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Area High School Student Dies in Washington County Hunting Accident

BRIGHTON, Iowa – A 17-year-old squirrel hunter has died from injuries sustained in an accidental shooting by another hunter in rural Brighton. The incident occurred Saturday at approximately 3 p.m.

Carson Ryan, 17, of Washington, was mistaken for a squirrel by a member of his hunting party and was struck in the back of the head. Ryan was transported to UI Health Care Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources, in collaboration with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, responded to the hunting incident in Washington County. The incident is currently under investigation.

Walk to End Alzheimer’s Raises Over $28,000 in Ottumwa

OTTUMWA — On Saturday, Sept. 20, nearly 300 South Central Iowa area residents participated in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s at the Bridge View Center in Ottumwa. Walkers helped raise over $28,000 so far to fund the care, support and research programs of the Alzheimer’s Association. Fundraising continues through the end of the year, so there is still time to donate at alz.org/walk.

This year’s Top Team is Mary’s Mission, led by Top Walk Robin Turner. They raised over $3,500 in memory of family members they’ve lost to the disease and now Robin’s sister who was diagnosed with the disease.

The other top teams and walkers are:

  • Team Karon Coffey Clan, led by Edward Coffey, raised over $2,000.
  • Team Kurt’s Memory Keepers, led by Abbie Scott, raised over $1,600 in honor of Kurt Rasmussen, Chief Culture Officer at The Rasmussen Group, who was diagnosed with early onset dementia in the spring of 2025.
  • Top Walker Amber Carroll, Team Captain for Edward Jones – Amber Carroll, raised $1,500.

All top teams and walkers can be found at alz.org/walk.

Over 7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease – a leading cause of death in the United States. Additionally, more than 11 million family members and friends provide care to people living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. In Iowa, there are more than 62,000 people living with the disease and 80,000 caregivers.

Newton Man Arrested for Domestic Assault

NEWTON – A Newton man is facing several charges after police say he was involved in a domestic assault incident.

According to the Newton Police Department, on Sunday, September 28, at around 8:42am, officers spoke with a female regarding an investigation into a domestic assault involving a weapon. The investigation led officers to identify 44-year-old Tyree Lee Young as the suspected offender.

Young was located at 912 1st St. N. and arrested without incident with the assistance of the Newton Police Department SWAT team. A search warrant at Young’s residence led to the seizure of a firearm, ammunition, an illegal controlled substance, and drug paraphernalia.

Young was transported to the Jasper County Jail and charged with:

  • Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (Simple Misdemeanor)
  • Possession of a Controlled Substance – Marijuana 1st Offense (Serious Misdemeanor) 
  • Harassment 1st Degree (Aggravated Misdemeanor)
  • Domestic Abuse Assault – 3rd or Subsequent Offense (Class D Felony)
  • Dominion/Control of Firearm/Offensive Weapon by Felon (Class D Felony)

Authorities say this was an isolated incident and there is no ongoing threat to the public. 

MLB will use robot umpires in 2026

NEW YORK (AP) — Robot umpires are getting called up to the big leagues next season.

Major League Baseball’s 11-man competition committee on Tuesday approved use of the Automated Ball/Strike System in the major leagues in 2026.

Human plate umpires will still call balls and strikes, but teams can challenge two calls per game and get additional appeals in extra innings. Challenges must be made by a pitcher, catcher or batter — signaled by tapping their helmet or cap — and a team retains its challenge if successful. Reviews will be shown as digital graphics on outfield videoboards.

New York Yankees outfielder Austin Slater, one of four players on the competition committee, said three voted in favor after getting support from 22 of the 30 teams. All six management reps voted in favor.

“I think with any sort of technology, there’s not 100% certainty of the accurateness of the system,” Slater said. “I think the same can be said of umpires. So I think it’s just coming to grips with the impact that technology is going to have and whether or not we were willing to live with that error that was associated with the system, even if the error is very, very miniscule.”

Big league umpires call roughly 94% of pitches correctly, according to UmpScorecards.

Adding the robot umps is likely to cut down on ejections. MLB said 61.5% of ejections among players, managers and coaches last year were related to balls and strikes, as were 60.3% this season through Sunday. The figures include ejections for derogatory comments, throwing equipment while protesting calls and inappropriate conduct.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who leads the American League in ejections for the fifth straight year, called the adoption “inevitable.”

“Throughout the year, I’ve been a little not totally on board with it or exactly how it’s going to be implemented but it’s going to be here and hopefully that’s a good thing,” he said. “A lot of the things that Major League Baseball has done I think have been really successful in the changes they’ve made and hopefully this is another one of them.”

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said players will have to adjust.

“You can like it, dislike it, it doesn’t matter,” Vogt said as Cleveland prepared to open a critical three-game series with Detroit. “It’s coming. It’s going to change the game. It’s going to change the game forever.”

ABS, which utilizes Hawk-Eye cameras, has been tested in the minor leagues since 2019. The independent Atlantic League trialed the system at its 2019 All-Star Game and MLB installed the technology for that year’s Arizona Fall League of top prospects. The ABS was tried at eight of nine ballparks of the Low-A Southeast League in 2021, then moved up to Triple-A in 2022.

At Triple-A at the start of the 2023 season, half the games used the robots for ball/strike calls and half had a human making decisions subject to appeals by teams to the ABS.

MLB switched Triple-A to an all-challenge system on June 26, 2024, then used the challenge system this year at 13 spring training ballparks hosting 19 teams for a total of 288 exhibition games. Teams won 52.2% of their ball/strike challenges (617 of 1,182).

“I love it. I loved it in spring training,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “Not all of the players, but most of the players, if you ask them, they really liked it too. I think it keeps everybody accountable. It keeps everybody on their toes.”

At Triple-A this season, the average challenges per game increased to 4.2 from 3.9 through Sunday and the success rate dropped to 49.5% from 50.6%. Defenses were successful in 53.7% of challenges this year and offenses in 45%.

In the first test at the big league All-Star Game, four of five challenges of plate umpire Dan Iassogna’s calls were successful in July.

Teams in Triple-A do not get additional challenges in extra innings. The proposal approved Tuesday included a provision granting teams one additional challenge each inning if they don’t have challenges remaining.

MLB has experimented with different shapes and interpretations of the strike zone with ABS, including versions that were three-dimensional. Currently, it calls strikes solely based on where the ball crosses the midpoint of the plate, 8.5 inches from the front and the back. The top of the strike zone is 53.5% of batter height and the bottom 27%.

“Throughout this process we have worked on deploying the system in a way that’s acceptable to players,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “The strong preference from players for the challenge format over using the technology to call every pitch was a key factor in determining the system we are announcing today.”

This will be MLB’s first major rule change since sweeping adjustments in 2024. Those included a pitch clock, larger bases, and restrictions on defensive shifts and pitcher disengagements such as pickoff attempts.

The challenge system introduces ABS without eliminating pitch framing, a subtle art where catchers use their body and glove to try making borderline pitches look like strikes. Framing has become a critical skill for big league catchers, and there was concern that full-blown ABS would make some strong defensive catchers obsolete.

“Unless you have a really good eye … only getting two (challenges), I think a lot of the borderline ones are going to stay the same,” Rangers catcher Kyle Higashioka said. “So it keeps some of the human element in in the game.”

In addition to Slater, the other players on the competition committee are Arizona’s Corbin Burnes and Zac Gallen and Seattle’s Cal Raleigh, with the Chicago Cubs’ Ian Happ at Detroit’s Casey Mize as alternates. The union representatives make their decisions based on input from players on the 30 teams.

Bill Miller is the umpire representative. The Major League Baseball Umpires Association declined to comment Tuesday, saying its members “are focused on the 2025 season and postseason.”

Disease and drought may still foul Iowa farmers’ yields

By Rachel Cramer (Radio Iowa)

While the USDA’s September outlook predicts this year’s corn crop could set a record in Iowa and across the Midwest, economist Chad Hart at the Iowa State University Extension says the boost is largely due to more acres planted this year, not yields.

“One of the things I am watching is that, we know that there’s some disease pressure, say, west of the Mississippi River that’s been building, especially southern rust there,” Hart says. “When we tend to look east of the Mississippi River, we are seeing more droughty conditions out there, and that dryness we know can have an impact later in the season for yields.”

Hart says the USDA’s report in October will reveal how much disease and drought are affecting U.S. corn production.

While corn exports continue at a record pace, Hart says soybeans face a dire downturn and an uncertain future, as higher soybean yields are expected, but their destination is a big question mark.

Hart says, “Our soybean export sales are off nearly 34% compared to last year at this time.”

The big gap is China, which has stopped all official purchases of American soybeans since February in retaliation for U.S. tariffs. China had been buying up to 60-percent of all U.S. soybean exports.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig says he’s advocating for market expansion with the Trump administration.

Naig says, “What we want to see are those short-term biofuels wins and also to really move rapidly to secure those trade agreements with some key trading partners.”

Soybean and corn prices remain well below production costs, with soybeans selling for about one-third of what they brought just a year ago.

Southeast Iowa Anglers Club to Host 1st Banquet This Weekend

OSKALOOSA — The newly formed South East Iowa Anglers Club will host  its 1st Annual Banquet on Saturday, September 27, 2025, at the National Guard Armory, 2660  Highway 63, Oskaloosa, IA. Doors open at 4:00 p.m., with dinner served at 6:00 p.m., followed by games,  raffles, door prizes, and a live auction. 

The South East Iowa Anglers Club is dedicated to conserving fish habitat in local lakes and ponds, while  educating youth and adults about fish species, fishing equipment, and techniques. This banquet will help  raise funds to support community fishing education programs, habitat improvements, and outreach  events. 

Event Highlights Include: 

  • Item of the Year Raffle: Garmin Live Scope LVS34 
  • Raffle Packages: $25, $50, and $100 packs with bonus early-bird ticket offers Sponsorship Opportunities: Gold ($800), Silver ($500), and general admission options for  couples, families, and youth 

Proceeds from the banquet will go toward: 

  • Hosting kidsfishing events to introduce youth to the outdoors 
  • Programs for disabled veterans and disabled adults 
  • Fish food and habitat structures for local ponds 
  • Volunteer firefighter/EMT water and ice rescue equipment 

Community members are invited to support the event by donating items for the auction, sponsoring raffle  prizes, or contributing directly to the banquet. All donations are tax-deductible with a receipt provided. 

Tickets & Donations: 

  • General Admission: $45 (includes meal) 
  • Couples Admission: $75 (includes two meals) 
  • Youth Admission (ages 518): $20 (ages 4 & under are free) 

To donate, sponsor, or learn more, contact: 

 seioawanglersclub@gmail.com 

Oskaloosa Man Arrested for Domestic Assault

OSKALOOSA – An Oskaloosa man is behind bars after police say he was seen assaulting a woman in a parking lot.

Court records show that on September 20, the Oskaloosa Police Department responded to multiple reports of a domestic assault occurring in the parking lot of Meadowbrook Apartments. 

The reports stated that 24-year-old Mustang Thomas had pulled the victim forcefully from her vehicle with the arm and collar of her shirt. Police say that the victim later confirmed the account and that she was observed to have red marks on her arm. Additionally, the collar of her shirt had been stretched out.

It was noted that Thomas and the victim live together and share four children.

Thomas was eventually taken into custody and brought to the Mahaska County Jail and now faces a charge of Domestic Abuse Assault Causing Injury or Mental Illness – First Offense, a serious misdemeanor. A no-contact order was issued for Thomas and the victim. Thomas has since been released on bond and his preliminary hearing is scheduled for September 29.

TikTok’s algorithm to be licensed to US joint venture led by Oracle and Silver Lake

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tech giant Oracle will spearhead U.S. oversight of the algorithm and security underlying TikTok’s video popular platform under the terms of a deal laid out Monday by President Donald Trump’s administration.

All the final details still need to be nailed down among several joint venture partners that will include Oracle, investment firm Silver Lake Partners and possibly two billionaires — media mogul Rupert Murdoch and personal computer pioneer Michael Dell. The U.S. administration would not have a stake in the joint venture nor be part of its board, according to a senior White House official.

President Trump is expected to issue an executive order later this week that declares that the terms of the deal meet the security concerns laid out by the law, the senior White House official said. China still needs to sign off on the framework proposal, and any final deal would still require regulatory approval.

The proposal is aimed at resolving a long-running effort to wrest TikTok’s U.S. operations from its Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, because of national security concerns. TikTok has become a high-profile topic during conversations between Trump and China President Xi Jinping as they continue to spar in a trade war that’s roiled the global economy for much of the year.

For now, the two sides are progressing on a framework deal that calls for a consortium of investors, including Oracle and Silver Lake, to take over the U.S. operations of TikTok in a process that might not be completed until early next year under a timeline laid out Monday by the Trump administration. That could mean TikTok’s divestment might not be completed until a year after it was supposed to be banned under a law that had bipartisan support but was repeatedly bypassed by Trump.

Under the current terms of the proposal, the new U.S. joint venture would receive a licensed copy of the recommendation algorithm that keeps TikTok users endlessly scrolling through clips on their smartphones. Oracle would review, monitor and secure U.S. data flowing through the service.

American officials have previously warned that ByteDance’s algorithm is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to shape content on the platform in a way that’s difficult to detect.

“It wouldn’t be in compliance if the algorithm is Chinese. There can’t be any shared algorithm with ByteDance,” said a spokesperson for the House Select Committee on China.

The algorithm has been a central issue in the security debate over TikTok. China previously maintained the algorithm must remain under Chinese control by law. But a U.S. regulation passed with bipartisan support said any divestment of TikTok must mean the platform cuts ties — specifically the algorithm — with ByteDance.

Although the details remain sketchy, a Trump administration official said that the licensed copy will be “retrained” with U.S. data to make sure the system is “behaving appropriately.”

That makes it unclear if the U.S. version of TikTok will look different from what users are seeing in the rest of the world. Any noticeable changes made to a social media platform’s service raises the risk of alienating its audience, said Jasmine Enberg, an analyst for the research firm eMarketer.

“Social media is just as much about the culture as it is the technology, and how users will take to new ownership and potentially a new version of the app is still an open question,” Enberg said.

In a Monday briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the change in control won’t change the experience. “TikTok users in the U.S will be able to see videos posted by users in other countries and vice versa,” Leavitt said.

In a prime example of how a change of control can reshape a once-popular social media platform, billionaire Elon Musk triggered an almost immediate backlash after he completed his $44 billion takeover of Twitter nearly three years ago.

But Musk made extremely visible changes, including eventually dropping the Twitter brand and changing its name to X. The changes that gradually occur while different data is fed into the U.S. copy of TikTok’s algorithm could be subtle and unnoticeable to most of its audience.

What’s clear, for now, is that both Oracle and Silver Lake will be major players in TikTok’s future in the U.S. if the deal is finalized by the Trump administration.

Founded nearly 50 years ago, Oracle’s success was built on database software that helps manage a wide variety of information crucial to business, and has since expanded into hardware, including data centers that help power artificial intelligence.

Although he no longer runs Oracle as its CEO, company co-founder Larry Ellison remains a top executive while also overseeing an estimated personal fortune of $390 billion. Ellison, 81, now could be in line to become a behind-the-scenes power player in the media, having already helped finance Skydance’s recently completed $8 billion merger with Paramount, a deal engineered by his son, David.

Silver Lake has long focused on tech deals, including past buyouts of Dell Computer and the now-defunct video calling service Skype. Michael Dell, who founded Dell Computer, may now be one of investors in the U.S. joint venture overseeing TikTok, according to what Trump told Fox News in a recent interview. Trump also mentioned Murdoch, whose company owns Fox News, as a potential investor in the joint venture.

Other media outlets have reported that another billionaire, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, is vying to become involved in the investor group. Andreessen was also involved in Silver Lake’s 2009 buyout of Skype.

ByteDance is expected to have a 20%, or smaller, stake in the U.S. joint venture, whose board will be controlled by the U.S. investors. ByteDance will be represented by one person on the board, but that individual will be excluded from TikTok’s security committee.

Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report

DES MOINES — Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commented on the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The report is released weekly April through November. Additionally, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship provides a weather summary each week during this time.

“Last week, many areas of the state received several rounds of rain, which tapped the brakes on fall field work. Upcoming forecasts show a switch back to warmer and drier conditions through the end of September. Farmers who have corn and soybeans ready to go will likely take full advantage of that window to make progress on harvest,” said Secretary Naig. “I also want to remind all Iowans that this is National Farm Safety and Health Week. Whether you’re on the road, in the field or working around the farm, please keep safety top of mind. Farming comes with long, stressful days and real economic challenges right now. I encourage everybody to take care of their mental health and check in on their family members and neighbors, too.”

The weekly report is also available on the USDA’s website at nass.usda.gov.

Crop Report

Wet conditions for portions of Iowa reduced days suitable for fieldwork to 4.9 during the week ending September 21, 2025, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Warm temperatures advanced crop maturity quickly. Fieldwork included the beginning of corn and soybean harvest in many areas.

Topsoil moisture condition rated 3 percent very short, 18 percent short, 70 percent adequate and 9 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture condition rated 2 percent very short, 17 percent short, 72 percent adequate and 9 percent surplus.

Ninety-five percent of corn was dented or beyond. Sixty-six percent of corn has matured, 4 days ahead of last year and 2 days ahead of the five-year average. The corn for grain harvest has begun and was 8 percent complete. Corn condition rated 1 percent very poor, 6 percent poor, 19 percent fair, 55 percent good and 19 percent excellent. Soybeans coloring advanced to 89 percent. Sixty-two percent of soybeans were dropping leaves, 2 days ahead of last year and 1 day ahead of average. Soybean condition rated 1 percent very poor, 4 percent poor, 21 percent fair, 57 percent good and 17 percent excellent.

Pasture condition rated 60 percent good to excellent.

Missing Child Found in Wapello County

CHILLICOTHE – A missing child in Wapello County was found by authorities yesterday afternoon.

The Wapello County Sheriff’s Office asked for public assistance yesterday afternoon after the child was reported missing at 1:37pm. A parent had reported their 6-year-old, non-verbal, autistic child as missing, and a coordinated grid search was launched on their property and surrounding areas with the assistance of multiple responding agencies. The report originated just west of the Chillicothe Power Plant.

The child, who was identified as “Gus” by authorities, was eventually located about two and a half hours later, at approximately 4:00pm. He was found roughly 0.36 miles from the residence, about 12 feet up in a tree, according to the Wapello County Sheriff’s Office, and safely removed without incident. After a medical check, he was cleared and reunited with family.

Agencies that assisted during the search included Wapello County Emergency Management, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Henry County Emergency Management, Jefferson County Emergency Management, the Iowa State Patrol, the Ottumwa Police Department, the Eddyville Fire Department, Wapello County Rural Fire, and ORMICS.

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