Was Chuck Grassley in the Epstein files? Your Call the Courier questions answered

Q: Is actress Annette O’Toole still alive and is she related to actor Peter O’Toole? 

A: Yes, she is alive and 74 years old. She is not related to Peter O’Toole.

Q: Was Chuck Grassley’s name on that list of being hooked up with the Epstein files? 

A: No, the released list of names in the Epstein files does not include Chuck Grassley. He has asked for the release of the files many times since 2019. 

Q: I was just wondering if pelicans migrate from north to south, like to Florida?

A: Yes. Pelicans who visit northern states will migrate to southern California, the states along the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico and Central America. 

Q: They say if you have a felony you cannot vote. Donald Trump has 37 of them. How is it possible that he gets by with voting?

A: Trump was convicted of 34 felonies in New York City in 2024. There is a New York law that allows people with felony convictions to vote as long as they are not incarcerated at the time of the election. He can continue to vote in his home state of Florida because Florida law says if a person convicted in another state would still be allowed to vote in that state, they are able to vote in Florida.

Q: Who are the current board members of the Cedar Bend Humane Society?

A: The humane society posted on Facebook that its fiscal year 2027 board of directors includes Nick Hendrick as president, Hermina Ibricic as vice president, Kahlan Reed as secretary and Collin Olson as treasurer. Board members include Tom Blanford, Carrie Chandler, Joanne Koweil, Mark Little, Mark McCombs, Laurie Lumetta, Kristina Miller, Lindsay Pieteres and Becky Riehm.

Q: If you are a single person and you own a home and you have everything in order, if something happens to you, do you still have to have a will drawn up?

A: Yes. Everyone should have a will. Single people still should to decide who they want their assets to go to, as well as list someone as their power of attorney for financial and medical decisions.

Q: When the Cedar Falls Utilities made the decision to cease offering cable TV service, how many cable customer households were adversely affected by this decision?

A: When the decision was made last October, CFU had about 4,500 cable TV customers, according to Mollie Strouse, the marketing and public affairs manager for CFU.

Q: Did Jim Thornton of Wheel of Fortune get fired? What is he doing nowadays? 

A: Yes, he was fired in September after photos of him on a plane showed him in a support chat room designed for people who experience sexual attraction to children. 

Q: The Evansdale Veterans Memorial Garden has large gunnery equipment and it seems to be pointed right at the American flag. Isn’t that disrespectful to our veterans and the American flag? I was wondering what the reason was to point it there.

A: According to U.S. flag code, there is no rule that gunnery equipment cannot be pointed at the flag. 

Q: Who is paying for the Charles and Barbara Grassley Center at UNI? 

A: As reported in The Courier, the center will be located in the UNI Commons, which will undergo a $33.2 renovation to modernize the building. The Center for Civic Education and the UNI Foundation will also be located in the building. The project is expected to receive $29.2 milliion in state appropriations, $7 million of which have already been received. The remaining $3.32 million will be covered by institutional funds, gifts and grants. A press release from the University of Northern Iowa stated it is “creating a fundraising and implementation strategy” to support the center. 

Q: Who is the developer behind the apartment complexes going up off of Greenhill and Cedar Heights Drive?

A: Prairie Lakes Management LLC submitted the development application and the builder and architect is Kuepers Architects and Builders Inc., according to Amanda Huisman, the communications specialist for the city of Cedar Falls. Both companies are based in Brainerd, Minnesota. 

Q: Do United States congressmen and United States senators pay into Social Security? 

A: Yes, and they have since 1984. 

Call (319) 291-1550 to leave a voicemail or email newsroom@wcfcourier.com with your question.