(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says she’s enthusiastic about the trade agreement reached Thursday between the United States and the United Kingdom. Hinson, a Republican from Marion, says there’s promise the new accord will mean Iowa farmers will find more avenues to sell their products in the U-K and elsewhere, though only portions of the deal are being unveiled.

Initial reports of the trade agreement say the U-K will be making the customs process smoother, while buying more American commodities, including beef and ethanol.

As part of the trade deal, reports say President Trump agreed to cut tariffs on U-K-made vehicles, steel and aluminum, but the original ten-percent tariff on British goods is to remain in place. Hinson remains optimistic more trade agreements are pending with other nations.

Reports say the Brits also agreed to reduce tariffs on hundreds of U-S products, everything from sporting goods to olive oil.

(Mount Ayr, Iowa) – A man from Page County was arrested Wednesday afternoon on drug & other charges, in Ringgold County. The Ringgold County Sheriff’s Office reports 55-year-old Charles Thomas Harmsen, of Clarinda, was arrested after the sheriff’s office received a request to perform a welfare check on an individual.

While attempting to make contact with the person, deputies encountered Harmsen, who then attempted to flee on foot. He was quickly apprehended and booked into the Ringgold County Jail on charges that include:

• Possession of a Controlled Substance – 3rd or subsequent offense (A Class D Felony)
• Interference with Official Acts (A Simple Misdemeanor)
• Possession of Burglar’s Tools (An Aggravated Misdemeanor), and
• Driving While License is Denied/Suspended/Cancelled or Revoked.

Harmsen’s cash-only bond was set at $7,000.

Charles T. Harmsen

(Radio Iowa) – The state held its annual ceremony honoring fallen law officers today (Friday) at the memorial near the State Capitol. Public Safety Commissioner Stephen Bayens says it’s important to pause and remember.

There were no new names added to the memorial this year. Commissioner Bayens says officers have a tough job every day.

He says that’s why it is important to continue showing support.

Public Safety Commissioner Stephen Bayens . (DPS photo)

Governor Kim Reynolds says the state and those law enforcement serve need to continue their support.

Reynolds ended her remarks with this….

Commissioner Bayens thanked those who attended the ceremony.

The memorial has the names of 198 fallen officers on it. You can see the complete list by going to dps.iowa.gov and looking for the link to the Peace Officer Memorial.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – The Guthrie County Roads Department reports Cherry Avenue, about 5-miles south of 200th Street will be closed beginning at 8-a.m. Monday, May 12th,  to replace a Corrugated Metal Pipe (CMP) Culvert. The project is expected to take 1-to 2 weeks depending on weather.

DES MOINES – Individuals and businesses across the state who have previously lived or currently live on Main Street may have money to claim in Great Iowa Treasure Hunt. State Treasurer Roby Smith is raising awareness ahead of farmer’s market and sidewalk sale season for everyone to check GreatIowaTreasureHunt.gov to see if they have any treasure to claim.

“Right now, there are more than 5,000 individuals and businesses with Main Street addresses listed in Great Iowa Treasure Hunt,” said Treasurer Smith. “Whether you live on Main Street or not, take a minute to search your name GreatIowaTreasureHunt.gov, and maybe you will have lost treasure waiting to be found.”

Just a few of the Main Street businesses and individuals with claims are:

• Community Main Street, Cedar Falls
• Robertson Real Estate, Columbus Junction
• Mabel Knudtson, Lake Mills
• Petersen Insurance Agency, Elk Horn
• Jeffrey Walker, Council Bluffs
• Mariee & Harold Studt, Mount Vernon
• Thomas Robin, Sioux City

Whether it’s a forgotten or lost check, bank account, utility refund or safe deposit box – right now, 1 in 7 Iowans have funds in Great Iowa Treasure Hunt. As Iowa’s only legitimate source of unclaimed property, Treasurer Smith encourages past and present Iowans to search for their unclaimed property by visiting GreatIowaTreasureHunt.gov.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans are encouraged to leave food by their mailboxes this weekend as part of a coast-to-coast effort to fight hunger. Randall Lein, a mail carrier with the U-S Postal Service in Ottumwa, says Stamp Out Hunger was started in 1993 by the National Association of Letter Carriers to help people who are food insecure.

Lein says there are certain types of food they want people to donate tomorrow (Saturday).

According to Lein, the food is transported to the local postal office, weighed, and retrieved by the local Food Bank of Iowa branch. He says the most food they’ve ever collected in Ottumwa in one year was prior to the pandemic.

“Before COVID, we got up to over 20,000 pounds, over ten tons of food,” Lein says. Since its inception, Stamp Out Hunger has collected nearly 2 BILLION pounds of food. To find out if your community participates, go to:
https://www.nalc.org/community-service/food-drive/branch-lookup

(Radio Iowa) – President Trump has nominated an Iowan to a leadership role in the U-S Department of Education. Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson reports.

(Des Moines, Iowa/Iowa Capital Dispatch) – Bills updating the grain indemnity program and allowing the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship clean titles on livestock they take over, advanced Thursday from the Iowa House. Lawmakers appear to have resolved differing opinions on grain indemnity limits and including credit-sales, which has been a roadblock for similar bills in the past, though the Senate will have to give final approval to the amended bill. Rep. Norlin Mommsen, R-DeWitt, who managed the bill, said there were a lot of opinions on the policy, which left him feeling “caught between a rock and hard spot.”

“I believe, at the end of the day, we have a better product because of that cooperation between everybody,” Mommsen said. Although the House accepted some of the Senate’s version of the bill, Mommsen proposed an amendment to Senate File 608. Mommsen explained grain indemnity as being “like FDIC insurance on a savings account.” Since the 1980s, when it was created, the grain indemnity fund has helped farmers get paid for sold grain when their buyers go broke.

Farmers pay a per bushel fee into the grain indemnity fund when the fund is below its lower boundary, and they stop paying once it reaches the upper boundary. The fund stayed above the minimum for nearly 30 years until 2023, when the bankruptcy of a soybean dealer triggered more than $3 million in indemnity claims from affected farmers and depleted the funds. Mommsen said the goal was to “upgrade” the rules around the fund to “better respond to today’s market conditions.”

One such upgrade included increasing the fund’s minimum from $3 million to $8 million, and the maximum from $8 million to $16 million to reflect the changes. These figures reflected the original version of the House bill, but were an increase from the $5 million and $12 million figures in the version that passed the Senate. Cash-sale contracts would be reimbursed at 90% under the bill, which is consistent with current law. The bill updates the fund to include some credit-sale contracts and Mommsen’s amendment provided definitions for two different types of credit sales.

Harvested corn is piled near Lake City in western Iowa. (Photo by Jared Strong/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Per the amendment, a deferred-payment contract means the dealer and seller agreed on a price for grain but the payment will take place more than 30 days from the date of delivery. These contracts are not eligible for indemnity claims. A deferred-pricing contract means the grain was delivered without an agreed-upon price. Farmers with these contracts can claim indemnity for 75% or up to $400,000 of their losses.

Earlier versions of the bill in the House only covered 70% of these types of sales, and the version of the bill that passed the Senate did not differentiate between the different types of credit sales.  Mommsen said it was important to differentiate because deferred payments are like “an unsecured loan.”

Rep. J.D. Scholten, R-Sioux City, said it felt “pretty impactful” to have a bill in the House updating a fund that rose out of the farm crisis of the 1980s.  “When we do have an agricultural recession we’re dealing with, when we’re dealing with tariffs that are causing uncertainty, farmers need to make sure they have the protection they (need),” Scholten said. “This may not be the perfect bill, but this is a good enough bill.”

IDALS announced in April the fund would stop collecting the fees in September since the current grain indemnity fund balance sits above $10 million, after collecting the fees since Sept. 2023.  Mommsen said because the current balance is within the boundaries set by the bill, “there would be no need to reinstitute” assessment fees for the fund if the bill becomes law.

The amended bill passed 81-3.

(Iowa Capital Dispatch) –  A report from a national conservation group says the Mississippi River is the nation’s most endangered river, because of federal plans to cut flood relief programs as severe weather threats grow. American Rivers, a nonprofit environmental advocacy organization, issued its annual list of U.S. rivers it views as most at-risk for the past 40 years. The Mississippi’s place at the top comes as communities along the lower river flooded from torrential rain in early April, and as Trump administration officials consider eliminating the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, which helps state and local governments respond to disasters.

The list calls attention to the threats rivers face and prioritizes those for which the public can influence policies that affect their well-being, said Mike Sertle, senior director for American Rivers’ Central Region. For the Mississippi River, he said, the organization’s goal is to press the federal government to maintain a role in disaster relief, which it says is critical to safeguarding people in river communities.

The Mississippi River rises to flood stage surrounding a highway outside Memphis in 2016. Memphis is again flooding this week after heavy rains. (Photo by Andrew Breig / Daily Memphian)

The Mississippi River has always flooded. While flooding threatens human structures, it is an important part of the Mississippi River’s life cycle and actually builds land. But experts say floods are growing more frequent, erratic and severe due to climate change. In 2019, the river’s most recent major flood, water stayed at or above flood stage for months and caused $20 billion in damage.

FEMA assists communities during floods and other types of disasters, provides funds for recovery and oversees preparedness efforts, like its flood maps that predict risks in different areas. And it’s doing so more often today. A January 2025 report to Congress found that the average number of major disaster declarations has increased by 61% from the 1980s and 1990s, partly due to climate change.

But it has faced broad criticism for not moving quickly enough after disasters and not helping disaster survivors equally. President Donald Trump has floated the idea of dismantling the agency and in February the agency fired more than 200 of its staffers as part of Trump’s push to shrink the size and scope of the federal government. The White House did not comment on the American Rivers’ report’s criticism of these actions.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A traffic stop Thursday afternoon in Elliott resulted in an arrest. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says 40-year-old Cory Smith, of Elliott, was arrested for Driving While Barred–an aggravated misdemeanor. Smith was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $2,000 bond.