DES MOINES, Iowa [KCCI]— The president of the local American Federal of Government Employees union says five probationary employees with the local VA hospital in Des Moines had their jobs cut Tuesday. AFGD Local 1228 President Andrew Merrifield told KCCI in Des Moines says he walked into work Tuesday and was alerted that five probationary employees had been terminated from VA Central Iowa Health Care System at the end of the day, Monday. Those who lost their jobs included persons who purchased materials, maintenance and repair personnel, food service, housekeeping, administration and union workers.

A spokesperson with the VA Central Iowa Health Care System issued a statement to KCCI, saying “VA Central Iowa is following the guidance sent to us by VA Central Office in Washington. “We do not discuss specific personnel actions.”We can say that there was no effect on patient care. Veteran care is at the center of all we do.”

BLACK HAWK COUNTY, Iowa (KCRG) — A 14-year-old girl died and a woman was injured in a two-vehicle crash in Black Hawk County on Tuesday morning. KCRG reports the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office said it happened at around 7:13 a.m. when a Jeep Cherokee and a Pontiac Sunfire collided in the 8000 block of Poyner Road. Deputies said when they arrived, the Jeep was engulfed in flames. The driver had safely exited, but was later taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

The driver of the Sunfire, a 14-year-old girl, was trapped inside. She was taken to the hospital, where she died. The crash remains under investigation. The names of the people involved have not been released.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa National Guard has set this Sunday at 2 p-m as the date for the formal ceremony marking the shutdown of the 133rd Test Squadron in Fort Dodge. Iowa Guard spokesperson Jackie Schmilllen says the learned in May of last year that the squadron was going to be shut down as part of a national restructuring. Some members have already left the unit. “There are 38 part time, or what we would consider, like our traditional service members with the Iowa National Guard, and three full time. They are authorized to have 118 and when the news came down about this divestment happening, they had just over 100,” she says. Schmilllen says many guard members moved to other units.

“Every full time person was offered a full time position within the Iowa Air National Guard. We’re happy to say a bulk of them are staying here in Iowa and going to either the 132nd air wing in Des Moines or the 185th refueling wing in Sioux City,” Schmilllen says. Schmilllen says the ceremony will celebrate the more than 75 years of the unit in Fort Dodge. “We can understand why this is can be a somber moment for not only those that are currently serving with that unit, but those that have and plan on coming back for the ceremony on Sunday,” she says.

133rd Test Squadron

“But we do want to remember the successes and the innovation of this unit when it was stood up over 75 years ago, and what they’ve been able to contribute, not only to the community, but to the Iowa Air National Guard and the U-S Air Force.” There will still be 107 soldiers in Fort Dodge who are members of the 1st Battalion/194th Field Artillery. “So we are not leaving completely. We will still have a unit there, very proudly honoring that community and a part of what they do if we’re ever needed,” she says.

The unit’s base is located across from the sports complex where the Girl’s State Softball Tournament is held. Information on the unit’s website says it was founded on June 1st of 1948 as the 133rd Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron. It says they have been the Air National Guard’s only Test Squadron for the past 21 years, performing operational and developmental testing of command-and-control equipment for the U-S Air Force and its components.

(Omaha, NE) – The National Weather Service issued the first Severe Thunderstorm Warning in Iowa for 2025, Tuesday night – and we’re not even officially into Spring. The warning was issued at around 9:42-p.m., and was for thunderstorm winds at around around 60-miles per hour.

Thunderstorm Image from ready.iowa.gov (File photo)

The Warning went out for parts of Montgomery and Page Counties, as the storm cell made its way eastward at around 50-mph. Earlier (at around 9:19-p.m.), a 61-mph gust of wind was recorded by a personal weather station two-miles northwest of Silver City, in Mills County.

The Weather Service attributed the sudden, intense storm to what’s called a “Heat Burst,” a rare weather event that causes a sudden increase in air temperature near the ground.  It’s most often associated with a dying thunderstorm.

There were no reports of damage.  Spring, by-the-way, begins March 20th. Thunderstorms can occur at any time of the year, but they are most often associated with late Spring through early Summer, in the Midwest. The peak months of May and June are most often associated with tornadic activity.

(Radio Iowa) – Ames police say two people wanted in a January murder have been arrested by U-S Marshals in Independence, Missouri. Information from police says 21-year-old Zoe Anderson of Boone and 19-year-old Abraham Guhnics of Independence, Missouri were arrested on first-degree murder warrants.

The warrants were issued in the January 18th shooting death of Parker Stoneburner. Stoneburner was found with a gunshot wound outside an apartment in Ames.

(Winterset, Iowa) – The Madison County Sheriff’s Office, Tuesday, said on social media, that at around 2:40-p.m, Tuesday, a Madison County Deputy running radar checked the speed of a 2006 Ford Mustang GT that was passing another vehicle east bound, in the 3200 block of Veterans Parkway.

The deputy’s radar indicated the mustang to be traveling at 120 mph in a 45 mph zone. The driver, identified as a juvenile male, was issued a citation, and referred to juvenile courts.

The Sheriff’s Office said “This type of driving, not only puts the young (and inexperienced) driver at risk but puts all drivers and vehicles around in danger. This also jeopardizes personal property…Slow down. Be aware of other drivers and personal property. Let’s continue to look out and take care of each other.”

(Iowa News Service) – Iowa farmers and their advocates want Congress to approve a measure to require beef raised and produced in the United States to be labeled as such, saying it would be better for ranchers and consumers. The U.S. used to require country-of-origin labeling but did away with it when Canada and Mexico complained the rule was unfair to imported products.

Barb Kalbach of Dexter, a fourth-generation farmer and member of the Campaign for Family Farms and the Environment, wants the Senate to approve the American Beef Labeling Act. She said it would allow those who raise beef and pork in the U.S. to be fairly compensated for their products and let shoppers know where their food was raised.

“I would like to know where my meat comes from,” Kalbach asserted. “If I’m shopping and I’m looking at meat to buy and it said ‘produced in the United States,’ and so I know that it was grown and produced here and processed here, I may want to go ahead and purchase that meat just so I’m supporting my family farmers.”

Young Black Angus cow standing atop a small grass hill with blue sky and clouds behind. The yearling animal is looking at the camera. Photographed in Iowa.

Previous Farm Bills required fruits and vegetables, seafood, meat and poultry, and some nuts to include country-of-origin labels. But in 2015, the World Trade Organization repealed it for beef and pork. Kalbach noted while it is important for U.S. consumers to know where their products are coming from, she thinks country-of-origin labeling could have far-reaching financial implications for Iowa farmers, too. “If people discover maybe they like the flavor of Iowa meat, they’re excited to buy it, then that just helps you be able to maintain economic viability,” Kalbach added.

Kalbach and other advocates for country-of-origin labeling hope it winds up in the next Farm Bill, which is being discussed in Washington, D.C.

(Radio Iowa) – The four Republicans who represent Iowa in the U-S House have voted for the G-O-P budget plan that includes an extension of tax cuts President Trump approved in 2017. All four released written statements last (Tuesday) night.

Fourth district Congressman Randy Feenstra says his yes vote unlocks the potential to deliver on Trump’s full agenda to cut taxes, secure the border and eliminate waste and fraud in the government. Third district Congressman Zach Nunn says he voted for the package to prevent a 22 percent tax hike on the average American family, get the economy back on track and prevent job losses.

Austin Baeth, a Democrat from Des Moines, was among about 50 protesters who gathered outside Nunn’s Iowa office Tuesday morning to protest proposed cuts to Medicaid. Baeth, who is a member of the IOWA House, says Nunn’s yes vote last (Tuesday) night is surprising. “This is not a popular political position to take,” Baeth says. “Zach Nunn is very much a vulnerable congressman…in a swing district that’s going to be targeted in 2026 and so most people with good political sense would err on the side of the people and not the billionaires who are just trying to find cuts in the budget.”

The House G-O-P’s budget document calls for reducing federal spending on Medicaid by about 880 BILLION dollars, but it does not say if that means fewer Americans will quality for Medicaid coverage or if Medicaid payments to doctors, hospitals and nursing homes will be reduced. “Iowa, being an older state, we already have such a hard time finding nursing home beds for our elderly,” Baeth says. “If nursing home care becomes even more difficult for nursing home operators, we might be in a world of hurt.”

About 100 people gathered outside Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks office in Davenport yesterday (Tuesday) to protest the proposed cuts in Medicaid. Last (Tuesday) night, Miller-Meeks said she voted to advance a budget resolution to ensure that Iowans do not see their paychecks shrink because almost every Iowan would see their taxes go up if congress doesn’t act.

Second district Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says she voted yes on the House G-O-P’s budget resolution so congress can make good on Trump’s America First agenda to secure the border, unleash American energy and prevent tax increases.

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa House subcommittee has approved a bill that would mandate that Iowa providers of medication abortions post a sign saying that it may be possible to reverse the effects of an abortion-inducing drug. The bill also calls on those providers to give patients a printed copy of the same information. Jeff Pitts, a lobbyist for the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, backs the bill.

“If this bill becomes law, here’s the bottom line: some real life future person with real life flesh and real life blood will some day look back to this bill as the reason they survived pregnancy,” Pitts said. Opponents say the bill would require giving women inaccurate information. Dane Schumann, a lobbyist for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, says the bill means doctors could be sanctioned or lose their medical license for sharing information that’s not backed up by research.

“The one that was undertaken in 2020 which had the makings of being a strong and rigorous study was abandoned…before it was completed because of hemorrhaging that many women were experiencing from taking the abortion reversal drugs,” Schumann said. The bill also could give Iowa’s attorney general a new legal basis for lawsuits challenging out of state doctors who prescribe abortion pills that are mailed to Iowans. Ryan Benn is legal counsel for The Family Leader, an evangelical Christian group.

“That’s a really important issue,” Benn said. “We need to protect women and girls from the dangers of abortion drugs.” Becca Eastwood of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa says the bill places unnecessary restrictions on obtaining medication which can end a pregnancy. “Simply put, this bill is an example of the government intruding on women’s rights and the rights of all Iowans to make our own decisions,” she said.

The bill says abortion-inducing drugs must be administered in a health care setting in Iowa — which would make sending abortion pills through the mail to an Iowa address illegal.