(Radio Iowa) – Inflation in June hit a record peak above nine percent and Iowa educators expect more students will arrive at school next month without adequate supplies. Beth Hanson is an elementary school teacher in Lake Mills. “We’re seeing a lot of kids who just need that assistance,” she says. “not just monetarily, but socially and emotionally, needing all those things.” Hanson says classroom performance can be diminished if a student feels ashamed or shunned because of what they don’t have. “You do a lot of talking, you look into their situation. We a lot of times will even talk to families, see what they need,” Hanson says. “Sometimes we may not even know what they need until we start talking to the right people and I think that’s what’s important.”

Like most schools, Lake Mills offers assistance from a variety of sources — including from teachers like Hanson. “The other day I bought a pair of shoes for a little girl who had never owned a pair of sandals,” Hanson says. “…She was so excited about a pair of sandals.” Connor Kem, the principal at Lake Mills Elementary, says the district has its own assistance fund and a list of other resources for families who are struggling to make ends meet. “Now you are really thinking about gas, groceries — all of those things that are a really hierarchy of need many times just because you’ve got to get to and from,” Kem says, ” and you’ve got to have things available at home for your kiddos.”

During the last school year, nearly 41 percent of Iowa students qualified for free or reduced-price lunches at school. Some schools and teachers are using this week’s Amazon Prime Day — when many items are significantly cheaper — to buy supplies and other items for students.

(Anita, Iowa) – The CAM School Board, Monday evening, acted on approving several matters. Before he provided KJAN News with a recap of the Board’s actions, shared CAM/Nodaway Valley Superintendent Paul Croghan congratulated the CAM Cougars Baseball Team for clinching the Substate final in Class 1A, Tuesday night.

The senior class for the CAM Cougars played in their 4th Substate Final of their 5 year careers on Tuesday night. For the first time those seniors tasted victory in that game with an 11-1 win over Ogden in 5 innings of play. CAM improved their record to 26-2 on the season and will head back to the state tournament for the first time since 2017. The Cougars will play in the 1A Quarterfinals on Monday in Carroll. We’ll have coverage on KJAN.

Mr. Croghan said the CAM School Board, Monday, approved a few resignations and several contract recommendations.

Croghan said they’re still missing a Special Education and Math Teacher, an Elementary position. Like other districts that are searching for help to fill their staff positions, the CAM District is finding the application pool is limited. He said the attempt to fill some of the positions isn’t because they aren’t trying, and he credits the Administrators for finding unique ways to bring those candidates to CAM.

In other business, the CAM School Board renewed the District’s agreement with Anita Daycare.

And, they approved an agreement with four other school districts, for Girls Wrestling.

The Board approved putting one of the District’s older buses up for sale, and the purchase of a Chevy Malibu through Deter Motor Company, in Atlantic, for $19,258. Their final order of business was to approve sharing agreements with Nodaway Valley, for Human Resources, Building & Grounds, SBO (School Business Official), and Superintendent.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department reports two prisoners at the jail in Council Bluffs were served with warrants, Tuesday, and one person turned themselves-in on a warrant. Authorities say 69-year-old Keith Leon Dyson, of Council Bluffs, was served with a warrant for Violation of Probation. He is being held in the Pott. County Jail on $29,000 bond associated with numerous drug charges. 27-year-old Tyler James Woodruff, of Council Bluffs, was also served with a Felony warrant for Violation of Probation on Forgery charges. Bond on the warrant was set at $10,000.

And, 38-year-old Christina Joy Raymer, of Council Bluffs, turned herself-in to the Pott. County Sheriff’s Office, Tuesday morning. Raymer was wanted on a warrant for Child Endangerment. Her bond was set at $2,000.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors will hold a Special Meeting at 10-a.m. Friday, July 15th in their Board Room at the Courthouse, in Red Oak. During the meeting, te Board is expected to hold an interview with a finalist candidate for Montgomery County Auditor/Commissioner of Elections, in what will likely be a closed session, in accordance with the Code of Iowa. The person appointed will conduct the duties of that position until the seat appears on the November 8, 2022, General Election ballot.

Montgomery County Auditor Stephanie Burke resigned at end of last month, to accept the school business official/board secretary’s position with the Stanton School District. Her last day in office was on June 30th.

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston report the arrest at around 2:50-p.m., Tuesday, of 35-year-old Jessica Renee Swietlik, of Creston. She was taken into custody for Violation of Probation, Failure to Appear, and Registration Violation. Swietlik was transported to the Adams County Jail and held without bond, pending an appearance before the judge.

And, a man from Creston reported to Police that his motorized bicycle was stolen from his porch in the 100 block of S. Sumner Avenue. The motorized bike is black, with a black tank and an orange flag. The loss was estimated at $500.

(Radio Iowa) – The ten-year anniversary of the disappearance of eight-year-old Elizabeth Collins and ten-year-old Lyric Cook-Morrissey is today (Wednesday( Iowa Department of Public Safety Special Agent. Scott Reger says they continue to look at new and old tips on the case. “Our team meets regularly, it kind of ebbs and flows as far as how often — but we meet regularly doing both of those things, evaluating the old information and evaluating the new information,” Reger says. The girls bodies were found in a Bremer County wildlife area five months after they disappeared — but no suspect has been found or charged in the case. He says the tips aren’t coming in as fast as they were early on — but they haven’t stopped either.

“The last 10 months we’ve received 117 tips into our email address that we have assigned specifically for this case. So that’s a good handle on on the volume that comes in,” according to Reger. He says the conventional thinking has always been the longer a case goes without being solved — the hard it is to find the killer. But, one factor that has changed that a little big is the development of new technologies. “Technology is always advancing. And it’s it’s advancing all over the board in terms of — think of a piece of evidence, anything you want to think about in terms of evidence — latent prints, video, cell phone, D-N-A, video enhancement, all of those things are always progressing technology wise,” he says. Reger believes that technology improvement helps turn the tide back toward investigators.

Collins and Cook-Morrissey. (photo from the Collins Foundation website.)

“Obviously, the sooner you can get on to somebody that may be responsible for something that’s always best practice, that always obviously is going to assist with leading to a successful resolution,” Reger says. “But I think the myth is, is that well, if you don’t do it in a certain amount of time, you know, I’ll use the 48 hours example. Because everybody puts that as the metric of if you don’t figure it out in 48 hours, it’s just gonna, you’ll never figure it out.” He knows it may take a lot more time before the killer is found — but he is ready to wait that out.

“We’re not going anywhere, we’re going to continue to hit this rock until it cracks. And so that continues to move us forward. The way that you feel as an investigator and anybody who’s worked this case feels the weight of wanting this to be resolved sooner rather than later,” Regar says. The Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers is offering a 100-thousand dollar reward for information in the case. You can call them at: 855-300-8477 (TIPS). Tips can also be called in to Evansdale police at (319) 232-6682, or through the Iowa Department of Public Safety email site: www.ourmissingiowagirls@dps.state.ia.us

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City Council in Atlantic will hold a Work Session 5:30-p.m. Thursday (July 14th), in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall. As it is a Work Session, the meeting is public, but no motions or decisions can be made. Topics are for discussion only. The Council will hear an update and presentation from Code Enforcement Officer Kris Erickson, with regard to proposed ordinance changes.

The Council will also hold discuss with regard to the Park Board relationship and a referral of the Ordinance Review to a joint meeting of the Personnel & Finance Committee and Representatives of the Parks Board. City Administrator John Lund says he and Mayor Grace Garrett met with the Park Board regarding their long-term planning for a Splash Park and that “it was a productive meeting.” They will fill the Council in on some ideas that will hopefully allow the process to move forward.

Lund will have some elected official compensation research results the Council can review. The rest of the meeting will cover various administrative odds and ends, and a broad overview of the past six months and what the rest of the year will hold.

(Audubon, Iowa) – The Audubon County Fair gets underway today, in Audubon. Here are today’s activities…

WEDNESDAY, JULY 13
9:00 AM Judging 4-H Static Exhibits
9:00 AM-6:00 PM Fair board secretary’s office open
9:30 AM 4-H Garden Plot Judging
2:00 PM 4-H Communications & Table Setting Event – Agrihall
4:00 PM Clover Kids Pet Show – Rabbit & Poultry Show Area
4:30 PM Clover Kids Showcase – 4-H Bldg.
5:00 PM 4-H Pet & Dog Show – Livestock Pavilion
6:00 PM 4-H Club booth displays must be set-up

The Audubon County Fair wraps-up on Sunday, July 17th, with the livestock sale in the evening, and other activities throughout the day.

(Harlan, Iowa) – The Shelby County Fair begins its full-run today (Wednesday). The schedule of activities includes:

6:30-8:30 am……….Enter & Weigh 4-H/FFA Swine – All livestock is to unload at dock and be
inspected by veterinarian.
8:00 am. ……………Opening Flag Raising Ceremony – Front Gate
8:30-2:00……………Bottle/Bucket Calf followed by Bottle/Bucket Calf Plus One Interviews
Extension Office, 906 6th Street
9:00-10:00 am…….Enter & Weigh 4-H/FFA Sheep and Goats
Unload at dock and be inspected by veterinarian
9:00-11:00 am…….4-H Cake Decorating entries – 4-H Exhibit Building
8:45 am……………..4-H Table Setting Exhibitor’s Meeting
9:00-11:00 am…….4-H Table Setting – 4-H Exhibit Building
11:15 am……………Best of Iowa Contest Exhibitor’s Meeting
11:30 am……………Best of Iowa Contest – Commercial Building
1:00 pm……………..4-H Booths to be finished
1:00 pm-6:00 pm….Enter Open Class Non-Livestock Exhibits
4:00 pm……………..Carnival
5:30-6:30 pm………Enter 4-H/FFA Rabbits – All livestock must be inspected by the vet before going to their cage
4:30-7:00 pm………Enter & Weigh 4-H/FFA Market Beef, Breeding Beef, & Dairy
All livestock is to unload at dock and be inspected by veterinarian.
4:30-5:30 pm………4-H/FFA Horses will be checked in – All livestock must be inspected by the
vet before going to stall.
6:00 pm……………GRANDSTAND: Tractor Pull
6:30-7:30 pm………Enter 4-H/FFA Poultry

The Shelby County Fair concludes Monday, July 18th, with the 4-H/FFA Livestock Auction.

(Pottawattamie County, Iowa) – A federal fugitive was captured Monday night (July 11), by Council Bluffs Police. Authorities say 59-year-old Keven Spanel was released by a federal judge on a medical furlough on July 6th. Upon his return at around noon that day, he exited his friend’s vehicle near the Pottawattamie County Jail and ran into a nearby cornfield.

According to U.S. Marshal’s office, Council Bluffs police were responding to a report of a woman screaming near the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge and upon arrival, received a tip that Spanel was there. Spanel attempted to run, but surrendered after having nowhere to go, according to authorities. He was arrested for eluding a police officer and interference with official acts and is back in custody of the US Marshals, according to authorities.

Keven Spanel

Spanel was initially charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance (methamphetamine) and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.