(Radio Iowa) – A report by The Hill, Wednesday, said Iowa Senator Joni Ernst lost out on her bid to become the Republican Senate Conference Chair. The third highest leadership position is being filled instead by Senator Tom Cotton, of Arkansas. It was the only contested race for a GOP leadership position outside of the Senate leadership race.

Iowa’s junior senator was not picked by the president-elect to become the next U.S. Secretary of Defense, either. On Tuesday, Donald Trump announced that Pete Hegseth– an Army National Guard veteran and author — was his nominee for U.S. Secretary of Defense.

Ernst never publicly confirmed interest in becoming cabinet secretary but has said previously that she could be interested in serving in the Trump administration. Hegseth has previously questioned the role of women in the military. Ernst is a decorated combat veteran and retired as lieutenant colonel in the Army National Guard after two decades of service.

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he supported Ernst instead of Cotton. He said that during Republicans’ private gathering to elect leaders, he nominated Ernst for the leadership position and praised the skills that she demonstrated in the senate and during her military career.

(Radio Iowa) – For the first time this fall, students at Oskaloosa High School are being offered a robotics course, where they’re learning all about 3-D printing and electronics, while also soaking in important lessons about teamwork and leadership. Teacher Cory Sheeley says the 14 students who are taking the premiere class are very enthusiastic about the topic and they’re growing in ways they probably didn’t expect.

“Students are communicating every day,” Sheeley says. “They show up to class and they do what’s called a scrum, and they’re all standing for five minutes and they’re having a conversation about what they’re going to do today, what they did yesterday, they’re assigning tasks to each person, and they’re trying to basically accomplish building a robot.”

While this is the first year for the class, students at Osky High have been competing for at least 15 years in what’s known as the FIRST Tech Challenge or F-T-C, a competitive robotics program that encourages inter-team collaboration across multiple schools. In the latest version of the contest, they’re building robots with claws that are designed to grab blocks.

Sheeley says, “The goal is to basically pick these blocks up — for this year’s game — and either put them in the low basket, which is four points, high basket is eight points, hang them on the high rung, which would be 10 points, low rung is six points.” Four competing robots will be in the ring, simultaneously grabbing blocks in a two-and-a-half minute duel, with an “end game” where the robots have to park or hook themselves in a certain area.

Photo courtesy Oskaloosa High School

During part of the contest, the robots will have to be controlled by two students, and at other times, autonomously grab the blocks without any human help. Sheeley says the students are focused on what could be their future careers, diving into hands-on engineering, problem-solving and team-building.

“You can see students getting better and better at that each day,” Sheeley says. “They’re constantly communicating with each other about who needs to do what, if somebody’s slacking, ‘Hey, I need you to do this.’ They’re managing each other, and I think that that’s a pretty good skill for the workforce.”

Sheeley, who also teaches courses including calculus, coding and statistics, says he’s thrilled to see robotics moving from an after-school club to a full in-school class.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors gathered at the courthouse in Red Oak this (Wednesday) morning, to canvass the results of the Nov. 5, 2024 General Election. Auditor Jill Ozuna said with regard to the township positions, where there were no declared candidates, write-in nominations were accepted, and there were many names written-in. Lincoln and Washington Township candidates did file nomination papers with the assumption their names would be written-in.

There was a tie for the Grant Township write-in’s, and the name drawn by the Supervisors was Dane Belt. Ozuna then went over the election results for the Supervisors, precinct by precinct, as well as the voter turn-out data.

Montgomery County Supervisors meeting, 11-13-24

Board Chair Mike Olsen commented there was an excellent turnout. Auditor Ozuna backed-up the comment with some statistics.

The Board passed a resolution approving the canvass of results as presented. The official results will be turned-in to the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office. In other business, Montgomery County Engineer Karen Albert provided her weekly Secondary Roads report to the Board of Supervisors.

She said they’re also still working on their plans for the 5-year construction program, and she reminded Montgomery County residents there will be a public meeting on December 3^rd, with regard to the County’s Comprehensive Plan and discussion on a proposed Wind Turbine Ordinance.

(Note: The Sheriff’s Office today (Nov. 14th) has issued a correction to their press release, with regard to Crystal Branch. See below)

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Sheriff’s Office has released a report on arrests that occurred between Oct. 22nd and Nov. 9th. In order from most recent to the earliest:

On November 9th, 2024, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office arrested William Edie, 53, of Atlantic, for OWI 2nd Offense.  Edie was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on his own recognizance.

On November 8th, 2024, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office arrested James Wharton, 85, of Avoca, for OWI 1st Offense.  Wharton was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on his own recognizance.

On November 7th, 2024, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office arrested Mikel Erickson, 33, of Omaha, on the charge of Violation of a No Contact Order.  Erickson was transported to the Cass County Jail where she was booked and held pending her later release on her own recognizance.

On November 7th, 2024, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office arrested Shawn Assman, 38, of Waukee, on the charge of Indecent Exposure.  Assman turned himself in on the Cass County Warrant, was booked in to jail and subsequently released after posting bond.

On November 7th, 2024, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office arrested Kyle Wilson, 29, of Hancock, on the charge of Driving While Revoked.  Wilson was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on his own recognizance.

On November 5th, 2024, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office arrested Dajuan Brantley, 36, of Kansas City, KS, on warrants for Theft 1st Degree, Criminal Mischief 1st Degree and Burglary 3rd Degree.  Brantley was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held.

On November 4th, 2024, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office arrested Michelle Evans, 58, of Bridgewater, on a warrant for Animal Neglect Causing Injury.  Evans was transported to the Cass County Jail where she was booked and held.

On November 2nd, 2024, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office arrested Steven Steele, 67, of Massena, for OWI 1st Offense.  Steele was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on bond.

On November 1st, 2024, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office arrested Julius Lee, 43, of Griswold, on two charges of Sex Offender Registration Violation as well as Child Endangerment.  Lee was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held.

**On November 13th, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office reported an arrest of Crystal Branch where she was allegedly taken into custody, booked and held pending release after time served.  The Sheriff’s Office is correcting their post to note that Branch was NOT arrested but rather cited into court for the offense.

On October 29th, 2024, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office arrested Barrett Driskill, 39, of Afton, on a warrant for his arrest.  Driskill was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his release to another agency.

On October 28th, 2024, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office arrested Ianangi Kosuo, 31, of Atlantic, on the charges of OWI 1st Offense and Driving While Revoked.  Kosuo was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on his own recognizance.

On October 24th, 2024, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office arrested Skyanne Christensen, 24, of Atlantic, on a warrant for Theft 2nd Degree.  Christensen was transported to the Cass County Jail where she was booked and held pending her later release to another agency.

On October 22nd, 2024, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office arrested Jon Steckelberg, 55, of Adair, on a warrant for Drug Trafficking.  Steckelberg was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans will have a rare opportunity this week to get an up-close peek at one of the national Christmas trees without having to journey all the way to Washington D-C. Susan DeCourcy, a regional administrator with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, says the 74-foot-long spruce is being trucked more than four-thousand miles cross-country and it’ll make a festive pit stop in central Iowa.

“It’s a 54-year tradition in which there’s 154 national forests that provide a tree for the West Lawn at the U.S. Capitol,” DeCourcy says, “and so this year, the tree is coming from the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. It’s making its way across the country.” The truck carrying the giant tree will stop at the Bass Pro Shops along Interstate 80 in Altoona on Friday from 11 A-M to 1 P-M.

Photo courtesy of the Truckload Carriers Association

“People are going to be able to sign the side of the trailer that it’s on,” DeCourcy says, “and they’ll be able to see the massiveness of it.” In addition to seeing the tree, DeCourcy says staff from the N-H-T-S-A will be on hand to talk with folks about highway safety. “This is the time when people are going to start making travel plans, and we really want to make sure that people are traveling safely,” she says. “We’re going to take this opportunity to interact with people and share traffic safety messages with them.”

That will include topics like child car seats, teenage drivers, bicycle safety and pedestrian safety. The event is free.

(Red Oak, Iowa)  – Officials with the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital & Clinics in Red Oak, have announced Dr. Thomas Baer, a dedicated family physician from Malvern, has been honored as the 2024-2025 Iowa Family Physician of the Year by the Iowa Academy of Family Physicians. The award was presented during the installation and awards ceremony held on November 7 at Prairie Meadows Event Center. The Iowa Family Physician of the Year award is presented to one outstanding physician in Iowa who best exemplifies the tradition of the family doctor and epitomizes the finest standards of family medicine.

Dr. Baer graduated from the University of Iowa College of Medicine in 1989 and completed his residency at the Lincoln Medical Education Foundation in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1992. He currently serves the Malvern community.

Dr. Thomas Baer is presented with the 2024-2025 Iowa Family Physician of the Year award by the Iowa Academy of Family Physicians.

One nomination letter praised Dr. Baer’s deep commitment to his patients and his innovative approach to overcoming healthcare barriers: “Dr. Baer understands the challenges of accessing healthcare and will do whatever is necessary to address it. He noticed that some patients struggled to come in during the week, so he opened his clinic for two additional days each month to accommodate those who could not visit during regular hours. Dr. Baer’s dedication extends beyond the clinic; he is an advocate for community involvement, recognizing that a strong community contributes significantly to the well-being of its members. Dr. Thomas Baer is not just a physician; he is an integral part of the Malvern community.”

Family physicians like Dr. Baer undergo extensive training beyond medical school, which includes a three-year residency and comprehensive education in various aspects of medicine. This training equips them to care for patients at every stage of life and in diverse areas, including pediatrics, geriatrics, internal medicine, psychiatry, surgery, obstetrics, gynecology, and community medicine.

The Iowa Academy of Family Physicians, representing over 1,700 members, is a constituent chapter of the American Academy of Family Physicians, which is one of the largest medical specialty societies in the United States with a membership of more than 129,000 family physicians, family medicine residents, and medical students.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Police Department reports a man from Kansas City, KS was arrested last week in connection with a break-in at Nishna Valley Cyle on July 15, 2024. 36-year-old Dajuan Brantly faces charges that include Theft in the 1st Degree, Burglary in the 3rd Degree, and Criminal Mischief in the 1st Degree. Brantly was arrested November 5th.

An investigation into the incident continues.

(Radio Iowa) – The open enrollment period is now underway for people who get their health insurance through healthcare.gov. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Regional Administrator Shannon Hills says it is important that you take action. “This is the time for people who need health insurance to make changes to their existing plan or to apply and enroll,” she says. Hills says there are some changes for this year. “Due to a new law, the inflation Reduction Act, financial assistance is available to help people pay for their health insurance premiums,” Hills says.

She says the healthcare.gov website has also been streamlined and updated to make the process easier. Hills says the healthcare plans offer a variety of things from prescription drugs, to emergency care and more.  “They will be able to compare and contrast various healthcare plans, their costs, and to find one that meets their needs,” she says. Hill says there is also information on how to evaluate the various plans.

“On healthcare.gov there is a section called Find Local Help. So if someone would like a little bit more information or assistance in their particular area in Iowa, then they can select that Find Local Help button and be connected to an agent or broker in their area to walk through their healthcare plan options,” Hills says. “They can also call the healthcare.gov call center at 1-800-318-2596.” She says that call center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Hills says you need to sign up by December 15th to ensure that your coverage will begin by January 1st.

(Atlantic, Iowa) [updated]  – The Cass County Board of Supervisors met Wednesday morning (Nov. 13), and canvassed the results of the Nov. 5, 2024 General Election. The approved, certified results, will be submitted to the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office for the record. In other business, the Board heard a Quarterly Report from Cass County Conservation Department Executive Director Micah Lee.

He said they have been performing general maintenance at the Cold Springs State Park.

At West Nodaway, Micah said the Food Plots were prepped for the Dove season, and some trees were planted and brush removal work was conducted.

The Board heard also from the Cass County Library Association, who requested a three-percent increase in funding from the County, for each of the libraries in Cass County. The Supervisors received a report from Lora Kanning, President of Cass County Tourism, on a new (Draft copy for now), interactive brochure.

Cass County Board of Supervisors meeting on Nov. 13, 2024

She asked for a Cass County Tourism tab to be included on the County’s website, once the brochure is finalized. A one-time fee of $150 is needed to create a side page for the brochure. The Supervisors agreed help pay for the addition to the website. The brochure will include QR Codes to each community in the county, including recreational and other information.

And, they received a regular report from Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken, who said with (up until recently) the dry weather, they’ve been applying spot rock to the county’s gravel roads as needed, especially on Lansing Road. They’ve also replaced some rip-rap around bridge piers, and conducting culvert work. And, Wolken said the are looking for help in the Secondary Roads Department. Advertisements for one of the positions was posted a few days ago.

And, some construction projects were recently completed, including a box culvert on 620th, Bridge 24 was finished Tuesday and open for traffic.

The Supervisors approved a lease agreement (as written) with the 4^th Judicial District Dept. of Correctional Services, for County-owned property at 601 Walnut Street, Suite 1, in Atlantic. They approved also, the issuance of a county credit card with a $2,500 spending limit, to Cass County Public Safety Director Mike Kennon, and Bobbi Jo Steffensmeier. The request was with regard to dispatcher and other necessary training.

In other action, the Board approved a fiscal year 2023-24 Urban Renewal report, and a Federal-Aid agreement for the replacement of Bridge 269 over the Jim Branch, which is on the landfill road.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is criticizing the institution where he’s served for decades for giving too much power to the office of the president. Grassley, the longest-serving Republican in Congressional history, says Congress has “violated the Constitution” by handing the White House the authority to enact crippling tariffs. President-Elect Donald Trump made global tariffs a primary focus of his campaign, and Grassley, who serves on the Senate Finance Committee, says he can do it. “I’m sorry to say that he probably does have that sort of authority based upon a couple tariffs,” Grassley says. “The only one I remember would be the 1963 tariff legislation, supposedly to be used for national security.”

During the campaign, Trump suggested he’ll sign an executive order to impose a 20-percent tax on all imports from all countries, and threatened a tax of up to 60-percent on all goods coming from China. Grassley believes the president has that power and can enact such tariffs without needing Congressional approval. “I’d rather call them countervailing duties than tariffs, but when a country goes against international trade law and subsidizes something,” Grassley says, “a president’s got the authority under this other trade bill to put on enough duties on imports to level the playing field.”

Grassley says his criticism of Congress goes back 50, even 80 years, as powers that should likely have remained under the U-S Capitol dome were shifted to the executive branch. “We have actually violated the Constitution, where it says all legislative power shall be vested in the Congress of the United States,” Grassley says, “but when you delegate too much authority for presidential action, you’re really violating that section of the code.” Recent action by the U-S Supreme Court aimed to curb the power of the executive branch, Grassley says, if that power isn’t specifically spelled out in the law. He says, “In the Supreme Court case of this year, they more or less said, ‘Congress, you aren’t doing your job, and you shouldn’t be delegating so much authority,’ and the Supreme Court’s going to be the policeman of that in the future.”

The threatened 60-percent tariff on all goods from China is particularly troubling to American companies that rely on parts from China in order to make a wide range of products, which could force a tremendous boost in prices for consumers.