By DAVID PITT Associated Press
Dozens of students in Iowa schools were quarantined after both staff and students tested positive for the coronavirus. Virus cases surged Thursday by more than 1,300 across the state in the last 24 hours. Superintendent for the Hartwick-Ladora-Victor Community School District says kindergarten through sixth grade students are in quarantined after a staff member tested positive Tuesday. High school students in North Scott switched to online instruction since Friday after nearly a quarter of students were absent.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday released details on arrests dating back to September 17th.

9-23-20 – 44-year-old Charlie Raymond Bird of Hancock was arrested by Pott County authorities on an active warrant for failure to appear for initial court appearance in Shelby County Magistrate Court.   Bird was released on 8/29 with a promise to appear and failed to make said appearance.    Bird was seen the later that evening and plead guilty to the charges and assessed a fine and released from jail.

9-22-20 – Two people arrested following a traffic stop along the 1100 block of Highway M16. 29-year-old Dale John Kraft of Bellevue NE was arrested for felon in possession of firearm, possession of drug paraphernalia, no seat belt, no proof of insurance, and speeding citation.     Kraft was held in jail without bonding pending appearance before magistrate, where he was released later after posting a required $5,000 surety bond.     The passenger, 24-year-old Isabella Lucille James from Omaha, NE was also arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia.  James was released the following morning on her own recognizance.

9-21-20 – 40-year-old Jason Michael Parker of Avoca turned himself into authorities on an active warrant from earlier investigation regarding a complaint filed with the Sheriff’s Office.  Parker was charged with Domestic Abuse assault and attempted burglary 2^nd and held in jail under no bond pending appearance before the magistrate.    Parker was released the following day on his own recognizance.

9-21-20 – 45-year-old Scott Allen Hall of Belmond IA, and 47-year-old Jennifer Ann Hall of Belmond were arrested on active warrants out of Shelby County for controlled substance violation, failure to affix drug tax stamp, prohibited acts penalties:    Scott Hall is being held in jail under a $25,000 cash or surety while Jennifer Hall is being held under $5,000 cash or surety bond pending future court date.

9-20-20 – 35-year-old Alexander Patrick Pederson of Irwin was arrested following a traffic stop along the 1700 block of Highway M47.   Irwin was charged with Prohibited Acts, Possession of Controlled substance marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and failure to maintain control.    Pederson was transported to the jail without incident and held under a $3300 cash or surety bond and was released the following morning on his own recognizance and given a future court date.

9-19-20 – 31-year-old Dustin Allen Delgado of Irwin was arrested following a traffic stop the 1400 block of Highway M47.   Delgado was charged with driving while barred – habitual offender and transported to the jail without incident.    Delgado was original held under $2000 cash or surety bond, and after appearance with Magistrate required to post $1000 cash or surety bond.   Delgado was given a future court date and released after posting the requirement surety bond.

9-17-20- Two people were arrested after a traffic stop along County Road M-16 and 750^th St in Shelby County.  Upon further investigation, 54-year-old Loni Sue Anderson of Shelby and 50-year-old James Patrick Heffernan of Dunlap were arrested for being in violation of a contact order against each other.    Furthermore, Heffernan was charged with possession of controlled substance methamphetamine, and possession of drug paraphernalia.    Both parties were transferred to the jail without incident, and Anderson was released the following morning on her own recognizance.   Heffernan was held in jail under a $5000 cash or surety bond, and a warrant for failure to serve previous jail time mittimus.   He was released later after posting required cash bond and serving jail time from previous charge.

9-17-20 – 56-year-old Rafael Limon-Mora of Denison was arrested from the Iowa State Patrol and being charged with driving while barred habitual offender.   Limon-Mora was brought to the jail and held under $2000 cash or surety bond and released the following morning on his own recognizance.

9-17-20 – 36-year-old Jesse James Bauer of Fountain CO was arrested following a traffic stop along the 400 block of Highway M47.    Bauer was charged with prohibited acts, possession of controlled substance marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and speeding citation.   Bauer was transported to the jail without incident and held under $3300 cash or surety bond, and was then released on his own recognizance, the following morning.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office released details on a couple of accidents that occurred in the past two days.

On Wednesday, September 23rd an accident occurred on Highway 59 at 11:16 a.m. A 2006 Chevy truck driven by 69-year-old Judith Oshel of Creston was traveling southbound on Highway 59 at a slow rate of speed. A number of cars were passing Oshel and a 1994 Peterbilt Semi pulling a tanker trailer driven by 66-year-old Dean Feser of Castana began to pass. Oshel then attempted to turn left into a driveway and failed to signal until Feser was already passing. Oshel turned into the side of the semi, causing both vehicles to enter the east ditch. No injuries were reported and Oshel was cited for Failure to Signal.

On Thursday, September 24th at 12:40 a.m. Mills County Deputies responded to an accident at Hilman Road and Highway 34. A 2018 Mitsubishi driven by 41-year-old Steven Niemet was traveling westbound on Highway 34 near Hilman Avenue when it collided with a tire in the roadway. A 2007 Peterbilt Semi driven by 59-year-old Paul Reinick of Lincoln, NE was pulled over on the side of the roadway after losing two tires that were not properly installed on the trailer. No injuries occurred in the accident. The second tire lost by Reinick was found in the median.

A Shenandoah man was arrested by Red Oak Police on Wednesday afternoon following a traffic stop. Police conducted the stop on US Highway 34 and Ironwood Avenue at 2:54 p.m. After investigation 34-year-old Brandon Christopher Aradanas of Shenandoah was arrested for a Carrying Weapons Violation and Possession of a Controlled Substance. Aradanas was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $2,000 bond.

A young Omaha woman has died following a serious accident on Interstate 29 Southbound on Wednesday. The accident occurred at 10:34 a.m. at the 53 miler-marker. 23-year-old Elexa Robinson of Omaha was in critical condition at the time of the accident but succumbed to her injuries later in the evening. The accident is still under investigation and no further details are known at this time.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A state court judge says he will rule before the end of the day Friday on whether to halt enforcement of a state law that prohibits county election officials from using information readily available in the voter registration database to fill in missing information on a voter’s absentee ballot request form. The law pushed through by Republican lawmakers in June has been challenged in court by two Latino advocacy groups. It requires county election officials to contact the voter by phone, email or mail to confirm missing information. Supporters say it’s a voter fraud protection measure. The League of United Latin American Citizens and Majority Forward say in their lawsuit that it’s an unfair burden and unconstitutional.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A state audit released this week asserts that Gov. Kim Reynolds appointed the director of the Iowa Department of Corrections in a process that violated state law. Reynolds named department veteran Beth Skinner as director in June 2019, replacing retiring interim Director Dan Craig. The Iowa Senate approved Skinner’s appointment in February. But state law requires the Iowa Board of Corrections to recommend qualified individuals to the governor when a vacancy for corrections director exists. The Des Moines Register reports that the state auditor found that hadn’t happened in Skinner’s case. It was not immediately clear what — if any — action would be taken as result of the audit.

The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce has announced an AtlantiCash giveaway beginning today.

“Two big factors of the Chamber’s income are events and sponsorship dollars. Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we haven’t been able to host any large events, like AtlanticFest, which has put a strain on income. Not being able to have events has also put a strain on foot traffic in businesses and getting the community out and about safely. We wanted to think of a way to generate income, support our membership and businesses and engage the community, all without drawing a crowd. We felt an AtlantiCash giveaway was the perfect fit,” Bailey Smith, Executive Director at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce stated.

The Chamber will be selling raffle tickets beginning today, September 24th through October 15th for $20 a ticket, three tickets for $50 or 6 tickets for $100. Individuals who purchase tickets will be entered into a drawing to win $1,000, $750 or $500 in AtlantiCash. All additional proceeds will stay with the Chamber to continue supporting business and community activities.

“AtlantiCash is money that has to be spent in Atlantic. We hope by doing this giveaway it will give the business community a boost and get shoppers out, going into businesses and seeing the importance of shopping local,” mentioned Smith.

Tickets can be purchased at the Chamber office, over the phone at 712-243-3017 or email chamber@atlanticiowa.com. For more information or to learn more about AtlantiCash, visit www.atlanticiowa.com.