(Radio Iowa) – Hundreds of Iowa students will be walking or riding bikes to class tomorrow (Wednesday), as part of Walk, Bike and Roll to School Day. Matt Burkey, the Safe Routes to Schools coordinator at the Iowa Bicycle Coalition, says he’s thrilled they’re seeing such a big boost in Iowa schools that are taking part in this twice-a-year promotion.

“We’ve been seeing, in the last two years, an uptick in schools participating,” Burkey says. “I’ve been averaging about 10 new schools every time, but we’ve doubled our numbers from over 60 schools last October, to now, the count is 127 registered schools all across the state of Iowa to promote Walk, Bike and Roll to School Day.”

Burkey says it’s a fun and active way to kick off the school day. “Back in the 1960s, about 60% of people walked or biked to school, and these days it’s less than 10%,” Burkey says. “So if we can get a few families here and there across the state to say, ‘Hey, I don’t need to drive to school and drop off my young students, if I could just walk or bike with them, get the exercise, get some sunshine, wave at the neighbors.’ It’s a great way to start your day and rebuild a sense of community across Iowa.”

While the official day for the event is Wednesday, Burkey says any day in May will do if you’d still like to sign up. “All you have to do is go to WalkBiketoSchool.org and they’ll have a link right there,” Burkey says. “Anyone can sign up their school. It could be the principal or a teacher, or it could just be a parent that says, ‘Hey, I’m going to get a couple families together and we’re going to walk to school together or bike to school together.’”

The day is part of a national movement to promote safe routes to school and active lifestyles for kids of all ages. By participating, Burkey says schools promote safe walking and biking, raise awareness about traffic safety, and encourage positive change in their communities.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Pork Producers Association is now taking nominations for the Best Breaded Pork Tenderloin contest. Spokesperson . Kelsey Sutter (Soo-ter) says they expect to hear from a lot of people.

You can nominate your favorite place to get a pork tenderloin through the end of this month.

The panel will select the top tenderloin in October.

You may nominate your favorite eatery at www.iowapork.org. The Dairy Sweet of Dunlap won the 2024 top breaded tenderloin contest.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he supports work requirements for some Medicaid recipients, and confirms he’d at least consider cutting spending on the nation’s public health insurance program for low-income residents by 800-billion dollars — or more.

Congress is working to find common ground on a plan to cut spending in order to pay for President Trump’s plans to extend tax cuts, and to boost spending on defense. Grassley was asked for specifics on the Medicaid work requirements.

About 673-thousand people are covered by Medicaid in Iowa. If you’re able to work, you should be working, Grassley says, adding, most people who have health insurance get it through their employer. He says there would be a long list of Medicaid recipients who would -not- have to work.

Grassley says the work requirement proposal could save the federal government tens of billions of dollars, perhaps 200-billion. He says Medicaid recipients wouldn’t necessarily have to take full-time jobs.

The State of Iowa has already asked the Trump Administration to approve a work requirement plan for some of the Iowa adults enrolled in Medicaid. Governor Kim Reynolds said it’s about “promoting a culture of work” among “able-bodied” adults under age of 65 who get government-paid insurance coverage. The waiver request would require at least 100 hours of work per month.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Lieutenant Governor Chris Cournoyer has kicked off her campaign for state auditor.

Cournoyer has a computer science degree and she’s been a web developer. She says artificial intelligence can be deployed to make the state auditor’s office more efficient.

Cournoyer’s first campaign for public office was in 2012, for a seat on the Pleasant Valley School Board. Cournoyer served nearly six years in the Iowa Senate before Governor Kim Reynolds appointed her lieutenant governor in December. Less than a month ago, Cournoyer was planning to be the governor’s 2026 runningmate, but that all changed when Reynolds announced she won’t run for re-election.

Governor Reynolds has endorsed Cournoyer’s bid for state auditor, calling her a true fiscal conservative. Over the past two years, Cournoyer led Senate debate of the governor’s bills that reduced the number of state government agencies and boards and commissions.

Democrat Rob Sand, the current state auditor, is expected to run for governor in 2026.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Glenwood Police Department reports the arrest on Monday (May 5) of 70-year-old Cecil Armstrong. The Glenwood man was arrested for  violation of no contact order. His bond was set at $300.

(Radio Iowa) – Another group of military veterans from across northern Iowa will fly to Washington D-C to see the various war memorials this week. The Brushy Creek Chapter of Honor Flights’ latest charter jet will depart from the Fort Dodge Regional Airport tomorrow (Wednesday) morning.

Organizer Ron Newsum says they will have about 130 veterans on the flight, many of whom served in the Korean and Vietnam wars. This is the only Honor Flight planned to fly out of Fort Dodge this year.

Newsome says one of the highlights of the trip will be a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, where they’ll present a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

DALLAS COUNTY, Iowa [WHO-TV] — An investigation is underway after a small airplane crashed in Dallas County over the weekend.

The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office says the accident at Husband Field near Dallas Center was reported at around 7:15-p.m., Sunday. Authorities say a small Ultralight airplane was attempting to land when it crashed. The pilot of the plane was not injured.

The sheriff’s office said the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the incident.

MADISON COUNTY, Iowa [WHO-TV]  — The Madison County Auditor has abandoned an effort to challenge a Board of Supervisors’ decision that prevented her former campaign manager from being hired. WHO-TV reports An attorney for Teri Kaczinski filed a motion to dismiss the claims she had made in a petition just hours before a Trial Scheduling Conference was expected to be held Monday morning. The petition for a writ of certiorari, filed on April 3, had formally requested the Iowa Supreme Court to review a March 26 decision by the BOS.

The issue surrounded a resolution to hire Leslie Beck as a part-time Second Deputy within the Auditor’s office for $27 an hour. This was a move that came after multiple efforts by Kaczinski to employ Beck using county funds. Those efforts included twice as an employee of the Auditor’s office and a third time as an employee of a third-party consulting agency that was hired by Auditor Kaczinski in late January for $250 an hour.

Beck was Kaczinski’s campaign manager during her run for the Auditor’s office, and also organized a monetary fundraiser for Supervisor Chair Heather Stancil. Stancil abstained from the vote. Supervisor Jessica Hobbs voted in favor of it, and Supervisor Diane Fitch voted against it, stating she was worried about transparency and the process by which Beck’s hiring had been previously handled. The vote created tension during a public BOS meeting, with Kaczinski calling in on a public line and mentioning a potential lawsuit.

Kaczinski’s court filing stated Fitch’s vote against the approval of the resolution was on “frivolous, trivial, minimal, arbitrary or capricious grounds.” The board denied the claims of wrongdoing in its court filing in response.

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Kan. [KCCI] — The Kansas Highway Patrol has identified the eight people killed in a head-on crash on U.S. Highway 169 in Franklin County, Kansas, southeast of Topeka. One of the victims was from Ames (Iowa).  According to the patrol’s report, the deadly crash happened just before 5:45 p.m. Sunday near Virginia Road, when a southbound GMC Yukon attempted to pass a slower vehicle and collided head-on with a northbound Subaru Legacy.

Both vehicles were engulfed in flames when first responders arrived. The northbound vehicle, a 2016 Subaru Legacy, was occupied by four people who all died in the crash. They were identified as 37-year-old Alexander Ernst of Ames, Iowa; and 76-year-old John Elliott, 69-year-old Norleen Elliott, and 33-year-old Madalyn Elliott, all of Chesterfield, Missouri.

Ernst was the driver of the Legacy. Investigators say the Yukon was carrying members of a youth basketball team and their family members returning to Tulsa, Oklahoma. The driver of the Yukon, 33-year-old Jaimon Gilstrap of Tulsa, died along with three of his passengers: 14-year-old Kyron Gilstrap, 14-year-old Donald Laster, and 41-year-old Wayne Walls, all of Tulsa.

A fifth occupant, a 15-year-old from Talala, Oklahoma, was transported to a hospital with injuries.

Wet conditions kept some farmers out of the fields last week, while others were able to get plenty of planting done. Radio Iowa’s Dar Danielson reports.

Ten percent of the corn has already emerged, and five percent of the soybeans have emerged.