(Radio Iowa) – Iowa author Dan Henderson will visit two southwest Iowa towns this week to share the stories behind his new non-fiction book, “Rhythm and Pep: The Vaudeville Career of the Pearson Brothers.” The brothers were from Clarinda and the project sheds light on both local history and a major era in American entertainment. Henderson will appear at the Shenandoah Public Library tomorrow (Wednesday) and at the Clarinda Public Library on Thursday.

“I’ll be in the area two days in a row, and I’ll have lots of books, lots of great stories to share,” Henderson says. “I think people will really enjoy hearing about a couple of local boys that grew up in that area and did well.” The book traces the history of what he calls the unlikely rise of Earl and Lester Pearson, who grew up working in their father’s coal mine just west of Clarinda. They performed from coast to coast from 1918 through 1928, including a show for President Woodrow Wilson in Washington, D.C.

“I’m going to be sharing their story, of course, but I’m also going to share a little bit about Vaudeville and America’s cultural history,” Henderson says. “You’ll see some video of actual Vaudeville performances, some of the music of that era.” The presentation will include slides taken of photographs and artifacts from a Pearson family scrapbook, materials that served as the foundation for his research. Henderson, who lives in Council Bluffs, hopes to show Iowans the role their own communities played in shaping early American entertainment.

He’s to appear in Shenandoah tomorrow at 4:30 PM and in Clarinda at 5:30 PM on Thursday. The events are free and open to the public.

(Radio Iowa) – Lawmakers who lead the panel that reviews the pension systems for public employees say there’s no appetite in the Iowa legislature to make immediate changes in pension plans, but they aren’t ruling out at least studying changes. Republican Senator Tim Kraayenbrink of Fort Dodge says the governor’s DOGE task force created a lot of chatter when it raised the idea of giving new employees the option of a pension or a 401-K style investment plan.

“I think everybody can understand, is smart enough to know that they’re not a group that makes law,” Kraayenbrink said. But Kraayenbrink — who is an investment advisor — says lawmakers should not rule out at least studying changes. “Does that mean we’re going to do it? I mean, no,” Kraayenbrink said. “I don’t have the appetite to do it.” Representative Charley Thomson of Charles City says it would take years of study before any changes would be implemented.

“And buy in all by sorts of stakeholders in the system before they’d even be seriously considered,” Thomson said. The legislature’s Public Retirement Systems Committee is meeting today (Tuesday) and hearing reports from pension system managers. Kris Rowley — the Dickinson County Treasurer — is vice chair of the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System or IPERS Investment Board. Rowley says she hopes legislators keep IPERS as it is.

“401(k)s can be wonderful, but as you know the market can go up and down. I’m old enough I’ve lived through several of those good old market crashes, so to speak…Pension plans are much more stable. This is a very well funded pension plan,” she told lawmakers. Matt Carver, an attorney with the School Administrators of Iowa, is chair of the IPERS Benefits Advisory Committee. He says the governor’s DOGE committee created quite a stir by discussing changes in IPERS benefits.

“And I’m not here to shoot arrows at the DOGE committee,” he said. “I think they were just doing their best to come up with ideas of, well, where can be save some money and that happened to be one of those.” Carver is thanking Iowa House and Senate leaders who issued statements this fall saying the 2026 legislature would not vote to make changes in IPERS. One of out of every 10 Iowans is a member of IPERS and their pension is guaranteed for life. The system ranks among the top 10 state-run pension systems in the country. There are other pension systems for public employees in Iowa like judges and court system employees, peace officers and fire fighters.

(Radio Iowa) – The annual Iowa State University Extension farmland survey shows land values statewide increase by point- seven percent an acre. I-S-U’s Rabail Chandio oversees the survey. “This minor increase is the sixth increase in the last seven years. The only exception to that was last year when we experienced a decline, again a minor one,” Chandio says. The increase brings the statewide average this year for an acre of farmland to 11-thousand-549. She says when you consider inflation, land values are holding steady. “In inflation adjusted terms, we actually see a decline. Overall. I would really classify this change as about stability in the land market rather than growth rather than broad based growth,” she says.

Six of the nine crop districts reported increases in land values. “The highest increases are observed in the northeast corner and the east-central corner and the northwest corner. These are the top three districts reporting highest increases in land values,” Chandio says. “And these are also the areas that are more prone to livestock activity, animal operations within Iowa.” The crop district in the northeast corner of the state saw a land value increase of four-point-one percent. Chandio says the money made from cattle was better than for crops. “The most respondents reported more difficult situations within the crop sector, while the dairy farmers or the cattle sector experienced better gains or better prices this year,” she says. Chandio says the lack of available farmland for purchase helped keep prices up.

“The most positive influence on the land markets again this year was a limited supply of land. Cited as a major positive factor by 21 percent of the responses,” she says. The top negative factor in the value of farmland are the continued low commodity prices. “This factor was cited by 32 percent in our responses…followed by high interest rates, higher input costs, uncertainty around trades and tariffs, as well as the struggles with depleting cash and credit reserves,” she says.

O’Brien County once again has the highest county-level land values at 16-thousand-269 dollars an acre. And the lowest land values are again reported in Appanoose County that stand at six-thousand-679 dollars an acre.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says the 12-billion dollar farmer bailout program President Trump announced Monday is much-needed and he predicts a great many farmers in Iowa will qualify for it. Grassley says this is quite similar to the help the president offered farmers in 2020 when trade trouble with China impacted U-S agricultural markets. Grassley keeps a very close eye on the daily movements of commodity markets. “Yesterday’s prices in Shell Rock, Iowa, were about $4.11 for corn, still losing money on corn,” Grassley says. “The price of soybeans was down yesterday, I think about 12-cents, and at 10-something, farmers are still losing probably a dollar-and-a-half, a dollar-75.”

Grassley’s son, Robin, raises corn, soybeans and livestock on the family farmstead in New Hartford. The Republican says they had a good crop in Butler County this season, but input costs were up 25-percent, so they’re in the same financial boat as most other farmers. “The last two years, I haven’t been farming with Robin 50-50, like you might call crop share,” Grassley says. “He pays me cash rent, so whether he applies for this aid or not, that’s his business. I’m not going to say anything about that.” Grassley says the program is for farmers who are facing severe losses due to high input costs, falling commodity prices, and international trade troubles.

“The president ran on a platform of tariffs, and for the most part, his tariff programs are working out pretty good for the economy, generally,” Grassley says, “but when you have programs that are working out, sometimes they have harmful effects and these tariffs are having a harmful effect on farmers’ income.” The Farmer Bridge Assistance Program will make payments available to farmers who raise 20 different crops, including corn and soybeans, with the checks expected in late February. Applications need to be in to U-S-D-A by December 19th.

(Red Oak, IA) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, during their meeting this (Tuesday) morning, received a report and request for funding, from Red Oak Public Library Director Kathi Most.. Most mentioned the Red Oak Library has added, and continues to add to, the services they offer.

Montgomery County Engineer Karen Albert provided the Board with a weekly update.

The Board also received the 2025 Weed Commissioner’s report from Damien Bond, and approved his FY27 contract. In other business, the Montgomery County Supervisors approved claims, the Recorder’s and Sheriff’s reports of fees, and the Treasurer’s semi-annual report on ending fund balance for Nov. 30th. And, they received an update from West Township resident Jan Norris, with regard to the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline.

Norris says opponents of the pipeline will ask the Iowa Legislature, when it convenes next month, to discuss the topic of Eminent Domain.

She thanked the Board for supporting ISAC’s Amicus Brief on Local Control. As of the last count, 59 counties have committed funding of ISAC’s legal proceedings when the case is presented before the Supreme Court. The next regular meeting of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors is December 16th at 9-a.m.

(Creston, IA) – The Creston Police Department reports the arrest a little after 7-p.m. Monday, of 40-year-old Amanda Ann Hensley, from Creston. Hensley was arrested in the 800 block of Academic Avenue, on a charge of OWI (Operating While Under the Influence)/First Offense. She was transported to the Union County Jail, posted a 1,000 dollar cash or surety bond, and was released.

(Radio Iowa) – Temperatures are going to warm up today (Tuesday), but you should enjoy it, because it won’t last long. National Weather Service forecaster Rod Donovan says parts of the state could get to above 40 degrees. “Right now, we’re really monitoring how much cloud cover will have across the state because that will certainly have an impact on how warm we get,” he says. “But right now, it does appear that most areas across the will get above freezing and we even have some low to mid 40s in the parts of far southern and southwest Iowa.” Donovan says we could see melting and fog across the state, and some crust on top of the snow, but that’s won’t last as 50 mile an hour winds will move in Tuesday evening.

“These fifty mile per hour winds will likely erode that quickly and result into significant blowing and drifting of snow and potentially whiteout or even blizzard conditions,” Donovan says. The wind will and blowing snow will last through tonight and into Wednesday morning. “One thing we’re really watching for is the potential for some snow showers where you could get potentially a quick one inch with that — in addition to even further reduced visibility in the falling snow,” Donvan says. “But right now the large portions is going to be really what we call like a ground blizzard where you have that existing snowpack, where a large portion of central and northern Iowa have the snowpack over six inches right now, even the Highway 20 corridor is over 15 inches.” That system will drop the temperatures and then another will bring in more snow before the week is out.

“We are going to be colder going into Wednesday right now highs in the 20s and 30s and most of that’s probably going to occur earlier in the day and then that will be similar to Thursday. And we do have that next system coming in on Thursday where we’d have another round of likely accumulating snowfall across a large portion of Iowa and they’ll be followed up by a pretty cold Friday and in upcoming weekend” Donovan says. Donovan says we haven’t had continued December storms like this in some time. “Well, it’s certainly more active than many of our past Decembers. I mean, we’ve had past Decembers we’re discussing here today, back in December 2009, December 2000 was a big one where we were extremely snowy and cold,” he says. “So we’re certainly much more active than we’ve been certainly in the past several years.”

You are advised to monitor the weather situation tonight through tomorrow for any changes in the forecast.

(Radio Iowa) – We’re living in what some are calling a loneliness epidemic, and if you’d like to make someone feel special at this time of year, consider sending a simple but personalized holiday card in the mail. Rachel McLaren, a University of Iowa communication studies professor, says dropping a card in the mailbox can help you stay connected, or it can also become a prompt to reconnect and to show you consider someone important. “It takes a lot more effort to send a card in the mail, to go through all the steps of writing the address and stamping it and sending it, and perhaps personalizing that card than it does maybe to send a text message,” McLaren says. “Not to say that texts aren’t a great way to celebrate the holidays as well, but I think receiving that physical card, there’s something extra special about that, and it can really serve as a physical reminder in your home of all the people in your life.”

Some people include lengthy newsletters, while others may just sign the card and send it off. McLaren says there’s a happy medium when personalizing holiday greetings. “Twenty-five words or less is enough to have a greater impact on the person receiving that card,” McLaren says. “So if you want to really make them feel special, make it feel like the card is not just about you and sharing your accomplishments, but is about them and wanting to maintain that relationship with them. Taking a few moments to write something personalized goes a long way to making that have a greater impact.” If someone sends you a card, and you didn’t send them one, it’s natural to feel a sense of obligation to quickly add them to your list, but McLaren says that’s not how it has to work.

“You get to choose the way that you want to send out those holiday greetings. All of us have different amounts of bandwidth. We have different amounts of money and time to dedicate to that, and know that you can show your friends your love and appreciation in many different ways,” McLaren says. “So it doesn’t have to be through the card, but for those that you really want to get closer with, use that card as just a jumping off point to further connection in 2026.” While sending Christmas cards has been an annual tradition for decades, studies find the trend is leveling off. “That number is declining, but research shows that people still send about one-billion cards a year,” she says, “so I would say the tradition is still growing strong despite being in a more digital era.”

If you haven’t sent anything in the mail for a while, the cost to send out a one-ounce, first class letter went up a nickel in July and is now 78-cents.

(Red Oak, IA) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a man from Red Oak was arrested early this (Tuesday) morning, following a traffic stop in the 1300 block of Highway 34. Authorities say 36-year-old John Patrick Dahlke was arrested at around 1:06-a.m., for Driving Under Suspension. Dahlke was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on bond amounting to slightly more than $491.

(An Iowa Capital  Dispatch report) – A former psychology instructor is suing Western Iowa Tech Community College for alleged discrimination in its handling of her complaint that she was being stalked by a student. Mariana Pacheco, who describes herself in court papers as a young, Hispanic academic from Costa Rica, is suing WITCC in Woodbury County District Court.

The lawsuit alleges that in 2022, when Pacheco was teaching a beginning-level course in psychology at the Sioux City college, a student, identified in court filings by the initials M.U., exhibited “odd behavior” toward her, would wait for her after class, and would block her from leaving the classroom. At one point, the lawsuit alleges, M.U. told Pacheco he had been “kicked out” of the military and not allowed to become a police officer due to several psychiatric conditions.

Throughout the fall 2022 semester, Pacheco alleges, she noticed M.U. following her around campus. She then notified her direct supervisor and the school’s dean of opportunity of engagement, but no action was taken, according to the lawsuit. In the spring of 2023, when Pacheco taught developmental psychology, M.U. allegedly enrolled in the course.  In one class exercise, students were instructed to use ink pens as a device, but M.U. allegedly substituted AR-15 bullets for the pens.

Pacheco reported her concerns to WITCC officials who dismissed those and other serious concerns she had, according to the lawsuit. Her lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for negligence; third-party sexual harassment; discrimination based on race, skin color or national origin; retaliatory discharge, and violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

WITCC has yet to file a response to the lawsuit. A spokesperson for the school indicated it does not comment on pending litigation.