(Radio Iowa) – Woodbury County Sheriff Chad Sheehan, a Republican, announced his is opposed to the vaccine mandate issued by President Joe Biden.

Sheehan’s department has around 120 employees. The president’s mandate calls for any workplace with more than 100 employees to have all workers vaccinated or have weekly COVID testing.

Woodbury County Sheriff Chad Sheehan.

DES MOINES – Today (Friday), Gov. Kim Reynolds announced appointments to Iowa’s boards and commissions.

The following (area resident) appointments are subject to Senate confirmation [Name/County]:

Iowa Comprehensive Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Fund Board
Patricia Beck, Carroll

Iowa Great Places Advisory Board
Danna Kehm, Pottawattamie

Iowa Workforce Development Board 
Brad Elliot, Ringgold

The following appointments are not subject to Senate confirmation:

Empower Rural Iowa Initiative-Connecting
Kevin Cabbage, Montgomery
Justin Wagner, Harrison

Empower Rural Iowa Initiative-Growing
Tina Bakehouse, Mills
Ron Reischl, Carroll

Empower Rural Iowa Initiative-Investing
Chuck Morris, Page
Wayne Pantini, Union

Iowa Arts Council
Donna Dostal, Pottawattamie

Iowa Council for Early ACCESS
Johnathan Wunderlich, Pottawattamie

Iowa Drug Policy Advisory Council
Brenna Bird, Guthrie

Iowa Statewide Interoperable Communications System (ISICS) Board

Daniel Schaffer, Crawford
Jason Hoffman, Carroll

CRESTON, Iowa – Sept. 10, 2021 – The Iowa Department of Transportation’s Creston Construction Office reports a project to set beams for the new Ashworth Road bridge over Interstate 80 in West Des Moines requires closing eastbound I-80 between Jordan Creek Parkway and Grand Prairie Parkway overnight from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 22 and Thursday, Sept. 23, weather permitting.

During this closure, traffic will follow a marked detour route using Jordan Creek Parkway, University Avenue, and Grand Prairie Parkway.

The Iowa DOT reminds motorists to drive with caution, obey the posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, drivers should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.

Cass County Deputy Auditor Sheri Karns said Friday (Today), Gerald A. Brink has filed nomination papers to be placed on the Nov. 2nd ballot for re-election to the City Council At Large, in the City of Atlantic. And, Matt Shehan has filed nomination papers for Mayor of Griswold. Current Mayor Brad Rhine had not filed for re-election as of Friday afternoon.

Karns said also, “We have a number of offices that still don’t have candidates to fill the positions.  Filing deadline is Sept 16^th 5:00 p.m. School Candidates will file with their perspective School Board Secretaries and City Candidates will file with the Cass County Auditor’s Office.”

Here are the open positions for the City Elections in Cass County:

Anita:          City Council- 2 positions

Atlantic:      Ward 2- 1 position

Cumberland:   City Council- 1 position

Lewis:          City Council- 2 positions

City Council Vacancy-1 position (please be sure they put that it is a vacancy position on paperwork)

Marne:        City Council- 2 positions

Massena:    City Council- 2 positions;          Mayor

Wiota:        City Council- 3 positions;             Mayor

(Radio Iowa) – As the nation remembers the 20th anniversary of the Nine Eleven attacks, the memories are especially vivid for an Estherville woman. Cindy Hood was an air traffic controller at the New York Air Route Traffic Control Center on September 11th of 2001. Hood wasn’t on duty but she was at the control center for a training session when the class was told an airplane had hit the World Trade Center.

Several days after the towers fell, Hood took a group of Girl Scouts to Ground Zero to volunteer at a soup kitchen feeding the recovery crews. Between serving meals, they were able to observe something very solemn near the wreckage.

Hood and her husband, Mark, lived in the town of Deer Park on Long Island. A neighbor was among the firefighters who was killed when the towers collapsed.

Nearly three-thousand people died in the attacks with another six-thousand injured. It remains the deadliest terrorist attack in world history.

(Atlantic, Iowa) — Officials with Cass Health report Cass Health’s Senior Life Solutions team is hosting a free community walk in support of Suicide Awareness Month. The event takes place Wednesday, September 29, 2021 beginning at 6:30 pm, at the Rotary Shelter located at the Schildberg Recreation Area. The event is being co-hosted by Healthy Cass County and Cass County Iowa State University Extension.

Karmen Roland, RN, Program Director of Senior Life Solutions, said “We welcome participants of all ages to join us to show support for those who have been impacted by suicide. Showing up to community events like this is one small way that each of us can help normalize mental health care and show our neighbors that we’re here for them.” The event will kick-off (at 6:30 pm) with local speakers, Noelle Whitney and Christal Sullivan, who will share their story on how suicide has touched their lives. The walk portion of the evening will begin around 7 pm. Participants will walk the trail loop at the Schildberg Recreation Area. Information about mental health services and community resources as well as light refreshments will be available at the Rotary Shelter.

Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh says “People across the county identified mental health as the number one health need in the recent Community Health Needs Assessment. It’s so important to have events like this where we can come together and show our support. It’s OK to not be OK. We want to end the stigma in Cass County.” For community members who would like to contribute their own experiences and stories about how suicide has impacted their lives, an anonymous form is available at casshealth.org/suicideawarenessevent

Roland says “We want to share stories from our own community members. We’ll post their comments on the night of the event for all participants to read, but we will keep it anonymous.” For more information, go to casshealth.org or check out the Facebook event.

EAGLE GROVE, Iowa — An employee at a northern Iowa pork production plant died early this (Friday) morning. Officials with Prestage Foods of Iowa, in Eagle Grove, said a mechanic, 57-year old Jeffrey Leonardini died while he was performing routine maintenance duties during the third shift. The man had been with Prestage Foods of Iowa since March of 2019, when the plant opened.

Plant officials say the Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was notified, and that the company is working in full cooperation with OSHA Iowa. An internal investigation is also underway. Prestage Foods is providing support to its employees, through their Assistance Program.

In February, an employee was killed in a stabbing at the plant. DCI officials said that 50-year-old Wayne Smith, of Fort Dodge, died in that incident. Lukouxs Brown, of Fort Dodge, is charged with first-degree murder in the case.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Chamber Ambassadors were hosted by Heritage House on Thursday, September 9th to celebrate new staff. Executive Director, Peter Gray, introduced the Ambassadors to Julian Bedolla who came on board in May as the Executive Chef/Food & Beverage Director. Julian is originally from California and has an extensive background in country club dining across the US and is experienced in a large variety of cuisines. Julian enjoys creating experience through food and encouraging those around him to try new combinations of flavors.

Diane Funk has been with Heritage House for many years and has recently taken on the role of Director of Nursing in the Health Center. Diane has rich knowledge and experience in long-term care and infectious disease control. The Ambassadors were also introduced to Sarah Lindeman as the new business office manager.

Pictured Left to Right, Standing: Peter Gray, Kelsey Beschorner, Jim Kickland, Heidi Hinman, Dr. Keith Leonard, Bill Saluk, Dawn Marnin, Dolly Bergmann, Donnie Drennan, Kathie Hockenberry, Rich Perry, Krysta Hanson, Lana Westphalen, Haley Kickland.
Pictured Left to Right, Seated: Julian Bedolla, Diane Funk, Sarah Lindeman and Kennedy Freund. (Photo submitted)

Heritage House’s mission is to support the independence, health, and well-being of older adults wherever they call home. Heritage House provides multiple lifestyle options including independent living, assisted living, short-term rehabilitation, memory support, and long-term care.

For more information on Heritage House visit https://www.wesleylife.org/heritage-house or at 1200 Brookridge Circle in Atlantic.

(Radio Iowa) – YouTube and Facebook users have started seeing a new ad touting Iowa as a destination for tourists and for workers. The “This Is Iowa” ad that debuted this week on social media platforms will soon be running on Midwest television stations and five national cable networks. A spokeswoman for the Iowa Economic Development Authority said $3.7 million in federal pandemic recovery funds are being used for the multi-media campaign. “This is part of our ‘This Is Iowa’ initiative,” said the IEDA’s Staci Hupp-Ballard, “which is really about encouraging people to visit, live, work and do business in Iowa.”

The project was started in 2019. “It was built on research around the perceptions of Iowa which showed that most people simply don’t know enough about the state to form an accurate opinion,” Hupp-Ballard said. “That’s a challenge, but it’s also an opportunity for us.” The latest survey from a national market research firm called Destination Analysts shows about half of Americans are planning an overnight trip somewhere this fall. Hupp-Ballard said this regional campaign is meant to build on that, to attract more visitors from surrounding states.

“Most people need to explore a place before they’ll seriously consider moving there,” Hupp-Ballard said, “and so what’s great about ‘This Is Iowa’ is it brings…our tourism and our workforce and business marketing together.” At the start of the 30 second ad the words “adventure, unexpected, vibrant and a secret worth sharing” flash on the screen. Some of the images that flash on the screen are of a hiking trail, a sailboat on a lake, and the Des Moines skyline at night.

“This is Iowa, we just haven’t been properly introduced,” the narrator says at the six-second mark of the ad. The advertisement ends with an aerial view of the High Trestle Bridge near Madrid lit in blue lights at night.