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Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
(Council Bluffs, IA) – The Iowa West Foundation board of directors recently approved $2 million in grant and initiative funding to 24 nonprofits and cities throughout southwest Iowa, with a focus on the most basic needs: food, clothing, and shelter. Brenda Mainwaring, President and CEO of the Iowa West Foundation, said in a news release, “Many in our community face significant financial challenges, which leads to struggles with rent and basic needs, including putting food on the table. These grants allow our partners to help community members move toward financial stability.”
Significant investments include $300,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Council Bluffs for homeownership and home repair programs as well as $50,000 awarded to the Corporation for Supportive Housing for the Southwest Iowa Supportive Housing Incubator. Both are aimed at addressing the availability of affordable housing, an ongoing need in Council Bluffs and throughout the country. Elly Schofield with Corporation for Supportive Housing, said “The Iowa West Foundation’s support will allow for our organization to equip housing and service providers across southwest Iowa with the knowledge, skills, and connections to create and preserve affordable housing. Specifically, this funding will directly impact up to 50 individuals and families experiencing homelessness in our area and will help close critical gaps in available affordable housing. Together, we are building stronger, healthier communities where every neighbor has the chance to thrive.” 
Several grants were awarded to organizations that are working to ensure community members are thriving — not just surviving. These include nonprofits such as Saving Grace Perishable Food Rescue, which received $20,000 to expand food recovery efforts in Pottawattamie County. Food recovery is the process of rescuing a surplus of food that would otherwise go to waste in a landfill and redistributing it to individuals and families facing food insecurity. The addition of a specialized food recovery organization in Council Bluffs will also allow other community partners to focus more on the services they do best, while ensuring that fresh food continues to reach individuals and families in need.
A list of Cycle 3 Grants and Initiatives recipients is shown below:
This is the third and final grants cycle for the Iowa West Foundation in 2025. Letters of Inquiry are due by Jan. 2nd to be considered for the first funding cycle in 2026. A free virtual grants workshop is scheduled for Wednesday Dec. 3rd. For more information, visit www.iowawestfoundation.org.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Representatives Zach Nunn (IA-03) and Don Davis (NC-01) today introduced the Farm Transitions Act, bipartisan legislation to address the impending generational shift in American agriculture and help young and underserved farmers in Iowa carry on their family tradition. In his news release, Nunn said “In Iowa, farming is a way of life that’s passed down from one generation to the next. With over half of U.S. farmland set to change hands in the next two decades, we need to ensure that family farms can stay in the family. This bipartisan bill would give young and beginning farmers better access to the tools, capital, and support they need to build successful operations and keep our rural communities strong.”
Over 95% of Iowa’s 87,000 farms are still family-owned, forming the backbone of a rural economy that contributes more than $159 billion annually to the state. But with two-thirds of Iowa’s farmland now owned by individuals aged 65 and older, experts warn of generational consolidation when these farmers begin to retire. Without a clear path for young and beginning farmers to step in, thousands of farms that have been family-run for generations could be bought up by large corporations or outside investors.
“Strengthening rural America requires real partnerships and lasting solutions,” said Rep. Davis. “These bipartisan bills reflect our commitment to giving rural communities the tools they need to grow, thrive, and prepare for the future. From expanding access to federal rural development resources to supporting the next generation of family farmers, this work is critical to the long-term success of eastern North Carolina and rural communities nationwide. We need more people moving to eastern North Carolina and rural America. These bills will make it easier for eastern North Carolina towns to access rural development technical assistance and for our next generation of farmers to keep our rich agricultural tradition in the east going strong.”
With over 370 million acres of farmland expected to transition ownership in the coming decades, the Farm Transitions Act directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to stand up the Commission on Farm Transitions—Needs for 2050, which was originally authorized in the 2018 Farm Bill but never formally established. The Commission would evaluate the major challenges facing the next generation of producers, including land affordability, access to credit, tax and lending barriers, and the effectiveness of existing USDA programs. It would also assess the role of mentorship, technical training, and foreign ownership in shaping the future of American agriculture—an expansion of the original Commission mandate.
The Farm Transitions Act would require the Commission to deliver a comprehensive set of policy recommendations to Congress within two years, with an emphasis on ensuring young and beginning farmers have access to the land, resources, and support they need to keep family farms strong for the next generation.
(Greenfield, IA) – An historical re-enactor and Iowa book author on the First Trains Robbery West of the Mississippi River, spoke by telephone to the Adair County Board of Supervisors during their meeting this (Wednesday) morning, to request the recovery of railroad rails associated with Jesse James train robbery. Turkey Creek is associated with Jesse James because the first-ever robbery of a moving train occurred near its bridge on July 21, 1873, just west of Adair, Iowa. The James-Younger gang derailed the Rock Island Railroad train by dislodging a rail on the curve near the Turkey Creek bridge
Gene Stevens said he and another James historical enthusiast explored the site together.
An expert looked at the track pictures Steven took, and verified the time period they are from.
Stevens said he hopes the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad will assist in making pieces of the track available to area museums. He thinks pieces of the track will be a great addition to the Jesse James monument near Adair.
Jesse James Historical Park (Adair County photo)
Supervisor Jerry Walker said the ground the track lays on is owned by the Adair County Conservation Department. Adair County Conservation Director Dominic Johnson said he doesn’t have a problem with the request, but he would like a piece of the track for the historical Adair County Historical Museum.
Supervisor Jodie Hoadley said the group would need to have proof of insurance to cover any accidents associated with the removal of the rails. Stevens said he thinks the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad has the necessary insurance, but will double-check to make sure. The Board unanimously approved the request to recover rails for the specified use.
In other business, the Adair County Board of Supervisors held a Public Hearing on a FY 26 Budget Amendment. Auditor Mandy Berg…
Following the hearing, the Board approved the Budget Resolution as presented, and an associated Appropriations Resolution.
(Glenwood, IA) – The Glenwood Police Department reports one person was arrested late Tuesday night. 40-year-old Troy Stephen Kramer, of Plattsmouth, NE, was arrested at around 11:50-p.m. in Glenwood. Kramer was charged with Possession of Marijuana/1st offense, and held in the Mills County Jail on a $1,000 bond.
(Clarinda, IA) – Page County Attorney, James L. Varley’s office has released a report on activities in the Iowa District Court for Page County, covering the week of November 3rd, 2025. Mr. Varley reports:
45-year-old Matthew Ross David Buckridge, of Council Bluffs, appeared in court with counsel, and denied violating the terms and conditions of probation. The Judge found Buckridge in violation of the terms of probation, which was revoked. The original sentence of 5 years of incarceration was imposed.
35-year-old Bradley Aeron Haley, also of Council Bluffs, appeared by counsel and admitted to violating the terms and conditions of probation. Haley’s probation was revoked, and the original sentence of 5 years was imposed. The sentence will run concurrently with his Cass County case and consecutively to his Harrison County case.
42-year-old Joshua Daniel MacVenn, of Braddyville, appeared pro se (representing himself), and pled guilty to Driving While Barred. He was sentenced to 2 days in jail, with credit given for time served and fined $855. MacVenn was also ordered to pay court costs and surcharges.
33-year-old Jessie Marie Patterson, of College Springs, appeared by counsel and pled guilty to Operating While Under the Influence, Second Offense. She was sentenced to 2 years of incarceration, suspended and placed on probation. As conditions of probation, Patterson was ordered to obtain a drug/alcohol evaluation, attend and successfully complete the Drinking Driver’s School, and reside at the Residential Correction Facility until maximum benefits are achieved. She was ordered to pay a fine of $855, suspended, court costs, surcharges and court-appointed attorney fees.
Separately, Patterson admitted to violating the terms and conditions of probation. Her probation was modified to require the defendant to reside at the Residential Correctional Facility until maximum benefits are achieved.
“All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.”
(Radio Iowa) – What one forecaster is calling an “arctic blast” is headed for Iowa tonight (Wednesday) that’ll mean dangerously bitter cold temperatures by early tomorrow. Meteorologist Jim Lee, at the National Weather Service in metro Des Moines, says most of the state will likely set records for the cold in the morning, with air temps in the teens-below-zero, and wind chills that’ll be even worse. “The good news is that the winds will be relatively light,” Lee says, “so the wind chill temperatures will be somewhat lower than the air temperatures, probably in the range of about 20-below or so.”
It’s not exactly a warm-up, but Lee says the exceptionally cold air will only stick around for a short time. “Thursday will remain chilly for most of the day,” Lee says. “The high temperature will probably be roughly around 10 or 12-above, but then by Friday we’re looking at a high already pushing almost 30.” 
There’s a possibility for more snow this weekend, perhaps Saturday night, but Lee says it won’t be anything like the statewide storm that hit last weekend, which dropped up to 16 inches of snow in some areas.
(Sioux City, IA) – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa, Monday, says two men with lengthy criminal histories were convicted by a jury on November 25th (2025), after a 11-day trial in federal court in Sioux City. 44-year-old Floyd Clifford Coates, Jr., (aka Cliff Coates), from St. Francis, Kansas, was convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance, Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime, Possession of Ammunition by a Felon and Drug User, Conspiracy to Conceal Objects with the Intent to Impair Their Availability for an Official Proceeding, and Concealing Objects with the Intent to Impair their Availability for an Official Proceeding. Coates was acquitted of other charges related to threats, and obstruction of justice.
65-year-old Dennis Lawson, from Whiting, Iowa, was convicted of Using Threat of Physical Force Against Another with the Intent to Hinder, Delay, or Prevent the Communication to a Law Enforcement Officer and Judge of the United States of Information Relating to the Commission and Possible Commission of a Federal Offense. Lawson was acquitted of other charges relating to drugs, threats and obstruction.
The verdict was returned following about 2 hours of jury deliberations. The evidence at trial showed that in Spring 2019, Coates was a member of a drug trafficking organization that funneled pounds of methamphetamine from Colorado to Strubel, Iowa, among other places, for redistribution, and that Coates possessed firearms to protect his illegal drug operation. Evidence also showed that on Easter weekend 2019, Coates had arranged a drug run to Kansas City, Missouri. To execute the Easter weekend drug run, Coates had convinced an Iowa woman to drive from Sioux City, Iowa; meet him in Blair, Nebraska; and drive him to Kansas City, Missouri, and back. Coates decided to travel to Blair from Trenton, Nebraska, with another woman, 18-year-old Sunny Sramek. Coates and Sramek left Trenton in his wife’s white Ford Explorer to go on the trip. Officials say there is no evidence Ms. Sramek knew Coates was going to Kansas City; in fact, she told friends and family that she was going to be on a day trip to Omaha. 
The pair made it to Blair, where Coates went into a home, but Ms. Sramek did not. Coates’s driver arrived from Sioux City and Coates said nothing of Ms. Sramek to the driver. As the driver and Coates left the home, the driver saw Ms. Sramek’s motionless body. The driver testified it looked as if Ms. Sramek had overdosed, and Coates said he had provided her methamphetamine. Coates cancelled his drug run to Kansas City and told his driver to go to the home of his brother-in-law Dennis Lawson near Whiting, Iowa, on the banks of the Missouri River. The driver testified that after they arrived at Lawson’s residence Lawson and Coates disappeared for a time, when they returned, Ms. Sramek’s body was gone. The driver also testified that she and Coates cleaned out the car, and that Lawson threatened her saying if she told anyone, “it would be her funeral.”
Later, Coates told confidants that Ms. Sramek had overdosed. He told other friends a more violent story. In both versions, however, he told people he had thrown Ms. Sramek’s body into the Missouri River to conceal evidence of his crimes. Coates was confident his efforts at concealing Ms. Sramek’s body would insulate him from accountability. He told one person “no body, no case” and asked another “you can’t get charged with murder if there is no body, can you?” The US Attorney’s Office says Coates’s confidence was misplaced. Law enforcement gathered a significant amount of physical evidence tying Coates to Ms. Sramek’s disappearance. Forensic analysis indicated Ms. Sramek’s DNA and a significant amount of blood were found in the white Ford Explorer. The forensic findings combined with other evidence provided the proof the jury used to convict Coates and Lawson.
U-S Attorney Leif Olson said in a news release, “Sunny Sramek went missing more than six years ago. But the investigators’ dedication kept her case from going cold. Thanks to them, these two criminals now face judgment for Sunny’s disappearance. Those who believe they can escape justice through threats, cover-ups, or the passage of time will discover they are mistaken.” FBI Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel said further, that “The convictions of Coates and Lawson represent years of tireless, unwavering efforts by a dedicated team of FBI personnel who never stopped looking for Sunny Sramek. Despite the defendants’ best efforts to conceal involvement in her disappearance, the FBI persisted in our mission to hold these subjects accountable for their actions. We hope these convictions bring some measure of solace to Sunny’s family. The FBI will always use every tool and technique in our arsenal to seek justice for the missing and attempts to hinder those efforts will be aggressively investigated.”
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a pre-sentence report is prepared. Coates and Lawson remain in custody of the United States Marshal. Coates faces a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment and five years of supervised release following any imprisonment. Lawson faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case was investigated by Hitchcock County, Nebraska, Sheriff’s Office; the Nebraska State Patrol; the Iowa Department of Public Safety—Division of Criminal Investigation; the Plymouth County, Iowa, Sheriff’s Office; the O’Brien County, Iowa, Sheriff’s Office; the Iowa Department of Natural Resources; the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner; the Goodland, Kansas, Police Department; and the United States Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.
(Creston, IA) – Police in Creston say a woman was arrested Tuesday night, following a traffic stop. 29-year-old Megan Elizabeth Banda, of Creston, was arrested at around 8-p.m., at Cherry and Harsh Streets. She was charged with Operating While Under the Influence (OWI)/2nd Offense, and Interference with Official Acts. Banda was taken to Union County Jail, and has since been released on a $2,300 cash or surety bond.
(Atlantic, IA) – The first December meeting of the Atlantic City Council takes place this (Wed. 12/3) evening, in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall. The meeting begins at 4:30-p.m., which is an hour earlier than normal, so Council members may attend a public meeting this evening, that will be hosted by Cass Health, focused on cancer data specific to Cass County.
During this session, the Council will act on passing a resolution approving the Calendar Year 2026 Budget for Atlantic Municipal Utilities. The City traditionally passes the AMU Budget without issue. City Administrator John Lund says the act is a “gesture of respect for [The AMU] Board’s purpose and oversight.” The Council will also act to re-appoint Atlantic Parks and Recreation Commission members Dolly Bergmann and Kevin Ferguson, who were initially appointed to two-year-terms on the Parks and Rec Advisory Commission, when the Council passed a resolution during their meeting in Oct., 2023. Bergmann and Ferguson have expressed an interest in continuing to serve the City in their current capacity.
The Council will hold a Public Hearing on proposals to enter into an Essential Purpose Loan Agreement (ELPA), and a General Purpose Loan Agreement (GPLA), followed by action on resolutions on taking additional action on both proposals, as presented. John Lund says the ELPA requires two public hearings on the 2026 Bond, which allows the City to refinance essential corporate purpose notes. The ELPA covers $4.22-million worth of existing bond issues. Terms are being extended on the debts, which Lund says “will help with the restructuring and alignment of [the City’s] annual expenditures under [the] Debt Service Fund. It also allows the financing of essential government services and their capital needs, totaling $9.765-million.
Lund says the GLPA pertains to part of the 2026 Bond that covers uses that are not considered essential under the Code of Iowa. They are general corporate purposes uses, and total $405,000. Included are: City Hall Improvements ($100,000); Library Equipment ($155,000), and Library Improvements ($150,000). Refinancing the Deposit, Essential Corporate Purpose uses, General Corporate Purpose uses, Issuance Costs, and when the additional proceeds are added, they total slightly more than $14.7-million. Lund says when $1.22-million of free money (Bond premium) is applied to buy-down the debt issued, the total is $13.48-million.
City Administrator Lund says “property tax reform looms before us. Without diving into politics,” he says, “Our goal is to take care of our responsibilities as a local government and live within our future means. This requires getting our long-term capital planning needs and debt service outlays aligned [and] addressed before the start of the [legislative] session. [The] bond’s refinancing and payment structure is part of that strategy.”
The Atlantic City Council is also expected to review and act on approving pay applications for Omni Construction, Bluffs Paving & Utility, and TK Concrete, all with regard to the City’s Street Improvement Projects. The combined pay applications amount to a little more than $1.132-million.
(Red Oak, IA) – A man from Emerson was cited after the pickup he was driving broadsided a car Tuesday morning, in Red Oak. According to Red Oak Police, 57-year-old Rodney Dean Anderson was cited for Failure to Yield Upon Entering a Highway, after his 2007 Chevy Silverado pickup struck a 2015 Jeep Wrangler, driven by 66-year-old Bonita Sue Bormann, of Red Oak. The collision occurred at around 9:45-a.m., Tuesday at the intersection of Eastern Avenue and U-S Highway 34, in Red Oak.
The crash happened as Anderson’s pickup was leaving the south stop sign northbound, across Highway 34. No injuries were reported. The SUV sustained a police-estimated $5,000 damage. Authorities say damage to the pickup was estimated to be $1,500.
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