(Radio Iowa) – The City of Perry a new wastewater treatment plant now working that’s designed to cut nutrient levels from treated water before it’s discharged into the North Raccoon River. Iowa Department of Natural Resources director Kayla Lyon says the plant will help improve water quality. “This new plant uses state-of-the-art biological treatments to meet all the current Clean Water Act requirements. It also goes beyond the basics of removing both nitrogen and phosphorus, consistent with the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy.”

The state’s strategy requires large municipal and industrial wastewater treatment facilities to reduce their nutrient discharge as part of renewing their permits. Perry wastewater plant superintendent Superintendent Dave Gliem says one of the treatment tanks has phosphorus-eating bacteria. “If you starve them for air a little bit, they’ll eat the phosphorus,” he says.

The latest data shows just over 40 percent of the plants in Iowa have met their nitrogen targets. Nearly a quarter have met their goals for phosphorus. The new 30 million dollar Perry plant will also increases the city’s treatment capacity to attract new companies and accommodate residential growth. Most of the funding came from the state’s revolving fund, which provides low-interest loans to water quality projects.

(Radio Iowa) – Ground is being broken today (Thursday) at the state’s largest zoo on an 18-million dollar expansion called Wild Iowa, which will showcase various species that are all native to Iowa. Alex Payne, spokesman for Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, says it’ll be their first installation for bobcats, and nearby they’ll build a new habitat for American bald eagles, which will include a place where the big birds can perch above visitors.

“There will be some enclosure there for them, but it will be a brighter area so they’ll be able to receive more sunlight than they have in their current habitat, and more room for them to be able to go out and explore around the area,” Payne says. Another section of the new exhibition will be dedicated to river otters, and it will offer visitors an up-close underwater view of the playful creatures. Payne says it’ll be a big improvement over the current otter habitat.

Otter Habitat (Blank Park Zoo image)

“We will move our otters over to the new Wild Iowa section, so the bald eagles and otters will be moving over there, and then next to that, we’ll also have our bobcat area that we’ll be adding, and then we’ll also have our Discovery Cabin and we’ll include some Blanding’s turtles, which are native to Iowa, and some other animals that are native to the Iowa area.” Today’s groundbreaking event also marks the launch of the zoo’s 60th anniversary, what Payne says will be a year-and-a-half-long celebration of the zoo’s past, and the exciting things that are still to come.

“We broke ground in May on our new lion habitat, so that will open next summer, and that’s part of our overall Expand the Impact campaign,” Payne says. “Then Wild Iowa, we’ll be breaking ground now and then that will probably be about a year, so we’re looking into probably spring of 2027 for Wild Iowa.” What was originally called the Des Moines Children’s Zoo opened in May of 1966. It now draws about a half-million visitors every year.

(Atlantic, IA) – Cass County Auditor Kathy Somers has announced that the post-election audit, as required by Iowa Code Section 50.51, for the November 4, 2025 City/School election will take place at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, November 13, 2025, in the Board of Supervisors meeting room at the Cass County Courthouse.

The Iowa Secretary of State’s Office has selected the first race on the first ballot style for the Noble/Pleasant/Griswold Precinct to be audited. The race to be audited will be the Griswold Mayoral race.

Questions specifically regarding the Cass County post-election audit may be directed to the auditor’s office at 712-243-4570.

• Lt. Governor Chris Cournoyer
• Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig
• Secretary of State Paul Pate
• Department of Administrative Services Director Mark Campbell
• Department of Management Director Kraig Paulsen
• Department of Economic Development and Iowa Finance Authority Director Debi Durham
• Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow
• Department of Natural Resources Director Kayla Lyon
• Iowa National Guard Major General Stephen Osborn
• Department of Veterans Affairs Director Todd Jacobus
• Iowa State Fair CEO Jeremy Parsons
• Member selected by the Iowa Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution
• Member selected by the Iowa Society of the Sons of the American Revolution
• The FAMiLY Leader President and CEO Bob Vander Plaats
• RMA Armament Founder and CEO Blake Waldrop
• Stellar Industries President and CEO Dave Zrostlik
• Cambrex (Charles City) President Joe Nettleton

(Greenfield, IA) – Adair County Auditor Mandy Berg reports the City Election results have been updated to include write-in candidates that must be reported on the County abstracts. Those changes are highlighted in yellow (In the attached PDF). No write-in names need to be reported for the School election results.

Again, these results are unofficial until canvassed by the Board of Supervisors.

Unofficial Election Night Results – City with Write-Ins

November 6, 2025 (DES MOINES, IA) — The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) today awarded $950,000 in Main Street Iowa Challenge Grants to 10 communities across the state. The grants help rehabilitate underutilized downtown buildings to stimulate economic growth and further investment in Iowa’s historic main streets.

Projects include:

• Corning — The City is receiving a $100,00 grant for a local match of $437,530 toward a total project cost of $537,520, to rehabilitate an historic building to house a health-focused grocery store, addressing local demand for fresh, wellness-oriented foods. The project will create new jobs and serve as a model for improving food access in rural communities.
• Guthrie Center is receiving a $50,000 grant toward restore a vacant historic building with a renewed brick façade, new windows and doors, updated systems and a refreshed interior. The finished space will be ready for a future tenant, supporting reinvestment and renewed activity in the downtown core. The grant requires a local match of $70,000 for the $120,000 project cost.
• Manning is receiving a $100,000 Main Street Challenge Grant with a $137,200 local match toward the total project cost of $237,200, for the second phase of a project. Following a full interior renovation that brought new businesses
  to the space, the second phase will repair the building’s deteriorated exterior and add a daylit basement apartment.
  Specialized masonry work will ensure the building’s historic character is preserved

“These projects are examples of the creativity and persistence we see in communities across Iowa,” said Debi Durham, director of IEDA and the Iowa Finance Authority. “When we invest in our main streets, we’re investing in the places where people come together — where entrepreneurs get their start, where families build memories and where the character of our communities truly shines.”

The grants are administered through IEDA’s Iowa Downtown Resource Center and Main Street Iowa programs. The funding will be distributed to the selected projects in the form of matching grants to their local Main Street programs. The estimated total cost of these 10 projects is nearly $3.6 million.

“These grants give a significant boost to excellent ideas that might not get off the ground otherwise,” said Jim Engle, director of the Iowa Downtown Resource Center. “Each completed project lifts the entire district — when you see lights back on in an upper floor or a storefront filled again, it sends a strong signal that good things are happening, and more are on the way.”

Since the first Challenge Grants were awarded in 2002, more than $16.5 million in funding has leveraged nearly $73.5 million in further investment. Read about the other cities and their projects here: file:///C:/Users/Owner/Downloads/MSI_2025ChallengeGrants_FINAL-1.pdf

(Radio Iowa) – One person died in a house fire early this morning (Thursday) in Sergeant Bluff. Fire chief Anthony Gaul says they were called out to the house fire at 4:36 a-m. “Upon arrival, we did find a two-story residence with flames coming out all windows and all doors on the main level, and the second story,” he says. Gaul says they had already called for additional assistance before arriving.

One person died in a house fire Thursday in Sergeant Bluff. (photo from Sergeant Bluff PD)

“Got some additional assistance from Woodbury County Emergency Services and South Sioux City fire. We divided the fire up and unfortunately we did have a fatality in this and that is being further investigated by the medical examiner’s office,” he says.

Two investigators from the State Fire Marshal’s Office are looking for the cause of the fire. The home is considered a total loss.

(Radio Iowa) – Another Republican has entered the race for governor and it’s a candidate who says he’ll be the biggest donor to his own campaign. Zach Lahn kicked off his campaign this afternoon at his family’s century farm near Belle Plaine, which he bought in 2014 and where his family now lives. Lahn is the son of a pastor who grew up in Sioux City, got a degree in political science from Colorado University and got a job working for a member of Colorado’s state senate. He’s led campaigns for Republican candidates in Iowa and other states and has worked for the political advocacy group Americans for Prosperity.

Lahn now runs an investment business and says he’s not a politician, will be his biggest donor and can’t be bought. As governor, Lahn says he’d pursue an “Iowa First” agenda because the people who built Iowa are being pushed aside by greed and corruption. Lahn is calling for the break up big ag and big pharma monopolies that he says have rigged the system against farmers and poisoned Iowa families for generations.

(Glenwood, IA) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports 31-year-old Jessica Elaine Harvey, of Glenwood, was arrested Wed. night. Harvey was taken into custody in Glenwood, on a charge of Domestic Assault-Bodily Injury/1st offense. Her bond was set at $1,000.