(Radio Iowa) – This week’s announcement from Governor Kim Reynolds eliminating mask mandates in schools and most businesses is making some Iowans anxious. Plus, the C-D-C says fully vaccinated people no longer need to socially distance or wear masks indoors, with some exceptions. Douglas Gentile, a psychology professor at Iowa State University, says many of us will need to ease slowly into resuming pre-pandemic activities.

“If you go out and you find ‘Oh my God, I’m freaking out,’ then leave,” Gentile says. “There’s nothing wrong with that, and try again another day, but don’t assume you’re never going to be okay going out to dinner again.” Gentile says it’s normal if activities don’t initially feel the same way they did before the pandemic, and if fully vaccinated people want to continue wearing masks, that’s also fine. Gentile says despite the drastic change in public health guidance, Iowans need to take the return to “normal” at their own pace.

“Don’t believe that your feelings should be the same as anyone else’s,” Gentile says. “We all handle stress differently. We’ve all come through this situation differently. We’ve all had very different experiences of it.” COVID-19 has affected the mental health of many Iowans, and some parents are noticing changes in their children. Janette Lems, of Johnston, says the trouble for her kids began when they started school last fall and she sought out in-person play therapy.

“I called eight different places. I was told that they had no openings until May and this was in January,” Lems says. “I had no idea that there were so many troubled children that were, at the age of five or six, having to seek out mental health.” According to the CDC, mental health-related emergency room visits increased 24 percent for young children and 31 percent for teens from March to October of last year compared to 2019.

(reporting by Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)

Police in Glenwood report four arrests took place, Thursday. Authorities say:

• 25-year-old Kameron Myers, of Glenwood, was arrested for Child Endangerment and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Meyrs’ total cash or surety bond was set at $2,300.
• 32-year-old Tera McAtee, of Glenwood, was arrested for Child Endangerment, Possession of a controlled substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Her bond was set at $3,300.
• 54-year-old Christina Jennings, of Glenwood, was arrested for Child Endangerment, Possession of a controlled substance, Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia, Unlawful possession of prescription drug and Gathering where controlled substance are used, Her bond was set at $9,300.
• And, 20-year-old Dezirae Kuhl, of Glenwood, was arrested on a Mills Co Warrant for Domestic Abuse Assault. She was being held without bond until seen by a magistrate judge.

Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department Director Bryant Rasmussen, on Friday, said that “With the current weather pattern, heating up of the pool is taking longer. With regards to this the pool will open up on the June 7^th as opposed to the 1^st to allow for more time to increase the temperature of the water.”

WASHINGTON – This week, Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-03) was named Vice-Chair of the Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development and Insurance. In a statement to the media, Axne said “During my first two years in Congress, it has been my privilege to work with my Committee colleagues to support improving the safety and affordability of housing, and it is my honor to be named as Vice Chair of the Housing, Community Development and Insurance Subcommittee.

“This past year has shown how absolutely critical housing is to the health and prosperity of American families, and I look forward to working with our Chairs and with members on both sides of the aisle to continue crafting and advancing policies that will help improve access to affordable housing, promote equity, and ensure that rural and urban communities alike have the resources to invest in the success of their residents.”

Her office says Rep. Axne has used her position on the subcommittee to support improved housing access and increased investments in affordable housing, and to advocate for the tens of thousands of Iowans that work in the insurance industry. Earlier this year, two Rep. Axne bills aimed at supporting Iowa’s homeowners and renters were included in the American Rescue Plan, a COVID-19 relief package that included over $30 billion in housing support. The House also recently passed legislation authored by Rep. Axne to preserve affordable housing options in rural areas. 

Rep. Axne is also a member of the Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship and Capital Markets

The Atlantic Chamber Ambassadors were hosted by NISHNANET on Thursday, May 20^th, 2021. The Ambassadors learned more about NISHNANET’s goals and expansion with their new 514 Chestnut store.

NISHNANET came to serve the rural Atlantic and Audubon counties in 2018. Since then, NISHNANET has expanded to serve over 300 customers providing them with low cost, high-speed internet, fiber optics, phone service, tech support, and more.

With the opening of their new Customer Service hub at 514 Chestnut Street, NISHNANET will be able to better support their existing customers and non-customers alike by providing internet technology support and high-quality technology retail. Scott Bennett, owner, shared that with this store, the company can answer questions in a detailed way and offer unique support in which when a customer purchases an item, the employee will configure the device and when the customer returns home, the device will work providing one on one customer support.

With NISHNANET’s new walk-in space, the question is raised, “What will be done with their original location at 2 East 6^th Street?” Scott explained that with Cass/Atlantic Development’s help, they plan to turn their previous space into a “shared workspace.” A shared workspace allows those that work remotely to have access to a desk, telephone line, fast internet, printer, etc. The spaces can be rented with the purchase of a membership. More details will be released as the space comes together in July.

To keep up with NISHNANET, visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/nishnanet and be sure to check out the new space located at 514 Chestnut Street.

NISHNANET can also be reached at 712-243-2497.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports two arrests. On May 14th, 34-year-old Reciever Berdon, of Atlantic, was arrested on a charge of OWI 1^st offense.  Berdon was transported to Cass County Jail and was later released on his ow recognizance.

And, on May 17th, Cass County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 37-year-old Ryan Joel Castle, of Griswold, on two Cass County warrants for probation violations.   Castle was transported from the Pottawattamie County Jail to the Cass County Jail where he is being held on $40,000 bond.

“All criminal charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in the court of law.”

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds asked Republican legislators to pass a bill to prohibit transgender athletes from competing in girls sports, but House Speaker Pat Grassley says they ran out of time. “We just had a lot of other things on our agenda and on our plate to wrap up the end of session and I don’t think we ever got to the point where everyone was comfortable with what that would look like right now,” Grassley says.

The 2021 legislative session ended late — very late — Wednesday evening. Reynolds says letting biological males who identify as females compete in volleyball, softball and other girls sports in Iowa is unfair to girls who’re trying for college scholarships. While the issue was tabled in the 2021 session, Grassley says there remains a level of support among Republicans for the ban.

“That will be part of the conversations between now and the next session, what legislation would look like,” Grassley says. “I think we just want to make sure the House, Senate and the governor are all on the same page.” Governor Reynolds publicly revealed her request for the transathlete ban three weeks ago during a Fox News forum with other G-O-P governors. House Democratic Leader Todd Prichard of Charles City says that’s part of a pattern.

“This is a governor that’s put headlines and impressing viewers of Fox News over being a leader for Iowa,” Prichard says. Representative Jennifer Konfrst of Windsor Heights, the second-ranking Democrat in the House, says it’s a divisive policy that hurts Iowa’s reputation and transgender students. “She’s been working to make sure that she’s a national figure by making political statements…and trying to build her brand. That’s not her job,” Konfrst says. “She’s supposed to serve Iowans.”

Nearly two months ago, South Dakota’s governor issued an executive order banning transgender athletes from girls sports in public high schools and public colleges and universities and similar legislation has been introduced in more than two dozen other states.

(Radio Iowa) – The Republican-led Iowa legislature passed a second round of election law changes this week, including limits on who can take someone else’s absentee ballot to the county auditor’s office. Senator Roby Smith, a Republican from Bettendorf, says there are all sorts of security provisions once an absentee ballot reaches a county auditor’s office, but without these changes, anyone can grab someone’s absentee ballot and claim they’ll deliver it.

“It was treated like a Kleenex. There’s no security when someone can knock on your door. ‘Oh, yeah, I’ll return your ballot,'” Smith says. “You don’t know who it is. They can open it up. They change the vote. They can throw it away. They could shred it.” Family members may deliver a relative’s absentee ballot and any registered voter in Iowa can help two blind or disabled voters deliver their absentee ballot to the county auditor’s office.

Political parties, unions and campaigns cannot have paid representatives or volunteers collect absentee ballots. Senator Pam Jochum of Dubuque and all the Democrats present Wednesday opposed the bill. “One more nail in democracy’s coffin,” Jochum said. “You’ve been working overtime, pal…to make sure you are creating an obstacle course for Iowa’s voters.” Senator James Carlin, a Republican from Sioux City, says the FEDERAL election law congress has proposed is designed to facilitate fraud and Iowa needs strong state rules.

“I like knowing that the people who are voting are who they say they are,” Carlin said, “and my trust issue, whatever it is, has really been triggered since Election Day.” Senator Tony Bisignano, a Democrat from Des Moines, says Republicans are using former President Trump’s claims of a rigged election as their guide for this year’s election-related bills. “What you’re doing is all based on a premise of a lie,” Bisignano said. “It’s a big lie.”

The election bill Republicans approved on the 2021 legislative session’s final day covers a wide range of issues. It stipulates 17-year-olds who’ve registered to vote because they’ll be 18 by Election Day are not to be removed when voters are cut from registration lists if they haven’t cast a ballot in the last General Election. That problem cropped up as a result of the election law passed earlier in the legislative session.

Creston police report the arrest of John Antonio Medina, 35, of Waterloo, Iowa at 1:48 pm on May 20, 2021, on a charge of Theft 5th.

Medina was cited and released on a Promise to Appear