SUPERVISORS CANCEL ELECTION DAY MEETING
The Plymouth County Auditor says the Board of Supervisors meeting for Tuesday, November 5, has been cancelled. The next board of supervisors meeting will take place Wednesday, November 13th, at 1 pm, in order to canvass the 2024 General Election.
O’BRIEN COUNTY RESIDENT SEEKS HOUSE SEAT
Mike Schnoes of rural Sutherland is one of two candidates running for election in House District 5. This district includes parts of Cherokee and Buena Vista Counties, and all of O’Brien and Osceola Counties. The Schnoes family has deep roots in the area, and in the field of education.
Schnoes has been a shop teacher for 17 years, the last six in the Alta-Aurelia School District.
Schnoes explains why he’s qualified to represent the 5th District.
One of those issues is what he describes as parental kidnapping. He offers an hypothetical example….
As an educator, Schnoes says Iowa schools should be better funded.
He also wants to change the model for mental health delivery in Iowa.
School absenteeism is a problem in Iowa. Schnoes wants to try an older approach that was used to solve the problem.
Ways to reduce property taxes is an issue that will be addressed by the next legislature. Schnoes is developing his own plan to lower property taxes
Providing rural health care is becoming more difficult. A hospital was recently closed in Primghar, in Schnoes’ home county, but the problems extend beyond the 5th district.
Schnoes is ready to introduce bills the first day he is in office.
He explains why District 5 voters should mark their ballot for Mike Schnoes?
Schnoes is a No Party candidate. He and incumbent Republican Zach Dieken of Granville are on the ballot for the District 5 seat.
DISPLACED ROCK VALLEY RESIDENTS COULD MOVE INTO TEMPORARY HOUSING NEXT WEEK
Flooded out residents of Rock Valley could start moving into long-term temporary housing next week. City Administrator Tom Van Maanen says two sites are being prepared for about 120 manufactured homes provided by FEMA.
The housing will support around 600 residents — many who currently live in hotels, with relatives or rent miles away from town.
It has been four months since the flooding.
Van Maanen says the community plans to apply for a FEMA buyout of an estimated 140 homes. The goal is to have all the homes in place by Thanksgiving.
2025 TULIP FESTIVAL NIGHT SHOW AUDITIONS
Auditions for the 2025 Tulip Festival Night Show The Wizard of Oz will be held in the Orange City Town Hall on January 6, 7, and 9, 2025. Each evening, doors open at 6:15 p.m., and auditions run from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. Students in grades 6th through 8th will begin auditions at 6:30 p.m., and all individuals in 9th grade and older will begin auditions at 7:00 p.m. A variety of ages are encouraged to audition. You do not need to prepare any material prior to auditioning. Prior experience is not required. Directing this year’s show will be Todd Vande Griend, along with co-director and choreographer Becky Donahue. Susan Henrich will serve as producer, Amanda Haverdink will be the vocal director, and Dan Mangold will direct the orchestra. Tulip Festival news, event information, and more can be found on the festival’s website at www.octulipfestival.com.
CYBER SECURITY TEAM MONITORING IOWA ELECTION OFFICES 24/7
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate convened a gathering of state and federal officials at the Iowa National Guard’s headquarters Wednesday to tout security measures surrounding the General Election.
Iowa Public Safety Commissioner Stephen Bayens says his agency will be a hub for collecting information from three-thousand law enforcement and intelligence agency partners.
Bayens says false information about the election typically centers around fake notices that polling sites have moved or are closing, as well as false allegations of election intimidation to spark fear about voting.
Cyber security staff from state government and the Iowa National Guard are monitoring election offices in Iowa 24 hours a day now. Phil Kirk of the U-S Department of Homeland Security is regional director for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency or CISA. He says Iowa has key election safeguards, like testing of all election equipment before it’s used to count paper ballots and, after the election, results in randomly-selected precincts are audited for accuracy.
Kirk emphasizes that every voter in Iowa will be casting a paper ballot that enables counts, recounts and audits.
The F-B-I is the primary agency in charge of investigating election-related crimes and the special agent in charge of the F-B-I’s Omaha office says an “election command post” has been set up there to coordinate a state and federal response to any threats related to this year’s election.
GOVERNOR REYNOLDS PREDICTS TRUMP WILL RESTRUCTURE GOV’T IF HE GETS SECOND TERM
Governor Kim Reynolds says if Donald Trump becomes president again, he will dramatically reduce the size of the federal government. Reynolds says government needs to be run more like a business and it’s time for someone to go in and blow up a bloated federal budget. Wednesday morning, Reynolds told a crowd of Republicans in central Iowa that she’s excited about Elon Musk maybe being part of Trump’s team — and the audience broke out in applause. Musk has said he’d be able to cut at least two billion dollars in federal spending.
