The Cass County Sheriff’s Office has released information on an accident and a recent arrest. Officials say at around 2:47-a.m., Saturday, Deputies responded to a single-vehicle accident on I-80 in Cass County. A 2021 Freightliner driven by 24-year old Hassan Abdirahman Yahye, of St. Paul, MN, was westbound on I-80 in a construction zone, when the vehicle took evasive action to avoid a motorcycle and ended up in the median. The rig came to rest against the steel cable barrier. No injuries were reported. Damage to the vehicle is estimated at $14,000; damage to the steel barrier is estimated at $1,000. No citations were issued.

And, on Friday, 53-year old Rex Dean McDermott, of Atlantic, was arrested on a charge of Public Intoxication. McDermott was taken to the Cass County Jail and released the following day on $300 bond.

Officials with the City of Atlantic, today (Monday), issued a statement with regard to nuisance properties: “In an effort to continue cleaning up Atlantic and creating a safe, healthy community, the Atlantic Police Department will be working in conjunction with Atlantic Code Enforcement Officers, in locating and eradicating nuisances. These nuisances can include dilapidated buildings, compounding trash piles, unmowed grass, junk vehicles, improperly parked vehicles, and more.”

The City says “Officers may be seen in residential areas viewing “nuisances” [mentioned]. Over-parked vehicles, junk/broken down vehicles being stored in the yard, vehicles being stored on non-approved or not-hard surfaces, tall grass and piling trash, are examples of the nuisances that will be addressed by either Atlantic Police Officers of Code Enforcement Officers.”

The City encourages residents to “Please take a moment to survey your property and check for items that may be of concern. Officers investigating potential violations will give ample notice through abatement procedures of what the concern(s) is/are, how to resolve the issue(s) and how soon the problem area(s) must be resolved. Officials say “Officers may write municipal infraction citations if the owners continue to disregard the opportunities to fix and abatable issues.

Anyone with questions or concerns should contact the Atlantic Police Department at 712-243-3512.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A judge is refusing to block a Republican-backed Iowa law that makes it harder for county officials to process absentee ballot applications and more likely that incomplete requests won’t be fulfilled. In an opinion released Monday, Judge Lars Anderson rejects arguments by a Latino civil rights organization and a Democratic Party group that the law is an undue burden on the fundamental right to vote.

The ruling is another victory for Republicans who want to limit absentee voting, which begins next week in Iowa. Republicans have already invalidated tens of thousands of absentee ballot applications in three counties.

Des Moines, Iowa – Officials with the Iowa Insurance Division report 60-year old Dwight Jay Roberts, of Indianola, faces one count of Insurance Fraud – Presenting False Information, and one count of Theft 2nd Degree. Both are Class-D Felony offenses. The charges are the results of an investigation by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau that began in July, 2019.

According to criminal complaints filed by the Insurance Fraud Bureau, Roberts made false statements in connection with a disability insurance claim and received insurance benefits due to these false statements. On September 23, 2020, Roberts was charged and released with a promise to appear in court.

Iowans with information about insurance fraud are encouraged to contact the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau at 515-654-6556.

(Atlantic) – The recent rains and the more moderate temperatures make this fall a great time for gardening projects. And, if you’re looking for late-season additions to your yard and garden, the Cass County Master Gardeners have just the event for you!  Their second annual Fall Plant Sale will be held Saturday, October 10th, at the Cass County Community Center, (805 W 10th Street, on the Cass County Fairgrounds).  The sale begins at 8 AM, and will be held in the front parking lot of the Community Center. Interested gardeners are encouraged to arrive early for best plant selection, as the annual spring and fall sales occasionally sell out before 10 AM.

The sale will be open to the public to purchase divided perennials suitable for fall planting. Plants already confirmed to be on the sale include hosta, spring-flowering bulbs, daylilies, perennial geranium, sedum, ornamental grasses, and Naked Lady bulbs. Additional plants will continue to be added to the sale, as well as possibly some garden tools and decor.

The Master Gardeners were unable to hold their annual Spring Plant Sale this year due to the COVID pandemic, so a large selection is anticipated as this will be the only opportunity to purchase from the group this year.  Due to the pandemic, several safety measures will be in place for this sale, including recommending the use of masks, spreading out sale items to allow for social distancing, a one-way traffic flow for shoppers and, if necessary, limiting the number of people shopping at any given time.  Hand sanitizer stations and options for drive-through pickup will also be available.

The Master Gardeners appreciate the great response to the group’s Bulb Sale, consisting of pre-orders for tulip and narcissus (daffodil) bulbs. As of the latest report, all of the tulip bulbs have been sold, while roughly half of the narcissus (daffodil) bulbs are still available.  Order forms and photos of the variety colors can be found at the Cass County Extension Office or on the Extension website at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/cass.  All pre-ordered bulbs will be available for pickup at the plant sale, and any remaining bulbs will be available for purchase that day. Bulbs will be sold in bags of 5 mixed colors for $5/bag. Pre-orders are still being taken, and are encouraged to guarantee availability of bulbs.

Cass County Master Gardeners will be bringing a variety of plants from their own gardens, as well as plants dug from gardens around the community, for this sale.  Community members are also welcome to donate plants to this event, and members may even help you dig! Please call in advance and make arrangements to drop off donated plants before the date of the plant sale.

For more information about these events and about Master Gardener activities in Cass County, please call the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132, or email Cass County Extension Director and Master Gardener Coordinator Kate Olson at keolson@iastate.edu.  In addition, you are invited to follow the Cass County Master Gardeners at their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CassCoMG to keep up with local events and tips for gardening!

Shelby County Election Commissioner Mark Maxwell reminds voters in his county and elsewhere, that:

• Iowa absentee ballots cannot be placed in the mail system until October 5th.
• In person absentee voting will be available at the Courthouse on October 5th.
• Many groups are sending out absentee ballot requests. The Shelby County Auditor’s office does not send out absentee ballot requests unless we are asked to by the voter.
• Many groups are sending out registration forms. The Auditor’s office in Shelby County does not send out unsolicited registration forms.
• Get your current voter registration information or track your absentee ballot at SOS.IOWA.GOV use the voter information tab or link.

Maxwell says “There are approximately 8,000 voters in Shelby County and over 2,200 have requested absentee ballots so far.  This election will break all absentee request records and ease election day crowds at the polls.  This puts much more labor into the election process before election day, this was the hope of my office, public health officials and voters to ease any congestion at the polls on election day November 3rd.”

Maxwell says “In your search bar type IOWA SOS BALLOTT this should bring up the information  needed to see the progress of your absentee request and ballot.”

(Radio Iowa) — Election officials say the most common mistake Iowans make when voting by mail is failing to sign the so-called “affidavit” envelope for the absentee ballot. It’s the OUTER envelope that’s used to MAIL the ballot, not the secrecy envelope that contains the ballot itself. Clinton County Auditor Eric Van Lancker is one of 99 county election officials who’re preparing for Iowans to vote in their office starting NEXT Monday and to start receiving hundreds of thousands of ballots through the mail.  “You come in or you fill out your ballot at home and then you put it an envelope,” he says, “and then it stays in that envelope until we count it on Election Day.”

On Friday, a panel of legislators gave county election officials permission to start opening the outer envelopes in which ballots are mailed on October 31st. Van Lancker says his office has already received about 11-thousand absentee ballot requests from Clinton County voters who asked for a ballot to be mailed to them. “For comparison, the most absentee ballots we’ve counted in my 12 years as county auditor was 12,469,” Van Lancker says. “…6000 of those were mailed and we’re already sitting on pretty much 11,000.”

As of last Friday, STATE election officials indicated nearly 600-thousand Iowans had submitted a request for an absentee ballot.

Officials with the Adair County Transfer Station report “Due to COVID and lack of employees,” the [Transfer Station] “will not be offering city recycling services until further notice.” (TFN). Recycling services will still be available on-site at the transfer station.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports two arrests. Late Sunday morning, 45-year old Tracey Lynn Klahn, of Glenwood, was arrested on a warrant for Failure to Appear on a Driving While Barred, charge. Klahn was being held in the Mills County Jail on a $2,000 bond. And, Friday night, 47-year old Dana Brocke Burkholder, of Omaha, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault, Theft in the 2nd Degree, Possession of a Controlled Substance, OWI/1st offense, and Harassment in the 1st Degree. His bond was set at $5,000.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Waterloo police say two people died of their injuries and another 10 were hurt when at least two people began shooting at each other inside a private club. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reported that police said Monday that the second person to die at a hospital this weekend was a woman from outside Waterloo. A 22-year-old Waterloo man also died at a hospital after being shot. No arrests have yet been made.

Police said the shooting occurred about 3:15 a.m. Saturday. Authorities estimated that about 100 people were at the club when gunfire erupted inside following a confrontation.