(Radio Iowa) – The 2024 tax season is now open and you can file your return. I-R-S spokesman Chris Miller says there’s plenty of help available for those who need it. “I-R-S Free File remains a great option for people with relatively simple tax returns, and it allows folks to go through irs.gov and get a choice of brand name tax software products that allow them to file online, electronically for free, day or night.” he says. Miller says there are some income restrictions. He says there are some programs where you can get face-to-face help. “The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, or VITA, or the tax counseling for the elderly program called T-C-E. One program is mainly for seniors, and the other is geared toward low to moderate income taxpayers. And VITA allows the taxpayers to sit down with a volunteer face to face and get help preparing any electronically filing that tax return for free,” Miller says.

Miller says they’ve added some upgrades to their online site. “So there’s more functionality to the online account that taxpayers can set up on their own,” he says. “There are more forms accessible by phone or tablet, and there’s also now a voice BOT that will help taxpayers when they call and ask questions about their refund.” One thing that is not new is the continued danger of scammers seeking to take advantage of you during tax season. “Watch out for phone calls or letters or text messages that threaten or make demands, because that’s a sign of a scam. We want you to watch out for unsolicited emails, text messages, social media messages, because they often contain attachments or links intended to steal your information,” Miller says.

Miller says the I-R-S won’t call you to get your information.

(Radio Iowa) – A series of workshops will be launched this week that are designed to teach Iowans how to extend the habitat for monarch butterflies and other pollinators. Liz Ripley, an outreach specialist at the Iowa Learning Farms on the campus of Iowa State University, says the four workshops will be held in four different areas of the state during February and March — and they’re all free. “So it’s open to anyone who would like to attend. We’d like to see a good mix of farmers, landowners and urban residents,” Ripley says. “When it comes to creating more habitat, we need everybody at the table. Obviously, the largest portion of our land here in Iowa and across the Corn Belt is in agricultural production, so definitely trying to reach a lot of farmers and landowners.” Like farmers, Ripley says pollinators help ensure the world eats. Studies find about 75% of the world’s flowering plants and about 35% of the world’s food crops depend on pollinators. That’s why the workshops are important, she says, as all Iowans can play a role.

“It’s an opportunity to learn a little bit more specifically what the monarchs as an indicator-pollinator species need and desire for their habitat and survival,” she says, “but also the role they play when it comes to our ability to grow things, not only here in Iowa, but across the Midwest and Corn Belt.” Iowa is in the middle of the annual monarch commute lane as the orange-and-black insects made the incredibly long journey. Experts can establish their population counts by the number of acres occupied when they overwinter in Mexico, and the numbers have fallen drastically in the past 20 years. “They can estimate the number of monarchs based on how much area that they cover each winter, and that does ebb and flow depending on different survival rates from the year prior,” Ripley says. “We have seen that continued steady decline of these monarchs, and a lot of that has been driven by habitat loss along their migratory journey north and south each year.” She says the workshops will provide Iowans with an opportunity to learn more about monarchs and how to integrate additional pollinator habitat into the state’s landscape.

Photo courtesy of the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium

“These workshops are going to be held February 6th in Ames, February 11th at Storm Lake, March 11th in Fairfield, and March 18th in Coralville,” she says, “and if you’re interested in joining us, we just ask folks to RSVP to help us make sure that we have enough food on hand for the complimentary meal that’s included with each of these workshops.”

To RSVP, contact Ripley at 515-294-2473 or ilf@iastate.edu.

http://www.iowalearningfarms.org

(Radio Iowa) – State and federal officials announced this weekend that bird flu had been confirmed in a commercial flock of 240-thousand layer hens in northwest Iowa’s O’Brien County. Governor Kim Reynolds has recommended an additional half a MILLION dollars in state spending to support development of vaccines for bird flu and other foreign animal diseases.

The current outbreak of avian influenza began three years ago and the first human case of bird flu in the United States was identified in April of last year. In December, state officials reported the first human case in Iowa, in a person who worked in a commercial poultry operation. In a recent Radio Iowa interview, Reynolds said figuring out how to best mitigate transmission of the virus is key. “Think about it going from birds to hogs,” Reynolds said.”I mean just this past year it went to dairy. It’s scary the impact it could have not only on the food supply chain, but just to people as well.”

Governor Reynolds says the National Veterinary Service Lab in Ames is playing a critical role in confirming cases quickly, so current mitigation strategies can begin. When bird flu is confirmed in poultry, the birds are euthanized. “It’s been devasting what it’s done to our producers here in the state,” Reynolds says. A decade ago, over 30 million birds in Iowa poultry operations were euthanized during the previous outbreak of bird flu. Since March of last year, the virus has been detected in 12 commercial flocks in Iowa.

“I don’t want to see another epidemic like we dealt with before,” Reynolds said. In 2024, state and federal officials confirmed cases of bird flu in 13 Iowa dairy herds. Dairy cattle with signs of bird flu are segregated from the rest of the herd and the majority of the cattle recover from the virus.

(Iowa News Service) – Environmental advocates in Iowa want state lawmakers to tighten regulations on large livestock feeding facilities, which they say will help protect the state’s air and water. They say right now, Iowa is headed in the wrong direction. The group Iowa Food and Water Watch has a list of priorities for the 2025 Legislature – from opposing legislation that could limit pesticide companies’ liability, to protecting ground and surface water from the 4,000 large animal feeding operations in the state.

Food and Water Watch Iowa Organizer Jennifer Breon said cleaning up Iowa’s drinking water is at the top of the list – by requiring those operations to adhere to the U.S. Clean Water Act. “Only 4% of Iowa’s CAFOs or factory farms have Clean Water Act permits,” said Breon, “and Iowa has more factory farms than any other state.” Livestock industry operators say they are always balancing efforts to be more environmental friendly with the need to keep up with consumer demand for meat products.

A Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO).

Beyond polluting the air, ground, and surface water near CAFOs, Breon said the 109 billion gallons of manure produced by Iowa’s factory farms every year is threatening the state’s recreational opportunities. “It’s impossible to swim in the lake in Iowa in the summertime frequently, because of E. coli and algae blooms,” said Breon. “Our state is forced to issue warnings about beach closures, pretty much all summer long.”

An analysis by Food and Water Watch found that Iowa’s factory farms have been fined less than $750,000, despite multiple citations for water pollution over a decade.

(Storm Lake, Iowa) – Authorities say dense fog may have played a role in a fatal crash that occurred Sunday morning, in northwest Iowa. The accident in Buena Vista County happened on Highway 71 near Lakeside, a little after 5-a.m. According to the Iowa State Patrol, 27-year-old Derren Mauricio of Alta, Iowa died at the scene of an accident after the 2017 Chevy Traverse he was driving crossed the center line of northbound Highway 71, and struck a 2019 Jeep Wrangler, which was traveling south, and driven by 21-year-old Estevan Rodriguez, of Alta.

Rodriguez and his passenger, 30-year-old Lucero Martinez-Juarez, of Early, Iowa, were injured in the collision. They were transported to the Buena Vista Regional Medical Center, in Storm Lake. All three of the crash victims were wearing seat belts.

And, while the crash remained under investigation, dense fog was present during the collision, which reduced visibility.

(Atlantic, Iowa) –  A regular bi-monthly meeting of the Atlantic City Council will take place this Wednesday, Feb. 5th beginning at 5:30-p.m. The meeting will be held in the Council’s Chambers inside of the Atlantic City Hall building. Here is an outline of the agenda:

1. Roll Call.
2. Approve Agenda.
3. Pledge of Allegiance.

4. Adopt Consent Agenda Items:

a. Minutes of January 22, 2025, City Council Meeting.
b. Class E Retail Alcohol License and Change of Ownership – Hy-Vee Wine & Spirits
c. Class B Retail Alcohol License:
i. Hy-Vee Food Store (and Change of Ownership).
ii. Dollar General.
d. Legal Change of Ownership
i. Tobacco Vape Store, Inc.
ii. Atlantic Liquor.
e. Tree Trimmer Permit – AA Tree Service LLC.
f. Bills: $173,979.12

5. Public Forum.
6. Swearing in of Atlantic Police Officer Christian Holzapfel.
7. Third Reading of Ordinance No. 1048 “Vacating the Street Located Between 3009 Palm Street and 3101 Palm Street in the City of Atlantic, Iowa.”
8. Second Reading of Ordinance No. 1049 “An Ordinance Amending the Code of Ordinances of the City of
Atlantic, Iowa, by Amending Chapter 165, Zoning Regulations.”
9. Resolution #05-25 “Adopting a Policy for the Parks & Recreation Department Regarding Donations,
Relocations, and Removals.”
10. Resolution #06-25 “Adopting a Policy for The Rental of Park Shelters.”
11. Resolution #07-25” Authorizing and Approving a Loan Agreement, providing for the Issuance of a $780,000
General Obligation Corporate Purpose Note, Series 2025A and Providing for the Levy of Taxes to Pay the Same.”
12. Review and Recommendation of Options for City-Wide Cleanup.

13. Administrator’s Report.

a. 2025 Bond B – Additional Street Cost Estimates.
14. Mayor’s Report.

15. City Council Reports.
16. Presentation, Discussion & Recommendation with Vision Atlantic on Funding for the YMCA Expansion.
17. Order to Enter Exempt Session Pursuant to Iowa Code Section 20.17(3) Providing for the Strategy Meetings of
Public Employers for Collective Bargaining.
18. Adjournment

Additional agenda details can be found here:

City Council Agenda Packet 02-05-2025-compressed

(Atlantic & Red Oak, Iowa) – The Cass and Montgomery County Boards of Supervisors are set to hold separate meetings, Tuesday morning, in Atlantic and Red Oak, respectively. Both meetings get underway at 9-a.m.

In Montgomery County, the Board will act on approving the final voucher for the 180^th Street Box Culvert project. The Board will also hear comments from  West Township resident Jan Norris, with regard to a proposed carbon capture pipeline project in the county. Zoom link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85039693411    Meeting ID: 850 3969 3411

The Cass County Supervisors will hold a joint hearing with the Audubon County Board of Supervisors, with regard to the previously mentioned, proposed vacating of a section of 350^th Street in Audubon and Cass Counties, in the vicinity of Akron Road. (The legal description is as follows: That portion of 350th Street/Akron Road, established March 28, 1899, commencing at the west right of way limits of Nighthawk Avenue/710th Street near the southeast corner of Section 35, Exira Township (T-78N, R-35W) also being the northeast corner of section 2, Benton Township (T-77N, R-35W), thence running westerly along the north line of said Section 2 a distance of 4,958 feet to a point where Akron Road turns and continues northerly, into Audubon County and known as Mockingbird Avenue. Said portion is 40 feet wide and contains about 3.08 acres of road right of way in Audubon County and about 2.99 acres of road right of way in Cass County. The total length of 350th Street/Akron Road to be vacated is about 4,958 feet.)

The hearing will be followed by discussion and action on vacating the road described. Other business includes approving of or passing, the following:

• Resolution 2025-06 Authorization for Sheriff’s Office Employees to Conduct Banking Transactions
• 28E Mutual Aid Agreement between Cass County and the City of Anita
• 28E Mutual Aid Agreement between Cass County and the City of Griswold
• Iowa Department of Transportation Federal-aid Agreement for a County Highway Bridge Program Project, Number BROS-CO15(85)—8J-15 (Cass County Bridge 73)
• Resolution 2025-07, Contract for Cass County Project BROS-C015(81)—8J-15
• Resolution 2025-08, Contract for Cass County Project BROS-C015(82)—5F-15
• Resolution 2025-09, Contract for Cass County Project FM-C015(84)–55-15
• Approve Gravel Petition #1 of 2024 – a portion of 670th St. between Keystone Rd. and Lansing Rd

The Board is expected to receive: a Quarterly report by Mitch Holmes, Cass County Veteran Affairs Executive Director for the quarter ending December, 2024; a Monthly report by Debbie Schuler, Cass County Community services Director and Mental Health Advocate for the months of December, 2024 and January, 2025, and a regular report from Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken.

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85039693411   Meeting ID: 289 919 5216
Passcode: 012064

WALNUT, Iowa — An iconic cottonwood tree in Walnut was cut down this past Wednesday. According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, it was the third largest in the state. KETV in Omaha reports Walnut Mayor Brett Simpson said it was cut down over concerns the tree might fall on property or a person.

It’s hope parts of the tree may be preserved at Walnut’s Historical Society. Meanwhile, memories of the town’s large cottonwood tree will live on through photographs and perhaps the Historical Society soon.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County report a man was arrested Saturday evening on drug and child endangerment charges. Deputies arrested 59-year-old Richard James Reynolds, of Elliott at around 5:35-p.m., in Elliott. Reynolds was taken into custody on charges that include Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana-3rd offense, and four-counts of Child Endangerment. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

(Mount Ayr, Iowa) – Officials with the Ringgold County Sheriff’s Office said Friday, a man wanted on a warrant out of Polk County for a Parole Violation, was arrested late Thursday morning in Kellerton. Authorities say 49-year-old John Anthony Neely, of Des Moines, was taken into custody at around 11:30-a.m. Thursday, by Ringgold County Sheriff’s deputies and the Fifth District of the Iowa Department of Corrections Task Force.

Neely was arrested at 302 Adams Street in Kellerton, after a tip came into the Sheriff’s Office that he was possibly staying there. After a search was conducted, Neely was found hiding in a closet.

Neely was transported back to the Polk County Jail.