(Radio Iowa) – Two-thirds of Iowans say food insecurity is a problem in their local community, according to a survey released by the Iowa Food Bank Association. It found 35-percent of respondents said groceries and food were their biggest monthly expenses, while more than half said the state isn’t doing enough to support people facing food insecurity. Chris Ackman is communications & volunteer manager at the Hawkeye Area Community Action Program, a food bank in eastern Iowa.

“We’ve been talking about food insecurity for a long time, and we’ve obviously known that it’s been an issue for Iowans, and we’ve been saying all these things,” Ackman says, “but to have hard numbers and to have data associated with it, it just confirms what we’ve been talking about.” Ackman says releasing the survey results was strategic in getting the attention of state legislators.

Food rescue visit at Catholic Charities in Des Moines, Iowa on February 7, 2024.

“It’s easy to share stories and the stories make a big impact, but I think legislators also want to see numbers behind it,” he says, “and they want to see numbers if how it’s specifically affecting people in their state and in their communities.” Ackman says food insecurity is not a partisan issue, and that fighting food insecurity has bipartisan support.

The survey was conducted by the online polling company Civiqs.

(Iowa Capital Dispatch; updated 2/28) – An Administrative Law Judge has ruled a former county sheriff who collected unemployment benefits after losing his bid for reelection will now have to repay those benefits. State records indicate James “Marty” Arganbright served as Guthrie County sheriff for 16 years before losing his bid for reelection in November 2024. Arganbright became unemployed when his successor, who is now suing Arganbright in federal court, took office in January of this year. Arganbright subsequently applied for, and received, unemployment benefits from the state. In a phone call to KJAN Friday morning (2/28), Arganbright said he never received unemployment compensation, and there are no bank records to substantiate the receiving of such funds.

Guthrie County appealed that decision and the matter recently went before Judge Daniel Zeno for a hearing. At the hearing, Arganbright argued he was a full-fledged employee of Guthrie County as evidenced by the fact that he was subject to county policies and training requirements. He also noted that he had collected employment benefits through the Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System (IPERS) and through Guthrie County itself. In a decision rendered earlier this week, Zeno ruled Arganbright’s loss of employment, since it resulted from the 2024 election, did not qualify him for unemployment benefits. Judge Zeno noted that under Iowa’s unemployment-benefits law, the term “employment” does not apply to services performed as an elected government official. While Arganbright may have fit the definition of a county employee for purposes such as training and health benefits, Zeno ruled, he did not meet the state’s definition of a county employee with regard to unemployment benefits.

Iowa Workforce Development overpaid Arganbright $2,408 in benefits for the period from Jan. 5, 2025, to Feb. 1, 2025, Zeno ruled, adding that Arganbright must now repay IWD for those benefits. The ruling is subject to appeal to the state’s Employment Appeal Board, although there’s no indication such an appeal has been filed.

Decision follows civil lawsuit

Last September, Arganbright was sued by the current Guthrie County sheriff, Matthew Harmann, who was then a county deputy. In his lawsuit, Harmann alleged that “rather than accept the rather common occurrence of a subordinate seeking to unseat the sheriff,” Arganbright and Guthrie County Attorney Dana Minteer, along with Chief Deputy Jeremy Bennett, had “engaged in an unconstitutional and coordinated campaign to impugn Harmann’s sterling reputation in an effort to undermine his political campaign.” Harmann alleged the defendants tried to knowingly and falsely accuse him of misconduct in office. When an independent investigator cleared Harmann of any wrongdoing, his lawsuit alleged, they launched an effort to have Harmann decertified as a law enforcement officer, which would render him ineligible to serve as Guthrie County sheriff.

As a result of the litigation, the investigative report that concluded Harmann hadn’t interfered with a criminal investigation and had been “essentially” honest with investigators, was made public. It was then ordered sealed by the court, but was unsealed earlier this month after the county argued it was a public document. In addressing the county’s motion for a dismissal, U.S. District Judge Stephen H. Locher recently ruled that Minteer had absolute immunity with regard to her alleged actions in the matter, adding that “the court understands, of course, that this holding might permit an unscrupulous prosecutor to disseminate unfavorable false information about a law enforcement officer with impunity. So be it. The Supreme Court has recognized that prosecutorial immunity ‘reflects a balance of evils’ in which it is better ‘to leave unredressed the wrongs done by dishonest officers than to subject those who try to do their duty to the constant dread of retaliation.’”

Judge Locher, however, allowed some of the claims against Arganbright and Bennett to proceed. A jury trial is currently scheduled for March 30, 2026.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Police Department reports one person suffered non-life threatening injuries during a collision this (Thursday) morning, at 7th and Locust Streets. The accident occurred at around 7:20-a.m., as a vehicle driven by Sidney Petty, of Atlantic, was traveling north on Locust and approaching 7th Street (Highway 6), and a vehicle driven by Forrest Yoshida, of Atlantic, was traveling west on 7th.

Photos courtesy of the Atlantic Police Dept.

When Petty failed to stop at the posted stop sign, the vehicle struck the westbound vehicle driven by Yoshida. A passenger in the Yoshida vehicle was transported to Cass Health to be checked-out and treated for injuries. Sidney Petty was cited for Failure to Obey a Stop Sign. Damage from the collision amounted to $45,000 altogether.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Capitol is packed with protesters as the Iowa legislature is poised to debate legislation to remove gender identity from the state’s Civil Rights Act. A 90-minute public hearing got underway at 9:30 a.m. and Representative Steven Holt, a Republican from Denison who is the bill’s floor manager in the House, opened with a note of caution. “A lot of passion on this issue, but again, good order and discipline need to be maintained so everyone has the opportunity to have their voices heard,” Holt says. “Anyone that does disrupt the proceedings will be escorted from the room.”

Ryan Benn, legal counsel for The Family Leader, was first to testify. “Clearly, there are circumstances when it is necessary and right to differentiate between a real woman and a man masquerading as a woman,” Benn says. “It’s common sense. A man has no place in a bathroom or a locker room with my wife or my daughters, and taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to pay for so called gender transition surgeries.”

Law enforcement officers are at the ready if protests get out of hand. (Radio Iowa photo)

V Fixmer-Oraiz, a member of the Johnson County Board of Supervisors who is a transgender Iowan, says the role of government is to protect the rights of all citizens. “Never would I have imagined standing before you in opposition to a bill designed to remove civil rights protections for a group of people, my people who regularly experience discrimination based on gender identity,” Fixmer-Oraiz says. “By striking gender identity from the State Civil Rights Act, you are condoning inequality and discrimination in housing, education and employment.”

The House and Senate are likely to pass the bill sometime today.

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S House budget blueprint that won approval this week calls for cutting federal spending on Medicaid by about 880-BILLION dollars over the next decade, but Second District Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says that should -not- translate to Medicaid recipients seeing cuts in payments. “The bill that we passed this week is simply a budget resolution that lays out instructions for committees. I think it’s important to note also, we don’t want to cut benefits. We want to protect the most vulnerable,” Hinson says. “There’s a lot of fear mongering around these bills, and I want to make sure that programs like Medicaid can continue to serve our most vulnerable, and that they are not rife with waste, fraud and abuse.”

Medicaid provides health coverage to almost 80-million low-income Americans. Hinson, a Republican from Marion, says their goal is to focus on problem areas in various agencies, and not on hurting those who rely on federal assistance. “We do have hundreds of billions of dollars in fraud in many of these programs, so, I think we can all agree able-bodied adults should be working if they’re receiving benefits,” Hinson says. “The White House has made it clear, we’re not going to be touching benefits, but we’re going to be addressing ways where we can protect the traditional Medicaid populations and make sure that these programs can continue to exist.” There are critics who fear the budget plan will mean another delay to the Farm Bill, but during a conference call with Iowa reporters today (Thursday), Hinson says she remains optimistic.

“My whole point in supporting the budget resolution this week is to make sure we’re providing savings for taxpayers and protecting tax cuts for taxpayers, which also helps to support our agricultural producers and our farmers,” Hinson says. “So, we’ll be working through that with the Agriculture Committee in the coming weeks as we work through that budget resolution.” In addition, Hinson is co-sponsoring a bi-partisan bill called the S-B-A Disaster Transparency Act. She says it will hold the U-S Small Business Administration more accountable for how funds are distributed following disasters to help homeowners and small businesses to rebuild and recover.

“In Iowa, we are no strangers to natural disasters,” she says. “Ensuring transparency standards are in place across federal disaster relief accounts will enhance our preparedness for Iowans and all Americans.” During the stress of disaster recovery, Hinson says the last things anyone needs are “confusing, bureaucratic roadblocks.” She says the legislation will “streamline recovery efforts through the SBA, ensuring more Americans can access critical relief funds when they need them most.”

Earlier this week, Hinson released a statement saying she voted yes on the House G-O-P’s budget resolution so Congress can make good on President Trump’s America First agenda to secure the border, unleash American energy and prevent tax increases.

(Mount Ayr, Iowa) – The Ringgold County Sheriff’s Office reports a man from Mount Ayr was arrested a few days after an investigation began into a complaint filed on Feb. 14th, about an alleged incident of sexual abuse. Authorities say 19-year-old Kameron James Miller faces a Class-C Felony charge of Sexual Abuse in the 3rd Degree and a Class-B Felony charge of Sexual Abuse in the 2nd Degree. Following a preliminary hearing in his case on Feb. 24th, Miller posted bond and was released. A No Contact Order remains in place to protect the alleged victim.

*Any potential criminal charges identified above are merely allegations and any defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (KCRG) – The stands at an eastern Iowa high school basketball game were filled with purple shirts and ribbons Wednesday night in memory of a teen who died in a crash, Tuesday. KCRG-TV reports purple was Kelli Schmitz’s favorite color. The 14-year-old from Jesup died after being taken to the hospital following the crash on Poyner Road in Black Hawk County. On Wednesday, the Don Bosco boy’s basketball team asked fans to wear purple as they faced Maquoketa Valley in a post season game in Independence.

Kelli’s cheerleader uniform sat on an empty chair. She was the one and only cheerleader for both the boy’s and girl’s basketball teams at Don Bosco, in Gilbertville. Kelli’s older brother is a senior on the Don Bosco basketball team.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for her family. It has already raised more than $28,000. The money will help cover funeral and memorial costs.

DES MOINES—Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, Wednesday, announced lawsuits against Bitcoin Depot and CoinFlip, Iowa’s two largest cryptocurrency ATM operators, over their failures that allowed Iowans to transfer millions of dollars to scammers through their kiosks. The announcement was made during a press conference at the Iowa Bankers Association in Johnston.

Bird said “Con artists are evil and will stop at nothing to steal everything you have,” said Attorney General Bird. “We already know that they target older Iowans, but now it seems that they even hunt through obituaries to target widows. They convince these older women that they need help, and then send their victims to crypto ATMs. And the crypto ATM companies take a cut of the profits. It’s not just wrong, it’s illegal. I’m fighting to get Iowans their money back and force the crypto ATM companies to make big changes. No Iowan should get ripped off like this.”

IA AG Brenna Bird press conference, 2-26-25

In October 2023, the Iowa Attorney General’s office launched a first-of-its-kind investigation into cryptocurrency ATM companies. The office subpoenaed 14 total crypto ATM companies for a list of Iowans who had sent money through their kiosks. The office then contacted those Iowans by phone and email. It also investigated complaints, police reports, and self-reported scams. The investigation revealed that hundreds of Iowans sent more than $20 million through Bitcoin Depot and CoinFlip ATMs in a less than 3-year period. The majority of scam victims were over the age of 60.

The investigation also exposed how cryptocurrency ATMs profit off of Iowans getting scammed. Bitcoin Depot takes a 23% cut of the money Iowans send through the machines, and CoinFlip claims 21%.

The lawsuits allege that both Bitcoin Depot and CoinFlip profit directly from Iowa scam victims by imposing excessive, and often hidden, transaction fees. It also alleges that Bitcoin Depot deceives Iowans about its refund policy. Attorney General Bird is suing both companies for violating the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act. The investigation into crypto ATM companies is ongoing.

If you or someone you know has been targeted by a crypto ATM scam, contact the Iowa Attorney General’s office at 1-888-777-4590 or file a complaint online: https://www.iowaattorneygeneral.gov/for-consumers/file-a-consumer-complaint.

After Bird’s press conference Coinflip released a statement that said:

We don’t believe these allegations reflect or align with CoinFlip’s strong compliance and consumer protection practices, which we look forward to defending. We never want to see anyone get scammed, so we work to protect customers with blockchain analytics to stop fraud, visible consumer warnings, and education campaigns. Thousands of Americans count on the freedom to use crypto kiosks every day for legitimate transactions, and protecting these consumers as they use kiosks to access digital currency is an important way to support our country’s national crypto innovation goals.

Dana Callahan, Coinflip Spokesperson