(Cass County, Iowa) — On May 2, 2025, Cass County Auditor and Commissioner of Elections Kathy Somers oversaw the post-election audit of the Lewis Special Election. The audited results matched the election night ballot count with 100% accuracy.

Under Iowa law, post-election audits are mandatory. Following Election Day, the Secretary of State’s office randomly selects one precinct to be audited. For this special election, the absentee precinct was chosen. A post-election audit board, comprised of representatives from both the Republican and Democratic parties, conducted a hand-count of the mayor’s race. The audit results perfectly matched the original machine count, reinforcing confidence in the integrity and accuracy of the
election process.

Auditor Somers expressed appreciation to all who contributed to the election process including those who served as Precinct Election Officials at the polling location, the absentee board, the post-election audit board, and the auditor’s office staff for their time and dedication to ensuring the election was conducted securely and in compliance with state law.

(Radio Iowa) – The Dickinson County board of adjustment has approved plans for a slightly scaled-back wind turbine project in the Iowa Great Lakes area. The board turned down permits for the project in 2023 but voted unanimously this week after three days of testimony for the Red Rock Wind Energy farm. Aaron Janssen owns a wedding venue in the area, and says he’s disappointed the board didn’t listen to the majority of people who testified against the project. “Disappointed, you know, you think that the corruption and that sort of stuff isn’t at the county level, and it is,” he says.

Janssen says it’s likely property owners will appeal the board’s decision. “You just feel bad for people. We just feel everyone got the shaft on this deal,” Janssen says.

The lead developer with Red Rock Wind says hundreds of landowners supported the project, which will bring long-term economic opportunities to the community. The revised project calls for 67 turbines, instead of 79.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Friday (Today), said a woman from Cumberland was arrested April 24th on drug charges. Authorities report 52-year-old Brenda Lee Zimmerman, of Cumberland, was arrested on charges of possession of controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Zimmerman was transported to the Cass County Jail, booked-in, and later released on her own recognizance.

(Corning, Iowa) – Authorities in Adams County say four teenagers face burglary and other charges, following an investigation into multiple vehicle burglaries that occurred in Prescott, in early April. The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports the teens are all 14-years old.Three of the teens were from Creston, the other from Prescott.

• One of the teens from Creston, was charged with six-counts of Burglary in the 3rd Degree, two-counts of Theft in the 3rd Degree, two-counts of Theft in the 4th Degree, and one-count of Reckless use of a Firearm.
• Another Creston teen was charged six-counts of Burglary in the 3rd -, one-count of Theft in the 4th -, and two counts of Theft in the 3rd – degrees.
• The other teen from Creston was charged with two-counts of Burglary in the 3rd degree.
• The 14-year-old from Prescott was also charged with two-counts of Burglary 3rd.

All four teens were referred to Juvenile Court Services. No names were released because they are juveniles.  Separately, the Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports six other arrests:

• Jason McCollum was arrested following a traffic stop March 29th. McCollum was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance 1st Offense and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Additional charges are pending.
• Jennifer Lynn Collins, of Kentucky, was arrested following a traffic stop April 25th. Collins was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance (Marijuana) 1st Offense.
• 32-year-old Jacob D. Jones was arrested April 4th on four outstanding warrants for Adams and Union counties.
• Patrick Dean Jones was arrested April 29th on multiple active Adams County warrants for Failure to Appear.
• 34-year-old David Downey, was arrested following a traffic stop April 22nd, and charged with  Violation of a No Contact Order.
• and, Dennis Edward Nekuda, of Corning, was arrested on April 28th for Violation of a No Contact Order.

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston cited the driver of a small SUV Thursday afternoon, following a collision at the intersection of Highway 25 (Sumner St.) & Highway 34 (Taylor St.).  Officials say a 2019 Cadillac SUV driven by 76-year-old Phyllis Kimball, of Creston, was stopped southbound on Highway 25 at the traffic light, waiting to turn left onto Highway 34 at around 4:35-p.m., when her vehicle was struck from behind. The driver of a 2005 Ford Escape, 25-year-old Christopher Perry, of Creston, told police that accident happened as he was looking down at his phone. No injuries were reported.

Damage from the accident amounted to $3,000. Creston Police cited Perry for Failure to Provide Proof of insurance (accident related).

(Corning, Iowa) – The Adams County Sheriff’s Office, today (Friday), reported the arrest on March 28th, of a man from Clarke County. Authorities say 52-year-old Nolan Maurice McClarty, of Osceola, was arrested for Violation of a No Contact Order (A Simple Misdemeanor). McClarty was booked into the Adams County Jail, posted a $500 bond, and is scheduled to make an initial court appearance on May 8th.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill that’s cleared an Iowa House subcommittee would set up a “prison infrastructure fund” and launch a study of the nine state-run prisons. Representative Brian Lohse, a Republican from Bondurant, cited the latest data showing Iowa prisons are holding 24% more inmates than they were designed to house — and he said the bill would spark a conversation about how the state should respond. “If we’re going to build a new one or if there’s ways we can make improvements in the current ones to deal with any overcrowding through technology,” Lohse said. “All of those things are conversations that we need to have on the table.”

There are over 8600 inmates in the general prison population today. A thousand others are either held in isolation, in segregated areas or in medical units. The prison infrastructure fund outlined in the bill would be filled with the yearly installments that have been paying off state-issued bonds for construction of the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison, after those bonds are paid off in 2027.

(Photo via ACLU of Iowa)

Construction of a new maximum security prison began in 2010 and inmates moved into the Fort Madison facility in 2015. “Do we need another prison to deal with the overcapacity issue? Certainly there are other infrastructure needs that prisons may need as far as improvements, such as Anamosa.”

The Anamosa State Penitentiary was built in 1899. Two Anamosa staff members were killed in 2021 by two inmates who were attempting to escape through the prison’s infirmary.

• On Thursday, April 24th, Shelby County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 51-year old James Victor Ayers, of Macedonia, for Violation of Probation.
• On Sunday, April 27th, 27-year old Derek Matthew James, of Harlan, was arrested for Driving While Barred.
• Monday, April 28th, 36-year old Jacob Brady Scheffler was arrested for possession of 5 grams of methamphetamine.
• And on Tuesday, April 29th, 33-year old Travis Dean Blair, of Shelby, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance.

(Radio Iowa) – The lone movie theater in Webster City reopened last (Thursday) night with a showing of “Thunderbolts” after being forced to close following a fire in November of 2023. Tyler Abens, of the HERO organization for the Webster Theater, says it’s taken a lot of time, fundraising and effort to restore the movie-house. “To get rid of the smoke smell and all that tar that covered everything in the theater, we basically had to gut the entire theater back down to the bones,” Abens says, “and so it’s all brand new. It’s very impressive.”

Jeff Pingel also helped to bring about the return of the Webster Theater, a process which was complicated by there being needed repairs that weren’t covered by insurance. “We had to scramble to come up with some pretty significant funds to save the marquee and all the limestone decorative on the front was in jeopardy of falling onto the sidewalk,” Pingel says, “so the community stepped forward, and through the grace of everybody being generous, we were able to raise enough money and get that taken care of.”

Webster Theater (Photo provided by KQWC)

Insurance coverage on the building alone was one-point-two million dollars, with another 300-thousand for the contents. A street party for the Webster Theater is scheduled for May 23rd to celebrate the reopening.