NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa (KCRG) – The City of North Liberty said they will conduct an independent investigation on Police Chief Diane Venega after officers and sergeants in the department unanimously passed a vote of no confidence. Leaders with the city said last Sunday night, the Mayor of North Liberty and their administrative staff were given the results of a vote held by the unions representing North Liberty’s Police Officers and Sergeants. One member of each union signed the results, which indicated broad dissatisfaction with Chief Venega. However, city leaders said the document that the unions gave the Mayor’s Office didn’t have any explanations. Before Sunday, no concerns about Venega had been given to Police Chief Venega, City Administrator Ryan Heiar, or Mayor Chris Hoffman. Since no explanations had been provided, Heiar asked members of North Liberty’s Police Department for their concerns. On Friday, the unions released a letter that described their complaints to the media. City leaders said they were not given a copy of this letter before it was released to the media and first learned of the letter after seeing it online. The City of North Liberty said it has not made any decisions concerning the vote of no confidence. In compliance with policy, Police Chief Venega will be put on a paid leave of absence which will allow the City of North Liberty to conduct its own investigation into Venega’s leadership and the validity of the unions’ claims.
JOHNSON COUNTY, Iowa (KCRG) – This week, the USDA announced cases of bird flu had been found in dairy cows in a few states; Texas, Kansas, and Michigan. Iowa currently isn’t one of those states, but cattle farmers are keeping a close eye. Last year, the avian flu killed nearly 3 million birds in the state of Iowa. That ranges from commercial poultry farms to backyard flocks. Iowa State Extension Dairy Veterinarian Phillip Jardon said cows in Texas had contracted an unknown illness, which reduced milk production in older cattle. It wasn’t until this week he said pathologists learned it was the bird flu, but they aren’t sure how it happened. Jardon said in each of the found cases in Texas, dead birds had been found near the farm. While he said the findings are all still new and research was being done, so far, the virus doesn’t seem to be as deadly to cattle.
TRIPOLI, Iowa (KCRG) – A 52-year-old man from Tripoli has been arrested after he assaulted a male victim. On March 25, 2024, the Bremer County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 1500 block of Midway Avenue for a report that Tracy Buchholz of Tripoli allegedly used a tractor to block an oncoming vehicle from passing by. He then approached and assaulted the male driver of the vehicle. Investigators say the victim was a witness who testified against Buchholz in an August 2023 trial where Buchholz pleaded guilty and was sentenced to prison. Buchholz was arrested and charged with 3rd-degree harassment, simple assault not causing injury, and tampering with a witness or juror. He was released from jail on the recent charges with a $2,000 cash bond.
ANAMOSA Iowa (KCRG) – On Wednesday, an estimated 50,000 gallons of untreated sewage made its way into the Wapsipinicon River in Anamosa. Now, officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resource (DNR) are peeling back the curtain on how the cleanup process works. According to Iowa DNR Environmental Specialist Brett Meyers, the city of Anamosa began working on the clean-up as soon as they discovered the problem. The sewage flowed into a stormwater basin and then into the Wapsipinicon River, prompting the City to use a vac truck to clean up any pooled sewage in these areas. They then flushed out the storm intakes to remove any standing sewage. The City captured any flushed material and used the vac truck to clean it up. The City also put hydrated lime on the areas where the wastewater flowed, in order to limit the transmission of bacteria and viruses. Meyers says that the clean-up process took about a day to complete, and would not have had any impact on animals and organisms in the Wasipinicon River. During the cleanup, Anamosa officials put barriers to keep the public away from these areas. Meyers says a minimum of 48 hours is a general rule on how long you should wait to fish or swim in a potentially affected area. A later evaluation showed no dead fish or visible impacts of the wastewater discharge.
