(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Senate has passed a bill with new guardrails that would make it harder for companies to seize property for carbon pipelines and other energy-related infrastructure. Senator Jeff Taylor of Sioux Center is among 12 Republicans who boycotted votes on the state budget in order to force a vote on the bill, which also requires more insurance for carbon pipelines.

“We’ve heard a lot the last week or two, criticism of those of us who stepped forward after waiting four long sessions for leadership to do something and they were willing to do nothing in terms of a floor vote and open floor debate,” Taylor said. “…This isn’t just a fight about constitutional propriety and authority. It’s also a fight about justice and it’s a fight about truth and it’s a fight about good government and those things are worth fighting for.”

Senator Jeff Taylor (R-Sioux Center) (official photo)

Some of the Republicans who voted against the bill said they support private property rights, but they accused Republicans who voted for it of being stubborn, naive and inexperienced. Republican Senator Tim Kraayenbrink of Fort Dodge says the G-O-P group that pushed for the bill refused to compromise and ignored the rights of landowners who want the pipeline. “We’re stuck with this pile of crap,” Kraayenbrink said. “It’s going to cost Iowa…It’s going to cost us in economic growth.”

Senator Tony Bisignano of Des Moines defended the dozen Republicans AND fellow Democrats who struck a bipartisan deal to get the bill passed. “This bill, regardless of how bad you think it is, I don’t see one you drafted,” Bisignano said. “When you start criticizing people who dug the ditch because they didn’t dig it right, look at your clean hands. You didn’t help.”

Republican Senator Mike Klemish of Spillville predicts that if the bill becomes law, the State of Iowa will be sued by Summit and landowners who signed contracts to allow the pipeline on their properties. “I believe it puts at risk taxpayers’ money in the state of Iowa to pay damages because we are moving the goalposts after the fact,” Klemish said.

Senator Dan Zumbach, a Republican from Ryan, says the bill will kill the Summit pipeline project. “Where’s the joy in the room, folks? Nobody’s smiling. Look at each other. Look to your left, look to your right. Everybody’s sitting here just frustrated as can be that we have a horrible piece of legislation in front of us.”

Senator Mike Bousselot, a Republican from Ankeny, called the House bill a Trojan Horse. “It is an attact on infrastructure for environmental extremists in the facade of killing one project,” Bousselot said. Representative Steven Holt of Denison, one of the Republicans who crafted the bill, responded and notes Bousselot worked for the company that owns Summit Carbon Solutions, the pipeline developer. “The whole premise is ridiculous. This is not about environmental extremism at all. it’s about protecting landowners and the arrogance the senator is showing and the disrespect…to property owners is frankly breathtaking.”

The bill now goes to the governor, who has the power to sign or veto it.

(Glenwood, Iowa) –  A man from Nebraska was arrested Sunday on drug charges, in Glenwood. According to the Glenwood Police Department, 28-year-old Lucas Pickle, of Omaha, was arrested for possession of marijuana/2nd offense, and poss. of drug paraphernalia. Pickle was released from custody after posting a$1,300 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra has filed the paperwork to begin raising money for a campaign for governor.

Feenstra was first elected to the U-S House in 2020, after defeating incumbent Steve King in the Republican Primary. Last year, he won reelection in the fourth congressional district by a 34 point margin.

Feenstra has served in a variety of government roles. He was state senator, Sioux County Treasurer and the city administrator in his hometown of Hull. Feenstra, a graduate of Dordt University, has taught business and economics classes at the Sioux Center school. He also has a masters from Iowa State and a PhD in business from Northcentral University in Minneapolis.

Iowa Congressman Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) (official photo)

Governor Kim Reynolds announced a month ago that she would not seek reelection. Since then, a few other Republicans have indicated they are considering a run for governor, but have not taken steps to launch a campaign. The list includes Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, State Ag Secretary Mike Naig, House Speaker Pat Grassley and State Senator Mike Bousselot.

(Radio Iowa) – The City of Ames has purchased property for a new animal shelter that will at least double the number of animals that can be taken in — and the shelter is already taking in a thousand animals a year. Shelter director Ron Edwards says the plans are in response to a growing need for shelter space locally, and he hopes the expansion will help ease the burden on other shelter partners in the central Iowa region.

“We’ve heard a lot of no kill shelters that have had to make some very difficult euthanasia decisions that they haven’t had to do in a very long time, so shelters are struggling right now,” Edwards says. “We’re in a really good spot. We’ve had so many amazing adoptions, but we can do a lot better in our new facility and we’re going to make sure we do that.”

Edwards says the current shelter in Ames takes in around 900 cats, dogs and exotic pets every year, along with roughly 100 wild animals. “We are continuing to see those numbers increase, he says, “so that was really part of the focus of making sure that we had a facility that was sized right.”

He says the animal impound numbers have grown alongside the population growth of Ames, but Edwards also blames a lack of spaying and neutering for increasing the number of puppies and kittens. “We have a program where we can bring the animals here to our facility, again, when we have space,” he says, “so I’m hoping we’ll continue to do that.”

Ames has launched a fundraising campaign for the last $1.5 million needed to pay for the $7.5 million project. Edwards expects they’ll be able to move into the new animal shelter within two years.

(Radio Iowa) – The legislature has approved a bill to make it clear that when the State of Iowa seizes abandoned animals, the state owns the livestock. Last September, the state took over the care of one-point-three million chickens after the owners of Pure Prairie Poultry in Charles City declared bankruptcy. Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig says after several weeks, the State of Iowa went to the bankruptcy court with a plan to have the broiler chickens processed. “Those animals were getting bigger and we were going to miss their marketing window,” Naig said.

Other Pure Prairie Poultry creditors objected, arguing over ownership of the birds, and the chickens were euthanized.  “After we took custody of the animals we were unable to market them and recoup costs for the taxpayer because of some lien issues and title issues with the livestock,” Naig said. “What we wanted to do this legislative session was to ensure that if the State of Iowa has to step in that the taxpayers are first in line to recoup any costs or any revenue that’s generated then from the sale of the livestock.”

The bill ensures the state of Iowa will hold the ownership title to seized livestock. Naig says the state has long had the authority to get a court order to take custody of abandoned animals, but it’s Naig says rarely used. In the case of Pure Prairie Poultry, the State of Iowa spent two MILLION dollars on feed and about three-hundred thousand dollars to euthanize the chickens.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office reports two people were recently injured in separate accidents. Last Wednesday (May 7th) at around 5-p.m., 77-year-old Gerald Dean Christensen, of Panora, suffered suspected serious/incapacitating injuries, when the motorcycle he was riding failed to negotiate a left-hand curve on a slight slope while traveling in the 2500 block of Wagon Road. The 1997 Honda Valkyrie left the road to the right, and struck a cable barrier before knocking-over a few cable barrier poles. The cycle then went airborne and overturned. Christensen was ejected from the machine. Both came to rest outside of the cable barrier, in the ditch.

Christensen suffered significant injuries and was transported by Panora EMS to Methodist Hospital in Des Moines. The Sheriff’s Office says two witnesses to the accident are to be commended for rendering aid to Gerald Christensen. Both are from Stuart. They were identified as Matthew Litwiller, and Tammy Richardson. The motorcycle was totaled in the crash, with damage estimated at $6,500.

The other accident happened at around 4:45-a.m. Saturday, on Highway 44 in Guthrie County. Authorities say 23-year-old Wyatt Clinton Hall, of Panora, was driving a 2003 Lincoln Towncar northbound on Andrews Terrace, when the car went off the road and onto the right shoulder. The vehicle came back onto the roadway before going out of control and crossing into a yard, where it struck a tree. Hall was transported by Panora EMS to the Guthrie County Hospital for treatment of suspected minor/non-incapacitating injuries. The car sustained an estimated $2,000 damage.

Charges are currently pending.

ADEL, Iowa — An overnight fire caused significant damage to the Raccoon River Valley Trail bridge on the east side of Adel. KCCI-TV reports officials with the Adel Fire Department said the fire was still smoldering Monday morning, but it was basically out. Crews were first called to the scene around 2 a.m. and found the east end of the bridge fully engulfed. No damage estimate has been determined, nor has a cause been publicly released. The fire is still under investigation.

“The bridge sustained significant damage and is currently unsafe for use,” according to a news release from the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office. “It is important to note that this section of the trail was already closed for scheduled maintenance and improvements.”

Dallas County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page photo (5-12-25)

Curt Cable, director of the Dallas County Conservation Board, said the fire happened on a “vital stretch to the Raccoon River Valley Trail,” a 72-mile loop within 89 miles of paved trails connecting 14 central Iowa towns. The bridge, known as the “Lighted Bridge,” was closed several months last year for renovations. The $500,000 project included upgrades to the deck and railings, along with new pavement approaching the bridge.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa National Guard’s new readiness center on the southern edge of West Des Moines will provide soldiers and the public some modern amenities. Guard Lieutenant Colonel Jared Gledhill
says soldiers in the 21-68th Transportation Company can tune up their trucks on site. “We have a brand new maintenance facility so that truck company has maintainers that are part of it and they’ll be able to maintain most of their fleet here on their drill weekends and then the stuff that they can’t do will actually bring mechanics from Camp Dodge where we have a large maintenance facility that supports us on the full time side,” Gledhill says. He says each of the building’s classrooms has modern audiovisual equipment.

“The modern T-V screens, projection capabilities that are all in these classrooms, it’s going to make a world of difference when we’re doing some of our administrative things,” he says. “And then for the community to be able to come in and use some of these same amenities when they want to use this.” The 1-168th Infantry Company is also headquartered there, and both Guard Units will be able to do their weapons training. “Whether it’s the infantry guys or the truckers, they’re able to train on their assigned weapon systems right here, no live fire, no nothing, but in a simulated environment. It’s all built in, it’s all part of this building,” he says. Gledhill says the central location makes it easy for guard members across the state to get to the facility. And he says the 21-68th Transportation Company will have a fast response for missions like the ones they conducted during the pandemic.

“They were one of the units that responded. We brought them down from the Siouxland area to be able to support the state response with moving P-P-E to all 99 counties, and we ran them out of Camp Dodge,” Gledhill says. “With them right here, we can be able to respond by moving, whether it’s state support to a spot or federal support in the event of a natural disaster. ”

The facility was officially opened with a ribbon cutting at the end of last week.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest Friday afternoon, of 41-year-old Lindsay Lee Hommes, of Adair. She was taken into custody after turning herself-in to the sheriff’s office, on an Adair County warrant for Theft in the 4th Degree. Hommes was released later that afternoon on a $1,000 bond.

On May 5th, Adair County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 30-year-old Kyle Lynn Wilson, of Griswold, on an Adair County felony warrant for Violation of Probation. Wilson was being held in the Adair County Jail without bond until making a district court appearance.

And, on May 4th, 39-year-old Samantha Ann Wright, of Des Moines, was arrested in Stuart for Driving While Barred/Habitual Offender, following a traffic stop for a defective center brake light in the back window. She was released a short-time later on a summons to appear in court.  Wright was also issued a written warning for the defective center brake light.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office has released a report on those persons who were arrested over the past week:

• Sunday morning (May 11), 44-year-old Tonweya Willow Langille, of Malvern, was arrested in Malvern on an Assault charge. Her bond was set at $300.
• Early Friday morning (May 9), Mills County deputies arrested 40-year-old Bree Anne Crotty, of Omaha, in Glenwood, for Violation of Probation. (Bond $10,000)
• Thursday afternoon, 33-year-old Cody Robert Cunningham, of Bellevue, NE, was arrested in Glenwood, for Violation of Probation. (Bond $10,000)
• 49-year old Daniel Eugene Shipley, of Glenwood, was arrested Thursday, on two-counts of Failure To Appear. (Total bond, $600)
• On May 7th, Mills County deputies in Pacific Junction arrested 22-year-old Seth Michael Houser, of Omaha, on an out-0f-county/state warrant. (No Bond)
• and, 37-year-old Diamond Marie Peverill, of Glenwood, was arrested May 7th in Glenwood, for Violation of a No Contact order – Domestic. (Bond $300).