(Atlantic, IA) – The City Council in Atlantic is slated to meet next Wednesday, Jan. 21st in a regularly scheduled session. According to the tentative agenda sent to the media by City Administrator John Lund, the Council is expected to act on the following Resolutions:

• A Resolution “Authorizing and Approving a Certain Loan Agreement, Providing for the Issuance of General Obligation Corporate Purpose and Refunding Bonds, Series 2026A and Providing for the Levy of Taxes to Pay the Same.”
• A Resolution #03-26 “Authorizing and Approving a Certain Loan Agreement, Providing for the Issuance of Taxable General Obligation Corporate Purpose Bonds, Series 2026B and Providing for the Levy of taxes to pay the same.”
• A Resolution #04-26 “Appointing Rich Tupper as Acting City Clerk for Atlantic, Iowa.”
• A Resolution #05-26 “Establishing Signatories to City Checks and Payables.”
• and, A Resolution #06-26 “Approving a New Professional Services Agreement with Barb Barrick to Temporarily Provide City Clerk Consulting Services for the City of Atlantic.”

The City Council meeting begins at 5:30-p.m. Wednesday, in the City Council’s Chamber inside the Atlantic City Hall building.

(Council Bluffs, IA) – A man from Pottawattamie County died today (Friday), when the semi tractor-trailer he was driving on westbound Interstate 80 near Council Bluffs, was blown-off the road by strong winds. The Iowa State Patrol says 56-year-old Mark Douglas Hayden, of Council Bluffs, was driving a 2004 Peterbilt semi near mile marker 12 in Pottawattamie County, when he lost control of the rig a little after 12-p.m.

The semi tipped-over onto the driver’s in the median and struck a cable barrier before coming to rest facing southwest within the median.

Hayden – who was wearing a seat belt – died at the scene. The State Patrol was assisted by Underwood Rescue and the Pott. County Sheriff’s Office.

(Sidney, IA) – The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office has released details regarding several notable arrests occurring between January 2 and January 13, 2026. Authorities say the incidents involve recurring enforcement actions with the same individuals, highlighting the persistent efforts of our deputies to ensure public safety on our roadways and within our communities.

Interstate 29 Enforcement: Repeated Incidents Involving a Single Motorist
Deputies encountered 35-year-old Linda Lathan of Bennington, Nebraska, in three separate arrests over a ten-day period:

• January 2, 2026: At approximately 4:41 AM, deputies responded to a report of a white Cadillac Escalade partially obstructing the roadway at the 20-mile marker of Interstate 29. Lathan was identified and found to have an active arrest warrant from Pottawattamie County, Iowa. She was taken into custody and transferred to the appropriate agency.
• January 12, 2026 (A.M.): At 5:41 AM, deputies were again dispatched to the interstate (19-mile marker) for the same vehicle parked in a live lane of traffic. She was arrested and charged with Possession of Marijuana (1st Offense) and Interference with Official Acts. She was released after posting bond.
• January 12, 2026 (P.M.): At 9:13 PM, less than ten hours after her previous release, deputies conducted a traffic stop on the same Cadillac Escalade near Highway 2 and 200th Street. Lathan was arrested for Driving Under Suspension. Following a guilty plea, she was sentenced to one day in jail and released on January 13.
  Sidney Enforcement: Multiple Charges in a Single Day

On January 9, 2026, 47-year-old Brandee Blackey, of Sidney, Iowa, was arrested on three separate occasions within a single 24-hour window:

• 07:58 AM: Blackey was arrested on an outstanding Fremont County warrant for Failure to Appear related to a municipal animal ordinance violation. She was processed and released on bond.
• 09:04 AM: Minutes after her initial release, deputies observed Blackey operating a vehicle and initiated a traffic stop. She was arrested for Driving Under Suspension and Reckless Driving. She was released after posting a cash bond at 11:31 AM.
• 11:33 PM: Deputies responded to a residence in Sidney following a report of animal welfare concerns. Investigation revealed a canine had been abandoned at the property without proper care since late December. The animal was rescued and transported to the Nebraska Humane Society for medical treatment. Blackey was arrested for the third time that day, charged with Animal Neglect and Animal Abandonment. She was released after posting $600 bond.

Separately, 55-year-old William Charles Maddox, of Hamburg, was arrested Jan. 9th, for Driving Under Suspension. He was released later that same day.

And, on Jan. 7th, Fremont County Deputies arrested 34-year-old Grant Scott Cunard, of Honey Creek, in Sidney, on a Fremont County Sheriff’s Office warrant. Cunard was released Jan. 9th for time served.  On Jan. 6th, 42-year-old Paul Nathaniel Falk, of Shenandoah, was arrested in Hamburg, for Interference with Official Acts. He was released from custody on the 10th of January.

(Greenfield, IA) – Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports a woman from Union County was arrested Monday, Jan. 12th, on an Adair County Felony Bench Warrant for Theft in the 1st Degree. 36-year-old Alisha Louise Geidel, of Creston, was arrested at around 11:20-a.m.

According to the arrest Affidavit, Geidel was employed by the Orient-Macksburg Community School District from May, 2021 through May, 2024.  Her employment contracts listed Geidel as Human Resources Director, Payroll Clerk, and/or Accounting Clerk. As part of her employment, Geidel was to receive a “single” health insurance plan at no cost to her. If she or almost any other employee elected to enroll in a “family” insurance plan, the additional cost above the “Single” plan was to have been paid for by the employee from their monthly paycheck.

Alisha Louise Geidel, (Photo courtesy the Adair County Sheriff’s Office)

During her employment as the school’s Payroll or Accounting Clerk, and based on software log-in information which was unique to Geidel, it is alleged that she manipulated the school’s payroll system in such a way as to make the employee cost or portion of the “Family” insurance plan WAS NOT being deducted from her paycheck. As a result, the Orient-Macksburg Community School District sustained a financial loss of at least $739.10/month for at least 32 months, with the total losses exceeding $10,000.

(A report from the Iowa Capital Dispatch) – Morningside University and St. Luke’s College – UnityPoint Health are starting off 2026 with efforts to begin melding the campuses together, having announced in summer 2025 that St. Luke’s will eventually become a Morningside location. Jackie Barber, dean of the Nylen School of Nursing and Health Sciences at Morningside, and Morningside Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Chris Spicer said the first step in the acquisition process is complete, with hopes for full combination after the year ends.

The private colleges, both located in Sioux City, have worked together for a long time and have offered “joint two-plus-two programs” since 2019, Spicer said. This acquisition is an opportunity to expand that partnership and others, he said. Barber said the idea for the acquisition was born from trying to think of ways to utilize both institutions’ strengths, as well as strengths from UnityPoint Health, to bolster “academic delivery of these health care programs” and the health care workforce pipeline.

While the initial announcement of the impending acquisition came out in July, Spicer said both institutions had been talking about it since the previous fall. The first phase of the process went “fairly smoothly,” he said, with the Higher Learning Commission approving the acquisition in November after September visits to both campuses. The effective date of the acquisition was Dec. 31 and with that date’s passage, Spicer said Morningside has submitted an official notification of change in ownership to the U.S. Department of Education. Now in the second phase, university officials are waiting for that approval and other regulatory steps while beginning the transition process for St. Luke’s students, faculty and staff.

While the current focus is on ensuring the continued delivery of quality higher education at both institutions, Barber said an overarching goal of the combination is to strengthen pathways for upskilling and continuing education needed for the health care workforce. Morningside will not keep St. Luke’s RN-BSN degree completion program, as it has its own version of the same degree, and current students will finish out the program while new students will enroll in Morningside’s degree.

(Radio Iowa) – The northwest Iowa town of Le Mars is in the running to be named one of “America’s Favorite Small Towns” and the deadline to vote is next week. Parade Magazine holds the annual competition as it celebrates vibrant but small communities nationwide and Le Mars is the only Iowa town on the list. Kristen Heimgartner, executive director of the Hometown Le Mars Heritage Foundation, says they entered the contest to better promote the town.

Heimgartner says getting into the finals would give Le Mars plenty of exposure, while winning would be a wonderful feat.

The finalists will be featured in a special print issue of Parade, and the winning town will host an event with “potential celebrity involvement,” sponsor giveaways, and national media coverage. Heimgartner encourages Iowans to vote and interact with the Heritage Foundation’s social media page.

Voting started in November. Semifinalists will be announced January 21st. National finalists will be announced this spring, with state and national winners to be named in June.

For a link to vote, click here. https://americasfavoritesmalltowns.parade.com/

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa National Guard Major General Stephen Osborn says that over the next decade the U-S military will undergo one of the most significant periods of modernization in its history.

Osborn says commanders will be able to act faster with the combined use of artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and space assets. Osborn says units will be designed to deploy faster and sustain themselves in what he called “contested environments.”

The Iowa Air Guard’s 132nd Wing is already part of the military’s cyber defense mission. A bill congress recently passed authorizes the 220 MILLION dollar project to replace the Sioux City runway for the planes airmen from 185th Refueling Wing are flying and Osborn says the final step will be to see that funding is included in the military’s budget. Osborn points to other federally-funded infrastructure projects around the state that are part of the military’s transformation, including a 14-million dollar, federally-funded equipment maintenance facility that will be built in Waterloo.

Osborn made his remarks during the annual “Condition of the Guard” address to lawmakers.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds is proposing that Iowa join a handful of other states that have made it legal for pharmacists to make over-the-counter sales of ivermectin (eye-ver-MECK-tin). It’s a prescription drug the F-D-A has approved as treatment parasitic infections, like stomach worms and head lice in humans. During the pandemic, people began to buy ivermectin that had been approved for use in livestock.

Tennessee was the first state to allow ivermectin to be sold over-the-counter without a prescription. Louisiana’s law requires a standing order from a physician, indicating pharmacists may dispense ivermectin if a customer meets certain criteria. The bill Reynolds is proposing isn’t publicly available in the legislature’s online system yet.

The Food and Drug Administration’s website says the agency has not authorized or approved ivermectin for use in prevention or treatment of COVID-19 in humans and it has received multiple reports of patients who have required medical attention after self-medicating with ivermectin intended for animals. Medical groups warn the wrong dosage of ivermectin can cause low blood pressure, seizures and even death.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Corrections, today (Friday), reports 27-year-old Darius Charles Hamilton, who was convicted of Robbery in the 2nd Degree in Woodbury County, failed to report back to the Sioux City Residential Treatment Facility as required on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026.

Hamilton is a 5’6″, 165-pound American Indian or Alaska Native male. He was admitted to the work release facility on Nov. 3, 2025.

IA DOC photo of Darius Charles Hamilton

Persons with information on Hamilton’s whereabouts should contact local police.