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KJAN News can be heard at five minutes after every hour right after Fox News 24 hours a day!
Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
(Radio Iowa) – Water quality advocates says the effort to protect Bloody Run Creek in northeast Iowa from pollution has made progress after the D-N-R was ordered to reevaluate a feedlot water permit. The ruling by an administrative law judge could render the water permit invalid for Supreme Beef’s 11-thousand head feedlot in Clayton County. The president of the Driftless Water Defenders, Chris Jones, says the order could set a precedent for change to Iowa’s environmental protections.
He says it went unchallenged because it is law.
Jones says the next step is gathering signatures for a petition in Decorah on Monday. Bloody Run is one of the few streams in the state that supports the natural reproduction of trout.
(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley was sworn in today (Friday) as Senate President pro tem. The post customarily goes to the the longest serving member of the Senate majority party, and Grassley takes the post for the second time after Republicans regained the majority in November’s election. Grassley is now third in line of succession to the Presidency after the Vice President and Speaker of the House.
(Radio Iowa) – All four Republicans who represent Iowa in the U-S House supported Mike Johnson for House Speaker as soon as their names were called to vote today (Friday). In posts on social media, Congresswomen Ashley Hinson of Marion and Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Davenport said Johnson will advance President Trump’s America First Agenda. Congressmen Randy Feenstra of Hull and Zach Nunn of Bondurant both said Johnson’s election means the House can get to work now.
Nunn spoke with Radio Iowa late this (Friday) afternoon.
Nunn said…
Nunn, who is starting his second term in the U-S House, says electing Johnson as speaker sends the right signal.
Earlier today (Friday), Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley was sworn in as the Senate President Pro Tem. The post is held by the longest serving senator from the party that has a majority of U-S senate seats.
(Shenandoah, Iowa) – Officials with SWIPCO (the Southwest Iowa Planning Council) say the Fuller Center for Housing of Southwest Iowa has worked for many years to improve housing opportunities in the Shenandoah area. However, the group recently felt the time had come to disband their organization but wanted to find a way to make sure their remaining investments served out their mission.
To that end the City of Shenandoah helped make a connection with SWIPCO, which operates the Southwest Iowa Housing Trust Fund (SWIHTF), as a possible beneficiary for Fuller’s funds to help Shenandoah residents because of the trust fund’s repair program. After thorough discussions, The Fuller Center for Housing of Southwest Iowa has officially donated their remaining funds, over $175,000, to the SWIHTF for the purpose of housing rehabilitation in Shenandoah. They also transferred two mortgages on homes they constructed in Shenandoah as a previous Habitat for Humanity affiliate. SWIHTF will manage those mortgages until their terms are up. 
SWIPCO Executive Director John McCurdy said, “We are incredibly grateful to the Fuller Center for their generous donation and thankful that the missions of our organizations align so well. We will be able to move quickly to put these funds into the community and help individuals who need help keeping up with repairs on their homes.” Fuller Center for Housing of Southwest Iowa Representative Jeff Baker said, “We are just glad that these funds are going to be used in Shenandoah, to help those that need the assistance. We’re really excited and looking forward to seeing the funds used for what they were intended to be used for.”
Fuller Center’s Kris Sherman echoed the thoughts of Baker, “Shenandoah is lucky to have SWIPCO and the SWIHTF to be able to take these funds to help those in need in our community” The trust fund already has a wait list of homeowners in Shenandoah who had requested assistance. First priority for these funds will go toward eliminating that wait list.
(Radio Iowa) – The year 2024 wrapped up as one of Iowa’s worst in history for severe weather. State climatologist Justin Glisan says among the many incidents, a record was set for the most-ever tornadoes to touch down in Iowa during a calendar year.
That July derecho was devastating, but wasn’t nearly as severe as the one that blasted across Iowa in August of 2020, which caused some 11-billion dollars damage in Iowa and four other states. After several previous years of drought, parts of Iowa had record rainfall during 2024, which brought unprecedented results.
Hundreds of homes were lost to the flooding, while dozens of Iowa counties were declared state and federal disaster areas — between the flooding and tornadoes. Glisan says the unusual weather events continued into the latter part of the year.
As for what’s ahead, Glisan says long-range forecasts call for bitter cold for perhaps another two weeks, with high temperatures peaking 20 degrees colder than normal. He says the forecast models are still uncertain as to how much precipitation we may get.
(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Republican Party chairman Jeff Kaufmann says he hasn’t decided whether he’ll seek another two-year term as chairman. Kaufmann has been the party’s leader since mid-2014.
Kaufmann is the longest serving chairman in the history of the Iowa Republican Party, Kaufmann has been a staunch ally of President Donald Trump and Kaufmann says he’d listen if Trump offers him a role in the next Trump Administration.
And Kaufmann says his primary goal is ensuring the Iowa Caucuses have the lead off role in the 2028 presidential election. Kaufmann, who served in the Iowa legislature and is currently a member of the Cedar County Board of Supervisors, says he has no intention of seeking state or federal office in the future. Kaufmann made his comments today (Friday) during taping of “Iowa Press” on Iowa P-B-S.
The Iowa Democratic Party’s state central committee meets tomorrow (Saturday) to hold its election for party chair. Rita Hart, who has been Iowa Democratic Party chair the past two years, is among those seeking the post for the next two years. Kaufmann says the Iowa G-O-P’s government board will meet in February to hold its election for chair.
WASHINGTON, D-C – United States Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a combat veteran and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has announced the Iowa students she is nominating to U.S. Service Academies. The Senator from Red Oak said in a press release, “As a combat veteran and the proud mother of a West Point grad and soldier in the U.S. Army, one of my favorite duties as a United States Senator is nominating qualified Iowans to our U.S. Service Academies. These young leaders exemplify strong values, a dedication to academics, and a commitment to community service that make them exceptionally qualified to answer the call to serve our nation. It’s an honor to nominate them, and I know they will represent Iowa well.”
Below are the Iowa students nominated by Senator Ernst to attend U.S. Service Academies for the Class of 2029 (with area students shown in bold):
United States Air Force Academy
United States Military Academy at West Point
United States Naval Academy
United States Merchant Marine Academy
Background:
Every year, Ernst nominates Iowa students to U.S. Service Academies, including the U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. The U.S. Coast Guard Academy does not require a congressional nomination for students to apply. To learn more about the service academy nomination process, click here.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – After more than 29-years of serving the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, as a Deputy and lastly as Sheriff, Darby McLaren officially retired Thursday afternoon, after he made his final check-in with the Cass County Communications Center.
That was Jon Westering at the end of the broadcast, who served for many years as the Chief Deputy Sheriff, and who was unopposed in his bid for Cass County Sheriff, during the November 5th General Election.
As Sheriff, Darby McLaren announced in January, 2024, that he would not be seeking re-election. McLaren said he was leaving the office “In very capable hands.”
Former Cass County Sheriff Darby McLaren (Center-right); Newly elected Sheriff Jon Westering (Center-left) and Sheriff’s Department Deputies and staff (Facebook photo)
On a social media post, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office said McLaren was “Never afraid to wrestle with the largest criminals yet humble and gentle enough to work with victims of horrendous, hateful crimes. His wisdom, work ethic and positive attitude (along with some great inner-office singing) will be greatly missed.”
Over 500 comments were made on the Sheriff’s Office’ Facebook page, wishing Darby McLaren well in his retirement.
(Cedar Falls, Iowa) – The University of Northern Iowa is set to honor its past and drum up excitement for its future over the next two years as part of the university’s sesquicentennial celebrations and other milestones. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports UNI will welcome its 150th class next fall. UNI spokesperson Pete Moris says leading the way to commemorating the school’s opening on Sept. 6, 1876. Other anniversaries include 50 years of the UNI-Dome and 100 years of the campanile on campus. The university will also end its Our Tomorrow fundraising campaign, which was extended after exceeding its goal. Moris said President Mark Nook has worked hard to make the events and celebrations not only reflective of the past, but also anticipatory of the future. “It’s really more than just a birthday,” Moris said. “It’s a celebration of all that’s occurred over 150 years. But it’s also very much a look forward.”
UNI opened its doors in 1876 as the Iowa State Normal School after operating for a decade as an orphanage. The university has formed a steering committee and dispensed stipends and other aid to those developing curriculum and projects that will fit in with the goals of the sesquicentennial. The steering committee includes UNI faculty, staff and students, as well as representatives from the cities of Cedar Falls and Waterloo and other organizations. Moris said Nook wanted to ensure students have a voice in the early parts of the process as well as the events themselves. Faculty from across campus received $750 stipends to use for projects conducted by students in their classes, according to a news release, including creating commemorative materials for the 150th anniversary, conducting interviews with alumni to compile oral histories from the university and preparing gallery exhibitions and an anthology of poetry.
(Top two photos courtesy of University of Northern Iowa, bottom photo by Brooklyn Draisey/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Celebrations won’t only be on campus, Moris said, but will spread across the state and maybe even beyond. He said the university is working to find ways of commemorating the sesquicentennial in Cedar Falls and surrounding areas, at the Iowa State Fair, during athletic events and more. Each of the events and programming planned for the next two years will fall under one of five guiding principles developed for the sesquicentennial, Moris said. Those include raising the university’s profile; enhancing connections among alumni, friends and others both locally and throughout the state; increasing student enrollment and increasing engagement with events.
Moris said these principles help provide a framework for the celebrations and remind everyone why they’re celebrating. UNI’s future matters just as much as its past, he said, and the principles are helping to keep that in mind.
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