[Glenwood, Iowa] – Area officials are celebrating this week the work of Emergency Communications personnel. This week (April 13-19) is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. Sponsored by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) and celebrated annually, the week honors the thousands of men and women who respond to emergency calls, dispatch emergency professionals and equipment, and render life-saving assistance to the citizens of the United States. National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week not only shows appreciation for these men and women but also brings awareness to the challenges and impactful situations they manage around the clock daily.

Locally, there has been tremendous support for 911 Dispatchers from our Public & Private sector partners, response stakeholders, community organizations, and citizens. The importance of recognizing and celebrating the hard work of these dedicated professionals at every level is immeasurable. County officials in Mills and other southwest Iowa Counties stand behind the commitment and devotion these men and women provide to ensure the safety and security for the citizens area counties.

Further acknowledging the hard work and dedication of these individuals, Mills County 911 has been nominated for the 2025 APCO Team Telecommunicator of the Year award due to their response and incident communications management for the I29 Raceway incident that occurred in August of 2024. Lonnie Mayberry, Chairman, Mills County Board of Supervisors has recognized National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week and honored Mills County 911 Communications staff by releasing an official proclamation.

(Radio Iowa) – Researchers from the University of Northern Iowa are exploring some of the nation’s deepest caves to learn about life in extreme environments, and their findings could ultimately help NASA in its search for life on other planets. UNI chemistry and biochemistry professor Joshua Sebree says he’s led undergraduate students on 50 to 60 fact-finding missions far underground, both in Iowa and several surrounding states. “We go out to Coldwater Cave, which is the longest cave in Iowa at over 17 miles,” Sebree says, “and we visit there once a month for various research projects.”

While it would be difficult for people to live in those subterranean environments for long, Sebree says other creatures can thrive in caves, but they can be quite elusive. “We’re always on the hunt for an extreme fish, the fish that can survive in caves, but then we’re also looking for different chemical fossils that have been preserved in the rock over time,” Sebree says. “We’re looking at how the glow-in-the-dark properties of these rocks can tell us about the different waters that made the caves eons ago and so we can get a picture of how the cave has evolved over time.”

A UNI student in Wind Cave in South Dakota (UNI photo)

The team of UNI cavers uses ultraviolet or “black” light to examine mineral formations in the caves, which will appear under ordinary light about like you’d expect, mostly shades of brown. “It changes to another color. In some cases, it can be vibrant pink, it can be fluorescent green, it can be a soft blue,” Sebree says. “All of those different colors that come back out of those crystals are telling you about what are the parts of the crystal that have a little something extra beyond just the calcium carbonate.”

He says the glowing patterns can offer new insight into how water — and potential life — once interacted deep underground and could indicate how life might exist in places like Jupiter’s moon Europa. The caves, he says, can be absolutely stunning. Sebree says, “You can enter some of these cavern spaces, flip on your black light, and you’re just surrounded by a technicolor whirlwind of all of these different bright crystals all around you.”

UNI’s research is being supported by NASA and the Iowa Space Grant Consortium.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa law enforcement officers are preparing for the new law that’ll take effect this summer, forbidding drivers from touching their cell phones while behind the wheel. Hamilton County Sheriff Alex Pruismann says he welcomes the new law, though it won’t bring a big change to how his deputies are already treating the potentially deadly distractions. “When accidents occur, we try to figure out where the phone was at, if it was in their hands, pockets, floorboard, stuff like that, to see if that was in use that was maybe a cause to the accident,” Pruismann says. “It’s not going to be much different than what we already do, because we already look for those things, and right now we look for them in a secondary capacity, like if they’re speeding and using their cell phone, it just now becomes a primary offense that they can be pulled over for.”

Pruismann says it’s a common-sense law that’s also a potential life-saver, as motorists need to limit and try to eliminate the hazards that could cause a crash. “It’s just a matter of being smart on the roadways and not being distracted,” the sheriff says, “being safe, using your skills and just looking out for the person ahead of you.”

Governor Kim Reynolds signed the bill into law last week, making Iowa the 31st state with a hands-free law. Starting July 1st, drivers who aren’t using phones in voice-activated or hands-free mode will face warnings, with 100-dollar fines beginning January 1st.

(Radio Iowa) – The Woodbury County Attorney has ruled a Sioux City police officer was justified in a shooting February 22nd that left a man dead. Attorney James Loomis says 30-year-old Vincente Manzo Hernandez was shot during a traffic stop as he pulled away with an officer hanging on the car. “At this point it is clear that Mr. Hernandez was in control of how fast the car would be going, but nobody was in control of which direction it would go,” he says. “This officer was in serious danger. The officer fired two shots with his firearm to incapacitate Mr. Hernandez and get the car stopped.”
Hernandez later died and an autopsy was conducted by the state medical examiner.

“As part of that, a blood toxicology was conducted. It was determined that at the time of his death, Mr. Hernandez had fentanyl and high levels of methamphetamine in his bloodstream. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation investigated the incident, and its investigation is complete.

Loomis says the officer had no choice but to fire his weapon and the Iowa Attorney General has reached the same conclusion.

(Coburg, Iowa) – Firefighters from Red Oak, Elliott, Stanton and Essex were dispatched at around 11:50-a.m. Sunday, to 305 Union Avenue in Coburg, for a report of a small brush pile fire that had extended to an unattached garage. Essex, Elliott and Stanton firefighters were canceled enroute.

According to Red Oak Fire Chief John Bruce, fire crews arrived on scene and quickly suppressed the garage fire, as well as, the small brush pile. The family of the property owner were cleaning up the property at the time of this incident. (Photos via the Red OAK FD Facebook page)

Damage to the garage was estimated at around $5,000. No injuries reported.

Other assisting Agencies:

Montgomery County 911

Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office – Red Oak, Iowa

(Iowa News Service) – Groups working to fight hunger in Iowa say proposed cuts to SNAP benefits would fall squarely on the state’s kids, who rely on them for food and other needs. State lawmakers are considering a measure that would limit what items SNAP recipients could buy. House File 970 would limit SNAP money to buying so-called “healthy” foods – grains, dairy, meat, eggs, fruits and vegetables, or other items considered necessary for good health.

Food Bank of Iowa’s Senior Manager of Food Acquisition and Advocacy Emily Shearer said the change could have a dramatic effect on the one in six Iowa kids who face hunger. “If there are cuts to SNAP, children will be impacted, seniors will be impacted, those with disabilities will be impacted,” said Shearer. “So, the majority of people on SNAP that are able to work are working – it’s just not enough to make ends meet.”

Backers of the bill say they’re guarding against abuse of the program. If it is approved, the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services would have to request a waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to override the current list of foods and beverages SNAP recipients can currently buy. A 2016 USDA study found there are very few differences in the buying habits of families using SNAP and those who don’t.

Shearer said it’s been hard to counter the false claims that low-income Iowans have less healthy eating and buying habits, or that they use their SNAP benefits to buy unhealthy items. “Nobody’s buying tobacco and alcohol with their SNAP benefits. They’re just not,” Shearer insisted. “But with SNAP restrictions the way they’re written currently, they’re so vague – there’s discussion that something like pasta sauce, or soup or jelly, are those going to be restricted? I don’t think anyone would define those as ‘junk food.'”

The USDA reports about 130,000 Iowans received SNAP benefits in 2024.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird hasn’t said whether she’ll be campaigning for re-election as attorney general or running to succeed Governor Kim Reynolds. The crowd at this w Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition Spring event watched a video message from Governor Reynolds about her decision not to seek re-election and soon heard from Bird in person. “I will stand for freedom. I will fight for Iowa and we will fight alongside each other as we work to ‘Make America Great Again,'” Bird said, to cheers.

The event’s master of ceremonies hinted Republicans would hear more from Notf later, and Bird suggested she’s wrestling with the decision about her political future.  “I’ve had a verse on my mind. Sometimes as you pray, sometimes something comes to you, but one is, ‘Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.’ Have you ever prayed that one before? We probably all have at different times, but I am certainly listening. I appreciate your prayers.” Bird touted a series of court rulings, policy changes and new laws at the state and federal level, but told the crowd the conservative movement has more work to do.

“We won those fights and I’m sure glad we did, but they’re never going to be over, are they?” Bird said. “We have to keep on fighting.” The Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition’s members are a crucial voting block for the Republican Party and many speakers at the event stressed the stakes in the upcoming mid-term election, which is typically tough for the president’s political party. Iowa G-O-P chairman Jeff Kaufmann predicted Republicans in Iowa will make gains in 2026.

“We are absolutely on a roll,” Kaufmann said, “and we are absolutely going to heights unknown because of this president.” Republican National Committee chairman Michael Whatley, another speaker at the event, praised Iowa Caucus-goers for their choice in 2024 and said he’d ask Iowa Republicans to again host caucuses as the lead-off event in the 2028 presidential campaign. “We need you to lead the way and make sure that we have a man or woman of faith who is going to continue the mission that Donald Trump has set us on right now.”

South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace was the evening’s keynote speaker.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says she was intending to seek a third term as governor, but in the past couple of months she’s been weighing whether she could keep giving 100 percent to the job if she were elected to serve until early 2031. Reynolds spoke with a handful of reporters Saturday as a few hundred kids and grown ups roamed the grounds at the governor’s mansion for an Easter Egg hunt.

“I would be lying if I didn’t say: ‘I love serving Iowans as the governor,’ and so it’s hard to walk away from something that you love, but family comes first,” Reynolds said, “and they are everything to me.” Reynolds, who will turn 66 in early August, said she’s been happy to make her work as governor her number one priority, when her current term ends in 2027, she’s going home. “As I get older and my family is growing and my folks are aging, it’s time for me to pivot and to really put my family first and to be able to spend time with them,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds says the decisions she made during the COVID-19 pandemic are the most consequential actions she’s taken as governor, from reopening schools in the fall of 2020 to the televised news conferences she had that year. “Just really talked to Iowans every single day, being honest with them, tell them what we were facing, but ultimately to put my trust in them to do what was right and because we feed and fuel the world, we had to keep the food chain moving. We were essential,” Reynolds said. “…I just came out of (the pandemic) a different governor — appreciative, not afraid to move on stuff that I believed them, so if you see things that need changed, then you go for it…make the case, take it through the legislature…and hopefully convince them we should be going in.”

Governor Reynolds posed for photos with families who attended the annual Terrace Hill Egg Hunt on April 12, 2025. (RI photo)

The governor told reporters she’s “really proud” things like the tax cuts and state funded savings accounts for private school expenses she proposed are now law — but her decision to not to run for a third term is the right one. “I’m still emotional about it because I love it,” Reynolds said, fighting back tears. “I love what I’m doing and I love this state and I love Iowans.” Reynolds said every so often she’s struck by how surreal her rise through politics has been — from Clarke County Treasurer, to state senator, to lieutenant governor and to taking over as governor in mid-2017.

“I grew up in St. Charles. It is a small community in rural Iowa and even Kevin and I, still, when we drive up the drive we laugh sometimes because we can’t really believe that we’re serving in this capacity.” Reynolds says primaries are a healthy process for a political party and she will not endorse a G-O-P successor, but once Republican voters choose a 2026 nominee for governor, Reynolds says she’ll be all in and will campaign for that person daily. “It’s time to step back and pass that baton to the next person to step in,” Reynolds says. “…I think we’ve left the state in a good position, so I feel good about that as well.” Reynolds posed for photos with many of the families at the egg hunt.

Chad Thompson, the chief operating officer of a financial services firm, told Reynolds his family moved from Minnesota to Iowa in 2023. “She does a great job with her leadership and just leading the state in the right direction,” Thompson says, “so obviously looking forward to whoever replaces her in 2026.”

The 2026 General Election is 570 days away.

(Creston, Iowa) – Authorities in Union County say one-person was injured in one of two separate accidents last week. A passenger in a 1999 Ford Ranger  pickup truck was injured, when the 15-year-old male driver from Jefferson lost control of the vehicle while swerving to avoid a deer in the road. The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports the vehicle was traveling north on 240th Street (a gravel road) at around 10:30-a.m., Friday, when the accident occurred while the pickup was rounding a curve.

The vehicle left the road, entered the north ditch and struck an embankment before it overturned and came to rest on its top. The passenger, 29-year-old Ryan Mahurin, of Jefferson, complained of pain and possible injury. He was transported by ambulance to the Creston Hospital. The driver was not hurt, and no citations were issued.

The Creston Police Department says no injuries were reported following a collision Wednesday afternoon on Highway 34 east near S. Maple Street. Authorities say a 2019 Ford SUV driven by 29-year-old Ridge Casteel, of Creston, was stopped behind a vehicle turning north in the Creston Dairy Queen, when the vehicle was hit from behind by a 2008 Chrysler van that driven by 24-year-old Cynthia Theis, of Creston. Police said Theis admitted she wasn’t paying attention before her van hit the SUV.

She said also, her ears were ringing due to noise from the air bags being deployed. She refused medical attention at the scene, but reported later she was going to the hospital to be checked out for neck pain. Authorities said Casteel was uninjured in the crash, that happened at around 2:40-p.m., Wednesday.  No citations were issued.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic City Council will hold what City Administrator John Lund says , “Is probably the most important meeting of the year, with the adoption of the FY 2026 Budget and Capital Improvement Plan.” He said also, that he does “not anticipate it being a short meeting.”

The first item of business during the Council’s 5:30-p.m.  meeting at City Hall, is action on passing “A  resolution designating the distribution of Sales Tax Revenues to various funds, for specific purposes.” Lund says the resolution includes minor changes and additions to a previous version presented to the Council on Feb. 19th, and now includes the new, long-term plan for the YMCA expansion and how the City intends to support the project. The resolution also incorporates (as it has in the past), allocation of the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST), but a change in the formula for that will divert resources from the LOST Streets and Progress funds into LOST for parks, allowing for $188,050 to enter the  LOST Recreation Center (YMCA) Fund, in preparation to service the debt on a future 20-year, $2.5-million in revenue debt for the YMCA expansion.

Atlantic Mayor Grace Garrett will preside, Wednesday, over the swearing-in of Atlantic Police Department SRO (School Resource Officer) Ben Sandy, who, as previously mentioned joined the police force earlier this month specifically for the SRO position. The Council will then receive a presentation from local Trees Forever representative Dolly Bergmann. They are expecting to act on re-appointing Judd Meneely to the AMU Board of Trustees, and then hold a public hearing on adopting the City’s (Tentative) Fiscal Year 2026 Budget.

City Administrator John Lund says the budget is “tentative,” because it will likely receive a significant budget amendment in FY26, pending legislative action (which may result in the largest overhaul of property taxes since the current system was implemented, according to Lund). Regardless of what that outcome is, the City must adopt its budget BEFORE the legislative session ends. The budget, as presented, proceeds on expectation the current system will remain in-place.

In summarizing the FY26 budget, John Lund says it totals $21,787,586 in expenditures, which is an increase of 15.94% (or nearly $3-million) from the FY2025 budget, with regard to expenditures. The City’s combined property tax levy will increase from $17.25/$1,000 assessed valuation to $17.85/$1,000. The Budget includes a 3% increase in compensation to all non-union City employees and Public Works Union Employees, and a 3.75% increase for Police Union employees. There are NO increases to existing, non-utility fees being proposed.

Following the budget hearing, the Council will act on passing a resolution adopting the budget, and then hold a public hearing on adopting the FY2026 10-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), followed by passing a resolution approving the CIP, which calls for more than $25.8-million in total improvements to the City’s physical assets (such as streets, major equipment, parks, storm water/sewer system and sewage/wastewater treatment plant).

In other business, the Council will discuss meeting rules and procedures, in light of a disagreement during their April 2nd meeting, with regard to amending the agenda and other such procedural matters. They will also act on passing a resolution pertaining to the sale of bonds and approval of a bond purchase agreement.