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Oskaloosa City Council Makes Vote on Vacancy Appointment, Discusses Edmundson Park Pool

Posted on by Sam Parsons

By Sam Parsons

The Oskaloosa City Council held a regular meeting last night and officially made an appointment for their vacant council seat. The council received a total of 5 applications to fill the vacancy, with Wyndell Campbell, Manny Garcia, Andy Holmberg, Nicholas Ryan, and Cheryl Benson tossing their hats in the ring. Of those 5, Garcia, Holmberg, and Ryan were present at last night’s meeting. After brief discussion with those three candidates, the council appointed Andy Holmberg to fill the vacancy on a 4-2 vote. 

Council members Lisa Ossian and Ronda Almond were the ones to vote “no.”

The vacancy in the council was left behind by former council member Charlie Comfort, who announced his resignation effective May 14. The appointment fills the vacancy for the remainder of the term, which lasts through the end of 2025.

The council also discussed the future of the public pool at Edmundson Park. According to city staff, the pool is continuing to age and has had some larger maintenance issues which need to be addressed, including the pool shell, which the city says has experienced leaks for several years, and the pool house building, which is in need of repairs, primarily for the roof.

City staff said that the council has a few options for how the city can proceed with the pool, including minimum repairs to the pool house roof, which would cost roughly $90,000; pool shell rehabilitation, which would cost an estimated $140,000; repairs to the pool piping, which would cost approximately $50,000; or a full-scale reconstruction of the pool, which could cost the city upwards of $2 million, depending on the scope of the project. The water slides could also be handled independently from the rest of the project; if the city decides to replace the slides, that could cost somewhere between $200,000-500,000. No official action was taken last night, but the council expressed a desire to address the pool house roof, the pool shell, and the pool piping.

The next Oskaloosa City Council regular meeting will be held on June 16.

FDA approves Moderna’s new lower-dose COVID-19 vaccine

Posted on by Sam Parsons

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. approved a new COVID-19 vaccine made by Moderna late Friday but with limits on who can use it — not a replacement for the company’s existing shot, but a second option.

The new vaccine, mNexspike, is a step toward next-generation coronavirus vaccines. It’s made in a way that allows for a lower dose — a fifth of the dose of its current COVID-19 vaccine, Spikevax — by refining its immune target.

The approval “adds an important new tool to help protect people at high risk of severe disease from COVID-19,” Stephane Bancel, Moderna’s CEO, said in a statement Saturday.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the new vaccine for use in all adults 65 and older, and for people age 12 to 64 who have a least one health condition that puts them at increased risk from the coronavirus.

That’s the same limit that the FDA set in licensing another COVID-19 vaccine option from competitor Novavax.

Those restrictions are a departure from how the U.S. has handled COVID-19 vaccines until now, reflecting skepticism about vaccines from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other Trump officials.

Moderna’s existing vaccine doesn’t face those limits and has long been used for anyone ages 6 months and older. The company said it expected to offer both options this fall.

The FDA’s approval was based on a study of 11,400 people age 12 and older that compared the new low-dose vaccine with Moderna’s existing vaccine. It found the new vaccine was safe and was at least as effective — and more by some measures — than the original shot, the company said.

The news came just days after the Trump administration canceled funding for Moderna to develop a vaccine against potential pandemic flu viruses, including the H5N1 bird flu, despite promising early study results.

Food Bank of Iowa: New CEO, same mission

Posted on by Sam Parsons

By Pat Powers (Radio Iowa)

Iowa’s largest provider of food for the needy has a new leader.

Tammi Nielsen took over this week as the CEO of the Des Moines-based Food Bank of Iowa, which serves 55 of the state’s 99 counties. Nielson has been with the agency for almost nine years.

“I’ve had a number of different roles at the Food Bank of Iowa, most recently the COO role, and I guess even more recently I’ve been the interim CEO since January 1st,” Nielsen says. “I found out through doing the job that I actually love this job, too, and so decided that this would be a good fit.”

The Food Bank of Iowa distributes more than 27-million pounds of food every year through some 700 partners statewide. Nielsen says Iowa’s challenges with food insecurity aren’t insurmountable, but they’re continuing to grow.

“As we all see, in grocery shopping and just the price of items, and the national economy,” she says, “there is indication that the numbers are going to continue to rise for folks facing food insecurity, and so we’re just in a hard place right now with indication that it’s going to get harder.”

A report last year from Feeding America found nearly 11% of all Iowans and more than 15% of Iowa children face food insecurity. That translates to 344,000 Iowans, including 110,000 children, who don’t know where they will find their next meal.

Nielsen is the food bank’s fourth leader since its founding 43 years ago. She succeeds Michelle Book, who retired at the end of 2024.

Steil Finishes 8th at State

Posted on by Sam Parsons

MARSHALLTOWN – North Mahaska junior Aly Steil has a broad smile on her face today. She carded a two-day 84-84 – 168 to finish eighth in the Class 1A state golf tournament. It is the highest finish of any Warhawk female golfer in school history.

Steil placed 33rd a year ago and used that experience to make 2025 a better finish. She entered Friday’s final round at the American Legion Course in Marshalltown in ninth and moved into sixth early in the round when some players ahead of her struggled early. She was playing with two of the leaders from day one, Calista Joyce of Emmetsburg who was runnerup and third place finisher Bretlyn Decker of Central City.

“That really helped me,” said Steil. “They are really good golfers, and I was trying to stay with them.”

Mount Ayr’s Jaylee Shaffer was the overall winner shooting a 79-77 – 156. Joyce finished 77-83 – 160 and Decker scored a 77-84 – 161.

Steil was pleased with her finish and plans to use this experience for a third trip next season.

“It is really exciting, I can’t really believe it,” said Steil, who earned a medal as one of the top 10 golfers in Class 1A. “Last year I was really nervous and this year I was able to play more relaxed.”

In Friday’s round she hit seven pars and eagled the ninth hole.

Steil said she plans to head to the course tomorrow (Saturday) with her father to continue to work towards next year.

“I plan to play and get more reps in,” said Steil. “I have to work hard in order to get back here next year.”

Food Safety Certification Class to Be Held

Posted on by Sam Parsons

OSKALOOSA — Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach is offering a food safety training for food service managers on June 26 at the Mahaska County Extension Office in Oskaloosa.

“Certification in ServSafe® meets the Iowa Food Code requirements to have a certified food protection manager in all establishments,” said Cathy Drost, class instructor and ISU Extension and Outreach health and human sciences educator. “We live in a time when food safety hazards and risks are prevalent. Serving safe food is mandatory. This eight-hour program aims to train food service professionals about food safety requirements and best practices to meet them.”
According to Drost, the program is based on the National Restaurant Association’s ServSafe® certification program and the Iowa Food Code. The class is beneficial for foodservice managers from all areas such as schools, restaurants, convenience stores, child care, senior meal sites and health care. Participants will receive a copy of the ServSafe® Manager training manual and will take the ServSafe®  certification exam.
Registrations close three weeks before class on June 5.  For more information about the program, contact Suzette Striegel at (641) 673-5841 or visit www.extension.iastate.edu/humansciences/servsafe/.

Ford recalls more than a million vehicles for software glitch that makes rearview camera unreliable

Posted on by Sam Parsons

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ford is recalling more than a million vehicles due to a software issue that can cause the rearview camera to malfunction, increasing the chance of an accident, government auto regulators said.

The software error, which Ford reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration earlier this month, may cause the rearview camera image to delay, freeze or not display when the vehicle is in reverse.

The problem will be fixed by a dealer or via an “over-the-air” update at a later date. A preliminary letter notifying owners of the safety risk is expected to be mailed June 16, with a second letter to be sent once the update is available, expected sometime in the third quarter of 2025.

The following Ford vehicles — a total of 1,075,299 — are included in the recall:

2021-2024 Bronco

2021-2024 Edge

2023-2024 Escape

2021-2024 F-150

2023-2024 F-250, F-350, F-450, F-550, F-600

2022-2024 Expedition

2022-2025 Transit

2021-2023 Mach-E

2024 Ranger

2024 Mustang

2021-2023 Lincoln Nautilus

2022-2024 Navigator

2023-2024 Corsair

Owners can contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford’s number for the recall is 25S49.

Owners may also call the NHTSA’s Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 888-275-9171) or go to nhtsa.gov.

State Treasurer touts ISave 529 educational savings plan

Posted on by Sam Parsons

By Dar Danielson (Radio Iowa)

State Treasurer Roby Smith is celebrating the ISave 529 state educational savings plan today, on May 29th, or “529 Day”.

Smith says there have been some changes made in the plan recently. “We raised the contribution amount that can run off on their Iowa taxes to 58-hundred dollars ($5,800) per individual. Also, they can spend the money that they accrue in there for K through 12 tuition, apprenticeship programs, and trade school. They can even do a student loan repayment up to $10,000 if they’d like,” Smith says.

Smith says you can tailor the plan to how aggressive you want to be in planning for the future. “If they want to have a little bit more risk, they can go ahead and invest in something that covers the entire stock market. If they want to have a little bit less risk, they can do more bonds, less stock market. It just depends what their risk tolerance is,” Smith says. He says the earlier you start, the more money you’ll have to pay for your child’s education. “If you think about this way, if you have 18 years, if you start when you’re a child is first born, and you put in two dollars a day, less than a cup of coffee, you’ll have over $13,000 in contributions by the time they turn 18,” Smith says. “And that doesn’t even count any growth in the investment that they could have.”

Changes in state and federal law now allow you to use that account after your child later in life. “If there’s money left over on the account and you’ve had it open for at least 15 years, you can turn over up to 35-thousand dollars. You can put it into your child’s Roth IRA. Not only do you help them for school, but now you can set them up for retirement,” he says.

Smith says you can start an account with a little as $25 by going to iowa529.com.

Livezey, DeJong Score Big Wins On Bill & Rays Night At SIS

Posted on by Sam Parsons

By Jerry Mackey

OSKALOOSA — Bill & Rays Truck Repair of Oskaloosa sponsored First Responders Night at the races on Wednesday, May 28th with a special night of racing featuring 6 classes of race cars.

Colton Livezey debuted a new Oskaloosa Quality Rentals Sportmod on Wednesday night and when the main event took the checkers, Livezey made his way to victory lane for the first time in 2025 at the Southern Iowa Speedway. Livezey shot into the lead from his outside front row start and went on to hold off the challenges of Kyle Harwood and Curtis VanDerwal who crossed under the checkers in second and third respectively. With his fourth second place finish of the season, Harwood maintains the point lead in the Sportmod division.

The Midstates Machine Stock Cars saw local favorite Maguire DeJong score the win in the feature on Wednesday night. DeJong piloted his VanDerbuilt Stock Car to an impressive win. Mike Hughes held off several challenges by Dustin Griffiths in taking second in the main event. Aaron Martin drove to a season best fourth place finish.

Griffiths continued his mastery of the Southern Iowa Speedway in the Parker Tree Service Hobby Stock Class. Griffiths took over the top spot from Kris Walker following a spirited battle for the lead. Walker slowed off the pace and retired from the main leaving the youngster, Brayden Wood with a shot to close in on Griffiths. Wood ran a very strong second but was not able to mount a serious challenge for the lead on Griffiths. Keaton Gordon followed Wood across the finish line in third.

The Stout Trucking Sport Compacts continue to put on great racing at the Southern Iowa Speedway. Near the midway point of the feature the three leaders came off of turn four three wide for the lead. Seth Meinders was able to break out of the lead pack and score his second win of the season. Clayton Webster led several laps before setting for second ahead of Katelyn Watts, who continues to show great improvement in her sophomore season of racing at the big track.

AJ Johnson continues his mastery at the Southern Iowa Speedway in the Tharp Enterprises NAPA Stores Non Wing Sprint car class. Johnson scored his 13th consecutive Weekly non wing Sprint Car feature on Wednesday night. Ben Woods ran second ahead of Tyler Graves.

Our special guests on Wednesday night were the Vintage Late Models. Several beautiful Vintage Cars took part in the racing action. The cars were actual cars in some cases and built replica cars that represented the types of cars that raced the Iowa Dirt Tracks back in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Steve Byers drove his 1967 Chevy Camaro to the feature win ahead of the 1981 Sanger Chassis Camaro driven by Dino Rodish. Terry Mattly drove his 1957 Chevy to third on Wednesday night. The Vintage Cars will return to the Southern Iowa Speedway two more times in 2025. Next up will be June 18th and then again as part of the fall Challenge on October 11th.

Racing will continue at the Southern Iowa Speedway on Wednesday, June 4th as 3M will sponsor Teacher and School Staff Appreciation Night, All school personnel will be admitted to the grandstands free by showing a proper school ID. In addition there will be a candy scramble for the kids during intermission. Hot laps will take tot he track at 7:15 pm with racing action to follow.

Bill & Rays Night At the Races

Wednesday, May 28

Southern Iowa Speedway

Feature Results (top five)

Oskaloosa Quality Rentals Sportmods

  1. 29 Colton Livezey-New Sharon
  2. 15K Kyle Harwood-New Sharon
  3. 1V Curtis VanDerwal-Oskaloosa
  4. 8T Tony Johnson-Oskaloosa
  5. 24 Chase Johnson-Agency

Mid States Machine Stock Cars

  1. 30M Maguire DeJong-Montezuma
  2. 85 Mike Hughes-What Cheer
  3. 10G Dustin Griffiths-Hedrick
  4. 73 Aaron Martin-Sigourney
  5. 96 Clinton Goff-Lacona

Parker Tree Service Hobby Stocks

  1. 10G Dustin Griffiths-Hedrick
  2. 52B Brayden Wood-Sigourney
  3. 7 Keaton Gordon-Ottumwa
  4. 22 James Pilkington-Hedrick
  5. 91 Jeremy Dooley-Promise City

Stout Trucking Sport Compacts

  1. 65 Seth Meinders-Ottumwa
  2. 15 Clayton Webster-Ottumwa
  3. 2K Katelyn Watts-Oskaloosa
  4. 18A Kyle Rysdam-Paulaski
  5. 1Z Colton Zaputil-Agency

Tharp Enterprises NAPA Stores Non Wing Sprints

  1. 93 AJ Johnson-Oskaloosa
  2. 11B Ben Wood-Newton
  3. T4 Tyler Graves-Chariton
  4. 93S Doug Sylvester-Ottumwa
  5. 2A Ed Adams-Pleassant Hill

Vintage Late Models

  1. B17 Steve Byers -Indianola 1967 Camaro
  2. 20 Dino Rodish-Des Moines 1981 Sanger Camaro
  3. 50 Terry Mattly-East Moline 1957 Chevy
  4. 62XL John Hunnel-Des Moines 1969 Camaro
  5. 73 Jr. Yaw-Des Moines-1970 Chevy Nova

Area High School Student Dies in Fatal Head-On Crash

Posted on by Sam Parsons

PACKWOOD – An area high school student was killed in a head-on collision yesterday morning that remains under investigation.

According to traffic records, yesterday morning at around 7:35am, a fatal crash took place on Packwood Road, south of Packwood. Authorities say a 2003 Toyota Camry collided with a 1999 Dodge Ram head-on after crossing the center line for an unknown reason. The Camry was driven by Pekin high school senior Ava Ford, and she was pronounced dead on the scene. She was 17 years old.

The driver of the Ram, who was identified as 40-year-old Clinton Weaver of Lancaster, Missouri, suffered undisclosed injuries and was flown to the University of Iowa Hospital in Iowa City.

The traffic report shows that both drivers were wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.

The Pekin School District described Ava as a “passionate, kind and thoughtful student who will be deeply missed by all who knew her.” The district announced that their school counselor will be available in the high school office throughout the rest of this week and next week, ready to provide support to any student or community member who may need to talk. Additionally, a grief crisis team will be on standby.

Ancient DNA reveals a new group of people who lived near land bridge between the Americas

Posted on by Sam Parsons

NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists have identified a new pod of ancient hunter-gatherers who lived near the land bridge between North America and South America about 6,000 years ago.

Researchers are still charting how human populations spread across the Americas thousands of years ago, arriving first in North America before veering south. Groups that split off developed their own collection of genes that scientists can use to piece together the human family tree.

Discovered through ancient DNA, the group lived in the high plateaus of present-day Bogotá, Colombia — close to where the Americas meet. Scientists aren’t sure exactly where they fall in the family tree because they’re not closely related to ancient Native Americans in North America and also not linked to ancient or present-day South Americans.

The new study was published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.

“Up to this point, we didn’t believe there was any other lineage that would appear in South America,” said archaeologist Andre Luiz Campelo dos Santos with Florida Atlantic University who was not involved with the new research. “This is unexpected.”

Just 4,000 years later, these ancient humans were gone and a genetically-different human clan inhabited the area. Scientists aren’t sure exactly what happened to make them fade away — whether they mixed into a new, bigger group or were pushed out entirely.

Analyzing more genes in South America will help confirm if this new group truly did disappear or if there could be evidence of their descendants elsewhere, said Campelo dos Santos.

Studying these ancient Colombian genes are important to piecing together the history of the Americas since ancient people had to cross this land bridge to settle in and spread across South America.

The area is “the gateway to the South American continent,” said study author Andrea Casas-Vargas with the National University of Colombia.

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