(Radio Iowa) – A proposed constitutional amendment would do away with a voter-approved fund for conservation and outdoor recreation projects — and direct part of any future sales tax increase to property tax relief. Sixty-three percent of Iowa voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2010 that created the fund, but it has no money because it’s only to be filled if the state sales tax is raised. Mike Shannon, a biologist with Ducks Unlimited, opposes elimination of the fund.

“The Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund is not about water quality,” he said. “I mean, it’s about quality of life for Iowans.” Brett Hayes, a farmer from Mills County, supports the proposed amendment because it shifts the focus on property taxes. “Property taxes for farmers are a cost of doing business that keeps going up even when the farm economy’s struggling,” he said.

The proposed constitutional amendment is co-sponsored by 17 of the 34 Republicans in the Iowa Senate. It would have to be approved by the Senate and the House by 2026, and then again sometime in 2027 or 2028 before it could go before voters in 2028.

(Radio Iowa) – A recent Iowa State University graduate says after starting his dream job at the U-S-D-A’s National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment in December, he is among the federal employees who were laid off last Friday. Logan Conner had worked at the U-S-D-A lab on the Ames campus for two and a half years and was named student employee of the year in 2022. He’s filed an appeal, through government’s Merit System Protection Board, to try to get his job back.

“We were doing a lot of different research on ways to mitigate nutrient runoff without affecting yield,” he said. “There have been numerous people who have been laid off because of this decision. There is research that isn’t going to be able to be done.” Conner spoke during a news conference organized by the Iowa Democratic Party. Terri Wollenberg, another speaker at the online forum, worked in the reception area at a Veterans Affairs office in Cedar Rapids that provides mental health services to veterans. She is joining a class action lawsuit to challenge her firing.

“I’m a 32 year veteran of both the Navy and Army and I just got a start in the federal workforce,” she said. “I don’t have a job, so what do I have to lose?”

The U-S Department of Agriculture announced this week it plans to rescind the firings of several people working on the federal government’s response to the current outbreak of bird flu in poultry and cattle.

(Radio Iowa) – The chairman of the Lee County Board of Supervisors — cited for public intoxicated during a board meeting this week — says he didn’t realize at the time he was drinking from a can of diet soda he’d mixed with bourbon night before.

According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, there were signs and odors of intoxication before chairman Tom Schultz left Tuesday’s board meeting to seek medical attention. In a statement to K-T-V-O T-V, Schultz says he felt dizzy and disoriented, had some tests done at the hospital, then left because he was feeling better. Schultz says he told officers who arrived at his home to get off his property and, while trying to reach the police chief who lives nearby, Schultz was stopped on the sidewalk and asked to take a breath test.

Schultz says he was shocked by the result and went back to the hospital for a second test. Schultz says it dawned on him then that he’d grabbed his nightcap from a basement refrigerator and had been drinking from a can of diet soda and bourbon during meetings that day.

(Iowa News Service) – With wintertime cold still gripping much of the nation, health experts are offering ways to overcome seasonal depression, which can accompany bitter temperatures and long, dark days. Lows in Iowa are forecast to be below zero for the rest of the week. A recent survey found 40% of Americans reported their mood worsens during the dark, cold winter months.

Dr. Rhonda Randall, chief medical officer and executive vice president of UnitedHealthcare Employer and Individual, said the gray days and bitter cold can have a direct effect on Iowans’ mental health. “We’re seeing increased suicides and drug overdose in our country,” Randall noted. “It really is important to recognize when you’re feeling blue and it’s persistent, when to seek help and get an assessment by a trained medical professional.”

Randall recommended spending time around friends to help overcome seasonal affective disorder and added it is important to connect with a mental health care provider, often accessible now by telehealth. Sometimes, the family doctor will do. Anyone experiencing a mental health crisis can get help by texting or calling the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Randall acknowledged seasonal depression is not new and suggested some time-tested ways to get ahead of it. “The first is getting access to some true sunshine,” Randall advised. “30 to 60 minutes outside every day. Whatever it is that you do outside during the hours that the sun is up.”

The days are getting longer but Iowa still only gets about 10 hours of daylight each day in February.

(Elliott, Iowa) – Firefighters from Red Oak, Elliott and Grant responded to a reported structure fire southwest of Elliott this (Wednesday) afternoon. The call about a steel utility building fire at 2015 137th Street went out at  around 2:20-p.m.  According to the Red Oak Fire Department’s Facebook page, when firefighters arrived, they found the structure fully engulfed in flames, and the roof had collapsed. (Photos are from the Red Oak FD Facebook page)

It took just under an hour to bring the flames under control in extremely cold conditions. Fireground operations were terminated at approximately 4 p.m. The cause of the fire remained under  investigation.

The building and property inside are a total loss, but a dollar amount of the damage was not immediately available. The owners were identified as Christian Vanscyoc and Mariah Cody.

The Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency and Montgomery County 911 assisted in handling the incident.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill to require that Iowans be a registered voter with a political party at least 30 days before voting in a primary or caucus has been revived in the Iowa House. The policy was discussed by lawmakers, but not adopted before the 2024 Iowa Caucuses. Republican Representative Derek Wulf of Hudson is sponsoring a bill on the topic this year.

“I served as a caucus captain last year…in rural Black Hawk County and there was a lot of concerns that came up of, you know, Democrats who were switching parties as they came into the caucus process. There was a lot of discussion around, ‘Was there going to be sabotage efforts?’ Wulf says. “I don’t know if we saw that widespread, but I know that concern came out of and that’s what this bill spawned out of.”

Iowa Capital Building

The bill has cleared a House subcommittee, but a Republican who agreed to support the bill today (Wednesday) said it needs work before it advances further. The bill would also require Republicans and Democrats who candidates for political office to have been a registered party member for at least a year before filing to run for office.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds has issued an executive order that bans state agencies from using Chinese owned apps marketed as an alternative to TikTok.

In late 2023, Reynolds banned state agencies from having TikTok accounts and it cannot be loaded on any state-owned device. She’s now extended the ban to include RedNote and Lemon8. The apps feature photos and short videos and have become the most downloaded apps in the U.S. since TikTok was banned in the United States.

Governor Kim Reynolds speaking at a news conference on Feb. 18, 2025. (RI photo)

In the executive order, Reynolds said like TikTok, both apps collect a lot of data from users and, since both companies are headquartered in China, they are “compelled to support, assist and cooperate” with the Chinese Communist Party.

Reynolds has also forbid the use of a new artificial intelligence product in state government. DeepSeek was developed in China and Reynolds said it, too, “poses a security risk to Iowa.”

Reynolds posted a message on X to announce the executive order.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court will decide whether suicide is considered an emotional or physical injury as it relates to workplace liability. Union Pacific Railroad worker Phil Morgan died by suicide after his supervisor allegedly intimidated him, and his wife sued, saying the company created an unsafe working environment.

Her attorney Paul Slocomb, says current laws aren’t up to date with medical research about suicide and the case the court is using as guidance doesn’t account for workplace negligence that pressures someone into taking their own life.

“The U-S Supreme Court didn’t address a single suicide case in its analysis, not a single one, when there were multiple FELA suicide cases on the books,” he says. But the Union Pacific Attorney Jon Amarilio says the justices must consider precedent.”The plaintiff can disagree with the Supreme Court’s policy determinations on that point, but they’re still binding,” Amarilo says. Amarilio says while tragic, Union Pacific would not be liable for an emotional injury.

The Supreme Court will release its decision at a later date.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Fire Department held its annual Awards Banquet February 8th at the Venue, in downtown Atlantic. The event is a time for those currently serving, and those that have retired to get together, for an evening of fun. The dinner was catered by the Downtowner and the entertainment this year was game night, games and card playing.

Recent Retirees receiving Ax Plaque: Rich Smith, Russel Peck, John Johnson

AFD retirees attending the banquet: Front row: Dustin McLaren, Norm Clark, Steve Curtis, Mark McNees;Back Row: Darrin Petty, Rich Smith, Russell Peck, AFD Chief Cappel, John Johnson, Shawn Sarsfield, Rick McDermott

Doug Sandbothe, receiving his 25 year certificate & pin, AFD Chief Cappel

Roger Bissen, IFA Representative, Tim Cappel, receiving 25 year certificate & pin, Mark McNees, IFA Representative, AFD Chief, Cappel

Roger Bissen, IFA representative, Jeremiah Thompsen, receiving 20 year certificate & pin, Mark McNees, IFA Representative and AFD Chief, Cappel

Tom with Tyler Thomas & Steele McLaren, with their 1 year award; receiving helmet shield and jacket nameplate