(Radio Iowa) – Parents who start homeschooling a child would be eligible for a four-thousand dollar tax credit under a bill the House Education Committee may consider later today (Wednesday). Jeff Pitts, a lobbyist for the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, says homeschooling parents pay taxes to support the public schools they don’t utilize. “We do this willingly and without complaint because we believe in taking responsibility for our children’s education,” Pitts said, “however providing a reasonable level of financial relief is a simple matter of fairness.” The four-thousand dollar tax credit would be available for each kindergartener who starts out as a homeschooler, along with any public or private school student who switches to being taught at home.

Homeschool advocates are urging legislators to make the credit available for children already being homeschooled. Amber Williams of Inspired Life, a Christian organization based in Cedar Falls, says homeschooling families bear the full cost of educating their child.”They are doing the work and they’re paying for it while still funding the system that they’re not using,” Williams said. “This bill simply returns a portion of what those families have already contributed. It is $4000 far less than what the state would spend per pupil in the public system.” This year the state’s per pupil spending level is about eight-thousand dollars for each public school student as well as for each private school student with a state-funded Education Savings Account.

Some parents who homeschool their children are opposed to the bill — and would not claim the tax credit if it’s created. Lauren Gideon is homeschooling five of her children and a spokeswoman for Classical Conversations in Iowa, a Christian homeschooling group. She says the bill creates a wealth redistribution program disguised as a tax credit.  “What is somebody’s fair share to somebody else’s hard earned money? Public funds should be handled with care, not handed out like candy because every dollar represents the hard work of Iowa families,” Gideon said. Karen Hebron of Indianola is another homeschooling mom who opposes the bill. “This just compromises the whole private sector education for my family,” she said.

A handful of states — including Illinois and Minnesota — currently offer state income tax credits to parents who homeschool their children.

(Greenfield, IA) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors, today (Wednesday), met in a regular weekly session in their Boardroom at the Courthouse in Greenfield. During their session, the Board acted on Family Farm/Agland Disallowances on a case-by-case basis, as presented. Auditor Mandy Berg:

The Board was scheduled to hear from Heidi Peng, with McGough Construction Company, pertaining to waivers for waste from the Orient Energy Center project taken to alternative sites, but she was unable to attend, and requested to be placed on the Board’s agenda next week. Mandy Berg provided the Supervisors with background information on what the company is requesting.

Berg says the County has an ordinance in-place that requires any waste in the unincorporated areas be taken to the Adair County Landfill unless a written waiver is obtained from the Board of Supervisors. Board member Jodie Hoadley…

In other business, the Supervisors passed a Resolution to award the contracts for two Hot Melt Asphalt (HMA) resurfacing projects that will be tied together. The total project cost is $1,459,318.62. Adair County Engineer Nick Kauffman said there are currently no bid tabulations, but in order to proceed, the resolution needed to be passed. The projects include the Casey Stub (N-77), and Rose Acres Road.

And, the Board moved to repeal the Pipeline Ordinance. Supervisor Hoadley explained the reason behind the move.

Mandy Berg said an Ordinance to Repeal the Pipeline Ordinance needs three readings, but the second two readings may be waived a copy of the Ordinance is published prior to the first reading. A public hearing would also need to be held on the matter. The soonest that could be take place is during the first week of March.

(Atlantic, IA) – A Special Election March 31st to fill a seat on the Atlantic Community School District’s Board of Education will feature at least three candidates. Chase Roller announced Sunday on his Facebook page that he’s tossing his hat into the ring.

In his post, Roller stated “I am running because I want to ensure every student has the opportunity to succeed and be prepared for life after high school, whatever their path may be. As a longtime member of this community I care deeply about the quality of education and safety our students receive. I also want to support the teachers and staff as our school shapes the future of our community. I believe families should be heard and the board be transparent. I would be honored to serve our community.”

And, Dianna Blake reports she’s entered the race. In her social media post, Blake said (in-part), I’m running for school board because I believe our schools should be places of trust, transparency, and accountability for students, families, faculty, and staff.” Blake said also, “Like every parent, I want them to feel safe, respected, and supported. But I want that for every child in our district, not just my own.” She and her husband moved their family to Atlantic from Southern California in 2021.

Earlier, we mentioned Jordan Zarbano also entered his name in the contest. Nomination papers are due-in to the school district by March 6th.

(Mount Ayr, IA) – A man from Ringgold County was arrested Tuesday evening on an outstanding Ringgold County warrant. The Ringgold County Sheriff’s Office reports 36-year-old Kevin Lee Ray, of Delphos, was arrested just before 7-p.m. Tuesday. He was wanted on a warrant for Assault while displaying a dangerous weapon and Domestic Abuse Assault/2nd offense. Authorities say the warrant was based on an incident that took place Feb. 14th.

Ray was being held without bond in the Ringgold County Jail, until seen by a Magistrate.

(Corning, IA) – The Adams County Sheriff’s Office, Tuesday (Feb. 17th), reported there were six recent arrests:

• On or about Feb. 2nd, 28-year-old Sheldon Starr, of Corning, was arrested for OWI/1st offense, and Carrying Weapons while intoxicated.
• On or about Feb. 5th, Adams County Deputies arrested 54-year-old Robert Gard, of Corning, on an Adams County warrant for Failure To Appear.
• On or about Feb. 6th, 36-year-old Kyle Pack, of Corning, was arrested for Assault Causing Bodily Injury, and Harassment in the 3rd Degree (both Serious Misdemeanors).
• On or about Feb. 7th at around 3-a.m., Adams County Deputies conducted a traffic stop on Highway 34 and Fig Avenue. Upon further investigation, a 17-year-old juvenile was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance-marijuana/1st offense, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. The juvenile was released to a custodian and referred to Juvenile Services.
• Sheriff’s officials say on or about Feb. 14th at around 9-p.m., Deputies in Adams County arrested 50-year-old Erron Bolinger for Violation of a No Contact Order. And,
• on the 15th, 36-year-old Kyle Pack, of Corning, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault/2nd offense.

(Creston, IA) – The Creston Police Department reports an Adair County man was arrested Tuesday night. Authorities say 46-year-old Nicholas Arthur Hardisty, of Orient, was arrested at around 7:50-p.m. in the area of Division and Prairie Streets in Creston. Hardisty was charged with Public Intoxication and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He was taken to Union County Jail and held on a $600 cash or surety bond.

(Amana, IA) – Officials with the Whirlpool Corporation have announced that around 400 employees will be let go from the company’s facility in Amana, effective March 9th. Additional job reductions may happen in the spring, according to the company, which told KCRG-TV that the change comes as park of a “broader multi-year transformation” that includes phasing out older refrigerator models, and expanding operations to upgraded products. The facility will continue to make refrigerators.

Last summer, Whirlpool’s Amana facility laid-off 250 workers. Company officials say the current layoff is unrelated to the 400 workers who were retained last year. Any union employees who are recalled will be in order of tenure and seniority, but the chances of that happening, are low, according to Whirlpool.

Whirlpool said affected employees will be supported with onside HR support, an employee assistance program, and guidance through Iowa Workforce Development’s unemployment benefits.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra met with a crowd of avid Trump supporters last (Tuesday) night, fielding questions about his campaign for governor and his neutrality during the early months of the 2024 presidential campaign.

A woman in the audience noted Feenstra did not endorse Trump prior to the Iowa Caucuses and asked why Feenstra thought President Trump would endorse his run for governor. Feenstra, who recently spent time on Air Force One with Trump, said he’s working to earn Trump’s endorsement.

Another person in the crowd criticized Feenstra for not attending debates and forums alongside the other candidates in the race. Feenstra says he’s campaigning around the state, holding meet and greets and answering questions.

Feentra told reporters the time to debate will be after the March filing deadline passes and the field of Primary candidates is set.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Environmental Protection Commission is referring an alleged water pollution case to the Iowa Attorney General’s office. E-P-C Attorney Bradley Adams says Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy (SIRE) is illegally released sludge from its wastewater treatment facility near Council Bluffs into the Missouri River. He says they got a complaint August 25th of an orange sludge being released into the river. “On August 26th, Field Office 4 investigated the complaint and observed an orange wastewater discharging from the effluent pipe, orange coloration of the riverbank where the sludge deposits formed, and also orange sludge deposit buildup and the water beneath the effluent pipe,” he says. There was no fish kill found, but Adams says the sludge could harm wildlife. He says SIRE had been trucking the sludge away from the site.

“Beginning in March of 2025, SIRE began intentionally discharging the holding tank’s untreated clarifier sludge to Missouri River in violation of the facilities NPDES permit. According to Sire’s director of operations, approximately three-thousand of wastewater were discharged into Missouri every other day for a six-month period, beginning March of 2025 through August of 2025,” Adams says. Adams says SIRE sought to avoid the fees for trucking away the waste. “D-N-R estimates that sire avoided approximately 53-thousand dollars in disposal costs that other similarly situated businesses would pay. And, this is a clear and deliberate attempt to circumvent the law to save money,” he says. Adams says the D-N-R can only issue a penalty of up to ten-thousand dollars, and says by forwarding the case to the Attorney General, the state can seek a bigger penalty.

SIRE C-E-O Eric Fobes says they were trying to avoid the the truck traffic from hauling the material away. “It was never our intent to subvert a cost. We are not after cost savings of that magnitude at the plant. This is too small. It was more of an ease of execution not to haul it off site,” Fobes says. Fobes says his staff thought the discharge in the river was allowed. “Based on the permit as written, our team believed that sending backwash water to the permitted outfall was allowed. This was obviously a mistake. We now understand the department’s interpretation under the general water quality rule, and we respect that interpretation,” he says Fobes says they have made changes to do a better job of handling the requirements of the permit. He asked the Commission to not send the case to the Attorney General based on their response. “We acknowledge it happened. We are remorseful that it happened. I think we have learned a valuable lesson in that process. We’ve bolstered our internal compliance,” Fobes says.

The Commission voted to refer the case to the Attorney General with just two commissioners voting no.

(Radio Iowa) – The Board of Regents is proposing a three percent increase in resident tuition at the three state universities. The Regents will hold the first reading of the proposed tuition increase at their meeting next week. The proposal also includes an increase in mandatory student fees. The University of Iowa is seeking a 62 dollar increase in fees, for a total increase with tuition of 349 dollars.

Iowa State University is seeking a fee increase of 24 dollars, 50 cents, for a total increase of 310 dollars, 50 cents, and the University of Northern Iowa is seeking a 42 dollar increase in fees, for a total with the tuition increase of 304 dollars.