(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.

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – State Auditor Rob Sand has released a warning regarding Iowa’s current and future fiscal challenges. In his warning, Sand referred to Iowa’s finances as a “fiscal time bomb”. “It’s only a matter of time before the fuse runs out and Iowans get burned by years of poor management of their tax dollars,” said Sand. “Declining revenue, increased spending, and an over-reliance on one-time federal funds are setting the stage for a fiscal crisis in our state.”

The state is experiencing a significant decline in revenue, which is expected to continue into fiscal year 2026. Governor Kim Reynolds has also proposed a $9.4 billion budget. The combination of declining revenue and the Governor’s proposed budget will “usher in a deficit of more than $900 million in fiscal year 2026 alone”, according to a press release from Sand.

(Screenshot) State Auditor Rob Sand (YouTube press release)

The release also claims that “projected perpetual annual deficits into the next decade will severely drain the state’s Taxpayer Relief Fund and set the stage for a budget shortfall not seen this century.” Iowa currently has $3.75 billion in the Taxpayer Relief Fund, as well as a $961 million reserve fund. The Taxpayer Relief Fund is built up from budget surplus meant to lower taxes.

“Politicians who voted to increase spending while giving tax cuts to people who don’t need the money, intend to use the Taxpayer Relief Fund for political relief,” said Sand. “They want to use it to shield themselves from the fiscal fallout of this time bomb while everyday Iowans feel the heat.”

To view Sand’s full advisory, watch his video on the State Auditor YouTube page.

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – In a largely symbolic move, a state lawmaker in the Iowa Senate has introduced a resolution to end same-sex marriage.  Senate Concurrent Resolution 3 was introduced Wednesday by Republican Sen. Sandy Salmon, of Bremer (Bray’mer) County.

The resolution calls on the U.S. Supreme Court to reject Obergefell v. Hodges, the federal case that legalized same-sex marriage in 2015. It also argues Iowa has the right to regulate marriage for Iowa citizens.

Iowa’s Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in 2009 after ruling the state’s law limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples was in direct violation with the equal protection clause in the Iowa Constitution.

So far, this has only been introduced at the Statehouse. No other action has been taken.

(Radio Iowa) – The spokesperson for the T-S-A in Iowa and other Midwest states says they made it through the first day of the Real I-D requirement without any real issues.

The TSA’a Jessica Mayle (May-lee) says those who haven’t flown in awhile and haven’t upgraded their driver’s license to a Real I-D do have other options like a passport to get on an airplane.

TSA.gov photo

Mayle isn’t surprised there are some people who haven’t made the change to their driver’s license.

Mayle says don’t compound your I-D problem by having something that’s unacceptable in your carry on bag.

Mayle says you should start with an empty bag and that will cut down on the possibility that you will have something in it that you can’t take on the plane.

(Knoxville, Iowa) – Police in Knoxville said in a press release, Wednesday, that a Knoxville man accidentally shot himself in the leg during a drive-by shooting. Authorities said an investigation revealed that a doorbell camera captured Payton Lee Cole Phillips firing four to five shots out of a moving car early Tuesday morning at Grant Street and Jackson Street.

At least one of the bullets hit a home and investigators later found bullet casings in the area. Minutes after the shots, Phillips showed up at the Knoxville hospital with a gunshot wound to his leg. Police say they found the gun and more than 8 grams of marijuana in the car.

Phillips faces multiple charges, including intimidation with a dangerous weapon and reckless use of a firearm. His preliminary hearing was set for May 15th.

WAUKEE, Iowa [KCCI-TV] — A former Waukee teacher who sued the school district will receive $160,000 as part of a settlement. Katherine Rinken claimed she was fired over a private social media post she made in 2021, criticizing a law banning mask mandates in schools.

According to KCCI, Waukee Community Schools says the district’s insurance carrier made the decision to settle the matter and “The District did not contribute any monies to the settlement, and the District accepted no responsibility as part of the settlement.”

(Radio Iowa) – The Hoover Presidential Foundation is hosting a free event in eastern Iowa next week that promises to explore some of the untold stories and hidden history of America’s most famous residence. The foundation’s Tiffany Frederick says historian Sarah Fling, with the Washington D-C-based White House Historical Association, will give a presentation called “The People’s House.”

Fling will be sharing little-known facts and anecdotes from staffers who’ve kept the White House running for more than 200 years, and Frederick says there’ll certainly be at least a few tidbits about the only American president who was born in Iowa.

With so much division in the country over Washington politics right now, Frederick says it’s important to offer this sort of educational experience from a more neutral perspective — the White House staff.

The event begins next Wednesday (May 14th) with a reception at 5:30 PM with appetizers and desserts, followed by the presentation and Q-and-A from 6 to 7 PM. It’s free and no RSVP is needed. The event is being held at MERGE in Iowa City as the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in West Branch is closed all year for a 20-million dollar renovation project. The goal is to reopen in the summer of 2026.

www.HooverPresidentialFoundation.org

DAVENPORT, Iowa – On Wednesday (May 7, 2025), the Department of Justice announced the results of Operation Restore Justice, a coordinated enforcement effort to identify, track and arrest child sex predators.  The operation resulted in the rescue of 115 children and the arrests of 205 child sexual abuse offenders in the nationwide crackdown.  The coordinated effort was executed over the course of five days by all 55 FBI field offices, the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section in the Department’s Criminal Division, and United States Attorney’s Offices around the country.

As part of this operation, the FBI Omaha Field Office, with the assistance of local, state and federal law enforcement partners, arrested 3 people, served 4 federal search warrants, and identified 15 victims from approximately 1,000 images submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

A federal grand jury in Davenport, Wednesday, returned a two-count indictment charging Anthony Charles VanMeter, 55, of Davenport, with receipt and possession of child pornography. VanMeter is serving an eight-year term of supervised release for a 2016 possession of child pornography conviction. FBI/Omaha Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel said “The harm child sexual predators inflict is vast.  Locking them up is one of the most important actions the FBI and our law enforcement partners can take to protect children. We are proud of the work of our Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force in Operation Restore Justice and will remain relentless in our pursuit of these criminals to ensure the safety of the most vulnerable members of our community.”

Others arrested around the country are alleged to have committed various crimes including the production, distribution, and possession of child sexual abuse material, online enticement and transportation of minors, and child sex trafficking. In Minneapolis, for example, a state trooper and Army Reservist was arrested for allegedly producing child sexual abuse material while wearing his uniforms. In Norfolk, VA, an illegal alien from Mexico is accused of transporting a minor across state lines for sex. In Washington, D.C., a former Metropolitan Police Department Police Officer was arrested for allegedly trafficking minor victims.

Operation Restore Justice FBI Photo)

In many cases, parental vigilance and community outreach efforts played a critical role in bringing these offenders to justice. For example, a California man was arrested about eight hours after a young victim bravely came forward and disclosed their abuse to FBI agents after an online safety presentation at a school near Albany, New York.

The effort follows the Department’s observance of National Child Abuse Prevention Month in April and underscores the Department’s unwavering commitment to protecting children and raising awareness about the dangers they face. While the Department, including the FBI, investigates and prosecutes these crimes every day, April serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of preventing these crimes, seeking justice for victims, and raising awareness through community education.

The Justice Department is committed to combating child sexual exploitation. The cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.

The Department partners with and oversees funding grants for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which receives and shares tips about possible child sexual exploitation received through its 24/7 hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST and on missingkids.org. The Department urges the public to remain vigilant and report suspected exploitation of a child through the FBI’s tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324), tips.fbi.gov, or by calling your local FBI field office.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Online court records show a trial in the case of an Atlantic man charged in connection with the death of a one-month old child in his residence, will take place next month. 25-year old Corbin Michael Loudermilk has entered a plea of Not Guilty to charges of 1st Degree Murder and Child Endangerment. His pre-trial conference will be held June 2nd. Trial will take place beginning at 9:30a-a.m on June 17th.

According to court documents, a child was found unresponsive while under Loudermilk’s supervision on January 4th. The baby died two days later at a hospital in Omaha, from head injuries that caused brain swelling and hemorrhaging, as well as hemorrhages to his retinas. Doctors believe the injuries were consistent with a possible head impact or shaking.

Corbin Michael Loudermilk

Loudermilk remains held in the Cass County Jail, with his cash-only bond set at $1-million.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa Finance Authority Board of Directors today awarded a total of more than $9.5 million in federal housing tax credits to support the construction and rehabilitation of a total of 331 affordable rental homes for Iowans. The awards were made to ten rental housing projects located in Cerro Gordo, Jasper, Johnson, Polk, Pottawattamie, Scott, Sioux and Webster counties.

In Pottawattamie County, The Residence at Carter Lake, being developed by the Overland Property Group, LLC, was awarded a $1.3-million tax credit for the development of 54 new, low income older persons (55+) housing units at the northeast corner of N. 9th Street and Avenue K, in Carter Lake.

Iowa Finance Authority Director Debi Durham said “Housing is a critical pillar in fostering strong, thriving communities across the state of Iowa. Congratulations to all nine communities receiving tax credits today, with a special recognition to the four designated as Iowa Thriving Communities — Des Moines, Fort Dodge, Mason City and Newton — for their outstanding efforts in leveraging innovative practices to attract housing opportunities for their workforce.”

The Internal Revenue Service makes an annual per capita allocation of federal tax credits to each state for the Federal Housing Tax Credit program. The Iowa Finance Authority is charged with allocating those credits to affordable housing developers. The developers who receive tax credits sell them to investors to generate equity for the housing developments.

The Iowa Finance Authority received 23 applications requesting over $27 million in housing tax credits in the 2025 tax credit round. IFA had a total of approximately $9.8 million available to allocate. The actual awards total nearly $95 million because the credits are committed annually for a 10-year period.

In addition to the federal housing tax credit awards, the projects received a total of $2.5 million in HOME program funds and a total of $1.5 million through the National Housing Trust Fund.