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Weekly Fuel Report

DES MOINES — The price of regular unleaded gasoline fell 4 cents from last week’s price and is currently averaging $2.47 across Iowa according to AAA.

Crude Oil Summary

  • The price of global crude oil fell this week on the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) by $1.23 per barrel, and is currently priced at $60.42.
  • Brent crude oil fell by $1.15 and is currently priced at $64.92.
  • One year ago, WTI crude sold for $76.79 and Brent crude was $80.57.

Motor Fuels

  • As of Wednesday, the price of regular unleaded gasoline averaged $2.47 across Iowa according to AAA.
    • Prices fell 4 cents from last week’s price and are down 43 cents from a year ago.
    • The national average on Wednesday was $2.83, down 1 cent from last week’s price.
  • Retail diesel prices in Iowa rose 12 cents this week with a statewide average of $3.32.
    • One year ago, diesel prices averaged $3.45 in Iowa.
    • The current Iowa diesel price is 21 cents lower than the national average of $3.53.
  • The current Des Moines Terminal/Rack Prices are $1.67 for U87-E10, $1.89 for Unleaded 87 (clear), $2.21 for ULSD#2, $2.51 for ULSD#1, and $1.74 per gallon for E-70 prices.

Heating Fuels

  • Natural gas prices were up $1.78 at the Henry Hub reporting site and are currently priced at $4.87 MMbtu.
  • Propane prices averaged $1.57 per gallon in Iowa.
  • Home heating oil prices had a statewide average of $2.75 per gallon.

Tips for saving energy on the road or at home are available at energy.gov and fueleconomy.gov.

Extreme Cold Warning, Watch to Go into Effect Tomorrow

DES MOINES – An extreme cold warning and an extreme cold watch will go into effect for our area tomorrow.

The extreme cold warning was issued by the National Weather Service in Des Moines for most of Iowa, including central and southern Iowa, and it will be in effect from midnight tonight until noon tomorrow. This will be followed by an extreme cold watch for most of the state from noon tomorrow until noon on Saturday.

Additionally, the NWS in the Quad Cities issued an extreme cold warning for east central and southeast Iowa, as well as an extreme cold watch, for the same times tomorrow and Saturday.

According to the NWS, dangerously cold wind chills as low as 30-35 below zero are expected tonight into tomorrow morning, and possibly again tomorrow night into Saturday morning. These wind chills can cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes.

Officials advise those in the area to dress in layers, including a hat, a face mask, and gloves if you must go outside. Make frequent checks on older family, friends, and neighbors. Ensure portable heaters are used correctly, and do not use generators or grills inside.

Mahaska Partnership Recognized with Resilient Iowa Communities Awards from UNI’s Center for Energy and Environmental Education

OSKALOOSA — The Mahaska Partnership has been recognized through the Resilient Iowa Communities (RIC) program administered by the University of Northern Iowa’s Center for Energy and Environmental Education (CEEE), receiving two Gold Awards in Land Use and Environmental Management, along with a Bronze Award in Building and Energy, for recent community-based projects throughout Mahaska County and the City of Oskaloosa.

The Mahaska Partnership is a collaborative effort between Mahaska County Conservation, the City of Oskaloosa, the Mahaska County Soil and Water Conservation District, and William Penn University, with active collaboration from Green Iowa AmeriCorps. Together, these partners work across disciplines and jurisdictions to implement projects that enhance environmental resilience, sustainability, and quality of life.

Recent accomplishments recognized through the RIC awards include the planting of native pollinator gardens throughout the City of Oskaloosa and the production of approximately 11,000 native plants grown in a newly constructed greenhouse specifically for these efforts. These plants were used in community-wide plantings, native landscaping at the Environmental Learning Center (ELC), and the development of a new nature playscape.

Additional projects include the construction of Oxbow wetlands at Caldwell Park and a sediment forebay at the Environmental Learning Center, serving as demonstration projects for habitat creation, stormwater management, and water quality improvement. These installations highlight practical solutions for managing runoff while enhancing wildlife habitat.

Beyond city limits, Mahaska County Conservation has planted approximately 125 acres of high-diversity prairie within its natural resource areas and completed a major prairie restoration project at the Eddyville Sand Dune Prairie, further strengthening regional biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. “These awards are a great example of what can be accomplished when community partners come together with a shared vision,” said Chris Clingan, Director of Mahaska County Conservation. “There is much more to come in the future, and what we have been able to achieve in a short period of time can be used as an example of the strength of partnership in action.”

The success of these projects was made possible through collaboration with private community members, Friends of Mahaska County Conservation, Green Iowa AmeriCorps, the Iowa Soybean Association, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Projects like these help make Mahaska County and the City of Oskaloosa more attractive to visitors and individuals considering relocation for employment opportunities. They also enhance the quality of life for residents while generating positive economic impacts locally.

Accident on Highway 92 Injures 6 People

OSKALOOSA – A multi-vehicle accident occurred east of Oskaloosa yesterday that led to the temporary closure of IA-92 and several people being taken to the hospital.

According to traffic records, the accident occurred near the 2500 block of Highway 92 east of Oskaloosa. A Ford Escape driven by an unnamed 15-year-old juvenile was stationary on the highway facing eastbound, attempting to make a left-hand turn into a driveway when they were rear-ended by a semi truck driven by 49-year-old Martin Neely of Milan, Missouri. This collision caused the Escape to cross the center line, which led to a head-on collision with a Ford Edge that was traveling westbound, driven by 33-year-old Brooke Thurman of Brooklyn, Iowa.

Traffic records show that the crash caused injuries to a total of 6 people, all of whom were transported to Mahaska Health via ambulance. All 6 people were wearing seatbelts at the time of the accident. The names of those injured included Martin Neely, Brooke Thurman, 48-year-old Claira Thurman, 26-year-old Jordan Thurman, and two unnamed juveniles, including the 15-year-old driver of the Escape and a 13-year-old.

No report of the individuals’ conditions has been released at this time.

Netflix intensifies bid for Warner Bros making its $72 billion offer all cash

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Netflix is now offering to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming business in all cash — in an effort to win over the Hollywood giant’s shareholders for its $72 billion merger and potentially thwart a hostile bid from Skydance-owned Paramount.

Back in December, Netflix struck a cash and stock deal with Warner valued at $27.75 per share, giving it a total enterprise value of $82.7 billion, including debt. But on Tuesday, the companies announced that they would be revising the transaction to simplify its structure, provide more certainty of value for Warner stockholders and speed up the path to a shareholder vote — which they said could arrive by April.

The all-cash transaction is still valued at $27.75 per Warner share. Warner stockholders will also receive the additional value of shares of Discovery Global, which would become a separate public company following a previously-announced separation from Warner Bros.

Warner leadership has repeatedly backed a merger with Netflix — and the boards of both companies approved the all-cash deal announced Tuesday. In a statement, Warner CEO David Zaslav said the revised agreement “brings us even closer to combining two of the greatest storytelling companies in the world.”

A spokesperson for Paramount declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press on Tuesday. Unlike Netflix, Paramount wants to acquire Warner’s entire company — including networks like CNN and Discovery — and went straight to shareholders with all cash, $77.9 billion offer last month.

Warner stockholders have until 5 p.m. ET Wednesday to tender their shares in support of Paramount’s bid, which has an enterprise value of $108 billion including debt. But that deadline could be pushed back further. While Paramount declined to share further details on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported last week that the company was planning on another extension.

Beyond its tender offer, Paramount has promised a proxy fight. Last week, the company said it would nominate its own slate of directors before the Warner’s next shareholder meeting, the date of which has still not been set.

Paramount also filed a suit in Delaware Chancery Court seeking to compel Warner Bros. to disclose to shareholders how it values its bid and the competing offer from Netflix. But a judge on Thursday denied Paramount’s request to expedite that proceeding.

In a statement at the time, Warner applauded the court’s decision and called Paramount’s lawsuit “yet another unserious attempt to distract.” Paramount, meanwhile, maintained that the ruling wasn’t about the merits of its allegations and said Warner shareholders “should ask why their Board is working so hard to hide this information.”

Regardless of who eventually wins the upper hand, a Warner Bros. Discovery sale could be a long, drawn-out process that is almost certain to attract tremendous antitrust scrutiny. On Tuesday, Netflix and Warner maintained that they expect to close on a merger 12 to 18 months from December’s agreement.

Still, Paramount’s hostile bid could complicate that timeline. Politics are also expected to come into play under President Donald Trump, who has made unprecedented suggestions about his personal involvement on whether a deal will go through.

Trade groups across the media and entertainment industry have sounded the alarm over both bids, warning that further consolidation in the industry could result in job losses and less diversity in content — with particularly negative consequences for filmmaking.

The companies have spoken on those concerns. On Tuesday, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said combining with Warner “will deliver broader choice and greater value to audiences worldwide” both at home and in theaters — while “driving job creation and long-term industry growth.”

Netflix’s stock inched up just under 1% Tuesday morning, while shares of Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount-Skydance fell slightly.

Iowa Senate’s GOP leader proposes two pipeline related bills

By O. Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa)

Senate Republican Leader Mike Klimesh is proposing a bill to let Summit Carbon redraw its proposed pipeline route to avoid land owned by people who will not sign voluntary easements. He’s introducing another bill that would tax the liquid carbon flowing through the pipeline, too.

“I’d like to get this done as soon as possible. We have a lot of other important work to do this year and this is very important…and that’s why we’re introducing it early on in the session,” Klimesh said this morning during a news conference. “I don’t want this to be an issue that lingers. I want us to come to consensus with the House, find a path forward, open up access to different markets for Iowa farmers who are desperately looking for relief right now and put this behind us in a meaningful way that benefits all landowners.”

Klimesh predicts corn prices could go up by as much as a dollar per bushel if the pipeline is built and the carbon is used to extract oil in Wyoming. “230 miles of pipeline was built through Kansas and Colorado to bring jet fuel to the Denver International Airport and that whole pipeline projec was built without using eminent domain once,” Klimesh said, “and that’s because those states have policies similar to the one I’m proposing in Iowa.”

Key House Republicans have criticized the idea, saying it would still let Summit Carbon use eminent domain authority to seize some land along the pipeline route. House Republicans have introduced legislation that would block Summit Carbon from using eminent domain. The tax Klimesh proposes would be a fee for each metric ton of carbon that flows through a pipeline in Iowa.

“States that have natural resources, underground resources, place a severance tax on that and typically it’s by the barrel, so Wyoming for example places a severance tax on every barrel of oil they draw from the ground and that severance tax has allowed those states to go to zero income tax,” Klimesh said, adding that’s his goal, using a severance tax that would eliminate Iowa’s income tax.

Wind Advisory in Effect Today

DES MOINES – A wind advisory will be in effect for our area today.

The National Weather Service in Des Moines issued the advisory for portions of south central and southeast Iowa, including Mahaska, Marion, Wapello, Poweshiek, Jasper, Monroe, Davis, and Appanoose counties. It will be in effect from 2pm this afternoon until 11pm tonight. Additionally, the NWS in the Quad Cities issued a wind advisory for portions of east central and southeast Iowa, including Keokuk, Washington, and Iowa counties, which will be in effect from 2pm this afternoon until midnight tonight.

According to the NWS, west to northwest winds of 25-30 mph are expected today, with wind gusts up to 45 mph possible. These gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result. Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high-profile vehicles.

Officials with the NWS have also issued an Extreme Cold Watch for Friday into Saturday for our entire listening area. Dangerously cold wind chills as low as 30 below zero will be possible during the watch, which will be in effect from midnight Friday morning until noon on Saturday.

Oskaloosa City Council Approves Application for BUILD Grant

By Sam Parsons

The Oskaloosa city council held a regular meeting last night and approved a 28E agreement with Mahaska County to participate in an application for a 2026 BUILD (Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development) Grant for the MODES Project. The project aims to build a connection between IA-23 and US-63 in the area northeast of the city. The Mahaska County Board of Supervisors already approved a contract with Snyder and Associates to assist with the preparation of an application, and the city is responsible for an amount of $19,000.

In other business, the council set the date for a public hearing on plans and specifications and authorizing the advertisement of bids for the 8th Avenue West Reconstruction Project for March 2nd. The project was last on the agenda in October 2025, when the council directed city staff to adjust the proposed width of the road.

And the council approved the annual calendar of events for the Mahaska Chamber and Oskaloosa Main Street, including street closures associated with them. The calendar includes Art on the Square on June 13, Friday after Five on Fridays, May 29, June 5, and June 12, the Sweet Corn Serenade on July 23, the “Turn on the Lights!” event on November 21, and the Lighted Christmas Parade on December 5.

The next regular meeting for the Oskaloosa city council will be held on February 2.

Indians Get Back on Track, Hold Off Chiefs 63-61

By Sam Parsons

Oskaloosa’s boys basketball team returned to the hardwood on Monday night in a non-conference duel with the 10-2 Keokuk Chiefs.

The Indians were coming off their first loss since returning from winter break, a 66-52 setback at Norwalk on Friday night. That left them with an 8-3 record, which was still good enough to be ranked #10 among 3A teams by the IHSAA, but getting back to their winning ways was not going to be an easy task with Keokuk bringing one of the best players in the state into town.

Early in the game, Chiefs star Jaxon Clark proved difficult to stop and Keokuk jumped out to a 23-13 lead in the 2nd quarter. But Oskaloosa was able to regroup quickly and went on an 11-0 run to take a 24-23 lead. At halftime, Keokuk held a narrow 34-30 lead, but the Indians had begun to find their stride on offense by using a lot of precise ball movement and spreading the ball around to different players.

That newfound momentum sustained itself in the 3rd quarter for Oskaloosa, when they outscored the Chiefs by 8 points to surge ahead to a 51-47 advantage.

Indians senior Landon Romas said after the game that the team’s ability to bounce back from adversity stems from staying level-headed in both good and bad moments.

“Never get too high, never get too low. That’s what we try to do,” said Romas. “We had some big plays, some guys getting on the rim. But even when that happens, we try to stay as cool and collected as we can.”

The close margin entering the 4th quarter set the stage for a dramatic finish. The Indians and Chiefs battled back and forth, with the Chiefs tying the game on one occasion, but excellent defense on Clark down the stretch, coupled with pristine ball movement on the offensive end, allowed the Indians to hold a lead going into crunch time.

With 10 seconds to go, the Chiefs had the ball with a chance to tie the game or win it. That led to a sequence where they missed a 3-pointer, Clark grabbed the offensive rebound, missed the putback, grabbed another offensive board, and missed another putback to end the game. Oskaloosa was victorious at the final buzzer, 63-61.

The fact that Keokuk was the team that ended Oskaloosa’s season in the playoffs last year? That could only serve as extra motivation.

“Definitely it was in the back of everybody’s mind,” Romas said. “But we try to keep it one game at a time…we came out and executed tonight, and I’m super happy and proud of the guys.”

Romas finished the game with 10 points, making him one of four Indians to record double digit points. Tyler Edgar led the team with 16 points, while Ethan Stek tallied 15 and Tommy North notched 10.

Osky’s win over Keokuk improves their record to 9-3. They will host Mount Pleasant tonight (1/20) before traveling to Pella Christian on Friday night for their next conference game. Friday night’s action will be a girls and boys doubleheader which will air on KBOE 104.9 FM and kboeradio.com starting at around 5:45pm.

Trump ties his stance on Greenland to not getting Nobel Peace Prize

NUUK, Greenland (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump linked his aggressive stance on Greenland to last year’s decision not to award him the Nobel Peace Prize, telling Norway’s prime minister that he no longer felt “an obligation to think purely of Peace,” in a text message released Monday.

Trump’s message to Jonas Gahr Støre appears to ratchet up a standoff between Washington and its closest allies over his threats to take over Greenland, a self-governing territory of NATO member Denmark. On Saturday, Trump announced a 10% import tax starting in February on goods from eight nations that have rallied around Denmark and Greenland, including Norway.

Those countries issued a forceful rebuke.

Many longtime allies of the U.S. remained resolute that Greenland was not for sale but encouraged Washington to discuss solutions. In a statement on social media, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc had “no interest to pick a fight” but would “hold our ground.”

The White House has not ruled taking control of the strategic Arctic island by force. Asked whether Trump could invade Greenland, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said Monday that “you can’t leave anything out until the president himself has decided to leave anything out.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also sought to de-escalate tensions Monday. “I think this can be resolved and should be resolved through calm discussion,” he said, adding that he did not believe military action would occur.

Early Tuesday, Trump posted on social media that he had spoken with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and “I agreed to a meeting of the various parties in Davos, Switzerland,” where they will be attending the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting this week.

Trump also posted a text message from Emmanuel Macron in which the French president suggested a meeting of members of the Group of Seven industrialized democracies in Paris after the Davos gathering.

Later, however, Trump posted some provocatively doctored images. One showed him planting the U.S. flag next to a sign reading “Greenland, U.S. Territory, Est. 2026.” The other showed Trump in the Oval Office next to a map that showed Greenland and Canada covered with the U.S. Stars and Stripes.

Strong opposition in

Greenland to U.S. threats

In a sign of how tensions have increased in recent days, thousands of Greenlanders marched over the weekend in protest of any effort to take over their island. Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in a Facebook post Monday that the tariff threats would not change their stance.

“We will not be pressured,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, Naaja Nathanielsen, Greenland’s minister for business, minerals, energy, justice and equality, told The Associated Press that she was moved by the quick response of allies to the tariff threat and said it showed that countries realize “this is about more than Greenland.”

“I think a lot of countries are afraid that if they let Greenland go, what would be next?”

Trump cites Nobel as escalation in text to Norwegian leader

Trump’s Sunday message to Gahr Støre, released by the Norwegian government, read in part, “Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace.”

It concluded, “The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland.”

The White House confirmed the authenticity of the message, with White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly saying that Trump “is confident Greenlanders would be better served if protected by the United States from modern threats in the Arctic region.”

The Norwegian leader said Trump’s message was a reply to an earlier missive sent on behalf of himself and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, in which they conveyed their opposition to the tariff announcement, pointed to a need to de-escalate, and proposed a telephone conversation among the three leaders.

“Norway’s position on Greenland is clear. Greenland is a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and Norway fully supports the Kingdom of Denmark on this matter,” the Norwegian leader said in a statement. “As regards the Nobel Peace Prize, I have clearly explained, including to President Trump what is well known, the prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee and not the Norwegian Government.”

The Norwegian Nobel Committee is an independent body whose five members are appointed by the Norwegian Parliament.

Trump has openly coveted the peace prize, which the committee awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado last year. Last week, Machado presented her Nobel medal to Trump, who said he planned to keep it, though the committee said the prize can’t be revoked, transferred or shared with others.

Speaking Monday night to reporters before boarding Air Force One on his way back from Florida to Washington, Trump said he didn’t “care about the Nobel prize.”

“A very fine woman felt that I deserved it and really wanted me to have the Nobel prize. And I appreciate that. If anybody thinks that Norway doesn’t control the Nobel prize, they’re just kidding. … And I don’t care what Norway says. But I really don’t care about that. What I care about is saving lives,” he said.

Trump says he will use tariffs as a bargaining chip

In his latest threat of tariffs, Trump indicated the import taxes would be retaliation for last week’s deployment of symbolic numbers of troops from the European countries to Greenland — though he also suggested that he was using the tariffs as leverage to negotiate with Denmark.

European governments said that the troops traveled to the island to assess Arctic security, part of a response to Trump’s own concerns about interference from Russia and China.

The move by some European countries to deploy troops may have given the impression that an armada of ships was sailing to Greenland, when the reality was that European nations said they would send not more than a few dozen troops collectively, a senior European military official told The Associated Press speaking on condition of anonymity in order to talk publicly.

Trump threatened eight European countries with tariffs Sunday after they announced small numbers of troop deployments to the Arctic island – including Denmark, which Greenland is part of.

The European move was aimed at taking action on Trump’s concerns, the senior official told the AP.

In a statement on social media, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he had discussed how important the region was for the “collective security” of the security alliance in a Monday meeting with the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland.

Six of the eight countries targeted are part of the 27-member European Union, which operates as a single economic zone in terms of trade. European Council President António Costa said Sunday that the bloc’s leaders expressed “readiness to defend ourselves against any form of coercion.” He announced a summit for Thursday evening.

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