(Glenwood, Iowa) – A company in Glenwood is letting-go nearly two-dozen employees next month. According to the Iowa WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) website, SpartanNash in Glenwood reported on January 15th, their employees would be losing their jobs effective February 14 (2025), as the facility permanently closes.

SpartanNash’s website says the business is “A food solutions company that delivers the ingredients for a better life,”providing food wholesale and grocery retail services. The company is based in Byron Center, MI. Their grocery retail stores are located in several Midwestern States, as well as in Kentucky.

In late November, CDS Global, Inc. In Harlan, announced their subscription fulfillment facility in Harlan would be closing on Feb. 3Rd, with a loss of 94 jobs. Last September, the NSK-AKS Precision Ball Company in Clarinda was also closing, with 54 jobs to be lost. The closing is expected to take place March 31st (2025).

(Radio Iowa) – A spokesman for the Department of Transportation says an agreement was reached earlier this month that will keep goods from backing up at ports in the eastern part of the U-S. Charlie Purcell (Per-sell)says dock workers had a short strike back in October. “They were able to resume work under the condition that they continue negotiations and work out some last some disagreements about the degree to which port facilities would be automated and the impacts that would have on dock workers jobs,” Purcell says. He says they recently reached a final agreement. “On January 8th the two parties were able to reach an agreement. The deadline that they had was January 15th, so we were thinking we might need to report on that,” he says. “But fortunately, that has they have reached an agreement, and that now goes to the union for a formal vote. So we’re not anticipating that we’ll have any major disruptions in the ports on the East Coast.”

Purcell says goods coming into Iowa by rail were down a bit last year. “Overall, 2024 through the whole year is down about two-point-nine ( 2.9%) percent in terms of railcar loads. This is measured on a six week moving average as compared to 2023 so you can see that we’re kind of back to more or less normal levels for the last part of this year,” he says.

Purcell made his comments during an update for the state Transportation Commission Tuesday.

(Radio Iowa) – While many Iowans huddle inside when it’s this cold, others set off for their ice fishing shacks, which is the reason dozens of firefighters from multiple departments in southwest Iowa took part in an ice rescue training session last weekend. Red Oak Fire Chief John Bruce says they do the on-ice training workshop every winter.  “It brings the teams together on an ice rescue scenario, how to deploy the rescue teams, and how to use the ice rescue equipment,” Bruce says. “It’s just a good refresher to get those skills fine-tuned.” Ice rescues are only needed a few months out of the year, so Bruce says this refresher is vital so they can properly respond to someone falling through the ice — particularly given the popularity of ice fishing in the region.

“We want to make sure we’re honed up on these skills, because you never know from moment to moment where you could be dispatched to,” he says. “It’s imperative for the individual or individuals that are in that frigid water, that we effect that rescue as quickly as possible.” Nearly 40 firefighters took part in the training from departments in Red Oak, Elliott, Grant, Villisca, Corning, Mount Ayr, Clarinda, and the Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency. Bruce says it’s crucial there’s at least four inches of ice on the lake or pond, which you’ve either tested yourself or communicated directly with the Iowa D-N-R or county conservation office.

Red Oak Fire Dept. Facebook page photo

“Our religious ice fishing folks, they’ve fine-tuned their skills of being able to go out and hit the ice and they can tell by the sound it’s making whether it’s thick ice or not,” he says, “and a lot of them are experienced with their augers and know to do a pilot drill.” Bruce says if you’re not sure whether the ice is thick enough, don’t go out. Also, have someone with you to call 9-1-1, and let someone know where you’re going and when you plan to return. Other tips from the Iowa D-N-R include bringing hand warmers, ice cleats, ice picks, a life jacket, a floating safety rope, a whistle, a first aid kit, and extra dry clothes.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak arrested a man Tuesday afternoon on a drug charge. 21-year-old Matthew Dillion Childs, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 3:40-p.m. at the intersection of Corning and Broadway Streets, in Red Oak. He was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance – a Serious Misdemeanor. Childs was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 cash-only bond.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – An Iowa man was taken into custody in Indonesia for multiple federal child sexual exploitation charges. On Tuesday the U.S. Marshals Service announced that with the help of the U.S. Department of State and Indonesian officials 32-year-old Trevor John Collison was taken into custody on federal charges of sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child pornography. A warrant for his arrest had been issued in Oct. 2024 by the U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

According to the U.S. Marshals, Collison fled from the country after a search warrant was executed at his home in Little Sioux by the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office in August. Collison was tracked across several South Pacific countries before being located in Indonesia.

Collison was taken into custody by Indonesian immigration officials when he tried to extend his visa, the U.S. Marshals said. He was returned to the U.S. and will appear before a Federal Magistrate for the federal charges.

“The U.S. Marshals are dedicated to supporting our state and local partners throughout Iowa in tracking down individuals who evade justice,” Ted Kamatchus, U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Iowa, said in a statement. “By leveraging its global reach, the U.S. Marshals Service empowers our local law enforcement partners with the ability to locate and apprehend even their most elusive fugitives.”

DES MOINES, Iowa [KCCI] — One of President Donald Trump’s first actions in the White House was to pardon 1,500 people charged in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, including nine Iowans. Trump’s executive order mandates that “all individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, who are currently held in prison are released immediately.” He directed the Federal Bureau of Prisons to immediately implement his order.

Iowans charged in connection with Jan. 6 riots:

• Doug Jensen, of Des Moines
• Leo Kelly, of Cedar Rapids
• Kyle Young, of Redfield
• Deborah Sandoval, of Des Moines
• James Curl ( Deborah Sandoval’s then-fiance)
• Salvador Sandoval, of Ankeny
• Daryl Johnson, of St. Ansgar
• Kenneth Rader, of Sioux City
• Chad Heathcote, of Adel.

As of Tuesday night, records showed that Kyle Young of Redfield and Salvador Sandoval of Ankeny remain in prison. Sandoval’s attorney said he expected his client to be released soon.

(Radio Iowa)  – City officials in Spencer are hoping the State of Iowa will help pay for an analysis to determine the full extent of flood damage to the city’s wastewater treatment system. Spencer City Administrator Kevin Robinson says the Federal Emergency Management Agency will help cover the cost of repairs — but it will cost a MILLION dollars to produce the report required to qualify.

“So without scanning the system and proving there’s damage, we can’t get a FEMA reimbursement,” he says. Robinson testified before the House Local Government Committee on Tuesday afternoon and told lawmakers the city’s biggest expense moving forward will be fixing its wastewater treatment plant. “Potentially we’ll need to upgrade the plant, which would be about $30 million,” he said. “At a minimum, we’ll have about $5 million to $6 million in repairs.”

There was sewer back-up in 75 percent of the homes, businesses, schools and other structures in Spencer during last June’s flooding. Robinson says insurance payouts for homeowners in that predicament have been inconsistent. “One company would say: ‘Yes, you had sewer back up. You’re covered,'” Robinson told lawmakers. “The next company would say: ‘You had sewer back up, but we believe the flood caused that back up because your wastewater treatment plant went offline in your city, therefore it was not localized to your residence and we are not paying your claim.'”

Earlier this month, Governor Reynolds called on legislators to set up new state oversight for people called “umpires” who mediate disputes over insurance claims.

GRINNELL, Iowa — Nearly 300 people will lose their jobs this spring when a window and door manufacturer closes its plant in Grinnell. According to Iowa WARN, a state-run log of notices of layoffs, Jeld-Wen gave notice Monday that it would lay off 298 workers at its Grinnell location effective March 21. The company told KCCI-TV the transition will begin immediately.

The North Carolina-based company laid off 152 workers at the plant last fall.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Georgia man was sentenced today to 300 months in federal prison for possessing distribution quantities of meth, fentanyl, and heroin, and a firearm.

According to public court documents, Taft Cornelius Burtton, 32, fled from law enforcement who were attempting to traffic stop his car on April 20, 2023 within Adair County. Burtton drove over 112 miles per hour on I-80, exited and re-entered the interstate, and made a U-turn in the median. Law enforcement disabled Burtton’s vehicle and he fled on foot and was not apprehended. Inside Burtton’s vehicle was 884 grams of methamphetamine and more than $42,000 in drug proceeds.

On December 7, 2023, law enforcement searched Burtton’s Des Moines residence and found him in possession of more than 50 grams of fentanyl, 150 grams of heroin, 150 grams of cocaine, 50 grams of crack, 300 grams of marijuana, and a loaded Ruger pistol. Burtton is prohibited from possessing firearms because he is a felon, including a 2016 conviction in the Illinois Circuit Court for Cook County for delivery of cocaine at a public high school.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Burtton will be required to serve a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Adair Police Department, Des Moines Police Department, Dallas County Sheriff’s Office, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – As a new Iowa House higher education committee gets its start with the beginning of the legislative session, college and university leaders are signaling their willingness to work with lawmakers while seeking clarification about what “return on investment” the Statehouse is seeking. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports Higher education committee chair Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis, said at the committee’s first meeting Tuesday that this is the first committee to oversee higher education in more than 50 years, with the last higher education committee meeting in 1971.

Collins said the committee will explore legislation aimed at reviewing academic programs to compare them to workforce needs of the state, reforming core curriculum, controlling costs and expanding access to higher education for rural Iowans, as well as increasing intellectual diversity and proficiency in civics education on campuses and combating “predatory institutional accreditors.”

The only three-letter acronym Collins said the committee would be using during the session is “MEI,” which stands for merit, excellence and intelligence, rather than diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI. State universities have already cut positions and eliminated or restructured offices related to DEI, directed to do so by the Iowa Board of Regents and legislation passed last session. Collins previously said he doesn’t see a need to pass more bills aimed at DEI on college campuses, but the committee will check in to make sure the universities are following the law.

Iowa Board of Regents spokesperson Josh Lehman said in an email that the board office has received “several questions and requests for information” from Collins, and the office is happy to work with him and other lawmakers on the committee with any questions they have. Lehman said in his email that a recent economic impact study reported that the three state universities together contributed almost $15 billion in income to the state in fiscal year 2022, or around 7% of the total gross product of the state. The universities also support close to 200,000 Iowa jobs, he said, or 1 out of every 10 jobs. The committee will also oversee community colleges and private universities, whose students benefit from the Iowa Tuition Grant program.

Another three-letter acronym Collins used in previous interviews about the new committee is ROI, or return on investment. He said lawmakers have “every right” to look at the academic programs being offered at universities to see how state funds are being used and what benefits Iowa taxpayers will see from them.