(Radio Iowa) – Case New Holland is laying off more than 200 workers at its plant in Burlington which makes construction equipment. Burlington Mayor Jon Billups says they worked hard to get the company to stay there. “We reached out to the state leaders, and everybody was trying to keep them here,” he says. Billups says the plant has been a point of pride for the Burlington community for generations.

“It stinks, because we’ve had years of investment in their plant, both as a city and as a state, and it’s just heartbreaking for the families that are going to be affected,” Billups says. The employees were given notice earlier this week and Iowa WARN says the layoffs will take effect in April and May. Case New Holland said its reason for the layoffs was a significant drop in loader backhoe demand. “I get they’re not selling as many backhoes as they used to, but they’re selling other equipment we could be manufacturing for them, and they’ve got a perfectly good plant here with a fantastic workforce, and they’re not taking advantage of it,” Billups says.

Local leaders and members of the United Auto Workers had been trying to convince the company to keep the plant open. U-A-W President Shawn Fain called the closure an example of corporate greed.

DAVENPORT, Iowa – A Davenport man was sentenced January 20, 2026, to three years in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a felon. According to public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, Areion Marshaun Watson, 29, possessed a loaded pistol, which was recovered during a traffic stop. Watson fled on foot from the passenger’s seat during the stop. He was prohibited from possessing firearms because he was convicted of a felony, including a 2020 conviction for felon in possession of a firearm in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Watson will be required to serve a three-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Davenport Police Department.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.

(Radio Iowa) – In an update to our previous report on KJAN, the Iowa Republican Party has revealed President Trump will be speaking in a Des Moines suburb next week. The Iowa Republican Party’s Facebook page says Trump will be speaking in Clive on Tuesday afternoon. Trump’s chief of staff has indicated the speech will be focused on the economy and will kick-off weekly events to bolster Republican efforts to retain majority control of congress in the 2026 General Election.

The venue for Trump’s Tuesday appearance was the site of the Iowa Republican Party’s 2024 State Convention and is owned by David Barker, an Iowa City real estate developer who is a former economist for the Federal Reserve who moved back to Iowa in 1994 Barker is now serving in the Trump Administration as the U.S. Department of Education’s Assistant Secretary for Post-secondary Education.

(Corning, IA) – The Adams County Sheriff’s Office today (Friday) reported a man from Polk County was arrested Thursday night on sex-related charges. 45-year-old Craig Lee Christianson II, of Des Moines, was arrested at around 8:15-p.m. on charges that include: Sexual Exploitation of a Minor (Class B felony); Enticing a Minor and Grooming, both of which are Class-D felonies. Christianson was being held in the Adams County Jail.

KCCI-TV provided additional details, Saturday, noting Christiansen is an Urbandale tattoo artist. The station says according to the criminal complaint, Christianson was informed that the person he believed he was communicating with was 14 years old. He allegedly made arrangements to meet the undercover detective who was posing as a teenager, and was arrested Thursday when he arrived at that location.

Christianson is expected to appear in court Friday, Jan. 30th.

Craig Lee Christianson II (Adams County S/O booking photo)

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa, today (Friday), announced seven people from western Iowa and eastern Nebraska were sentenced recently to serve time in  federal prison, for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in the Council Bluffs and Omaha metropolitan area. According to public court documents, between June and September 2024, seven co-defendants conspired together to distribute methamphetamine throughout the Council Bluffs and Omaha metropolitan areas. Defendants were supplied with several pounds of methamphetamine from Mexican-based drug suppliers.

• Aaron Matthew Lewis, 39, of Council Bluffs, was sentenced to a 180-month prison term, followed by a five-year term of supervised release.
• Devon Leigh Miller, 35, of Omaha, was sentenced to a 204-month prison term, followed by a five-year term of supervised release.
• Spencer Allen Cornell, 32, of Council Bluffs, was sentenced to a 224‑month prison term, followed by a five-year term of supervised release.
• James Dwight Mills, 38, of Council Bluffs, was sentenced to a 264-month prison term, followed by a five-year term of supervised release.
• Sanel Dizdarevic, 32, of Omaha, was sentenced to a 132-month prison term, followed by a five-year term of supervised release.
• Kiley Lucille Marie Parrish, 24, of Omaha, was sentenced to a 96-month prison term, followed by a seven-year term of supervised release.
• Alyx Megan O’Hare, 37, of Omaha, was sentenced to a 60-month prison term, followed by a four-year term of supervised release.

There is no parole in the federal system.

United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The case was investigated by Council Bluffs Police Department, Omaha Police Department, Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Pottawattamie County Sheriff Department and Drug Enforcement Administration.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.

(Radio Iowa) – Democrats in the Iowa House are proposing a dramatic increase in state funding for water quality projects along with two new tax credits for farmers who implement conservation practices that prevent soil and fertilizer run-off. The plan does NOT call for new regulations on manure and fertilizer applications on farmland. Representative Kenan Judge, a Democrat from Waukee, says it’s time to end the finger pointing and adopt solutions. “We know Iowans want healthy water,” Judge said. “We know farmers want to take care of the land and take care of the water.”

Representative Austin Baeth, a Democrat from Des Moines who’s a doctor, says water pollution is contributing to Iowa’s high cancer rates. “This is our starting point, to try to have everybody meet in the middle in a bold and unified response,” Baeth said, “because right now, the status quo has been folks putting their head in the sand and ignoring the problem.”

House Speaker Pat Grassley says Iowa is spending more money than any other state in the country on water quality efforts and Grassley says he and other Republicans need to do a better job to spread the message about what has already been done.

(Creston, IA) – A man and a woman from Union County were arrested late Thursday, on separate charges. According to the Creston Police Department, 27-year-old Steven Eugene Stow, of Creston, was arrested at the Creston/Union County Law Enforcement Center at around 5:30-p.m. Stow was charged with Willful Injury and taken to Union County Jail. He was released after posting at $10,000 cash or surety bond.

And, at around 7:25-p.m., Thursday, 40-year-old Fallon Danielle May, of Creston, was arrested at a residence in the 900 block of W. Mills Street, on charges that include Violation of Probation and Violation of No Contact Order. May was transported to the Clarke County Jail in Osceola, where she was being held without bond until making her initial court appearance.

DAVENPORT, Iowa – A woman from Moline, IL, was sentenced January 20th, 2026, to 139 months (11 1/2-years) in federal prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges out of Iowa. According to public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, 36-year-old Rianne Len Brinker embezzled $551,961.66 from her employer, located in Bettendorf (IA), over a three-year period from October 2020 to October 2023. As part of the fraud, Brinker applied for a credit account that reimbursed funds to her personal bank account and opened a credit card using the identifiers of her employer. Brinker also registered a fraudulent business with the Illinois Secretary of State in an attempt to legitimize her theft from her employer.

In 2008, Brinker was convicted of credit union embezzlement in the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois. Brinker was also convicted in Illinois and Iowa for other theft-related offenses.

After completing her term of imprisonment, Brinker will be required to serve a three-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Brinker was also ordered to pay $534,461.66 in restitution.

United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the FBI.

(Radio Iowa) – The elementary school principal for Woodbine in western Iowa was surprised with the national Milken Educator Award Thursday for her teacher mentoring efforts. Jill Ridder says her leadership team and teachers also deserve credit for implementing the personalized learning program that challenges students to move forward. “And I feel like that work has kind of work is different and started to become noticeable around the state and our surrounding communities, and people were starting to ask questions about how it was possible,” she says. Ridder says the approach looks at the broader picture with real data of what was happening in the classrooms.

“We moved from, you know, how we felt students were doing the, cardiac data, to actual, tangible data that we can look at and analyze and then put research based strategies in place to progress our students forward,” Ridder says. She says they kept working and changing the last several years to find the best way to help students. “We had failures along the way that we had to pick ourselves back up and make changes mid year. But we did that all together with always a student centered focus. And I believe that has led us to the results that we are seeing at our elementary at this time,” she says. More than 75 percent of elementary students in Woodbine are performing at least a year above grade level in reading or math.

Ridder started as a special education teacher and taught kindergarten, second and fifth grade before becoming an administrator six years ago. She says her passion is teaching, so she didn’t want to just sit behind a desk after becoming principal. “I have been in other schools where leaders are very, you know, successful in doing that managerial side of things. But I am very passionate about instruction as well and I want to be able to not only grow our students but grow our teachers because I know that we cannot grow our students without great staff,” Ridder says. Ridder says she felt being at all the meetings and working through the issues with everyone was the best way to lead.

“People have asked are you ever going to step out and kind of let the teachers do it? My teachers could absolutely do it on their own, they are great and they have learned a lot over the last few years, bBut I feel like my visible leadership is very important and that is how I know my school in and out. And so I continue to be highly involved in that,” she says. Ridder was told the school was being honored for improved test scores, and says she was very surprised and excited to learn she had won the award.

The award comes with a 25-thousand dollar prize. Ridder says she hasn’t had time yet to decide how she will use that money.