(Radio Iowa) – State Auditor Rob Sand, a Democrat, and Republican Governor Kim Reynolds are in a standoff over access to information about state funding for private school expenses. Sand says C-P-As who’ve worked for him as well as three other Republican state auditors asked for more data about the Education Savings Accounts parents of private school students applied for to cover tuition or other expenses.  “This office has never been refused the ability to examine a program,” Sand says. Governor Reynolds says Sand is using his office for political gain.

“He’s been obsessed with a program that he’s flat out against, just to score political points,” Reynolds says.

Reynolds says state agencies would provide more information about the Education Savings Accounts, if Sand spells out in a letter what is requested, but Sand has failed to do so. Sand says the Iowa Supreme Court has ruled the state auditor’s office doesn’t have to submit an additional request.

(Correction to previous report, 12-p.m.)

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports one person was transported to the hospital by a family member, following an accident Monday afternoon in rural Creston. Authorities say 2012 Nissan Rogue SUV driven by 65-year-old Tony Lee Thurston, of Des Moines, was traveling south on Cherry Street Road near Rea Road, at around 1:40-p.m., when the passenger side tires of the car left the road and went onto the shoulder, which was snow covered and slick. Thurston told authorities he panicked and attempted to correct the car’s path to avoid sliding any further, but he over-steered, and the vehicle crossed the center-line before sideswiping a northbound 2002 Buick Century, driven by 77-year-old James Dale Mitchell, of Creston.

Mitchell saw the oncoming SUV and tried, but was unable to avoid the collision. Both drivers initially said they were uninjured, but after Mitchell’s family arrived on the scene, they decided to take him to the hospital in Creston as a precaution, and to be evaluated.

No citations were issued. Damage from the collision amounted to a police-estimated $25,000 altogether.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Sheriff’s Office says three people were arrested on separate charges over the past few days. Saturday afternoon, 22-year-old Dany Israel Li Chub,of Stuart, was arrested by the Iowa State Patrol, following a traffic stop on Highway 25 in Adair County, and after authorities received a report of a wrong-way driver on Interstate 80 near mile marker 83. The vehicle – a 2016 Ford Fusion  -was traveling east in the westbound lanes. Two motorists crashed near mile marker 84, while trying to avoid a head-on collision with the car. No injuries were reported. The Ford left the I-80 at Exit 86 (Highway 25) and was pulled over just south of the Interstate.  Chub was charged: with OWI/1st offense; Failure to Provide Proof of Financial Liability (Insurance – accident related); No valid driver’s license; Driving on the wrong side of a two-way highway, and Open Container as a driver , 21-years of age or older.  He was later released on a $1,300 bond.

At around 5-a.m., Friday, Greenfield Police arrested 31-year-old Leroy Delgado, of Greenfield, for Possession of a Controlled Substance/1st offense. He was taken into custody at Cardinal Glass in Greenfield, after a co-worker told his boss that hie found a small plastic bag with a white, powdery substance inside. The shift supervisor contacted the Adair County Sheriff’s Department to report the baggie. A review of surveillance video at the plant showed the baggie fell out of Delgado’s pants. The white, powdery substance would test positive for Methamphetamine. Delgado denied the baggie and substance was his. He told authorities he was was holding it for a co-worker so he could throw it away. Delgado was booked into the Adair County Jail and later released on a $1,000 bond.

And, at around 7:40-p.m. on Feb. 10th, Adair County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 46-year-old Shawn Allen Farlow, of Stuart, for Domestic Abuse Assault/1st offense, and Obstruction of Emergency Communications, following an incident that allegedly occurred earlier that evening. Farlow was later on a $300 bond.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors held a regular meeting Tuesday morning, in Atlantic. The Board received a monthly report from Cass/Guthrie County Environmental Health Director Jotham Arber, and set March 25th as the date for a public hearing on the proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Tax Levy. The Board also passed a resolution to vacate a portion of 350th Street that crosses the Cass-Audubon County line. Board Chair Steve Baier…

The road is 40-feet wide and contains about 1.69-acres of road right-of-way in Audubon County, and about 1.45-acres in Cass County. The total length of the 350th Street/Akron Road vacated is 1,951 feet. The Board then passed a related resolution to sell Bridge #389 on the vacated road over Troublesome Creek, to John Kilworth, for the sum of One-dollar. The County agreed to put “Road Closed” signs in place to keep traffic off the vacated road.

Cass County BOS mtg., 2-18-25

The Board received a Quarterly report from Cass County Conservation Executive Director Micah Lee, and a regular report from Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken. During a public comment period toward the start of today’s (Tuesday’s) meeting, a couple of Cass County residents asked if something could be done to smooth out the ruts on County Road K (690th St.), north of Wiota.

The County is working on the same road south of Wiota, but because the northern part of the road has a low traffic count, Wolken said it isn’t a priority right now, but could be considered for a future project.

The Board authorized Board Chair Steve Baier to sign the plans for a bridge replacement project on Rockport Road, west of Massena. Engineer Wolken said the current 16-foot wide bridge on a Farm-To-Market route, is “structurally obsolete.” The new, slab bridge will be wider and longer.

It’ll also have longer, sloped abutments, as opposed to the current, straight up abutments. And, following their regular meeting, the Cass County Supervisors, acting as the Cass County Compensation Board, met to specify the data to compare salaries (In accordance with Iowa Code), and vote on the recommended compensation schedule for county elected officials for the Fiscal Year 2026.

Iowa “Senate File 2442, which was signed into law by Governor Kim Reynolds on May 1, 2024, introduced significant changes to Iowa’s property tax laws and the structure of county compensation boards. One notable change allows county boards of supervisors to assume the responsibilities of the county compensation board, which traditionally recommended compensation levels for elected county officials. In response to the legislative change, the Cass County Board of Supervisors chose not to re-establish the separate compensation board. Instead, they have taken on its duties directly. The decision was formalized during their meeting on October 15, 2024.

During the Compensation Board meeting that follows today’s regular Supervisor’s meeting, the Board voted 4-to-1, with Supervisor Richter voting No, to set compensation at flat rate increases of $1,000 for the Board of Supervisors, $2,000 for the Treasurer and Recorder, and $3,200 for the Auditor, Attorney and Sheriff. They took into account counties of comparable size and population, the cost of living and other factors, including taxable valuation.

(Radio Iowa) – A social media post from a park ranger who was fired from his dream job at Effigy Mounds National Monument in northeast Iowa has gone viral, as many federal workers in Iowa fear for their jobs. Firings loom at the F-A-A, the V-A, the S-B-A, the I-R-S, the Department of Education, and a range of other agencies. During a conference call Tuesday with Iowa reporters, U-S Senator Chuck Grassley recalled having been fired several times, decades ago when he worked in the private sector. “It’s a tragedy for people that are getting laid off,” Grassley says. “So, going out looking for a job after having a job for 10 years is not an easy thing to do.”

Reports say thousands of federal workers were fired across the country in recent days as President Trump and Elon Musk launched what’s being described as a purge of the nation’s bureaucracy. Grassley says it’s all within the president’s authority to make these changes. “This is an executive branch decision that, who works for the executive branch is determined by the president of the United States,” Grassley says. “The Constitution says all executive power of the federal government shall be vested, and that’s the word that’s used, vested in the office of the presidency.” Grassley says he feels for those who are losing their jobs, but insists there’s little he can do to intervene.

Senator Grassley (file)

“Congress can’t do anything except complain about it,” he says, “but I think we have to have sympathy and understanding for people that are laid off.” Reports quote a White House official saying Tesla C-E-O and billionaire Musk is categorized as a “special government employee” through his work at the Department of Government Efficiency, though he’s not the DOGE administrator. DOGE was created by President Trump as a way to cut federal spending.

(Radio Iowa) – State court officials expect a report in March to show whether all the computer programming errors that misdirected more than 27-million dollars of court fines over a five year period have been corrected. For example, the errors meant 10 million dollars in traffic fines that should have gone to the Iowa D-O-T went to other state and local government programs. State Court Administrator Bob Gast says an outside vendor is reviewing the programming fixes.

“Those changes have already been made and put into effect in November,” Gast said, “but we are here to say since we made the changes and we made the mistake the first time, we want someone from the outside to verify that it is working how we intend it to be.” Gast testified before a legislative committee yesterday (Monday).

The Iowa Judicial Building. (RI photo)

The errors happened after the legislature made changes on how court fines were to be distributed. Gast says court officials are planning a review of the entire I-T case management system for the Iowa Judicial Branch, to try to avoid future problems.

(Radio Iowa)  – Iowa Freedom of Information Council Executive Director Randy Evans says an Iowa Supreme Court ruling against Scott County is a big win for the states open records law. He says the problem happened when a seat came open on the board of supervisors. “County officials who decided to fill the vacancy by appointment, rather than by a special election, decided that they would keep confidential the names of most of the applicants for the position,” Evans says. The name of the person selected to fill the position was not revealed until after she was appointed and there was a lawsuit, and the Supreme Court ruled the names should have been released.

“You know, we believe that this was a much needed affirmation by the Supreme Court of the importance of transparency, and in these kinds of matters,” he says. Evans says the Supreme Court has previously ruled applicants for vacant jobs, as opposed to vacant offices. “Job applicants can be kept confidential, but there’s a difference between somebody who is applying to become a teacher and somebody who’s applying to hold an elective office,” Evans says. He says appointing someone to an elected office gives them an advantage of being the incumbent if they want to run for another term. And he says it prevents the vetting of the candidates by voters.

“Given the authority that is vested in this case, the county supervisors given that authority that the public ought to know before a selection is made, who the candidates are, what experience or expertise they bring to the role, or what baggage they might be carrying with them,” Evans says. The two people who brought the lawsuit over the issue were awarded all costs and reasonable attorney fees by the Supreme Court.

The ruling also requires the county to disclose the names of all applicants.

(Radio Iowa) – Former State Representative Brad Sherman — a pastor from Williamsburg — says he will seek the Republican Party’s 2026 nomination for governor — setting up a likely Primary with Governor Kim Reynolds, who is expected to seek reelection. Sherman says he told Reynolds in November he was likely to run.

“I felt like that was the respectful thing to do and I told her: ‘It’s not like I have some big vendetta against you,'” Sherman told Radio Iowa. “I don’t, but there are some issues that I see differently.” For one, Sherman says he hasn’t seen enough action on property rights. He opposes the Iowa Utilities Commission decision to grant eminent domain authority to Summit Carbon Solutions, so the company can seize land along its pipeline route from unwilling property owners.

“I know people say, ‘Well, it’s going to bring dollars into the state and create some jobs and whathaveyou,'” Sherman says. “Well, it might do that, but anybody that wants to start a business could make that claim and once we set that precedent, nobody’s property is safe from somebody that wants to lobby the government to use eminent domain to take that property for whatever they want it for.” Sherman says more must be done to lower property taxes, too. Governor Reynolds has made cutting income taxes one of top priorities.

“A lower income tax rate is really negligible for the average individual,” Sherman says, “but property tax is where it really hits people hard.” Sherman says business owners tell him Iowa’s property taxes make it hard to make a profit. Sherman, who’s been a pastor since 1979, is the founder of the Solid Rock Christian Church in Coralville. Sherman says he feels called by God to run for governor.

“I’ve prayed about it, my wife and I’ve prayed about it together,” Sherman says, “and we feel like we’re doing this in obedience to God.” Sherman served one term in the Iowa House, co-sponsoring bills to ban same-sex marriage and ban all abortions. He’s the co-founder of “Informed Choice of Iowa” which operates clinics in Iowa City and Burlington to provide pregnancy tests and ultrasounds.

“For years I’ve been studying America’s founding history, you know the Christian history of what the founders of the nation believed and it seems like those values have just been undermined constantly,” Sherman says. “Even though we do the best we can to stand for them and keep them relevant, it seems like the culture has been sliding away from them, so restoring those foundations of freedom, I think that’s the real reason we’re doing this.”

Sherman plans to host a campaign kick off Saturday at the Mason City airport.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s obscenity law doesn’t apply to public libraries and educational institutions. A subcommittee in the Iowa House has approved a bill to repeal that exemption. During a hearing at the Capitol, a supporter of the repeal threw books on the table as a critic of the bill testified. Keenan Crow of the L-G-B-T-Q advocacy group One Iowa, was suggesting the bill would allow people to file frivolous lawsuits.

“These suits are, of course, not designed to succeed and would not succeed because there’s nothing in our public libraries that would meet the legal definition of obscenity,” Crow said. Evelyn Nikkel of PELLA PAC — a group that lobbies legislators to protect children from propaganda and obscene materials — says the exemption provides a loophole for public libraries.

House subcommittee hearing on House File 274. (RI photo)

“They determinedly are pulling out all stops to make sure that they keep this filth continually in front of our children,” she said. Chris Campbell of Ames says taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to pay for materials that could be deemed obscene. “If that’s the kind of thing you like to read, it’s a free country. You’re free to buy it. It’s not that expensive,” Campbell said. “Why can’t I be free from paying for it?” Reverend Brigit Stevens of the United Church of Christ testified against the bill. “I urge you to not be afraid of knowledge and our children learning true, accurate and holistic knowledge,” she said.

Book publishers have filed a federal lawsuit challenging a 2023 Iowa law to ban books with sexual content from school libraries.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – The driver of an SUV was injured when his vehicle crashed Saturday night as it was being chased by a pickup truck in Guthrie County. According to the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office, at around 10:30-p.m., Guthrie County Dispatch received an automated severe crash detection notification from an iPhone. The message relayed the coordinates of the crash, with an accuracy radius of three-meters. The coordinates turned out to be in the 300 block of S. 1st Street, in Guthrie Center. Deputy Kent Gries and another deputy responded to the scene.

Upon his arrival Deputy Gries found a 2014 Nissan Rogue owned by the Los Altos Mexican Restaurant, LLC., and driven by 20-year-old Hilario Ramos. The vehicle – which had sustained severe passenger side damage -was observed crashed against a concrete barrier, with the passenger side curtain airbags deployed. Ramos was still in the vehicle, his seat belt on, and appeared to be unconscious. The Deputy was able to get Ramos’ attention and escort him to the patrol vehicle. Ramos was subsequently transported by Panora EMS to Iowa Methodist Hospital in Des Moines for treatment of serious/incapacitating injuries.

An investigation determined Ramos was being chased by a 2004 Chevy pickup driven by 42-year-old Juan Manuel Trevino, of Coon Rapids, who had left the scene after finding Ramos unconscious after the crash. Trevino was found at his residence and interviewed. During the interview he admitted to chasing Ramos and seeing the SUV he was driving go out of control and strike the concrete barrier. It’s not clear why Trevino was chasing Ramos.

Trevino failed to contact the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office at any point in the investigation, nor did he report the incident.  No charges were filed as of the latest information. Damage to the SUV was estimated at $15,000. A mailbox owned by Concrete Supply in Guthrie Center sustained $50 damage during the collision.