(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston report the arrest at around 6:10-p.m. Tuesday, of 33-year-old Eyleena Marie Stringer. The Creston woman was arrested at her residence and charged with Interference with Official Acts. She was also wanted on an outstanding warrant for the original charge of Harassment in the 2nd Degree. Stringer was transported to the Union County Jail for processing, then transferred and held at the Clarke County Jail without bond until seen by a judge.

(Radio Iowa) – A new report from the American Lung Association finds much more needs to be done to end the devastating burden of lung cancer on Iowa families. Kristina Hamilton, the association’s advocacy director for Iowa, says the “State of Lung Cancer” report looks at ten primary categories. “Iowa actually is below average in several of the categories,” Hamilton says, “including new cases, five-year survival, surgery as a form of treatment, and the smoking rate, so we certainly have a good amount of work to do.” Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in Iowa, while the report ranks Iowa 39th in the nation for its rate of new lung cancer cases. The report finds more than 16-percent of Iowa high schoolers use tobacco or e-cigarettes.

“We’re particularly concerned about the smoking rate, given cigarette smoking has declined over the past several decades,” Hamilton says, “but unfortunately, Iowa is still higher than the national average and it is the leading cause of lung cancer and preventable deaths.” Hamilton says initiatives will be pushed in the state legislative session, which opens in January, to help discourage smoking in Iowa. “The tax on the cigarettes has not been increased in 18 years,” Hamilton says, “so with inflation and the changing tobacco products landscape, we think it’s past time for Iowa to increase that tax and we’re asking for $1.50 per pack, and then there’s no excise tax on e-cigarettes at all.” She says e-cigarettes are the only tobacco product sold in Iowa that’s not subject to a tax.

While the report gives Iowa a thumbs-down grade on five of the ten key categories, Hamilton says the state is doing at least one thing that’s worthy of praise. “The legislature and the governor now require insurance plans to cover comprehensive biomarker testing,” Hamilton says, “and that is a very significant advancement for lung cancer treatment and treatment of other chronic conditions.” That testing looks for changes in the tumor’s D-N-A. The results of the test may show biomarkers that can help determine what treatment options would be best for an individual patient. Insurance coverage of biomarker testing is important for removing a cost barrier to people with lung cancer, but coverage for biomarker testing is only required in some states.

The report found that Iowa does require insurance coverage of comprehensive biomarker testing.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A traffic stop in Red Oak early this (Wednesday) morning, resulted in the arrest of a woman from Pottawattamie County. According to Red Oak Police, 40-year-old Kristin Ann Miller, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at around 1:25-a.m., for Driving While Revoked (A serious misdemeanor). Miller was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

CITY ELECTIONS

CITY OF AUDUBON:

Mayor (to fill a vacancy term ending 2027 – vote for 1)

Palle Lansman 283

City Council – vote for no more than 3

Brooke Wegner  234

Bruce A. Christensen  216

Jeff Jacobsen  84

Rodney Benton  249

CITY OF BRAYTON:

Mayor

Cally Lee Christensen  82

City Council (vote for no more than 2)

David L. Hansen  21

Garrett Wilson  23

CITY OF EXIRA

Mayor

Mike Huegerich  124

City Council (Vote for 2)

Dory Schrader  64

Christina Nelson  106

Matt Long  59

CITY OF GRAY

Mayor – (No candidates filed); 11 Write-In votes

City Council – vote for 1 (No candidate filed); 17 W-In votes

CITY OF KIMBALLTON

Mayor

Ramadasa Jivatma 49

City Council (vote for 3)

Sheila Partridge  54

Dirk Wasson  61

Peggy Mortensen  31

Thomas Lake 44

SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES

Audubon School Board Member – vote for 2

Laurence H. Frakes Jr. 252

Haillie Bruch  292

Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton School Board Director – Vote for no more than 3

Anna Schleimer 62

Nick Fredericksen 118

Eric Konecne107

Deborah King 55

Beth Larsen  123

Emily Paulsen 148

Abby Rasmussen 235

Elk Horn-Kimballton School Board Director – (vacancy term ending 2027) (vote for 1)

Anthony L. Hough  65

Cally Lee Christensen  229

IKM-Manning School – GO BOND Public Measure TH

YES  96    NO 11

(Atlantic, Iowa) – In addition to voters across the State and nation, those in Cass and surrounding counties determined the fate of candidates who were in contested races, along with bond referendums, Tuesday night. All results are unofficial until canvassed by county boards of supervisors.

Results from the City Elections include:

In Cass County, voters in the Atlantic Community School District overwhelmingly approved two out of three bond referendums. Public Measure DH, a $22.5-million General Obligation Bond for improvements and expansion projects at the Washington and Schuler Elementary Schools, along with the Atlantic Middle and High School, passed by 1,438 Yes to 618 No votes. Public Measure DI, an $18.5-million dollar Sales Tax Revenue Bond for a new fieldhouse, was defeated by a vote of 1,276 to 771. And, Public Measure  DG, a Revenue Purpose Statement to continue using the statewide SAVE  funds for building upgrades, technology & infrastructure, passed by a vote of 1,383 to 579.

Josh McLaren won re-election to the Atlantic School Board. Joining him will be Chet Meneely, who convincingly won over challengers Jordan Zarbono and Justin Williams.

Voters elected Eyon Steffensen, John Knutson and Deanna Andrews to the City Council in Anita. In Griswold, Nick Demanett and Jim Ridlen were elected to the City Council. Lewis voters selected Russell Miller and Betty Auten as their City Council members. In Marne, Angela Redler and Aaron Williams won seats on the City Council. The Mayor’s seat in Massena will be determined from among 55 Write-In votes.

In Adair County, voters in the City of Greenfield approved a requested $1,000,000 bond proposal to build a new municipal swimming pool. They also elected Rita Eble, Carl Faust and Jeff Clayton to fill At-Large seats on the City Council in Greenfield. Shawna Herr and Andrew Martin were elected to the City Council in Fontanelle.  In Stuart, Cory Kirkpatrick defeated John Gulbranson in his bid to become Mayor. Trevor Nelson, Angela Capps and Zach Ingwers were elected to the Stuart City Council. Daniel Schilling and Kristen Jensen were elected to the School Board in the Nodaway Valley District.

In Audubon County, Brooke Wegner, Bruce A. Christensen and Rodney Benton were elected to the City Council in Audubon. Christina Nelson and Dory Schrader won seats on the Exira City Council. Voters in Kimballton elected Dirk Wasson, Sheila Partridge and Thomas Lake to the City Council.

In Shelby County, Derick Hogberg and Justin Larsen were elected to the City Council in Elk Horn. Beth Larsen, Emily Paulsen and Abby Rasmussen were elected to the Exira-EHK School Board, while Cally Lee Christensen won the vacancy seat on the Board, with the term expiring in 2027. Voters in the IKM-Manning School District failed to approve a $19.8-million bond referendum to add classrooms, secure entrances, common areas, HVAC, and track and field improvements to the 4-12 building. The vote was 432 No to 81 Yes.

Bedford School District voters rejected an $11.5 million bond issue to cover construction of a new competitive gym onto the K-12 complex’s secondary wing, and a new loading dock in back of the building. The vote was 625-to-290 against the referendum.

Iowa Western Community College’s $55,000,000 bond measure to build a new Career and Technical Education facility and other improvements, met with a little more than 70-percent voter approval. It was the second time in the past two years that this measure has been presented to the voters.

In Montgomery County, all four Stanton Community School District Public Measures met with voter approval. Ryan Hart, Jaclyn Hoyt and Cameron Lewellen were elected to the Stanton School Board. Tim Fridolph easily won election as Mayor in Red Oak, after his challenger withdrew prior to the election, following some comments made during a meeting with students.

Voters in the Panorama Community School District defeated a $19,600,000 Public Measure to build a competition gym; add classrooms, secure entrances, and common areas to elementary and secondary schools; upgrade roofing and playgrounds. Voters in the Oakland-Riverside School District also defeated a Physical Plant & Equipment Levy that would have provided $595,000 a year for essential facility repairs, safety improvements, and technology upgrades. The proposed levy would add $1.34 per $1,000 of taxable property value. The final vote was 697 NO, 388 Yes.

And, in the City of Walnut, voters passed Public Measure SC, which had proposed reducing the number of Library Board of Trustees from six, to four. The vote was 140 Yes to 75 No. Tim Brannan, Michael Chapman and Kevin Clark were elected to the Walnut City Council, and Wm. Brett Simpson was elected as Mayor.

You can read all the election results on our News page at kjan.com

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congressman Zach Nunn and a small group of central Iowans from the ag sector say farmers don’t like bailouts, but emergency federal assistance is needed after tariff tensions roiled the grain markets. Vernon Flinn, who raises corn, soybeans and cattle in five central Iowa counties, says he’s prefer to have the free market dictate prices — but short term help is needed.

“Part of the problem we’re facing is brought on by the government, so I think the government’s got an obligation to help maybe bail guys out of it,” Flinn said. Flinn recently paid a huge bill to replace two tires that were punctured when the combine rolled over a set of deer antlers in a field. “(With) $4 corn, there’s not a lot of money to go around to buy $26,000 tires,” Flinn said.

Nunn, a Republican from Ankeny, says President Trump’s recent negotiations with China will yield results for Iowa soybean farmers — and the Big Beautiful Bill Trump signed in July provides tax benefits to farmers. “No farmer that I’ve ever talked ever says they want a bailout. What they’d like to be able to do is expand their market — that’s both internationally, as the president just showed in his Asia trip, but it’s also domestically — something that the Biden Administration failed to do for us for four years, something that this administration can do for us right now,” Nunn says.

“It’s one of the reasons I just had a conversation with (Treasury) Secretary Bessent about opening up E15 year round…and expansion of biofuel consumption in the U.S.” Nunn hosted a roundtable discussion yesterday (Tuesday) at the Heartland Co-op in Carlisle. Tom Hauschel (HAH-shell) is the co-op’s C-E-O. “We’re off to a very difficult start this year, with the farm economy what it has been and the crop size with all the fungus and rust that we had,” Hauschel said. “It’s the most stressful year we’ve had in the entire history of the cooperative.”

The Heartland Co-op was formed in 1987 with the merger of co-ops in Panora, Dallas Center, Minburn and Granger and it expanded in 1993 when a grain business in Carlisle and co-ops in Alleman and Mitchellville joined the enterprise. Hauschel says the financial pressure that started at the farm gate is now being felt at the retail level and federal officials need to develop a long-term plan for the ag sector.

“Payments are a short-term fix. It’s not going to solve the problem next year because if we don’t move this ball forward, we’re not going to solve next year’s problems,” Hauschel said, “so this problem is just going to snowball and then we’re going to lose farmers. We’re going to lose the young kids.”

A recent Creighton University survey of rural bank C-E-Os in Iowa and other Midwest states found a firm majority of the bankers believe President Trump’s approach to trade with China is about right, but nearly 85 percent of the bankers surveyed support emergency federal payments to farmers due to the financial hit of trade losses.

(Radio Iowa) – Voters in a few more counties have approved property tax levies to support ambulance services. The E-M-S referendum in Clay County passed with 61 percent support, Buchanan County residents approved one with 65 percent support and nearly 69 percent of voters in Washington County approved raising property taxes for ambulance services.

A second try at an E-M-S referendum in Calhoun County fell about three percent short of the required 60 percent threshold.

Voters in 21 other counties have previously approved raising local property taxes to finance ambulance services in their county.

(Radio Iowa) – Several of the bond issues on Iowa ballots this November came close, but didn’t quite reach the 60 percent threshold for approval — while the largest school bond issue in state history easily passed. Matt Smith is interim superintendent of Des Moines Independent Community School District, where a 265 million dollar bonding plan passed with 74 percent support.

“That’s not just a victory. That is a decisive victory,” Smith said. “That is a decisive vote that folks want to invest in the education of 30,000 kids and the 30,000 kids of tomorrow.” The money will finance construction and renovation of school buildings and allow the Des Moines district to expand preschool as well as career-oriented programs.

“The programs that we’re going to be able to build and actually create in Des Moines Public Schools is exactly what the community said that they wanted,” Smith said. The vote came just weeks after former Des Moines Superintendent Ian Roberts was arrested by immigration agents. Voters in the Cedar Rapids school district narrowly rejected a 117-million-dollar bond that would have supported upgrades to four schools. The plan fell less than a percentage point short of 60 percent. Ron Corbett is with Believe in C-R Schools campaign.

“We got to the top of the mountain, we just didn’t get to the summit. We’re just, you know, a few votes short,” Corbett said. “…Thankfully, the overwhelming majority of people in Cedar Rapids voted for this.” Voters also rejected a far larger proposal in 2023 and district officials had scaled back updates to the four schools. Tawana Grover is the superintendent of the Cedar Rapids School District.

“The majority of people were in favor,” Grover says, “we just didn’t quite hit that 60 percent mark yet so that means that people do care about our schools and we have to figure out how to get this done for our students.” There were 56 bond issues on this November’s ballots, most of them for school projects. For the second time, voters in the Dubuque Community School District rejected a plan to build a new middle school.

A 37 million dollar bond issue for a new primary school building in the Sergeant Bluff-Luton School District narrowly failed — with 59-point-six percent support — just short of the 60 percent threshold required for passage. A plan in Emmetsburg to spend 25-point-six MILLION dollars to rebuild an aging elementary school got yes votes from 54 percent of voters — six points short of the 60 percent needed to pass.

For the second time in two years, a bonding plan for a new Sac County Jail has failed. It fell a little less than three percent short of the 60 percent necessary for passage.

CITY ELECTIONS

City of CARSON

Mayor (Vote for 1):

Rodney Morrison 9

Bret Sherkenbach 208 

Lyndon Taylor 56

Carson City Council (Vote for 3):

Drake Roller 233

Charles Pleak 91

Drake R. Colvin 148

Tate Brandon 133

Andrew Taylor 88

City of CARTER LAKE

Mayor: Jason Gunderson 539

Carter Lake City Council (Vote for 2):

Victor Skinner 344

Timothy M. Mandolfo 209

JacLeen Wahl 337

Matthew Seminara 338

City of COUNCIL BLUFFS:

Mayor (Vote for 1):

Jill Shudak 3,640

Matthew Walsh 3,524

1,130 Write-In votes

Council Bluffs City Council – At Large (Vote for 2):

Steve Gorman 3,958

Dustin Harris 3,454

Cole Button 3,840

Jessica Marie Vanderpool 2,949

City of MACEDONIA:

Mayor (Vote for 1):

Melia Clark 44

Paden Knoke 47

3 Write-In votes

Macedonia City Council (Vote for 2):

James M. Croson 20

Gary L. Wax 50

Paul Paxson 43

Suzann Duede 27

Joseph Cope 37

City of OAKLAND:

Mayor: Brant A. Miller 210; (101 W-In)

Oakland City Council (Vote for 3):

Phil Reed 247

Jordan Sherbondy 157

Darin J. Ford 182

Collin Applegate 256

Oakland  City Council [TFV] (Elect 1): Coralee Bernard 283

City of UNDERWOOD:

Mayor (Vote for 1):

Josh Madsen 134

Dennis Bardsley 37

Underwood City Council (Elect 2):

Jim Pingel 141

Keith Rodenburg 145

City of WALNUT:

Mayor (Vote for 1):

Justen Tooley 57

Wm. Brett Simpson 174

Walnut City Council (Elect 3):

Tim Branan 193

Aiden Akers 99

Adrian Griffith 95

Michael Chapman 104

Kevin Clark 126

City of Walnut Public Measure SC (reducing the number of Library Board Trustees from six, to four): YES 140 NO 75

SCHOOL BOARD/DISTRICT ELECTIONS (In districts where there is more than 1 candidate for a position and/or Public Measures/Bond votes):

Council Bluffs CSD – Public Measure RZ (Adoption of a Revenue Purpose Statement for the use of SAVE Funds):

YES 5,298    NO 1,382

Riverside CSD – Public Measure SA (10-year PPEL renewal, commencing in 2026): YES 388    NO 697

IWCC Bond Issue (Public Measure SE): YES 8,944      NO 3,284