(Radio Iowa) -A soldier from the 185th Air National Guard in Sioux City is walking across Iowa from border to border to raise awareness about mental health. Technical Sergeant Jeff Campbell is on a 20 day, 389 mile journey that started in Clinton and will end back in Sioux City. “Twenty days? Nothing compared to someone who is suffering with depression for six months, someone who is legitimately struggling with a marriage,” Campbell says. “…We need to teach people that these bubbles of time are not permanent. You only do that by talking, by relating, by sitting down, having conversations.”

Campbell works as what’s called a “Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape” specialist for the 185th. He says issues concerning mental health affect everyone, plus mental health is a particular concern during these times of social distancing and isolation because of Covid019. “I’ve had a lot of people stop and talk to me about what I’m doing,” Campbell says. “I had a lady open up to me about a son that had died because of suicide and just the other day I walked with a guy who was Vietnam vet for five miles and he was just talking about his struggles.”

Campbell says mental health is a particular concern during these times of social distancing and isolation because of Covid-19. And he says it’s an issue in rural as well as urban Iowa. “It’s actually eye-opening talking to just different farmers and stuff and then just how they struggle in their suicide rate among their own community. You can’t escape it,” Campbell says. “It doesn’t matter where you re in the world, like, if you’re struggling mentally you have to be able to step outside of that…and be able to say: ‘Hey, this isn’t going to be forever.'”

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 600-thousand Iowans live with some form of mental illness.

The Atlantic City Council has a lot to consider during their meeting on Wednesday (July 1st). On their agenda is:

• The 3rd & final reading of an ordinance amending the Animal Shelter’s fee schedule to cover State mandated vaccinations of all intake animals and those adopted, if there is no proof of prior vaccinations. Approval of the ordinance would mean animals over 6 months of age not claimed by their owner within 3 days, must be vaccinated for Parvovirus, Distemper & Rabies. Animals under 6 months of age will need all vaccinations except rabies. No animal may be adopted or transferred to another facility without the age required vaccinations. The costs, ranging from $13-to-$60 or more, will be passed on to the adoptee.
• The 2nd reading of an ordinance amending City Code with regard to Curfew. The current ordinance states persons under 18 are not allowed outdoors “except between 6-p.m. and Midnight.” The overlooked error will be changed to “Midnight to 5-a.m.”
• The Atlantic City Council will also act on the 1st reading of an amended ordinance pertaining to Tree Trimmer Licensing. The amendment of a Permit Required section will be amended so that proof of Worker’s Comp Insurance (if applicable) is required; The amendment adds exemptions for: City employees performing tree work as part of their job; Private property owners trimming, removing or cutting trees on their own property or the publicly-owned right-of-way abutting their property, or any exceptions determined valid the Mayor, on a case-by-case basis (such as a declared emergency).
• The Council will hold the 1st reading of an amended ordinance pertaining to “Peddlers, Solicitors and Transient Merchants.” Changes include the addition of mobile food vendors and requirements, bond requirements are changed to insurance requirements, and there are two new exemptions.
• Another 1st reading of an ordinance concerns “Doing Business with the City,” which adds requirements for persons and businesses doing work for the City, to include insurance requirements.
• The Atlantic City Council will hold the 1st reading of an ordinance pertaining to “Truck & Large Vehicle parking,” (as previously mentioned, following last week’s CPC meeting).

There are also matters pertaining to: The closing of an alley behind the Fireside Lounge on July 11th, from 8-a.m. until 11-p.m, for a Street Dance; The Whitney Group Urban Renewal Area/TIF/Property Tax levy & a related public hearing; A supplemental Engineering Agreement for the 2020 Atlantic Golf & Country Club/Palm Street Drainage problem; The re-appointment of Alexsis Fleener to the Community Promotion Commission, and recognition of Crista Wiskus for her 20-years of service to the Atlantic Public Library.

The Iowa Department of Public Health reports 145 new cases of COVID-19 today, and five more deaths. The latest figures mean 28,874 Iowans have tested positive, and a total of 712 have died. Officials say 302,719 Iowans have been tested for the virus, with 273,427 coming up with a negative test result.  The IDPH says more Iowans have recovered from the virus (23,003) and a total of 810,507 assessments have been completed, 5,000 more than yesterday.  Testing levels are at all-time highs for Iowa, averaging more than 5,500 test results per day in the last 7 days.

Three fewer Long-Term Care (LTC) facility outbreaks are being reported today (21). The peak occurred in May at 35. In those care facilities, 669 people have tested positive, 520 have recovered and 365 have died, which is one more death than reported Monday. Iowa’s hospitalization data show 14 more people were hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms Monday, for a total of 133. Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients number 34 (1 less than yesterday), 25 were admitted to a hospital over the past 24-hours, as compared to 19 the previous day. Two more people were on a ventilator, for a total of 20.

The numbers for southwest and western Iowa (RMCC Region 4) are nearly steady, with 5 hospitalized, 2 in an ICU, 0 admitted and one person on a ventilator). Area County-by-County figures show:

• 8 more people have recovered from COVID-19 in Adams and Guthrie Counties
• 3 more have recovered in Audubon County
• 11 more have recovered in Shelby County
• and 42 more persons have reportedly recovered in Pottawattamie County. There were also 8 more positive cases noted on the State’s COVID-19 database today.

Thirty-one years ago today, two Troopers with the Iowa State Patrol died during an airplane crash southwest of Atlantic. It was on a Friday evening June 30, 1989, that the Cass County Sheriff’s Office contacted the State Patrol, requesting help with locating an elderly man who had wandered away from a nursing home. Trooper/Pilot Lance Dietsch of Council Bluffs and Trooper Stanley E. Gerling of Atlantic responded in a Maule Patrol aircraft.

Trooper Stan Gerling

Trooper Pilot Lance Dietsch

The search was about to be terminated when the two troopers spotted the man in a soybean field. The airplane turned sharply and plunged into the ground, nose first, killing both men. Troopers Dietsch and Gerling were the first aircraft fatalities since the addition of the Patrol Airwing in 1956. In Oct. 2012, two bridges in Cass County were named in honor of the men. The bridges are located along Highway Six.

Dietsch, of Council Bluffs, was 30-years old when he died, and a six-year veteran of the Iowa State Patrol. He was survived by his fiancé.’ Gerling was 34-years old, and in his first year of service to the Patrol. He is survived by his wife and two sons.

(Radio Iowa) — Governor Kim Reynolds has taken action on a host of bills, including three that deal with marijuana, alcohol and cigarettes. When bars and restaurants were closed this spring due to the pandemic, Governor Reynolds issued a proclamation allowing the sale of carry-out cocktails in addition to take-out food. Now, Iowa has become the first state to permanently allow bars and restaurants to sell mixed drinks to go.

The governor has also signed a bill into law that changes the state’s medical marijuana program. The new 90-day dosage maximum is four-and-a-half grams of T-H-C — the active ingredient in cannabis and physicians assistants, nurse practitioners and podiatrists may now sign the paperwork so Iowans can legally buy cannabis products at state-licensed dispensaries. Post-traumatic stress and severe intractable autism are now on the list of conditions for which medical professionals may recommend cannabis as a treatment.

Reynolds has also signed the bill that raises the legal age for buying tobacco products from 18 to 21. It mirrors a recent federal change, lets local officials start ticketing violators and ensures Iowa doesn’t lose $3.2 million in federal funding for substance abuse programs.

Penalties for animal abuse will be increased by another bill the governor signed. She’s also approved creation of a “blue alert” similar to “amber alerts” for suspected of child kidnapping. A blue alert will go out statewide if someone in law enforcement has been seriously injured or killed and there’s a threat to the public from a suspect or suspects who haven’t been arrested.

Red Oak Police, Red Oak Rescue and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies all responded Monday evening to a collision between a car and a pickup. The crash happened at around 5:40-p.m. at the intersection of N. 2nd and E. Hammond Streets. Authorities say a 2004 Oldsmobile Alero driven by Stephen Richard Purcell, of Red Oak, was westbound on E. Hammond, and failed to stop at the controlled intersection. His car was struck by a 2005 Ford F-150, driven by Melissa Hummel, of Red Oak. No injuries were reported.

Officials say damage from the collision amounted to $7,500. Purcell was cited for Failure to Obey A Stop Sign.

Police in Council Bluffs report Officers were dispatched at around 10:38-p.m., Monday, to 2nd Avenue and S. 12th Street, where a pedestrian had been struck by a train. After Officers located the subject, they applied pressure to the person’s wounds until medics arrived. The individual was transported by medics to a local hospital. The case was under investigation by Union Pacific Railroad Police. Additional information was not available early this (Tuesday) morning.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:20 a.m. CDT

UNDATED (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed a bill requiring women to wait 24 hours to get an abortion. The law is similar to one struck down by the Iowa Supreme Court two years ago. Reynolds signed the measure into law Monday as lawyers for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and the state were wrapping up arguments before a state court judge who must now decide whether to immediately halt its enforcement. Planned Parenthood claims the bill is unconstitutional in the way it was passed in the middle of the night and that it violates due process and equal protection rights of women seeking an abortion.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A state inspection report says a nursing assistant who worked while sick may have introduced the coronavirus into an Iowa nursing home where fifteen residents died.The report says the employee was allowed to keep working because the Crystal Heights Care Center in Oskaloosa failed to screen staff members for symptoms at the beginning of their shifts. It says that employees were allowed to “self-screen” without independent monitoring.The Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals has cited the home and proposed a $8,750 fine. Home administrator Jay Wills says the facility is disputing the violation, saying the state had approved its screening plan.

ALGONA, Iowa (AP) — A group still plans to hold a three-day motorcycle rally in northern Iowa that’s expected to attract thousands of bikers despite the concerns of local officials that the event could spread the coronavirus. Local officials usually welcome the annual Freedom Rally held on a farm northeast of Algona, but this year’s event planned for Thursday to Saturday has officials worried. Algona is in Kossuth County, which has had 32 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and no reported deaths. But officials think that could change because of the motorcycle rally, which typically draws 10,000 bikers. Organizers say they are encouraging social distancing and are calling for riders to limit trips into Algona.

An electric box that began arching Monday evening at Schrier Auto Body & Restoration south of Cumberland, ignited sand paper in a cabinet, but the flames were quickly knocked-down by crews from Cumberland and Massena. The incident at 72031 690th Street happened at around 7:45-p.m., as multiple zone alarms went off inside the building, alerting the Cass County Communications Center.

Ric Hanson/photo

Cumberland Fire Chief Brad Penton told KJAN News some flammable liquids were in the area, but thanks to advance notice from firefighter Jeremy Hardisty, who works at the shop and was responding with the pumper truck, crews knew where the flammables were located. Penton said Corning and Grant Fire were initially paged out for extra manpower and tanker support, but they were cancelled enroute.  Penton thanked Massena, Corning and Grant Fire for helping out and being willing to respond.

Damage to the interior of the building was estimated at $5,000-to $10,000 and a vehicle inside sustained some heat damage to a plastic exterior panel. No injuries were reported.

Sheriff’s Deputies in Fremont County, Monday, arrested 65-year old Freddie “Fred” Dean Phillips, of Syracuse, Nebraska, on one count of Lascivious Conduct with a Minor,and one count of Assault with Intent to Commit Sexual Abuse.

Fred “Freddie” Phillips

Deputies were contacted about a possible sexual assault by Phillips on a juvenile that occurred in late May of 2020 in Waubonsie State Park.  During the investigation, the victim alleged a second event previously occurred in Johnson County, Nebraska.  Fremont County Deputies, along with Deputies from the Johnson County, Nebraska Sheriff’s Office, conducted a joint investigation, leading to the charges.

Phillips was being held without bail, pending the initial appearance with the Fremont County Magistrate.  Phillips is also being held pending extradition for a felony warrant out of Nebraska.