(Radio Iowa) – The company that’s working to restart Iowa’s only nuclear power plant has signed an agreement with Google. NextEra Energy’s 25-year contract says the company will supply Google with power to run its expanding cloud and A-I infrastructure once the Duane Arnold Energy Plant near Palo is running again.

NextEra has signed agreements to acquire the CIPCO and Corn Belt Power Cooperative’s combined 30 percent interest in the plant, to give NextEra full ownership.The target is to have the plant fully operational by the first quarter of 2029. NextEra says they also have an agreement with Google to explore new nuclear generation nationwide.

The Duane Arnold plant has been shut down since 2020.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he’s encouraged by the trade deals President Trump is making during his Asian tour, but it’s still unclear if there will be an agreement reached with China to buy American products, especially agricultural products like soybeans. China had been the biggest customer of that crop, but halted all purchases earlier this year in retaliation for Trump’s tariffs. “It would still give a great morale boost to farmers if they knew that China is going to be back in the market for our soybeans,” Grassley says. “Now, exactly when those first soybeans start flowing to China, I can’t give you a date on that.”

Grassley also couldn’t say if a deal with the Chinese this late in the year would be too little, too late for Iowa soybean growers, as China’s been buying beans from Brazil for many months. Grassley says the president’s making significant progress elsewhere. “I think the trip is already producing results,” Grassley says. “You heard announcement of trade deals with Malaysia, Cambodia and signed reciprocal trade framework for Thailand and Vietnam.” A few weeks ago, the president talked about offering farmers who’ve been impacted by retaliatory tariffs several billion dollars in relief, but that potential aid package is on hold due to the federal government shutdown.

Trump’s in the midst of a five-day trade trip in Asia and he’s scheduled to meet with China’s president in South Korea on Wednesday. Grassley couldn’t say what Iowa farmers should hope for from those talks. “That’s new negotiations,” Grassley says. “Don’t forget that China only fulfilled about two-thirds of their obligation to buy American products, including agricultural products, from the January 2020 agreement that we had, called the First Phase of the China agreement.”

Trump met today (Tuesday) with Japan’s prime minister, signing a wide-ranging deal on several fronts, including missiles and rare earth elements.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra made it official today (Tuesday). He’s running for governor. Feenstra formed an exploratory committee in May to raise money for the race, but kicked his campaign off this (Tuesday) morning with a video.

Feenstra has been appearing at campaign events, hinting at the theme of his campaign. This is what he said last Friday at a fundraiser in Coralville.

Feenstra has been promising to focus on Iowa’s workforce shortage. “We want to make sure our kids stay here, that when they graduate from high school that they have job with the trade they got from high school,” Feenstra said. “And finally, we want affordable and accessible health care. We can’t have moms traveling 50-75 miles for maternity care.”

Congressman Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) spoke to reporters during the 2025 Iowa State Fair. (RI file photo)

Feensta served in the Iowa Senate before being elected to the U.S. House in 2020. Feenstra’s campaign video did not mention the other Republican candidates who’ve been campaigning for governor for the past few months, but did criticize State Auditor Rob Sand, a Democrat who’s running for governor.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Board of Supervisors in Montgomery County, during their regular weekly meeting today (Tuesday), discussed their ISAC (Iowa State Association of Counties) legislative priorities, and acted on approving the recommendations to send to the Iowa Legislature for their next session. Montgomery County Engineer Karen Albert updated the Board on Secondary Roads Department matters, including maintenance and activities.

Montgomery County Treasurer Jackie Porter updated the Supervisors on the County’s Banking and Investment numbers.

The interest rate the County receives from Bank Iowa is 3.95%, which is down from where they started.

Auditor Jill Ozuna discussed a pilot program for AI (Artificial Intelligence) tools to help streamline some processes, such as comparing documents and other time consuming tasks of that nature

The Montgomery County Supervisors set Nov. 18th at 9:30-a.m., as the date and time for a FY26 Budget Amendment. And, they tabled action on a resolution dissolving a County Compensation Board. Auditor Jill Ozuna….

Supervisor Alex Burton disagreed the Comp Board duties could be handled by the Supervisors.

Supervisor Bryant Amos said having a Comp Board is a “waste of time,” because the Supervisors have the final say.

Auditor Ozuna said the Supervisors always have the option to reinstate the Comp Board. Rather than voting to terminate the Compensation Board, Supervisor Burton said he would like talk with the Comp Board members and Department Heads and get a feel for what they are thinking. The Supervisors agreed to let him take that ball and run with it, and place the matter on a later agenda, along with his report.

The next regular Board meeting is Wednesday, Nov, 5th, at 9-a.m., because of the elections on Nov. 4th.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports the arrest this (Tuesday, Oct.28) morning, of a woman on an assault charge. 30-year-old Taylor Dawn Fleming, of Creston, was arrested at around 2:40-a.m., at her residence in the 100 block of Manor Drive. Fleming was charged with Assault – Causing Bodily Injury. She was being held at the Union County Jail.

(Atlantic, Iowa) –  The City Council in Atlantic will hold a scheduled Work Session Wednesday, beginning at 5-pm inside the Council’s Chambers at City Hall. City Administrator John Lund says the majority of the meeting will be his presentation on the priorities of 2026 legislative session, and Atlantic’s recommended response, along with the FY 2027 Budget process (as guided by the Legislature, the Governor, and Iowans for Tax Relief).

Additional topics to be brought-up by Lund, include capital projects in need of debt financing, and the proposed 2026 bond and how it will be financed without raising property taxes in total dollars, as opposed to a fixed levy rate that quietly collects more as property values increase.

Lund said in his pre-meeting notes, he was working with the City’s bond broker on the borrowing structure and the debts refinanced that make all the processes work.

(Radio Iowa) – An invasive insect that gobbles a wide host of plants, trees and crops is now confirmed in Iowa and it’s feared there’s scarcely anything that can stop it from spreading. The state ag department says the spotted lanternfly was found in southeast Iowa’s Des Moines County in September in an industrial area with significant truck traffic from outside Iowa. Boone entomologist Ginny Mitchell says it’s already established in 15 other states and is proving to be very harmful. “The spotted lanternfly feeds on over 100 different species of plants,” Mitchell says, “and where it really comes into play are a lot of fruit-bearing trees, grapes, different berries, and there is the potential of it feeding on crops like soybeans and corn.”

Though many parts of Iowa have seen frost this month, there hasn’t been a hard freeze statewide yet to kill most insects, and even then, the spotted lanternfly could be back in greater numbers next spring. “The females lay a cluster of eggs and then it’s kind of like a coating that almost looks like dried mud on whatever, a tree or a piece of stone or a building,” Mitchell says, “and it really protects those eggs from any of the elements, so these eggs will survive the winter.” Before it grows wings, the young spotted lanternfly is all black with white spots, and as it ages, it will develop red patches. The mature insect has light brown main wings with black spots, while the rear wings are bright orange with black spots, along with black and white bars. Mitchell says it’s going to be extremely difficult to control the spread of these pests.

“They were introduced to the United States in Pennsylvania in 2014 and they think they came on a shipment of stones,” Mitchell says. “It’s really hard to distinguish between the eggs and the stones themselves because they’re practically the same color, so these can move anywhere and eggs can be laid on literally anything.” In recent years, Iowans learned a hard lesson about invasive insects like the emerald ash borer, and no one wants a repeat of that. “We tried to stop the spread by convincing people to not move wood from one area to another and it has decimated the ash trees,” Mitchell says. “It’s all over the place now, so we don’t want something similar happening with the spotted lanternfly. We really need to be diligent in keeping an eye out for this pest so it does not continue to spread.”

Iowans who spot the spotted lanternfly should report it to the Iowa Ag Department’s Entomology and Plant Science Bureau at 515-725-1470 or e-mail Entomology@IowaAgriculture.gov.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak, Monday evening, arrested a man on an assault charge. Authorities say 27-year-old Christian Cole Terry, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 5:45-p.m. in the 1000 block of Sherwood Lane. He was charged with Simple Assault, and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where bond was set at $300.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) — Since 2013, the number of children technically counted in Iowa’s foster system has been decreasing; however, there’s still a constant need for new foster families, KCRG reports. In 2013, the Iowa Data Center reported 10,400 children in the system — in 2022 that number dropped to 6,586.

Kai McGee with Four Oaks Family and Children Services credits The Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018. That law gave family members of foster care candidates money to support taking the child in.

The need for foster parents remains high in Iowa. Four Oaks saw a spike earlier this summer. Four Oaks offers a comprehensive rundown of the processes and requirements necessary to become a foster parent. McGee says now is the perfect time for anyone considering becoming a foster parent to begin the process.

STORM LAKE, Iowa (story from the IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – A northwest Iowa nurse convicted of stealing more than $115,000 worth of property from a home-health patient has agreed to surrender her license.

Earlier this year, the Iowa Board of Nursing charged Clay County Nurse Shari Lee Bents of Royal with committing an act that might adversely affect a patient’s welfare; committing an act that causes physical, emotional or financial injury to a patient; possessing or administering controlled substances without lawful authority; soliciting, borrowing, or misappropriating money or property from a patient, and being convicted of an offense that directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of the profession.

According to the board, from April 2024 to October 2024, Bents was employed by Stay In Home Care & Medical Staffing in the Storm Lake area. On Oct. 24, 2024, she was charged with first-degree theft and ongoing criminal conduct. Prosecutors alleged Bents took more than $115,000 worth of coins and jewelry from a Stay In Home Care patient and then pawned the items. On Feb. 15, 2025, Bents agreed to plead guilty to a charge of felony dependent adult abuse and the charges of theft and ongoing criminal conduct were dismissed.

The board alleges Bents admitted to an Iowa Department of Health and Human Services worker that she stole items from her patient on three separate occasions and that she administered morphine to the patient outside of her scope of practice as a caregiver. Bents’ recent agreement to surrender her license has little practical effect, as she already is incarcerated at the Iowa Correctional Institute for Women where she is serving a five-year sentence on the dependent adult abuse charge.

Iowa Board of Nursing records indicate the board granted Bents a practical nurse’s license in September 2024, months after she first began working at Stay In Home Care. Bents — whose full name is listed in some board records as “Shari-Bents” — faced charges of theft twice in 2016 and twice in 2017. In each of the four cases, the charges were later dismissed.

Other Iowa-licensed nurses recently sanctioned by the board include (in southwest Iowa):

Linda Jay of Clarinda, a licensed practical nurse who in 2024 was charged by the board with committing an act that might adversely affect a patient’s welfare and with failing to properly assess or report a patient’s change in condition. The board alleged that in 2023, while working at a long-term care facility, Jay failed to notify a physician of a patient’s change in condition, and that in February 2024, Jay failed to document a patient’s condition and improperly administered blood pressure medication.

The case was resolved with a $300 civil penalty and Jay agreeing to complete 30 hours of educational training. The board now says Jay recently agreed to surrender her license as part of this same disciplinary case, although the board has yet to make public any records related to that decision.

LeAnn McVay of Fontanelle, a licensed practical nurse who was working at an unspecified long-term care facility in Avoca between 2022 and 2024 when her employer allegedly received complaints she was dismissing residents’ requests for pain-control medications as drug-seeking behavior. The board alleges an investigation also revealed McVay “communicated unprofessionally with a resident’s family member and with colleagues,” including one incident in which she “threw a bag of feed connectors” at a colleague. The board charged McVay with engaging in behavior that is contradictory to professional decorum. As part of a settlement agreement on the disciplinary charge, McVay agreed to accept a warning from the board.