(Mount Ayr, IA) – The Ringgold County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest on Tue., Feb. 25th, of a Madison County man wanted on a Ringgold warrant for Willful Injury resulting in bodily injury, and Criminal Mischief in the 3rd Degree. 40-year-old Aaron James Mangum, of Earlham, was arrested at around 8:25-p.m., following a traffic stop in Ringgold County. Mangum was transported to the Ringgold Sheriff’s Office and held without bond until seen by a Judge.

Aaron Mangum (Ringgold County S/O photo)

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Senate has passed a bill that would let Iowans who are legally allowed to carry firearms have guns in their locked vehicles in state, county and city parking lots. Republican Senator Jason Schultz of Schleswig says the bill protects the Second Amendment rights of law abiding Iowans. “As they go about their day there should not be a place, funded by them, in which they have to stop. off premises, remove a constitutionally protected carry weapon to go to a place….in order to do their business with whatever level of government.”

Senator Art Staed, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, voted against the bill. He says unlike private property, state and local governments have a responsibility to ensure safety in public parking lots. “Allowing firearms in these spaces makes it more difficult for agents to protect employees and visitors and can complicate security planning for high-traffic facilities and for public events,” Staed said. The original bill would have let Iowans have guns in parked vehicles in the parking lots of Iowa community colleges, the three state supported universities and in the parking lots of Iowa’s K-through-12 schools — but those provisions were removed.

Senator Mike Zimmer, a Democrat from DeWitt, is a retired teacher, administrator and coach. Zimmer says he’s seen some angry people in the lines waiting to drop off or pick up students. “You can see the people’s faces getting (beet red). They get mad,” Zimmer said. “…I would prefer not to have people armed at that pick up or drop off time, so thank you for removing that.” Senator Herman Quirmbach, a Democrat from Ames, says tailgating parking lots should remain gun-free zones. “Sometimes post-game there are, let’s say, incidents of overtime competition even after the final result of the game is over,” Quirmbach said. “…Those are unfortunate sometimes and the last place we want guns to be available.”

The bill, which passed on a 35-to-12 vote, would also let Iowans have a loaded gun in a vehicle that’s transporting a child in foster care. The Iowa Senate gave nearly unanimous approval to a different bill that would let state lawmakers, judges, and the attorney general get a professional permit to carry a weapon. That bill passed on a 45-to-two vote.

(Greenfield, IA) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors, during their meeting this (Wednesday) morning, agreed to set March 11^th at 9:10-a.m., as the date and time for a Public Hearing on repealing a pipeline ordinance. Auditor Mandy Berg…

Supervisor Jodie Hoadley reiterated what she said during last week’s meeting, with regard to the ordinance….

The Board acknowledged receipt of the FY2025 Adair County Audit, which Mandy Berg said had the usual dings to fiscal accountability that most every county experiences.

The Supervisors approved Township Clerk wages, and a Grove Township Mowing contract with Mike Mangels, who has handled the job for the past few years. The Board discussed landowners’ requests to vacate a portion of 115^th Street, in Adair County. And, they passed a Resolution to set Compensation for Right-Of-Way and Temporary Easement Purchases.

They passed also, a Resolution for a FY26 Farm-to-Market road rock contract with Schildberg Construction – the only bidder – for $281,322, which was above the engineer’s bid of $256,000, and reflects their seven-percent increase in costs, such as trucking gravel to the work site. And they received a regular weekly report from Adair County Engineer Nick Kauffman. The next meeting of the Adair County Board of Supervisors takes place at 9-a.m. on Tuesday, March 3rd.

(Radio Iowa) – Coralville leaders have voted to end the city’s contract for automated license plate readers, after months of residents asking for the cameras to be removed. City council members had previously signed a two-year, 36-thousand dollar contract with Flock Safety, which operates the city’s two cameras. Coralville resident Dan Wohlers spoke during a public comment period. “By choosing to move away from the Flock system tonight, you are showing that you’ve truly heard us,” Wohlers says. “Throughout this process, we’ve discussed the complexities of this technology, the concerns over data privacy, the importance of strict policy guardrails and the need for local control over our residents’ information.”

The law enforcement tool is controversial as it uses artificial intelligence to capture images of license plates and models of passing vehicles. Several other Iowa communities are considering renewing their contracts with plate reader vendors or signing new ones. Coralville city council member Huy Huynh says there has been broad community opposition to the city’s contract with Flock Safety. “I can honestly say that in my mailbox, in my text messages, in my conversations with community members, that there has been some support,” Huynh says, “but the number of supporters for Flock: minute, compared to the number that is against it.”

City Administrator Kelly Hayworth says Flock will remove the cameras within days but did not provide specifics. Nearby, city officials in Iowa City ended a temporary right-of-use agreement with the University of Iowa earlier this month that allowed ALPRs operated by the university to be placed on city property. All those cameras have been removed. A recent report from the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa suggests the use of automatic license plate readers is expanding in Iowa. It found Cedar Rapids has the most cameras in the state at 76, while West Des Moines has 64 cameras, and Clinton County has 58.

(Glenwood, IA) – The Glenwood Police Department says three people were arrested between Feb. 20th and the 25th. On Feb. 25th, 19-year-old Destiny Rae Lacefield, of Thurman (IA), was arrested in Glenwood for OWI/1st offense, Possession of Marijuana/1st offense, and Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia. Her bond was set at $2,300 altogether.

On Sunday, Feb. 22nd, Glenwood Police arrested 35-year-old Hannah Marie May, of Glenwood, for OWI/1st offense. Her bond was set at $1,000. And, on the 20th, 35-year-old Kevin Bradley Mendicino, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Driving While Barred. Bond was set at $2,000.

(Red Oak, IA) – Police in Red Oak arrested a man on several charges, including a felony charge related to the use of an explosive device, following an investigation into a loud explosion that occurred late Tuesday night in the area of 600 Hammond Street. Officers arrived on the scene and located a device that had exploded next to the Methodist Church. They were quickly able to obtain surveillance video of a man igniting the device, and running into a nearby apartment.

Officers with the Red Oak Police Department and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant in the 600 block of Reed Street, and at around 10:42-p.m.,  arrested 42-year-old Matthew David Sloan, of Red Oak.

Sloan faces the following charges:

• Possession of an Incendiary Device with Intent – a Class C Felony.
• Possession of a Controlled Substance/Methamphetamine- 2nd Offense (An Aggravated Misdemeanor), and
• Disorderly Conduct/Loud Noise – a Simple Misdemeanor.

Sloan was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $10,000 bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – Gov. Kim Reynolds’ budget request for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is seeking an additional $1 million for the department’s derelict building program, more than doubling the program’s current budget.  The program helps small communities across the state deal with things like asbestos, deteriorating structures or hazardous chemicals found in abandoned buildings.

DNR works with local communities to promote material recycling and landfill diversion as these rundown buildings are taken down to make room for new community spaces. According to DNR, the program has diverted more than $3 million in landfill disposal fees for communities across the state.

DNR Director Kayla Lyon said in a House appropriations subcommittee Monday that currently the program is funded through landfill tipping fees – a fee on solid waste – at a rate of about $400,000 annually.  Lyon said those funds went to 10 different projects in 2025, and that every year there is more demand for the program than what the department can fund.

Reynolds’ fiscal year 2027 request for the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund seeks $1 million toward DNR’s derelict building program, a program not previously funded outside of the landfill tipping fees.  Lyon said the $1 million appropriation, if the Legislature approves it, would fund the program in addition to the approximately $400,000 coming from tipping fees.

According to a presentation from the department, to date the program has helped to repurpose 91% of the demolition materials generated from the projects.  Many of the past projects have included asbestos abatement and the deconstruction of buildings. Once razed, the spaces have accommodated new construction projects, or have been converted into community spaces like parks.

Lyon said the money that communities with under 5,000 residents receive from the program is important, but so is the technical advice the department is able to provide through the process.

The remainder of the fiscal year 2027 request for the department mirrored that of the current fiscal year. The governor’s request totaled $113.9 million for the department. This figure includes everything from department operations, state park maintenance, water and air quality monitoring, fish and wildlife operations, state water trails and other areas overseen by DNR.

(Red Oak, IA) – A man from the central Iowa town of Grimes was arrested Tuesday evening in Red Oak, on a warrant out of Johnston. Red Oak Police report 23-year-old Devon James Jackson was arrested at around 6:20-p.m., in the 800 block of Senate Avenue, in Red Oak.

Jackson’s arrest was based on a warrant for 3rd Degree Sexual Abuse/1st offense.

He was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held without bond.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has passed a bill that would require at least 70 percent of the University of Iowa’s nursing students to be Iowa high school graduates. Representative Timi Brown-Powers, a Democrat from Waterloo, says nursing programs at other Iowa schools have more openings than students — and this would put pressure on them to close.

“House File 2226 would worsen the problem by requiring the University of Iowa to admit 70% of those Iowa residents, pulling those students from our small or private colleges,” Brown-Powers said. Representative John Wills, a Republican from Spirit Lake, says this move follows last year’s law that requires at least 80 percent of students admitted to the University of Iowa’s Dental and Medical Schools be Iowa residents or a student from another Iowa college.

“I’ve got several stories, many stories in fact of people from Iowa who’ve graduated from our high schools, one particular woman — a young lady from Dubuque who had a 29 ACT and above 4.0 grade point average and was denied admission to the University of Iowa Medical School.”

Another bill eligible for House debate this year would require that 80 percent of students accepted into the University of Iowa College of Law be Iowa residents or a student who’s graduated from an Iowa college or university.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill that would freeze undergraduate tuition at Iowa’s three public universities for five years has won overwhelming approval in the Iowa House. The tuition rate set for this fall at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa would be in place through July of 2031 if the bill becomes law. Representative Taylor Collins, a Republican from Mediapolis, says it would give students predictability and push the universities to cut costs.

“I think we’re at a point when it comes to higher education that we can’t just keep giving them more money and hoping and praying they don’t raise tuition and so that’s one of the reasons why we moved forward this tuition freeze, to make sure that we’re drawing a line in the sand,” Collins says. “We have to find other ways to cut expenditures.” The bill passed on an 86-to-five vote. Democrats like Representative Adam Zabner of Iowa City have recently proposed freezing students’ tuition, but they also argue the state support Iowa, Iowa State and U-N-I needs to increase.

“In the year 2000, about a third of the universities’ funding came from tuition and two-thirds was covered by the state appropriations,” Zabner said. “Nowadays because the legislature has starved our universities, that mix has flipped.” Zabner says the state needs to provide more than a third of the funding for the three state universities.

If the tuition freeze were to go into effect, the Legislative Services Agency estimates Iowa, Iowa State and U-N-I would get about 200 million dollars less in tuition revenue during the five year period.