(Rural Lewis, IA) – A controlled burn that got out of control resulted in the destruction of an outbuilding/medium-size barn east of Lewis, Friday afternoon. The blaze near 63748  600th Street was reported by a motorist at around 4:15-p.m. By the time firefighters arrived at around 4:30-p.m., the first personnel on scene reported the building was fully engulfed in flames and had collapsed.

Fanned by northerly winds, the flames spread to a grassy area, but were quickly brought under control.

(Photo courtesy Tim Pope)

(Atlantic, IA) – Officials with the Atlantic Rock Island Society Enterprise (ARISE) invite you to the American Legion Memorial Building (The Armory) in Atlantic, on Sunday, Feb. 15th, for a documentary film and presentation by Jeremy Glazier, entitled “From Iowa and Back: The Vietnam Era.” The program begins at 2-p.m. There is no fee to attend, and everyone is welcome.

Glazier is a photographer, writer and documentary film maker who has always been proud of his father’s service, and in awe of stories heard from his dad. Glazier realized that Vietnam veterans did not have the spotlight that veterans of previous wars and conflicts were provided. That prompted him to visit with many others to explore the lives of ordinary Iowans.

Through Glazier’s lens, the film chronicles these veterans’ journeys from small- town roots to the turbulence of war and to the challenges of reintegration upon returning home. The film honors a generation often overlooked, offering a platform to reflect on their truths and the impact of that era on lives today.

The American Legion Memorial Building in Atlantic is handicapped accessible. The program is sponsored by ARISE.

JOINT FORCE HEADQUARTERS – DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa National Guard has announced official Welcome Home ceremonies for approximately 250 Soldiers assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division who
are returning from deployment in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.

The Soldiers recently began a phased return to the United States following successful mission completion overseas, where they worked alongside coalition and regional partners to significantly reduce the capabilities of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, helping make the region safer.

Welcome Home ceremonies will take place on Wednesday, February 11th, in both Des Moines and Sioux City, allowing families, friends, and community members the opportunity to recognize and celebrate the Soldiers’ service.

Des Moines Welcome Home Ceremonies: Due to flight availability bringing Soldiers home, there will be two arrival times and corresponding ceremonies in Des Moines

• Location: 132d Air Wing, Des Moines International Airport
• Address: 3100 McKinley Ave, Des Moines, IA 50321
• Date: Wednesday, February 11
• Arrival/Ceremony Times:

1. 3:00 p.m.
2. 4:30 p.m.

**Sioux City Parking** Enter Oracle Aviation Road from Al Haynes Dr, park in the red highlighted section. The ceremony will be in the building directly attached to that parking lot.

Sioux City Welcome Home Ceremony:
• Location: Ascension FBO Network
• Address: 5701 Al Haynes Dr, Sioux City, IA 51111
• Date/Time: Wednesday, February 11 at 1:45 p.m.

These ceremonies mark an important moment for Iowa communities to welcome home Soldiers who have served overseas in support of national security objectives. While some Soldiers have returned earlier as part of a phased redeployment, others
remain deployed to complete essential mission requirements, including partner support and base security. This phased return is based on mission needs, personnel requirements, and transportation availability.

The National Guard asks “Help us give our hometown heroes the powerful welcome home they have earned.”

(Guthrie Center, IA) – An accident near the Courthouse in Guthrie Center, Thursday morning, resulted in unknown/possible injuries to the driver of an SUV, but the individual was not transported to the hospital. According to the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office, 76-year-old Jackie Dee Wolfe, of Guthrie Center, was driving a 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee eastbound out of an alley onto N. 5th Street at around 8:50-a.m., Thursday, when he apparently stepped on the accelerator pedal instead of the brake.

The SUV sped north onto N. 5th Street before hitting a 2020 Mack truck pulling a grain trailer. The truck – registered to the Landus Cooperative in Des Moines – was driven by 60-year-old James Wickland, of Guthrie Center. The SUV hit near the rear of the trailer before continuing onto N. 5th Street going southbound, and finally running into a legally parked and unoccupied 2016 Buick Enclave SUV, causing severe damage to the Buick. Wickland was not injured in the collision.

The Sheriff’s Office estimated the total amount of damage at $16,000. Authorities say Wolfe was cited for Failure to Yield Upon Entering a through highway.

(Red Oak, IA) – Police in Red Oak arrested a woman Friday afternoon on an alcohol-related charge. Authorities say 53-year-old Teresa Lynn Yochum, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 3-p.m. in the 800 block of Senate Avenue, on a Simple Misdemeanor, Public Intoxication charge.

Yochum was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Two employees at the state’s maximum security prison in Fort Madison were stabbed 16 days ago and state officials have announced two inmates have been charged with attempted murder. Twenty-nine-year-old Dennis Lawson and 23-year-old Anthony Bauer are being charged with possession of weapons in a correctional institution as well as attempted murder. Online records indicate Bauer, the 23-year-old, was sentenced to 50 years after a fatal shooting in Sioux City four years ago.

Lawson is classified by the Department of Corrections as a habitual offender, with a recent felony conviction in Woodbury County in 2021. According to the Iowa Department of Public Safety, the injured prison employees were treated at a local hospital and have been released, but the extent of their injuries and how long they were hospitalized have not been disclosed.

(Radio Iowa) – Forty people from 20 different countries took the oath of U.S. Citizenship today (Friday) in the Iowa Capitol. Governor Kim Reynolds offered her congratulations to the new citizens. “Each of you comes with your own story, your own journey and your own reasons for choosing America,” she said, “and today Iowa is proud to welcome you home.” About 250 people witnessed the ceremony, many snapping photos with their smart phones, some clutching American flags.

“Iowa has always been enriched by the hopes and hard work of immigrants, people who come here seeking a better life, who bring diverse experiences and a deep appreciation for the promise of freedom,” Reynolds said. “You remind all of us not to take our citizenship for granted, but to cherish it (and) to work to make our country even better for the generations to come.” Federal District Court Judge William Kelly presided over the ceremony.

40 people from 20 counties took the Oath of Citizenship today at the Iowa Capitol. (RI photo)

“I welcome you to American citizenship. I congratulate you and your families on this great moment in your lives,” Kelly said. “I rejoice with you in the enrichment that each of you brings to our great country.” Kelly told the new citizens he was a descendant of German and Irish citizens who settled in Iowa. “Today you bless us with your heritage and by that oath of allegiance, which you just took, you have become an American and those of who were born American should appreciate that you became a citizens today by choice, not chance. You did it legally, legitimately, without shortcuts. You worked hard.”

Kelley, who has taught a course at Drake University’s Law School, said his students didn’t do too well when he had them take the citizenship test that the 40 people who became citizens today (Friday) passed.”Thank you for putting in the work. Thank you for putting in the time,” Kelly said. “We’re going to be better because you’ve joined us.” Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, who oversees Iowa elections, invited the new citizens to register to vote. “Registering to vote is the first step in engaging in our election process and upholding your duty to participate in and to strengthen our democracy,” Pate said.

Voter registration forms were at table was set up in the Iowa Capitol’s rotunda that was staffed with volunteers to help the new citizens figure out the process.

(Radio Iowa) – A new map from the U-S Drought Monitor shows almost half of Iowa is considered abnormally dry, while parts of three counties are now in moderate drought. Earlier this week, the state climatologist said Iowa’s in a snow drought, as January snowfall was about six inches below normal.

While months of dry weather triggered a drought resurgence in October, conditions in January improved slightly by comparison, as drought watches and moderate drought designations in eastern Iowa were removed. Still, there’s declining soil moisture, and January is typically Iowa’s driest month of the year.

The new drought map shows some 45-percent of the state’s abnormally dry, including much of eastern and southern Iowa along with a small patch in the northwest. That’s also where parts of Lyon, Sioux and Plymouth counties have fallen into moderate drought.

(Radio Iowa) – With the Super Bowl this Sunday, Iowans might be willing to wager on the outcome to make it a little more interesting. While five dollars between friends is likely harmless, the temptation to go bigger is strong for some, and that could be a sign of a larger problem. Chris Sekorski is an advanced practice social worker and substance use counselor at Emplify Health by Gundersen. He says gambling on pro sports has never been easier — or more hazardous.

“There had previously been a Supreme Court ruling that banned sports betting, and that was overturned in 2018, so that opened the floodgates,” Sekorski says. “Plus, really how much online gaming and online access has ballooned pretty much makes it available to everybody. Previously, where we had to go to a casino or go to Las Vegas, now we have all those things in the palm of our hand.”

The rapid proliferation of so many sports betting apps for smartphones has opened gambling to many millions of new customers nationwide. Sekorski says those apps offer easy access to what’s known as a dopamine loop, where there’s impulse, action, and reward.”It’s not only just winning that leads to dopamine spikes in your brain, but also near misses, and the anticipation of it,” he says. “So if a hundred times a day you’re spinning a wheel on your phone, you’re reinforcing that dopamine rush a hundred times a day, and it very much hastens the cycle of addictive behaviors.”

Sekorski says there are clear ways to determine if someone is sliding into addiction.”With a substance that you’re using, you would do larger amounts of the substance. With gambling, it’s betting larger and larger amounts as time goes on,” Sekorski says. “There’s actually also withdrawal symptoms where an individual feels very uncomfortable in their skin, very restless when they’re not gambling. There’s a preoccupation where they’re thinking about it all hours of the day.”

A study done in 2021 for the Iowa Department of Public Health found only 167 Iowans received treatment for problem gambling intervention. That was less than one-percent of the estimated more than 18-thousand adult Iowans who met the criteria for having a gambling disorder. In addition to the warning signs mentioned earlier, Sekorski says there are other definite signals the problem is worsening, like falling deeper into debt.

“And then there’s behaviors where you’re lying to people about your gambling, you’re chasing your losses, where you’ve lost money, and you’re almost compulsively trying again and again to win that money back,” he says. “There’s also pretty frequently borrowing, taking out loans, asking money from friends, those types of things.”

Help is available in Iowa by calling 1-800-BETS-OFF, or at the state’s problem gambling website, 1800BETSOFF.org.

(Atlantic, IA) – Officials with the Atlantic Police Department report two arrests took place between January 30th and Feb. 1st, and two people were cited.

On Feb. 1st, 24-yearold Ricky Pankonen, of Atlantic, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. He was booked into the Cass County Jail; And, on Jan. 30th, 28-year-old Nathaniel Riesberg, of Atlantic, was arrested for OWI/2nd offense. Riesberg was also cited for Failure to Maintain Control, Use of an electronic device, and Failure to provide proof of financial liability insurance-accident related.

On Feb. 2nd, 27-year-old Sidney Redler, of Atlantic, was cited by Atlantic Police for Possession of drug paraphernalia, Driving while license suspended, no financial liability, and Failure to Maintain registration; On Jan. 231st, 51-year-old Cherese Smith, of Atlantic, was cited in court for Theft in the 5th Degree (shoplifting).

Both women were released with their respective citations.