Members of the Griswold School Board met during a special session Monday evening and approved separate mask mandates for inside the school and during activities. Superintendent Dave Henrichs said there have been two positive cases of COVID-19 in the Griswold School District. One case the district was notified of came in at around Noon on Friday that affected a student in quarantine, and one notification after school about an affected staff member. 35 students and two staff were essentially affected by the results, or a total of 37.

Henrichs said some of the students were previously exposed due to outside exposure. “If we had the mask mandate,” Henrichs said, “In theory, if it’s worn consistently and properly, our number of people impacted would potentially be zero.” He said the question is, “Do we want to keep our school open, and do we want to provide our kids as many opportunities as possible?”

After considerable discussion, Board Member Ryan Askeland made a motion to “Require all students, staff, and visitors to wear CDC approved face coverings while inside school facilities during the hours of 7:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. during school days, when social distancing is not possible, extending to school transportation,

Griswold School Board mtg. 10/5/20 (Ric Hanson, photos)

regardless of the time of day or if school is in session including required mask breaks for a minimum of 5 minutes not to exceed 10 minutes each hour, while also allowing students one week or until October 14, to determine their virtual learning status.” The mandate goes into effect this Wednesday, October 7th, 2020 and continues through the end of the semester to be revisited at the December Board meeting.

The motion was seconded and approved by a vote of 6-to 1, with Scott Peterson the lone “nay” vote. The Board then continued with discussion on a mask mandate with regard to school-related activities for PARTICIPATING students and staff. Board member Scott Hansen motioned to require masks for activities, “Including both practices and competitions, when social distancing is not possible.” There is an exception however for football, due to mouth guard requirements.

That portion of the mask mandate is also effective as of Wednesday, October 7, 2020, and continuing through the end of the semester. It will be revisited at the December Board meeting. It was agreed also, “The district will follow the conference activity guidelines for spectators.” The motion passed unanimously.

In other business, the Griswold School Board approved a virtual format for Parent-Teacher Conferences, via Google Meet during the same time as previously scheduled, but the meetings will be booked so that sessions do not overlap or multiple parents are not conferencing at the same time. Parents who absolutely must have a face-to-face conference with a teacher, should contact the district and work out a time to do so.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Five Des Moines Black Liberation Movement protesters have filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to block Iowa State Patrol troopers from arresting them for trespassing if they return to the Iowa State Capitol or property surrounding it. The four women and man were among 17 people protesting in support of the Black Lives Matter movement at the Capitol on July 1.

They were arrested after a scuffle broke with officers. They were told by troopers they couldn’t return, some for six months and others for a year. They claim the ban blocks their fundamental constitutional rights of free speech and assembly. A spokesman for the Iowa Attorney General’s office, which will represent the troopers, says they will respond in court.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A judge blocked Iowa’s secretary of state Monday from enforcing an order that barred counties from sending absentee ballot applications to voters with their identification information already filled in. Judge Robert Hanson ruled in favor of state and national Democratic Party groups, who contended that Secretary of State Paul Pate exceeded his authority when he told counties that absentee ballot request forms must be blank when mailed to voters.

Hanson ordered Pate to put enforcement of his directive on hold. Local elections officials said they were studying the ruling to determine the impact, including whether they could take steps to mail ballots to thousands of voters whose requests were previously invalidated based on Pate’s directive.

(Radio Iowa/Missouri Net) – Farmers across western Iowa who planned to move their commodities by barge along the Missouri River this fall could be facing a slowdown. Colonel Bill Hannan, the Kansas City district commander for the U-S Army Corps of Engineers, says barge season may be threatened as work is still underway to repair damage to the navigation channel after three years of high water and widespread flooding.

“The river levels have returned to normal,” Hannan says. “They’re not low, they’re just normal service levels that we would see, but because of all that damage to navigation structures, it’s creating shallow spots in the navigation channel on the river.” Last year’s floods damaged up to 75-percent of the seven-thousand river training structures on the lower Missouri River. Repairs could cost 200-million dollars but the Corps of Engineers only allocated 20-million.

Hannan says he understands the importance of barge traffic with harvest season already underway. “We are doing absolutely everything we can to not let the barge traffic stop,” Hannan says, “because we know the agricultural community is really dependent to move their goods in the fall harvest here.”

Hannan says crews from the Corps and from private contractors are making repairs and guiding barges away from trouble spots. He says the Corps is working hard to find more money to restore the river’s navigation channel.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police have confiscated a 9mm handgun discovered by Transportation Security Administration workers at the Des Moines International Airport. WHO-TV reports that the gun, loaded with five bullets including one in the chamber, was in the man’s carry-on luggage when it was discovered Saturday. Police took the gun.

The man, a resident of Guam, was issued a weapons citation. The TSA says four guns have been discovered at checkpoints at the airport this year. That’s down from 2018 and 2019, when TSA officers discovered 12 guns through security screenings.

Atlantic, IA —Cass County Public Health’s Care for Yourself Program is celebrating Breast Cancer month by raising awareness of resources available to women in Cass County and Southwest Iowa.The Care for Yourself program is part of the National and State Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program that helps reduce risks from breast and cervical cancer by offering free or low-cost cancer screenings to eligible individuals throughout the state of Iowa.

Victoria Means, Care for Yourself Program Coordinator, says “The chance of a woman having invasive breast cancer some time during her life is nearly1 in 8 and every year over 2,000 women in Iowa are diagnosed with breast cancer.” Mean says also, “Just being a woman and growing older increases your risk, but having regular mammograms, in conjunction with breast self-exams and clinical exams, are critical for early diagnosis.”

The Care for Yourself program is a statewide program and can assist women from all of Iowa’s99 counties. Means says “We are able to assist women from any county in Iowa. Women who otherwise might not have access to life saving preventative care, could through the Care for Yourself program and many are able to see their regular primary care provider.”

Those interested in learning more about the Care for Yourself Program can contact Victoria Means, at Cass County Public Health, 712-243-7443.

Page County Deputies on patrol late Saturday night in the area of Nodaway Valley Park, came upon a parked vehicle not in the camping area. The vehicle drew their interest because the park, located about 1.5-miles northeast of Clarinda, is closed to persons not camping, at 10:30-p.m.

A Page County Deputy approached the vehicle and noticed the passenger compartment filled with smoke. When one of the occupants rolled down a window, the Deputy could smell the distinct odor of Marijuana smoke. The three male occupants then exited the vehicle when asked to do so by the Deputy. During the investigation 18-year old Ryan Robert Michael Wilson, of rural Clarinda, was arrested for Possession of a controlled substance/1st Offense.

Two 17-year old males, also from Clarinda, were taken into custody and released to parents. They were cited into Juvenile Court. Wilson was booked into the Page County Jail on $1,000 bond. He later bonded and was released pending further court proceedings.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office Monday (Today), said there were four arrests over the past week. On Oct. 5th (Monday), 58-year old David Joseph Walters, of Treynor, was arrested in Silver City on a warrant for Theft in the 4th Degree. Bond was set at $1,000.

Last Saturday, 47-year old Alfred Henry Wright, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Driving While Barred. His bond was set at $5,000. And, 41-year old Joseph Corey Jack, of Glenwood, was arrested for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. His bond was set at $300.

On Oct. 1st, 54-year old Thomas Lee Chalupa, a homeless person, was arrested at the Douglas County, NE. Courthouse, on a warrant for two county of Failure to Appear. His bond was set at $25,000.  On Sept. 30th, 33-year old Dalerie Faye Parde, of Spalding, NE., was arrested in Gage County, NE., on a Mills County warrant for Violation of Probation. His bond was set at $5,000.

And, the Mills County Sheriff’s Office say 41-year old Annie Vorthmann, of Council Bluffs, was transported to Mercy Hospital by Silver City Rescue, Sunday afternoon, after her 2016 Toyota went off the road. The car was traveling northbound on 284th Street, when Vorthmann apparently fell asleep at the wheel. Once it left the road, the car jumped over a culvert and came to rest in a ditch.

The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports two arrests.  Friday evening, 43-year old Jason Glen Dukes, of Anita, was arrested on an Adair County Felony warrant for: Going Armed with Intent; two counts of Assault while Participating in a Felony; and Criminal Mischief in the 2nd Degree. Dukes was released that same evening on a $5,000 cash or surety bond.

And, 29-year old Ty Alan Brown, of Anita, was arrested Thursday afternoon for Operating a vehicle without the owner’s consent. Authorities say last Thursday morning, Brown allegedly took his mom’s keys to a 2004 Dodge Ram Quad 1500 pickup and used the vehicle to go purchase alcohol. Ty Brown brought the pickup back while his father was on the phone with law enforcement dispatch.

He was cited for the offense at the scene and released on his Own Recognizance.

Sheriff’s Deputies in Page County, Monday morning, responded to emergency call from the courtroom at the Page County Courthouse. The call went out at around 9:20-a.m., after 58-year old David Wayne Taylor of Farragut, became unruly and causing a disturbance in the courtroom, while he was appearing on another matter.

Taylor was taken into custody on a Contempt of Court order from the Magistrate Judge. The Magistrate then issued an order sentencing Taylor to 30 days in the Page County Jail for his actions in court, with immediate custody to the Sheriff.

Taylor was transported to the Page County Jail where he is currently serving his 30 day sentence. Page County Sheriff’s Deputies were assisted by the Clarinda Police Department.