(Radio Iowa) – Some communities in northwest Iowa hit by massive flooding this summer are now able to apply for FEMA money to purchase damaged homes. Rock Valley has sent its application today (Monday), asking for funding to buy 110 homes. City Administrator Tom Van Maanen says, if approved, an eligible homeowner will get paid the value of their property before the natural disaster. To qualify, a home must be in an area that has flooded before this year.

“You can drive around town, just the devastation some of these houses have had, but for this program just pure damage does not qualify you,” he says. “It has to have a flood history.” More than 500 homes in Rock Valley were damaged by June’s flooding. Van Maanen says the process to get federal funding for buyouts is very competitive. “The financial impact to some of these property owners who do not get a buyout is going to be devastating,” Van Maanen says. “At that point, there’s really not any more programs that the city can utilize to assist them.”

If approved, FEMA pays for 75 percent of buyouts, the State of Iowa covers 10 percent and the city involved pays the rest. The estimate for Rock Valley’s share is between four-and-a-half and six million dollars. Rock Valley also sent in a separate request for funding to purchase 30 homes that had flood insurance. The City of Spencer is also looking at doing buyouts. The mayor of Correctionville isn’t sure if his town will submit a request for buyouts due to finances and the fact that once a home is bought out, no development can take place on the land.

(Radio Iowa) – Along with Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are the top three worst days of the year for cooking fires in Iowa and nationwide. Andrea Vastis, public education director for the National Fire Protection Association, says December 24th and 25th will mean families and friends are gathering for big meals — and they’ll usually congregate in the kitchen.

“There’s a lot more of the cooking going on, there’s a lot more people to distract you,” Vastis says. “There is usually more alcohol use going on as well. That’s a recipe for a home fire when somebody thinks someone else is paying attention to something that’s on the stove.”

As guests arrive, there’s frequently chaos as people set down food they’ve brought to share, perhaps a little too close to the open flames. Watch for plastic containers that might melt or towels that could burst into flame.

“The person who’s by the stove needs to stay by the stove. Stand by your pan, watch what you fry,” Vastis says. “Keep a heavy lid nearby when you’re cooking on the stove. In case there is a flare-up, you can slide that lid right over the pan, turn off the ignition and avert a fire.”

While a big part of the joy of the holidays is seeing kids and grandkids, she reminds safety should be your first priority while the cooking is underway.

“Keep kids and pets three feet away from where you’re cooking as it’s much too easy for someone to bump into something, spill something, knock something over, get burned,” Vastis says. “You want to cook on those back burners while you can and turn your pan handles in.”

Cooking is the leading cause of home fires year-round, accounting for 49-percent all home fires reported to fire departments.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Atlantic Police Chief Devin Hogue says that this past Saturday, December 21st, the Atlantic Police Reserves held their annual Family Dreams Christmas Program. During the program, families are paired up with Reserve Officers and taken around town shopping. Chief Hogue says this year’s program assisted eight families for the full shopping experience and six families that were invited to pick items from our mobile toys store. Each family also received a full Christmas dinner that they could take home and make. (Photos below are courtesy of Chief Hogue. See more on the Atlantic Police Department Facebook page)

The Atlantic Police Reserves were assisted this year by the Atlantic Girls Basketball Team as well as a couple of past Reserves. In total the program assisted 44 children and 21 adults from 14 families. In total, the Family Dreams Christmas and Shop with a Cop programs assisted 99 children and 21 adults from 32 Cass County Families in having a much more enjoyable holiday.

Chief Hogue says  “We would not be able to make these programs happen without the tremendous support of our community. Thank you to all of the businesses, groups, organizations, and individuals who donated and make these programs possible!”

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Glenwood Police Department reports two recent arrests:

On Friday (12/20), 25-year-old Jonathon Arrick, of Glenwood ,was arrested for driving under suspension. He posted a $300 bond and was released.

And, on Sunday, 48-year-old Raechelle Zalovich, of Glenwood, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. She posted a $1,000 bond before being released.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office today (Monday), issued a report on arrests that took place from Dec. 12th through the 20th. Most recently:

• There were two arrests last Friday (12/20): 43-year-old Ashley Marie Hall, of Red Oak, and 23-year-old Noah Steven Kittle, of Glenwood, were arrested in Glenwood for Failure To Appear (in court). Their bonds were set at $1,000 each.
• On Dec. 19th: 31-year-old Dakota David Kempton, of Randolph, IA, was arrested in Malvern for Possession of Marijuana/2nd offense. ($1,000 bond)
• On Dec. 16th: 26-year-old Trevor Allen Kerr, of Rapid City, SD, was arrested on I-35 in Council Bluffs, for a Controlled Substance Violation (a Class-D felony), & Drug Tax Stamp Violations ($10,000 bond).
• Mills County Deputies arrested 38-year-old Demetrius Daniel Delgado, of Plattsmouth, NE, on Hwy 34 in Malvern. He was charged with OWI/1st offense (Bond $1,000).
• Three arrests took place Dec. 13th in Mills County: 20-year-old Quantel Anthony-LaMar Osler, of Omaha, was arrested in Glenwood for Violation of Probation; 34-year-old Tyler Jason Chambers, of Glenwood, was arrested in Glenwood for 1st Degree Harassment, Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree, and Tampering with a witness (Bond $5,000); and, 50-year-old Daniel Michael Wiley, of Glenwood, was arrested in Glenwood on Dec. 13th, for OWI/2nd offense (Bond $2,000).
• And, on Dec. 12th, Mills County Deputies arrested 36-year-old Amanda Corine Elrod, of Glenwood, on two counts of Probation Violation. Her bond was set at $6,000.

(Anita, Iowa) – CAM High School Head Speech and Debate coach Manda Thomas recently received the Don Crabtree Distinguished Service Award on behalf of the National Speech and Debate Association. The award is given to coaches who perform service for the Association, such as hosting tournaments, writing or presenting about the Association, recruiting a new chapter school, or writing an article for Rostrum, and earn service citations.

Those who earn 20 citations are given a special gold key. Those who receive an additional 50 citations are presented with a bronze plaque. In 2018, the awards were named in honor of Don Crabtree, former NSDA Board of Directors president, nine-diamond coach, Hall of Fame member, and service citation record holder.

Mrs. Thomas has put in a great deal of extra work into not only the CAM program, but programs at the state and national levels. She has spent endless hours volunteering to host tournaments and has put in hours of extra work. She was recognized at the home basketball games on December 17th. Congratulations, Mrs. Thomas.

(Article written by: Ada Hansen and submitted by Maggie Chapman, CAM Agriculture/FFA)

DES MOINES—Gov. Reynolds issued a proclamation today (Monday) setting Tuesday, January 28, 2025, as the date for a special election in Iowa Senate District 35 following the resignation of former Senator Chris Cournoyer.

Iowa Code section 69.14 outlines the authority given to the governor to set a special election. Cournoyer was serving her second term in the Iowa Senate before Gov. Reynolds appointed her lieutenant governor on December 16, 2024.

Senate District 35 is located in Clinton County, as well as parts of Jackson and Scott Counties, and includes Clinton, DeWitt, Camanche, Wheatland, Maquoketa, and Princeton.

Two Iowa State University professors recently inducted into a national organization recognizing inventors and their accomplishments said they are proud of the work they’ve done and the impacts that they’ve seen first-hand from projects they’ve led or had a hand in. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports Agricultural and biosystems engineering professor Matt Darr and chemical and biological engineering professor Eric Cochran were both chosen to become National Academy of Inventors 2024 fellows, a cohort that Darr said would provide them with more connections and help them open doors for future inventors. “We’re proud of the fact that the work that we do through innovation and inventions, through patents and tech transfer, doesn’t just stop at a research lab, but ultimately does get in the hands of men and women who feed and fuel the country,” Darr said.

The National Academy of Inventors has more than 2,000 fellows in its ranks from all over the U.S., 11 of whom are from ISU, including Cochran and Darr. According to its website, the goal of the organization is to “recognize and encourage inventors with U.S. patents, enhance the visibility of academic technology and innovation, encourage the disclosure of intellectual property, educate and mentor innovative students, and to create wider public understanding of how its members’ inventions benefit society.”

(Photo by Brooklyn Draisey/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

The two professors are credited with 141 patents and technology transfer licenses between them, with Darr having authored or co-authored 88 and Cochran having been involved in 53 finished patents and dozens more currently in the process of becoming official patents. Eric Cochran said he can’t discuss technical details of the patents currently under review, but his body of work so far has fallen into three categories — transforming vegetable fats into plastics, rubbers and other coatings; additives and other products for the asphalt industry, and chemical recycling of plastics.

Darr’s work is in the field of agricultural technology, he said, with his most well-known projects focused on yield data and monitoring. He likened picking his favorite product of his work to choosing a favorite child, but when it comes down to it, for him it’s all about the impact the work makes on the world and the people in it.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling that said Orange City’s mandatory inspections of rental properties are unconstitutional. Attorneys for renters and landlords argued the ordinance which required city inspections of rental properties could result in warrants and police involvement if inspectors find suspicious activity. They said that could lead to “unreasonable searches and seizures” that are unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court ruling says the warrants and inspections may be justified in many situations, and the ordinance does allow options, such as private inspectors doing the inspection instead of the city getting warrants.

(Radio Iowa) – A Paton man is being held in the Greene County Jail without bond after being charged in the death of his two-month-old son.  Twenty-six-year old Nolan Roger Wilson called for emergency services back in September, saying his son had blood coming out of his mouth and was not breathing. First responders say the child was dead when they arrived. An autopsy from the state medical examiner determined the infant’s cause of death was head injuries that included multiple hemorrhages on the head and eyes. Wilson is charged with first-degree murder, child endangerment resulting in death, and domestic abuse.

Wilson’s preliminary hearing is set for December 30th.