State Senator Ends Bid for Congressional Run
Republican State Senator Lynn Evans of aurelia is ending his exploratory bid for congress in Iowa’s 4th District.
Evans says he will instead seek reelection to the iowa senate in 2026.In a statement, Evans said his passion remains with his work at the state capitol in Des Moines.
Evans’ announcement means the Republican field for the 4th Congressional seat currently includes Siouxland Chamber President Chris McGowan and House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl.
Shell Rock and Winnebago rivers subject of week-long clean-up project
About 250 volunteers will be in the Mason City area starting this weekend using canoes to clean up two rivers. Iowa Project AWARE, which stands for A Watershed Awareness River Expedition, will focus its efforts on some 60 miles of the Winnebago and Shell Rock rivers in Cerro Gordo, Worth and Floyd counties. Event director Jenna Pfeiffer says this is the 22nd year for the effort.
Throughout the week, volunteers can expect to take to the river for about five hours or more a day and clean up the entire river and take out trash, Pfeiffer says volunteers have found some very interesting things in the state’s rivers over the years, incluing porceline dolls, old farm equipment and a lot of tires.Pfeiffer says the public is welcome to attend some of the educational sessions, at East Park in Mason City or the Tosanak Recreation Area near Marble Rock.
The first round of sessions is at 4:30 PM daily, with another at 7:30 PM.
Pow Wow to Honor Victims
An event this weekend in northwest Iowa puts a spotlight on the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives.
Red Sky Nation hosted its first pow wow around the movement four years ago, and another takes place at Sioux City’s Riverside Park this weekend.
Executive Director Trisha Rivers says Native Americans face higher rates of violence, poverty, drug abuse, and homelessness.
Red Sky Nation was started to bring awareness to the case of Terri McCauley, a Native American woman who was murdered in Sioux City in 1983.
A trial for a suspect arrested earlier this year is scheduled to start next month (August 12th).
If convicted of first-degree murder, the suspect, Thomas Popp, will receive a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
UI to End Lease on Popular Nature Area
After more than 60 years, the University of Iowa is ending its lease on the MacBride Nature Recreation Area, as officials say renewing the lease would be too expensive. The U-I first leased the land from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the early 1960s. Over the decades, the park has welcomed countless researchers and locals, while Johnson County Conservation director Brad Freidhof says it’s also home to the university’s wildlife camps.
The university pays no rent but is responsible for maintaining the 485 acres of trails and natural growth. The lease with the Corps of Engineers will end in 2029.
U-I President Barbara Wilson says continuing the lease would not have been financially feasible, given the university’s current resources. A statement from the university said keeping the land would cost 14-point-eight million dollars up front, and an additional million dollars every year for upkeep.
