(Radio Iowa) – The Pottawattamie Board of Supervisors has set next Friday at 4:30 p.m. as the deadline for any county resident to submit a letter of interest in filling a vacancy on the board.

Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson reports.

(As said) – Scott Belt was temporarily removed from the board last month. After a two-day trial this week, a judge ruled Belt cannot serve on the board because he was intoxicated during official county business. Belt was accused of being intoxicated when county officials met with residents in Carson on November 5th. An attorney for Belt argued it was not an official meeting of the board. Video shown in court showed Belt drinking in a bar and others who were in the bar testified Belt was drunk when he left to attend the meeting. Belt served on the Council Bluffs City Council before his election to the county board of supervisors in 2008. He was reelected in 2022 to a term that will expire in 2026.

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Pottawattamie County officials plan to appoint a replacement for the last year of Belt’s term rather than hold a special election to fill the vacancy.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Corrections reports 31-year-old Ashley Nicole Duncan, who was convicted of Conspiracy/Commit Felony (Property) and Assault with a Weapon – Peace Officers/Others in Pottawattamie County, failed to report back to the Council Bluffs Residential Correctional Facility as required on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025.

Ashley Nicole Duncan

Duncan is a 146-pound White female. She was admitted to the work release facility on July 22, 2025. Persons with information on Duncan’s whereabouts should contact local police.

(Radio Iowa) – The twinkling lights on a tree decked with ornaments can look beautiful, but one expert reminds to take precautions, especially if you have a fresh-cut tree inside the house this month. Webster City Fire Chief Chuck Stansfield says you have to keep up with watering that tree daily, and if you leave home, switch the lights off or keep them on a timer.

Stansfield says Iowans can minimize other fire risks that come with the season of celebration.

When decorating the outside of the house, the chief suggests buying new lights instead of using old ones that might not be the safest.

Another advantage to modern L-E-D lights is they use much less power, and multiple strands can typically be plugged into one outlet.

(Atlantic, IA) – The Atlantic Police Department report five arrests took place between Nov. 22nd and Dec. 3rd.

• 32-year-old Nathan Frazier, of Atlantic, was arrested Dec. 3rd, on two-counts of Harassment in the 3rd Degree.
• 28-year-old Tristan Stevens, of Audubon, was arrested Dec. 2nd on a Cass County warrant for Driving While Barred.
• 33-year-old Rensen Berdon, of Atlantic, was arrested Nov. 24th for Public Intoxication and Disorderly Conduct. Berdon was arrested again on Nov. 27th for Public Intoxication.
• And, on Nov. 22nd, Atlantic Police arrested 35-year-old Patrick Lockard, of Atlantic, for OWI/2nd Offense.

The A-PD says also, 33-year-old Reybert Aguilar, of Atlantic, was cited into court on Nov. 21st for Theft in the 3rd Degree (Shoplifting).

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled in a dispute between two state elected officials over the release of records from the city of Davenport. State Auditor Rob Sand’s office sought records for an audit after more than three million dollars in payouts were made to Davenport city employees following harassment claims. Allegations surfaced that the settlements were kept quite until after the November 2023 city elections so they wouldn’t influence the election outcome. The city resisted the effort to turn over the records.

Attorney General Brenna Bird’s office first agreed the State Auditor’s office had the power to subpoena the records, then changed course and said her office should be the one taking action. The Iowa Supreme Court says the Attorney General does not want to argue for the State Auditor’s legal authority in part because of legitimate concerns about the impact such a decision would have on other state officers.

The court says that is a conflict of interest and the Auditor can use its own attorney to argue for the release of the records.

(Radio Iowa) – A top official says Iowa was among three finalists for a very large aviation company’s expansion project that would have qualified for new state incentives under Iowa’s “Major Economic Growth Attraction” or MEGA program. Iowa Economic Development Authority Director Debi Durham says while that company chose another state for its expansion, the competition made it clear a thousand acre site next to the Eastern Iowa Airport would be prime property for an aviation-related project. “They’ve got all kinds of investments that they’ve been making in fuel farms and hangers,” Durham says, “and they even have plans for a third runway.” Durham says the other selling point is the property could provide direct access to the airport, which is just west of Interstate 380 on the south side of Cedar Rapids.

The state’s largest commercial airport is located in Des Moines, but Durham says the Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids has closer connections to companies that support the aerospace industry. “We do have Collins right there in the backyard and BAE,” Durham says, “but we also have a lot of suppliers.” Collins Aerospace employs about nine-thousand people in Iowa, most of whom work in its Cedar Rapids facility. B-A-E Systems has a manufacturing plant in Cedar Rapids that makes G-P-S systems for the military. Durham says those two main companies, along with aerospace industry suppliers nearby make up a “mini-cluster” and the site near the Eastern Iowa Airport could help grow that sector of the state’s economy.

Durham did not disclose which company was considering an expansion in Iowa, but Boeing recently announced a one BILLION dollar investment in South Carolina and JetZero selected North Carolina for its four BILLION dollar airplane manufacturing hub. Both investments would have qualified for Iowa’s new economic development incentive package for so-called MEGA projects.

DES MOINES, Iowa – Officials with the U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa, today (Friday), said a man from Tulare, California, was sentenced Tuesday, December 2nd, to life in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

According to public court documents and evidence presented at trial, 40-year-old Brian Joaquin Alvarado was the leader of an extensive drug trafficking organization that sold large amounts of methamphetamine in the Des Moines area and transported firearms to California. Alvarado, who was serving a prison sentence in California, organized and coordinated shipments of methamphetamine and firearms with the assistance of at least five co-defendants, including his then 18-year-old son. In July 2025, following a two-day trial, a jury convicted Brian Joaquin Alvarado of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

The co-defendants were sentenced as follows:

20-year-old Brian Crimson Alvarado was sentenced to 100 months in federal prison, followed by a five-year term of supervised release, on November 5, 2025;
29-year-old Jose Martine Alejo Galan was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, followed by a five-year term of supervised release, on February 27, 2025;
37-year-old Linda Roseanne Gonzalez Gayton was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison, followed by a five-year term of supervised release, on August 28, 2025;
25-year-old Gregory Paul Shiner was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, followed by a five-year term of supervised release, on November 21, 2025; and
and 30-year-old Kassianne Kay Timm was sentenced to a time-served sentence, followed by a three-year term of supervised release, on December 18, 2024.

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 Iowa Department of Public Safety – Division of Narcotics Enforcement and United States Postal Inspection Service and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jon Holscher.

DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Lake Restoration Program (LRP) are now accepting public comments on the newly released draft 2026 Lake Restoration Report and 2025 Plan, which includes completion of a project at Lake McKinley, in Union County. The report is available for review at www.iowadnr.gov/Lake-Restoration. It highlights restoration projects completed around the state in State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2025 and outlines plans for upcoming restoration projects.

The Lake Restoration Program works with communities and stakeholders across Iowa to improve water quality and recreational opportunities at publicly-owned lakes. Since the program’s creation in 2006, the Iowa legislature has invested over $176 million in the lake restoration program, with investments at 72 lakes in 55 counties statewide. The program averaged a 37 percent cost share to match LRP funds by other project partners in SFY2025 (local, federal, and other state funds).

Lakes are an important part of Iowa’s economy, accounting for $1.32 billion in annual spending. In 2024, Iowa’s lakes had more than $13.7 million visits statewide. More than 60 percent of Iowans visit a lake at least once per year, and on average, visitors spend an average of $36 on single day trips. Visitors consistently rank proximity to their work or home, quality of facilities, and water quality as their top reasons when choosing a lake to visit.

Accomplishments since the program’s inception include:

• 40 miles of shoreline protection to minimize erosion
• 7.7 million cubic yards of excess sediment removed (equivalent to over 513,000 dump trucks of material)
• 44 projects enhancing 14,000 acres of wetlands and shallow lakes
• Over 250 watershed best management practices (BMPs; e.g. ponds, grade stabilization structures, urban stormwater BMPs, and upland/stream restoration) implemented with program funds on public lands
• Over 700 BMPs constructed in priority watershed in concert with project partners (e.g. NRCS, SWCDs, US EPA Section 319, IDALS, Municipalities) to protect downstream lakes
• 60 infrastructure improvement projects (e.g. dam/spillway repairs, lake outlet water control structures, fish barriers) to preserve Iowa’s lakes for the next generation

Major projects completed in 2025 include: A $3.52 million investment in Three Mile Lake, (Union County); a $2.92 million investment at Casey Lake (located within Hickory Hills Park, Black Hawk County); a $987k investment at the Iowa Great Lakes to assess shoreline damage from the 2024 floods; and a $1.8 million investment at Prairie Rose Lake (Shelby County) and Green Valley Lake (Union County), for phosphorus inactivation treatments.

Major projects planned for 2026 include completion of the projects at Lake Keomah (Mahaska County), and McKinley Lake (Union County), shoreline stabilization projects at the Iowa Great Lakes to address flood damage, and beach restoration projects at Brushy Creek Lake (Webster County), Big Creek Lake (Polk County), and Hickory Grove Lake (Story County), to reduce bacteria concentrations at each of these beaches. Several large-scale shallow lake/wetland restoration projects are underway, including projects at East Twin Lake (Hancock County) and Little Storm Lake (Buena Vista County).

The DNR is accepting comments from Dec. 5th through Dec. 17th. Comments may be submitted via email to michelle.balmer@dnr.iowa.gov. or sent via mail to Michelle Balmer, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, 6200 Park Avenue, Suite 200, Des Moines, Iowa 50321.

(Radio Iowa) – Another weekend, another snowstorm. Iowans are bracing for moderate to heavy snowfall for the second consecutive Saturday. Last weekend’s pre-winter blast dumped more than 16 inches of snow on parts of Iowa, and in the midst of it, five state snowplows were rear-ended by motorists. Iowa D-O-T winter operations administrator Craig Bargfrede is pleading with drivers to be vigilant and go slow — or don’t go out. “People need to make sure that you’re back into the mindset of winter driving,” Bargfrede says. “Give us room, operate your vehicle very cautiously when operating around a snow plow. Remember, we travel at much slower speeds. We can make abrupt movements.”

Pictured: Still frame image from an IA DOT snowplow video showing the plow being hit from behind during a recent Dec. 2025 snowstorm

Lack of good visibility is often one of the serious challenges of wintertime driving, and he urges extreme caution as you approach a plow from behind. “Depending upon the type of snow,” he says, “we can kick up a cloud around us that at times can actually blind you from seeing that truck.” While no serious injuries were reported in last weekend’s plow-involved accidents, he says there’s no excuse for even one such collision.  “Please, please, please, we just can’t say enough about safety and operating your vehicle around a snow plow,” Bargfrede says. “Give us room. Be patient with us. Those men and women that are operating those plows, they’re a husband, they’re a wife, they’re a father, they’re a brother, and they’re just trying to do the best job available and get home to their family safely at the end of the day.”

Forecasters say the approaching system may drop three to seven inches of snow across much of the state starting Saturday afternoon, potentially impacting travel. Check road conditions at the D-O-T’s 5-1-1-ia-dot-org.