(Red Oak, Iowa) – One person was treated by medics following a collision Monday morning, in Red Oak. According to Red Oak Police, the accident happened at around 8-a.m. at the intersection of Highway 34 and N. 4th Street. Authorities said they were told by the driver of a 2016 Peterbilt semi tractor-trailer – 45-year-old Tyson Means, of Villisca – that he was eastbound on Highway 34, and as he approached the intersection with N. 4th Street, a 2017 Buick Enclave pulled away from the intersection and struck the rear drive dual wheels of the semi’s tractor, before the van went down the side of the trailer and was struck by the rear dual wheels of the trailer.

The driver of the van – 89-year-old James Black, of Red Oak – told police he looked, but did not see the tractor-trailer before he pulled away from the stop sign. Black suffered suspected minor/non-incapacitating injuries, and was treated at the scene by Red Oak Rescue. His van was totaled in the collision, with the damage estimated at $20,000. The semi sustained a police-estimated $10,000 damage. James Black was cited by Red Oak Police for Failure to Obey a Stop Sign, and Yield the Right-Of-Way.

DES MOINES, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – A federal judge has ordered the U.S. government to follow due process and provide bond hearings for two individuals being detained in Iowa county jails by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Both people have sought asylum in the United States, claiming they are fleeing persecution in their home country.

In recent months, hundreds of people alleged to have entered the country illegally have been jailed by Homeland Security. Immigration judges, citing a new Trump administration interpretation of a longstanding federal law, have then denied those detainees hearings at which they could have argued for their release on bond while their deportation case was pending.

That has resulted in dozens of detainees suing the federal government, as well as the county jails where they’re held, in U.S. District Court, arguing their due process rights are being violated. In the vast majority of those cases, district court judges have sided with the detainees, ordering immigration judges to schedule bond hearings for the detainees. Two such cases were recently decided by U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Locher of the Southern District of Iowa.

One of the two cases involves Maria Enriquez Reyes, who entered the United States from Mexico near Sasabe, Arizona, on Sept. 23, 2023, with her son, now 10 years old, and her husband. At the time, the family claimed they were fleeing persecution. They were detained briefly by the U.S. Border Patrol before being released on their own recognizance. Reyes and her family subsequently filed formal applications for asylum to escape what they called persecution by Mexican drug cartels that are now recognized as terrorists by the U.S. government.

On Sept. 2, 2025, with that application still pending, the Reyes family went to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Cedar Rapids for a prescheduled “check in” appointment. According to court records, ICE agents accosted Reyes at the office and then sent her to the Muscatine County Jail to be detained at least until a hearing that is scheduled for Dec. 19, 2025. An immigration judge then denied her request for a bond hearing, citing the Trump administration’s new interpretation of laws related to the detention of individuals for possible deportation.

Reyes took the matter to U.S. District Court, suing Muscatine County Jail Administrator Matt McCleary, as well as DHS, ICE, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and DHS Director Kristi Noem. On Nov. 3, 2025, Locher ruled in favor of Reyes, noting that the overwhelming majority of courts around the nation have rejected the Trump administration’s interpretation of the law as somehow requiring mandatory detention without the opportunity to argue for bond. Locher noted that Reyes has lived in the United States with her family for two years and has no record of any criminal activity or dangerous conduct.

In ordering the immigration court to provide Reyes with a hearing on her request for pretrial release on bond, Locher noted he “would not be ordering any particular outcome on bond or detention. Rather, (Reyes) simply would be entitled to her statutory and due process right to a hearing.

In a separate case, Locher sided with Saider Santiago Helbrum, 26, who came to the United States in May 2024, alleging he was fleeing persecution in Colombia. After entering the country, he was detained briefly by U.S. Border Patrol and then released on his own recognizance, eventually settling in Des Moines.

In January 2025, he filed an application for asylum. In July 2025, with that application still pending, he was arrested and jailed on a simple-misdemeanor charge of fifth degree theft after being accused of stealing groceries at a WalMart store. Santiago Helbrum argued his store receipt, as well as bank records tied to the card he claimed was used to pay for the groceries, show the items were paid for.

Within three weeks, the theft charge was dropped, with the Polk County Attorney’s Office stating that “after examining the records, talking to the witnesses, and taking all other factors into consideration,” it was declining to prosecute the case in the interest of justice.

In the meantime, however, Homeland Security had taken custody of Santiago Helbrum and, after the theft charge was dropped, DHS continued to have him held at the Polk County Jail under a detention order. An immigration judge then denied Santiago Helbrum’s request for a bond hearing. After Santiago Helbrum took DHS and Polk County Jail Administrator Cory Williams to federal court, he explained to a judge the effect that three months of detention had on him.

In court filings, lawyers for the DOJ cited a provision of the Laken Riley Act that calls for detention in cases where a person “is charged” with a crime. The DOJ argued that an arrest on a theft charge triggers the requirement for mandatory detention — and that the subsequent dismissal of the charge had no effect on that requirement. Locher disagreed and ordered the immigration court to provide Santiago Helbrum with a bond hearing, stating in his ruling that “after charges are dismissed it is no longer accurate to say that a person ‘is charged’ with theft.”

Prior to the judge’s ruling in the case, Williams, the Polk County jail administrator, had filed papers with the court indicating his office took no position in the matter.

(Iowa Falls, IA) – The Iowa Falls Police Department, late Monday, issued an update with regard to a shooting Sunday inside an Iowa Falls home that left three people dead and another injured. In their press release, authorities said that at approximately 3:58 a.m. Sunday, authorities received a report of multiple people unresponsive at a home in Iowa Falls. Upon arrival, authorities found three individuals dead from gunshot wounds.

Police say 45-year-old Shawn Bean, of Iowa Falls, shot two individuals and then died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The two victims who died were identified as 42-year-old Jessica Bennett, of Iowa Falls, and 51-year-old Alan Karalius, of Garner.

Police say one person was taken to the hospital with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound. The survivor has not been identified at this time. The shooting was the result of a domestic incident, according to police.

The investigation is ongoing.

(Radio Iowa) – Congressman Randy Feensta, one of the five Republicans running for governor, kicked off a statewide campaign tour with an event in Sioux Center. “I don’t want to climb the Washington ladder. I don’t want to be swallowed up by D.C. games. I want to be right here, fighting for you full time,” Feenstra said. “…Tonight, back home, I am excited to announce that I am running for the governor of Iowa!”

Feenstra spoke to a crowd last (Monday) night on the Dordt University campus. It’s his alma mater and where he later taught business and economics classes. Feenstra says it’s been an honor to serve the past five years in the U.S. House, but his time there is wrapping up and he wants to bring his experience in helping craft the Big Beautiful Bill that President Trump signed in July back to Iowa.

“Washington isn’t me. I want to be back home,” Feenstra said. “I want to be together. I want to be right here, fighting and taking this state to new heights.” Feenstra did not mentioned the four other Republicans who are in the governor’s race, but spent a good chunk of his speech criticizing Rob Sand, who is positioned to be the Democratic Party’s nominee for governor. “Rob Sand, he won’t tell you what he believes. Maybe he thinks truth is too mean. Perhaps he wants everyone to think that he agrees with them or maybe he just doesn’t dare to stand up for anything,” Feenstra said. “Iowa needs a strong leader, one who is respectful, but honest; civil and courageous; and one that doesn’t just go along to get along.”

Congressman Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) spoke on the Dordt University campus in Sioux Center tonight. (RI photo)

Feenstra, who lives in his hometown of Hull, says his goal as governor would be to ensure small town values are promoted and preserved. Feenstra greeted people in the crowd, posed for some photos and then spoke to reporters. He expects to vote in the U.S. House tomorrow (Wednesday) on the plan to reopen the federal government. “There’s a lot of work to be done in D.C. and it’s so exciting that we’re going to open finally, after 40 days, the Democrats have finally relented and now can give SNAP benefits and salary dollars back to air traffic controllers and TSA agents and all this stuff,” Feenstra said, “so I’m so grateful for that.”

Feenstra also told reporters he expects work on the Farm Bill to begin in earnest when the House reconvenes.

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowan’s 15 year search for a long lost World War II memorial with his uncle’s name on it has ended — and the plaque is now hanging in a Michigan museum.Jeff Ortiz, of Ames, grew up in Detroit. Ortiz says his dad — a World War II veteran — never really talked about his brother who died after the U-S-S Indianapolis was hit by a Japanese torpedo and sunk in the Pacific on July 30th, 1945. Ortiz has pieced the story together himself. “I have a very strong feeling that anybody that has been killed in the line of duty for our country, that their stories should not be forgotten,” Ortiz says. Ortiz’s uncle “Bobby” — Orlando Robert Ortiz — enlisted in the Navy when he was 18 and was 20 when the U-S-S Indianapolis was hit.

“I was lucky enough to meet two of the survivors — there’s still one alive — and they both concurred that because of his position he probably had like a day shift kind of a job and it was so hot that night that anybody that didn’t have to be in the ship was probably sleeping on deck, so he probably went into the water,” Ortiz said. “That’s about the best I have for what happened to my uncle.” Ortiz knew about the plaque that listed his uncle and the other U-S-S Indianapolis shipmates from Michigan who died because he had a copy of the program on the day the plaque was dedicated.

“In this program, there was a picture of this,” Ortiz said, “and then about 15, 16 years ago, I started wondering: ‘Whatever happened to this thing?'” Ortiz spent part of every trip back to Detroit searching V-F-W halls, museums and even Detroit City Hall. “Last December I was back there for my 50th high school reunion and there were two places I hadn’t checked out yet. One was the convention center…I walked every square inch of it, looking to see if it got hung in there. I went to another place called the Dossin Great Lakes Museum and it was closed because it was Saturday,” Ortiz said, “which ended up being a blessing.”

Jeff Ortiz of Ames holding the program from the original dedication ceremony for the plaque after it was found in a storage site for the Detroit Historical Museum. (Photo courtesy of Jeff Ortiz)

Ortiz called the museum later when he got back to his home in Ames and got a tip that the Detroit Historical Museum might have the plaque in storage. “Sure as shootin’ there it was in this dark corner, leaning up against a wall, dirty — no archive of when, how or why they got it,” Ortiz said. A ceremony was held in August for a rededication — and the plaque now hangs in the Arsenal of Democracy section of the Detroit Historical Museum. “Fifteen years of looking and digging for it and almost giving up — and not giving up and finding it,” Ortiz said. “Now it’s on permanent display.”

Ortiz says his uncle made his last trip home to Detroit in the spring of 1945 as the U-S-S Indianapolis was being repaired in California after being damaged in the Battle of Okinawa. That July, his uncle and the rest of the crew headed back to the Pacific, carrying top secret cargo. Not even the captain of the ship knew what was inside the crates. “They loaded key components of the atomic bomb on the ship,” Ortiz says. On July 26th, the U-S-S Indianapolis dropped off the crates on the island where the bomb that struck Hiroshima was assembled.

Four days later, the U-S-S Indianpolis was hit by torpedoes from a Japanese submarine. Ortiz has learned 27 Iowans died in the sinking of the U-S-S Indianapolis and three survived. The survivors were Seaman First Class Charles O. Wells of Camanche, Seaman Second Class Glen Laverne Milbrodt of Akron and Electrician’s Mate Second Class Edward Koche of Denison. Ortiz’s uncle was a Yeoman Third Class and his obituary says he was a veteran of five sea battles in the U-S-S Indianapolis and had planned to become a C-P-A after the war.

Ortiz gave photos of his uncle to the producers of the 2016 movie about the U-S-S Indianapolis that you can see as the film’s credits roll. Ortiz also notes a character in the 1975 movie “Jaws” mentions his hatred of sharks began when he was floating in the Pacific for four days, waiting to be rescued after the U-S-S Indianapolis was sunk.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) –  Three separate collisions between vehicles and deer last week in Guthrie County, caused a total of $12,500 damage, but none of the drivers were injured. According to the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office, the accidents happened at around 5:50-p.m. on Nov. 4th, and two of the collisions occurred about 40-minutes apart Friday evening, in two separate areas of the Guthrie County.

The collision on Nov. 4th happened on White Pole Road, and involved a 2018 Toyota RAV4 driven by 51-year-old Laurie Welsch, of Dexter. The impact with a deer caused damage to the right front side of the vehicle.

A 2020 Jeep driven by a 16-year-old female from Casey, struck a deer at around 6-p.m. on Nov. 7th, while the vehicle was traveling north on Highway 25. The front driver’s side of the SUV was damaged as a result of the impact.

And, a 2020 Buick SUV driven by 20-year-old Dannielle Peters, of Newell, hit a deer at around 6:40-p.m. on westbound Iowa Highway 44. Peters came upon multiple deer standing on the road and was unable to avoid striking one of the animals. The impact to the front of her vehicle caused it to become inoperable.

(Humboldt County, IA) – An SUV went out of control on a snow and ice covered road in northern Iowa Monday morning (Nov. 10th) was struck by a semi, resulting in fatal injuries to the SUV’s driver. The Iowa State Patrol reports the accident happened at around 7:45-a.m., when the 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by 60-year-old Debora Lei Ruberg, of Hardy (IA), crossed Highway 3 at State Avenue, in Humboldt, and was struck by a 2016 Freightliner semi, driven by 37-year-old AustinLee Van Klopme, of Maurice, IA.

The Jeep was traveling westbound when it went out of control. The semi was traveling eastbound on the highway. Debora Ruberg was wearing her seat belt, but was ejected from her vehicle during the collision. She was transported to the hospital in Humboldt, but died from her injuries.

(Radio Iowa) – Natural disasters in Iowa that cause millions and even billions of dollars damage are becoming more frequent, which some experts blame on our changing climate. The 15th annual Iowa Climate Statement was released today (Monday), endorsed by 177 Iowa science faculty at 24 colleges and universities statewide. Dave Courard-Hauri, a professor of environmental science and sustainability at Drake University, says the cost of disasters like droughts and floods don’t impact just those who file insurance claims.

2024 flooding in Spencer. (Iowa DOT photo)

“With climate change increasing risks from extreme events, that cost will increase for all of us,” Courard-Hauri says. “Given that homeowners insurance is required to obtain a mortgage, as insurance costs become prohibitive, or as companies choose not to insure in areas of high risk, the entire housing market can experience ripple effects.” While farmers are especially vulnerable to natural disasters and their associated costs, the report says the American dream of homeownership may become unattainable for some Iowa families as climate change accelerates the rise in insurance premiums.

Bill Gutowski, professor emeritus of meteorology at Iowa State University, says temperatures are rising globally due to an increase in greenhouse gases which is caused by the burning of fossil fuels. “These higher temperatures allow more moisture in the atmosphere, which yields a tendency for more precipitation when storms do occur, and that leads to more flooding,” Gutowski says. “When that water condenses, it adds energy in the form of heat to those storms, which can make them stronger, especially the severe weather storms we experience in late spring to early summer.”

When adjusted for inflation, the report says billion-dollar disasters in the region encompassing Iowa have more than doubled over the past 40 years. Peter Thorne, a professor of occupational and environmental health at the University of Iowa, says these Midwest events are part of an emerging global trend of shattered long-term climate records, with growing losses of life and property, resulting in higher insurance costs.

“Rising insurance premiums in Iowa are driven by increased costs of labor, building materials and reinsurance,” Thorne says, “and the reinsurance industry is that which ensures the insurers. They tie their rates to national and international risks that are being driven by climate change. So these costs all are amplified by climate change and are escalating.” Property owners in Iowa can make moves to try and reduce their own carbon footprints and to reduce their insurance costs.

Emma Stapleton, a research professor of internal medicine at the University of Iowa, says for example, trees can be planted as natural wind buffers, and there are all sorts of “smart” building materials for construction. “There are some benefits to consumers for energy efficient upgrades, like better insulation, things like reducing the risk of fire with building materials,” Stapleton says. “Some policies do give you green update coverages where you can rebuild or replace the damaged parts of your house with environmentally friendly materials.”

The report says some insurance companies have pulled out of Iowa and elsewhere after recent disasters, like the 2020 derecho. Gutowski says every one of the Earth’s ten hottest years on record has occurred in the last decade, with 2024 breaking all previous records. He says those temperature changes lead to the types of extreme events and damages that we have seen more of in recent years.