March 13, 2025 (Altoona, Iowa) — The Iowa Tourism Office presented 11 awards recognizing excellence in the tourism industry during the 2025 Iowa Tourism Conference at Prairie Meadows in Altoona today (Thursday).

In addition, conference attendees voted for the People’s Choice Award. Nominees were selected by Iowa Tourism Office staff to recognize partners going above and beyond with projects that can serve as inspiration to others that didn’t fit neatly into any of the award categories.

The complete list of 2025 Iowa Tourism Award recipients:

Outstanding Marketing Collaboration: Jefferson Matters and the Greene County Historical Society, Jefferson

Recognizes exceptional collaborations between destination marketing organizations, local businesses and/or other industry partners that result in a strategic and impactful marketing campaign or project.

Innovation in Marketing: My County Parks

Recognizes a destination marketing organization or tourism business that has demonstrated innovation and creativity in marketing.

Outstanding Niche Marketing Campaign: American State Bank Sports Complex, Sioux Center

Recognizes outstanding tourism campaigns by a destination marketing organization or tourism business that effectively targets a specific, well-defined audience.

**Outstanding Marketing Campaign (marketing budget less than $50,000)

• City of Manning

 Outstanding Marketing Campaign (marketing budget greater than $50,000)

Iowa State Fair

Champion of Iowa Tourism (two winners): ChildServe, Johnston, and Siouxland Sports Academy, Sioux City

Recognizes an individual or organization not traditionally part of the tourism industry that nevertheless made an extraordinary contribution to the Iowa tourism industry in the last year.

Iowa Tourism Legacy Award (three winners): Rod Marlatt, Fayette County Conservation Board; Greg Edwards, Catch Des Moines; and Wes Ehrecke, Iowa Gaming Association

Presented to an individual or individuals who have worked in the tourism industry for a minimum of 10 years and whose contributions significantly and measurably impacted tourism in Iowa.

People’s Choice Award: Visit Quad Cities – Tourism Accessibility Efforts

The Iowa Tourism Office, part of the Iowa Economic Development Authority, works closely with community partners, attractions and events, to promote the state’s beautifully vast scenery and unique history. Tourism in Iowa generated $7.3 billion in expenditures in 2023, with more than $1.1 billion supporting state and local governments, while employing a total of 70,954 people statewide. For more information on everything Iowa has to offer tourists, visit traveliowa.com.

(Radio Iowa) – Federal grant money to help Iowa’s homeless youth is in limbo due to a clerical error by the U-S Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Iowa agency which helps fund and coordinate homeless services was supposed to get an initial 200-thousand dollar payment from a nearly seven-million dollar grant, but there was a slip-up. Courtney Guntly, director of the Iowa Balance of State Continuum of Care, says the group hasn’t received any of the money yet.

Guntly says, “It is very, very stressful being at this point that we don’t know, and I’m not even sure when we will know, what things look like for the long term.” The agency was notified in mid-January of the clerical error by a HUD liaison, but she says the remaining funds are also in doubt due to federal funding freezes and contract cuts. Guntly says the group already hired extra staff and they’re working with the expectation the money will eventually come through.

“We have to continue to do the work,” she says, “but we don’t know what’s going on or what the future of this funding looks like.” A HUD employee confirmed Iowa was the only grant recipient affected by the error. Guntly says HUD also hasn’t signed the contract for the annual grant funding which starts April first. Last year, HUD signed the contract on February 1st.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has voted to let state legislators, Iowa’s attorney general and judges apply for a professional permit to carry a weapon while at work. State law says professional weapons permits may be issued to people whose employment reasonably justifies being armed.

Under the bill, members of the Iowa House and Senate, Iowa’s attorney general and the deputy and assistant state attorneys general would be allowed to apply for a professional weapon permit. They could carry a concealed weapon not only while at work but while traveling to or from the work. Judges would only be allowed to carry a concealed weapon while in a courtroom and the Iowa Supreme Court could require additional training.

A state law passed in 2017 allows gun owners to bring a concealed handgun into the state capitol if they have a valid weapons permit. The bill on professional weapons permit for state officials passed the House on a 79-to-17 vote and goes to the senate for consideration.

DECORAH – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is investigating a fish kill at Dry Run Creek near Decorah in Winneshiek County. On March 11, the DNR Field Office in Manchester was notified of a possible manure release and fish kill in an unnamed tributary of Dry Run Creek, southwest of Decorah.   DNR staff from the Manchester Field Office and Decorah Fish Hatchery responded to the incident. Upon arrival, staff observed dead fish and very murky conditions in the tributary.

Officials identified overland runoff from an animal feeding operation near the headwaters of the unnamed tributary as the source of the release. The amount of manure released is unknown at this time. Dead fish have been observed for several miles in the creek. Cleanup efforts have begun. The responsible party has been notified of the investigation and has started working to control the manure runoff.  Downstream water users should avoid using water from Dry Run Creek.

If you see dead or stressed fish at a lake or river, call the DNR’s 24-hour spill line at 515-725-8694 as soon as possible. Quick reporting can help DNR staff identify the cause of a fish kill and potentially stop a fish kill in progress.

(Radio Iowa) – Eight small business owners from Iowa have been in Washington, D-C with their counterparts from 15 other states to talk with lawmakers and policymakers. Ashley Kuhns owns a non-profit child support program in Grinnell and says they are discussing several issues.”Some of them include access to capital, affordable capital. Child care is one of them, the workforce is another one of them, competing with big businesses,” she says. She says lack of access to affordable capital makes it hard for small businesses to grow. “For us, because I don’t have a building, and I’m a nonprofit, it’s really difficult for us to access affordable capital, to be able to build a building if I want, or to afford that in this landscape, because I don’t have access to SBA loans, I don’t have access to the same things that some rural or small businesses have,” Kuhns says. She says she can’t offer the same pay packages and benefits that larger companies can.

“Being able to compete with those bigger businesses with those other businesses, is really something that lawmakers need to consider when building policy or having those conversations,” Kuhns says. Matha Hooglan from the Woudstra Meat Market in Orange City says they have the same concerns about access to money. “If we could take monthly what we’re putting into our interest payments, putting that into our businesses instead, the growth rate and the people that we would be able to impact and hire would grow drastically,” she says. “So that is definitely what I am advocating for the most.” Aaron Lenz owns the Roadhouse sports bar in Orange City and is concerned about supply costs.

Eight Iowa small business owners met with policymakers in Washing6ton, D.C. (Photo by Jimmy Centers)

“Since we opened four years ago, we’ve seen our cost of food products go about 47 percent higher than it were than there were when we opened,” Lenz says. “And that same pressure is felt on the average consumer and how they spend their dollars at the grocery store, which trickles into every other aspect of their life.” Lenz says looming tariffs are part of that cost concern. “My ask from our representatives is that if we’re going to see tariffs being implemented across the board, if we can somehow figure out how to exclude food products from those, I think that would help just about every consumer in the United States,” he says.

Lenz says they also want consistency in regulations. The Iowa business owners met with lawmakers and Small Business Administration leader Kelly Loeffler.

Dallas County, IA – In 2024, while assisting the Federal Bureau of Investigation with an investigation, the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office uncovered evidence of sexual abuse that had taken place at a residence in rural Dallas County. Following an extensive months-long investigation, which included many interviews, executing multiple search warrants, and analyzing substantial digital evidence, arrest warrants were issued for 27-year-old Cheyenne Bretsch, of De Soto, and his father, 56-year-old Ross Bretsch, of Ankeny. The investigation determined that both individuals sexually abused the same female victim during the summers of 2019 and 2020.

As a result, the following charges have been filed:

• Cheyenne Bretsch – Four counts of Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree (Class C Felony)
• Ross Bretsch – Seven counts of Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree (Class C Felony)

Cheyenne Bretsch was arrested on March 11, 2025, and is currently being held at the Dallas County Jail. Ross Bretsch (aka Spenser Bretsch)  was arrested on March 13, 2025, and is also being held at the Dallas County Jail.

The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office was assisted in this investigation by the Des Moines Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), the Story County Sheriff’s Office, and the De Soto Police Department. (Photos courtesy the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office)

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Atlantic Community School District Finance Director Lisa Jones, Wednesday, provided the Atlantic School Board with a report on the proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Property Tax Levy. As we’ve mentioned, a public hearing on the proposal will take place March 26^th at 6:30-p.m., in the High School Media Center, prior to the Board’s scheduled Work Session.

Jones said residents should receive a spread sheet in the mail by not later than March 20^th, breaking down the various proposed tax levies.

She said there are a lot of numbers on that spreadsheet, which can make it very confusing and shocking.

The Iowa Legislature for 2025–2026 budget includes a 2.25% increase in SSA (State Supplemental Aid), which would increase per-pupil funding for public schools by $176. The SSA is based on a state percent of growth rate. The Iowa House passed the bill with the 2.25% SSA rate. The Iowa Senate passed the legislation with a 2% SSA rate. Democrats proposed an amendment to increase the funding to 5%, but the amendment failed. Some school districts say the 2.25% increase is not enough. They say it doesn’t take into account inflation and rising costs.

Jones said because the Iowa Legislature has not set the SSA, the levy is based on the highest level allowed by law, once the rate is published. From there, the rate cannot go up, but it can go down. Currently, the Atlantic School District receives $7,826 per student in SSA.

Right now the district proposes $12.53/$1,000 assessed valuation. If State Aid rate comes out before the second meeting April, that could drop the rate to $12.526 (or less than a penny to what is currently proposed). The $12.53/1,000 rate would generate about $7-million for the district.

Jones said the public is encouraged to come to the meeting March 26^th at 6:30-p.m. In the High School Media Center, to ask questions about the levy and the district’s FY26 Budget.

(Radio Iowa) – Forecasters say there’s a rising risk of severe weather across a wide portion of Iowa tomorrow (Friday) afternoon and evening, along with a drastic downshift in temperatures that may bring snow on Saturday. Meteorologist Brian Pierce, at the National Weather Service office in Davenport, says it’s a large, fast-moving system. “The primary risk we’re looking at is the potential for widespread damaging winds,” Pierce says, “but given how the winds are changing with height in the atmosphere, we now cannot rule out the potential for tornadoes to be occurring as well.” Pierce warns Iowans to be “weather aware” tomorrow, especially between 5 and 11 P-M.

“Be paying attention to the weather that’s going on around you,” Pierce says, “and the fact that these storms are going to be moving at highway speeds means you will have less time to react as they approach you.” A powerful blizzard swept across Iowa last Wednesday, knocking out the lights to more than 20-thousand Iowa houses and bringing traffic to a standstill with whiteout conditions. Pierce says this approaching system may be even worse. “The center of the storm system, which is going to be going through western Iowa, is very strong, comparable to the one we saw about a week or so ago, possibly even stronger,” Pierce says, “and so because of that, it will be bringing up moisture into the area, and the winds aloft are also very strong as well.”

While most of Iowa can expect high temperatures in the 70s today and tomorrow, Pierce says this incoming storm will bring much colder weather behind it. Lows by Saturday night will be in the 20s, with snow possible. “The snowfall is probably going to be more or less the western half of Iowa, but we can’t rule out some flakes falling in eastern Iowa as well,” Pierce says. “As for amounts, eastern Iowa is probably an inch at the very worst. It may actually be no more than a dusting.” Any snow that falls won’t last long, as the forecast calls for much of Iowa to be in the 40s by Sunday and the 50s on Monday.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports the arrest at around 10:25-a.m. Wednesday, of 46-year-old Joleen Mary Most, of Creston. She was arrested following a traffic stop and charged with Driving While Barred. Most was cited and released from the scene on a Promise to Appear in court.

(Ames, Iowa)  — Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced 15 Iowa dairies Wednesday that were awarded a combined $750,000 in grants to expand production and save labor.  Naig made the announcement at the Iowa State University Creamery, which was one of the grant recipients and also the first member of the Choose Iowa network.  Choose Iowa is a state program, with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, that promotes and markets local producers. Naig said membership has been gaining “about one member a day” since the start of the year.  “It shows a tremendous interest in local foods, of course, and also we love the fact that we get a chance to tell stories about Iowa’s agriculture and connect consumers to farm families across the state,” Naig said.

The dairy innovation grants required a cost share on behalf of the dairy operations and the 15 projects represent a total investment of more than $4 million, according to IDALS. Eligible dairies have fewer than 50 employees and create products that are completely made in Iowa. Dairies were awarded up to $100,000 in funding for equipment that increased on-farm processing, like the creamery at ISU that will increase its cheese and ice cream production with a larger batch pasteurization vat, or for technology upgrades to reduce labor. Labor-reducing technology that grant recipients will be introducing, or expanding, include milking robots, rotary parlors, feed pushers and manure collectors. Naig said labor has always been a “huge challenge” for dairy producers.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig enjoys ice cream from the Iowa State University Creamery. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Robert Horst, the Iowa State Dairy Association president, said some of these innovations will cut the personnel needs by 50%. Horst said the other grant that was awarded for a processing upgrade, $11,688 for a semi-automatic bottle filler and capper in Plainfield, is the type of project that not only grows a dairy operation, but brings people to town.  Sarah Canova, ISU creamery’s business manager, said the new vat purchased with the help of around $25,000 from the Choose Iowa grant, will allow the creamery to nearly triple its current production, which frequently sells out during the fall and summer months. The creamery trains 25 undergraduate students a semester, which Horst said is where “a lot of the future begins” for Iowa dairy farmers. Horst called the grants “seed money” for several dairies that he said will use the upgrades to facilitate a “transition to the next generation.”

Choose Iowa also allocated $750,000 in small dairy innovation grants last year, with 20 recipients.  Naig said there is a “tremendous amount of interest” in the Choose Iowa program, which makes him excited for the future. Earlier this week IDALS informed partners that federal funding for programs supported local food purchases for schools, food banks and other institutions, which would have allocated an estimated $11.3 million to the state, had been terminated.  Naig said there was “no guarantee” the extended funding, authorized by USDA in October 2024, was going to remain through the change in administration. Naig said the programs brought forward a lot of good connections between producers and communities and he hopes there can be a permanent place for the programs, or something similar, in the upcoming farm bill.

IDALS announced Monday a pilot program with $70,000 to allocate to school districts to purchase Choose Iowa products for school meals. Recipients for the program will be announced in April.