(Radio Iowa) – Some educators and parents are pushing back on proposed changes to Iowa’s K-12 science standards that changes the phrases “biological evolution” and “climate change” to “biological change over time” and “climate trends.” During a recent forum on the issue Panorama science teacher Mark Dorhout says teachers in small schools like his use the standards to make their own curriculum. He says new teachers might be more likely to follow them word for word. “If you choose to teach the fossil record correctly, you’re going to be using the word evolution on a repeated basis. And if you were a younger teacher, all of a sudden there is fuel to the ‘Well, that’s not in the standards. You shouldn’t be doing that,” he says.

Drake professor Jerrid Kruse, is one of the original committee members and says he’s concerned about the shift in language.  “I guess my concern then is that they don’t want to live in a state where the legislators are afraid of science words, because that’s really what this comes down to. Not changing the concepts. We’re just changing the words,” Kruse says.

The standards will be reviewed by another committee made up of parents and educators before getting final approval by the State Board of Education. You can submit feedback on the changes through the Bord of Ed’s online survey through February 3rd.

AMES, Iowa – Jan. 27, 2025 – The freezing and thawing we’ve experienced so far this winter along with ample snow and moisture has caused potholes to show up on Iowa’s roadways. Officials with the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) say potholes are mostly caused by moisture getting into or underneath pavement. During freeze and thaw periods, moisture causes the asphalt or concrete roadways to shift, buckle, or break. When vehicles drive over these weakened areas, the patches can come loose, leaving those dreaded potholes.

The Iowa DOT says their crews, as well as city and county crews, are patching potholes as quickly as they can using cold-mix asphalt. In many cases it’s not a long-lasting solution, but it does improve your driving experience, especially on larger potholes on busy roads, until the weather warms up enough to place a more permanent patch in the spring. Permanent patches use hot-mix asphalt (HMA) or Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) which work best when the temperatures are above freezing, so this work is usually completed in the spring and summer.  We are also proactive in the spring and summer, patching roads where we see significant cracking or deteriorated pavement, which can eventually lead to potholes.

For potholes on streets or county roadways, please contact the local city administrator/engineer or county engineer so they can make sure the potholes are filled. You can report the potholes you find on the interstates, Iowa numbered routes, and U.S. highways to one of the following Iowa DOT maintenance offices.

District 1 maintenance, 515-239-1634
District 2 maintenance, 641-423-7584
District 3 maintenance, 712-276-1451
District 4 maintenance, 712-323-6125
District 5 maintenance, 641-472-4171
District 6 maintenance, 319-364-0235

STORM LAKE, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Public Safety reports that at approximately 8-a.m. Sunday (January 26, 2025), Deputies with the Buena Vista County Sheriff’s Office stopped a pickup truck for speeding outside of Storm Lake. During the traffic stop, the driver, 45-year-old Daniel Joseph James Palenik, was uncooperative, made threats towards law enforcement, and fled from the traffic stop at a high rate of speed. Law enforcement located Palenik at his Storm Lake residence a short time later. Palenik subsequently barricaded himself inside his residence. At approximately 10-a.m., Sunday, law enforcement evacuated residents in the area surrounding the 300 block of Oneida Street and set up a perimeter around the home.

At approximately 4-p.m., Sunday, Palenik fired several rounds at law enforcement.  Numerous law enforcement agencies, to include the Storm Lake Police Department, Buena Vista County Sheriff’s Office, Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, Council Bluffs Fire Department, Storm Lake Fire Department, Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office, Sioux City Police Department, Sac County Sheriff’s Office, Sioux County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Dodge Police Department, Webster County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa State Patrol, and the State Fire Marshal’s Office, responded to assist with negotiations and tactical support.

Throughout the afternoon and evening, Palenik fired dozens of rounds at officers, striking both occupied vehicles and law enforcement equipment.  Shortly before 3-a.m. Monday, January 27th (2025), Palenik again fired at law enforcement.  Officers returned fire, striking Palenik, who died at the scene.  The officers involved in the shooting will be placed on administrative leave consistent with departmental policy. This is an ongoing investigation, and no further details will be released at this time.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation has been requested to investigate.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Sheriff’s Department reports four arrests occurred over the past week:

• On January 19th, Police in Stuart arrested 19-year-old Deakon Aidan Mullen, of Adair, on a Polk County warrant originating from the Johnston Police Department, for a Felony, Controlled Substance Violation. Mullen was released later that same day on a $10,000 bond.
• On Jan. 20th, Stuart Police arrested 47-year-old Justin Dale Harlan, of Stuart, on charges that include: Possession of drug paraphernalia; Possession of a Controlled Substance/Methamphetamine; Possession with the Intent to Deliver/Marijuana; and Driving While Revoked. Harlan was released the next day on a $7,000 bond.; Separately, the Iowa State Patrol, on Jan. 20th, arrested 37-year-old Juan Alberto Perez-Salazar, of Des Moines, for OWI/2nd offense and Driving Under Suspension. He was taken into custody following a traffic stop on eastbound Interstate 80 in Adair County, at mile marker 75. Perez-Salazar was released the next day on a $2,000 bond.
• And, on Jan. 23rd, Adair County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 29-year-old William Ronald Johnson, of Fontanelle, following a traffic stop in Fontanelle. He was cited for OWI/2nd offense, Poss. Of Drug Paraphernalia (A THC smoking device), and Child Endangerment.

DES MOINES, Iowa – Officials with the Iowa Department of Corrections report 44-year-old Tuffy Delray Jackson, who was convicted of Robbery 2nd Degree and Conspiracy/Commit Forcible Felony in Polk County, failed to report back to the Fort Des Moines Building 70 as required yesterday (Sunday). Jackson is a Black male, 6-feet 1-inches tall. He weighs about 217-pounds, and was admitted to the work release facility on May 16, 2024.

Tuffy Delray Jackson

Persons with information on Jackson’s whereabouts should contact local police.

(Iowa News Service) – Stories are shortcuts, introducing people and places we might not otherwise encounter. They help us discover meaningful connections, even amid isolating circumstances. Curious people often turn to books because novels and memoirs open up on demand, but everyone has a story to tell. In Iowa, CultureALL’s Open Book program makes striking up a conversation with a stranger as simple as visiting the local library. Their catalog of personal narratives introduces real-life protagonists whose singular struggles touch broader topics like immigration, identity, grief, faith and more.

Since 2018, the Des Moines-based social impact organization has recruited more than 50 Iowans from diverse backgrounds to serve as human “Books.” They share short talks about a defining chapter of their lives with intimate audiences of “Readers.” From Charlie’s harrowing story of surviving a traumatic childhood abduction to Sylvia’s tale of defying society’s expectations as a blind woman to earn her PhD in soil chemistry, human “Books” prove why people shouldn’t be judged by their cover.  “Open Book can be a catalyst to speed up a relationship and introduce a conversation that maybe wouldn’t have naturally occurred,” says Karen Downing, a retired English teacher who brought the concept to CultureALL.

CultureALL supports human “Books” through the storytelling process. It compensates them for visits to retirement communities, libraries, businesses and other locations. Open Book’s story-sharing format was inspired by Human Library, a movement that began in Denmark in 2000 to address prejudice through personal connections. CultureALL’s version is reciprocal. “We realized that, yes, people want to hear other stories,” Downing says. “They also really wanted to share their own and get a sense of their lived experience in conversation with someone else.”

Two Open Book participants embrace after an Open Book event to connect their respective churches in Des Moines (Arts Midwest photo)

She and former CultureALL AmeriCorps Service member JJ Kapur collaborated to localize the Human Library concept and measure its empathy-building impact.

Humanizing Complex Issues

Initiatives like UpLift: The Central Iowa Basic Income Pilot have participated in Open Book to bring local voices to issues like poverty and homelessness. Congregations have also used the program to build relationships across racial divides. Funding from Humanities Iowa is helping the CultureALL program connect urban and rural populations, too.  “Hearing a personal story can change a lens on an issue or big, thorny topic that people maybe don’t have a nuanced understanding of,” Downing says.

The vulnerability Open Book encourages can be validating for participants like Yerliana Reyna, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic who moved to Iowa by way of the Bronx, New York.  Reyna is a middle school counselor who connected with Open Book after participating in the Iowa Latinx Project’s Media Ambassador Program. She shared her story at a senior center in Pella, a community known for its deeply Dutch heritage.

“I remember one of the ladies kept looking at me and then when I was done [speaking], she said, ‘You know that you are more brave than you think,’” Reyna says. “Your story can be of encouragement for somebody else.”

Brianne Sanchez wrote this story for Arts Midwest.

(Radio Iowa) – The top Democrat in the Iowa House says cell phone policies for Iowa schools should be left up to school boards. Governor Kim Reynolds has introduced legislation that would require school boards to adopt a policy that bans cell phone use during class time. House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst says the legislature should require schools to have a cell phone policy for students, but not dictate what that policy should be. “I just don’t want us to be mandating what a tiny school district should do versus what a giant school district should do because they know best how to implement these policies and they know their students and their teachers,” Konfrst says.

Seventy-two percent of U-S high school teachers who participated in a Pew Research Center survey said cell phone use during class was a major distraction. “I don’t want distracted students in classrooms either,” Konfrst said, “but I really don’t want teachers to have one more thing to have to do and now they have to police cell phone usage in addition to the other things we’ve asked them to do. So, if we can allow local districts to make these decisions, they have proven to us that they can do it in a way that is best for their community and I think that is the best way to do it.”

Konfrst made her comments during a weekend appearance on “Iowa Press” on Iowa P-B-S. Governor Reynolds says cell phones are not only a distraction, but a deterrent to development in the classroom. She says if her bill becomes law, the Iowa Department of Education will provide sample policies with room for potential common-sense exemptions. The legislation also requires schools to provide students in 6th, 7th and 8th grade with social media training.

(Radio Iowa) – State health officials are seeing a significant jump in the number of schools reporting significant absences due to illness. Iowa Health and Human Services reports a boost statewide in respiratory virus infections like COVID-19, R-S-V, and the flu, as well as norovirus. Addie Olson, spokesperson for the Polk County Health Department, says at least 14 schools in the Des Moines metro area reported high absence rates this month.  “Some of those schools have reported sick absence rates greater than 10-percent for two or three consecutive days,” Olson says, “and those extended absentee rates are a good indicator that there is a significant amount of illness spreading within the school.”

Olson says parents should keep kids home when they’re sick. “We also are promoting things like practicing good hygiene, washing your hands really thoroughly before and after eating and using the restroom,” she says, “and staying up to date on vaccinations.”

State health officials reported last week that 73 schools statewide had absence rates of at least 10 percent for the prior week. That’s a significant jump from 11 schools in the week before.

(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Creston Police Department report a Cass County man was arrested Friday afternoon on Forgery charges. 21-year-old Ethan Leroy Sheley, of Cumberland, was charged with two counts of Forgery. He was taken to the Union County Jail and later posted at $10,000 bond. Creston Police said also, 44-year-old Shauna Kay Mcclain, of Creston, was arrested Friday night for Driving Suspended. Mcclain was cited and released on a promise to appear.

Early Saturday morning, 32-year-old Misael De Leon, Jr., of Lenox, was arrested at the Creston/Union County Law Enforcement Center, for Public Intoxication. De Leon was taken to the Union County Jail and later released on his own cognizance.

And, a woman from Creston reported early Saturday morning, that someone had slashed the front tires on her car, sometime between 7-p.m. Friday and 1-a.m., Saturday. The incident happened in the 400 block of N. Pine Street, in Creston. The loss was estimated at $300.

(Radio Iowa) – A federally mandated survey finds a majority of the water lines serving Iowa homes do NOT contain lead. D-N-R Drinking Water Program coordinator Heidi Cline says there are still a small amount of lead lines in use. “Based on the data that we have so far, there are 51-thousand-918 lead service lines reported to us, which is just under four percent of the total service lines that were reported on the inventories,” she says. The inventories found 81 percent of the lines were not lead, almost 14 percent were undetermined and less than two percent were galvanized lines that need to be replaced. The survey is part of the federal effort to get rid of lead water pipes following the severe health and other problems caused by lead pipes in Michigan. Cline says a federal lead water pipes ban went into effect in 1988, so most of the homes with lead pipes tend to be older.

“And then there could be, you know, local ordinances in place, and communities that banned lead even earlier than that, or just as a standard practice,” Cline says. “For example, in Des Moines, I think most homes built after 1950 don’t have lead service lines.” Cline says Iowa water systems still need to figure out how many of the undetermined lines are lead. She says the E-P-A said this fall that the compliance date to identify all of the unknown pipes is November 1st of 2027, and systems have to find out that information withing seven years of the compliance date. Cline says the next step would be getting rid of the lead pipes. “Starting with the compliance date of November, 1 of 2027 systems have 10 years to remove all of those lead service lines. Cline says many of the lines inside homes are owned by the homeowner, and the federal rules don’t say who should pay for getting the lead out.

“It does not specify. It’s basically silent on who is responsible for the cost of this. It says that the system is required to remove any service line under their control,” she says. “But they also gone to say in a situation where you would need to gain access to get control of that line, you have to get, you know, permission from the home homeowner, and if the homeowner refuses a certain number of times, then the system is not responsible for replacing that line.” Cline says water systems have some funding available to help get rid of lead pipes, but there’s likely to be disagreements about who is going to pay. “Somebody is going to have to pay something to remove these pipes, then it’s kind of a decision that the systems are going to have to make on if they’re going to cover the costs of it, or if they’re going to assess costs back to the homeowner. And you know, obviously, as you can imagine, there, there could be some forthcoming legal challenges with that as well,” Cline says.

Cline says you should have received a notice from your utility about the types of pipes you have and if there needs to be changes made. You can find out more about the survey on the D-N-R’s website. https://www.iowadnr.gov/Environmental-Protection/Water-Quality/Drinking-Water-Compliance/Lead-Service-Line-Inventories Cline says the E-P-A is still compiling information from other states and doesn’t have that available to get a comparison to how Iowa compares to them when it comes to the number of lead service lines.