State and Regional News

The faint smell of smoke carried on the wind in Royal as the Royal City Council met for their regular meeting Wednesday night. The council spoke to Lucas Kline, of Ag Partners, to discuss the status of the Ag Partners elevator following a reported explosion on Aug. 25, which Ag Partners had described as “a grain dust incident” in a statement...

Beatification efforts had been in full swing at the State Pier in Arnolds Park for some time, but the project was capped off recently with a ceremony renaming the pier after Lakes Area icon Berkley Bedell. Bedell passed away in early December, and organizers with the beautification group Imagine Iowa Great Lakes shifted gears soon after to rename the pier in his honor. ...

State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald is announcing updates for College Savings Iowa. Iowa taxpayers who are 529 plan account owners can now use funds to pay for qualified apprenticeship and student loan expenses. “I’m focused on providing more advantages and opportunities to our College Savings Iowa account owners,” said Fitzgerald. “With these updates, Iowa taxpayers can use their 529 investments for even more qualified expenses than before, opening the door for more families to start saving.”...

Friday, August 21st saw unusual visitors crowd at the Cherokee Public Library when a swarm of bees descended into one of the tall pine trees by the building’s historic entrance. Wisely summoned after being buzzed by Library Director Tyler Hahn, Cherokee County Conservation Board Naturalist Laura Jones arrived to save the day, collecting the cluster of insects, who remained balled protectively around their Queen...

A Fort Dodge woman already serving a prison sentence for setting fire to an Iowa mosque three years ago has now pleaded guilty to causing a fatal 2018 crash. Aisha Ismail, 26, pleaded guilty Tuesday to vehicular homicide by reckless driving for the July 2018 head-on crash on a Webster County road that killed 20-year-old David Fliehe, of Humboldt, The Messenger reported...

Three individuals were booked into the Dickinson County Jail last week on felony sexual abuse charges stemming from two separate incidents. Dickinson County Attorney Amy Zenor said both had been the subjects of ongoing investigations, and she confirmed the cases are unrelated:...

As the Summer of COVID draws to a close, many experts fear an even bleaker fall and suggest that American families should start planning for Thanksgiving by Zoom. Because of the many uncertainties, public health scientists say it’s easier to forecast the weather on Thanksgiving Day than to predict how the U.S. ...

Gov. Kim Reynolds today announced her appointment of Shayne Mayer as a district court judge in Judicial Election District 3A. Mayer, of Rock Rapids, Iowa, currently serves as the Lyon County Attorney and as the President of the Iowa County Attorneys Association. She previously engaged in the private practice of law in Iowa and South Dakota. She received her undergraduate degree from Briar Cliff University and her law degree from the University of South Dakota School of Law...

Gov. Kim Reynolds latest order requiring bars in Iowa to close again will result in “businesses going under,” said Jessica Dunker, president of the Iowa Restaurant Association. “It’s short-sighted and it’s going to cost hundreds of businesses and thousands of jobs in them,” Dunker said...

Lachelle Anderson, of Spencer, won the first top prize in the Iowa Lottery’s “Lucky No. 13” scratch game. She bought her winning ticket at Casey’s in Pella, and claimed her prize recently at the lottery’s Storm Lake regional office. Lucky No. 13 is a $2 scratch game that features seven top prizes of $10,000 and overall odds of 1 in 3.77. For more information about this game, and the number of prizes still available, visit ialottery.com...

As Iowa schools resume this week across the state, some school districts are already quarantining students and staff due to COVID-19 exposure. The situations vary. At the Adair-Casey-Guthrie Center school district, the varsity volleyball team is under quarantine after an athlete tested positive for the virus...

Iowa State University has taken steps to correct an English teacher’s syllabus that initially banned students from submitting work that opposes Black Lives Matter, gay marriage, abortion and other social issues. ISU English instructor Chloe Clark’s syllabus spelled out that students could not not choose a writing topic that “takes at its base that one side doesn’t deserve the same basic human rights as you do,” the Ames Tribune reported...

A reported explosion at the Ag Partners Elevator rocked area homes and required evacuation of nearby residents in the town of Royal. Smoke and fire could be seen pouring from the top of the solo which witnesses reported had been blown off. Multiple fire agencies in the area were called to respond as the need for water was urgent. ...

Imagine Iowa Great Lakes has announced the completion of the State Pier at Arnolds Park and will celebrate this accomplishment with a ribbon cutting ceremony, as well as a formal dedication and renaming of this property in honor of the late Berkley Bedell, at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 5...

The Northwest Iowa Public Safety Training Center is a common locale to witness some smoke or fire as fire departments diligently practice their craft, however last week a different form of heat was present. The High-risk Entry and Arrest Team — whose membership includes departments within Clay County and others from the region in Iowa and Minnesota — gathered in east Spencer Wednesday and quickly began working with the modular training facility clearing rooms, maneuvering and practicing with weaponry modified to shoot chalk rounds.. ...

Invitation to participate in a public forum broadcast live from Spencer City Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 26, has been extended to the four candidates representing the Republican and Democratic parties in the upcoming U.S. congressional primary in November...

The 2020 Clay County Relay for Life was conducted on the Clay County Fairgrounds Saturday night and looked a little different in order to accommodate health precautions due to the ongoing pandemic. Just as in previous years, cancer survivors, caregivers, friends, family and supporters of all kinds arrived at the relay to raise money and remember those affected by cancer but instead of walking a route, they drove it. ...

Latinos in the United States, including those in Iowa, have been disproportionately hurt by COVID-19 due to their predominance in close-quarters jobs like meatpacking, agriculture, retail and healthcare, said Julián Castro, former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, during the virtual Democratic National Convention on Monday...

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said Tuesday that Gov. Kim Reynolds has blocked his request to join a lawsuit that seeks to prevent changes to the U.S. Postal Service that Democrats claim could threaten mail-in voting. Miller said in a news release that he wanted to join the lawsuit planned by more than 20 states that seeks to stop budget cuts and operational changes that are disrupting mail deliveries. ...

Vice President Mike Pence, campaigning in Iowa on Thursday, promised assistance to Iowans devastated by this week’s derecho storm, although he offered no specifics. Pence had no tour of storm damage in his schedule but he delayed a speech at the Iowa State Fairgrounds to meet with farmers affected by the natural disaster...

Iowa state officials on Friday faced questions over what many Iowans saw as a delayed response by the Iowa National Guard to a major storm Monday that shredded crops, downed power lines and damaged schools. “Some people wondered, ‘Where is the National Guard?’” said Maj. Gen. Benjamin Corell, adjutant general of the Guard. Corell spoke at a Cedar Rapids news conference called by Gov. Kim Reynolds...

A Nebraska man who attempted to entice a 13-year old from the Storm Lake area for sex was sentenced Monday to more than 10 years in federal prison. In addition, the man, who had a prior conviction for domestic assault and stalking, illegally possessed ammunition...

Deafening sounds of air horns, chanting and a trumpet rang outside of the Iowa PBS station Tuesday morning as Gov. Kim Reynolds gave her weekly press conference from inside. Dozens of Des Moines Black Lives Matter protesters chanted, “Kim Reynolds, do your job or lose your job” in the television station parking lot in Johnston as the governor updated the public on disaster declarations following storm damage Monday night...

The family of a fourth worker who died of coronavirus during an outbreak at Tyson Foods’ largest pork processing plant is suing the company over his death. Isidro Fernandez of Waterloo, Iowa died April 26 from complications of COVID-19, leaving behind a wife and children, the lawsuit says...

University of Iowa administrators pushed ahead Monday with plans to resume in-person classes and on-campus housing, even as student leaders argued those steps were too risky during the coronavirus pandemic. The university said it would not test students who will begin moving into the Iowa City campus in the coming days, unlike last week’s mass testing at Iowa State University that identified dozens of infected students...

When students attending Catholic schools in the Diocese of Sioux City head back to class later this month, they will be toting not only new backpacks and other school supplies but most likely facemasks as well. According to Patty Lansink, superintendent of Catholic schools for the Diocese of Sioux City, the diocesan schools will be taking a unified approach to help keep students, teachers and staff safe as they start the new year regular full-time schedules in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.. ...

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said Thursday she supports Gov. Kim Reynolds’ decision to restore felon voting rights in the state, despite Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, tweeting it will hurt her this upcoming election. During a conference call with reporters, Ernst said she supports Reynolds, though she declined to directly answer if she believed the decision will cost her votes. There shouldn’t be a “political consideration,” she said...

Gov. Kim Reynolds on Thursday further narrowed the possibility that school districts might be allowed to hold 100% of classes online despite a high rate of COVID-19 infection in their county. Reynolds, in a news conference, said state officials would consider the “community context” in school districts where the average positivity rate for the virus exceeds 15%. That “context” might provide a reason the district would be required to proceed with in-person classes...

The ethanol industry’s losses have been more severe than economists originally predicted, an Iowa State University economist said. And it could be years before fuel demand recovers from losses related to the coronavirus pandemic and other factors that left the U.S. economy in recession, he added...

The Arnolds Park Police Department has filed a series of charges against a Mabel, Minnesota, man who is accused of trying to lure children from an indoor waterpark to his hotel room. Garret John McKenna faces two Class D felony counts of enticing a minor after police suspect the 26-year-old tried to convince a 9-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl to leave the Bridges Bay resort’s waterpark area at about 8:43 p.m. Saturday...

A Fort Dodge woman has been shot to death at her home, and police have arrested her husband in the shooting after an overnight search for him. officials said. The shooting happened around 2 p.m. Wednesday, when officers were called to a Fort Dodge home for reports of a shooting. Arriving officers found Maggie Hurdel, 38, with a gunshot wound. She died at the scene, police said...

Two priests of the Diocese of Sioux City, Father Shane Deman and Father Travis Crotty, have launched a new weekly podcast, “Outcast Catholic,” to reach those who may feel outcast or to those who may feel that the Catholic Church is no longer relevant, or outcast...

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Thursday insisted that the state controls how public schools will resume classes next month, saying districts can provide online learning only if coronavirus cases are surging in their communities. The teachers union immediately pushed back against her demand that schools seek the state’s permission to send children home, saying the lives of children and teachers are at stake and that science not politics should guide decisions...

With China unlikely to keep its crop-buying promises in its Phase One trade agreement with the United States, farmers are looking to Southeast Asia for new markets, agriculture leaders said Thursday. “We certainly see plenty of tensions between the United States and China and I think they all pool together to create a little bit of uncertainty.” said Jim Sutter, CEO of the U.S. Soybean Export Council...

Iowa could convert train box cars into homes and crank out new houses with 3-D printers to address a shortage of affordable abodes, a top state economic development official said Friday. Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority and the Iowa Finance Authority, told the Iowa Economic Recovery Advisory Board she will propose legislation for additional spending after a recent $10 million round of workforce housing tax credits applications for rural housing. ...

The proposed Cherokee Braves football field turf project fundraising effort received a joyous jump this week with the announcement from North Star Community Credit Union of Cherokee that it was donating $225,000 to the project. North Star representatives met with project committee members Tuesday at their new building nearing completion on North 2nd Street to commemorate a check presentation. The funds will be dispersed over a 5-year period, as will all major donations, according to plan...

Iowa physician groups are urging Gov. Kim Reynolds to order the public to wear masks as cases continue to rise. The Des Moines Register reports that the Iowa Medical Society and 14 other health-professional groups said Monday in a letter to the governor that “widespread use of cloth masks in public settings will dramatically slow the spread of COVID-19 and save lives.”...

During their meeting Monday evening the Clay Central-Everly School Board met with Brent Koppie, of Guardian Education and Athletic Services, to discuss a proposal for purchasing the former CC-E High School building and grounds in Everly. “Basically what we’re looking at is, more or less an intermediate college program, this would be geared toward college athletes,” Koppie said. ...

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig confirmed that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is aware that individuals in Iowa have received unsolicited seed shipments from China and other countries. The Department is asking anyone who receives unlabeled seed from an unknown origin to retain the original packaging and report it immediately at 515-281-5321. ...

Iowa, South Carolina and South Dakota have now joined Nebraska in agreeing to share state driver’s license information with the U.S. Census Bureau to help the Trump administration to determine the citizenship status of every U.S. resident. Until recently, Nebraska had been the sole state to sign an agreement with the Census Bureau to share the information. ...

A Sac County man has won a $50,000 lottery prize. Brian Pickhinke of Early won the 15 top prize in the Iowa Lottery’s “$50,000 Super Crossword” scratch game. He purchased his winning ticket at Casey’s, 2245 Karr Avenue. in Early, and claimed his prize last week at the lottery’s Storm Lake regional office...

School districts that plan to reopen classrooms in the fall are wrestling with whether to require teachers and students to wear face masks — an issue that has divided urban and rural schools and yielded widely varying guidance. The divide has also taken on political dimensions in Iowa, among other places, where Democratic-leaning cities like Des Moines and Iowa City have required masks to curb the spread of the coronavirus, while smaller, more conservative communities have left the decision to parents.. ...

Iowa’s COVID-19 testing initiative — Test Iowa — had performed 100,000 tests as of July 9, according to Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, but Iowa’s Auditor of State Rob Sand recently took issue with Test Iowa’s reporting methods. Results are to be reported immediately to the Iowa Department of Public Health, according to Sand, but state auditors found Test Iowa results were first being sent to three different entities before reaching IDPH. ...

Local officials pushed Monday for more comprehensive study of data on police stops to guard against bias, while a top state law enforcement official pushed back on the idea of eliminating some traffic stops altogether.  The Black Lives Matter movement is pushing for new local ordinances protecting citizens from unfair treatment by police based on race or other factors not related to violation of the law. ...

President Donald Trump’s executive order Tuesday omitting undocumented immigrants from census data used for reapportionment will harm Iowa and “is wrong in every way there is,” a leader of a group representing Iowa Latinos said. A spokesman for Sen. Chuck Grassley, however, said the order might help Iowa gain seats in Congress...

Pocahontas County Economic Development Commission (PCEDC) has been awarded $20,000 from the State of Iowa in support of their Jump-Start Accelerator Grant program for new startup businesses in Pocahontas County. The $20,000 Rural Innovation Grant that PCEDC has received was developed in 2019 by the Governor’s Empower Rural Iowa Initiative which supports creative, non-traditional ideas that focus on current issues and challenges faced by rural communities...

While members of the Shayla Bee Fund organization take a typical midsummer opportunity to catch their collective breath and gear up for the approaching milestone 200th family announcement, the local nonprofit continues to make an impact courtesy of some very generous donations...