(In an update to our previous post/report) – The Iowa State Patrol, Sunday, released the names of three people who died and the three who were injured in a head-on crash Saturday morning in Worth County. Authorities say two of the victims were from Coon Rapids, two were from Ames, and two were from Florida.

The crash happened in southern Worth County, when a 2014 VW Eos that was traveling south in the northbound lane of Interstate 35 after crossing the median, collided with a northbound 2013 Chevy pickup near mile marker 204, at around 8:55-a.m., Saturday.

The Patrol says 83-year-old Leonard Lilyholm, the driver of the VW, and his passenger, 82-year-old Carol Lilyholm, both of Palm Beach, FL, died, along with 41-year-old Bradley Vonnahme, of Coon Rapids, who was driving the pickup. The injured were identified as 6-year-old Brooke Vonnahme, of Coon Rapids, 26-year-old Saul Huntley-Ayala, and 24-year-old Victor Santos, both of Ames. The victims, all of whom were wearing seat belts, were transported to MercyOne North Iowa Hospital in Mason City.

The Patrol was assisted by the Worth County Sheriff’s Department, Forest City Ambulance, Northwood First Responders and Ambulance, Iowa DOT and Iowa DNR personnel.

(Radio Iowa) – State Treasurer Roby Smith says you still contribute to an I-Save 529 plan for someone’s education and get a tax break for this year. “So you have all the way till April 30th, that’s when taxes are due here in Iowa, ” he says. “There is one additional step you have to do just when you send in or make that deposit, you have to notate that you want it for tax year 2024.”

The plan changed it’s name from College Savings Iowa this year to reflect that there are other types of education outside of college. You still get the same state tax break  “Anything from January 1st to April 30th, 2025, if you wanted to count it for 2024 you just have to notate that when you go ahead and make that contribution,” Smith says. Smith says if you didn’t make a contribution as a Christmas gift, it’s still a good idea to make one now. “So we’re getting the message out that this is a great time of year to give a gift of education that will last them for an entire lifetime,” he says.

State Treasurer Robby Smith. (RI photo0

The I-Save 529 plan used to be called College Savings Iowa, but was renamed as Smith says it no longer is just for paying traditional college costs. The I-Save 529 money can be used tax-free for qualified education expenses at any eligible education institution, including two and four-year colleges, apprenticeship programs and trade schools. It can be used to pay for tuition expenses in connection with enrollment at a K-12 institution, repayment of qualified education loans or rolled over to the Beneficiary’s Roth I-R-A.

(Radio Iowa) – Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack — leaving his role as U-S Agriculture Secretary in three weeks — will have the second-longest tenure as the nation’s top ag official.  “It’s been a tremendous honor and privilege to have had nearly 12 years as the secretary of agriculture,” Vilsack said. “It is an extension of work actually that began in a small town in southeast Iowa as a small town lawyer representing farmers during the Farm Crisis. It really sort of gave me a direction to my life which has ultimately ended up with me in this office.” Vilsack grew up on the east coast and, after graduating from law school, Vilsack moved to his wife’s hometown of Mount Pleasant. He was elected as the town’s mayor, then as a state senator before he won two terms as Iowa’s governor. Vilsack was Secretary of Agriculture during the Obama Administration and President Biden asked him to return to the role four years ago.

“As a mayor, as a state senator, as a governor and as secretary I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in, to encourage and support programs that will advance opportunities for farmers, ranchers and producers,” Vilsack says, “because I remember the pain of the Farm Crisis of the ’80s.” Vilsack says one of the highlights of his second run as U-S agriculture secretary has been seeing an uptick in the number of farms in Iowa. “In 1981, during the (Farm) Crisis, we had about 115,000 farms in Iowa,” Vilsack said. “Today we have 86,911 farms according to the census, but that number’s up over a census that was several years ago, so we’re headed in the right direction and I think a lot of it has to policies that we put in place to provide assistance and help, so I feel pretty good about it.” The U-S-D-A conducts a census every five years. The last census in 2022 found the number of farm units in Iowa had increased by about one percent the number of farmers had increased seven percent from 2017.

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack (photo from Ag Secretary’s office)

Vilsack says the commodity-based system has rewarded size and he’s proud of programs at the U-S-D-A that helped increase the number of Iowa farms operating on fewer than a thousand acres.  “I hope that I’m able to continue focusing on ways in which I can showcase the work of American agriculture, that I can showcase opportunities to expand rural economies and the farm economy to give small and mid-sized producers a chance,” Vilsack said. “I also have been working extraordinarily hard on nutrition and food security issues both domestically and globally.”

Vilsack is not planning to retire. “My hope is I get a chance to figure out ways in which I can continue to make a contribution,” Vilsack says. “I don’t think I’m ready for retirement and I don’t think I’d be very good at it.” Vilsack turned 74 on December 13th.

The only other person who has served longer than Vilsack as the nation’s secretary of agriculture is former Iowa Congressman James “Tama Jim” Wilson. He was ag secretary for 16 years and served three presidents.

(Radio Iowa) – Former President Jimmy Carter — the candidate who put the Iowa Caucuses on the nation’s political radar — has died at the age of 100. In the 1976 Iowa Caucuses, Carter stunned the political establishment by finishing ahead of four U-S Senators and the Democratic Party’s 1972 nominee for vice president. George Appleby of Des Moines was an early Carter supporter.

“There was a kind of freshness to him and he was an unusual politician,” Appleby says. “Of course, everything was in the era of post-Nixon.” Appleby says Carter’s demeanor was the attitude change the country needed after Watergate. “Jimmy Carter said: ‘I will never lie to you,’ wore his cardigan sweaters, looked like a man of the people out of smalltown Plains, Georgia,” Appleby says. “What a change it was.” Appleby says Carter was genuine and endearing. “Rest in peace,” Appleby says. “Such a man of faith, I’m sure he’s gone to his reward.”

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and U-S Senator Chuck Grassley have issued statements praising Carter for his humanitarian work and his deep faith. Reynolds says Carter’s belief in putting God’s love into action has inspired generations of Americans.

(Radio Iowa) – Senator Chuck Grassley is the longest serving Republican in congressional history and, when the Senate convenes Friday, Grassley will again have the title of Senate President Pro Tem. The post goes to the longest-serving senator from the party that has a majority of seats in the Senate. He served in the same role in 2019 and 2020 and this is how Grassley described it then.

“I’ll be number one in the United States Senate as the most senior member of the Senate,” Grassley said of the position. “I’ll be in a position to accomplish things for the people of Iowa and the nation as a whole.” Grassley was first elected to the state legislature in 1958. He served 16 years in the Iowa House, then won election the U-S House in 1974, where he served for six years. He’s been a United States Senator since 1981.

“I very much like serving the people of Iowa,” Grassley says. Grassley, who turned 91 in September, has long argued his seniority gives him leverage to use on behalf of Iowa. “People aren’t going to elect Chuck Grassley if they didn’t think he was competant to do the job,” he says. In 2022, Grassley won reelection to an eighth term in the U-S Senate with over 56 percent of the vote. During his first term as a U-S Senate, Grassley gained national attention for criticizing wasteful spending in the Pentagon. When he ran in 2016, Grassley stressed the importance of providing oversight of the executive branch.

“I believe that we not only pass laws, but we have a responsibility to see that they’re faithfully executed and I think we have to do more of it and I set the pattern for that,” Grassley said. “Now, to the people of Iowa, oversight might not mean anything to them, but if they study checks and balances in government, they know exactly how important that is.” That was Grassley early 2016. Later that year he won reelection with 60 percent of the vote.

DES MOINES – Gov. Reynolds has released a statement in response to the death Sunday afternoon (today), of President Jimmy Carter:

“President Carter lived a great life marked by service to his country. Volunteering his time to build homes for those in need well into his 90s, President Carter never stopped living his faith through service. His belief in putting God’s love into action has inspired generations of Americans, and Kevin and I are praying for his family during this difficult time.”

Jimmy Carter was the 39th president of the United States. He died at the age of 100. The Carter Center said he died in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by his family.

Carter Center photo

Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter had four children and were married for 77 years. They were the longest-married presidential couple. Rosalynn Carter predeceased her husband, dying in November 2023 at the age of 96.

Plans for a state funeral will be announced in the coming days.

DES MOINES, Iowa — A bill intended to improve mental health resources for veterans is heading to the U.S. Senate. Rep. Zach Nunn, who represents Iowa’s 3rd District, announced the Daniel J. Harvey and Adam Lambert Improving Servicemember Transition to Reduce Veteran Suicide Act unanimously passed the house this past week.

The legislation expands on the Transition Assistance Program, or TAP, program. The bill is named after two veterans who lost their lives to suicide, including one from Iowa.

Cpl. Adam Lambert was 24 when he died. His parents were at Friday’s announcement in Ankeny.

Nunn says their powerful testament is a huge reason the bill is moving forward.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak arrested a man Saturday evening following an altercation at the south Casey’s Store in Red Oak. The incident was reported at around 6:15-p.m.  Following a brief investigation, 45-year-old Jason David Olson, of Red Oak, was arrested for Assault – a Simple Misdemeanor. Olson was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond. Red Oak Police were assisted by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and Montgomery County Dispatch Center.

(Hanlontown, Iowa) –  Three people died and three others were injured, during a head-on crash in northern Iowa, Saturday morning. The Iowa State Patrol reports the crash happened in southern Worth County, when a 2014 VW Eos that was traveling south in the northbound lane of Interstate 35 after crossing the median, collided with a northbound 2013 Chevy pickup near mile marker 204, at around 8:55-a.m.

The unidentified victims were transported to a hospital in Mason City. All of the crash victims were wearing seat belts.

The Patrol was assisted by the Worth County Sheriff’s Department, Forest City Ambulance, Northwood First Responders and Ambulance, Iowa DOT and Iowa DNR personnel.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG) – An expert with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources believes black bears could call Iowa home within the next five years. DNR furbearer biologist Vince Evelsizer notes black bears are native to Iowa, but were hunted to extinction in the state in the mid-1800s. The bears are moving southward from Wisconsin and Minnesota, close to northeastern Iowa.

The southward expansion is fueled by the Mississippi River, which Evelsizer says offers a stable habitat for bears. The DNR confirms at least three sightings of black bears in Dubuque County this year with a few unconfirmed reports of the animals this month.

A Black Bear

Iowa State Professor Dr. Mike Rentz, an expert in sustainability and wildlife, says some of the bears will travel long distances to a source of food that they somehow know about at a particular time of the year. He said if black bears do move here permanently, Iowans should take a few precautions, that include not leaving the garbage out., making bird feeders higher, and not leaving dog food outside. Rentz said also, if you see a bear, enjoy the sighting, but use common sense and give it space. Don’t try to get too close.

He notes a good resource on bear safety is bearwise.org.