Police in Red Oak arrested a man Wednesday evening on theft charge.  20-year old Nicholas Alan Foster, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 6:30-p.m. in the 300 block of E. Joy Street, for Theft in the 5th Degree (a simple misdemeanor). He was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $300 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Due to recent good weather, harvest activity in Iowa is progressing at a pace that’s a few weeks ahead of normal. Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig says despite all the obstacles of the pandemic, this has turned out to be a good growing season for most Iowa farmers.  “We’re ahead of schedule on harvest and, you know, we’re hearing some OK yields, all things considered,” Naig says. “Certainly western Iowa got started first and now you are seeing it really work across into eastern Iowa.”

Naig says the exception to the positive harvest news would be areas impacted by the August 10th’ derecho that flattened many fields in the central third of the state.  “It’s bad,” Naig says. “There’s millions of acres that were significantly damaged and folks are having to go out and it’s hard work to get that crop picked up. A lot of those acres were declared a total loss and they’ve settled with crop insurance. A challenging year no doubt, one that a lot of us want to put in the rear view mirror from the harvest standpoint.”

Naig says a USDA risk management agency administrator will be in Iowa today (Thursday) to take an up-close look at the derecho-damaged areas. The U-S-D-A’s weekly crop report issued Monday showed one quarter of Iowa’s corn crop had been harvested. That’s more than three weeks ahead of last year and 12 days ahead of the five-year average. The report found 55 percent of soybeans have been harvested — only the second time in the last 15 years that at least half of the Iowa soybean crop was harvested by the first Monday of October.

(Radio Iowa) – Democratic Congresswoman Cindy Axne says she was shocked by President Trump’s announcement that all pandemic relief negotiations were suspended until after the election. Axne says she was on a conference call with House Democrats, being briefed about the latest round of negotiations, when the president sent his tweet.

“Deciding that it was more important for him to push something off until after the Election instead of helping the American people put food on the table, make sure that our health care providers had the PPE that they needed and get our economy back up and running,” Axne says.

Trump has since backtracked, indicating that before November 3rd he’d sign bills providing relief to businesses and sending another 12-hundred dollar stimulus check to most Americans. Republican David Young is the former third district congressman who is running against Axne this year and he blames Democrats in the House for the impasse. But Young says in addition to Trump’s latest list, the package should include money for the child care industry as well as liability protections to shield small businesses from Covid-related lawsuits.

“There’s a package that lingering and almost dead probably in Washington, D.C. because of dysfunction that could be used right now,” he says, “…to help Iowans get out of this suffering.” Young and Axne made their comments during a debate late Wednesday afternoon on W-H-O Television.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CDT

JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — Amid surging virus case numbers in Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds is evoking President Donald Trump in saying, “We can’t let COVID-19 dominate our lives.” Reynolds acknowledged Wednesday that Iowa is seeing surging numbers of coronavirus cases and record hospitalizations. But she insists the health care system can handle the increase and no further action is needed to reduce infections. Reynolds argued that she must balance safety precautions against moves to open businesses, schools and return to normal life. There were 444 people being treated for the coronavirus in hospitals as of Wednesday morning. In the past 24 hours, the state had 919 new confirmed positive cases and 15 more deaths.

VAN METER, Iowa (AP) — A central Iowa coach and teacher has been charged after police say he assaulted one of a group of students trying to toilet-paper his house. Police say Joel Bartz stopped a truck carrying a group of teens near his home around 10 p.m. on Sept. 17. A criminal complaint says that when one of the students got out of the truck and approached the teacher, Bartz grabbed the student and pulled him down while punching him in the back and head. Bartz is charged with assault and criminal mischief. He is Van Meter School District middle school science teacher and coach on the high school football and basketball teams. The district says he has been placed on leave.

UNDATED (AP) — Microsoft has announced plans to build two more data centers in the Des Moines area. The Des Moines Register reports that the tech giant confirmed that its land purchases last month are for the development of more space for servers that bolster its cloud computing operations. West Des Moines Community and Economic Development Director Clyde Evans said he expects developers to break ground on the new projects next September and open the first buildings in the fall of 2022. Evans said the projects typically cost between $1-2 billion, occupy about 1.2 million-1.8 million square feet and employ 50-75 workers.

WYOMING, Iowa (AP) — A prosecutor has determined that a deputy was justified in shooting and wounding a man who fired into a home in eastern Iowa and waived a firearm at law enforcement. The Jones County Attorney’s Office said in a news release Wednesday that the determination was reached after an investigator interviewed witnesses about the Sept. 21 shooting of 51-year-old James Orval Bartram and reviewed body camera and dashcam video.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Court of Appeals has denied the appeal of a West Des Moines woman convicted of starving her adopted daughter to death. Nicole Finn appealed her conviction for first-degree murder in the death of Natalie Finn and three counts of first-degree kidnapping involving Natalie and two other children.

Nicole Finn (File Photo)

The murder charge was merged with the kidnapping charges and she is serving three consecutive life sentences.

Nicole Finn argued the jury was improperly instructed on the meaning of the term kidnapping. Evidence in the case indicated Natalie Finn was emaciated when found and she and the other children had been locked in a room with very little food. The Appeals Court ruled substantial evidence supports the jury’s finding that the three children were “confined” within the meaning of the instruction given on kidnapping. They denied that claim and several others put forth by Nicole Finn in her appeal.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Senator Joni Ernst says the economic stimulus plan drafted by a bipartisan group of House Democrats and Republicans could be the starting point for renewed negotiations. “I do hope that we move forward with a package, but it does have to be focused on Covid-19 relief,” Ernst says. On Tuesday, President Trump postponed negotiations until after the Election.

A few hours later, Trump announced on Twitter he’d immediately accept bills providing relief for the airline industry and small businesses as well as another round of stimulus checks to individuals. The plan from the bipartisan “Problem Solvers” Caucus in the House calls for one-and-a-half TRILLION dollars in spending. “It’s probably still a little higher than what we would want to see in the senate, but — again — it is such a great starting place,” Ernst says.

House Democrats have passed two pandemic relief packages that stalled in the Senate. Ernst says she’s opposed to provisions in those bills that would have provided more federal money to states and cities.
* “What Iowa taxpayers tell me is why should I, when I do the right thing, have to bail out another state?” Ernst says. Ernst made her comments after visiting a biodiesel plant in Mason City. Earlier Wednesday, Ernst toured Winnebago Industries facilities in Forest City.

Ernst, who is co-chair of the 12-member Senate R-V Caucus, notes R-V sales have increased during the pandemic. “People are fascinated with spending time as a family, but in a safe way and they have found that camping and RV-type activities really fill that gap where maybe they’re not able to do a traditional type of family get-away where they’re going to a hotel somewhere,” Ernst says. Winnebago managers highlighted solar and lithium battery technology that’s incorporated in the company’s R-Vs.

The Atlantic City Council acted on a number of matters during their regular meeting, Wednesday evening:

• They approved an Order to refer a proposal to vacate an obsolete Right-Of-Way (ROW) on E. 9th Street, to the Planning and Zoning Commission. The Commission on Oct. 13th will review the proposal and forward its recommendation to back to the City Council. The Council will hold a public hearing and three readings of the ordinance before it becomes official.
• The Council approved an Amended City Attorney Retainer Agreement with Otto, Lorence & Wiederstein, P.L.L.C, for the services of Blake Miller, who works with a law firm out of Harlan. He replaces Audubon County Attorney Sarah Jennings, who represented Atlantic during matters that caused a conflict of interest with our City Attorney Dave Wiederstein.
• The Council held and passed the second reading of an Ordinance Vacating a City ROW between Hemlock & Sycamore Streets, south of E. 18th Street, to include “Phantom” alley.
• And, the Atlantic City Council passed, by a vote of 5-to 1, the first reading of an ordinance that amends the Code of Ordinances, with regard to “Stop Required” at the intersection of 22nd & Olive Streets. The nay vote came from Councilman Dick Casady. Councilperson Kathy Somers was absent from the proceedings.

The City’s Community Protection Committee (CPC) had unanimously recommended the current two-way stop at the intersection be expanded to four-way, and they recommend making the intersection of 32nd Street and Chestnut be converted to a three-way stop, to slow down the traffic flow in that area. During the Public Comment portion of the Atlantic City Council meeting, resident  Dale Retallic said he and most of the residents in the area of 22nd and Olive oppose the four-way stop for a number of reasons.

Among them is the speed limit, which is 35-mph. He says motorists are speeding, the City needs to hand out tickets, which will get the point across for traffic to slow down.

In other business, a Resolution adopting a policy on limiting street closures for certain events failed by a vote of 5-to-1. The CPC recommended approval of the Resolution, which says street closure request shall be granted no more than twice per year, per individual or business, and that such closures be made for “a good cause,” but Events sponsored directly by the City or through the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce, would be exempt from the requirement.

A majority of the Council felt is was not in the best interests of the City to prevent bringing business and visitors to town through the use of limited street or alley closures. Councilmen Pat McCurdy and Gerald Brink expressed their opposing views….

Police Chief Dave Erickson said there have been no problems associated with the temporary closure of certain streets or alleys associated with special events. The Council agreed it would be best to continue each request on a case-by-case basis.  And finally, the Council, Wednesday, accepted the Tax Sale Certificate for 301 Maple and 101 Cedar Streets. They also approved a Change Order for the Downtown Revitalization Project.

WYOMING, Iowa (AP) — A prosecutor has determined that a deputy was justified in shooting and wounding a man who fired into a home in eastern Iowa and waived a firearm at law enforcement. The Jones County Attorney’s Office said in a news release Wednesday that the determination was reached after an investigator interviewed witnesses about the Sept. 21 shooting of 51-year-old James Orval Bartram and reviewed body camera and dashcam video.

(A-P) – Microsoft has announced plans to build two more data centers in the Des Moines area. The Des Moines Register reports that the tech giant confirmed that its land purchases last month are for the development of more space for servers that bolster its cloud computing operations.

West Des Moines Community and Economic Development Director Clyde Evans said he expects developers to break ground on the new projects next September and open the first buildings in the fall of 2022. Evans said the projects typically cost between $1-2 billion, occupy about 1.2 million-1.8 million square feet and employ 50-75 workers.

VAN METER, Iowa (AP) — A central Iowa coach and teacher has been charged after police say he assaulted one of a group of students trying to toilet-paper his house. Police say Joel Bartz stopped a truck carrying a group of teens near his home around 10 p.m. on Sept. 17. A criminal complaint says that when one of the students got out of the truck and approached the teacher, Bartz grabbed the student and pulled him down while punching him in the back and head.

Bartz is charged with assault and criminal mischief. He is Van Meter School District middle school science teacher and coach on the high school football and basketball teams. The district says he has been placed on leave.