(Radio Iowa) – An Army and Marine Corps veteran who’s executive director of the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce is launching a campaign for the Iowa Democratic Party’s 2026 nomination for the U-S Senate. Nathan Sage, a native of Mason City, did three tours of duty in the Iraq war. Sage says he’s running to fight for working class Iowans. “I’m excited to actually get out and go,” Sage said. “My big thing is I don’t want to talk to Iowans, I want to listen to Iowans. I want to understand what they’re going through, what are the problems they’re facing, what things can be done at the federal level to make their lives better right now. Not 10 years from now, 20 years from now. Right now.” Sage says Republican Senator Joni Ernst, who’s also a veteran, hasn’t done enough to push back against Veterans Administration cuts devised by Elon Musk’s DOGE team.

Sage also faults Ernst for voting to confirm Pete Hegseth as U-S Defense Secretary. “I think she’s been towing the line for Republicans and doing exactly what she’s been told to do and hoping that she gets something out of it, either corporate backing or more millionaire money, I don’t know, but that’s the path that she’s gone on this whole time and I don’t see her straying from that.” Sage used his G-I benefits to earn a journalism degree from Kansas State University and got a job as an overnight announcer at radio stations in Knoxville and Indianola, working his way up to station management. “I learned a lot,” he says, “you know, the ins and outs of what business owners were dealing with and what they were going through.”

Nathan Sage is launching a campaign for Iowa’s U.S. Senate seat. (photo provided by Sage campaign)

He was hired to lead the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce in May of 2023. Sage says his work with small businesses and working Iowans prompted him to consider and now launch a campaign for the U-S Senate. “Somebody needs to step up for the people that built this country, working for this country, doing all they can to make this country run,” Sage said, “and all they get out of it is trying to survive instead of thriving.”

Sage’s dad was a factory worker, his mom was a day care teacher and his family lived in a trailer park in Mason City. Sage says his parents tried their best for their four children, but it was a hard life and he joined the Marines in 2003.

(Radio Iowa) – The Des Moines-based Harkin Institute is hosting what it calls a wellness symposium today (Wednesday) on The Future of Clean Water. Event organizer Adam Shriver, the institute’s director of wellness and nutrition policy, says there are all sorts of threats to clean water — from climate change to other human-caused risks, including state and federal policies. “The real problem for clean water is that there’s a number of challenges facing it all at the same time,” Shriver says. “Our conference was really designed to look at what’s happening in Iowa, but also from a national lens.” Shriver says community-based initiatives that protect and improve water quality are being shown to have lasting, positive impacts on human and environmental health. He says they’ll be focusing on connections between clean water and agriculture.

“We’re going to have speakers talking about some of the issues in California, where there’s a lot of water consumption from agriculture,” Shriver says, “but also looking at Iowa, where chemical usage and high nitrates are playing a big role in people’s ability to swim in local streams and lakes, and also impacting the water quality around the state.” There’s a lot of public interest in clean water, he says, but many people aren’t sure how they can help.  “I feel like the excitement among the population isn’t always matched by concrete actions being done to fix some of the problems,” Shriver says. “That’s really what our conference is about, getting a scientifically-informed understanding of what’s happening with the water and looking at ways in which we can improve it.”

About 150 people are registered to attend the all-day symposium in person at Drake University, with another 100 participating online.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County report a man from Stanton was arrested at around 7-p.m. Tuesday, on an Assault charge. 47-year-old Jeremy Scott Guffey was arrested in the 300 block of Halland Avenue in Stanton, and charged with Domestic Abuse Assault/1st offense. Guffey was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held without bond. Red Oak Police assisted in conducting the arrest.

FORT MADISON, Iowa (KCRG) – It was standing room only at Fort Madison’s City Hall with Iowans looking to get answers from Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley on Tuesday. At times, it got heated with people shouting over one another. KCRG-TV   reports one focus was the impact of tariffs and President Trump’s trade war with China that’s left farmers caught in the middle.

Several accused Congress of letting President Trump’s power go unchecked – pointing to the wrongful deportation of a man to a brutal prison in El Salvador and the White House now ignoring an order to bring him back. Several others called on Senator Grassley to “stand up for average Americans,” with a woman from Mt. Pleasant saying (in essence) the rich are getting what they need but the average American is struggling, and no one is paying attention to them.

Grassley defended Republican platforms as helping the economy and taxpayers – pointing to Iowa as an example. KCRG reports he said “It’s very clear that the policies of the last 15 years of Republican governors is much better for the taxpayer, getting taxes lowered, having balanced budgets, not having across-the-board tax cuts like we did when we had 12 years of democratic governors.”

Some expressed their doubts about whether things would change, and less confidence in Senator Grassley’s ability to affect change.

(Urbandale, Iowa/via the Iowa Capital Dispatch) – State universities are planning to increase tuition for undergraduate and graduate students once again this fall, pending approval from the Iowa Board of Regents, according to board documents released Tuesday. If approved by the board at its June meeting, University of Iowa and Iowa State University resident undergraduate students will see their tuition increase by 3%, with a proposed 2.7% increase for in-state, undergraduate students attending the University of Northern Iowa. The regents will consider the proposals at their April 23-24 meeting on the ISU campus.

UNI is the only state university to propose a larger tuition increase rate than last year. Both the UI and ISU had 3% increases in the 2024-2025 school year while UNI tuition increased by 2%. Out-of-state undergraduate students will also see their tuition increase, according to the proposed rates document. The proposed rate increase of 0.9% from the UI is the only one coming in lower than resident increases. ISU requested a 4.5% increase for nonresident students and UNI requested 3%.

Each of the state universities has proposed a 3% tuition increase for resident graduate students. ISU proposed the same increase for nonresident graduate students, while UNI requested 1.4% and the UI requested 1.1%. Certain undergraduate and graduate programs will request their own tuition rate increases or freezes for the upcoming year. One proposal from UNI would have the university offer applicants in neighboring states a slightly lower rate than what will be standard for out-of-state students.

State universities will bring their requests for tuition increases to the Iowa Board of Regents at its April meeting. (Logo via Iowa Board of Regents)

Multiple programs in the UI Carver College of Medicine have proposed keeping tuition flat for the 2025-2026 academic year for out-of-state or all students, including master’s programs in athletic training and clinical nutrition and the doctor of physical therapy degree. The MD program in the college of medicine, which the document stated has been in a tuition freeze for the past five years, is requesting a 3% increase across the board and the physician’s assistant program is asking for a 4% increase for residents and 3% for non-resident students.

The UI radiation sciences program is asking for a $703 increase for all students in order to complete its three-year tuition plan to reach a balanced budget, according to the document. Students in ISU’s veterinary medicine program could see tuition increases to the tune of 3.5% for residents and 3% for nonresidents, according to the program’s request. In order to align the tuition of sophomores with that of juniors and seniors in the ISU Ivy College of Business, the university is asking for a $1,412 increase for residents and $2,644 for out-of-state students to complete the third year of increases.

Each of the universities will also propose increases to mandatory fees, totaling 3% for the UI, 2.7% for UNI and 1.7% for ISU. These increases would bring the total cost of attendance, including room and board and other expenses, to $29,958 at the UI, $25,950.90 at ISU and $24,017 at UNI.

When compared to their peer universities, each of Iowa’s public colleges are at or below average for both resident and nonresident tuition and fee costs, according to the document. UI tuition and fees for out-of-state-students are the lowest of its peer group, coming in at $33,371 compared to the average $42,157.

(Iowa News Service) – The pollen count in Iowa is approaching high levels over the next few weeks. Unusually warm spring weather means allergy triggers like pollen and grasses are in full bloom. Allergens trigger chemicals in your brain called histamines. People who suffer from seasonal allergies typically take antihistamines to control the runny nose, itching and watery eyes that the histamines create.

With all its trees, grasses and farm fields, Iowa is a hotbed of allergens. Dr. Gregory Carnevale, chief medical officer for UnitedHealthcare, said at least 100 million Americans suffer from seasonal allergies, many of whom are children and have not built up immunity to these allergens. “Three to 6 years old, more seasonal allergies, again, that repeated exposure that’s needed over time,” Carnevale explained. “Then finally, if you’re predisposed to developing pulmonary symptoms associated with allergies, it would be asthma.”

He pointed out UnitedHealthcare has an online tip sheet for how to handle seasonal allergies, which affect nearly a quarter of adults and one in five children in the United States.  Allergy symptoms can usually be controlled with over-the-counter medications like antihistamines but Carnevale noted, especially in children, allergy-induced asthma can turn into a far more life-altering condition.

Tree pollen is among the biggest triggers for Iowans who suffer from seasonal allergies.

“A lot of these children and teenagers, they’re more active in sports, and if you see them struggling, you might have cause for concern,” Carnevale advised. “They’ll be oftentimes coughing, short of breath. They might even have an audible wheeze. So, any of those symptoms certainly warrant evaluation by a health care professional.”

He also recommended limiting time outdoors to avoid seasonal allergy triggers and paying attention to the times of day when pollen counts are the highest.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – An Omaha, Nebraska man was sentenced, March 11, 2025, to 37 months in federal prison for threatening a federal law enforcement officer.

According to public court documents, Larry Eugene Burns, 36, while on federal supervised release, left threatening voicemail message for his assigned United States Probation Officer. Once in custody, Burns threatened United States Marshal deputies, including using racial epithets.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Burns will be required to serve three-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the United States Probation Office and United States Marshal’s Service.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Carter Lake man was sentenced on March 12, 2025, to 84 months in in federal prison for receiving child pornography.

According to public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a CyberTip that an account, later determined to be associated with Jay McCall Schnider, 52, received and uploaded files containing child sexual abuse material between April 2020 and July 2023. Law enforcement seized an electronic device during the execution of a search warrant of Schnider’s Carter Lake residence. A forensic examination of the seized electronic device showed that Schnider used the device to receive images and videos containing child sexual abuse material.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Schnider will be required to serve a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.