(Rural Creston, Iowa) – No injuries were reported following a collision on Highway 34, southwest of Creston, Thursday afternoon. According to the Union County Sheriff’s Office, a 2011 Chrysler 300C driven by 89-year-old Tommie R. Stoner, of Afton, and a 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee, driven by 33-year-old Maggie E. Stuart, of Creston, were both eastbound on Highway 34 at around 2:54-p.m., near mile marker 86, when Stuart was following to close and failed to pay attention to the speed of the Chrysler, which was ahead of her.

The SUV struck the rear of the car, causing a total of $6,000 damage. Both drivers pulled-off onto the south shoulder of the road following the crash. No citations were issued.

(rural Atlantic, Iowa) – Firefighters from Elk Horn, Kimballton and Marne were dispatched Thursday night to a small shed fire located north of Interstate 80, at 144 Zinnia Road .  The call went out at around 5:48-p.m.  The structure was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived.

According to Josh Krause with the Marne Fire Department, the shed was nearly destroyed by the time the first crews arrived on the scene. A shed to the south of the burned building was beginning to show signs of smoke, but crews were able to protect it from further damage. He says the blaze apparently started with a brush pile nearby, north of the shed, which spread to the trees.

Atlantic Fire was called to bring a tanker truck to the scene, but told to disregard because Marne’s unit was on the scene. No injuries were reported. (Photo’s submitted)

Google view of the property

(Radio Iowa) – Many Iowa communities are coping with population losses, but a southwest Iowa town that was devastated by flooding in 2019 isn’t giving up hope. Pacific Junction had fewer than 500 people before the floods, but just 84 people live there now. City Clerk Korrena Neppl says after the flood, some people had no option but to leave. She says there’s been “dramatic change,” especially as homes are torn down.

Neppl says, “You take a drive through Pacific Junction or just living here, you know, you see your neighbors’ houses going down and they’re never coming back.” The town is working to buy back and demolish more than 130 flood-damaged homes. Many of those lots will become green space, but Neppl says state funding will let them re-sell some lots to be built on in the future. Pacific Junction Mayor Andy Young says the flood caused destruction like the town’s never seen before.

“It was pretty devastating to drive through the town in a boat and you’re up at the heighth of your city hall,” Young says. “We had between nine to 11 feet of water, depending on what part of town you were in.” Mayor Young is a third generation resident of Pacific Junction and has stayed in town and rebuilt, but he reminisces about what it was like before the flood.

“The kids could go out and ride their bikes. Everybody looked after everybody’s kids, for the most part,” Young says. “It was small town Iowa where everybody kind of helped with watching the kids.” Young says his vision for the future is to bring a few businesses to town. He’d also like to sell some vacant lots so people can build on them and the town can grow. Neppl and Young made their comments on the Iowa Public Radio program “Talk of Iowa.”

(By Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)

(Algona, Iowa) – Agents with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation were requested following an Officer-involved shooting that took place early Thanksgiving Day. Authorities say at 12:15 a.m., Thursday, Algona Police Officers responded to a disturbance at the Super 8 Motel. As a result of circumstances upon arrival, one officer discharged his firearm. A high-speed pursuit then ensued with the suspect. The pursuit ended with the driver losing control of his vehicle. No officers were injured as a result of the incident.

Per Algona policy, the involved Algona Police Officer has been placed on paid administrative leave. At the request Kossuth County Attorney, the Division of Criminal Investigation is conducting an independent investigation into this shooting. All investigative findings will be forwarded to the Kossuth County Attorney’s Office.

The Algona Police Department was assisted by the Kossuth County Sheriff Office, Kossuth County Attorney Office, Iowa State Patrol, and the Division of Criminal Investigations. This is an ongoing investigation. Additional information will be released later date.

(Radio Iowa) – This holiday marks a return to visits in nursing homes for some who were not able to see family for the holidays last fall and winter as long-term care facilities kept visitors out to try to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks. AARP state director, Brad Anderson, says it’s a much better situation for many this Thanksgiving. “It’s remarkable because 12 months ago, we were handing out iPads, and people were celebrating Thanksgiving over Zoom in nursing homes. And we were seeing people from outside their windows, knocking on windows and trying to connect with them through panes of glass. And it was just heartbreaking,” Anderson says.

Anderson says Iowans need to do everything they can to prevent more nursing home lockdowns, and he says that starts with getting vaccinated. “The vaccine is the best gift of all this holiday season. And it’s allowing us to safely be with the people we love. And what more could you ask for?,” Anderson says.

Brad Anderson. (AARP photo)

The Iowa Department of Public Health reported Wednesday that there were COVID outbreaks in 27 of the state’s 430 long-term care facilities. One-third of the nursing homes in the state had COVID outbreaks at this time last year.

(By Katrina Sostaric, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – Former Governor Terry Branstad says as President Trump’s ambassador to China, he routinely accepted criticism of the United States from Community Party officials in a formal setting. Branstad says the process has a name in diplomatic circles. It’s called a demarche.  “A demarche is getting chewed out by the other country,” Branstad says. “…I represented the United States of America. I’m the highest official there, so the Chinese would call me in to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and they’d call me in to chew me out…and then I’d dutifully promise to deliver that message to the president.” Branstad was called to hear complaints about statements other Americans were making about China or if someone from Taiwan had visited the United States.

“When Uighurs are denied their religion or their culture in Xinjiang, China, or if the people of Hong Kong no longer have freedom of speech or assembly, that’s of concern to us. Unfortunately, the Chinese have a different viewpoint on that,” Branstad says.

Terry Branstad

“They look as what’s happening in Xinjiang or Hong Kong as their internal business and we have no business even asking about it.” Branstad, who held weekly news conference when he was governor, says as an ambassador, it was often frustrating to clear his own public statements through the U.S. State Department. “There were times when the Chinese said something that I wanted to counter and it’s 12 hours difference between Beijing and Washington, D.C., and then it would take two or three days to get it cleared,” Branstad says. “By that time, it might be too late.”

Branstad says he’s able to freely talk about much of his work in China, now but some of it must remain top secret. Branstad hosted China’s president twice in Iowa, once in 1985 when Xi Jinping was a lower-level community party official and then just before Xi became president of China. Xi uses the phrase “old friend” to describe Branstad and others, including President Biden. “The Chinese term ‘old friend’ is kind of a term of art for them. If they have known you for a long period of time and you’ve had a good relationship, they call you an ‘old friend,’ so Xi Jinping calls me an ‘old friend’…because we treated him very well and he feels real good about it,” Branstad says. “I think that’s a good thing, having that personal relationship.”

Branstad, who is 75, has set up an office on the Drake University campus and has been given the title of “ambassador in residence.” He is planning to host a conference and U.S. and Chinese relations next October.