(Creston, IA) – The Creston Police Department reports the arrest Wednesday afternoon, of 31-year-old Tyler Wayne Kimball, of Creston. Kimball was arrested for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and on an outstanding warrant for failure to appear – on an original charge of Domestic Abuse Assault. He was transported to the Union County Jail and held without bond until seen by a judge.

(Mason City, IA) – A man from Cerro Gordo County was injured when he was struck by a transit bus, earlier this week, in Mason City. The Iowa State Patrol, Wednesday, said 68-year-old Francis James Hanig, of Rockwell, was struck while he was crossing a street at the intersection of N. Washington Avenue and 3rd Street NW, at around 2:30-p.m.  Hanig was transported by Mason City Ambulance to MercyOne North Iowa, where a report on his condition was not released.

An investigation determined a 2017 transit bus driven by 79-year-old Ralph Madison, of Mason City, was facing westbound at 3rd St. and N. Washington. Francis Hanig was in the crosswalk on the south side of the intersection. When the transit bus turned southbound and failed to yield, the front end of the bus struck him.

Mason City Police assisted at the accident scene.

(Radio Iowa) – A central Iowa entomologist says there may actually be some science behind the folklore about how the thickness of a woolly bear caterpillar’s stripes can help predict the severity of the winter ahead. Ginny Mitchell, of Boone, says a fellow entomologist in New York state studied the fuzzy creatures in the 1940s. “He sampled all of the woolly caterpillars in the area for nine years, and during that time, there was actually some correlation between the markings on the woolly caterpillar and the winter,” Mitchell says, “but that study had a very small sample size, so people do not consider it scientifically factual.” The black-and-brown caterpillars are prevalent in Iowa right now as they’re looking for safe places to spend the winter. As the story goes, Mitchell says the thickness of the caterpillar’s center stripe is key in weather forecasting.

“The rusty, kind of orange color, if that band is really big, that means we’re going to have a mild winter,” Mitchell says. “If the black parts of the woolly caterpillar are very large, it’s going to be a more severe winter. If there is more hair on the woolly caterpillar, then that means that it’s going to be a more severe winter.” There are also theories that if the caterpillar is crawling south when you find it, it’s trying to flee the looming northern cold, and the reverse, if it’s heading north, a mild winter is ahead. At least two communities — Vermilion, Ohio and Banner Elk, North Carolina — have fall festivals devoted to the alleged prognosticating abilities of the woolly bear caterpillar. One remarkable fact, Mitchell says these fuzzy critters hibernate during the wintertime and their bodies contain a sort of natural antifreeze.

“Say you’re out raking leaves or moving some brush and you find one, it will look like it’s dead. It’ll be curled up like a ‘C’ and it won’t be moving very much,” Mitchell says, “but if you take it inside and you warm it up, then it’ll start to move.” There are reports of wooly bear caterpillars surviving temperatures as low as 90-degrees below zero, even spending an entire winter frozen in an ice cube, to emerge just fine in the spring. Once temperatures warm up for the season, it will create a cocoon and emerge a few weeks later as an Alexandra or Isabella tiger moth.

(Radio Iowa) – The American Farm Bureau’s 40th annual Thanksgiving Dinner cost survey shows another drop this year. Iowa Farm Bureau research director Christopher Pudenz says the survey checks the prices of 12 items each year. “The total cost came in at 55-dollars, 18 cents, which is a total decline of five percent from 2024,” he says. Half the items went down in cost, including the centerpiece turkey. “It dropped 16 percent from 2024, or it dropped from 25-dollars, 67 cents last year to 21-50 this year,” Pudenz says. Turkey prices have been impacted by avian influenza and supply issues in past year. He says this year it appears the bird is being used as an incentive to shoppers.

“One of the things that seems to have happened this year is that retailers seem to have realized that folks are feeling a pinch in their pocketbooks,” he says, “and they are offering more of their whole birds on sale this year. Sort of, you know, to entice folks to get them in the door and to keep the overall dinner cost down”. Pudenz says the hurricane that hit North Carolina impacted production and raised the price for sweet potatoes, and weather also impacted the carrots and celery a little bit for the veggie tray.

Roasting Turkey in the Oven for Holiday Dinner

He says the cost for the ten-person meal topped out topped in 2022 at 64 dollars, and has fallen every year since then. Pudenz says producers haven’t seen any increase in what they make. “According to U-S-D-A, farmers only receive 16 percent of the retail dollar that folks spend at the grocery store. So when they spend a dollar at the grocery store, only 16 cents of that does make it back to the farmer,” he says. Pudenz says it’s important to think of the farmers as you sit down to give thanks.

“You know, while folks should be thankful that their Thanksgiving dinner is relatively cheap this year and they should be thankful for those sales that retailers are running, they also do need to keep in mind that folks out in the countryside and farm country are having a challenging year,” Pudenz says. “Especially on the row crop side of things. Corn and soybean prices haven’t done very well this year for a variety of reasons.”

The survey did look again at an expanded menu that includes a boneless ham, russet potatoes and frozen green beans along with the turkey. That total was 77-dollars, nine cents for ten servings, which that is 24 cents cheaper than in 2024.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a woman from Red Oak was arrested Wednesday night for Violation of a No Contact Order – a Simple Misdemeanor. 20-year-old Dea Rose Anderson was taken into custody in the 100 block of W. Coolbaugh Street, at around 8-p.m., Wednesday. She was transported to the Montgomery County Jail, and held.

Anderson was previously arrested by Red Oak Police at around 12:30-a.m. Wednesday in the 700 block of Market Street, in Red Oak, on charges of Domestic Assault with a weapon and Child Endangerment, both are aggravated misdemeanors.

GRINNELL, Iowa — Two men were arrested November 15rh in Jasper County in connection with a burglary at a construction site. According to a press release from the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, 57-year-old Charles Loudermilk and 53-year-old Michael Pearson are facing multiple charges, including second-degree burglary and theft.

The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office said they found a bulldozer and pickup on the side of Highway 6 East in Grinnell. Investigators said the bulldozer had been driven from near Newton, causing damage to county roads and the highway. Investigators also found several items in the pickup that were taken from a construction site near Kellogg.

The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office said traffic and criminal mischief charges are pending against Loudermilk for the damage done by the bulldozer. A third man was charged with several driving-related misdemeanors.

The full press release is shown below:

DES MOINES, Iowa — The Animal Rescue League of Iowa said it rescued over 30 animals from an unsanitary southern Iowa home.

On Wednesday, the ARL said it recently helped law enforcement remove a total of 37 dogs and cats from a single-wide mobile home in southern Iowa. According to the ARL, the floors of the home were covered in animal waste, with the floorboards so saturated with urine that they were soft. The ARL also said that roaches were found in the home.

ARL photo

Many of the animals were sick, the ARL said. Some of the dogs had skin issues and hair loss and many of the cats were suffering from upper respiratory infections. The ARL said some cats also had untreated ulcers that were eating away at their lips.

All the animals are now in the care of the ARL and are receiving treatment.

Anyone who would like to donate to help in the care of the animals can do so on the ARL’s website.

No additional information has been released.

DES MOINES, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – The Iowa Board of Education is taking public feedback as it crafts rules for implementing several state education laws signed in 2025 — including one addressing fetal development education.

The board took several actions during its meeting Wednesday on rulemaking as directed by the Legislature earlier this year. This included beginning a period of public comments for rules on two laws signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds, Senate File 175 on fetal development education, and House File 295 on community college accreditation.

Democrats had opposed both measures during the legislative session. The law on fetal development instruction was modeled after laws in other states that directly reference the “Meet Baby Olivia” video made by the anti-abortion group Live Action. Iowa’s law requires human growth and development classes for students in grades 5-12 include visuals, such as ultrasound video or computer-generated renderings or animations that depict “the humanity of the unborn child by showing prenatal human development, starting at fertilization.”

The measure also includes a ban on showing materials about fetal development from entities that perform or “promote” abortions, or which contracts, affiliates, or makes referrals to providers that perform or promote abortions.

Democrats and reproductive health care advocates say the law is a means to promote anti-abortion material in public schools, and could lead to the distribution of medically inaccurate information. These concerns were heightened by the ban on materials from institutions that perform or refer patients for abortion care, as the law does not exclude information from organizations that provide abortions when medically necessary or allowed under the state’s six-week abortion ban.

Thomas Mayes, general counsel for the Iowa Department of Education, introduced the proposal to amend parts of Iowa Code to implement these requirements — as well as making a clarification that the state’s ban on materials with descriptions or depictions of sex acts in K-12 schools does not conflict with the fetal development instruction requirements. Mayes said in its current form, the rulemaking proposal is “strictly in line with the statute,” and does not contain any “elaboration” on parts of the law that could be in question.

The other law posted for intended rulemaking action was on state universities and community colleges, and accrediting bodies’ ability to take action against community colleges for following certain state laws. The measure states accreditors cannot take adverse actions against Iowa higher education institutions for following or refusing to break state law — and states that if a public higher education institute is “negatively affected by adverse action” for such a violation, the state attorney general can authorize bringing a civil action against the accrediting agency in question.

The rulemaking change would allow more accrediting agencies to sanction public higher education institutes. Under previous Iowa law and rules, the Higher Learning Commission was the only named agency able to perform this duty. The proposed change “broadens the menu of accreditors to any federally recognized accreditor that (the board) in the future may have approved,” Mayes said.

Both of the rulemaking proposals are open for public feedback before implementation. Public hearings will be held Dec. 30 at the Grimes State Office Building, in addition to having video conferences available. Public comments can also be emailed to Mayes.

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) – Des Moines Public Schools chief academic officer has resigned weeks after being put on administrative leave, KCCI reports. Robert Lundin, the district’s chief academic officer, was placed on paid leave October 6. The district said it was for a personnel matter.A spokesperson for the district told KCCI that the decision was mutual. Lundin’s resignation will take effect on June 30, 2026.

Robert Lundin(Des Moines Public Schools)

Lundin was hired for the position in June, 2024. “His work will include developing short- and long-range goals for district programs, advising the superintendent on educational issues, coordinating support for principals and teachers, and implementing a systemic approach to curriculum development and evaluation,” according to the district’s news release.