Road Conditions Continue To Be Treacherous
(Sioux City) — Road conditions have not improved much since yesterday, even though Iowa Department of Transportation snowplow trucks have been trying to clear the roads. Iowa State Patrol trooper John Farley says conditions still have strong winds that are blowing the snow.
Farley says Iowa DOT trucks have been busy trying to keep the top layer of snow off the roadways, however, Farley says the highways are still slick.
The Iowa State Patrol trooper says fortunately, with schools, businesses, clinics and manufacturing plants closed for the day, there are not many people traveling on the roads, and there have been only a few instances when motorists lost control of their vehicles and ended in the ditch or median.
Farley recommends if you don’t need to travel, then remain at home. Weather officials say the snow will end by late afternoon, and the winds will remain strong into the evening hours.
Upmeyer Chosen To Help Lead Iowa Republican Party
(Clear Lake) — The former speaker of the Iowa House who did not seek re-election in 2020 will be helping the Iowa Republican Party to try to win elections statewide in 2022. Party leaders meeting tomorrow (Saturday) plan to elect Linda Upmeyer of Clear Lake as the co-chair of the Republican Party
of Iowa.
Jeff Kaufmann has been the chairman of the Iowa Republican Party since June of 2013. Upmeyer raised one-and-a-half million for legislative candidates running in 2018 and Upmeyer says she’s ready to ask donors for money for the party — and to recruit candidates to run for office in 2022.
The state party will be involved in high-profile races for governor and U.S. senator in 2022, as Republicans wrestle with what’s next after the U.S. Capitol riot in the closing days of Donald Trump’s presidency.
Upmeyer, who served 18 years in the legislature, was the first woman to serve as speaker of the Iowa House. Upmeyer announced in the fall of 2019 that she was stepping down from that role and wouldn’t seek re-election.
Will Politicians Use Impeachment Proceedings In The Future When Major Disagreements Occur?
(Washington) — The U-S House of Representatives have twice voted to impeach President Donald Trump, with the latest impeachment vote occurring Wednesday afternoon following last week’s security breech of the U-S Capitol building by protesters and rioters. Many House members blame Trump for those riots
after he told them to go to the capitol. With our nation divided along political ideologies, U-S Republican Senator Chuck Grassley was asked by KLEM news if articles of impeachment may become more of a common occurrence in future years? In other words, would elected officials be likely to turn to impeachment if they disagree with a president?
Sioux County Authorities Investigate Fatal Accident
(Orange City) — A fatal traffic accident happened near Alton Thursday afternoon . Rescue units were summoned to a two-vehicle accident on Highway 10, about three miles east of Alton. The accident was reported at about 4:51 p.m. Sioux County authorities say one person died as a result of the collision. The name of the victim has not yet been released pending notification of family members. The accident is being investigated by Sioux County Sheriff’s Office.
Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office Investigates One-Vehicle Rollover Accident
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Ambulance and the Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department, along with the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office responded to a one-vehicle roll-over accident. The accident was reported at about 12:25 p.m. Friday afternoon. Officials at the scene believe the small pickup truck had
rolled several times and came to a rest in a field. The accident happened on Highway 3 near county road K-22, or about eight miles west of Le Mars.
Apparently, there was one injured victim who was transported to a Sioux City hospital. The Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the accident.
Snowplows Battle Blizzard Conditions
(Ames, IA) — Hundreds of snowplows are fanned out across the state, doing their best to clear the drifts and keep the roads passable, but some of them are losing the fight in this blizzard. Iowa Department of Transportation winter operations administrator, Craig Bargfrede (Barg-freed) , says they’ve got somewhere in the neighborhood of 625 plows that are active out on the system, plowing and treating and trying to get the highways back to near-normal condition. Bargrede says his plow drivers haven’t encountered any insurmountable problems so far today. A Blizzard Warning will continue to be in place for much of the state’s western half through 6 o’clock tonight.
View from an IDOT snowplow truck on Highway 75 near Maurice at 7:33 a.m. Friday, January 15th
Limited Death Penalty Bill Clears Subcommittee
(Des Moines, IA) — A bill to reinstate the death penalty in Iowa for those convicted of kidnapping, raping, and murdering children has cleared a subcommittee in the Iowa Senate. Sam Jones, the pastor of the Faith Baptist Church in Baptist, spoke in favor of the bill during a hearing Thursday. Jones says “We’re not talking, of course, about putting to death those that are innocent. We’re talking about those who are guilty.” Twenty other people spoke. All opposed the bill. Patti McKee of Des Moines told legislators she was the victim of a violent crime. She said. “Taking a life for a life doesn’t get us anywhere except a more violent society.” The proposal is now eligible for consideration in a senate committee.
