DES MOINES, Iowa — If your holiday plans include consuming alcohol, the Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau is reminding you to plan for a sober driver. To help keep intoxicated drivers off the road this holiday weekend, the GTSB is offering a $10 Uber voucher for the holiday weekend. The $10 off Uber code is rie1T1nxWMg and can be used until Dec. 2.

AAA is also activating its “Tow-to-Go” service for the weekend. The company will tow one person and their vehicle to a safe place within a 10-mile radius. The service is free to everyone, even if you don’t have a AAA membership. To request a tow, visit the AAA website or call 855-286-9246.

The service is active until 6 a.m. Monday.

(Radio  Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds was asked about her Thanksgiving message to Iowans Tuesday at the annual ceremony where she pardoned two turkeys.

The Governor says she is excited to have her whole family here for the holiday after her husband Kevin went through a cancer scare last year.

The governor says she’ll be cooking a turkey, ham and all the sides for the holiday.

(Radio Iowa) – Attorneys General from Iowa and 10 other states are suing three investment firms, accusing the companies of pursuing a “green scheme” that is raising electric rates. Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson reports.

The Texas attorney general filed the lawsuit accusing the investment firms of anti-trust violations. Bird, along with nine other Republicans who are the attorneys general in their states, have signed on to the suit.

(Radio Iowa) – A project on the University of Iowa campus will revive a building that’s been vacant since it was swamped by flooding in 2008. Rod Lehnertz — the university’s architect — says when you’re inside the old Art Building, you can tell it’s been mothballed for a long time.

The 37 million dollar plan for the old Art Bui includes addressing a backlog of maintenance projects as well as renovations to modernize the structure.

About one-fifth of University of Iowa students are enrolled in the Graduate College. Lehnertz says they’re confident the building will not be flooded again, but just in case there are plans to add flood protection to the lower level.

Based on the size of the project, Lehnertz expects it to be completed in 2026. The old Art Building is among 22 campus buildings that were flooded when the Iowa River washed across the Iowa City campus in 2008.

(Radio Iowa) – National media outlets are declaring Iowa Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks the winner of the recount of votes in the 20 counties that make up the first congressional district. Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson reports.

Bohannan issued a concession statement this (Wednesday) afternoon, thanking election officials and volunteers who worked tirelessly to ensure every lawful vote was counted. Miller-Meeks declared victory on Election Night, saying she expected to carry Washington County, which had not yet reported results. Bohannan finished about seven points behind Miller-Meeks in 2022. This year’s margin was well under one percent.

(Radio Iowa) – Two dozen small and mid-sized farms, food processors and distributors in Iowa are receiving grants totaling nearly three million dollars aimed at strengthening local food supply chains. Giselle Bruskewitz is on the state steering committee for what’s called the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program that will invest nearly one million dollars into the state’s wholesale food hubs.

Bruskewitz says the program gives everyone more options.

The program is supported by the U-S Department of Agriculture with funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.

(Cumberland, Iowa) – Firefighters from Cumberland were dispatched to a house fire this (Wednesday) afternoon, at 901 Adams Street, in Cumberland. The call went out at 1:54-p.m.  Cumberland Fire requested mutual aid from Massena Fire at around 2:08-p.m.

Initially, the Cass County Communications Center had reported some residents were out of the home but others remained, however, Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon told KJAN News two residents – a man and his wife did escape the home safely.

Kennon said a space heater is the suspected cause of the fire, which resulted in extensive damage to the home. Cumberland Fire Chief Jason Rouse said the house was a total loss. In addition to the firefighters and Mike Kennon, Cass EMS responded to the scene.

No injuries were reported. Fire  crews returned to their stations at around 4-p.m. Cumberland Fire was recalled to the scene, when flames were reported to have rekindled at around 8:50-p.m., Wednesday.

Photo courtesy Cass County EMA Coordinator Mike Kennon

(Radio Iowa) – A new committee in the Iowa House will take a deeper look at state accounts that are set aside for specific purposes as well as the “block grants” the federal government sends the State of Iowa. Federal block grants are distributed to states and are designated for a wide variety of programs that are managed by state officials. Republican Representative Martin Graber of Fort Madison will be chairman of the House Committee on Federal and Other Funds.

The next Trump Administration might be sending even more block grants to states and giving state officials broader authority on how the money is spent.

Graber, who was just elected to a third term in the Iowa House, says giving state officials greater latitude to spend federal money would be a positive move.

Most of the taxes and fees the STATE collects is depositing in what’s called the General Fund, but Graber says the legislature has created all sorts of special state accounts designed to support specific projects.

Graber, a retired Iowa National Guard brigadier general, has a Masters in Business Administration from St. Ambrose University and a Masters in Strategic Studies from the Army War College. He is currently a financial advisor.

(Radio Iowa) – A former licensed nurse practitioner and business owner in Ames has pleaded guilty to fifteen counts of sex trafficking, Radio Iowa’s Dar Danielson reports.

The Ames Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s Division of Criminal Investigation investigated the case, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa is prosecuting the case.

Human trafficking is a crime involving the exploitation of youth under the age of 18 for commercial sex; the exploitation of adults for commercial sex through the use of force, fraud, or coercion; and the exploitation of any individual for compelled labor. Human trafficking does not require the transportation of individuals across state lines, or that someone is physically restrained. Signs that a person is being trafficked can include working excessively long hours, unexplained gifts, physical injury, substance abuse issues, running away from home, isolation from others, or having a person in their life controlling them or monitoring them closely. Victims particularly susceptible to being trafficked include those with criminal histories, a history of physical or sexual abuse, uncertain legal status, and dependency on controlled substances.

Anyone who suspects human trafficking is occurring, be it a minor engaging in paid sex acts, or anyone being coerced into prostitution or labor, is urged to call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.

(Radio Iowa) – Those who find themselves in debt or experiencing financial stress might feel a little more pressure with all the talk of Black Friday and the start of the holiday shopping season. I-S-U Extension’s Carol Ehlers says holiday spending is about managing and being conscious about what you are spending. “And we do that best when we create that budget, make a list, and use cash,” she says. The National Retail Federation expects holiday spending to grow by up to three-and-a-half percent this year.

Ehlers says you can still participate in holiday giving and the spirit of the season. “The joy of being able to find something that’s special for a friend or a family member that’s very important too. But how important it is to be mindful of what we are spending.”

TransUnion’s Holiday Shopping Report shows more than half of Americans plan on spending the same amount as last year, with about 40 percent spending less.