(Radio Iowa) – The Pentagon has announced a second Iowan is among the six American soldiers killed Sunday in a drone strike on a facility in Kuwait. Major Jeffrey O’Brien of Indianola was commissioned in the Army Reserve in 2012 and deployed to Kuwait in 2019. O’Brien, who was 45, died in the same attack that killed Sergeant Declan Coady, a 20-year-old Drake University student, and three other soldiers who served in a unit based in Des Moines.

O’Brien was a decorated officer who received the Army Achievement Medal and an Army Superior Unit Award as well as medals for his service in the Army Reserve. Congressman Zach Nunn says the leaders of O’Brien’s unit have told him nine other soldiers from the unit were injured in the same attack and those soldiers have been taken to a U-S military base in Germany for medical evaluation.

Nunn says the soldiers’ families are receiving updates as more information becomes available and Nunn is asking Iowans to join him in praying for these families and in thanking the military medics and doctors providing life-saving care to the wounded.

(Hancock County, IA) – Two people died and two others were injured during a crash that occurred at around 4:40-a.m. Wednesday, east of Duncan, in northern Iowa. The Iowa State Patrol says a pickup driven by 46-year-old Angel Ruiz-Tamayo, of Clarion, was westbound on Highway 18, east of Oak Avenue, when the vehicle went out of control on the ice-covered road. The pickup struck an eastbound KIA Sorento broadside. The KIA was being driven by 51-year-old Jason Foell, of Britt.

Ruiz-Tamayo and a rear seat passenger in the pickup, 40-year-old Constantino Cruz Barradas, of Goodell (IA), died from their injuries. Jason Foell, and a front seat passenger in the pickup, 41-year-old Tomas San Juan Ruiz, of Belmond, were injured and transported by Garner Ambulance to MercyOne North Iowa Hospital.

The State Patrol was assisted at the crash scene by the Hancock and Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Offices, Garner Fire and Ambulance, Clear Lake Police and Ambulance, in addition to the Garner Ambulance Service. The crash remains under investigation.

(Griswold, IA) – Cass County Board of Supervisor’s Chairman Steve Baier, a Republican from Griswold, today (Wednesday) announced he intends to run for Iowa District 9 Senate seat that will be open, following the announcement State Senator Tom Shipley (R-Nodaway) will retire at the end of his current term. Iowa Senate District #9 includes the counties of, Cass, Montgomery, Adams, Taylor, Page, Ringgold, and a large portion of Union County.

Baier has spent the past several years serving as the chair of the Cass County Board of Supervisors. He’s a former wrestling coach and educator. Baier also serves as the president of the Noble Initiative Foundation, which helps local families and parents looking for high-quality child care, including building a $3 million child care center in Griswold. Baier also taught Chemistry and Physics for over 25 years.

Steve Baier (R) – Griswold

Baier operates a family farm on land his family bought back in 1943 and has previously served as a leader at the Noble United Methodist Church. In the press release announcing Baier’s candidacy, Tom Shipley threw his support behind Baier’s candidacy, saying ““I have known Steve for many years dating back to my time on the school board and we have worked together over that time to support our rural communities,” said Senator Shipley. “He’s a hard-worker, solutions-focused and cares a lot about southwest Iowans and their families. I know he will do a great job taking his work ethic to the Iowa Senate and working to not just make our district better, but the entire state.”

JOINT FORCE HEADQUARTERS – DES MOINES, Iowa – The Iowa National Guard has announced official Welcome Home ceremonies for approximately 575 Soldiers assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division who are returning from deployment in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. The Soldiers recently began a phased return to the United States following successful mission completion overseas, where they worked alongside coalition and regional partners to significantly reduce the capabilities of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, helping make the region safer.

Welcome Home ceremonies will take place on two days: Saturday, March 7th, in both Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, and Thursday, March 12th, in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, and Sioux City. Ceremony times for March 12th will be announced at a later date. These events allow families, friends, and community members the opportunity to recognize and celebrate the Soldiers’ service.

Des Moines Welcome Home Ceremonies:
• Location: 132d Air Wing, Des Moines International Airport
• Address: 3100 McKinley Ave, Des Moines, IA 50321
• Date: Saturday, March 7th
• Ceremony Time: 1:45 p.m.

*This ceremony is not open to the public.

Cedar Rapids Welcome Home Ceremony:
• Location: Cedar Rapids Armory
• Address: 1500 Wright Brothers Blvd W, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
• Date: Saturday, March 7th
• Ceremony Time: 1:45 p.m.

These ceremonies mark an important moment for Iowa communities to welcome home Soldiers who have served overseas in support of national security objectives. While some Soldiers have returned earlier as part of a phased redeployment, others remain deployed to complete essential mission requirements, including partner support and base security. This phased return is based on mission needs, personnel requirements, and transportation availability.

Help us give our hometown heroes the powerful welcome home they have earned. Media are strongly encouraged to attend and capture this momentous event.

(Radio Iowa) – Linn County leaders say Google is pulling out of their effort to build a data center in an unincorporated area there after they passed an ordinance regulating data center development. Supervisor County chair Kirsten Running-Marquardt says Google is now looking to build in Palo to bypass protections against excessive water use and noise pollution in the ordinance.

“We took this process seriously from day one. We invested significant time and resources to create an ordinance with strong protections for our residents and our water resources, all while having Google, a trillion dollar company, pay their fair share,” she says. Running-Marquardt says a Google representative told her that the six buildings that the company initially hoped to build would use roughly 12 million gallons of water a day. Supervisor Sami Scheetz says Google is trying to pit the two jurisdictions against each other.

“If I had to take a guess, I assume, as they’ve done across the country, they’re looking for less regulation when it comes to water specifically, and to pay less money to provide a larger return to their shareholders, which is the whole point of existing as a company like Google does,” Scheetz says.

The county supervisors emphasized that data center projects have regional impacts on natural resources and urged Palo to consider a similar approach to the one adopted by the county. The water for a data center in Palo would still be taken out of the Cedar River, which is prone to drought conditions.

(Radio Iowa) – Podcasters and video streaming services caught pumping up the volume on advertisements would face a state fine if a bill that could be debated in a senate committee becomes law. Senator Jeff Taylor, a Republican from Sioux Center, says loud ads do catch your attention. “But not necessarily in a good way, you know, if it wakes up your baby or if you have some kind of a hearing impairment and you have a hearing aid,” Taylor said. “And just, in general, it’s just kind of an irritation.”

Lawmakers are considering changes in the bill, including which state agency would be in charge of taking complaints and conducting investigations. Taylor says his main concern with the bill is figuring out if the state would be able to enforce the policy and issue fines of at least five-hundred dollars.   “I don’t like passing symbolic legislation that gets on the books as law, but really – practically speaking — can’t be enforced well or fairly.”

A federal law passed in 2010 bars television stations and T-V networks from boosting the volume of commercials to levels above the programs the ads accompany. The Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation or CALM Act does not apply to radio stations or to online programming.

CUMMING, Iowa – The Warren County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation are issuing an Endangered Person Advisory for 78-year-old Cheryl Anderson. Cheryl was reported missing on March 3, 2026, and was last seen leaving her residence in Cumming, Iowa at 4:04 PM. She may be traveling in a white 2007 Toyota Sienna, Iowa license plate PJ791.

Anyone with information on Cheryl’s whereabouts, is asked to contact the Warren County Sheriff’s Office at (515) 961-1122 or call their local law enforcement agency.

Cheryl Anderson
Age: 78
Height: 5’4’’
Weight: 180 lbs
Eye: Hazel
Hair: White

Last Seen Wearing: Black Slacks, Black Shoes, Black Socks, Brown Sweater, Ballcap with Diamonds.

(Atlantic, IA) – In an update to our report about a fatal fire east of Griswold on Feb. 24th, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office today (Wednesday) identified the victim of the house fire at 68444 560th St., as 53-year-old Carl Eldon Shaffer, of Griswold, Iowa.

At this time, the Iowa State Fire Marshal’s Office is still investigating the cause of the fire.

(Corning, IA) – The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports five men were arrested recently:

A traffic stop on Highway 25 at 275th Street March 2nd, resulted in the arrest of 19-year-old’s Jose Zarza-Escamilla, Diego Cortes-Martinez, and Jesse Navarrete-Lopez, all of Omaha. The trio were charged with Possession with the Intent to Distribute/Deliver – Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Keeping or permit the keeping of a vehicle for drug violations.

On March 3rd, Adams County Deputies arrested 36-year-old Kyle Pack, of Corning, on an Outstanding Polk County warrant for Probation Violation.

And, on February 24th, 62-year-old Timothy West, of Prescott, was arrested on an outstanding warrant for Violation of Parole, and a Sex Offender Registry Violation.