Iowa Republican Senator Charles Grassley will hold Town Hall meetings Saturday, July 25th, in Carroll, Calhoun and Sac Counties. The meetings are part of Grassley’s annual 99 county tour.

His July 25th schedule includes at stop from 8-to 9-a.m. at the Rockwell City Community Center. Afterward, he travels to Carroll for a Town Hall meeting that takes place from 10-until 11-am in the meeting room at the Carroll County Courthouse. Grassley’s final stop for the day is at the Law Enforcement Center in Sac City, from 12:15-until 1:15-p.m., again on July 25th.

Iowa’s senior Senator will speak at the public meetings before taking comments and answering questions.

Two people suffered what were initially described as minor injuries during a collision Tuesday evening, east of Griswold. Authorities say Heath Nordby, of Lewis, who was traveling south on 590th Street, failed to yield upon entering Highway 92. Nordby’s vehicle hit a westbound vehicle driven by Jacob Maass, of Griswold.

Nordby and Maass were transported from the scene to the Cass County Memorial Hospital by Griswold Rescue. Officials say Nordby was charged with failure to yield upon entering a highway and operation of a non-registered vehicle.

Pheasant hunters in Iowa saw a lot more birds last year, according to data compiled by the Department of Natural Resources.

Pheasant Hunting

Kevin Baskins is a spokesman for the DNR. “For the third consecutive year, we’ve seen a harvest increase for pheasants,” Baskins said. “It looks like it’s up 30-percent in 2014 to an estimated 216,000 roosters.” The harvest estimate released this week is based on an annual survey of hunters following the season. The biggest factor in the growing pheasant population involves the fact that Iowa has experienced several consecutive mild winters.

“We went through an extended period where the winters were just brutal on the pheasant population,” Baskins said. “Once crops get harvested and we start getting snow on the ground, there really isn’t much habitat in a lot of places for pheasants to kind of escape the elements.” Pheasants weren’t the only species to show a harvest increase in 2014. Hunters also killed more quail, rabbits, squirrels and doves.

“We also saw a corresponding increase in the interest,” Baskins said. “Our total number of (small game) hunters was up 9-percent to more than 63,000 in 2014,” Baskins said. DNR officials are predicting hunters will enjoy even bigger small game populations this coming fall and winter. The agency will get a better idea of the state’s population of pheasants, quail, rabbits and partridge during an annual roadside survey conducted over the first two weeks of August.

(Radio Iowa)

The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday, voted to set July 15th, at 8:35-a.m., as the date and time for a public hearing on the County’s intent to enter into a loan agreement not to exceed $360,000. Proceeds from the loan would be used to refinance the purchase of property (across from the courthouse) at 707 Poplar St., and to pay cost of roof repair.

In other business, Cass County EMA Coordinator Michael Kennon submitted a written request to update the membership of the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), by adding additional members.The Board approved upon a motion, the appointment of additional LEPC members, which include: Jared Merkel, Chris Jimerson, Ryan Archibald and Ryan Askeland.

Appointments are for two years from the date of appointment by the Iowa Emergency Response Commission. Members in good standing are automatically re-appointed to successive terms. The Commission revises its appointments upon request from the county.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Dozens of Davenport residents have reported sewer backups and flooded basements following heavy rainfall. Melissa Logsdon told the Quad-City Times that water was ankle deep around stairs in her basement and that her “whole house smells like a sewer right now.” The National Weather Service says between 2.5 and 4.5 inches of rain fell across parts of Johnson, Muscatine and Scott counties in Iowa and Rock Island County in Illinois on Monday.

PALO, Iowa (AP) — The water level of a Linn County lake will be lowered next month to allow for work to improve its shoreline. Paul Sleeper, a state fisheries management biologist, tells KCRG-TV that a part of Pleasant Creek Lake’s shoreline is eroding. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources plans to lower the lake’s level by at least 12 feet beginning in August.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have arrested a man in Iowa in connection with a stabbing death in Texas. The U.S. Marshals Service says 23-year-old Noe Trevino of Abilene, Texas, was arrested Wednesday near an apartment complex in Des Moines.

BEDFORD, Iowa (AP) — The father of a 3-year-old girl slain in southwest Iowa now faces a murder charge. The Omaha World-Herald reports that new charge was filed last week against 25-year-old Charles Hall, who is from Chicago. Hall originally was charged with child endangerment resulting in serious injury, the same charged filed against his girlfriend, 25-year-old April Clair, who is from Bedford, Iowa.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Governor Terry Branstad’s request for a federal disaster declaration to respond to the bird flu outbreak has been denied. The governor had sought a major disaster declaration from President Barack Obama for the four counties most impacted by the virus. In a letter from federal authorities dated Tuesday, the request was rejected.

The letter said the damage was “not of such severity and magnitude” that it could not be handled by the state. The virus has infected more than 31.5 million birds in Iowa, mostly egg-laying chickens, making the state the hardest hit in the nation. Branstad spokesman Jimmy Centers said the administration was gathering information to assess whether an appeal would be effective.

The teenaged driver of a Chrysler PT Cruiser and four teenage passengers escaped injury during an accident Tuesday evening about nine-miles north of Clarinda, in Page County. The Sheriff’s Office says 15-year old Brandon Ray Kammerer, of Clarinda, was driving the car southbound on Quince Avenue at around 8-p.m. Tuesday, when the vehicle went out of control and hit a power pole.

Passengers in the vehicle at the time of the accident included 16-year old Joslyn Renea Dale, 14-year old Collin Steven Gregory, 16-year old Dylan Gregory Dalton, and 15-year old Amber Rae Anne Foster.  Each of the vehicles’ occupants were released to their parents or guardians.

Kammerer was cited for Careless driving and Failure to have a valid driver’s license.

A former Denison resident was sentenced Monday to a maximum of five-years in prison in connection with the May 11th assault of a Crawford County Jailer. 20 year old Jayden Chapman is currently incarcerated in the Anamosa State Penitentiary. His telephone hearing took place before Judge Jeffrey Poulson.

The plea agreement Chapman accepted specified that, “an indeterminate term of imprisonment, not to exceed five years, shall be imposed.” Chapman had also been charged with attempted escape from custody, but that charge was dropped as part of the plea agreement. The new sentence will run concurrently with the two consecutive life sentences Chapman is now serving for the March 10, 2014, murders of 81-year old Alice Huisenga, of Arcadia, and 80-year old Marvin Huelsing, of Maple River. Chapman was convicted of their murders on May 5th.

The Crawford County Attorney says while awaiting sentencing, Chapman, who was in the exercise area of the Crawford County jail, went to a locked door to tell the jailer that he had a bloody nose. When the jailer opened the door to attend to him, Chapman “grabbed the door handle, pulled the door open and bodily assaulted her,” according to Prosecutor Roger Sailer.

Chapman then forced the jailer to the floor, punched her with his fist, choked her with his hands, and choked her with his arm from behind, while holding her body with his legs. Sailer says when Chapman heard others coming, he released the jailer and ran down a hallway to another part of the jail, where he was apprehended and placed in a restraining chair.

There’s good consumer news for Iowans who use liquid propane — from backyard grillers to farmers and homeowners. Propane prices are at an all-time low, according to Harold Hommes, an energy analyst at the Iowa Department of Agriculture. Hommes says those who grill probably won’t notice a difference, but he says the impact will be significant for the two-thousand or so Iowans who heat their homes with L-P.

“People are just now taking advantage of summer fills and buying opportunities where they try to lock in their needs for the winter,” Hommes says. “I think they’re going to be fairly happy with the results and where they can lock in those values.” Just how good are those values? In the winter of 2013, propane prices hit a record five-dollars per gallon due to increased exports and high demand from farmers needing it to dry grain. This summer, Hommes says many suppliers are offering the gas significantly cheaper.

“Depending on different locations in the state, anywhere from 70 to 95 cents and the dollar mark,” Hommes says, “but certainly a very favorable value compared to where we were at just a couple years ago.” Just like gasoline, Hommes says L-P inventories are up and foreign investors are not finding it as attractive as it’s been in the past.

(Radio Iowa)