(IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources released a draft version of its 2026 biennial integrated report Tuesday, which listed more than 700 segments of rivers, lakes or wetlands in the state as impaired. The list includes the Boyer River, Carter Lake, the East Nishnabotna River, the East Nodaway River, Lake Manawa, and Middle Nodaway River, to name a few.

The impaired list looks at retroactive data and determines if a water segment meets, or fails to meet, designated criteria for uses like fishing, recreation or drinking water. Once a segment is listed as impaired, it triggers a restoration process under the federal Clean Water Act.

The recent draft of the list, which is open to public comment for 30 days before it will be sent to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, comprises water quality data from 2022-2024 for rivers and streams and data from 2020-2024 for lakes. With each report, segments move off the impaired list or are “delisted” and other segments are added to the list. The 2026 draft report has three fewer segments listed than the report did in 2024.

In a news release about the draft, DNR said the number of impaired segments have been “relatively stable” from 2014 to 2024.  These figures do not include, however, the seven segments that EPA attempted to add to the list in late 2024  due to nitrate impairment. DNR challenged EPA’s additions to the list and the segments were removed by EPA over the summer.

The 2026 draft lists two segments of river, one on the Iowa River and one on the Raccoon River that are impaired for nitrate. DNR said it did not change its criteria from 2024 to 2026 for assessing nitrates, but the data analyzed for the newest list warranted the impairment listing.

GRUNDY CENTER, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – Two Iowa nursing homes cited for resident abuse and dozens of other regulatory violations have been added to the federal government’s list of the nation’s worst care facilities.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has added Caring Acres Nursing and Rehab Center in Anita and Grundy Care Center in Grundy Center to its list of nursing homes eligible for inclusion on CMS’ periodic list of Special-Focus Facilities.

At any given time, no more than two nursing homes per state appear on CMS’ list of federally designated Special-Focus Facilities, which consists of homes that have recurring, serious problems with resident care.

In Iowa, those two homes are Pine Acres Rehabilitation and Care Center in West Des Moines and Garden View Care Center in Shenandoah. Those two homes have had special-focus status for eight months and six months, respectively.

The federal list also includes hundreds of other nursing homes — typically, 10 per state — where ongoing quality-of-care violations have made them eligible for special-focus status. Caring Acres and Grundy Care Center are among the homes added recently to the eligibility list.

Once a home is designated a Special-Focus Facility, it receives additional oversight and assistance from the government that’s intended to improve resident care. The other homes that are merely deemed eligible do not receive that assistance. They appear on the list, some for as long as 10 years, and then drop off without ever receiving the federal help.

(Statewide News) – The number of Iowa counties under a burn ban continues to grow due to an ongoing fire risk. As of Tuesday, Feb. 18^th, 13 Iowa Counties were banning opening burning. Elsewhere, open burning and tossing of cigarettes or other means that may accidentally create fires, was strongly discouraged. Persons who previously had a controlled burn that was extinguished, were asked to keep a close eye on their property, because strong winds could cause those burn piles to rekindle. In southwest Iowa, Mills County was added to the list, that also includes Crawford, Shelby, Union and Ringgold, as of the latest information.

Aa burn ban goes into effect when fuels (such as tender vegetation, brush and timber) get less than 20% moisture and high temperatures, high winds, and low humidity start to develop.

Burn bans in February are rare, because there is usually enough snowpack on the ground, or at the very least heavy moisture in the ground, because the snow is starting to melt. In the last couple of months, though, Iowa has had significantly less snow than usual. Without that moisture in the ground, the risk of grass and field fires heightens.

Fire officials say what’s needed is a good soaking rain that saturates the soil, along with higher humidity in the range of 40%-50% or more, for a sustained period of time. Otherwise any moisture in the ground from rain can be dried out by the wind within 48-hours, which results in the same dry conditions.

(Atlantic, IA) – One person was injured during a single-vehicle accident Tuesday night, west of Atlantic. According to dispatch reports, the vehicle left the road and entered a steep ditch but did not rollover, near 570th Street and Highland Road. The accident was reported at around 6:38-p.m.

Atlantic Rescue, Cass EMS, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon, and Atlantic Police responded to the scene.

The driver of the vehicle, an adult female, was said to have been injured. A medical helicopter was requested but declined to fly due to high wind speeds. Additional information is currently unavailable.

(Atlantic, IA) – A man who was a candidate for two seats on the Atlantic School Board in last November’s elections and lost, has announced he is running to fill a vacancy seat created by the resignation of former school board member Laura McLean. Jordan Zarbano says he’s a candidate for the March 31st Special Election in the Atlantic Community School District.

In a statement on his Facebook page, Zarbano said Tuesday, “I’ve gotten a lot of questions on wether [SIC] or not I am running for school board again. I tossed the idea around for a while, as I have still stayed present at meetings and up to date on what is going on. There are a couple of really good candidates this go around and I’m honored to say I will share a ballot with them! I am officially announcing that I am running. Here is a little about who I am and what I stand for. Thank you for all the support that I’ve received, I hope to make an impact some day.” (read his full statement below)

In the previous election, incumbent School Board member Josh McLaren and newcomer Chet Meneely won seats on the school board, which has come under fire in recent weeks with regard to its actions on a personnel matter that involved the firing of the (now) former Atlantic High School Guidance Counselor.

Nominations for the Atlantic School Board Special Election must be received at the Achievement Center by no later than March 6th.

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(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa Senator is proposing a 50 percent reduction in the payments members of the Iowa House and Senate get to cover living expenses during the annual legislative session. In addition to the annual 25-thousand dollar base salary for lawmakers, legislators this year are eligible for up to 100 days’ worth of expense money. Republican Senator Mike Bousselot of Ankeny has introduced a plan to cut that in half, to 50 days.

“It is high time that the Iowa legislature examine how it does business,” Bousselot said. “We are asking every other governmental entity and businesses across our state and families across our state are doing things differently, saving money, and the legislature should take a look at how we do our business.” There is no official date when the legislature has to conclude its work in current law and there’s no hard deadline in Bousselot’s bill. He argues, however, a 50 day limit on expense payments would put pressure on legislators to complete their work earlier.

“People work to deadlines,” Bousselot says. “The National Institutes of Health says deadlines improve productivity.” And Bousselot says it’s a different way to address concerns that fewer Iowans are willing to run for seats in the legislature because the responsibilities do not match the 25-thousand dollar salary. “I believe we could attract candidates who would have more flexibility from their daily lives, because we are part-time legislators,” Bousselot said, “and I believe with technology and productivity improvement we could get done on time.”

2017 was the last time the Iowa legislature adjourned BEFORE the daily expense payments ran out. Senator Tony Bisignano, a Democrat from Des Moines, says he doubt’s Bousselot is making a serious proposal. He points to Bousselot’s bill from last year that suggested Iowa try to buy part of southern Minnesota. “I’d have to say that everything’s evolved in this place except legislators,” Bisignano said. “The technology’s improved, but legislators are still legislators and they file some of the most unusual things.”

Senator Ken Rozenboom, a Republican from Oskaloosa, is chairman of the Senate State Government Committee. He says Republicans and Democrats on the panel will meet privately today (Wednesday) to decide whether to vote on Bousselot’s bill — or table it. “I consider this serious because it leads to a discussion we really need to have,” Rozenboom said.

In January, HOUSE Republican Leader Bobby Kaufmann promised to push to raise legislators’ pay, which hasn’t increased in 18 years. Kaufmann says without action, candidates for House and Senate seats will be retired or wealthy people because a 25-thousand dollar base salary if just not enough for a lawmaker with a young family.

DES MOINES – The 2026 Unclaimed Property Day went off without a hitch according to Iowa State Treasurer Roby Smith. Overall, there were more than 63,000 website views to GreatIowaTreasureHunt.gov resulting in more than 7,600 claims totaling more than $2.6 million overall.

“$2.6 million in claims is no small amount,” said Treasurer Smith. “This year’s Unclaimed Property Day was a time of celebration as my team worked to reunite properties across all of Iowa’s 99 counties. If you have yet to search your name in Great Iowa Treasure Hunt, I encourage you to do so, because one in seven Iowans has something to claim.”

As of publication, there is more than $650 million in Great Iowa Treasure Hunt waiting to be claimed.

Connect with the Treasurer on Facebook, Instagram and X, to stay informed of updates and news.

More About Great Iowa Treasure Hunt: Whether it’s a forgotten or lost check, bank account, utility refund or safe deposit box, one in seven Iowans have funds in Great Iowa Treasure Hunt. As Iowa’s only legitimate source of unclaimed property, Treasurer Smith encourages all past and present Iowans to search for their unclaimed property by visiting GreatIowaTreasureHunt.gov.

(Radio Iowa) – State Auditor Rob Sand’s staff has completed the annual review of how major state funds were managed last year — and the report did NOT flag any issues in how the state-funded Education Savings Account program for private school expenses was handled. However, Sand says Governor Reynolds’ staff did not provide information about the program to his office until late November — six months after the initial request.

“Had they given us the information when we asked for it, we may have expanded the audit,” Sand says, “because we may have noticed something and performed additional procedures and been able to provide taxpayers with a better understanding of what’s going on in the program.” Last year, Sand and the governor’s staff disagreed on whether Iowa law allowed the auditor’s office to review how Education Savings Accounts were managed.

The governor’s budget director says it wasn’t until in October that staff from Sand’s office explained state spending on Education Savings Accounts had risen to a level that required auditors to review the program and the data was turned over the following month.

Statement from Governor Kim Reynolds in response to Sand’s annual review:

(Glenwood, IA) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports there were six arrests that took place between Feb. 9th and the 15th;

• On Sunday, Feb. 15th, Mills County Deputies arrested 39-year-old Denis M. Ramos Chicas, of Omaha, for OWI/1st offense and Possession of Contraband in a Correctional Facility. (Total bond, $6,000).
• There were four arrests on Feb. 10th:
  • 47-year-old Adrian Charles Bauer and 51-year-old Jason Allen Schultz, both of Glenwood, were arrested on Assault charges. Bauer was charged with Assault w/intent – Serious Injury. His bond was set at $2,000. Schultz was charged with Assault w/Bodily Injury. (No Bond); 32-year-old Patrick Clayton Giesting, of Malvern, was arrested on the 10th for Driving Under Suspension ($300 bond); and 49-year-old Lee Alfred Miles, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Violation of Probation ($5,000 bond).

And, on Feb. 9th, Mills County Deputies arrested 50-year-old William Ray Doughtery, of Council Bluffs, for Possession of Marijuana/1st offense (Bond, $1,000).

[UPDATED**] (Radio Iowa) – Backers of Iowa’s 47-year-old “Bottle Bill” are urging Iowans to contact lawmakers about a lack of access to sites where they can redeem their nickel deposits on bottles and cans. R-G Schwarm is executive director of Cleaner Iowa, a group that paid to survey Iowans about the Bottle Bill. “Iowans continue to support the Bottle Bill,” Schwarm said, “but the frustration is clearly recognized in the results.”

The Bottle Bill was changed in 2022, removing the requirement that retailers who sell beverages and collect the nickel deposits must pay consumers who return the empties. “64.5% of voters believe it is more difficult to redeem their containers with just 3% saying easier and approximately 25% saying about the same,” Schwarm said. According to Schwarm, there’s been an 80 percent reduction in the number of redemption sites in the state since the law took effect.

There’s no pending legislation to change the redemption system, but there a bill that would have expanded the nickel deposit fee to cans containing non-carbonated beverages, like energy drinks, failed to clear a House committee Tuesday, and is dead for the year.**