(Radio Iowa) – A Democrat who has represented Cedar Rapids in the Iowa House since 2023 has been appointed to fill a vacancy on the Linn County Board of Supervisors. Democrat Sami Scheetz  — a union organizer — is the first Arab American elected to serve in the Iowa legislature. Scheetz told reporters in Cedar Rapids he has resigned from the House to take on his new role as a member of the Linn County Board of Supervisors.

The governor has five days to set the date for a special election in Cedar Rapids for the now vacant House seat Scheetz had held.

There have already been two special elections this year to fill vacancies in the Iowa legislature. One was for a state senate seat held by Chris Cournoyer who resigned just before Governor Reynolds appointed her lieutenant governor. The other happened after a southeast Iowa lawmaker died unexpectedly and that House seat was just filled last week. While Scheetz has been appointed to the board of supervisors, there could be a special election for the board seat if voters in Linn County gather the required number of petition signatures in the next two weeks.

Scheetz is among 17 who applied to fill the vacancy created when 44-year-old Ben Rogers resigned from the Linn County board to take a position with UnityPoint Health.

(Radio Iowa) – About a dozen people rallied outside the Iowa Capitol today (Tuesday), criticizing a bill shielding some farm chemical makers from lawsuits alleging product labels failed to warn of cancer risks. The bill narrowly won approval in the Iowa Senate last week and is eligible for consideration in the House. Ava Auen-Ryan of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Action says the legislature’s time would be better spent finding ways to lower Iowa’s rising cancer rate. “Not working on bills that provide immunity to giant corporations,” she said.

Jenny Turner’s husband died in 2018 of a type of lymphoma she says has been linked to Roundup. “He wasn’t a farmer. He was a school band director, but he used Roundup in our yard and he had summer landscaping jobs and he lived in Iowa where we have high concentrations of pesticides and nitrates in our air and water.” Turner, who is from West Des Moines, says the bill is being pushed by lobbyists to benefit Bayer, not farmers.

“Now I know that glyphosate is useful for some farming, but everything has its pros and cons and Roundup has a cost. Bayer would like to pretend that there is no cost,” Turner said. “Our state legislature must not help them silence people’s right to redress that cost in court.”

Bayer — the maker of Roundup — says the litigation industry has unfairly targeted glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup. The company says glyphosate minimizes the need for plowing and increases the productivity of crop land.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s economy saw a significant upward bounce during the past month, but analysts fear the volatility of the current international trade climate will mean a big drop is likely for the month — and months — ahead. The latest Creighton University survey of supply managers in Iowa and eight other Midwestern states during March showed the best overall numbers since July of 2022, but Creighton economist Ernie Goss says fears over a looming trade war cloud everything.

“Twenty-five percent indicated that they had advanced their purchases from abroad or from outside of the U.S. in anticipation of higher tariffs,” Goss says, “and fully one-third said they had reduced imports because of the anticipation of tariffs.” Goss says he’s not supportive of the threatened tariffs, the latest of which are expected to be announced by President Trump on Wednesday, as Goss says tariffs are “really, really causing issues for the manufacturers.”

Ernie Goss

The survey gauges the economy on a zero-to-100 scale, with 50 being growth neutral. The overall index for Iowa in March exceeded 56, a tremendous jump from around 44 in February.  “What we’re seeing is extreme volatility in our surveys, up and down, but this is a big jump upward,” Goss says, “and I expect us to have to pay for it in the next month when it comes down.” Goss says recent declines in the value of the dollar helped make American-made goods more competitively priced abroad, which pushed new export orders up. For the first time in a long time, Goss says a large number of supply managers across the Midwest reported having more applicants than openings.

“Hiring was very strong for March. The number was 67.6 and that’s well up from February’s 51.2, so it’s also the highest since July of 2022,” Goss says. “We’re seeing some really good numbers, but again, this is for the month of March and I just don’t think we’re going to see it replicated in months ahead.”

According to U.S. International Trade Administration data, Goss says the Iowa economy began the year with $1.1 billion in manufacturing exports, compared to $1.2 billion for the same period in 2024, for a 7.6% reduction.

(Atlantic, Iowa) -Firefighters in Atlantic Fire were called to a possible residential fire at 1308 Chestnut Street late this (Tuesday) morning. The incident was reported at about 11:54-a.m.

Atlantic Fire Chief Tom Cappel…

Cappel said the fire was apparently caused by “Improperly disposed smoking material.” Despite the home being occupied when the fire was first observed, there were no injuries to the residents or firefighters. Atlantic Police were on the scene for traffic and crowd control. Firefighters were on the scene for about 30-minutes.

(Audio courtesy Jennifer Nichols, Atlantic News Telegraph)

Public Notice: The Montgomery County Auditor’s office will be closed beginning at noon on Tuesday April 8th and all of Wednesday April 9th for all staff attending out-of-town training.

Please email auditor@montgomerycountyia.gov or call the office at 712-623-5127 and leave a voicemail.  Their staff will respond and get back to you in a timely manner upon their return Thursday April 10th.

(Radio Iowa) – Emergency officials are recommending that residents of the south-central Iowa town of Otley evacuate or shelter in place due to a smouldering fire at a co-op. The fire at the Two Rivers Cooperative fertilizer storage facility started early Monday afternoon and officials say it could smoulder for several days. The main concern is burning sulfur, which can cause respiratory issues. The facility had 265 tons of sulfur when the fire started, plus even larger amounts of other farm chemicals like potash and urea.

About 800 people live in Otley and emergency officials say people who live near the town should consider evacuating or remaining inside due to air quality concerns.

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa ag business will have its first non-family member leading the organization later this year. Sukup Manufacturing announced that Chief Financial Officer Tom Mangan will become the company’s next president and C-E-O as part of their succession planning. The Shefield company started in 1963, and is known for its grain bins and other ag products.

(Left) Steve Sukup, President & CEO; (right) Tom Mangan, CFO.

Steve Sukup has been president and C-E-O for the past five years and will start a transition to chairman of the board of directors in October. Mangan was the first non-family executive of the company when he joined as the C-F-O in 2020. Sukup says nine family members still remain actively involved in the business.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors met this (Tuesday) morning, and following a presentation by representatives with the Child Abuse Prevention Council, declared April to be Child Abuse Awareness Month. Here’s a brief summary of the proclamation from Board Chair Steve Baier…

The Board agreed to set April 22^nd at 9-a.m., as the date and time for a public hearing on the proposed FY 26 Cass County Budget. They also approved the appointment of retired sheriff Darby McLaren as a Reserve Deputy, with a wage of just One-dollar per year. Sheriff John Westering succeeded McLaren, who did not run for re-election last November.

In other business, the Supervisors in a continuation of talks from their last meeting, discussed adopting an Indigent Remains Final Disposition Policy. Board Chair Steve Baier…

Any special accommodations are at the discretion of funeral home directors and in coordination with the deceased’s family,but will not be paid for above and beyond what the County has agreed to pay. The Board adopted the policy Resolution as presented, by a vote of 4-to-1, with Supervisor Bernard Pettinger voting No, because of the words “May provide,” with regard to special accommodations.

The Supervisors approved the Cass County Hazard Mitigation Grant Project application, in the amount of $3,375, which is 15-percent of the total grant amount of $22,500. Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon….

The plan identifies responses and mitigation necessary to recover from a major event, such as a tornado, or other emergency situations. The plan is created by SWIPCO (the Southwest Iowa Planning Council), and updated to include as many unforeseen circumstances (like the pandemic), as possible. A monthly report was received today (Tuesday), from Cass County Community Services Director Debbie Schuler, and along with a regular report from Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken.

(Radio Iowa) – Bills to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs in higher education as well as local governments have been debated in the legislature, but so far none have become law. Early this (Tuesday) morning, a House subcommittee approved a Senate bill that would ban D-E-I offices and staff in city and county governments. Chuck Hurley of The Family Leader says D-E-I violates the Christian belief that every human being should be valued.  “We think it’s high time to move past the D.E.I. phenomenon that has actually resulted in using race to discriminate against people,” Hurley said. Denise Rathman is a lobbyist for the Iowa Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. Rathman says ending D-E-I initiatives doesn’t make discrimination go away.

“If everybody was in fact, were in fact treated with love and respect, that’d be fantastic,” she said. “Unfortunately, we don’t like in a perfect world right now.” Tom Cope is a lobbyist for the Iowa chapter of the American Planning Association. Cope says planning for roads, housing and other public structures needs to consider the impact on everybody. “Taking a look at diversity, equity and inclusion is an important part of that process to help ensure that everybody has a seat at the table,” Cope said. Republican Representative Skyler Wheeler of Hull closed the hearing with this comment.

“I encourage my political opponents to continue to defend D.E.I. because it is extremely unpopular.” Late this (Tuesday) afternoon, a Senate subcommittee will review a House-passed bill to forbid D-E-I programs at private colleges that enroll students who receive Iowa Tuition Grants from the state. The bill prohibits D-E-I activities at community colleges and the three state universities as well.