(Red Oak, Iowa) – A man from Shenandoah was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail, following his arrest Tuesday night. The Red Oak Police Department reports 29-year-old Andrew Michael Brammer was arrested at around 7:30-p.m., Tuesday, for Violation of a No Contact Order – A Simple Misdemeanor.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A woman from northwest Iowa’s Plymouth County was arrested Tuesday afternoon, in Montgomery County. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports 41-year-old Mary Webb, of LeMars, was arrested at around 2:30-p.m. at the Montgomery County Jail. She was taken into custody on an active Montgomery County warrant for Failure To Appear on an original, OWI/1st offense charge. Webb was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $5,000 bond.

(Des Moines, Iowa/Iowa Capital Dispatch) – Iowa senators advanced a bill Tuesday to implement nutrition guidelines and education in Iowa schools that prioritize the state’s “unique” food sources like corn, pork and dairy.  The bill would also update school health class curriculum to include a section on nutrition and include instruction on food production and the benefits of local sourcing in agriculture, as well as natural resources career and technical education instruction.

Senate Study Bill 1158 would instruct the Iowa Department of Education to apply for a waiver for exemption of certain parts of federal nutrition standards for school meals. The bill asks for exemptions from sodium limits, whole grain requirements and stipulations on fruit and vegetable varieties and general permission to substitute federal nutrition guidelines with those that “align with Iowa’s dietary recommendations or cultural food practices.”

The Iowa Department of Education, if the waiver were approved, would then work with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, nutrition experts, educators and other stakeholders to develop guidelines for a “nutritionally adequate meal” in Iowa. Per SSB 1158, these guidelines must be as stringent as federal guidelines in promoting health and preventing chronic diseases and must prioritize animal-based protein, dairy, vegetables and fruits, in that order.

Sen. Liz Bennett, D-Cedar Rapids, opposed the bill in the Senate Agriculture Committee hearing because of this section. “You’re basically rewriting the food pyramid by writing into law that certain food groups must be prioritized in the order listed,” Bennett said in the committee hearing. Bennett said she’s not against animal proteins but said she does not see “nutritional research evidence” supporting the prioritization outlined in the bill.

(Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture)

Lobbyists from Iowa commodity groups including the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association and Iowa Corn Growers Association spoke in favor of the bill during its subcommittee hearing Feb. 26. Sen. Mike Zimmer of DeWitt, ranking Democrat for the Senate Ag Committee, echoed Bennett’s sentiment and said students should be taught the harms as well as the benefits of animal proteins and should similarly be exposed to other sources of protein.

Zimmer said the bill attempts to “reinvent the wheel” on nutrition education and school meal programming that are already established by the Department of Education. Sen. Kevin Alons, R-Salix, who chaired the subcommittee on the bill last week, said the proposed legislation does not ignore federal nutrition guidelines; it instead asks for a waiver.

The bill was amended in committee to remove references to “sustainable farming” practices from the section on career education. Sen. Dan Zumbach, R-Ryan, said the language was removed to avoid complication in the curriculum since “the word sustainable is not defined.” According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, sustainable agriculture is defined in U.S. Code as “an integrated system of plant and animal production practices” that, among other goals, “make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls.”

The bill passed with the amendment, 11-4 with Democrat Sens. Zimmer, Bennett, Tony Bisignano of Des Moines and Herman Quirmbach of Ames voting no. A similar bill, House Study Bill 173, has advanced from subcommittee in the House.

(Radio Iowa) – A report by the state auditor identifies thousands of dollars allegedly improperly spent by the Johnson County Conservation Department.The report finds more than 63-thousand dollars in improper payments and nearly 25 thousand more in payments without supporting evidence. There were also some 53-hundred dollars in uncollected revenue under former Conservation Director Larry Gullett, and Operations Superintendent Wade Schultz.

The investigation finds the improper disbursements include unauthorized payroll, use of credit cards, and fuel purchases. Gullett died in September and Schultz remains on leave. Copies of this report have been filed with the D-C-I, the Johnson County Attorney’s Office and the Attorney General.

(Radio Iowa) – At one minute past midnight this (Tuesday) morning, President Trump imposed a 25-percent tariff on all goods being brought into the U-S from Canada and Mexico, Iowa’s two largest trading partners. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley predicts it will likely mean Iowa consumers will soon start having to pay more for a wide range of products.

“We can expect Canada and Mexico to take actions contrary to our tariffs by putting tariffs on products going into their country,” Grassley says. “It’s pretty difficult, in the first 24 hours, to know what the impact is.” Iowa businesses ship more products to Canada than anywhere else. Iowa exported five-and-a half billion dollars worth of goods to Canada in 2023, which equated to 30-percent of the state’s total exports, while Mexico is Iowa’s second-largest trading partner.

Grassley says he’s already hearing from Iowa hog farmers about the tariffs. “We’re hearing from pork producers that import baby pigs that are farrowed in Canada,” Grassley says. “There’s just a regular supply of them coming in, probably almost daily, and that could have an impact on the profitability of pork production in Iowa.” Iowa sends all types of products to our neighbors to the north and south, including: pork, beef, corn, dried distillers grains, soybeans, soybean meal, and ethanol. Grassley says it’s possible these tariffs won’t be in place very long.

“The president won the election based upon the fact that he’s going to impose tariffs,” Grassley says. “Maybe it’ll work to get tariffs down, because that’s what his goal is, to put tariffs on and get people to the negotiating table. And if he negotiates tariffs down around the globe, that’s a benefit for everybody.” Grassley couldn’t predict whether Trump’s trade strategy will work or not. “And if he’s successful, I’ll say, amen,” Grassley says, “and if he’s not successful, I’ll say, I told you so.”

In an interview with Radio Iowa in January, Grassley called himself a “free trader” and said Trump’s tactics are “questionable” but he was willing to pause and see if they’re effective.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congressman Randy Feenstra says accountability is coming for the man who vanished after being charged with killing an Iowa woman nine years ago. The Honduran National Police announced late last week that Eswin Mejia had been taken into custody. In 2016, Mejia was accused of driving drunk and crashing into Sarah Root’s vehicle in Omaha. Root, a 21 year old from Council Bluffs, died at the scene. Mejia, who was in the country illegally, posted a five-thousand dollar bond, was released and disappeared.

“Now the Trump Administration is working to extradite the criminal to the United States to answer for these crimes,” Feenstra says. Feenstra and other members of Iowa’s congressional delegation had for several years co-sponsored what they called “Sarah’s Law” to require that illegal immigrants charged with a violent crime be detained and not eligible for pre-trial release. This year Sarah’s Law was attached to another bill and it was the first piece of legislation President Trump signed into law.

“I was so excited. In January, I was at the White House with Scott Root, Sarah’s dad, when President Trump signed the legislation making Sarah’s Law the law of the land and this legislation will ensure that illegal immigrants who harm and kill Americans are detained, punished and locked away,” Feenstra said. “And when I talked to Scott Root the number one thing he wanted was the criminal to be found accountable for his crime on killing his daughter and that’s what we’re going to get.”

Scott Root is scheduled to be Iowa Senator Joni Ernst’s guest at President Trump’s “State of the Union” address to congress tonight (Tuesday).

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart says President Trump’s new import tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China will have a negative impact on Iowa’s economy. “It’s already hit the corn and soybean market and we can see what’s happening to the stock market,” Hart says. In a post on his “Truth Social” platform, President Donald Trump said the tariffs were being imposed on “external product” and the great farmers of the United States should get ready to start making a lot of products to be sold INSIDE the U-S. Trump closed the message by writing “Have fun!” Hart says the price for a bushel of corn fell by 22 cents by midday today (Tuesday).

“That doesn’t seem like fun to me,” Hart says. Hart says after Trump imposed tariffs in 2018 and 2019, other countries which had been buying American farm commodities started buying elsewhere. Trump authorized 61 BILLION dollars in tariff relief payments to American farmers during his first term. “Farmers are a proud bunch. We want trade, not aid,” Hart says. “This president got by with it last time. I don’t know why, but if he thinks he’s going to have the taxpayers bail us out again, that’s just poor leadership.”

Hart farms with her husband in Clinton County, near Wheatland.

(Radio Iowa) – House Speaker Pat Grassley says he and other Republicans in the Iowa House are standing firm on their plan to provide more money to K-through-12 schools than Governor Reynolds and Senate Republicans propose. “We’re still having conversations with the Senate and the governor. We’ve been pretty clear I think from the House perspective, as I’ve been sharing with the Senate and the governor that we feel pretty strongly about the package of items we’ve put together. At some point I think that could resolve itself with…deciding what should be a part of the conversation moving forward, what shouldn’t be,” Grassley says. “At this point in time, the feedback I’ve gotten from our (House Republican) caucus is they want us to hold strong in our position.”

House Republicans have voted to provide more money to help cover busing costs in geographically large school districts AND a one-time infusion of 22-point-six million dollar to help schools cover expenses that have been pushed higher due to inflation. House Republicans also propose letting smaller school districts share more administrative staff, as well as a general per pupil spending level that’s slightly higher than the two percent increase Governor Reynolds and Senate Republicans propose. “Obviously the senate and the governor being at two, I think a lot of schools are making decisions at two,” Grassley says, “but we’re holding tight at this point because we feel strongly about some of those other items.”

House Speaker Pat Grassley (official photo)

School districts must hold public hearings on budget plans and school boards must adopt a budget for the next academic year by April 30th.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Police Department, today (Tuesday), released a report on those arrested during the month of February, 2025. They included…

On Feb. 27th:- 64-year-old James Cisar, of Atlantic. He was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Failure To Appear.

On the 24th: 43-year-old Heather Ott, of Atlantic, was arrested for: 3-counts of Unauthorized Use of A Credit Card (Under $1,500); Theft in the 4th Degree, and Fraudulent Practice in the 4th Degree.

On Feb. 23rd, Atlantic Police arrested 40-year-old Johnnie Payne, of Atlantic, for Domestic Abuse Assault/1st offense.

On the 17th, 25-year-old Tarek Punan, of Atlantic, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault/Display or Use of a Weapon – 1st offense.

On Feb. 12th, 18-year-old Skyler Mack, of Atlantic, was arrested for OWI/1st offense.

On the 7th of February, APD arrested 45-year-old Melissa Wheeler, of Atlantic, for Possession of a Controlled substance/3rd or subsequent offense.

On the 2nd, Atlantic Police arrested 30-year-old Shawn Jensen, of Atlantic, for OWI

and, on the 1st, 36-year-old Jonathan Paul, of Atlantic, was arrested for Public Intoxication.

11 other people were cited into court for various offenses, including:

• 35-year-old Tyler and 34-year-old Trisha Clark, both of Atlantic, (Feb. 3rd) for Violations of a Compulsory Education Mediation Agreement/1st offense.
• 64-year-old Vickie Jespersen, and 67-year-old Keith Jesperson, both of Atlantic, were cited for Violations of a Compulsory Education Mediation Agreement/2nd offense.
• 18-year-old Caden Clarken, of Atlantic, for Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia.
• 20-year-old Shelby Rodenburg, of Anita, for Theft in the 5th Degree (Shoplifting).
• 33-year-old Troy Walker, of Atlantic, for PCS/Marijuana -1 st offense.
• 18-year-old Kaylynn White, and 19-year-old Shantell Michaels, both of Atlantic, for Shoplifting; Both were also cited for Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor, with Michaels cited for the purchase of alcohol by a person under the age of 21.
• 37-year-old Aaron Macias, of Atlantic, was cited for Shoplifting.
• 34-year-old Trisha Clark, of Atlantic, was cited (Feb. 11th) for Violation of a Compulsory Education Mediation Agreement/2nd offense.