee, I entered into deeds of gifts with people and made promises on behalf of the state that we would take care of their treasures and that we valued them, and so they gave them up,” Bennett says, “and then now I feel like that trust has been violated.” Bennett says administrators made the decision to downsize the State Historical Society without public input. She says state administrators are desecrating the archives she worked for almost five decades of her life to build.

“If you think about taxpayers paying 168 years to make sure this treasure was kept safe and sound and intact,” Bennett says, “and then now for, as I said in the board meeting, it is a joke that for less than a million dollars, you’re going to take the thing down.”

She says the Des Moines facility can only take 40 percent of Iowa City’s collection. The rest would be privatized, divvied out or destroyed. The center is scheduled to fully close next year.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Senator Chuck Grassley says, as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he’s making it a priority to work with whistleblowers to get information about people who worked on federal indictments against President Trump.

“Everybody who had anything to do since President Trump went down that golden elevator in 2015 (and) have been trying to get him out of the presidency or what he was out of the presidency into prison,” Grassley says. Grassley says he’s concerned the F-B-I and Department of Justice have conducted politically-charged investigations of Trump.

Senator Grassley (file)

“I’m going to make sure that everybody is exposed and the documents prove it for the eight years that the opposition was trying to put President Trump in prison,” Grassley said. Grassley made his remarks during Trump’s rally on the fairgrounds to kick off the 4th of July holiday and the year-long celebration of the 250th anniversary of American independence.

In 2023, Trump was charged with mishandling classified records and attempting to overturn with results of the 2016 election. Both cases have been dismissed. The Justice Department abandoned appeals after Trump’s election.