LATEST NEWS

DES MOINES, Iowa — Multiple Iowa State Fair vendors donated 6,000 lbs. of leftover fair food to the Food Bank of Iowa on Monday. The Food Bank of Iowa said 16 vendors donated the food at the end of the fair. Officials said that while the 6,000 lbs. donated is only half of what was […]

Two Iowa state parks were recently noted for their beautiful views, joining a list that includes Cape Cod, Manhattan’s skyline, the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls. Pikes Peak State Park and the Loess Hills were included in Mixbook’s list of the 100 Most Breathtaking Views in America. ...

DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa Congressman Zach Nunn just donated $750,000 to help a new initiative across the state. The money will go toward helping Iowans who struggle with substance abuse and mental health issues. Reports show the state of Iowa ranks second in the country when it comes...

An Iowa man who was fired after passing out at a work-assigned “happy hour” event at a brewery is not entitled to jobless benefits, a judge has ruled. State records indicate Garrett Lomeli worked as an area manager for Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, a wine wholesaler located in Urbandale, until his dismissal in early […]

New teachers coming to Atlantic: Back Row Left to Right — Nicole Holst, Lindsey Roberts, Julie Coffey, Stephanie Kelley, Cory Burtz, Hannah Misner, Taylor Vargason, Lexi Griffin-Uren. Front Row Left to Right — Stacey Schmidt, Kelsie, Kvalick, Nicole Korpla, Dawn Walton, Laura Horn, Claire Swanson. (Atlantic, IA) —...

The U.S. House Democrats’ campaign arm announced Monday it is making $27 million in new ad reservations in the lead-up to the 2024 general election, including more than $2.5 million in Iowa media markets. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) announced the ad buys as part of an “offensive push” ahead of the November election. […]

Atlantic, Iowa – Cass Health is hosting “Glow & Grow: A Women’s Health Retreat” during the first week of September at Bluebird Hill Event Venue in Atlantic. The goal of the retreat is to empower women to prioritize their well-being, embrace self-care, and create healthy futures by connecting them to local professionals from Cass Health. Held over three days, each evening’s focus will be geared to a different age group.

U.S. Representative Randy Feenstra (R-IA), along with colleagues from the House Agriculture Committee, is urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a strategic plan to combat Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI)” In a letter co-signed by Reps. Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Jim Costa (D-CA), and Don Davis (D-NC), Feenstra highlighted the devastating impact of HPAI on Iowa, which has seen nearly 25 percent of the over 100 million birds affected nationwide since the outbreak began in 2022. Feenstra emphasized the need for the USDA to develop new biosecurity measures, explore vaccination efforts, and find more efficient methods for depopulating infected flocks. He noted that the financial toll from the current outbreak could exceed the $3.3 billion in damages from the 2014-2015 outbreak. Feenstra says, “The uncertainty that HPAI causes to the entire agricultural community is unsustainable, and we need to be doing more to adequately protect our flocks. USDA has the authority to establish a HPAI Strategic Initiative and I look forward to working with Secretary Vilsack to get this collaborative research started as soon as possible. Representing the top egg-producing district and one of the top poultry-producing districts in the country, I will continue to advocate for policies that help our poultry and egg producers succeed and combat the root causes of bird flu outbreaks.” A link to the representatives’ full letter is included below.

Don't miss the rare phenomenon in the sky Monday night that (probably) won't happen again for years. A full moon that is both a supermoon and a blue moon will grace the night skies over the U.S. Dubbed a "super blue moon," the rare combination occurs when the different cycles of blue and super moons happen to align on the calendar, said NASA's Noah Petro, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter project scientist. ...

(Griswold) Griswold Schools Superintendent Dave Henrichs says the school will start with a handful of unfilled staff positions. Henrichs says they still need to hire a couple of cooks and have a few people willing to serve as substitutes to start the year. The openings included one classroom teacher, who will be filled by the elementary instructional coach.

(Red Oak) -- Red Oak officials are exploring ways to ensure that the city's ordinances remain current and consistent. Meeting in regular session Monday night, the Red Oak City Council discussed the recodification process and the possibility of utilizing an online service to continuously update certain ordinances as needed within the city code. Red Oak Mayor Shawnna Silvius says the discussion has arisen due to the last major recodification process taking place in 2019. The Mayor says some of the more significant changes pertain to building and zoning codes, as more zoning and variance requests continue to be submitted to the city.

(Sidney) -- Plans for a new levee protecting a business district in Fremont County are coming together. During its regular meeting Tuesday morning, the Fremont County Board of Supervisors approved a cooperative agreement with the Iowa Department of Transportation for the primary road project in the Iowa Highway 2/Interstate 29 "Crossroads" Levee District. Local residents petitioned for the levee district's creation to protect businesses along that corridor from flooding similar to that experienced in 2011 and 2019. Supervisors Chair Chris Clark tells KMA News that the agreement allows the Iowa DOT to move forward with the levee construction project, which the state agency plans to pay for.

(Clarinda) -- Page County Attorney Carl Sonksen has released the latest activity from his office. You can view the full report in the pdf below. At KMA, we attempt to be accurate in our reporting. If you see a typo or mistake in a story, please contact us by emailing kmaradio@kmaland.com.

(Cass Co) The Cass County Board of Supervisors this morning approved ARPA Funds for the Anita Food Pantry parking lot improvements in the amount of $15,000. Tim Miller said they received some grant money and other funding to go toward this parking lot project. He said they are still working out the details of the paving.

Fire has heavily damaged a grocery store in western Iowa’s Harrison County. Officials with Woodbine Fire & Rescue asked residents and others to stay away from part of the city’s downtown area Monday evening, as multiple firefighting agencies worked to battle a structure fire at the Food Land grocery store.

On Monday afternoon a fire burned through Foodland grocery in Woodbine. The owner plans to rebuild, but in the meantime, the community is without a full-service grocery store.

A City of Bagley audit completed by the Iowa State Auditor’s Office has found multiple unsupported and improper payments recorded in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023. According to a report issued today (Tuesday), state officials initiated the audit following a citizen petition over concerns regarding payroll disbursements, approval of pay raises, and publication compliance. Auditors reviewed numerous transactions and meeting minutes that took place between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023. Officials noted three “improper” payroll checks issued to Bagley City Clerk Jennifer Ingles. A check dated June 9, 2023, was the same amount as previous payroll checks but did not fall within the normal payroll period, leading to auditors flagging the check. A Sept. 2, 2022 check was considered unsupported because it did not include documentation for $98.99 in mileage reimbursement. The third check, dated Feb. 27, 2023, was deemed unsupported for similar reasoning on $46.75 reimbursement for “additional funds.” Auditors also identified $361.02 in unsupported purchases on the city’s credit card during FY23. Officials did not denote if the card use was improper due to a lack of supporting documentation. They also noted issues with a pay raise for the clerk that was verbally approved by the council but did not receive written approval. The final note in the report is on the FY24 budget approval timeline, which wasn’t finalized until more than six months after the fiscal year began. The State Auditor’s Office recommended that the City of Bagley adopt additional control policies to ensure all reimbursements, pay increases, and budget approvals are documented correctly and done in a timely manner. A link to the full audit report is included below.