(Red Oak, Iowa) – Montgomery County Auditor Jill Ozuna and Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate are alerting voters that they may be receiving important mailers in the coming weeks as part of annual voter registration list maintenance and ongoing audit processes. Voters in Montgomery County may receive notices from the Iowa Secretary of State’s office as part of the National Change of Address (NCOA) process as well as ‘No Activity” notices. Both mailers are expected to reach affected Iowa voters in late March or early April.

As part of the annual NCOA process, voters who have filed a change of address with the U.S. Postal Service will receive notices to update their voter registration. Iowa’s election officials encourage voters to respond to these mail cards quickly, confirm their correct address, and return them to the county auditor’s office.

This mailing establishes compliance with the National Voter Registration Act, which requires periodic contact with voters to confirm the most accurate information is on file.

A separate mailer regarding voter activity may also be sent to voters in Montgomery County Registered Iowa voters who did not participate in the 2024 General Election have been transferred to an “inactive” status and will receive a notice in the mail to confirm their current residential address. Voters can reactivate their activity status by simply responding to this notice—voters who do not respond will remain in “inactive” status.

Registered voters who are “inactive” can also return to “active” status by requesting an absentee ballot, voting in an election, submitting a new registration, or updating their voter registration. This procedure is part of the Secretary of State’s ongoing voter registration list audits and maintenance processes and is required under a state law passed in 2021.

“Ongoing voter registration list audits and maintenance processes are critical to keeping Iowa voter rolls clean and accurate,” said Secretary Pate. “While we encourage Iowans to keep their voter registrations up-to-date, Iowa’s Same-Day Voter Registration safeguard ensures Iowans can register and vote on Election Day—ensuring every eligible voter has the opportunity to cast a ballot.”

Voters who have any questions regarding their voter registration status should contact the Montgomery County Auditor’s office at 712-623-5127.

Iowa voters can check or update their voter registration status at any time at VoterReady.Iowa.Gov.

(Radio Iowa) – Webster City police searched a home Thursday to investigate allegations of animal neglect. During the search, authorities rescued 11 animals from the property. The living conditions within the residence were determined to be unsanitary and unsuitable for animal welfare. As a result of the investigation, 58-year-old John Alan Harper of Webster City was charged with Animal Neglect, a Simple Misdemeanor.

The animals were taken to the Animal Rescue League of Iowa to receive proper care. Harper posted bond with a court appearance set for April 1st in Webster City.

(Radio Iowa) – Book lovers from across the state and best-selling authors from around the world will gather in central Iowa this weekend for the annual Des Moines Book Festival. Organizer Jan Danielson Kaiser, from Beaverdale Books, says it’s an ideal place to hear from and meet some top writers, and even get an autograph and a selfie. She says, “We have four headlining authors, including Claire Lombardo at 10 o’clock; Alexis Coe, a historian; and then we have Hanif Abdurraqib at two o’clock; and ending the headliners at 4:30 with C.J. Box as part of the AVID author series.”

The event promises to be a haven for readers to mingle with fellow readers, and for aspiring writers to visit with publishers. “We also have panel discussions throughout the day. We have Tim Johnston, who is the All Iowa Reads author this year,” Danielson Kaiser says. “We’ve got romance writers. We also are working with DMACC and they’re bringing in some folks from the Iowa Writers Workshop.”

In addition to the four headliners, dozens of authors from around the region will be at the festival, working to build their fan bases. “We have a total of 74 authors who are going to be there selling their books,” Danielson Kaiser says, “as well as merchants selling book-related items, some non-profits, kids’ activities, things like making puppets out of paper bags and story time.”

There will also be six food trucks so attendees can spend the day. The festival runs from 9 AM to 6 PM on Saturday at the Franklin Event Center in Des Moines. Admission and all events are free.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has overwhelmingly approved a bill that would make state employees with a new child eligible for paid parental leave.  “Maternity and paternity for state employees who currently have zero hours of paid family leave.” That’s Representative Taylor Collins of Mediapolis, who briefly explained the plan during House debate. It would give four weeks of paid leave to state employees who give birth and one week to the other parent. Adoptive parents would get four weeks.

Representative Sami Scheetz, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, says good benefits help make state employee positions more attractive, since salaries aren’t competitive with the private sector, and paid parental leave is a good first step. “They need leave,” he said. “They need to be able to spend time with their newborns. I am hopeful as I’ve said throughout the process, too, that the governor will be able to use her considerable influence to get this through the Senate this year.”

This is the third year Governor Reynolds has proposed paid maternal and paternal leave for state employees and the first time it has won House approval. It passed on an 87-to-two vote. Both no votes were from Republicans in the House. Currently, soon-to-be parents who are state employees save up vacation days so they can take time off to care for a newborn or a newly-adopted child.

(Washington, D.C. –  The Congressional Medal of Honor Society on Thursday, announced that Perry Principal Dan Marburger will be posthumously awarded the Citizen Honors Award by Medal of Honor Recipients. A panel of Medal of Honor Recipients reviewed nominations from around the country and chose five individuals and one non-profit organization to receive the Citizen Honors Award, an award given to those who exemplify the ideals of the Medal of Honor — courage, sacrifice, integrity, commitment, citizenship, and patriotism.  Perry Principal Dan Marburger was one of the five selected to receive the award for his brave and selfless actions during the January 4, 2024 shooting at Perry High School that resulted in the death of himself and sixth-grade student Ahmir Jolliff.

Congressional Medal of Honor

The CMH Society says in honoring Marburger with a Single Act of Heroism Award, “Principal Dan Marburger demonstrated extraordinary heroism during the tragic shooting at Perry High School on January 4, 2024, when a student opened fire inside the school. Marburger selflessly confronted the shooter in the hallway, putting himself in harm’s way to protect others. Despite being shot, he continued engaging with the shooter, enabling students and staff to evacuate to safety. Marburger was struck four times during this brave intervention and managed to walk to safety, but ultimately lost his life due to his injuries. His courageous actions exemplified the highest level of dedication to protecting his students and staff, making the ultimate sacrifice in service of others.”

The award ceremony will take place in Arlington, Virginia on March 25th.

(Radio Iowa) – The leaders of a central Iowa company that makes chambers for laboratory research are being named Iowa’s Small Business Persons of the Year by the U-S Small Business Administration. Joni Campidilli is a vice president at Percival Scientific, which employs 86 people in the Dallas County town of Perry. “We build environmental chambers for lots of different research needs,” Campidilli says. “For instance, we build chambers for plant growth. We build chambers for insect research. We build chambers for really anything a researcher might want to test an environment with.” The smallest chamber, or benchtop, is about the size of a small refrigerator and they can be as large as walk-in rooms. Percival Scientific built the chambers in the butterfly house where the fragile creatures emerge at Rieman Gardens at Iowa State University.

An example of one of the chambers the company builds (Percival Scientific photo)

The company has evolved dramatically over the decades, as it opened 135 years ago in Des Moines with a focus on selling butcher tools and animal hides. “They transferred into a more of a refrigeration company, and then they moved to Boone, Iowa,” Campidilli says. “That is where really our current business began in the 1950s we began doing this work, really at the request of Iowa State University. They asked us to build the first plant growth chamber, so that’s where the business started in this direction.” Now, more than 150 different models of the company’s research chambers are being used in all 50 states and in more than 79 countries worldwide. Campidilli was asked what she thinks helped to set Percival Scientific aside for this statewide recognition. “We are a very unique, niche company in the state of Iowa that does just some fascinating, neat things,” Campidilli says, “and I think that we promote the workforce and the employment in our area, in our community, and yet we’re still a global, international company that does a lot of business internationally.”

As Iowa’s Small Business Persons of the Year, Campidilli and her colleagues (president and CEO Jake Oakland and V-P of Sales Jamie Jackson) will represent Iowa at National Small Business Week in Washington D-C in May. They’ll be in the running for National Small Business Persons of the Year.

(Des Moines, Iowa/Iowa Capital Dispatch) -Iowans gathered at the Iowa Capitol Thursday to celebrate the parks, trails and outdoor spaces across the state. The gathering was also intended to serve as a reminder to lawmakers that Iowans care about the outdoors and about preserving access to trails and public lands. Joe McGovern, president of Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, encouraged attendees to think of the creek, park trail or family farm that was special to them and to bring those feelings into the crowded rotunda. Rep. Austin Baeth, D-Des Moines, said the outdoors gives Iowans a sense of commonality, which he said is “sometimes sorely missing” at the State Capitol. Baeth said the outdoors can’t be taken for granted, and pointed at urban sprawl as a major contributor to Iowa’s loss of prairie, wetland and forest habitats. He encouraged attendees to remind legislators that the outdoors are a “top priority” for Iowans.

Adam Shirley, CEO of Iowa’s County Conservation System, said outdoor recreation is Iowa’s top source of tourism and accounts for $8 billion annually in economic output, according to a recent study. Shirley said state, county and city parks alone account for $3 billion of that, which is a big increase since the last time his organization did a study in 2012 and found parks had an economic output of less than $1 billion. Shirley said the study, which is not yet published, also found the trails, lakes and conservation sites create positive environmental impacts and health outcomes for Iowans. Luke Hoffman, executive director of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition, said cycling and trails in Iowa have an economic impact that is on par with that of the top 50 industries for the state. This comes from a study published in January that found biking and trails have a $1.4 billion impact in the state.

Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, said at every town hall, or community event he has done in the 10 years as a lawmaker, someone brings up the need to fund the natural resources and outdoor recreation trust fund. The trust was established in 2010 via a constitutional amendment that had more than 60% approval at the ballot box, to fund parks, trails, water resources, conservation efforts and natural areas in the state. The trust, however, has not had any allocations or withdrawals to date. “The people spoke overwhelmingly, and we need to get this done,” Kaufmann said.

Iowans gathered for Celebrate Iowa’s Outdoors Day to champion outdoor recreation in Iowa. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Sen. Dan Dawson, R-Council Bluffs, said he tries to think of tax policy, as chair of the Ways and Means Committee, not just in terms of dollars and cents, but also to make a better state. “If we’re going to have a state that’s going to grow … and keep people in here and have generational families continue to be here in Iowa, we have to find some of those place making opportunities as well,” Dawson said.

The senator said he and his colleagues need to find a “tax pathway” to do what Iowans have asked them to do. The state would have to raise its sales tax rate by three-eighths of a cent to fund the trust, but Iowa has not increased sales tax rates since 2008.

Earlier this session, senators introduced a proposed constitutional amendment to repeal the natural resources trust fund and replace it with one that would provide property tax relief. Senate Joint Resolution 6 did not advance beyond its subcommittee hearing ahead of the legislative funnel deadline.

Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, D-West Des Moines, said Iowans consistently show up to make their voices heard when legislation threatens the trust fund, or the acquisition of public lands.

Senators advanced Senate File 553 to would restrict the Department of Natural Resources’ ability to purchase land and grow the amount of public land in Iowa. Trone Garriott opposed the bill in committee, because she said constituents had flooded her inbox with messages on the importance of public lands. Trone Garriott said Iowa policy and budgets need to reflect the values and priorities of Iowans.

(Creston, Iowa) – Two people were arrested on drug charges early this (Friday) morning, in Creston. According to the Creston Police Department, 25-year-old Jacob Steven Hilts and 20-year-old Owen Harley Davis, both of Creston, were arrested at the Creston/Union County Law Enforcement Center at around 1:30-a.m.  Both were charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana-1st Offense. Hilts and Davis later posted $1,000 bonds each, and were released.

And, at around 1:40-p.m. Thursday, Creston Police arrested 45-year-old Juliann Marquis Edsall, of Creston, for Failure to Appear (in court). Edsall was taken to Union County Jail and then transferred to Guthrie County Jail. Bail is set in the amount of $2000 cash only.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KETV)— A former Council Bluffs firefighter pleaded guilty to embezzling tens of thousands of dollars over the last decade from the city’s fire union. KETV in Omaha reports in an agreement with prosecutors, former union treasurer John Pier pleaded guilty to the theft. Pier will serve two years probation and pay restitution to the union.

The union president spoke in court, saying Pier betrayed public trust and should have received stronger punishment. The judge told Pier if he violates probation, he could spend 10 years in prison.

Pier has already paid over $90,000 back to the union.

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) – A crash involving a wrong-way vehicle on Interstate 29 early Thursday morning in Sioux City, left one person dead and another injured. KTIV in Sioux City reports the accident happened at around 5:30-a.m., in the southbound lanes of I-29 near the exit for Hamilton Boulevard. According to Sioux City Police, a Toyota Rav 4, driven by a 58-year-old man from Sioux City, was driving in the wrong direction on I-29 when it collided with a Honda Accord traveling in the southbound lanes, driven by a 39-year-old female from Centerville, South Dakota.

The male driver of the wrong-way vehicle died at the scene. The female driver of the other vehicle was taken to a local hospital with what police described as “significant” injuries. Her current condition is not known at this time. The names of the two involved are not being released and the accident remains under investigation.

The southbound lanes of traffic were closed for over two hours Thursday with traffic rerouted around the crash.