SIDS WALK
For the 23rd consecutive year, The Iowa SIDS Foundation will hold its Walk for the Future. Local Walk Coordinator Pam Jeneary is excited about this year’s event, to take place on Saturday.
Jeneary says many activites are scheduled for the SIDS Walk on Saturday morning.
This annual event raises funds and awareness of SIDS in the community.
Funds raised by this event are used in a variety of ways in Iowa to help families who have been touched by Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
You can register for the walk on Saturday morning, beginning at 8-30. The walk begins at 10, followed by a free lunch provided by the Plymouth County Pork Producers, Hy-Vee and Wells Blue Bunny.
COLLEGE LOAN REACT
President Biden’s move to provide student loan debt relief for Americans with an annual income below 125-thousand dollars is getting some strong reactions from Iowa politicians. Republican Governor Kim Reynolds says Biden isn’t canceling student debt, he’s shifting the costs to the taxpayer and to those who worked to pay off their loans. Deidre DeJear, the Democrat who’s running against Reynolds, says the president took a historic step that will begin to address income inequality and open pathways for financial wellness. About half a million Iowans have unpaid student loans. They still owe, in total, more than 13 BILLION dollars as a group on their student loans. The average unpaid balance is nearly 30-thousand dollars.
US Representative Randy Feenstra of Hull stands opposed to President Biden’s order to forgive some college loan debt. He calls the move “a massive redistribution of wealth to the most educated Americans.” It is “a disservice to Iowa taxpayers who have paid off their own loans…” Feenstra says this will make inflation even worse.
GASOLINE PRICES
The drop in gas prices has slowed a bit — though they’re still trending downwards. Triple-A Iowa reports the average price for regular-unleaded in the state is three dollars, 55 cents a gallon — only three cents lower than it was one week ago. The national average is currently three-87 a gallon. The cheapest average gas price in Iowa can be found in Des Moines at three-25 a gallon. The most expensive is in Sioux County in northwestern Iowa at three-80 a gallon.
IOWA TRUCKING FIRM
An eastern Iowa trucking company has announced a 525-MILLION-dollar transaction that will make it the nation’s eighth largest trucking fleet.
Heartland Express is based in North Liberty, while Contract Freighters Incorporated — or C-F-I — is based in Joplin, Missouri.
Heartland Express is acquiring C-F-I’s logistics unit in Mexico as well as C-F-I’s truckload unit.
C-F-I has facilities in Missouri, Michigan, Arkansas, Texas, Florida, and Mexico — and the addition of those six locations will give Heartland Express ownership of 30 terminals in the U-S and Mexico.
After the acquisition is complete, Heartland will have 55-hundred semi tractors and nearly 18-thousand trailers in its fleet.
According to a news release from the company, adding C-F-I to its roster of companies means Heartland Express will have total assets of nearly two BILLION dollars and generate an estimated one-point-three BILLION dollars in annual revenue.
GRASSLEY/FRANKEN DEBATE
U-S Senator Chuck Grassley has agreed to an October debate with his challenger Michael Franken.
The debate will give the Republican incumbent Grassley and his Democratic opponent Franken a chance to discuss their political positions and answer questions ahead of the midterm election in November.
Franken, a former Navy Admiral, and a Sioux County native, defeated former Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer in the June primary.
Grassley is running for an eighth six-year term.
Iowa P-B-S will host the broadcast October 6th at 7:00 p-m.
WOODBURY WIND PROJECTS
The potential for wind energy is now severely limited in Woodbury County.
The board of supervisors voted Tuesday night to increase the setback distance for wind turbines from 12-hundred-50 feet to 25-hundred.
The change will prevent MidAmerican Energy from building the 90-plus wind turbines proposed in its Siouxland Wind Farm Project.
County supervisor Justin Wright voted against the measure, calling it unfair to the nearly 60 residents already signed on to the project.
Many residents showed up to the public hearing to support the amended ordinance, citing safety concerns.
The majority of the board sided with the almost 900 residents that signed a petition supporting the change.
Supervisor Matthew Ung says he understood their concerns about the potential disruption the turbines could pose to the county.
Representatives from MidAmerican energy opposed the measure, as the new ordinance shrinks the buildable acres in the county from 177 to just one-point-seven.
ARMED SCHOOL STAFF
The Spirit Lake Schools district is working on a plan to increase the security level by having 10 armed staff members present.
Superintendent David Smith says no teachers would be armed because he wants to keep guns out of classrooms.
Smith says having others inside the building who are armed would provide for a quicker response in a shooting emergency.
Spirit Lake already has measures in place to limit access to its school buildings.
The armed staff members would be anonymous.
BUS SUSPENSIONS
Schools are getting back into session and drivers are going to have to be prepared to stop when buses are picking up kids or face fines and a license suspension.
The fines were increased in 2012 for passing a school bus with its stop sign extended.
Sioux City Police Sergeant Jim Clark says most buses in his area have cameras to catch violators.
The fine increases if you are caught a second time.
The change in fines came after seven-year-old Kadyn Halverson of Kensett was hit and killed by a car as she tried to cross the road to get on a school bus.
Her family and friends pushed to get “Kadyn’s Law” passed following her death.
Sergeant Clark says drivers still aren’t paying attention as 55 people were cited for school bus violations in Sioux City.
The Iowa Department of Transportation has information showing when you should stop for a school bus on its website.
https://iowadot.gov/schoolbus/highway-safety/requiredstopping
COLLEGE LOAN REACT
Both major party candidates in Iowa’s second congressional district are critical of the president’s move to forgive some student loan debt.
Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican, says the president’s plan is unfair to those who didn’t go to college or who have already paid off their student loans.
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley says cancelling student debt discourages people from keeping their word that they’ll repay loans.
Democratic challenger Mike Franken calls the president’s plan a welcome step but says there’s still a need for meaningful legislation to help lower the cost of attending college and trade schools.
DE JEAR EDUCATION PLAN
Democrat Deidre DeJear (DEED-ruh deh-JEER) says if she’s elected governor, she’ll push for an immediate 300-million-dollar cash infusion for Iowa’s public K-through-12 schools.
She says for the next school year, public schools should get at least a four percent annual increase in general state support to help deal with rising expenses, address unpredictable enrollment numbers, and address gaps in student achievement.
Iowa Republican Party chairman Jeff Kaufmann issued a statement accusing DeJear of offering false promises and said incumbent Governor Kim Reynolds has put more money toward public education every year she’s been governor.
STATE FAIRGROUNDS FIRE
A warehouse on the Iowa State Fairgrounds has been destroyed by an early morning fire.
Crews were dispatched to the location at about 2:30 a-m Wednesday.
Firefighters say flames and heavy smoke were coming from the Campbell’s Concessions warehouse as they arrived.
An aerial truck was used to attack the fire from above.
Officials say the building is a complete loss and there was damage done to some nearby trailers.
No injuries were reported.
FISH CAM
The Minnesota D-N-R’s live fish exhibit is one of the most popular attractions at the State Fair.
This year you don’t have go to Falcon Heights to see the three dozen species of Minnesota fish in the outdoor pond.
The “Live Fish Cam from the State Fair” will be broadcasting on You-Tube for the next 12 days.
D-N-R staff stocked the indoor aquariums and outdoor pond Wednesday with fish ranging from sunfish to lake sturgeon and paddlefish.
