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Ottumwa City Council Approves Fiber Network Project with MCG

Posted on by Sam Parsons

By Sam Parsons

The Ottumwa City Council met last night and approved an agreement between the city and MCG for the installation of a Fiber Optic Network in both residential and commercial areas of the city. Under the agreement, MCG would begin work on fiber optic network installation across the city in the spring of this year and it’s estimated that it will take about 3 years to build out the entire city. The agreement was approved unanimously.

The council also held a public hearing on their Maximum Property Tax Dollars for the upcoming fiscal year. The city had previously approved their maximum levy in February, but due to changes in state legislation, city administrator Philip Rath said that the city’s assessed valuation dropped by $17 million, so adjustments had to be made; the rate had previously been set at $17.11 per $1,000; it would increase by about 23 cents with the adjustment. 

And the council heard from the Ottumwa Historic Preservation Commission for their certified local government annual report. Commission chair Dennis Wilhoit said that much of last year was focused on finding financial support to draft a new historic preservation plan for the city, as the previous plan had been drafted in the 1990s. He said that process remains ongoing but that after gathering more community feedback, the commission hopes to present the completed plan to the city.

The next regular council meeting for the city of Ottumwa is scheduled for April 4.

Oskaloosa, Ottumwa Among Nearly 2 Dozen School Districts to Receive Swatting Calls

Posted on by Sam Parsons

DES MOINES — Yesterday, about two dozen school districts across Iowa – including the Oskaloosa and Ottumwa school districts – received “swatting calls” that referend an alleged active shooter scenario. According to Department of Public Safety officials, the first swatting call originated in Clinton County at approximately 8:00 a.m., and the last call was received at 10:30 a.m. in Creston. Officials estimate that approximately 30 calls were received by local law enforcement agencies.

A “swatting call” refers to a false claim intended to trigger an immediate and widespread law enforcement deployment or emergency service response to a specific location. Hoax reports such as the ones experienced yesterday commonly consist of claims of serious violent attacks, such as a bomb threat, active shooter, and/or a hostage situation.

Iowa Department of Public Safety Commissioner Stephan K. Bayens said these false reports are a tactic intended to illicit a large-scale law enforcement response. “The design of it is to create confusion and chaos. It’s designed to draw a large law enforcement presence to a school even though there is no active threat. And by all accounts and for all intents and purposes, it appears thus far that is what Iowa experienced today.”

Bayens said yesterday’s swatting calls impacted the following communities:

•    Cedar Rapids
•    North Liberty
•    Iowa City (multiple schools)
•    Clinton
•    Davenport
•    Muscatine
•    Cerro Gordo County
•    Story County
•    Lee County (multiple schools)
•    Waterloo
•    Boone
•    Mason City
•    Charles City
•    Clear Lake
•    Creston
•    Des Moines
•    Oskaloosa
•    Marshalltown
•    Monona
•    Nevada
•    North Liberty
•    Ottumwa
•    Decorah

Immediately after receiving these calls, local law enforcement and school officials reported all relevant information to the Department’s Division of Intelligence and Fusion Center, which then re-disseminated the information to local law enforcement agencies throughout the state. Bayens said this proactive information sharing allows schools and law enforcement to better determine their response protocols should one of their schools receive a similar call. “By reporting these calls to us, we can quickly inform our school and law enforcement partners, which in this case may have impacted the nature of their response and stemmed the flow of more calls to other communities,” Bayens said.

The Department is continuing to work with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate and identify the caller. Bayens said the initial information leads investigators to believe the calls are similar in nature and likely originated from a single source.

State school safety officials and Governor Kim Reynolds were able to quickly inform the public about the swatting calls as part of a scheduled press conference and launch of a new school safety app called Safe+Sound Iowa. The app was made available to all public school districts and accredited non-public schools yesterday. Parents, students, and community members can anonymously report any tips to law enforcement through dps.iowa.gov/SafeandSoundIowa, downloading the free Safe+Sound Iowa app, or by calling 800-224-6018.

Jury convicts 3 of murder in death of rapper XXXTentacion

Posted on by Sam Parsons

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida jury has convicted three men of first-degree murder in the 2018 killing of star rapper XXXTentacion, who was shot during a robbery that netted $50,000. The jury deliberated a little more than seven days before finding 28-year-old Michael Boatwright, 26-year-old Dedrick Williams and 24-year-old Trayvon Newsome guilty on Monday. The jury also convicted them of armed robbery. They will receive mandatory life sentences on April 6. Prosecutors tied them to the slaying through extensive surveillance video from a motorcycle shop and cellphone videos the men took of them flashing fistfuls of $100 bills hours after the killing.

Renewable Fuels study of blocked carbon pipeline impact on corn price

Posted on by Sam Parsons

By O. Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa)

A study commissioned by the renewable fuels industry suggests corn prices in Iowa would drop significantly if carbon capture pipelines are not built in Iowa.

“It’s like asking a farmer, a corn farmer on the corn side of their equation to take an 85% pay cut,” Shaw said during an online news conference this morning.

New federal tax credits are available for proposed pipelines that would capture carbon from Midwest ethanol plants and ship the carbon to underground storage in North Dakota and Illinois. “We are now looking at Iowa being the only…state on the map where there is still an active effort to derail these projects,” Shaw said.

A bill in the Iowa House would establish new steps pipeline developers would have to clear. Most notable is a requirement that property owners along 90% of a pipeline’s route voluntarily let developers have access to their land. The study found the price for corn could plummet by as much as 80 cents per bushel if carbon capture pipelines are connected to ethanol plants elsewhere, but not in Iowa. The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association is asking its members to lobby House members to vote against the bill.

Tim Recker, a corn farmer from Arlington, spoke during today’s news conference. He called carbon pipelines the next step for the ethanol industry.

“If we don’t find favor in getting CO2 transported, I’m going to be shipping corn to my neighboring states or I’m going to be putting a lot more corn on the river system — an 80 year old lock and dam system, our rail sytem or trucking it a lot farther than I do today,” he said “and to me, that’s going backwards in our industry, not forward.”

Shaw cited part of the study which found just 6% of Iowa field corn currently leaves the state without having value added either by being used to make ethanol, fed to livestock or converted to industrial use. “If we don’t align ourselves to be profitable under the current policy and market conditions and we let the ethanol production migrate out to those areas that do, the study found…44% of our corn would leave this state without having any value added to it,” Shaw said.

Key Republican lawmakers who have proposed new regulations for the pipelines say they’re defending the rights of landowners who don’t want their land seized through the government’s eminent domain process. Other pipeline opponents question the safety of the pipelines and whether capturing carbon from ethanol plants is among the best ways to reduce greenhouse gases.

Ottumwa Trout Stocking to be Held on March 25, 2023

Posted on by Sam Parsons

OTTUMWA, IA — The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will be stocking 2,000 rainbow trout in the pond at the east side of Wapello street by the orange and blue playground equipment on Saturday March 25th at 10:30 A.M.   All Iowa fishing regulations apply at the pond.   There is a bag limit of 5 trout per day; the possession limit is 10.  A trout fishing derby will be held from 11 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. Any one catching a tagged fish can redeem the fish for a prize. The grand prize will be awarded to the largest fish caught. All prizes have been donated by Ottumwa Wal-Mart.

The Ottumwa Park Department has partnered with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to improve fishing in the ponds in Ottumwa Park.   The Iowa DNR Fisheries Bureau has been involved in trout stocking in urban areas for over 30 years in an effort to introduce trout fishing to more anglers across the state.   More information about fishing in Iowa, including licensing and the urban trout-stocking program can be found online at www.iowadnr.gov.

Oskaloosa City Council Sets Public Hearing for Edmundson Park Playground Improvements

Posted on by Sam Parsons

By Sam Parsons

The Oskaloosa City Council met last night and set the date for a public hearing on plans and specifications for the Edmundson Park Playground Improvements. The public hearing will be held on Monday, April 17.

The project is estimated to carry a price tag of just over $600,000 and the city says that if the project is awarded, work would commence immediately and should be substantially completed by June 16. The deadline for all work to be done on the project would be September 1.

The council also passed a resolution adopting a new position with the city of Oskaloosa, introducing the role of Parks and Recreation Director to the fold. Mayor Dave Krutzfeldt said that while the city has had park boards in the past to oversee parks and recreation matters, there has not been a parks and recreation director in Oskaloosa since at least the 1980s. The new position was approved.

And the council approved the site plan application for Musco Lighting’s proposed facility on 2nd Avenue West, which will be approximately 13,000 square feet and would replace their current 6,000 SF facility.

The next regular council meeting with the city of Oskaloosa will be held on April 3.

Sandler receives Mark Twain Prize, praise from comic pals

Posted on by Sam Parsons

WASHINGTON (AP) — A host of comedic and entertainment royalty gathered Sunday night at Washington’s Kennedy Center as Adam Sandler received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. For his part, Sandler placed his hand on the award, a bronze bust of Mark Twain, and speculated that it “one day might be the weapon used to bludgeon me in my sleep.” Sandler thanked his parents and siblings for what he called “that weird irrational confidence thing that I guess I still have” Now 56, he first came to national attention on TV’s “Saturday Night Live.” One of Sandler’s “SNL” colleagues, Dana Carvey, remarked before the ceremony, “Who has lasted this long and stayed this beloved?”

Key lawmaker optimistic House will debate pipeline bill this month

Posted on by Sam Parsons

By O. Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa)

A lead sponsor of a bill that would set new regulations for proposed carbon pipelines projects says there may be changes in the bill when it’s debated in the House.

The main part of the bill would require that developers get voluntary access to 90 percent of the miles along the pipeline route before state officials could grant them eminent domain authority to seize the rest. “It’s a big issue for my landowners who do not believe that the blunt force of government should be allowed to be used to take their land for what is a private economic project,” Representative Steven Holt, a Republican from Denison, said, “because that’s what we’re talking about here.”

Holt indicated he’s confident the House will vote on the bill before month’s end. “If private property is going to mean anything in the United States of America, eminent domain cannot be based on seizing property for economic development,” Holt said during a weekend appearance on Iowa Press on Iowa PBS.

Bills in the Senate that outlined new rules for carbon pipelines never made it past an earlier deadline. Representative Lindsay James, a Democrat from Dubuque, said the concern is the bill will die in the senate. “In the House, we are rightfully starting a conversation and hopefully we will continue that conversation and hopefully the governor will take that seriously,” said James, who was also a guest on the Iowa Press program this weekend.

Last month, Governor Reynolds said she’s watching to see what happens with the House bill. While saying there could be areas where pipeline regulations could be tweaked, Reynolds told reporters she’d be having conversations with lawmakers about how new regulations could impact the ethanol industry. The pipelines are touted as a way to make ethanol carbon free and therefore expand markets the corn-based fuel.

Love INC of Mahaska County to Celebrate 25 Year Anniversary

Posted on by Sam Parsons

OSKALOOSA, IA — In 1998 a vision to help neighbors in need in Mahaska County was born.  Love INC (In the Name of Christ), a partnership of churches had its humble beginning referring these families to local resources. Now, 25 years later this organization has grown tremendously but the mission to love our neighbors is the same.

Love INC will celebrate its anniversary at the annual dinner/dessert auction on Friday, March 31. The event will be held at Gateway Nazarene Church, 140 Gateway Drive. Social time will begin at 6 p.m. with dinner served at 6:30 p.m. Attendees donate toward the dessert auction along with other table members and then bidding begins. Not only are the desserts exquisite the fun comes when each table shares their winning dessert. 

Susan Doolan, Executive Director, states, “Love INC has grown immensely in the past 25 years and more so in the past five years. From making direct assistance to neighbors, which still does occur, Love INC has become a transformational ministry that seeks to assist neighbors in their life by walking with them to thrive, not merely survive.”

New board member R.D. Keep said he became involved when he and his wife were invited to the Gala a few years ago. “As I was nearing retirement, I was looking for a ministry in which I could become involved,” said Keep. “I knew very little about the ministry but was sold. I provide rides to appointments for neighbors who may not have transportation. I have served on the committee to organize Mahaska Connect and recently joined the board.”

Keep’s wife, Karen, assists in teaching a Faith and Finance class as part of the path of “Redemptive Compassion” which the organization uses as its guide. In short, Love INC staff and its volunteers invest relationally through conversations, follow-ups and continual contact with the neighbor.

The Dessert Gala will highlight the growth the Love INC ministry has seen. One of the newest missions has been the opening of the Love INC Thrift Shoppe in October of 2021. This venture has allowed the organization to expand its volunteer opportunities to assist more neighbors in Mahaska County.Love INC asks if you are wishing to attend to please RSVP by Friday, March 24 by calling 641-676-3750 or email loveincofmahaskacounty@gmail.com. The dinner/dessert gala is an opportunity to learn more about the organization and hear success stories from those who have benefitted from the ministry.

Penn Central Mall Set To Host Annual Race Car Show

Posted on by Sam Parsons

OSKALOOSA, IA — The Penn Central Mall in Oskaloosa will host the 2023 Pre-Season Race Car Show this weekend March, 24th and 25th. Drivers, who will be in competition on the famed Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa will have their cars on display inside the Mall in Oskaloosa beginning at 5 pm on Friday night the 24th of March and the Car Show will continue Saturday the 25th until 5 pm.

The Southern Iowa Fairboard will have several activities and prizes for the young fans and fans of all ages will have the opportunity to sign up for Free Passes to the Races. The 2023 Race schedule will be on hand and available for the fans to pick up for free.
The 2023 racing season at the Southern Iowa Speedway will get underway on Wednesday, April 19th and will include 17 nights of action packed racing. The season will be highlighted by the return of Late Model Racing as the high powered cars of the SLMRA Series will tackle the Mahaska County Monster ½ mile on Wednesday, June 21st. Terry McCarl will once again host the Front Row Challenge on Monday, August 7th featuring the wild and wooly 410 Sprint cars.

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