(Glenwood, IA) – The Glenwood Police Department reports two people were arrested Monday, on multiple drug-related charges. 28-year-old Kayla Elizabeth Yale, of Glenwood, and 18-year-old Devon Michael Davenport, of Council Bluffs, were each charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. They were taken into custody in Glenwood.

Yale faces additional charges that include:

• Public Intoxication
• Possession of a Controlled Substance – Marijuana/3rd offense
• Interference with Official Acts, and
• Having contraband/weapon in a Correctional Facility.

Davenport was additionally charged with:

• Possession of Marijuana – 1st offense
• OWI/1st offense, and
• Child Endangerment.

Bind for Yale was set at $5,900. Davenport’s bond was set at $4,000.

(Anita, IA) – The CAM Community School District’s Board of Education held their regular monthly meeting Monday evening (March 9^th), at the CAM Elementary School Media Center. Superintendent Dr. Pam Stangeland said their meeting began with a joint CAM-Nodaway Valley School Board closed-session pertaining to her evaluation.

Afterward. During an open session, the CAM School Board held a public hearing on the proposed FY27 School Calendar.

School staff expressed their concerns over having their time split prior the Winter Break.

With regard to District personnel, it was noted a couple of paraprofessional were resigning at the end of the current school year. Dr. Stangeland touched on Board-approved action items during their meeting, Monday. They included a 28-E AEA purchasing agreement.

The CAM School Board also passed a Budget Adjustment Guarantee Resolution…

And, the Board approved a bid from Steve and Diane Brahms to purchase the small, elementary school greenhouse, which has seen its better days, and is referred to as “Hoopy” or “Loopy,” depending on who you talk to.

The Board also discussed and passed the 2^nd and 1^st reading respectively, of various Board Policies before entering into an exempt session for the purpose of Collective Bargaining strategies.

(Atlantic, IA) – The Cass County (IA) Sheriff’s Department reports a southeast Iowa man was arrested last weekend on a Theft charge, and a man from Cumberland was arrested on drug charges earlier this week. According to the Sheriff’s Office, 31-year-old Guy Sedrick Wilcox, of Ottumwa, was arrested March 7th for Theft 2nd Degree(larceny). Wilcox was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held. His arrest was the result of an investigation into a truck stolen out of Griswold on October 30th, 2025. The Cass County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Wapello County Treasures Office, and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office with this investigation.

On Monday, March 9th, Sheriff’s Deputies in Cass County arrested 46-year-old James Bernard Block, of Cumberland, on the charges of Possession of Controlled Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Driving Under Suspension. Block was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held. On March 10th, 2026, the additional charge of Violation of Parole was added to Block’s charges. Block is being held without bond.

36-year-old Benjamin Michael Deal, of Walnut, was arrested March 7th on a Cass County warrant for Failure to Appear in court. Deal was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held.

On March 10th: 35-year-old Charles Albert Mace, Jr., of Griswold, was arrested in Cass County for Violation of Parole. Mace was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held without bond; 55-year-old Angela Jean Crisafi, of Griswold, was arrested for Interference with Official Acts. Crisafi was transported to the Cass County Jail where she was booked and held.

And, on March 11th, Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 35-year-old Mikel Ann Erickson, of Lewis, on a Cass County warrant for Failure to Appear. Erickson was transported to the Cass County Jail where she was booked and held.

(Creston, IA) – The Creston Police Department says no injuries were reported following a collision this (Thursday) morning at the intersection of Howard and Cherry Streets. The accident happened at around 8:10-a.m. Authorities say a 2020 Honda Fit driven by 56-year-old Kathryn Branch, of Creston, was traveling east on Howard Street and a 2006 Chevy pickup driven by a 17-year-old male from Greenfield, was traveling south on Cherry Street.

Branch told Officers she looked, but did not see the pickup truck. She added that the sun was in her eyes. Her vehicle hit the pickup on the right front side. The impact caused the airbag in the Honda to deploy. Both vehicles were disabled by the collision, which caused an estimated $10,000 damage altogether. No citations were issued,

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds will be at ceremonies in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids this (Thursday) afternoon as dozens of Iowa National Guard soldiers who were deployed to the Middle East this past summer land back in Iowa. A midday welcome home ceremony is also scheduled in Sioux City. About 575 Iowa National Guard soldiers are returning today (Thursday) at the three sites. “Nothing compares to the immense pride and gratitude you feel at these events. It’s one of my favorite experiences as governor…We should always celebrate our service members,” Reynolds said. “We absolutely owe them a debt of gratitude for their willingness to step up and wear the uniform and defend the freedoms that we get to enjoy every single day.”

Reynolds says part of her own effort to honor the service of veterans is her plan to revise the county-based system for veterans services. Under the bill, state funding for each county’s Veterans Service Office would be linked to the county’s performance in signing up veterans for benefits and the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs will create a statewide system for claims. Reynolds says only 29 percent of Iowa veterans are receiving all the benefits they’ve earned and that’s unacceptable. “We have to get better at what we’re doing,” Reynolds said. “We have to stop just allocating money and not having any expectations or outcomes tied to (it).” Reynolds made her comments at a statehouse news conference, where she provided a brief update on the nine soldiers from the Des Moines-based Army Reserve unit who were injured a dozen days ago in the attack in Kuwait that killed two Iowans.

Reynolds says eight of the injured are now being treated at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C. and the other soldier remains at a military hospital in Germany. “Please keep our fallen soldiers and their families in your prayers as well as all of our American troops who are still in the Middle East,” Reynolds said, “including our remaining Iowa National Guard soldiers and airmen who are still deployed.” C-B-S News is reporting the Iranian drone attack in Kuwait that killed six soldiers from the Army Reserve unit based at Fort Des Moines injured dozens, including over 30 soldiers from various units who remain hospitalized today.

(Radio Iowa) – The last weekend of winter is just ahead and forecasters say Iowa could be in for one last blast that could drop up to eight inches of snow on parts of northern Iowa. Meteorologist Brooke Hagenhoff, at the National Weather Service, says Iowans may need to reconsider their weekend plans as this sizeable storm could be a doozy. “Starting mainly late Saturday night and then through the day on Sunday, and it could go a little bit into Monday as well,” Hagenhoff says. “This is a large system that’s going to impact much of the upper Midwest, including a large portion of Iowa into Minnesota and Wisconsin.” The forecast is still fluid, but at the moment, it’s predicted northwest Iowa will get up to four inches of snowfall on Saturday night, while northeast Iowa could see up to eight inches.

“We’re still determining what the exact track is going to be. Any small shifts at this point could have some pretty serious changes in the impacts expected across Iowa,” Hagenhoff says. “So as it’s still days out, we’re going to fine-tune that forecast and have more information in the days to come.” The most immediate threat is from the wind, as wide areas of Iowa will be under a High Wind Warning starting at 10 o’clock tonight (Thursday). “The wind is going to shift from out of the south to out of the northwest, and when that happens, we’re going to see an increase in those wind speeds, 55 to 60-plus miles per hour are expected,” she says. “The strongest gusts will be across parts of northern Iowa.”

Also, the National Weather Service is confirming Iowa’s first two tornadoes of the year struck in Tuesday night’s storms in southeast Iowa’s Lee County near Donnelson, causing scattered damage. The first day of spring is a week from tomorrow, on March 20th.

DES MOINES, Iowa [KCCI-TV] — Iowa saw its first tornadoes of 2026 Tuesday night. That’s according to National Weather Service damage surveys conducted Wednesday. NWS data shows two tornadoes formed from a severe storm in Lee County in far southeast Iowa. Both twisters have been rated EF1 on the Enhanced Fujita scale.

The first tornado touched down at 9:05 PM Tuesday just southwest of Donnellson. That’s about 10 miles west of Fort Madison. This tornado lasted just three minutes and traveled a mile and a half, damaging trees and some outbuildings, with peak winds estimated at 100 mph. The second tornado formed about 20 minutes later near a county park east of Donnellson. This tornado traveled two miles with winds of 90 mph. It mostly damaged trees and the exterior of a house.

Iowa’s first tornadoes of 2025 also occurred in the first half of March. Last year began with a brief tornado east of Iowa City near the town of Wilton on March 14. A total of 32 tornadoes eventually struck Iowa in 2025, down significantly from 2024 and below average

DES MOINES, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – The Iowa Senate Ways and Means Committee advanced a measure Wednesday that would impose a one-time tax increase of $173 million on health maintenance organizations (HMOs) in order to address budget shortfalls in Iowa Medicaid.

Senate File 2464, approved 10-6 by the committee, would increase the taxes on HMOs, a type of Medicaid Advantage plan offered by private companies for health care through a specified network, from the current rate of 0.925% of premiums to 3.5% between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30 this year. On Oct. 1, the tax would decrease to 0.95%.

In addition to the tax increase, which lawmakers estimated would provide the state $173 million in one-time funds and $61 million in the years following, the bill also would route $70.3 million from the state General Fund to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services for the state’s Medicaid program.

The “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act approved by President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress caps premium tax rates at 3.5%, a threshold Iowa is “well under” due to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ requirements on premium taxes. But CMS, in discussions with Iowa HHS, “has provided the opportunity to review the state’s request to temporarily increase the premium tax,” according to Sen. Jesse Green, R-Harcourt.

Under the measure, 85% of the increased taxes would be paid by Managed Care Organizations, or MCOs, the private entities overseeing much of the state’s Medicaid coverage — Amerigroup Iowa, Inc., Iowa Total Care and Molina Healthcare of Iowa — and 15% by other HMO plans.

But private health insurance providers have rallied against the proposal, saying the measure would result in major increases in health care costs. Matt McKinney with the Federation of Iowa Insurers said the proposal would result in a 238% tax hike for health insurance costs. Advocates representing private insurance companies like Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield said the measure would retroactively increase taxes from $11.5 million to $61.7 million in the current year for Iowans covered through the Wellmark Health Plan of Iowa.

Democrats said the measure will result in higher health care costs for Iowans, as these insurance companies shift those costs onto Iowans. Sen. Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines, said she opposed the bill in the subcommittee and committee meetings because it would result in a tax increase for Iowans who receive health insurance through the Affordable Care Act and those who receive private health insurance through the small individual market, for small businesses and other entities.

There are other changes included in the measure aimed at allowing lawmakers to address budget shortfalls. The bill would transfer $296.2 million from the Iowa Taxpayer Relief Fund to make up for funds lost through tax cuts included in the tax and spending bill signed into law by President Donald Trump in July 2025. It would also remove the current 50% limit on how much money can be taken from the Taxpayer Relief Fund to address the difference between state appropriations and revenues.

The measure would remove the cap entirely in the current fiscal year, then move to a 75% cap in fiscal year 2027, and then return to the 50% cap in FY 2028. Petersen said the impact of the tax and spending bill approved by Republicans in Congress, including Iowa’s federal delegation, “is actually gonna be growing.” She said she had “concerns” about making up for the budget shortfalls by “front-loading” costs through the Taxpayer Relief Fund.

Green responded by saying that the Taxpayer Relief Fund transfer is needed because “some of the changes with the Big, Beautiful Bill (weren’t) realized at the time,” and change is needed “in order to make sure that Iowans benefit from those changes” in the federal law.

The House advanced a companion bill, House Study Bill 762, through a subcommittee today (Thursday).

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds has signed a law that prohibits local governments in Iowa from offering civil rights protections that are outside of what’s included in the state’s Civil Rights Act.  “Locals should follow the state laws, especially when it comes to civil rights,” Reynolds said, “otherwise we have a mismatch of rights out there and we felt that it was the right thing to do.”

Last year, state lawmakers removed gender identity as a protected class in the Iowa Civil Rights Act, prompting some Iowa cities to adopt ordinances that extended local protections to transgender residents. Reynolds says the law she signed ensures all civil rights ordinances at the local level are consistent with state law.

“One of the reasons that we did that is it does have an impact on protecting girl’s sports and making sure that we’re protecting girls in safe spaces — in restrooms and in lockers,” Reynolds said, “and so that was at jeopardy if we have a hodgepodge of mixed laws within our state.”

Laura Bergus, a member of the city council in Iowa City, says local officials are reviewing the law to see if it’s possible to file a lawsuit to block it.  “Every city, every county can have vastly different regulations when it comes to land use, and that has not been a problem, so it’s clear that this is targeted,” Berges said. “It’s clear that this is for the purpose of harming transgender Iowans.”

Over a dozen cities adopted ordinances that prohibited discrimination based on gender identity, but the bill the governor signed into law Tuesday took effect immediately, so none are currently in effect.

(Radio Iowa) – Adam Steen — one of five Republicans running for governor — says rival Randy Feenstra’s fundraising haul and new slate of campaign ads aren’t a concern. “I’ve seen some of his ads. It actually makes us look better when he hits a camera,” Steen said. “…I just looked at one of our first drafts of our TV ads coming out a well. We have no fear. I’m not afraid of who says they’ve got more money. We’ve got momentum.”

Steen says Rob Sand — the Democrat who’s running for governor — will be a formidable opponent and Steen suggests the best contrast for Republicans is someone from Iowa’s evangelical movement. “It will be wonderful to be on a debate stage with him so that we can show the contrast,” Steen said, “and continue to preserve and protect the culture here in the state of Iowa.” A large group of Steen’s supporters crowded into a statehouse office yesterday (Thursday) to watch as Steen filed the paperwork required to get his name printed on the Iowa Republican Party’s Primary ballot.

“We have over 9500 signatures (from) all 99 counties, absolute testimony to just the hard work that we put in as a team, hard work that volunteers put in,” Steen said. “This is a grassroots movement all the way through.” Steen, a businessman, was a state agency director for five years before he launched his campaign for governor in August. He is also a certified Assemblies of God minister — one of three pastors in the G-O-P race for governor.

To win the primary, a candidate must win 35 percent of the vote June 2nd, or the G-O-P nominee for governor will be chosen at the state party convention. “We feel extremely comfortable that our lane is the evangelical Christian conservative lane, we feel very comfortable the business community is our lane, We feel very comfortable with the young people are in our lane,” Steen said. “…We have a very wide lane, we’ve got a very deep lane and I think we’re going to win the primary outright.”

Williamsburg pastor Brad Sherman and Congressman Feenstra have also filed their paperwork for the Primary ballot. The two other candidates who’ve been campaigning are Zach Lahn a farmer and businessman from Belle Plaine and State Representative Eddie Andrews, a pastor from Johnston.