DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG) – A certified nurse anesthetist pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing fentanyl from patients at a Dubuque hospital. 53-year-old Benjamin Albert, of Round Lake, Illinois, pleaded guilty to three counts of acquiring fentanyl through fraud. Authorities say Albert drew extra fentanyl from the hospital pharmacy using patients’ names during each of the five days he worked there from January 13, 2022, to January 27, 2022. He administered fentanyl to 18 patients during that time.

Albert only administered a portion of the fentanyl to patients and kept the rest for personal use, according to court documents. Authorities say multiple patients experienced significant pain during surgery after Albert charted they had received the full dose.

Albert faces up to four years in prison for each count, a $250,000 fine, and one year of supervised release. He also agreed to surrender his Iowa nursing license.

(Radio Iowa) – Members of the Iowa Natural Resource Commission are expressing frustration about the declining level of state spending on wildlife programs, habitat restoration and acquisition of property for hunting and other outdoor activities. The money for those programs comes from the fees for state hunting, fishing and trapping licenses — fees that haven’t been raised since 2019. Uriah (yer-RY-uh) Hansen of Huxley is vice chair of the Natural Resource Commission. “We’ve had the conversations,” Hansen says, “We’ve brought it up and, quite honestly, the cans continue to be kicked down the road.” Hansen says since 2019, inflation has skyrocketed.

“On the flip side, there’s been massive reductions in DNR spending, head count — all these other pieces,” Hansen says. Hanson points to state records which indicate the number of employees in the Department of Natural Resources has dropped at least four-and-a-half percent since 2019. He says the commission had hoped to spearhead a push to raise the fees, but D-N-R staff have told them they need to show evidence of public support — like a survey of outdoor groups — by mid-December. Hansen says given his role on the state commission, he’s been getting plenty of unsolicited input from Iowans.

“The constituents or the users of the public spaces, they’re the ones wanting it, right? This isn’t a broad based tax that’s impacting non-users,” Hansen says. “This is something that those that are going to be directly impacted are the ones that are directly asking for the increase.” Terry Thompson, president of Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Club, spoke at the commission’s meeting his month. He says the state desperately needs to increase the Department of Natural Resources budget — and a five percent increase in hunting and fishing license fees would help.

“Really, sportsmen are willing to do that,” Thompson said. “There’s no doubt it. Everybody that I’ve talked to is way in favor of this license fee increase.” Fred Long of Jefferson says the travel budget for state employees is so constricted the National Wildlife Turkey Federation recently paid to send the state turkey biologist to educational seminars out of state. Long, who is president of the Iowa Conservation Alliance, says all 16 groups in the organization back a five percent hike in hunting and fishing fees.

“It’s important to us that we’re all willing to spend more money,” Long said. An Iowa Department of Natural Resources staff member, however, recently cautioned the commission that any public recommendation they make has to be cleared by the governor’s office. “We have to be cognizant of what the administration’s priorities around government fees, taxes, regulatory costs generally are,” she said.

Nebraska’s Game and Parks Commission has proposed raising their state’s hunting and fishing fees by an average of 14 percent next year. Missouri officials have raised hunting and fishing license rates this year, with significant increases for people who do not live in Missouri. Last year, South Dakota lawmakers approved fee increases for outdoor recreation, including a 66 percent increase in state park entrance licenses for out of staters.

(A story by the Iowa News Service) – As American Education Week continues, Iowa teachers are working to hold on to the gains they have made in the state. Iowa public school students have historically had some of the highest test scores in the nation. The state quarter even used to be emblazoned with a school house.

Joshua Brown, president of the Iowa State Education Association, said while most kids still score well on tests, Iowa’s public schools are threatened by new laws allowing tax dollars to be used for homeschool and private education tuition. “It’s unfortunate,” Brown asserted. “Especially in Iowa, I think we’ve always really valued education, and I think, generally, when you go into the streets and you talk to just a regular Iowan, they still do.”

In addition to honoring teachers, parents, and educators, American Education Week also marks the accomplishments of those who support them. Nov. 19 is Educational Support Professionals Day, recognizing paraeducators, skilled trade workers and health workers who assist the classroom.

There are more than 38,000 public school teachers in Iowa. (Adobe Stock)

Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, said the Trump administration’s plans to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education are having a direct effect on the country’s most vulnerable students and teachers. “Our students with disabilities, our students who come from low-income families,” Pringle outlined. “In particular, our students living in rural areas where they need the federal government to provide those supports and to provide those people to assist them.”

The administration said it is trying to eliminate waste from the federal budget. Education Support Professionals Day was first marked in 1987, when the National Education Association announced it would recognize the contributions of all school support staff.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Community School District’s Board of Education, tonight (Tuesday night) bid farewell to a member of the Board who has served the District for 18-years. Board President Laura McLean said Kristy Pellett brought knowledge and experience to the position, which helped McLean adjust when she was elected to the Board.

Kristy Pellett thanked the Board, the community, the District, “For the trust and the confidence that you’ve had in me over these many years.”

Retiring Atlantic School Board Member Kristy Pellett (on the right) during attends her last meeting 11-18-25 (Still frame image from YouTube)

The retiring school board approved an out-of-state swim meet event as Dec. 4th, and the hiring of a vocal music teacher, to begin during the Second Semester.

Following retirement of the Board, an organizational meeting of the new Atlantic School Board was called to order. Josh McLaren, who was re-elected to an At-Large seat on November 4th, was also elected as the Board President for one-year. Gini Jordan was elected by her fellow Board members to be the Vice-President for 2025-26. Lisa Jones was re-appointed as the Board Treasurer and Board Secretary.

In other business, Chet Meneely, the newest addition to the Board, was administered the Oath of Office by President McLaren. The New Board set the dates and times of their meetings as the second and fourth Wednesday’s of the month, beginning at 6-p.m. The regular meetings are normally held on the second Wednesday, while the Work Sessions on on the fourth.

November 18, 2025

BLACK HAWK COUNTY, Iowa – On November 16, 2025, at approximately 9:30 p.m., members of the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa State Patrol and several other local law enforcement agencies attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by 47-year-old Waterloo resident Benjamin Sink. Sink was wanted on several charges related to a domestic relationship.

Sink refused to stop, and a pursuit ensued. During the pursuit, Sink’s vehicle was disabled utilizing stop sticks, and Sink’s vehicle came to stop on the side of the road.  Sink exited his vehicle, produced a firearm, and fired at officers. Deputies with the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office and a Trooper with the Iowa State Patrol returned fire, striking Sink. Officers performed lifesaving measures on Sink at the scene. Sink was transported to Mercy One Hospital in Waterloo for treatment but later was pronounced deceased.

The officers involved were uninjured and placed on critical incident leave in accordance with their department policies. Agencies involved in the response to this incident included the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office, the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office, the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office, the Hudson Police Department, the Waterloo Police Department, the Cedar Falls Police Department, the Iowa State Patrol and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI).

At the request of the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) is conducting the investigation into the shooting. Once the investigation is completed, the findings will be forwarded to the Black Hawk County Attorney’s Office and the Office of the Iowa Attorney General for review. Further details will be released at the time the review is released.

(An Iowa Capital Dispatch report) – The Iowa State Association of Counties is seeking financial assistance from counties for a friend-of-the-court brief in support of Story and Shelby counties’ request for U.S. Supreme Court review of a case against Summit Carbon Solutions.  The association said, in a letter addressed to county boards of supervisors, the case before the court “highlights the importance of local control” and “has the potential to impact all counties nationwide.”  Several counties in southwest Iowa have committed funds for the legal proceedings, including Cass, Adair, Mills, Montgomery, and Page, to name a few.

Iowa State Association of Counties is a nonprofit organization with elected and appointed officials from all 99 counties, with a mission to promote effective and efficient local government.  Leadership with the county association were unable to share up-to-date figures Tuesday as to how many counties have pledged financial support on the amicus brief.

According to the letter, dated Oct. 20, 2025, it will cost the association $25,000 to submit the amicus brief to the court, which is why it is soliciting suggested donations of  $500 from counties to help “cover the cost.”  The association submitted the brief, according to the docket, Nov. 6.

The letter said the brief would be submitted on behalf of the association’s membership and would stress the importance of local control. The letter explained to supervisors that a brief can help the court to “better understand” different arguments and the importance of a case. The briefs can also help in “improving a case’s chance” of being taken up by the Supreme Court.

Story and Shelby counties were each sued by Summit Carbon Solutions — a company that seeks to build a carbon sequestration pipeline across Iowa and several other surrounding states – over local ordinances the counties enacted.  The ordinances included setbacks from structures and local permitting requirements to which Summit would have to adhere to build its pipeline through the counties.

The cases were combined as they worked through the courts. In June, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, located in Omaha, ruled in favor of Summit and a lower court, that the counties could not impose safety standards on a pipeline that is subject to federal standards. The counties then petitioned the federal appeals court for a rehearing of the case, which was denied, before the county supervisors voted in August to take the issue up to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The letter to counties included a summary of the case from Timothy Whipple of Ahlers & Cooney in Des Moines. The summary said the counties seek the U.S. Supreme Court’s review of the case because the appellate court decision was “legally wrong and problematic.” The counties allege the decision was wrong because it inquired into the motives of county supervisors when they made the ordinances, created a “vague and unworkable standard” and created a “regulatory void.”

At the center of these arguments, and of the Eighth Circuit Court’s decision, is whether or not state and local governments can consider safety when enacting ordinances or if they may enact safety standards. The summary of the suit said the appellate court’s ruling could “invalidate” a “wide range” of local ordinances. Additional counties in Iowa have also been sued by Summit over their ordinances, but those cases have been put on hold while Story and Shelby counties’ case plays out.

Summit filed requests to resume the other county cases on the argument that regardless of the Supreme Court outcome, counties would be preempted by state law in Iowa from dictating pipeline routes. Summit Carbon Solutions did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday (today).  The brief, submitted on behalf of the Iowa State Association of Counties, said Iowa counties exercise “home rule authority” to govern matters like land use.

“Expansive federal preemption, especially when based on motive, threatens counties’ autonomy,” the brief said. “The Association has a strong interest in vindicating the legitimate policymaking discretion of home rule counties.”

In addition to the association, the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, Preemption Law Professors and the states of Minnesota, Arizona, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon and Vermont, have submitted briefs in support of the counties’ request for a reevaluation of the case.

(Radio Iowa) – Some forecasters are raising the possibility of heavy snowfall in Iowa next week, with an especially strong winter wallop for northern Iowa, potentially impacting Thanksgiving travel, but other forecasters are holding off on making a call until later. Meteorologist Dylan Dodson, at the National Weather Service, says Thanksgiving is still a bit too far away to make an accurate prediction.

“Our forecast only goes out seven days,” Dodson says. “Generally, beyond seven days, it gets a little bit more difficult to forecast, because the further you get from the current time, those possibilities start to expand. It’s kind of like that butterfly effect. As you get out further, those chances start to become less certain.” Computer forecasting models from the National Weather Service are -not- projecting anything that would make snowfall for Iowa likely in the six-to-ten day forecast.

“At least through the beginning of next week, we’re looking at above-normal temperatures — normal for this time of year is right around the upper 40s to 50 degrees for the Des Moines area — and then kind of cooler in the north, warmer in the south,” Dodson says, “so, leaning above-normal for temperatures and then also leaning slightly above-normal for precipitation.” With the agency’s eight to 14-day forecast, he says temperatures are trending to near-normal with slightly above-normal precipitation. But is a ten-inch snowfall before Thanksgiving likely?

“I wouldn’t say it’s unlikely at this point. I wouldn’t say it’s likely either,” Dodson says. “It’s just difficult to gauge that at the moment. We’ll be watching the forecast once it starts to get into the seven-day especially. We’ll definitely be starting to look at where the patterns are, but at the moment, there’s too much uncertainty to really hang your hat on anything.”

According to National Weather Service data from 1981 to 2010, the normal date for the first one-inch snowfall in northwest Iowa is between November 10th and 17th, with the first inch of snow typically falling much later in southeastern Iowa, between December 12th and the 19th.

(Atlantic, IA) – The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce is now accepting nominations for the 2025 Angel(s) of Christmas, sponsored by Cass Health. The Angel of Christmas is a tradition in Atlantic, recognizing and thanking area residents and organizations who symbolize the true meaning of the season. Angels exemplify the true holiday spirit all year long, and put others first, spreading generosity and sharing the holiday spirit with everyone they meet.

“The heart of the holidays shines brightest through everyday acts of kindness. Honoring those who quietly lift others up reminds us that the spirit of Christmas isn’t a season; it’s a way of living,” Kelsey Beschorner, Executive Director at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce said.

Past Angels of Christmas titles have been awarded to: Mary-Ann Mooreman, Steve Livengood, Sheri Lecbeck, Pastor Leon Hodges, Bob Boots, Devin Hogue, Marcia Weis, Gary & Lucy Newton, Wickman Chemical, Steve Andersen, Tom McLaren, and the Atlantic Food Panty volunteers Ken Burkhart and Sharon Sandhorst.

Please nominate the Christmas Angel you know to the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce by November 29th. Nominate by submitting comments about this person to the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce or email chamber@atlanticiowa.com. You can find a nomination form on www.atlanticiowa.com/christmas-in-atlantic.

Pick up a Christmas in Atlantic brochure from area businesses, ‘like’ the Chamber on Facebook or follow on Instagram (AtlanticIowaFan) to find dates and details to celebrate Christmas in Atlantic. You can find a complete list of activities and a printable version of the brochure at www.atlanticiowa.com. For additional information, contact the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce at chamber@atlanticiowa.com or 712-243-3017.

Christmas in Atlantic is presented by Gregg Young of Atlantic.

The Lakin Foundation Child Development Center of East Mills today (Tuesday) proudly announced its opening in Malvern, providing a much-needed childcare resource for families throughout the East Mills School District. The center began serving children on October 27, 2025, and celebrated its official launch with a well-attended ribbon cutting on November 15, 2025.

The ribbon cutting brought together local families, business owners, supporters, and community leaders who played a vital role in helping bring the project to life. The strong turnout reflected the community’s commitment to expanding childcare access and ensuring the long-term vitality of the East Mills area. The East Mills Child Care Solutions board would like to thank the numerous individuals, organizations, and businesses who offered financial support, donated materials, volunteered time, or assisted with planning efforts.

The center is led by Director Brittney Rimel, whose leadership, passion, and dedication have been instrumental in building a program where children can learn and grow in a safe environment. Brittney’s commitment to families in the East Mills area has helped transform the vision for a local childcare center into a sustainable resource designed to support working parents and strengthen the local economy.

The center’s success is also a testament to its skilled and dedicated staff. Each team member has invested significant time and effort in training, classroom preparation, curriculum planning, and designing environments that are secure, nurturing, and developmentally intentional. Their work ensures that every child has access to a high-quality early learning experience from day one.

Families interested in enrollment or learning more about the program are encouraged to contact the center directly at 712-399-4881 or director@eastmillscdc.org. You can also visit our website and start your enrollment packet at eastmillscdc.org [1].