Congressman Steve King and his Republican Primary challenger Rick Bertrand met Friday night in their only face-to-face forum of the campaign. Bertrand, a 46-year-old state senator from Sioux City, presented himself as a “fresh face” and “new blood” who were serve no more than 10 years in congress. King stressed the value of his “institutional knowledge” after serving 14 years in the House.

“Look at Chuck Grassley and see how he’s doing. He’s a very effective United States Senator today,” King said. Bertrand replied: “The difference is Chuck Grassley is relevant. Chuck Grassley is the head of a committee.” King said: “My opponent is a candidate because I am effective…His supporters, his benefactors are angry because I endorsed a candidate for president and he won.” Bertrand said: “We’ve had a decade and a half of people standing at the polar opposites and barking at the moon. I think we’re ready for a change.”

Bertrand says before the Iowa Caucuses, King missed a “golden opportunity” to publicly pressure Ted Cruz to embrace the federal ethanol production mandate. King said he has a “long record in support of renewable fuels,” but King says it would have been “ridiculous” to stand on the same stage with Cruz and criticize him.

“There’s more to this country than the RFS alone,” King said. “That’s not the only yardstick. It’s one of them.” Bertrand suggested King had abandoned the R-F-S in favor of a “non-Iowa agenda.” Bertrand used his closing statement to mention a tweet King sent on Caucus night that relayed a C-N-N story about one of Cruz’s rivals. “I’ve learned from the Ben Carson people…If anyone on Tuesday gets a text or a tweet from the congressman that says I’m dropping out on Tuesday, please disregard it,” Bertrand said.

Last night’s hour-long forum was co-sponsored by K-S-C-J Radio, K-T-I-V Television and The Sioux City Journal.

(Radio Iowa)

LYONS, Neb. (AP) — A 69-year-old Iowa man has died in an early morning car crash in northeast Nebraska. The Burt County Sheriff’s Office says John Burbridge, of Missouri Valley, Iowa, was the only person in the car when it left the roadway early Friday morning, just north of Lyons.

Officials say Burbridge was driving on U.S. Highway 77 when his car veered off the roadway and struck a tree. Sheriff’s deputies and firefighters responded to the scene, where Burbridge was pronounced dead. The Sheriff’s Office says Burbridge was wearing a seatbelt.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court says an employee fired because of missed work resulting from being thrown in jail may still be eligible for unemployment benefits. The court reversed the Iowa Employment Appeal Board saying just because someone is in jail and they can’t afford bail doesn’t mean they’ve voluntarily quit their job.

The ruling means 28-year-old Sondra Irving of North Liberty qualifies for unemployment. She was jailed for 27 days for assault after a November 2013 fight at home. Charges were later dropped but she was fired by University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics where she was a medical assistant. Irving appealed the denial of unemployment benefits.

Four justices made up the court’s majority but three others disagreed saying “being in jail is not a valid excuse for missing work.”

INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (AP) – Iowa officials say they’re closing a 15-bed psychiatric unit for children at a state mental health facility in Independence and 10 employees have received layoff notices. The Iowa Department of Human Services said Friday no patients were being treated at the Psychiatric Medical Institution for Children unit. There haven’t been any patients in the unit at the Independence Mental Health Institute since July 2015.

Spokeswoman Amy Lorentzen McCoy says it’s “the appropriate time” to dedicate resources to other programs. McCoy says 10 state staffers were given “reduction in force” notices Thursday. She adds some employees may transfer to other positions at Independence, one of two state mental health institutes in Iowa.

Two state mental health facilities closed last year after Gov. Terry Branstad declined to recommend more funding for them.

Two Union County men who were arrested early this (Friday) morning on drug charges, were arrested again after they allegedly robbed a convenience store. Creston Police say 21-year old Fransisco Martinez and 18-year old Dyrrel Malik Thornton Culbertson, both of Creston, face 1st Degree Robbery charges associated with the armed robbery at around 6-a.m., of the Casey’s General Store at 301 W. Taylor Street, in Creston. Both men were being held in the Union County Jail on $25,000 bond, each. Additional charges are pending.

Thornton-Culbertson

Inmate Martinez (Photo’s courtesy Mark Williams, Dispatch Supervisor – Union County Communications Center)

Authorities say they received a 911 call from store employees, who said they had been robbed at gun point by a man wearing a white mask, who left in a vehicle.  At 7:15-a.m., a citizen reported that a vehicle matching the description was in the ditch at 300^th St and Henry A. Wallace Road in Adair County, north of Creston. The driver of the vehicle was attempting to get it out of the ditch.

Officers from the Creston Police Department, Creston Police Department K9 “Minko,” Union County Sheriff’s Office, Adair County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa State Patrol responded to the area and detained two male subjects related to the investigation.

A search warrant related to the investigation was then executed at 316 Livingston Avenue in Creston. Martinez and Culbertson had previously been arrested at around 3-a.m. today (Friday), on Possession of Marijuana charges. They had been released from the Union County Jail on $1,000 bond each, prior to their alleged involvedment in the robbery.

(Noon News)

The Montgomery County Auditor’s Office reports Montgomery County’s vacancy committee met today (Friday), and unanimously decided to fill a vacancy on the Board of Supervisors in District 2, by appointment.  Members of the committee are Carleen Bruning, Recorder; Carol Strovers, Treasurer; Stephanie Burke, Auditor.  Burke was chosen to be the committee Chairperson and Strovers was chosen to be the committee Secretary.

The committee also determined application materials and a meeting schedule for the appointment process. Prospective appointees are requested to submit the following for consideration:

• Letter of Interest
• Resume
• References – optional

Applications should be sent to Carleen Bruning, Recorder, 105 E Coolbaugh, PO Box 469, Red Oak, IA  51566.  Applications must be received on June 24, 2016, at 4:30 p.m.  They must be postmarked June 24, 2016, if mailed.  Applications for appointment are public record. All applicants must have resided in Montgomery County Supervisor District 2 for at least 60 days.

The committee will convene at 6:30 p.m. on June 28th, in the courtroom at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Red Oak, for a public meeting.  Qualified applicants are expected to attend.  The Supervisor Appointing Committee will conduct a panel interview of all persons seeking appointment to fill Supervisor District #2.  The committee will randomly draw the order for responding to the question.

The committee will reconvene on Wednesday, June 29th, at 5:00 p.m. in the basement meeting room at the courthouse to decide on the appointment.  A new member of the Board of Supervisors will be sworn in on the next regular scheduled Board of Supervisors meeting.

If within fourteen days after the publication of notice or within fourteen days after the appointment is made, a petition is filed with the county Auditor requesting a special election to fill the vacancy, the appointment is temporary and a special election shall be called.  Signatures required are 77 of eligible electors of District 2.   For additional information, please contact the Montgomery County Auditor’s office at 712-623-5127.

The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled for the first time on whether retirement benefits should be considered when paying workers’ compensation to an injured employee. David Evenson injured his elbow while working at Winnebago Industries in May of 2010. Evenson argued that company contributions to his 401-K plan should be considered when setting the amount of workers’ compensation payments.

The district court upheld an arbiter’s ruling that the 401-K payments were a fringe benefit and not part of his weekly earnings. The Iowa Supreme Court agreed with the lower court. The ruling says the employee chooses the amount of money put into the retirement account and the company then matches that amount.

It says the money is not a part of the employee’s spendable weekly earnings and should not be considered when setting workers’ compensation payments.

(Radio Iowa)

A traffic stop in Hamlin late Thursday night resulted in the arrest of two Carroll County residents on drug and other charges. The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office says 29-year old Ashley Chantelle Nicole Hetterich, and 40-year old Troy Adam Dillavou, both of Carroll, were taken into custody at around 11-p.m.

Hetterich faces charges that include Possession of Methamphetamine with the Intent to Deliver, Possession of Heroin, and three counts of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Dillavou faces Possession of Meth/3rd offense, Possession of Heroin and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, charges. He was also cited for numerous traffic violations.

Hetterich and Dillavou were transported to the Audubon County Jail and later released, after appearing before the magistrate.

The Western Iowa No-till (WIN) Demonstration Field Day, scheduled for June 21^st at the Carstens 1880 Farmstead south of Shelby, Iowa, will address a wide variety of topics for local producers interested in learning more about the practical management of soil heath, fertility and alternative crop rotation systems. Registration opens at 8-a.m., with coffee and rolls provided by Farm Credit Services of America. Local agribusinesses will also be on hand beginning at 8-a.m., to visit with producers in the morning and showcase their services/equipment.

Western IA No Till Day at Carstens 1880 Farmstead (photo from the Carstens Farmstead website)

The field day program begins at 9-a.m., with rotating breakout sessions. John Sawyer, Iowa State University Agronomy Department, will cover nitrogen application timing and rates, while Rick Bednarek, State Soil Scientist with USDA-NRCS discusses maintaining and managing soil health. The breakout sessions will be followed at 11-a.m., by an overview of 2016 Iowa Weather & Long-Term Trends, presented by Harry Hillaker, State Climatologist with IDALS.

At 11:45, the program will break for lunch, with a barbeque lunch available on grounds for $5. After lunch, Matt Liebman, Iowa State University, will discuss the benefits of diversifying corn-soybean rotations by adding a non-traditional crop. To wrap up the program, Tim Youngquist, Iowa State University Ag Specialist, will give an overview of the STRIPS Trial project- Science-based Trials of Row-crops Integrated with Prairie Strips- and discuss project implementation in a row-crop setting.

Anyone with an interest in the practical application and impact of soil conservation practices, whether looking for ideas to begin adopting no-till practices or a long-time producer looking to improve production results, is encouraged to attend this field day.  There is no charge to attend this event, but pre-registration is requested by June 15^th to ensure a lunch will be available.

A barbeque lunch, with sides, dessert and a drink, will be available for $5 the day of the event. Registration can be completed by e-mailing csgorham@iastate.edu or by calling the Harrison County Extension Office at 888-644-2105. More information is available at many local ISU Extension and NRCS offices, or can be found online at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass.

The field day is brought to you by NRCS, ISU Extension and the Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) in Harrison, East & West Pottawattamie, Cass and Shelby Counties, along with many local supporting agribusinesses. 2016 Business Sponsors include Farm Bureau in East & West Pottawattamie, Shelby & Harrison Counties, Avoca Seed, Cyclone Seed, HTS Ag, Farmers and Merchants State Bank, Heartland Ag, Iowa Soybean Association, Iowa Corn Growers Association, Sorensen Equipment Co. and United Bank of Iowa.

The Atlantic Police Department reports the arrest on Thursday of 42-year old John Eichelberger, of Atlantic. He was taken into custody on a Cass County warrant for Violation of a No Contact Order. And, on Wednesday, 41-year old Kaela Holt, of Atlantic, was arrested for Public Intoxication. Both subjects were booked into the Cass County Jail.