WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) joined President Donald Trump Wednesday (today) at the White House for the signing of Sarah’s Law. The bill was included as an amendment to the Laken Riley Act to strengthen the legislation by requiring illegal immigrants who have committed violent crimes against Americans to be detained.

“Today is the culmination of a nine-year battle for justice for Sarah Root,” said Ernst. “Finally, after years of working on this bill and under the leadership of President Trump, our nation’s laws will no longer prioritize illegal immigrants over Americans. I will never stop fighting for Iowans and putting their safety first to ensure that no family has to endure the pain that the Roots were forced to.”

Senator Ernst with Sarah Root’s father, Scott Root.

Ernst’s bill honors Iowan Sarah Root, who was killed on January 31, 2016, the night of her college graduation, by an illegal immigrant driving drunk. Before her family could even lay her to rest, a loophole in the law allowed her killer to be released and escape justice for his crime.

Sarah’s father, Scott Root, also attended the signing ceremony at the White House.

(Radio Iowa)  – Hundreds of new Iowa residents face more challenges as the Trump administration has ordered all resettlement agencies in the U.S. to stop providing services to refugees.

Agencies are no longer allowed to access federal funding to find homes for those fleeing persecution. Nick Wuertz, director of refugee services for Lutheran Services in Iowa, says more than 800 individuals in Iowa have now lost access to this transitional program, and more than half of them are children.

“We’re continuing to show up each day, and serve families and continue to provide services,” Wuertz says. “We don’t know yet if and how we’ll be able to pay for some of those things.”

Wuertz says resettlement agencies provide financial assistance for basic living expenses, while Lutheran Services in Iowa covers those expenses for the refugees’ first 90 days in the U.S.

“There are no other community services that do that, or that people can be referred to,” Wuertz says. “It’s really the only way that families have an opportunity to understand their new community, get on their feet, find jobs and get settled.”

Wuertz says roughly 80 percent of LSI’s funding comes from the federal government.

(Radio Iowa) –  [UPDATED] – State Treasurer Roby Smith hosted an event today to return an Iowan’s Purple Heart his closest living relative. Smith says the Purple Heart was found in a safety deposit box a bank turned over to his office as unclaimed property. “It took a lot of homework, but we finally tracked it down,” Smith said. “We had been in possession of this for several years.”

Garold Hayes of Tama died in 2015 and the safety deposit box was his. Nancy Clark, his cousin, accepted the medal on behalf of the Hayes family. “I was around him quite a bit when we were kids, but I lost contact with him. I thought he was younger than me,” she said. “He was a cute little boy, but we were the same age, but I think he was sheltered because his mother had a child that died just before he was born, so he was a good cousin.”

It’s unclear who the Purple Heart was awarded to because there was no paperwork in the safety deposit box where it was found. According to the obituary for Garold Hayes, he spent most of his life in Tama and was buried in a cemetery in Pleasantville, where he was born.

The state treasurer said his office has another Purple Heart in its possession and would like to return the medal to a relative. “Herman Eggers of Waterloo is who it was awarded to and so if there’s a way we can help find the next of kin for that, we sure would appreciate it,” Smith said.

Papers found with the Purple Heart indicate Eggers served in the Korean War. According to a brief online obituary, Eggers died in a Waterloo nursing home in 2020 at the age of 91 and had formerly lived in Charles City.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office reports three accidents took place over the past week, with one resulting in minor injuries. Authorities say 18-year-old Marshall Dickson, of Stuart, suffered from a chipped tooth when the 2006 Chevy Monte Carlo he was reportedly test driving before buying the vehicle from a friend, went onto the rumble strips on the gravel, as the vehicle was going down hill on York Avenue, causing the vehicle to lose traction on a curve. The car entered a ditch and struck several small trees, which caused the left front tire and rim to ripped off of the vehicle. The car’s airbags deployed during the crash, which happened at around 7-p.m. on Monday, January 27th. Dickson was cited for Failure to Maintain Control. The vehicle sustained $2,600 damage.

Saturday evening, a 2015 GMC Yukon driven by 19-year-old Thea Alexander, of Boone, was backing out of the Casey’s parking lot in Guthrie Center, when it struck a gas pump, causing an estimated $5,000 damage to the vehicle. The gas pump sustained about $2,000 damage, and was shut-down by Casey’s staff, following the accident. No citations were issued.

The third accident happened on White Pole Road in Guthrie County, at around 6:40-p.m. on January 23rd. The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office says a 2015 Dodge Grand Caravan driven by 72-year-old Michael Freestone, of Redfield, was traveling east in the 3400 block of White Pole and rounding a curve, when a vehicle approaching from the west entered the eastbound lane. The unknown vehicle struck the van, causing the driver’s side mirror of the van to be torn-off. The other vehicle didn’t stop, and could not be located by authorities. Damage from the incident amounted to $1,500.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Board of Supervisors in Adair County today (Wednesday), authorized Board Chair Nathan Baier to sign OSHA Form 300A, which pertains to work-related injuries and illnesses records. Auditor Mandy Berg said the form needs to be submitted by February 1st each year.The signed form will be posted in all County locations. The Board also approved a Tax Suspension request by the Adair County Treasurer Brenda Wallace said her office hasn’t had a similar request for about nine-years. The request pertained to a property owner who has passed away.

In other business, the Board approved Dispatch/Jailer wages increases.

Afterward, they approved a wage increase for the Adair County Courthouse Custodian.

And, they approved FY26 Salaries/Wages, which included a five-percent wage increase for all elected officials and hourly part-time employees, except for the Attorney’s Office. The Attorney is getting a $10,000 adjustment for switching from part-time to full-time. The Board concluded their regular business and moved into a Budget Work Session.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa ranks 10th in the nation in 8th grade reading. Math rankings show the need for improved mathematics instruction, with Iowa ranking 30th for 4th graders and 23rd for 8th graders.  The 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress results released today by the U.S. Department of Education show encouraging gains with Iowa in the top 10 of all states for eighth grade reading scores, as Iowa continues to invest in proven practices grounded in an evidence-based approach known as the “Science of Reading.”

Mathematics scores for both fourth and eighth graders decreased by 3 points and 2 points, respectively, while Iowa’s math rankings fell significantly to 30th and 23rd in the nation. The significant drop in Iowa’s latest mathematics rankings is in part driven by other states rebounding from their lower 2022 scores while Iowa ensured consistent access to in-person instruction throughout the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years. However, Iowa’s mathematics results underscore the need for statewide investment in evidence-based mathematics instruction.

Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow said “As we continue to build upon Iowa’s comprehensive investments in evidence-based reading instruction, we celebrate the hard work of students, families, and educators that resulted in Iowa’s top 10 national ranking in eighth grade reading. At the same time, Iowa’s concerning mathematics rankings underscore the critical need to support evidence-based mathematics instruction statewide, as proposed by Governor Reynolds and the Department in the Math Counts Act. Iowa’s students with disabilities and students who are English learners also experienced some of the largest achievement gaps in the nation. Together with educators and families, Iowa will continue to invest in instruction and interventions that empower all students to meet high expectations and realize their incredible potential.”

Commonly referred to as “The Nation’s Report Card,” the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is congressionally mandated to be administered every two years to students in grades 4 and 8 to measure achievement in reading and math. NAEP is the only nationally representative assessment allowing for comparison of student achievement across all 50 states using a robust sampling methodology. National average scores for public school students across all tested grades and content areas show the nation as a whole has not returned to pre-pandemic achievement levels. Nationally, mathematics scores fell by 3 points for fourth grade and 9 points for eighth grade. National reading scores in both fourth and eighth grade fell 5 points from 2019 scores.

Iowa’s NAEP data demonstrate significant achievement gaps between overall student results and those of certain student groups. Reading and mathematics rankings comparing the achievement of Iowa’s students with disabilities to students with disabilities across the nation show Iowa has some of the largest achievement gaps nationwide. While Iowa ranked 10th in eighth grade reading, Iowa ranked 46th in the achievement of students with disabilities. NAEP achievement is also used in the U.S. Department of Education’s designations for state special education systems under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Rankings comparing the achievement of students who are English learners to students who are English learners across the nation also demonstrate significant achievement gaps. While Iowa ranked 23rd in eighth grade math, Iowa ranked 37th in the nation in the achievement of students who are English learners.

NAEP is overseen and administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences. More information on the 2024 NAEP results is available on the Nation’s Report Card website at https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/

Update: Fire officials say the flames spread to the residence. Both structures are considered a total loss. The cause of the fire remained undetermined as of mid-day, today (Wednesday). Firefighters were still on the scene at mid-day, putting out hot-spots.

(Massena, Iowa) – Firefighters in Massena Fire were dispatched to a garage fire at 104 Mulberry Street in Massena, at around 8:17-a.m., today (Wednesday). Cumberland Fire crews respond about 15-minutes later to provide mutual aid in the form of manpower and tanker support. Additional firefighting personnel were requested a little before 9-a.m., and Alliant Energy was requested to cut power to the nearby house at around the same time. No injuries were reported.

Additional information is currently not available. (Photo courtesy Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon)

(Radio Iowa) – Two former Iowa governors are meeting for lunch today (Wednesday) to discuss the past and the future of the Des Moines-based World Food Prize. Democrat Tom Vilsack, who served two terms as Iowa’s governor, will become the organization’s C-E-O on March 1st. Republican Terry Branstad, elected to six terms as governor, has been president of the World Food Prize Foundation for the past two years. Branstad also served as U-S Ambassador to China and he says the foundation has made a good choice.

“I’m really excited about another former governor, somebody that understand agriculture,” Branstad said. Vilsack served 12 years as U-S Secretary of Agriculture during the Obama and Biden Administrations. Branstad served as U-S Ambassador to China during the Trump Administration and he says Vilsack’s international connections will be invaluable. Branstad says he and Vilsack have worked together on a number of projects and issues and he’s ready to pass the baton to Vilsack.

“He’s been a great supporter of the World Food Prize,” Branstad says, “and the thing I like about it from the very git go, we’ve had broadbased bipartisan support.” The Iowa legislature annually provides some funding for the World Food Prize, which hosts a symposium each October in Des Moines that draws dignitaries as well as reearchers and ag industry experts from around the globe. The World Food Prize is mainly supported, though, by donations by individuals, corporations and other foundations. Each year a World Food Prize laureate is recognized — and awarded a half a million dollar prize.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports a man was arrested, cited, then released from the scene of his citation, Tuesday afternoon. 40-year-old Jonathan David Graham, of Creston, was cited a little after 4-p.m., for allegedly allowing an Animal [to run] at Large in the 600 block of W. Adams Street. Graham was released on a Promise to Appear in court.