(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County ISU Extension Office in Atlantic is now taking appointments for FREE preparation of 2024 Taxes for qualifying taxpayers through the VITA Program. Appointments in February and March will be at the Extension Office on the Fairgrounds in Atlantic.

What is VITA? (From IRS.gov) The IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program offers free basic tax return preparation to qualified individuals.

The VITA program has operated for over 50 years. VITA sites offer free tax help to people who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns, including:

• People who generally make $67,000 or less
• Elderly
• Persons with disabilities; and
• Limited English-speaking taxpayers

Full information on what types of tax preparation the VITA Program can assist with is available by visiting the IRS website at https://www.irs.gov/individuals/free-tax-return-preparation-for-qualifying-taxpayers.

While the IRS manages the VITA program, VITA sites are operated by IRS partners and staffed by IRS-certified volunteers who want to make a difference in their communities. VITA services are not only free, they are also a reliable and trusted source for preparing tax returns. All VITA volunteers who prepare returns must take and pass tax law training that meets or exceeds IRS standards. This training includes maintaining the privacy and confidentiality of all taxpayer information. In addition to requiring volunteers to certify their knowledge of the tax laws, the IRS requires a quality review check for every return prepared at a VITA site prior to filing. Locally, volunteers are trained and supported by the Iowa Center for Economic Success. Find more information about documents needed for tax preparation at https://theiowacenter.org/taxservices/

In addition to benefiting eligible taxpayers, the VITA program also benefits local communities by helping low-income taxpayers access special tax credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Child Tax Credit, and Credit for the Elderly or Disabled. In Iowa, the average Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) refund is $2,311, and almost 20% of eligible Iowans do not access this credit. When taxpayers claim this credit, local economies get double the benefit, as every EITC dollar claimed results in up to $2 in local economic activity!

Please call the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132 to schedule your appointment. There are limited dates available in February and early March of 2025, with appointments being offered on a first-come basis. For more information on the VITA program in Cass County or other local Extension programs, visit www.extension.iastate.edu/cass.

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston report four people were arrested Thursday:

41-year-old Shondell Kay Greenhalgh, of Creston, was arrested at her residence at around 5:50-p.m., and charged with Violation of No Contact Protective Order, as well as Failure to Appear on an outside agency warrant. Greenhalgh was taken to Adams County Jail. She was being held without bond until seen by a judge. At around the same time and at the same residence, Jason C. Dames, of Creston, was arrested for Possession of Controlled Substance-Marijuana/1st Offense. Dames was being held in the Union County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

41-year-old Raymond Verl Young, Jr., of Creston, was arrested at his residence Thursday night. Young was charged with Domestic Abuse Assault. He was taken to Union County Jail and held without bond until seen by a judge.

And, at around 9:30-p.m. Thursday, Creston Police arrested 18-year-old Antione Walter Lillie, of Creston, at his residence. Lillie was charged with Violation of the Conditions of his Pretrial Release. He was being held without bond in the Union County Jail until making his initial court appearance.

(Denison, Iowa) – A 53-year-old Denison man faces a series of felony charges after a violent confrontation with law enforcement on January 5. KJAN’s sister station KDSN in Denison, reports Tyson Patrick Campbell allegedly attempted to force his way into a vehicle with a woman and her children inside in the 200 block of South 15th Street. When the driver fled, Campbell reportedly threw a log at the vehicle, causing damage. Soon after, Campbell made a disturbing phone call to the Crawford County Jail, claiming he had a grenade and threatened to use it against officers. When law enforcement arrived at his residence, Campbell became combative, allegedly vowing to use a shotgun to harm the officers.

The situation escalated when Denison City Police observed Campbell reaching for a rifle and firing at them. Officers managed to detain him, and Campbell is now being held at the Crawford County Jail on a $100,000 cash-only bond.

Campbell faces multiple charges, including four counts of assault on persons in certain occupations, second-degree attempted burglary, interference with official acts with a dangerous weapon, and threat of terrorism—all class D felonies. He also faces a serious misdemeanor charge for second-degree harassment. Additionally, Campbell is still dealing with a previous charge of going armed with intent from an October 2024 incident. If convicted on all counts, he could face up to 41 years in prison and a fine of up to $84,610.

DES MOINES – State Treasurer Roby Smith today released the Iowa Outstanding State and Local Government Report for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24). Across all levels of Iowa government, outstanding debt obligations totaled $21.9 billion as of June 30, 2024. Overall, this represents a 4.49% increase over the previous fiscal year. This is lower than the previous seven-year average of 4.51%.

“State and local governments rely on community bonds, capital leases, loans and more to make meaningful investments into their communities,” said Smith. “Today’s announcement shows taxpayers the full picture of long-term obligations across multiple levels of government in a transparent manner for the public to evaluate.”

Each year, political subdivisions, state agencies and instrumentalities are required under Iowa Code to report any outstanding long-term obligations to the State Treasurer, which include bonds, notes, capital leases, anticipatory warrants and loans. A comparison from FY23 to FY24 can be found below.

Some important stats to note from the FY23 to FY24 comparison:

• Cities possess the largest portion of debt with a combined $8.2 billion and the 10 largest cities make up 35.14% of debt in this category. Davenport, Sioux City, Iowa City and West Des Moines (four of the ten largest cities) decreased their long-term obligations in FY24.
• Counties had the highest year-over-year percentage increase from FY23 to FY24, with an overall increase of 10.88%.
• State Agencies had the largest margin of decreased long-term obligations by more than $42.7 million or a reduction of 10.2%.

Visit the FY24 State and Local Outstanding Obligations page to learn more. In addition, individuals can view a graph from the last three fiscal years or view full data for the previous ten years.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Southwest Iowa (District 21) House Representative Thomas Moore, of Griswold, Thursday, released his view of the 2025 Legislative Session that began Monday:

“The 1st Session of the 91st General Assembly convened on Monday January 13^th, 2025. It is always fun to get back to the Capitol to renew relationships with Legislators, Lobbyists, and other personnel. Mostly the anticipation of what the session will bring creates excitement to get back to work. The first week often remains very ceremonial but also sees the meeting of Legislative Committees for the 1st time. Not much action takes place but getting back in the groove is nice. My committee assignments have not changed this year as I am on Education, Health and Human Services, Economic Growth and Information Technology, and Labor and Workforce. New to my assignments this year is that I am Vice Chair of the Health and Human Services Budget Committee.

“We heard Opening Day Speeches from Minority Leader Konfrst, Majority Leader Windschitl and Speaker Grassley. The speaker spoke of the impact of past legislation, all leading to the fact that Republicans now represent all or part of ALL 99 counties. He spoke of the many issues before us for this legislative session with emphasis on Property Tax reduction and Child Care issues. On Tuesday January 14th at 6:00 PM, Governor Kim Reynolds gave her eighth annual Condition of the State speech before the House and Senate. She began her speech with a list of accomplishments that has put Iowa in a very respected and valued position nationally. Iowa ranks #1 nationally as a state for retirement, for millennial home ownership, and fiscal responsibility. We are #2 in cost of living and #3 for opportunity. We’re also #4 for healthcare and educational choice. Significantly we are the 6th best state overall. Iowans have so much to be proud of!

“As a result of the efforts to make gov’t more efficient and reduce costs the passage of the Gov’t reduction bill has already saved the taxpayer $217 Million. There will be efforts to seek more efficiency cuts. She spoke of the loss to the state of Bill Northey and Jim Leach. Education is an annual topic and this year she spoke of the support for public schools which teach 92% school age Iowans and how Iowans were using different avenues to meet their children’s educational needs. Of that number 43,000 public school students took advantage of Open Enrollment to move to another public school, nearly 28,000 are using education savings accounts, and in the last two years we have gone from 3 to 17 high-quality public charter schools. Last year we passed important legislation to increase literacy by creating personalized plans for student who weren’t reading proficiently at grade level. The governors proposal is to do the same for Math!

“The governor also spoke to the issue of cell phones in the classroom and on the road. Research shows 7 in 10 high school teachers say it’s a major problem. Some districts are addressing this but the governor believes that doing nothing is not an option. She is proposing that instructional time is to be kept cell phone free. As for the road she is asking legislation restricting the use of the phone while driving. Child Care is a growing and critical problem area for Iowa families. A new pilot program called Community Solutions Funds and the Iowa Women’s Foundation the state has created 9 regional community solution funds using $3 M. to raise childcare workers wages without raising costs on families. The governor is proposing a statewide solutions fund to which individuals or businesses can donate to enhance childcare workers wages. Another childcare challenge is the difficulty of coordinating transportation between childcare and preschool during the day. The proposal is to establish an Early Childhood “Continuum of Care” program that will provide 3 year grants to integrate these services. The funds could be used to defray transportation cost or pay for the teacher at a local childcare center, or childcare staff at the local school.

“Reynolds spoke of the ever growing need for medical professionals statewide. To address this she is proposing to double our investment in loan repayment to anyone committing to practice in rural Iowa for 5 years. Residency slots are critical to doctors staying in Iowa so she is seeking to procure $150 M. in federal funds to create a projected 115 new slots each year at our 14 teaching hospitals. That would mean a possible 460 new physicians trained here in Iowa. Also, $3 M. in grants would increase and train more nurses, CNA’s, and LPN’s. Medicaid rates were also on the list of things to review and adjust where necessary. She spoke of the tragedy of Cancer. For 2 years now Iowa has been 2nd nationally for new cases of cancer and we are one of only 2 states with rising rates. Why and how are the things we have to resolve. Iowa is 5th nationally for binge drinking and Iowa is in the top 5 for alcohol related cancers. She is announcing a partnership between HHS and the Univ. of Iowa to establish a dedicated team of epidemiologists to research all factors that might be playing a role.

D-21 (Rep.) Representative Thomas Moore. (Official photo, 2025)

“Iowa is over-collecting unemployment taxes as there is a $2 B. fund balance. Iowa collects, by law, taxes on wages up to $38,000 while our neighbors are closer to $14,000. The governor proposes to cut those payment by half, providing employers with a nearly $1 B. in savings. Nuclear energy exploration will expand the great footprint of pricing and reliability that Iowa has established. A task force to explore nuclear will be formed to resolve how to move forward. Lastly, she spoke of expanding our business opportunities by touting the great things Iowa has to offer like, low energy rates, #3 state for opportunity, we get an A for fiscal responsibility, and we are seeing interest in businesses looking to move to a more friendly model for the business. Iowa is a state of low taxes and cost of living, high character and value, quality education and a state with endless opportunity and timeless charm.

“Chief Justice Susan Christensen gave her 5th Condition of the Judiciary speech on Wednesday January 15th at 10 AM. Her previous themes have touched on hope, peace, listening and building connections. Her theme for 2025 is commitment. Her commitment to the people of Iowa is to ensure that our courts remain accessible, efficient and fair. She ask for legislative partnership in ensuring our courts have the resources needed to fulfill this promise to Iowans.

“More and more Iowans are navigating the courts without legal representation. To help address this gap, the judicial branch has developed fillable court forms available on our website for self-represented litigants. We also introduced interactive forms that function like Turbo Tax, guiding users through a question-and-answer process to complete forms to be filed online. Building on these innovations, we are recommending a modernization of our magistrate system. By reducing the number of magistrates required by statute—a step made possible by technological efficiencies—we can save taxpayers $2 million annually. The solution we propose is to reduce the number of magistrates required by statute and, when necessary, assign some magistrates to serve multiple counties to ensure workloads are properly aligned.

“Another commitment the judicial branch has made to the people of Iowa is Iowa’s business specialty courts—and for good reason. Last year, the business specialty court handled a record 60 cases—more than double the number just two years ago. This growth shows how valuable the court has become and how much trust Iowa’s businesses have in it. We’re proud of the court’s success and remain dedicated to keeping it strong and continuing to find innovative ways to support the businesses that are so important to our state.

“Even with last year’s 5% increase, our judges and magistrates still earn well below our counterparts in every state we touch. Nationally, Iowa ranks 41st in Judicial pay. Applications for Judicial vacancies has dropped by 56 percent over the past 20 years. proposing what we call the Kansas Plan. She is proposing what she calls the Kansas Plan. Under her proposal, a statute would set the salary of a state district court judge at 75% of a federal district court judge’s salary. A four-year phase-in period to ease the transition would be in place and salaries for other classes of judges would be calculated as a percentage of the state district court judge’s salary.

“The last commitment she spoke of was that of Indigent Defense and especially its effect on juvenile justice. Last fiscal year, our court system handled about 8,300 juvenile cases. While their numbers may not be as high as criminal defendants requiring court appointed counsel, their cases are often the most resource intensive and can span greater amounts of time. Just like the judicial pay issue, our contract attorneys are paid at a lower rate in comparison to every other state that touches Iowa. The Chief Justice is committed to talking about this issue until it is adequately addressed. Lastly Chief Justice Christensen will begin holding office hours at the capitol every Monday from 10 a.m. to noon starting January 27 through March 31 in the historic Supreme Court Chambers.

“Major General Stephen Osborn presented his 2nd Condition of the Guard in Joint Session on Thursday January 16th at 10 AM. Major General Stephen Osborn highlighted the numerous deployments around the world and here in Iowa emphasizing the Dual Roll of the Guard which is to serve Iowa and the Federal Government. He spoke of integrity, trust, and care for people as being critical to the Guard. Major deployment operations, to name a few were, 700 to Kosovo, 135 to Guam, 115 supported Operation Lone Star, also support of the Iowa flooding victims in 2024 in NW Iowa, and 63 are in Washington DC to help with the Presidential Inauguration. Major operations also were apart of Drug and Trans National Threats enforcement securing numerous arrests and large amounts of illegal drugs in the state. 150 Guardsmen will be returning home from Mideast deployment.

The Generals major areas of emphasis was the continuation of modernization, enhancing service scholarship, and eliminating the chronic absenteeism glitch that affects high school trainees. The Guard remains 99.5% ready and they are retaining Guard men and women at an 83% rate. Iowans should be proud of our Iowa National Guard as they are elite and at the ready to serve because their condition is excellent!”

(Radio Iowa) – Some residents in northeast Iowa are raising concerns about a crypto-mining business that’s planning to build a large facility in the region. Their worries are focused on resources, namely, the amount of electricity and water that’ll be consumed, as well as the noise all of those server fans can generate. During a Manchester City Council meeting this week, city manager Tim Vick answered a host of questions about the facility that will be built in the city’s industrial park. “What they’re using are these 8-by-20-foot storage units that have been modular-configured for them to be able to put server racks in them and servers,” Vick says. “They’re proposing 50 of those buildings. They’re going to set on concrete pads on the gravel lot, and then for every one of those server units, they’ll have two cooling units.”

Vick says the development will draw power from a separate grid from the rest of the community, so electricity demand should not be an issue. While many large “server farms” are water-cooled, Vick says this one won’t be. “The way they’re set up here, they’re not using a lot of water,” he says. “They’ll only have a bathroom in their office facility, and that’s what they use the water for, their main office. It’s not going to be used to cool the servers.” The Cedar Falls-based company, Simple Mining, already has six sites across Iowa. Crypto-mining involves using specialized computer hardware to solve complex mathematical puzzles to create a form of cryptocurrency, like Bitcoins. Server farms in out-of-state communities have been ridiculed for the amount of noise that’s generated by the hundreds of cooling fans all spinning at full blast, around the clock. Vick says the city council will explore that concern with a field trip.

Manchester City Hall (KMCH photo)

“We’re going to go over to Cedar Falls, where their headquarters are,” Vick says. “They have a system set up there with a Cedar Falls utility, and we’ll check that out. What we’ve been told is you really can’t hear it off the property, once you get about 100 feet away.” This is an emerging technology and Vick notes, a new style of industry for the area. “This is a different job set that we have. They will still be paying property taxes, they’ll pay franchise fees, but it’s a different opportunity, and it creates eight full time jobs,” he says, “so for us to have new employees, new opportunities, I think that’s a benefit to the community.”

The site plan for the project was approved by the Manchester City Council in late December, and Vick says construction is scheduled to start later this spring.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill that would make it a crime to let people pet sharks has been tabled in the Iowa Legislature. The bill was in response after a small shark bit an employee at a for-profit zoo in West Des Moines, and the shark had to be killed to get it’s teeth out of the employee’s hand. Republican Representative Ray Sorensen of Greenfield sponsored the bill.  “It doesn’t shut this place down. It just shuts down them having people pet a damn shark,” he says.

A Humane Society lobbyist says the zoo still allows people to pet that same kind of shark, which Sorensen says shouldn’t happen. “I hate to say it’s a common sense bill, but for me, it’s a common-sense bill. We shouldn’t be petting sharks,” Sorenson says.

Republican Representative John Wills declined to advance the bill, saying he doesn’t like legislation that just affects one business in the state.

(Radio Iowa) – Two Dubuque police officers who were on administrative leave after shooting a teenager they were attempting to arrest last month are back on the job. The officers responded to a call just before noon on Christmas Eve about a 16-year-old male with a knife who had adult warrants out for his arrest. The officers say they tried to taze the teen when he refused to drop the knife and he then rushed at them. Both officers fired and hit the teen in the shoulder and arm.

The D-C-I turned over its investigation to the Dubuque County Attorney who ruled the shooting was justified. Police say the teen is recovering from his wounds.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report the arrest on an assault charge early this (Friday) morning, of 35-year-old Brian Keith Yochum, Jr., of Red Oak. Yochum was taken into custody in the 1400 block of Forest Avenue, at around 2:50-a.m., for Simple Domestic Assault. He was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail.

DES MOINES, Iowa – A Des Moines man was sentenced Thursday to 17 years in federal prison for distributing fentanyl that led to the overdose death of a one-year child.

According to public court documents, Kenneth Leroy Quinn, 23, also known as “Coach K,” distributed several pills containing fentanyl on April 29, 2023. Quinn’s customer used some of the pills and brought the remaining pills home. The customer’s one-year-old son ingested the fentanyl mixture and died of acute fentanyl toxicity. Law enforcement began an investigation into Quinn and purchased marijuana from Quinn six times. In November 2023, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Quinn’s Des Moines residence and located four firearms, more than five pounds of marijuana, nearly an ounce of methamphetamine, and three-quarters of an ounce of cocaine.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Quinn will be required to serve a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Quinn was also ordered to pay $1847 in restitution.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Mid-Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, and the West Des Moines Police Department.

Fentanyl has become the leading cause of drug overdose deaths in the United States. Fentanyl deaths for youth ages 15 to 24 more than doubled between 2018 and 2022. Counterfeit, fentanyl-laced pills often resemble pharmaceutical pills, but contain potentially lethal doses of fentanyl. Visit the Drug Enforcement Administration’s website to learn more about the dangers of fentanyl and the One Pill Can Kill program.