(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.

(Radio Iowa) – A new member has joined the Iowa House of Representatives on what may be the last week of the 2025 legislative session. Angel Ramirez, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, won a special election two weeks ago for a vacancy in the Iowa House. She was sworn into office this (Tuesday) morning. “I am the first Latina in the Iowa state legislature, but I am not going to be the last,” she said. “…That fuels me to make space for other young voices and other Latina voices to be heard.” On her first day as a legislator, Ramirez wore a blazer designed by a friend, with a phrase hand embroidered on the back. “Tu lucha es mi lucha’ means ‘my fight is your fight,'” Ramirez said. “…I have this slogan tattooed on my arms, it means that much to me as I am advocating for every Iowan to have a better life and a better future here in this state.” Ramirez, who is 25, is the youngest member of the House.

She moved from the west coast to Iowa to attend Coe College and stayed in Cedar Rapids after graduation. “I think this is what Iowa is about, right? It’s about being able to make your home here, making it an accessible and proud place to live,” Ramirez said. “And I’m looking forward to helping make Iowa a more welcoming, inclusive place for all.” Ramirez is the third lawmaker to win a special election this year for a seat in the state legislature.

At the end of January, DeWitt Democrat Mike Zimmer was elected to the senate seat that had been held by Lieutenant Governor Chris Cournoyer. After the unexpected death of a southeast Iowa lawmaker, Republican Blain Watkins of Dunkerton was elected to the Iowa House in March.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, May 13th, received an update from Jerald Palmquist with the Veterans Affairs Commission,and a request to approve an application to the Commission.

(Palmquist recommended Bret Sherkenbach, a Red Oak Junior/Senior High School Business Teacher)

Sherkenbach was in the Army for 25-years, with the rank of E-9, or, Sgt. Major. He and his wife live in Carson. He will become the new Veteran’s Affairs Director beginning June 17th.

The Board heard also, from Tom Honeyman, from Emerson, who made a request to proclaim May 23rd, 2025, as Alvin D. Hays Day. Hays, who is from Red Oak, was a U.S. Navy Frogman in WWII. The “Frogs” Hays said they were called, were the predecessors to the U-S Navy Seals. Honeyman expanded on their duties…

MC BOS mtg 5-13-25

After hearing Hays’ story, Supervisor Alex Burton read the proclamation approved by the Board.

The proclamation recognizes Hays for his extraordinary life and calls him “A true American hero.” Hays’ 99th birthday will take place this Friday, May 23rd. He received his Navy Trident pin – which is presented to those who pass their SEAL training – 80 years after the Frogs were officially designated as Navy Seals. Documents that were previously classified, with regard to the Frog’s missions, were declassified 15-years ago. Up until then, Hays was never able to tell his story to anyone, including his own family.

The Board gave Mr. Hays a standing ovation following approval of the proclamation. The Board then received a regular weekly report from Montgomery County Engineer Karen Albert, who mentioned an upcoming bridge dedication ceremony.

And they authorized Board Chair Charla Schmid to sign the final plans for a pipe culvert project on G Avenue, and set Tuesday, July 15, 2025 at 9:15-a.m., as the date and time for bid-letting on the pipe culvert.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he had a private meeting late Monday afternoon with Mexico’s ambassador to the U-S. Grassley says he and Ambassador Esteban Moctezuma Barragán focused on trade issues between our two countries, which included discussion of deadly threats to livestock and humans from a tiny parasite. Grassley says the Mexicans are also concerned about exports of a certain vegetable. Grassley says, “He’s asking for consideration of certain attempts by some members of Congress to end a decades agreement that we’ve had on tomatoes.” Almost all of Mexico’s tomato exports come to the U-S, and the Trump administration plans to end the trade agreement that allows Mexican tomatoes into the U-S duty-free. Starting in July, the U-S Commerce Department says tomatoes from south of the border will face a tariff of nearly 21-percent.

“A certain percentage of the tomatoes that are eaten in the United States come from Mexico,” Grassley says, “and that’s under some agreement that certain states — and their senators from those states — want to abrogate that agreement.” The looming changes worry Mexican growers, Grassley says, as tomato exports to the U-S generated more than a billion dollars in revenue in 2023. Grassley says there’s rising concern about parasitic screwworms that are coming into the U-S on some livestock from Mexico, though he notes the animals may have originated in South America. A release from the U-S-D-A says New World screwworms are deadly flies that lay eggs in open wounds. Once the larva hatches, it attacks living flesh and can be extremely deadly for livestock, pets, wildlife and even humans. “So yesterday, the Secretary of Agriculture put some restrictions on bison, cattle and other animals coming into the country because they could possibly bring in screwworms,” Grassley says. “That’s hopefully just a temporary restriction.”

The U-S has halted all imports of live cattle, horses and bison from Mexico, a ban U-S-D-A officials say will be reviewed on a month-to-month basis.

(Creston, Iowa) – A man from Kansas was arrested on theft and other charges Monday night, in Creston. According to the Creston Police Department, 38-year-old Diubel Javier Nunez Herrera, of Shawnee, KS, was arrested at around 8:40-p.m. in the 100 block of W. Taylor Street, in Creston.

Herrera was charged with Theft in the 1st Degree – General $10,000+, and Ongoing Criminal Conduct – Unlawful Activity. He was taken to the Union County Jail and held on a $35,000 bond.