You may have noticed a different crunch in your favorite potato chip recently. The difference, according to Sterzing’s president Craig Smith, is a result of an FDA ruling banning trans fats.

“So the oil that we had been using for decades contained trace amounts of trans fats…and that oil is no longer availalble to use for cooking,” Smith told KBUR. “This is essentially the government saying ‘you need to be healthier… so go use something that’s healthier for you.'”

Smith says Sterzing’s has hired a food scientist to make adjustments in their cooking process, he says it’s been a difficult to match a recipe that was perfected over 85 years.

“It’s taken quite a bit of time to narrow this down…and we believe we are much much closer,” Smith says customers should notice a change in the chips in the next few weeks. “I’m pretty excited about what we were able to manufacture this week so far.”

Sterzing’s has been a wildly popular potato chip not just in Burlington, but across much of Iowa. Smith reiterated that it wasn’t their idea to change the recipe.

“So people keep asking us ‘why would you change something that was so good? Well we didn’t want to,” Smith says the recipe goes back to the chip’s creator Barney Sterzing. “We know we had something that people really loved, and we hated to alter it.”

Smith says with adjustments made this week people should start noticing a chip that’s more reminiscent of the previous recipe. He’s asking customers provide feedback to help them perfect the new cooking process and recreate the Sterzing’s of old.

You can contact Sterzing’s via e-mail at Sterzings.com, or by phone with your experience.

Listen to the full interview, with much more information on the changes and reasons behind it below.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE officers raided a Mt. Pleasant business on Wednesday morning.

Authorities said in a press release that a search warrant was executed in Mount Pleasant by special agents and deportation officers, Homeland security says that 32 arrests were made for immigration violations at Midwest Precast Concrete on Washington Street.

Of the arrests made 22 were reportedly from Guatemala, 7 from Mexico, 2 from El Salvador, and 1 from Honduras.

Authorities have declined further comment other than to say the individuals arrested will remain in custody pending the results of their individual cases.

Burlington Steamboat Days has announced that there will be no carnival at this year’s event.

The announcement was made on the organization’s Facebook page Wednesday afternoon, drawing disappointment and criticism online. BSD says they were unable to find a carnival due to uncertainties with the downtown Floodwall project, noting that they began looking in December after the city was reasonably sure the project would be done in time to hold the event. Typically they would book a carnival in the fall.

BSD notes that this is a one-year setback for the festival, and say they will begin looking to book a carnival for the 2019 event in the next few months.

The Facebook post says they will still have Family Fest and Praise fest as entertainment options for the entire family.

Burlington Steamboat Days will be held June 14-17, main stage entertainment this year includes notable acts Charlie Daniels, Survivor, Jefferson Starship, Fuel, Shaman’s Harvest, Soul Asylum, Craig Morgan, and Sister Hazel.

One of two men running for Iowa’s house district 87 has dropped from the June primary race.

Travis Ingram announced on Facebook Thursday morning that he will no longer seek the Republican nomination, leaving Tim Goodwin to face incumbent Democrat Dennis Cohoon in November.

Ingram says he’ll instead focus on building his career as a newly-licensed attorney, but plans to involve himself in the community and possibly launch another campaign for office in the future.

Iowa’s House District 87 comprises parts of Burlington, West Burlington, and areas of rural Des Moines County.

Felony Drug Charges have been filed on two Lee County Men in sperate investigations by the Lee county Narcotics Task Force.

John Richard Jones

36 year old John Richard Jones of Keokuk was arrested following an investigation. He is charged with Delivery of methamphetamine less than five grams second or subsequent offense, a class C felony with an enhancement, and Delivery of methamphetamine less than five grams second or subsequent offense, a class C felony with an enhancement.

Court Records indicate that Jones has a history of involvement with the law and drug charges. If convicted on these charges Jones will face up to 30 years in prison.

(Mug Shot not Available)  In an unrelated case Michael Sheets of Fort Madison was taken into custody, Sheets’s is charged with delivery of methamphetamine less than five grams, a class C felony. According to the Task Force, the arrest of Sheets was the result of an investigation into the distribution of methamphetamine.

If Sheets is convicted of the charge, he faces up to 10 years in prison.

The current Communications Director for DESCOM (The Des Moines County Dispatch Center) Johnny Platt has announced that he will be leaving his position with Des Moines County to pursue an opportunity in Tazewell County, Illinois.

Platt says that his last day on the job in the new DESCOM Center, located in the Great River Medical Center, will be June 1st.  Platt says that his departure is bittersweet, “I have been lucky to work with great people and dispatchers here, Des Moines County will always hold a special place in my heart” Platt said.

The county is actively seeking qualified individuals to fill the opening.  Platt says the job has been posted on the DESCOM website as well as the Facebook page.

The Lawyer for Ben Trane, the former owner of the Midwest Academy in Keokuk asked for a new trial during a sentencing hearing today in Lee County Circuit Court.  The request was denied by the judge.  Trane has been sentenced to nine years in prison followed by ten years of supervised release. The judge’s order also requires Trane to register as a sex offender.

A jury convicted Trane in December on charges stemming from sexual abuse and child endangerment at the school between September of 2014 and January of 2016. Allegations of Mental and Sexual abuse lead to a raid of the facility in 2016 involving multiple agencies including the FBI.

Trane is asking for a new trial for his conviction for child sex abuse, exploitation, and child endangerment charges.

(this story is updated from a previous story)

Pictured: Andrew Phipps, Aimee Christ, Scott McAllister

A Narcotics Task Force operation resulted in the arrest of four people on Thursday night — including two operating as confidential informants.

Court records show 33-year-old Andrew Phipps and 29-year-old Aimee Crist were operating as informants for the Narcotics Task Force and purchased more than 300 grams of methamphetamine from 34-year-old Scott McAllister on Thursday.

Authorities obtained a search warrant for a home at 1008 Court Street, where they found the money from the controlled buy, another 87 grams of methamphetamine, a Sig-Sauer 9MM pistol, digital scales, and packaging material. Following the controlled buy, authorities searched Phipps and Christ’s vehicle, and found they had attempted to take around 8 grams of methamphetamine from the controlled buy with them rather than turn it over to police.

McAllister, Phipps, and Christ all face drug trafficking charges. McAllister faces additional charges for possession of a firearm by a felon, and possession of marijuana. Another woman who rented the house with McAllister was charged with gathering in a place where a controlled substance is used.

People line up to sample food at the Fort Madison Main Street Barbecue (KBUR, DH)

Morning thunderstorms didn’t stop dedicated grill masters from putting out their best at Fort Madison’s annual Main Street BBQ competition Saturday afternoon.

Faeth’s Cigar Store hosts the annual event, this was the 17th year. Eight teams duked it out over grills and smokers to be crowned the People’s Choice, at the end the winners were Big Guys Barbecue.

“It feels great,” said both Mark and Wesley Bernhardt, father and son on the team. Mark continued “This’ll be our second year and we’ve never gotten a People’s Choice but people always told us they enjoyed our food.” The two were manning the grills along with Brenda Bernhardt and Scott Huffman to round out the team. “Winning People’s Choice was better than winning any other category,” Mark told KBUR following the award announcements.

Wilson Brothers took first place in the judged contests for chicken, beef, and open categories. Buster Q took first in Kansas City BBQ Ribs.

Pictured: Chloe Williams, Anthony Bobbit (DMCCC)

Burlington police arrested a Fort Madison woman on drug trafficking charges late Saturday night. 21-year-old Chloe Williams is facing felony methamphetamine trafficking charges. She was arrested in the 800 block of North 8th Street shortly after 10:30 pm. Williams was also arrested on a warrant out of Lee County. She’s being held in the Des Moines County Jail on a 100K bond.

In an unrelated incident a Burlington man was charged with felony eluding and possession with intent to deliver marijuana. Authorities say 37-year-old Anthony Bobbitt was arrested after attempting to flee from police. He also faces traffic violations. He’s being held on a 11K bond.

In other arrests this weekend:

34-year-old Derek Schneider was arrested Sunday night on drug possession charges. Arrest logs indicate he was charged with possession of methamphetamine, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia. He’s being held in the Des Moines County jail on $2300 bond.

Two men were charged with 5th-degree theft at Kohl’s on Sunday, 34-year-old Dennis Bowen and 30-year-old Marshall Markey were cited and released around 4 PM.

Two women were arrested for fighting in Lee County on Sunday morning. Arrest logs indicate 37-year-old Jenny Hamor of Burlington was arrested on disorderly conduct charges and taken to the Lee County jail in Montrose. A Fort Madison woman, 33-year-old Jeannie Breashers was also arrested on the same charges.

30-year-old Dakota Fenton was arrested Saturday on Domestic Abuse charges. He was taken to the Des Moines County jail and held without bond pending an appearance in court.

29-year-old Darius Green was arrested Saturday on possession of marijuana charges, he was taken to the Des Moines County jail and held on a $1K bond.

36 year old Loren Price is being held on 55 hundred dollars bond after being taken into custody on two warrants. The Burlington Police department took Price into custody around noon Saturday, he was released later that evening.

Fort Madison police arrested 44-year-old Lori Schorr of Iowa City on harassment and parole violation charges on Friday. Schorr was taken to the Lee County jail in Montrose.

The Burlington police Department arrested 19 year old Sean Watson around 8 pm Friday night. Watson has been charged with felony possession of Marijuana. Watson was held at the Des Moines County Jail on 5 thousand dollars bond and released the Saturday.

A serious misdemeanor charge of reckless use of fireworks has led to arrest of 52 year old Christina Luedtke. She was taken into custody on a warrant by the Burlington Police Department Friday night. Luedtke is being held on one thousand dollars bond.

The Burlington City Council meets for a work session tonight, and they are expected to receive a funding request from a group seeking to build an indoor sports complex near the Rec-Plex.

Two weeks ago Jason Hutcheson and Dr. Michael Ash gave the council a preview of their plans for the 80K square-foot indoor turf facility, and said they would be back at today’s work session with a funding request for a parking lot which could be shared with the Rec-Plex.

Don Fitting will also make a presentation to the council on garbage, several communities throughout the area have switched to larger garbage cans which can be used with automated trucks. Earlier this year the Solid Waste Department sent out questionnaires to residents to see if there was interest in such a switch in Burlington.

They meet at 4:30 at the Burlington City Hall.

An Illinois woman suffered non-life threatening injuries in a rollover accident on Highway 27 near Argyle on Saturday morning.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office says 20-year-old Caitlin Coltharp lost control of her Ford Focus in the 3300 block of Highway 27, when deputies arrived they found the car on its roof in the median, and the driver outside of the vehicle. Coltharp said that she may have hydroplaned prior to the accident.

The woman had a laceration on her arm, she was taken to Unity Point Hospital in Keokuk by Clark County EMS. She was cited for failure to maintain control.

Jake Wells

26 year old Jake Wells from Baxter, was arrested on a warrant from the Fort Madison Police Department on Sunday.

The arrest of Wells stems from an investigation by the Fort Madison Police and the Newton Police Department into alleged online activity between Wells and a minor as well as suspected physical contact between Wells and the minor victim. Fort Madison Police obtained a warrant for Wells after the minor victim and a parent filed a complaint on March 8th. Wells was arrested in Jasper County on a 25 thousand dollar band and transported to Lee County.

He made his initial court appearance this morning and was held on a 15 thousand dollar cash bond. Jake Wells is charged with Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, enticement and exhibition of obscene material to a minor.

Chief Settig of the Fort Madison Police Department says the investigation is on-going.

People eating at the Teriyaki Madness sneak-peak

Teriyaki Madness opened its doors for the first time to the public Monday for a sneak-peak of their stir fry menu.

The line stretched out the door as the first hundred people in line were able to sample a free entrée. Franchise owner Adam Thielen says there are many options on the menu.

“Chicken teriyaki, spicy chicken,  tofu chicken, chicken tatsu, beef teriyaki, orange chicken,” says Thielen, he and his wife Theresa decided to bring the franchise to Burlington after eating at a Las Vegas location, he says Burlington will be hooked on the madness.

“We’ve always liked to bring things to our town that people either need or want,” said Thielen. “Once they try the food, not only are they going to need it. They’re going to want it.”

Teriyaki Madness is holding a second sneak-peak event from 5-6 Monday night, and officially opens on Friday

Current designs for the Sports Bubble, which would go across from the Rec-Plex in West Burlington.

The Sports Bubble continues to inch closer to reality, Dr. Michael Ash talked to council members on Monday night to ask for help from the city to build the structure.

Ash’s group, which has fund-raised around $6.2M so far, wants the city to contribute $500K towards a roughly 235 space parking lot, which would be shared with the city’s neighboring Rec-Plex. The parking lot as planned would be concrete and on the south side of the indoor turf building. The location was a primary concern for councilman Jon Billups.

“If you’re gonna spill over parking for both facilities you’re too far away,” Billups said. “That’s an issue for me… it’s on the wrong side of the building.”

Billups said the parking would make more sense as a shared lot if it were on the West side of the building, Dr. Ash wasn’t sure if it was too late to shift the lot but said he would look into it. Ash also wants the city to waive building permit fees, expedite the extension of Broadway Street through the business park from FY 20 to FY19, and split hotel/motel tax funds.

Ash wanted to get a feel for whether the council would support the measure, after some criticism on other area communities not investing money into the project, and whether the city could afford to invest in the program.

“Let me be frank about my feelings… I don’t feel that (support),” Ash said he needed to know whether to continue with the project. “What I’m scared of is this council is going to say ‘don’t think so’ and I’m going to have to pull the plug on a four million dollar project that I’ve already invested dollars in.”

Council-members Linda Murray, Matt Rinker, and Jon Billups leaned towards supporting the project. Mayor Shane McCampbell and Mayor Pro Tem Annie Wilson both said they liked the idea but didn’t think the city could afford to spend the money in the midst of other projects.

The facility would be built on Greater Burlington Partnership land across from the Rec-Plex. The Partnership would lease the land to the group for $1 in an effort to tourism and economic growth.

The council also discussed possible changes to the trash program, and heard the downtown partners annual report.

Many rural communities are faced with a common problem, downtown districts that are riddled with empty buildings and little or no traffic. While this is often viewed as a problem, for some it is viewed as an opportunity to develop new business and affordable housing. The opportunity of downtown Burlington was the focus of a meeting and presentation today at the historic Capitol Theater.

Zach Mannheimer presented the concept of growing a downtown district to a group of business and community leaders.  The idea, developed by the National Endowment Of The Arts, is called “Creative Placemaking”

Mannheimer spent about an hour talking about how the group can leverage the current historic buildings, tax and grant programs and local investment to create new and unique opportunities in communities.  The presentation used example of other rural Iowa communities and the unique projects that have been developed or are currently under development.

The group looks at the opportunity that each community has, couples that with focus groups and a steering committee to develop projects that are then funded using a number of different sources. The end result is a long term, sustainable project that brings people, housing, arts and entertainment, business growth and economic development to communities like Burlington.  Mannheimer says he believes that Burlington, becuase of the river and the historic buildings presents a great deal of opportunity.

The next phase will be to put together and group that would engage Mannheimer and his group to draw up a proposal for projects that would revitalize Burlington’s downtown.  For more information anyone interested can contact the Downtown Partnership.

The University of Iowa Decedent Care Unit, in collaboration with Des Moines County Attorney Amy Beavers,
the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s State
Fire Marshal Division has made a positive identification of Ms. Lisa Wischmeier, age 50 of Des Moines County, Iowa as the
decedent from an incident involving a vehicle fire that occurred in Des Moines County on April 17, 2018.

Bradley Wischmeier is being held in the Des Moines County Jail in connection with her death.

No Other Information is available at this time.

Pictured: Joshua James (DMCCC)

A West Burlington man has been charged with drug trafficking following an early morning traffic stop.

Arrest logs show 34-year-old Joshua James was arrested around 2:30 Wednesday morning, he was stopped by West Burlington police on Broadway and Division streets. James faces drug trafficking charges for possession of more than 5 grams of methamphetamine as well as multiple misdemeanor violations. He was also arrested on a Lee County warrant for failure to appear on a driving under suspension charge.

During a search of the vehicle police found a baggie containing 7.8 grams of meth, drug paraphernalia, 60 mg of morphine sulphate, and a notebook detailing suspected drug transactions.

James was taken to the Des Moines County jail where he’s being held on a $25K bond pending an appearance in court.

Kaleb Branton

The Des Moines County Sheriff’s office has arrested two 17 year old’s and a 19 year old in connection with Burglaries and the sale of stolen fire-arms.

Authorities say that a May 13th burglary at a rural residence on 75th avenue in Des Moines County in which a hand gun was taken from a car, netted evidence that aided in an investigation. The same residence had been robbed in November of 2017, at that time several weapons were stolen from the residence. Investigators believed the incident in November on 75th street was linked to another burglary on Concord Drive in Burlington earlier in the month.

Based on the evidence collected at the scenes, two juvenile suspects were stopped by police on south 6th street in Burlington on Tuesday. The two suspects, both 17 years of age, one male and one female were interviewed and admitted to committing the burglary on 75th avenue on May 13th. The male juvenile admitted to selling the handgun to someone in Burlington. Authorities located a third suspect, 19 year old Kaleb Branton and transported him to the Sheriff’s office for questioning. Branton admitted to aiding in the burglary on May 13th as well as committing the burglaries in November of last year. Branton also told authorities that he had sold the stolen fire-arms.

The 17-year- old male was charged with Burglary in the 3rd degree (vehicle), an aggravated
misdemeanor, and Trafficking Stolen Weapons, a Class D Felony.

The 17-year- old female was charged with Burglary in the 3rd degree (vehicle), an aggravated
misdemeanor.

Kaleb Branton was charged with 2 counts of Burglary in the 2nd Degree, both Class C felonies, 2
counts of Trafficking Stolen Weapons, both class D felonies, and Burglary in the 3rd Degree
(vehicle), an aggravated misdemeanor.

If you are an artist looking for a unique medium for your art, the Burlington Downtown Partnership has a suggestion, a bench. The Partnership is currently seeking creative design ideas, that will then be used on benches that are placed along Jefferson Street.

The deadline for submission for a design in May 29th. Steve Frevert says that a design committee will meet on the 31st and select the artists and designs that will be used this year. The bench and the paint are provided by the Partnership, the idea and the artistic touch are provided by people that submit a design idea.

For more information or to submit a design for consideration interested artists can visit the website greaterburlignton.com or call 319-208-0056.