MANSON, Iowa [WHO-TV] — The Pocahontas County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after two people were found dead in a rural Manson home on Monday. Just before 8:30 a.m. on March 10, the PCSO says it responded to a report of two deceased people at a 32351 590th Street. Authorities identified Lynnette Walstrom, 61, and Jeremy Schuttler, 52, both of rural Manson, as the deceased individuals.

The Palmer Fire Department conducted tests to determine whether carbon monoxide was present in the home but none was detected. Various drug-related items were found in the home and preliminary tests indicated the presence of fentanyl. The PCSO said the deaths are believed to be drug-related, pending toxicology results from the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office.

No foul play is suspected, according to the PCSO.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – Two Council Bluffs man were sentenced to federal prison for their roles in conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.

According to public court documents, in March and April 2024, Jessie Lee Holtz, 35, and co-defendant, Andrew Joseph Kaipus, 38, conspired to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine in the Council Bluffs area. During the conspiracy, Kaipus obtained a quarter pound of methamphetamine from Holtz and Kaipus then sold that methamphetamine to a confidential informant in April 2024.

On November 14, 2024, Kaipus, received a 10-year prison sentence, followed by a five-month term of supervised release.

On March 12, 2025, Holtz was sentenced to 71 months in federal prison. After completing his term of imprisonment, Holtz 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 Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, Iowa Department of Public Safety—Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Council Bluffs Police Department.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Lottery announced the rollout today (Wednesday) of quick-pick Powerball and Mega Millions tickets you can buy at the cash register checkout in some Fareway grocery stores. Lottery spokesperson Mary Neubauer says they’ve been working on this for years. “And folks might look at it and think, okay, it’s lottery sales at the checkout, how hard can it be? It actually was a ton of work to get different technological systems to talk to each other and allow this to happen,” she says.

Tickets have been sold only through special lottery terminals that are usually in the customer service area. Neubauer says it wasn’t feasible to add a lottery terminal to every checkout lane. “Through this new innovation, essentially Fareway’s point of sale system is communicating with the Iowa Lottery statewide gaming system in a secure way,” Neubauer says. “And I think that that’s really important for everyone to know these easy play tickets meet the same exact security standards that are in place for any lottery ticket.”

A Powerball ticket sold at checkout along with normal Fareway receipt. (Iowa Lottery photo)

The tickets purchased at the checkout registers will look a little different than those bought at the current terminals. Neubauer says they see this as the express lane option for Powerball and Meg Millions tickets. “There are just a couple of options there. If you want the full selection of lottery tickets and to be able to cash your tickets or pick your own numbers in the lotto game that you’re playing, you’ll still need to go to the lottery terminal in the store, but this new option just allows greater convenience in lottery ticket purchases at the store,” she says.

Neubauer says the change will help stores that have trouble finding enough staff. ” I think that is a critical issue that in some locations, I think businesses are struggling with having staffers, and so this just makes it that much easier,” she says. “You know, a staffer doesn’t have to leave their cash register to go over to the Lottery Terminal to get a ticket. This just makes the process seamless.” Neubauer expects the purchase at the checkout ticket option to eventually expand. “I think other stores will want to add this over time as we continue to work on the technology,” Neubauer says.

Neubauer says the quick pick Powerball and Mega Millions ticket option should be available in all Fareway stores by the end of the month.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa school boards could decide to let eighth graders play high school sports *during the school year* under a bill that’s passed the House. Representative Skyler Wheeler of Hull is the bill’s sponsor. “A little background on this, currently if you are an eighth grader, you can softball and baseball in the summer. This would allow you to play fall, winter and spring sports,” Wheeler says. “There are several other states that allow this to happen.”

Wheeler, who is a high school baseball coach, says a couple of high schools in his area didn’t have enough players to field girls basketball teams this past season. “We have coaches that are asking for this and I think there’s great opportunity there. If you can get to these students in eighth grade, you have a better chance — it’s not just about development and things like that — you have a better chance of keeping them out (for sports) throughout rest of their high school career,” Wheeler says. “I also think it’s a sense of pride to be able to play for your school and I also think it’s fairness for these individuals and students to make sure that they can field sports and be able to compete on behalf of their school.”

Rep. Skyler Wheeler (R-Hull)

The bill passed the House on an 89 to two vote and goes to the senate for consideration. Groups representing rural schools, urban schools and Catholic schools have registered as undecided on the bill, while the Iowa Association of Christian Schools is in favor of it.

The Iowa High School Girls Athletic Union and the Iowa High School Athletic Association, which governs boys sports, have not weighed in on the proposal. Thirteen states currently allow eighth graders to compete at the varsity level during the school year.

(Audubon, Iowa) – The State Fire Marshal’s Office has, at the request of Audubon Fire Chief Tyler Thygesen (Representing the fire departments in Audubon County) issued a Burn Ban for the County, effective immediately, and until conditions are such that open burning no longer constitutes a danger to lives and/or property.

With the addition of Audubon County, there are currently six counties in southwest Iowa under a ban on open burning: Those Counties also include: Adair; Guthrie; Mills; Montgomery and Page (https://www.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/c22956334fd8435080ed851f549c5263).

(See the proclamation below):

(Radio Iowa) – One of the largest student-run blood drives in the country is underway this afternoon at Iowa State University. Emily Holley, spokeswoman for the central Iowa chapter of the American Red Cross, says this is the third and final day for the annual effort, which is being organized by ISU students. “They really work incredibly hard to publicize the drive,” Holley says. “They work with community businesses to provide different incentives to blood donors, and they really work hard at recruiting students to come and give blood.”

The blood drive is open to all ISU students, faculty and staff — and to anyone from Ames or central Iowa. “They don’t need an appointment, but we always encourage appointments,” Holley says, “and the best way to do that is to go to RedCrossBlood.org and you can use the sponsor code ‘CYCLONES’ and that’ll get you right to that blood drive.” Since the blood drive started on Monday, more than 700 donors have taken part, and the tally may be well over a thousand before ending today at 5 PM. The blood drive is underway in the Great Hall of ISU’s Memorial Union.

(Red Cross photo)

While donors may get a sense of satisfaction in giving blood, Holley says there may also be a bonus or two. “There are commemorative t-shirts, while supplies last,” Holley says, “and then also, we are doing free A1C testing as part of March being Red Cross Month, and we’re working to promote the health of communities.”

That testing can help health care professionals to determine a person’s risk for diabetes.

(Iowa DNR News) – Breeding Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus) disappeared from Iowa in the mid-20th Century. Peregrine Falcons historically nested on cliff ledges, but have also adapted to nest on human-made structures like tall buildings and bridges.

Adult Peregrine Falcon and nestlings sit in a shallow “scrape” that serves as a nest. Photo by Randy Cook.

Iowa DNR began a Peregrine Falcon restoration program in 1989 with 23 birds released in Cedar Rapids followed by another 19 released in Des Moines in 1991. Between 1989 and 2003, a total of 169 birds were released in Iowa feeding into a regional restoration effort that saw 875 birds released across the Midwest. In 1999, the first pair of birds nested on their historic nesting grounds along the Mississippi River bluffs. As of 2024, most of the Peregrine Falcon nesting occurs in the eastern half of the state in three main environments: Urban, Mississippi River bluff faces, and energy plant towers.

Monitoring of nest sites is accomplished by a network of volunteer and professional surveyors. The Raptor Resource Project monitors and bands a number of Peregrine nest sites in the northeastern corner of the state. Several of the nest sites are on power plants which have restricted access so we rely on employees who not only monitor the nest sites but are often wonderful stewards for the birds. Surveyors collect data on the nest’s activity and whether the pair are successful in producing fledglings. Some opportunistic reports of nesting activity are also accepted if no formal data are available.

There were a total of 17 nests monitored in 2024 with no new nests reported. Of these 17 nests, 15 were active and 2 were inactive. Of the 15 active nests, 11 were reported as successful, 2 were reported as failed, and 2 had no outcome reported. The average number of young produced per nest with a known outcome was 2.77, a notable increase from last year (1.92).

Compared to recent years, 2024 was an above average year for Peregrine reproduction, with a higher percentage of successful nests (73.3%) than the previous four years. A minimum total of 36 young fledged from the 11 successful nests, notably higher than 2023 (25 young fledged), and the average of 2.77 young produced per nest is the highest since 2016.

Though Peregrine Falcon nest success increased in 2024, continued monitoring is warranted with ongoing disease threats such as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N12.3.4.4). Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) predominantly affects wild waterfowl and shorebirds but can also be spread to species that eat waterfowl and shorebird prey, such a Peregrine Falcons and Eagles. In 2022, the Iowa DNR documented the loss of one nesting Peregrine to HPAI and in 2023 documented the loss of one Peregrine that wasn’t a nesting individual. Overall, Iowa’s nesting population of Peregrine Falcons appears to be stable, with birds generally returning to historic nesting sites each year, but this recovering population continues to warrant annual monitoring.

The DNR will continue to monitor nest sites with the partnership of volunteers and others who care about falcons in Iowa. Falcon nest sites can be very challenging to monitor because of their location and the territoriality of the birds so any data received are much appreciated. Please contact the Volunteer Wildlife Monitoring Program coordinator if you are interested in helping with monitoring in the future; vwmp@dnr.iowa.gov.

(Radio Iowa) – Keep Iowa Beautiful is now signing up volunteers for its annual Pick-Up Iowa event. Executive Director Andy Franz says this is the 25th year of volunteers picking up trash along roadways, parks, and in cities across the state. “You know it can be anything, any group you know. It can be a family member, a sports team, a school, a church group, any sort of community you know, group that wants to get together,” Franz says. Franz says the event has two goals. “It helps to not only pick up the community and make it look better and so forth, and create that civic pride, but also it helps building leadership and volunteerism, which is what we strive for with all of our programs,” he says. Franz asks you to register your group.

“Just go on the website at KeepIowaBeautiful.org, and there’ll be a pickup Iowa icon to click on. And you go in and it’s from April 1st to June 30th,” he says. Franz says they like everyone to schedule their event during this time. “We tried to have a time frame so that we’re able to capture that and then record it and feed it back out, that these are the things that have happened. And you know, historically, over the past five years, we’ve hosted 150 plus clean up events statewide,” Franz says. He says they have a special goal for the event this year. “We are shooting for 25-hundred volunteers, picking up 25-hundred bags of litter because Keep Iowa Beautiful is 25 years old this year,” he says. ”

Keep Iowa Beautiful Facebook photo

Started by former Governor Ray and Don Lamberti, the founder of Casey’s 25 years ago. And the cornerstone program was initially picking up litter and so forth, but it’s grown into all sorts of programs that are aimed at helping small and large communities, particularly the rural communities.” Keep Iowa Beautiful is an affiliate of the Keep America Beautiful program.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill that’s cleared an Iowa Senate subcommittee would cut taxes that businesses pay to cover unemployment benefits when people get laid off from their jobs. Governor Reynolds says Iowa’s Unemployment Trust Fund has too much money in it and she wants to provide more tax relief. Reynolds, who made the same proposal last year, is asking lawmakers to lower the top unemployment tax rate and reduce the taxable wage base by half. Ryan Sempf with the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce says the bill is an opportunity to improve Iowa’s competitiveness with neighboring states.

“This is one of the few places where we actually have an opportunity to really continue to move the needle on that,” he said, “so appreciate this bill and hope it moves forward this year.” Peter Hird with the Iowa Federation of Labor says the bill won’t benefit working people. “In 2022, benefits for workers were cut, cutting the maximum number of weeks that they can collect from 26 to 16,” Hird said. “This bill basically is a result of those cuts, and it’s going to turn into savings for nearly a billion dollars for Iowa employers.”

The same bill stalled last year over concerns that the state might have to raise business taxes if there’s a recession and Iowa’s unemployment rate soars. This year a Senate Republican has proposed adding a surcharge on the bill for businesses that have seasonal layoffs, to cover the unemployment benefits workers from those businesses collect during the winter. An Iowa Workforce Development official says that would cause a one-year delay in implementing the tax cuts for businesses.