(Radio Iowa) – National media outlets are publishing what’s described as an internal memo from Social Security officials outlining thousands of job cuts and even the shutdown of the agency’s 800-number to comply with DOGE orders to pare back. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he recently met with President Trump’s nominee to head Social Security, Frank Bisignano, and Grassley says he was assured, services would be enhanced, not slashed.

“People should have access to the telephone and have access to Social Security through the telephone,” Grassley says, “but I made even a stronger case for people that are working remotely to show up at the offices and that they have face-to-face contact.” Reports say Social Security’s current staff of around 57-thousand would be cut by at least seven-thousand, while the elimination of the toll-free phone line would force millions of people to file claims in person.

The plan also calls for closing six of the agency’s ten regional offices, creating what the memo calls “a real Catch-22” as filing in person would become extremely difficult. “Government is all about service. You can’t service people if you don’t have access to methods of communication,” Grassley says, “and particularly if you need to see people face to face, you can’t see them face to face.” Grassley couldn’t confirm whether DOGE had ordered the deep cuts at Social Security, cuts which would have a significant impact on millions, especially in rural areas of Iowa.

“I hope it’s just a rumor, and if it isn’t, then I’ll be expressing to the DOGE people, I’ll be expressing it to the nominee for Social Security administrator,” Grassley says, “when I asked and what he said he was going to do is enhance the service.”

The agency’s website says nearly 69-million Americans get Social Security benefit every month, for a total of around one-point-six trillion dollars in benefits every year.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Senate has — again — passed a bill that would penalize motorists who handle a smart phone while driving. Republican Senator Mark Lofgren, of Muscatine, says it hopefully will reign in distracted drivers. “We’ve all witnessed it as we’ve traveled highways and interstates back and forth to the capitol,” Lofgren said. “Twenty-five years ago the problem was not as prevalent, but today it is prevalent and it continues to get worse.” The bill has passed the senate in previous years and the vote on it today (Tuesday) was 47-to-one. There are some exemptions in the bill for people like bus drivers and people driving farm machinery.

Senator Tony Bisignano, a Democrat from Des Moines, voted for the bill, but argued people driving tractors and combines shouldn’t be handling a smart phone, too. “That’s great as long as it’s not my family driving up the secondary highway,” Bisignano said, “because that’s where the tragedy strikes.”

The bill passed on a 47-to-one vote and goes to the House, where it has stalled over the past several years. However, back in January Governor Reynolds used part of her annual address to lawmakers to call on legislators to send the bill to her desk this year.

ATLANTIC, Iowa – Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources report Bob Harris is the recipient of the 2024 Brass Bluegill award from the Iowa DNR’s Fish Iowa! program. Harris started a nonprofit organization in 2020 to promote fishing for Junior and Senior High School students. The Southwest Iowa Fishing Team aims to promote, advance, and sponsor amateur youth fishing for boys and girls in Southwest Iowa and surrounding communities.   Their primary initiative is to instill the ideals of good sportsmanship, education, conservation, and fish care through instruction, seminars, and training during all outdoor youth activities.

This endeavor has been a great success. Dozens of Junior and Senior High school aged boys and girls from all over Iowa have joined this team and competed in youth bass fishing tournaments locally and nationally. Harris also provides students with educational opportunities. Using fishing as a springboard, he and his team gain a better understanding of fish biology, habitat, and water management. He works with local agencies, organizations and businesses to access equipment, local resources, and funds for supplies.

The Southwest Iowa Fishing Team is committed to giving back to the natural resources in Iowa. Harris and his team successfully completed a fund-raising campaign to purchase materials the team used to build fish habitat at more than a dozen Southwest Iowa public fishing lakes.

Pictured from the left is DNR director Kayla Lyon, 2025 Brass Bluegill Award recipient Bob Harris, chair of the Natural Resource Commission, Marcus Branstad, and DNR fisheries biologist Andy Jansen. Photo courtesy of the Iowa DNR.

Iowa DNR Fisheries Bureau staff have been assisting Harris and his team to help make these efforts educational and engage students to learn and expand their knowledge about aquatic fish life in the area lakes and ponds. He has built strong support for fishing, and outdoor education overall, in the area schools and community.

The award, along with a set of fishing poles to use with their Fish Iowa! programs, was presented at the Natural Resources Commission Meeting on March 13. The Brass Bluegill award has been presented each year since 1996 to Fish Iowa! educators with outstanding local programs that exemplify the goals of the Fish Iowa! Angler Education program.

(Corning, Iowa) – Officials with the Southwest Valley Community School District today (Tuesday), announced their selection for the next Superintendent to lead the district. In their statement on social media, district officials said:

“The Southwest Valley School Board has selected Mr. Joe Erickson as their next Superintendent of Schools. Mr. Erickson will come to Southwest Valley from North Iowa Community Schools, where he serves as Superintendent of Schools. Board President Staci Venteicher stated, “The Southwest Valley Board Members, along with our students, staff, parents, and community, are excited to welcome Mr. Joe Erickson as our new Superintendent. We believe Mr. Erickson is an excellent choice because of his passion for education and his knowledge of school finance.”

According to the press release, the SWV School Board reviewed and discussed valuable feedback from 48 Focus Group members, who interviewed each of the top three Candidates as they worked to reach their decision. Board President Jason Poston commented, “The Board greatly appreciated the time, effort, and dedication of the 48 Focus Group members, who provided valuable insights into our selection process and interviews. We look forward to their continuing support of our students.”

Mr. Erickson will begin his Southwest Valley Community Schools duties on July 1, 2025.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – During a joint public hearing via Zoom, involving the Cass and Adair County Boards of Supervisors, both Board briefly discussed vacating of that portion of 780th Lane (AKA Union Ave; AKA Adair-Cass Ave.), originally established in January, 1882, with improvement made in 1957. The road the crosses the Cass-Adair County line is about 66-feet wide and stretches approximately 2,034 feet. Having heard no comments from the public, the Boards separately, passed their respective resolutions to vacate the road as described in the legal definition. Cass County Board Chair Steve Baier…

Following the joint meeting, the Cass County Supervisors held a separate public hearing on the vacating and closing of a section of Quebec Lane near Massena. Once again having received no public comments, the Supervisors voted to pass a resolution vacating the road as described by Chairman Baier.

The Board discussed with Cass County Community Services/Mental Health Director Debbie Schuler, and some local funeral home representatives, revisions to the County Indigent Remains disposition. Schuler further explained how the cremains are handled.

The discussion lasted about 45-minutes. The current proposal would reduce the amount the County pays to funeral homes from $1,500 to $1,000. It would still include Medical Examiner’s fees and cremation, but no requirement to pay for viewing, services or ceremonies, and burial. No action was taken to approve the updated policy as presented, as it was only on the agenda for discussion.

In other business, the Cass County Supervisors approved an Iowa Department of Transportation Federal-aid agreement for the replacement of a 100-foot slab bridge on Keystone Road, over a Creek. The project is 100-percent funded by the Feds. They also approved a 50-cent per hour wage increase for Secondary Roads employee Tucker Sager, since he has completed the required new-hire probationary period in accordance with his employment agreement.

The Cass County Supervisors passed a resolution amending the County Secondary Roads 5-year Construction Program, by moving a bridge project (#73 – A Pony Truss bride near Lyman, on 620th Street) from 2027 to 2025, due to NEPA (National Environmental Protection Agency) changes received sooner than expected, and, they approved the plans and specifications for bridge #73. They also approved a Hot Melt Asphalt (HMA) resurfacing/CIP recycling project on County Road N-28, south of Highway 92, to the Cass-Adams County line. Cass County Secondary Roads Department Maintenance Superintendent Mark Knudsen said weather permitting, work will begin next week on the N-28 project.

Other projects include:

(Radio Iowa) – Forecasters say travel could be difficult if not impossible across Iowa’s northwestern third tomorrow (Wednesday). Blizzard conditions are in the forecast for some 30 counties with winds gusting up to 65 miles an hour and heavy snow of up to twelve inches in some areas. National Weather Service meteorologist Alexis Jimenez says the storm front will start moving into Iowa late tonight and early tomorrow.

“We’re expecting that precipitation to come in after about one o’clock in the morning,” Jimenez says. “That’s going to be primarily rain and thunderstorms in the southeastern half of the state, and maybe some thunderstorms mixing in more on the north side, where there’s going to be snow, so that means ‘thunder-snow’ for those that like that.” A major temperature shift is coming to the region, as highs today are forecast mostly in the 60s and 70s across Iowa, but the approaching storm system will bring in very cold air.

“Rain will gradually transition to all snow as we get into Wednesday morning especially,” Jimenez says, “and with those winds up to about 65 miles per hour, especially up there in northern Iowa, you can have some blizzard conditions pretty likely up there and white-out conditions are likely with that.”

Some areas may see snowfall at the rate of two inches per hour. Coincidentally, tomorrow’s the last full day of winter.

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston, early this (Tuesday) morning, arrested a man on a Union County warrant. Authorities say 40-year-old Santos Olivera Martinez, of Creston, was taken into custody at around 12:36-a.m., on a warrant for Failure to Appear on original charges that include Possession of Methamphetamine/1st Offense, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Martinez was taken to the Union County Jail and held without bond.

(Bedford, Iowa) – A Jury in Taylor County found a Bedford man guilty of Murder, Monday, in connection with the shooting death in July, 2024, of a man from Lenox. According to reports, 37-year-old Alan Schultz was found guilty of Felony Murder in the 1st Degree, in the shooting on July 4th, 2024, in Clearfield, of 19-year-old Colby Nelson.

Schultz’ trial began March 12th and ended early Monday afternoon. The jury reportedly deliberated for roughly 40 minutes before reaching a verdict in the case. Schultz is set to be sentenced on April 8th.

(Radio Iowa) – Turns out, there’s a lot more floating around the planet Saturn than those famous rings. Space scientists announced last week they’ve discovered Saturn has 128 -more- moons, for a total of 274, far more than its larger neighbor Jupiter, with just 95 moons. University of Iowa physics and astronomy professor Allison Jaynes says she’s betting Saturn has still more moons that we haven’t spotted yet. “I think there are more. This is one of the cases of — the closer you look, the more you see, which is often the case in science,” Jaynes says. “We just didn’t notice these smaller moons, because they’re very hard to track, and they’re very hard to prove that they’re orbiting Saturn, which is one of the conditions upon which we’ll designate an object a moon.”

Prof. Allison Jaynes (UI photo)

The closest the Earth ever comes to Saturn is about 746-million miles, so it’s giant leap to even pick out a few of its moons from this distance, let alone tracking 274 separate moons in orbit.  “It’s a huge logistical problem, which is why we haven’t noted them before,” Jaynes says. “The way that this was done was using a telescope to take very precise measurements of extremely faint objects, these tiny fragments that are now considered moons around Saturn, and track them over time to prove that they have an orbital period that is centered around the planet Saturn.” Why does Earth only have one moon and Saturn has nearly 300? First of all, Saturn is nine times wider than Earth, meaning, if Earth were the size of a nickel, Saturn would be about as big as a volleyball, so it’s gravitational pull is much stronger.

“We are very small, and we’re also farther in towards the Sun, where there isn’t a lot of debris, and hasn’t been a lot of debris,” Jaynes says. “If you think about the asteroid belt, that’s out closer to Jupiter, and so there is a question about why doesn’t Jupiter actually attract more moons than it has?” So where did all of these moons around Saturn come from? One popular theory, Jaynes says, it that they were created by the collisions of objects that were already captured by Saturn’s gravity well. “So, unstable objects that smashed into each other became clouds of debris and then continued to orbit Saturn,” Jaynes says. “But again, we need more information, and we don’t really know for sure. We’ve only had a few spacecraft actually fly to Saturn to discover and look at things up close.”

NASA photo of Saturn using the James Webb Space Telescope

Much of what we know about Saturn came from a NASA probe called Cassini, which spent 20 years in deep space. Some of Cassini’s instruments were built at the University of Iowa, including one that measured radioactive emissions and waves in the ionized gas, called plasma, which surrounds the ringed planet. Its fuel nearly spent, Cassini was intentionally sent to burn up in Saturn’s atmosphere in 2017.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – Weather permitting, the Adair-Casey & Guthrie Center School District Boards of Education will take place 7-p.m. Wednesday, in the AC/GC High School Media Center. During the joint meeting, a public hearing will take place with regard to the 2025-26 School Master Calendar.

Both Boards will act on approving the 2025-26 Master Calendar, along with an AEA Purchasing Agreement as presented, and they’ll set the date for a Public Hearing on the 2025-26 Certified Budget as April 16^th at 7-p.m.

Separately, the A-C Board will act on passing a resolution authorizing bid letting and setting a public hearing for the Adair-Casey Roof Project. The Guthrie Center Board will act on approving 2025-26 General Fund Budget Reductions and an Out-of-State Student Trip-DECA.

The GC Board will also act on approving the resignation of Barb South – HS Volleyball Coach, and, a Contract Recommendation for Savana Fuller – Asst. Softball Coach.,