(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports an Atlantic man was arrested May 2nd on charges that include Violation of Probation and Sex Offender Verification Violation. 37-year-old Ryan Charles Juhl was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held.

On May 3rd, 2035, Cass County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 51-year-old Chuol Puot Jang, of Worthington, MN, for Public Intoxication. Puot was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and later released on his own recognizance.

On May 5th, 2025, Gregory Allen Riley, of Red Oak, was arrested in Cass County for Violating a no contact order. Riley was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and later released on bond.

And, on May 6th, 35-year-old Jabriel Lamar Fears, of Sioux Falls, SD, was arrested in Cass County on charges of possession of controlled substances (schedule four-and five). Fears was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and later released on his own recognizance.

(Radio Iowa) – A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Wednesday to commemorate a near-two-million-dollar renovation project at the Mason City Police Department. Besides things like updating the infrastructure inside the building, which first opened in 1978, Chief Jeff Brinkley says several spaces were remodeled to make them more functional for modern policing operations, including updates to the locker room and training space.

(KLLK photo)

Brinkley says the improvements to the building will also help when it comes to retaining current officers as well as attracting new officers.

The project was started in November of 2023. Significant funding for the project came from Local Option Sales and Services Tax revenues.

(Radio Iowa) – The state budget lawmakers are developing includes five MILLION dollars for construction of an Agricultural Education Center on the Iowa State Fairgrounds. State Fair C-E-O Jeremy Parsons says it will be a key component of what will be called the “My Iowa Ag Learning Campus.”

The plan calls for the center to be built near the Animal Learning Center where fairgoers can see live farm animals, watch the births of baby pigs and chicks, and learn about the different parts of a farmstead. The new building will focus on crop development, Iowa soils, farm equipment and jobs in agriculture.

Parsons says there are other concepts like this at other state fairs.

Parsons says the total construction cost for the new building is projected to be 15 MILLION dollars. In January, Governor Reynolds recommended that the state provide five MILLION dollars over the next two years for the project. Bills that have cleared initial review in the House and Senate would provide similar withdrawals from the state fund where gambling taxes are deposited.

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S Agriculture Secretary says she’s open to federal action in response to a California state law that would restrict the way farmers in Iowa raise pigs. Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, a Republican from Marion, asked about the issue in a House budget hearing. Supporters say California’s Proposition 12 improves animal welfare, but Hinson and many in the pork industry say it imposes a financial burden on producers.

The California law requires certain cuts of pork sold in the state to come from breeding pigs with at least 24 square feet of space. U-S Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins said state laws that have a significant impact outside their borders are not sustainable.

Hinson has introduced legislation in the past to prevent states from enacting stricter regulations on animal agriculture than federal law requires.

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston report a man was arrested on Theft charges Wednesday afternoon. 31-year-old Jerry Dean Hartle, of Creston, was arrested at his residence on three-counts of Theft in the 5th Degree. Hartle was taken to Union County Jail and later released after posting bond.

(Radio Iowa) – The Democratic Leader in the Iowa House is launching a campaign for Iowa’s third district seat in the U-S House of Representatives. Jennifer Konfrst (KON-first) of Windsor Heights says Trump’s second term as president is the motivating factor.

Konfrst is the second Democrat this week to launch a campaign in Iowa’s third congressional district, which is currently represented by Republican Zach Nunn of Bondurant.

State Representative Jennifer Konfrst (D-Windsor Heights) on the “Iowa Press” set. (Iowa PBS photo)

Konfrst says Iowans see chaos when they look at congress right now.

Konfrst says the current Republican-led congress is not fulfilling its constitutional role in policy-making and budgeting.

Konfrst, who is 51, is a Drake University journalism professor. She was first elected to the Iowa House in 2018 and has been House Minority Leader since June of 2021. Konfrst will step down from that leadership role at the end of the 2025 legislative session.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak have arrested a man on a warrant for Sexual Abuse in the 3rd Degree. Authorities report 22-year-old Seth Michael Houser was arrested Wednesday on the warrant, which also charges him with Enticing a minor under the age of 16.

Houser was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $15,000 cash bond.

(West DesMoines, Iowa) – The Iowa Communications Alliance (ICA) reports a teen from western Iowa was selected as one of two recipients of a $2,500 2025 ICA Scholarship to support their education in the 2025-26 school year. Irelynd McCarthy is a senior at Exira-EHK High School in Elk Horn. In the Fall, she plans to attend Drake University to study Business. Irelynd’s father, Jimmy, works as a Technician at Marne Elk Horn.

The other recipient is Rachel Ogden, a senior at Moulton-Udell High School in Moulton. In the Fall, she plans to attend the University of Iowa to study Sport and Recreation Management. Rachel’s mother, Sarah, is the Customer Experience Manager at Farmers Mutual Communications in Moulton.

LtoR:
Jill Madsen, Marne Elk Horn Communications COO, Jimmy McCarthy, Father of Recipient, Recipient Irelynd McCarthy and ICA Scholarship Committee Member Kim Steffens. (photo courtesy Jill Madsen)

To be eligible for the ICA Scholarship, the individual must be either a graduating high school senior or a current full-time undergraduate student who will be continuing their undergraduate education in the 2025-2026 academic year. Students must also have a parent, grandparent, or guardian currently employed by or serving as a director at an ICA telecommunications provider member company.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird says the State of California has agreed to repeal its electric truck mandate after she and 16 other Republican attorneys general filed a lawsuit challenging the rule. The regulation would have accelerated California’s transition to zero mission cargo trucks.

Bird and the other attorneys general argued that would have crippled the trucking industry and caused supply disruptions. Bird says just because California wants to ban normal gas-powered trucks does not mean the rest of the country has to follow California’s green mandate.

(Winterset, Iowa) – A reported “shots-fired” incident in the vicinity of the Winterset Junior/Senior High School, Wednesday morning, was actually just a vehicle backfiring. According to a press release from the Winterset Police Department, authorities received several calls about the incident just before 9-a.m.

Officers were on the scene within minutes, and quickly discovered there were no threats to or near the school. An investigation determined the noises heard were found to be from a student revving their vehicle’s engine, which resulted in a backfire.