State and Regional News

An employee of the Spencer Park Department was terminated recently after Spencer city officials conducted an investigation into an alleged incident at Spencer’s Walmart where the former employee is alleged to have used racist comments toward a black woman ahead of her in line at the store’s checkout. The exchange reportedly occurred during a dispute over the number of items in the cart...

A coronavirus virus outbreak that has infected 61 inmates and five staff members at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility has claimed the life of its first inmate there. The Iowa Department of Corrections said in a news release Tuesday that 71-year-old Ray Allen Vanlengen was diagnosed with COVID-19 before he died Monday at the University of Iowa Hospital. ...

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed into law a bill that requires women to wait 24 hours before getting an abortion, trying again to institute a restriction similar to one struck down two years ago by the Iowa Supreme Court. Reynolds signed the measure into law just after lawyers representing Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and the state wrapped up arguments before a state court judge. ...

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig presented the Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award to the Albright family in Lytton, Iowa, recently. The farm is run by Ben and his wife, Susan, Ben’s younger brother, Nick, and father, Alan. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the award presentation ceremony was limited to the family. Secretary Naig and the Albright family practiced social distancing while receiving the award live on WHO Radio’s The Big Show...

There’s no hiding it — masks are the COVID-19 story of the week, in Iowa and around the nation. Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement has started a #MaskUpIA petition drive asking Gov. Kim Reynolds to require Iowans to wear masks or other face coverings in public. More than 1,500 people have signed the petition since it was posted at midday Tuesday...

In the mid-1930s, my parents, A.A. Adams (Vete) and Grace, purchased a farm 12 miles south of Spencer across Highway 71 from the Ditton place, “Goat Hill.” I heard about the possibility of bulldozing the old Goat Hill house. It occurred to me that perhaps I could be the last living person to have known the old man who lived there, Jesse Ditton. ...

The U.S. House passed a sweeping police reform package Thursday night in response to massive civil unrest over police brutality. The package cleared the chamber largely along partisan lines, with 236 lawmakers (mostly Democrats) voting for it and 181 lawmakers (180 Republicans and one Independent) voting against it. Three Republicans sided with Democrats in backing the bill — Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Fred Upton of Michigan and Will Hurd of Texas...

By THOMAS BEAUMONT Special to The Pilot The families of three workers who died after contracting the coronavirus in an Iowa meat plant outbreak sued Tyson Foods and its top executives Thursday, saying the company knowingly put employees at risk and lied to keep them on the job...

Before the sun had a chance to shine on the city of Spencer’s downtown district last Monday, Brock Storm — the Spencer High School alumnus and full-time artist — was clad in black and had made peace with the fact that his newest project could land him in serious trouble. ...

Iowa regulators say they found no workplace safety violations at Tyson Foods’ largest pork processing plant, which employed several people who died after contracting the coronavirus. The Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration closed its inquiry into the Tyson plant in Waterloo earlier this month without sanctioning the meat company...

A recalled bagged salad distributed to a dozen Midwestern states by grocery stores has sickened 122 people in seven states and sent 19 to the hospital, the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. The salad distributed by Hy-Vee, Jewel-Osco and Aldi grocery stores is contaminated with cyclospora, a parasite that can cause diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, and fatigue...

The legislature adjourned for the year on Sunday, June 14. This year’s session was definitely different than previous years. While we didn’t get to all the legislation we wanted, we were still able to accomplish a lot in the time we did have. Before we paused the session in March, the Senate passed legislation to lower barriers to some professions, and bring unemployed people back into our workforce and encourage them to build careers for themselves. ...

By THOMAS BEAUMONT Special to The Pilot After Donald Trump carried Iowa in 2016 by nearly 10 points, its swing state status was in doubt. But now, with stunning swiftness, Iowa Democrats have spun from distraught to hopeful. This shift appears to be propelled by the president’s uneven handling of the coronavirus pandemic and his aggressive response to protests over the death of George Floyd. ...

Student leaders at Iowa’s public universities are calling the Legislature’s decision to cut $8 million in spending for higher education “short-sighted and deeply disappointing.” Student representatives at the University of Northern Iowa, University of Iowa and Iowa State University say the cuts for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, coincide with protests over “deep racial inequities in our society” and “will fall hardest on students of color.”...

A renewed argument over Republicans’ efforts to place new restrictions on absentee voting dominated the final hours of the 2020 legislative session in the Iowa House. The Senate, which had worked all night, adjourned at 1:32 p.m. Sunday. The House adjourned minutes later, at 1:39 p.m., after taking final action on a $7.8 billion budget...

When the Legislature recessed on March 16th due to the covid 19 pandemic it was that time of the session when committee action on many policy bills had been completed and those bills were ready for floor debate. It was also the stage of the session when budget considerations were coming to the forefront. As we came back to session on June 3rd it was difficult to try to pick up where we had left off, especially in the budget process with the unprecedented uncertainty of Iowa’s economic outlook...

The Iowa State Fair is canceled for 2020, leaving Iowans and the Midwest without their beloved tradition of fried corn dogs and hog calling in the humid summer heat. This marks the first time the fair has been canceled due to a pandemic, said Iowa State Fair CEO Gary Slater. The fair was canceled five times in the past: Once in 1898 because of the World’s Fair in Omaha and 1942-45 due to World War II...

The Iowa National Guard is assisting with site demolition work for Storm Lake High School’s courtyard conservation project. Over the past several weeks, the National Guard has been helping run the COVID-19 TestIowa site outside the school. Guard members have offered to assist with additional tasks, and the courtyard project emerged as a great opportunity for collaboration...

After recessing on March 16th due to the spreading covid pandemic the Legislature reconvened on June 3rd to a whole new set of challenges. Not only does the budget picture look entirely different than it did on March 16th, our entire state is facing paradigm changes of a magnitude never seen in our lifetime. ...

Don’t go out alone, 18-year-old Calvin Grosvenor was taught. It’s considered the number one rule for open water diving - and last week it saved a life on West Lake Okoboji. Grosvenor is credited with not only bringing his diving partner to the surface of the lake during an emergency, but swimming him to shore and performing CPR until help arrived...

State health officials are working on a new system to alert Iowans about COVID-19 outbreaks at meat processing plants. “We have been working on a more systematic process for being able to announce those outbreaks as they are detected,” said Sarah Reisetter, deputy director of the Iowa Department of Public Health. She didn’t elaborate...

The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t upended President Donald Trump’s plans to hold a Fourth of July celebration in the nation’s capital this summer. The White House told the Associated Press recently that Trump intends to move ahead with a scaled-back version of last year’s massive “Salute to America” event on the National Mall. Those plans are taking place despite the pandemic and as lawmakers in the region have asked the administration to reconsider...

A construction worker from Minnesota who was electrocuted and fell from a building is suing the city of Sibley, Iowa, for negligence. Victor Maldonado, of Worthington, Minnesota, alleges in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that the city knew the high-voltage power line was too close to the building and did not comply with safety codes...

A Friday morning collision involving a semi and a passenger vehicle in the 4800-mile of U.S. Highway 71 claimed the life of a 24-year-old Cedar Rapids man and injured a second man. At approximately 7:34 a.m., a northbound 2003 Peterbilt semi and empty livestock trailer, operated by Stoney Ray Burris, 46 of Livingston, Tennessee and a southbound 1987 Pontiac Firebird, driven by George Skyler Ellsworth Cole, 24 of Cedar Rapids, collided after the Firebird allegedly swerved into the northbound lane.. ...

Iowa continues to ease business restrictions over the next few weeks. Starting May 28, bars, wineries, breweries, and distilleries were able to reopen. On June 1, casinos, bowling alleys, amusement parks, skating rinks, outdoor performance venues, and outdoor playgrounds will also be able to reopen. ...

U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has reportedly disputed claims made by fellow Republican Steve King, during a May 11 candidate forum in Spencer. In closing remarks, King said the party leader would advocate on behalf of the western Iowa congressman before the Steering Committee to get his committee assignments back. The seats were stripped after controversial King comments were published in the New York Times...

Sac County sheriff’s office is investigating an ATV accident that occurred during the early morning hours of Monday, May 18 that claimed the life of 17-year old Ryan Mykle Stephens of Sac City. Stephens was a passenger on the back of an ATV that was being operated by 21-year old Kele Leon Robinson of Sac City sometime around 2:30 a.m. They were driving on the road leading into lower Hagge Park in Sac County when Robinson lost control and struck a tree...

Congressman Steve King admits that recent poll results are “quite scary,” saying they show him in a virtual tie with primary opponent Randy Feenstra. “We are now in a dead heat and the election is just one week away,” King said Tuesday. “This is the greatest challenge of my political life, plain and simple. Big government cronies have funneled loads of cash into my opponent’s campaign because they know he will support their anti-constitutional agenda,” King said in a message to supporters. ...

If Test Iowa won’t give you an appointment for a COVID-19 test, keep trying the website or just call your doctor. That was the message Friday from Gov. Kim Reynolds. She announced earlier this week that any Iowan can now be tested for COVID-19 without having to meet criteria such as symptoms of the illness, exposure or an essential job...

Iowa’s unemployment rate soared to 10.2% in April, reflecting the economic costs of efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus, state officials reported Friday. Iowa has long had one of the nation’s lowest unemployment rates, but it rose to 3.3% in March and then roughly tripled in April, according to Iowa Workforce Development. Iowa’s April 2019 rate was 2.7%...

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said a number of businesses from movie theaters to museums and bars will see eased COVID-19 restrictions in the coming weeks. Theaters, zoos, aquariums, museums and wedding reception venues may resume operations Friday, so long as appropriate viral mitigation measures are in place. ...

University of Iowa researchers warned that the coronavirus would continue spreading through the state even before Gov. Kim Reynolds reopened restaurants and churches, a move they said would exacerbate the problem, documents released Friday show. The researchers, including some of the state’s top epidemiologists and infectious disease experts, also warned that hundreds more residents will likely die through the end of May even if widespread business closures remained in effect...

A California farm animal sanctuary is spending thousands of dollars to send two cargo planes to Iowa to rescue 1,000 chickens that were going to be euthanized at a struggling egg farm. Workers affiliated with the sanctuary Animal Place loaded chickens onto the planes Saturday morning at the Fort Dodge, Iowa, airport. The group planned to fly the hens in more than 60 crates to California, where they will be taken to the group’s sanctuary near Grass Valley, about 50 miles northeast of Sacramento...

The U.S. House on Friday cleared a massive $3 trillion relief bill aimed at blunting the health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sweeping legislation, which passed largely along partisan lines by a vote of 208-199, carries a price tag that’s roughly equal to the four previous coronavirus response bills already signed into law...

The five Republicans competing for the 4th District Congressional seat took a deep dive into COVID-19 response and other issues in a spirited first live debate event in Spencer this week. The candidates applauded the response efforts of President Trump and Governor Reynolds, fellow Republicans...

The Sioux County Sheriff’s Office on Monday released the name of the 58-year-old man who died of an apparent gunshot wound inside a rural Ireton farmhouse Saturday night. Authorities have charged 70-year-old Gregg Winterfeld, of Spirit Lake, with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Grant Wayne Wilson, of Cleghorn...

Governor Reynolds opened up 77 of Iowa’s 99 counties last week. Businesses like restaurants, churches, and dentist offices that had been closed previously are able to open under controlled circumstances. These are the first steps to getting Iowa up and running again. Counties still not opened up are Allamakee, Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Dallas, Des Moines, Dubuque, Fayette, Henry, Iowa, Jasper, Johnson, Linn, Louisa, Marshall, Muscatine, Polk, Poweshiek, Scott, Tama, Washington, and Woodbury...

News of the Asian Giant Hornet’s arrival in Washington state has spread a lot farther than the actual invasive insect, and there is no evidence it has arrived in Iowa or will ever be here, according to Iowa State University Extension and Outreach specialists...

As coronavirus hotspots erupted at major U.S. meatpacking plants, experts criticized extremely tight working conditions that made the factories natural high risk contagion locations. But some Midwestern politicians have pointed the finger at the workers’ living conditions, suggesting crowded homes bear some blame...

U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos finalized rules Wednesday that the administration says will improve due process in campus sexual assault cases, but that critics warn could discourage victims from coming forward. The new regulations expand rights for people accused of sexual misconduct on college campuses and make other changes to federal regulations governing schools’ obligations to respond to misconduct complaints...