(Guthrie Center, IA) – One person suffered suspected serious injuries during a single-vehicle accident last week, in Guthrie County. The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office reports 20-year-old Denon Joseph Doherty, of Casey, was transported by Adair County EMS to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines, after the 2005 Isuzu SUV he was driving left Whitepole Road as it was traveling eastbound, just west of the Stuart City limits.

The vehicle entered the south ditch and ramped the Iowa Interstate Railroad tracks before becoming airborne and rolling several times after landing, and before coming to rest on its passenger side. The crash, which occurred at around 2:10-p.m., Tuesday (Jan. 27th), remained under investigation. The vehicle sustained a law enforcement-estimated $8,000 damage.

And, a run-in with a deer Friday night in Guthrie County caused an estimated $1,500 damage to a 2020 GMCC Terrain SUV, driven by 53-year-old Dawn Shepherd, of Creston. The Sheriff’s Office reports the vehicle was southbound on Wagon Road at around 7-p.m., when it struck a deer crossing the roadway in the 2700 block of Wagon Road. Shepherd was not injured during the collision.

(Radio Iowa) – The Sheriff’s department says foul play is not suspected after a Kossuth County man was found dead a short distance from his rural Fenton home late last week. The Kossuth County Sheriff’s Office received a request to help locate 91-year-old Marvin Bollinger around 2 p-m on Thursday, January 29th. Bollinger lived alone at a rural residence about a mile southwest of Fenton, and family members were unable to contact or locate him after learning he had missed an appointment scheduled for the 28th.

When Deputies arrived, they noticed that Bollinger’s vehicle was at the residence, but family members reported that he took walks every day. Once the rural residence and outbuildings had been searched, Deputies and family members began to drive the area roads, where they found Bollinger lying in a ditch about a quarter mile from the home.

Foul play is not expected and an l autopsy will be conducted by the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Ankeny.

(radio Iowa) – The annual cookie fundraiser for the Girl Scouts of America is now underway in Iowa, helping young women build confidence and learn skills like how to count back change and how to talk to strangers without being afraid. Samie Swinton, vice president of marketing and communications for the Girl Scouts Greater Iowa, says the Cookie Program started on Sunday and orders are now being taken. Swinton says the best way to find the cookies is to find a Girl Scout.

“If you don’t happen to know a Girl Scout, you can go to the cookie finder on our website, which is girlscoutsiowa.org/findcookies,” she says. There is a place to enter your ZIP code that will bring up when and where different cookie sales will be happening near you. It also will connect you to a local troop to have the cookies shipped directly to you. If you want to save on shipping, there is a deal this coming weekend, February 6th through the 8th.

Swinton says, “The Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa is covering the cost of shipping for nine to 12 packages, if you have them directly shipped to you.” The Girl Scouts organization was founded in 1912, and the cookie program started just a few years later. Swinton says a new flavor is being offered this year, the Exploremores Cookie. “Which is a rocky road ice cream-inspired sandwich cookie,” Swinton says. “If you are a chocolate fan, this cookie is for you because it is a very chocolatey sandwich cookie with a really yummy creamy filling inside.”

Swinton says most booth sales will not start until February 13th. The Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa is made up of about 11,000 girls and 3,000 adult leaders.

(Red Oak, IA) – Two people were injured, with one suffering serious injuries, following a collision late Sunday afternoon in Montgomery County. According to the Red Oak Police Department, a 2019 Chevy Equinox SUV driven by 61-year-old Orlando Aday Aday, of Osceola, was traveling eastbound on Highway 34 at around 4:06-p.m., when – according to his statement to police – Aday fell asleep at the wheel. The SUV crossed the center line of the highway at 8th Street and struck the front passenger side of a westbound 2013 Dodge Journey (van), driven by 28-year-old Whitney Lynn Wright, of Malvern.

According to witness to the collision, following the impact, the  SUV went airborne and turned in the air before landing on its top in the north ditch. Aday managed to crawl out the back driver’s side door of the SUV and waited in the ditch for EMS personnel to arrive. Whitney Wright exited her vehicle, and with the help of witnesses, opened the rear passenger side door to remove her child from the car seat.

Wright suffered minor injuries. Her child was unharmed. Both were going to get checked out, but did not seek transport by ambulance. Two dogs in the back of her vehicle were uninjured. Aday was transported by Red Oak Rescue to the MCMH helipad, before he was flown by Life Flight helicopter to the UNMC in Omaha.

Both vehicles were totaled in the crash. Police said Aday would be cited for driving left of center.

(Radio Iowa) – Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says exports from Iowa manufacturing plants in the first 10 months of 2025 were over a BILLION dollars under the same period in 2024 — for a drop of nearly eight-and-a-half percent. Goss surveys manufacturers in Iowa and eight other states monthly and while there’s been economic growth in the nation’s midsection, Goss says the labor market is not good.  “We’ve really lost jobs almost every month for 2025,” Goss said. Goss says 25 years ago manufacturing accounted for nearly 14-and-a-half percent of the economic output from Iowa and eight neighboring states. It’s now close to 10 percent.

“The region has lost 333,000 jobs or almost 20% of its manufacturing base, so it has not been a good 25 years in terms of the number of jobs,” Goss said. “Now in terms of overall output, it has been good, so again the theme here is we’re creating output — GDP — but we’re not a lot of jobs.” Goss says inflation is getting tamer, but tariffs are creating more uncertainty in the manufacturing sector. “It’s clear that inflationary pressures are coming down. It’s the lowest inflation rate we’ve recorded since December of 2024 and, of course, that’s before the ‘tariff tantrums’ I’ll call it,” Goss said. “…When the president gets out there and says: ‘Well, I’m going to put a tariff here and a tariff there,’ that’s not good for the economy.”

Manufacturing supply managers in Iowa and eight surrounding states expect tariffs to stabilize over the next six months, however, and their economic outlook is at its highest level since Trump took office. Goss calculates a Business Conditions Index for each state in the survey. Iowa’s index increased from December to January and Iowa exports last month were slightly better than in the region’s, but Iowa’s manufacturing economy is not in a growth pattern, according to Goss.

(Glenwood, IA) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports five arrests took place between January 29th and February 1st, 2026. Those arrested include:

• 25-year-old Daniel Erick Ohnmacht, of Essex, who was taken into custody in Glenwood at around 8:15-a.m. Sunday, for Violation of Probation (Bond set at $5,000).
• 59-year-old Bryan Michael Schuler, of Shenandoah, was arrested at around 12:30-a.m. Sunday in Glenwood, for Interference with Official Acts (Bond $300).
• 27-year-old David Lopia Chaplain, of Omaha, was arrested at around 6-p.m. Saturday by Mills County Sheriff’s Deputies. He was arrested on an Out-of-County/State warrant (Bond $1,000).
• Deputies in Mills County arrested 37-year-old Tyler Scott McClain, of Omaha, Thursday night, in Glenwood. McClain was charged with Failure To Appear, and two-counts of Probation Violation (Bond $2,000).
• And, 50-year-old Larry Frimann, of Merrill (IA), was arrested Thursday evening in Council Bluffs, for OWI/2nd offense, with bond set at $2,000.

(Radio Iowa) – The temporary paper licenses on newly-purchased vehicles in Iowa are now digitized. The cards hang inside the back window of a vehicle, indicating the vehicle’s new owner has submitted the paperwork to the Iowa D-O-T to register the vehicle as their own. As of January 1st, auto dealers have been providing cards that can be scanned by law enforcement officers. Jazmine Sneller, the general manager of Ver Hoef Automotive in Sioux Center, says each card has an embedded number from the Iowa D-O-T, so the driver can confirm they own the vehicle. “So if you get pulled over, they can run that number and it will automatically show up in your name,” Sneller says.

Sneller says the change is providing reassurance to customers who’ve been wary of leaving the dealership with the temporary tag in the rear window. “If they had to cross state lines, they were worried about getting pulled over and not being able to provide enough documentation,” Sneller says. Dealers issue the temporary tags for a vehicle after tax, title, and license fees are paid and all paperwork is now handled electronically.

Iowa D-O-T officials say the updated system makes it easier to verify legitimate vehicle registrations.

(Des Moines, IA) – Week three of the Iowa Legislative schedule concluded Friday, and District 21 Republican Representative Tom Moore, in his weekly summary of Iowa House legislation, said House Republicans released a slate of tough-on-crime legislative proposals to ensure Iowa does not become a haven for career criminals. The first bill, which is awaiting a bill number, is the House Republicans Career Criminals bill. Moore said “We are implementing a “Three-and-Done” Strike System. If you choose a lifestyle of crime, you choose to lose your ability to live freely in our society.”

The second bill, which will run through the Public Safety Committee, is a pretrial accountability and bail reform act.

The third bill, HSB631, will create a dashboard to provide Iowans with objective data on how judges exercise their discretion.

Representative Moore said also, this past week the Education Committee passed 6 bills out of committee:

HSB 555 – Clinical experiences for all students must include 15 practicum hours focused on differentiation of instruction and support for special populations including ELL, special education, instructional implementation and IEP progress monitoring. Students in teacher prep programs must take an assessment to measure mastery and give the chance for remediation. Vote 15-7. Moore said “I was a NO vote. I am not against instruction for the ELL, but I am against the portion that makes the assessment mandatory.”

HSB 558 – Establishes a seal of civics excellence program to recognize student excellence in Civics. Vote 22-0

Thursday’s (1/29/26) HHS Appropriations Subcommittee meeting. Tom Moore is the Vice Chair of the committee. (Photo from Moore’s electronic newsletter)

HSB 594 – Changes the 1/2 unit of U.S. government requirement to 1 unit of U.S. government. Moore said “This was a bill I introduced last session.” Vote 16-6

HF 2079 – A public school must accept legal tender as a form of payment for entry to an interscholastic athletic contest. Over the past years Republicans have begun to hear about Iowans being turned away at the gate if they wanted to pay with cash. Moore said “House Republicans do not want to take away the ability of someone to walk into a game with cash to support their school and their community.” Vote 22-0

HF 2012 – Allows Iowa residents to receive a tuition grant for attending a CTP program. Vote 19-3

The Health and Human Services Committee passed 5 bills out of committee:

HSB 503 – Broadens the ability for the court to determine a child to be a CINA if the parent is unable to secure treatment and their efforts have been exhausted and unsuccessful. Vote 12-5

HF 2072 – Prohibits non-compete agreements for physicians at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Vote 17-0

HF 2094 – Requires the state to double the number of inpatient psychiatric beds at each state mental health institute and to apply for a waiver of the federal IMD exclusion. Vote 17-0

HF 2125 – Revises the professional title of a physician assistant to a physician associate. Vote 17-0

HSB 501 – Changes the references in Iowa Code from “pregnant person” to “pregnant female.” Vote 12-5.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture visited the new Career Ag Academy on the Hamilton County Fairgrounds in Webster City over the weekend. Mike Naig says high school students there can receive dual-credit courses with Iowa Central Community College and with Iowa State University.  “I’ve been able to tour some really good models around the state,” Naig says, “bringing livestock, bringing that opportunity to get our high school students a hands-on opportunity. I know I learned better where you match that in classroom with the experiential learning. Of course, it’s one of the things that we love about ag education and FFA in particular.”

The academy has been active since the start of the current school year, working to educate students about agriculture.”We really need to create these pathways where it’s not just farm kids that are getting a chance to do these types of things and be around livestock and get the experience of doing chore, but any kid, any student, regardless of where you come from, can get to do that,” Naig says. “We need more people working in ag, and if we’re going to get more people working in ag, we need students from all backgrounds to learn about those opportunities.”

Naig says he’d like to see more such career ag academies pop up all over Iowa. “You got to learn to do chore and you got to learn what’s the right feed ration and how do you create the right environment for those animals? But then, of course, you’re going to connect the dots and you’re going to talk about, well, where’s that feed come from? What’s the grain side of it? Oh, also, how about the meat side of it, the nutrition side of it, the culinary arts?” Naig says. “I mean, you really start to string this together and it’s just a farm-to-fork kind of experience.”

Ground was broken on the facility last March. It houses classrooms, a dedicated livestock learning area and meat lab. A date has not yet been announced for its official grand opening and open house for the public.

• Atlantic: Cass County Fairgrounds, 1000 Fair Ave., Atlantic, IA 50022 | 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
• Massena: East side of Massena City Park, 500 5th St., Massena, IA 50853 | 4:30 – 5:00 p.m.

The new system, called Service Insights, will be used at the Mobile Food Pantry beginning February 11. The Atlantic, Anita, and Griswold Food Pantries are expected to transition to the same system in the future; however, no implementation dates have been set at this time.  Once a household completes the initial intake at any participating location, future visits will be much quicker—neighbors will only need to state their name to be checked in at their respective pantry. Service Insights securely stores information in a shared network used by Food Bank partners while keeping individual visit details private to each agency. The system replaces paper forms and outdated databases with a modern, web-based platform that can be accessed on nearly any device.

Cass County Mobile Food Pantry and Food Pantry volunteers complete training on the new Food Bank for the Heartland intake system to better serve individuals and families across the county. (Courtesy Grace McAfee)

• A slightly longer check-in during their first visit as intake information is entered.
• Faster service at future visits with no need to repeat the full intake process.
• Secure handling of personal information, with private data remaining with the serving agency.
• No documentation is required.
• Answering intake questions will not disqualify anyone from receiving food or participating in the mobile pantry.

• February 11, 2026
• April 8, 2026
• June 10, 2026

• March 18, 2026
• May 13, 2026

• February 11, 2026
• April 8, 2026
• June 10, 2026