(Atlantic, IA) – Cass County Wellness Coordinator Grace McAfee says, “In a powerful show of collaboration, three Cass County school districts came together for the first-ever Hope Squad Advisor Training on November 18th at the Cass County Community Center in Atlantic, Iowa. The event brought together 22 school staff and administrators who are committed to strengthening mental health supports for students across the county. During the training, 14 new Hope Squad advisors were certified to lead peer-based suicide prevention programs in their schools.”

Hope Squad is a nationally recognized, evidence-based program that empowers students to notice warning signs of suicide, break the silence surrounding mental health struggles, and connect peers to trusted adults. With all three districts joining forces, Cass County is taking a united step forward to ensure every student feels seen, supported, and valued. According to Eric Workman, Hope Squad CEO, their program “Empowers students to look out for one another. When young people feel connected to each other, it changes the school culture in a way that can truly save lives. Cass County is setting an incredible example by investing in a program like ours that thrives when students, adults, and communities work together.”

Recent data from the Iowa Youth Survey underscores just how critical this work is. In Iowa, 30% of teens in grades 6th–11th reported feeling sad or hopeless within the last 12 months. Of those students, 21% said they had experienced suicidal ideation. The local collaborative of mental health community partners stated these numbers serve as a sobering reminder of the mental health challenges facing today’s youth—and the importance of proactive, school-based solutions. The initiative was made possible through the generous support of the Iowa West Foundation, APEX Wind Energy, the Cass County Community Foundation, Cass Health and community supporters who share a vision for a healthier, more hopeful future.

(Photo courtesy Grace McAfee)

Iowa West Foundation CEO Brenda Mainwaring says “The Iowa West Foundation is proud to support Hope Squad across all three Cass County school districts. Our investment has helped leverage generous community support, and we’re encouraged by the momentum it’s created. Empowering young people with the tools to build belonging and care for one another will have a lasting impact on their lives and their rural communities.” Throughout the day-long training, advisors participated in interactive sessions focused on relationship-building, identifying signs of distress, and guiding Hope Squad members through peer support strategies. School administrators also joined portions of the training to learn how the program will be implemented within their buildings.

After the training, advisors will take what they’ve learned back to their school districts to begin the student peer selection process. During this process, students identify peers they feel are approachable, compassionate, and willing to lend a listening ear to those in need. This step marks the beginning of a collaborative movement among all Cass County School Districts to create stronger, more connected school communities. Erin Kilmer Griswold, newly trained Hope Squad Advisor, commented “We believe the students who will be selected as peer leaders are already the ones their classmates turn to. Our students are natural listeners, and I’m excited to give them the tools and confidence to support those conversations in a healthy, informed way and strengthen the well-being of their friends.”

About the Cass County Coalition for Mental Wellness
The Cass County Coalition for Mental Wellness brings together people to reduce stigma, identify mental health gaps, and unite community partners to make a meaningful impact on mental well-being in Cass County. Want to get involved in wellness in Cass County? Please contact Grace McAfee, Wellness Coordinator, at mcage@casshealth.org.

(Creston, IA) – Creston Police and Fire Department personnel responded a little after 5-p.m. Wednesday, to a collision that occurred at the intersection of N. Vine and E. Swigart Streets. According to Creston Police, a Hyundai Sonata driven by 59-year-old Sheila Clausen, of Creston, and a Dodge Nitro driven by 36-year-old Dawn Baddley, of Afton, collided at the uncontrolled intersection. The crash happened as the Dodge was traveling westbound on E. Swigart, and the Sonata was traveling north on N. Vine St. As the Hyundai was passing through the intersection, Police say both driver’s looked, but did not see each others’ vehicles. The Hyundai was struck on the passenger side. Airbags in both vehicles deployed as a result of the collision.

Greater Regional Health‘s Medic Units 1 and 2 were dispatched to assess the motorists for injuries, but neither driver was transported to the hospital. Creston Fire Dept. personnel used hydraulic spreaders (Typically referred to as “The Jaws of Life,”) to access the passenger side of the Sonata. They also removed debris from the scene.

There were no citations issued. Damage to the vehicles amounted to a total of $8,000. Union County Sheriff’s deputies provided traffic control.

(Photo from the Creston FD Facebook page)

(Radio Iowa) – Today’s (Thursday) the American Cancer Society’s 49th annual Great American Smokeout, as Iowa smokers are encouraged to give up the routine for at least this one day, or to make a plan to quit. Studies find the majority of smokers wish they could quit, but it’s a difficult habit to break. Jackie Cale, Iowa government relations director for the society’s Cancer Action Network, says there are plenty of reasons to give up the smokes. “Iowa has the second highest cancer rates in the nation. We’re only behind Kentucky,” Cale says. “Tobacco use in Iowa is still the number-one cause of preventable death. Our smoking rates are higher than the national average, and lung cancer remains among the top three cancers in the state with tobacco use causing over 80% of those cases.”

When the state legislative session opens in January, Cale says her organization plans to lobby lawmakers to boost state taxes on all tobacco products. “Our current cigarette tax is at $1.36 per pack,” Cale says. “What we’re hoping to do is increase that tax by $1.50 per pack with a parallel tax on other tobacco products. It’s been nearly 20 years since Iowa’s cigarette tax has been increased.” If the tax hike were to pass, she says it would generate an estimated 82-million dollars a year for the state, money that could be pumped back into Iowa’s tobacco cessation and control programs. “Increasing the cost of tobacco products is one of the most effective ways to reduce use,” Cale says, “and in turn, to lower Iowa’s lung cancer rates.”

The society’s studies find more than 51-hundred people die from a smoking-related disease in Iowa every year.  “Iowa’s adult smoking rate is at 13.7%, while the U.S. average is 10.8,” Cale says. “Iowa’s youth smoking rate is at 4.7, while the U.S. average is 1.7, so you can see, we’re significantly higher in both.” The Great American Smokeout is a day for people who use any form of tobacco, including e-cigarettes or nicotine pouches, to create a plan to quit. Free resources on quitting can be found by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW or by visiting Empowered to Quit.

On the web at https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/tobacco/empowered-to-quit.html

(Radio Iowa) – A top U.S. Department of Justice official says antitrust laws exist for a reason and the division she leads is investigating monopolies that could be limiting the prices farmers get for what they sell or controlling what farmers pay for seeds and other inputs. Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater, head of the agency’s antitrust division, spoke to law students and professors at Drake University yesterday (Wednesday). “I chose Iowa very intentionally because we’ve been tasked at the DOJ antitrust division with a few things here and there regarding agriculture,” she said.

President Trump recently ordered the agency to investigate the four companies that dominate the meatpacking industry. Slater says the Department of Justice and the U-S-D-A are also working together to investigate why farmers’ input costs are rising. “According to USDA’s data since 2020, seed expenses have risen 18%; fuel and oil costs increased 32%; fertilizer expenses increased 37%, and interest expenditures for farmers spiked by 73%,” she said.

She says the Department of Justice will follow the facts and go after any bid rigging, price fixing and other anti-competitive business conduct they may find.

(Atlantic, IA) – Atlantic Mayor Grace Garrett and City Council members issued their respective reports toward the tail-end of Wednesday’s City Council meeting. Mayor Garrett spoke about the City’s street resurfacing projects.

The Council’s next regular meeting is at 5:30-p.m. on December 3rd, a date the Mayor reminded them is also when Cass Health in Atlantic will host a public meeting focused on cancer data specific to Cass County.

As previously reported, Ann McCurdy, Director of Marketing and Communications and Chair of the Cass Health Cancer Action Plan Team, says “The Iowa Cancer Registry’s newest data puts Cass County at the top of the list for the highest cancer incidence rate in the state. This presentation dives into the data for our county, and it gives us an opportunity as a community to come together to talk about cancer, share resources and ideas, and it’s a call to action for all of us to tackle this complex issue.” Due to the importance of information to be presented during that meeting, the Atlantic Council agreed to start their meeting at 4:30-p.m. Instead of 5:30-p.m., so that members may attend the “99 Counties” presentation.

The Mayor concluded by wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. In the Council Committee reports, Councilperson Emily Kennedy mentioned the AMU Board will hold a Budget Hearing December 1, at 4-p.m in the downstairs meeting room.

Councilman Mike McDermott reported on the Library Board meeting.

Some of the artwork to be appraised at the Library, McDermott said, is valued at $50,000. The Library’s endowment will cover the cost of the appraisal. Councilman Jeremy Butler said he attended the Airport Commission meeting on Nov. 12th.

Butler said also the Airport Commission got a funding letter from the FAA for a hangar construction project.

A six-bay hangar would cost the Commission about $150,000, but if there’s state money, it could end-up costing nothing. An interesting side note, Butler said two electric aircraft have come through the Atlantic Municipal Airport. The planes have a support vehicle that follow them, allowing those aircraft to recharge about every 150-miles. As we’ve mentioned, Atlantic Municipal Utilities is installing six EV charging stations. Butler says we may see something similar at the airport, in the future, specifically designed for electric aircraft recharging.

(Creston, IA) – The Creston Police Department reports the arrest Wednesday afternoon, of 31-year-old Tyler Wayne Kimball, of Creston. Kimball was arrested for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and on an outstanding warrant for failure to appear – on an original charge of Domestic Abuse Assault. He was transported to the Union County Jail and held without bond until seen by a judge.

(Mason City, IA) – A man from Cerro Gordo County was injured when he was struck by a transit bus, earlier this week, in Mason City. The Iowa State Patrol, Wednesday, said 68-year-old Francis James Hanig, of Rockwell, was struck while he was crossing a street at the intersection of N. Washington Avenue and 3rd Street NW, at around 2:30-p.m.  Hanig was transported by Mason City Ambulance to MercyOne North Iowa, where a report on his condition was not released.

An investigation determined a 2017 transit bus driven by 79-year-old Ralph Madison, of Mason City, was facing westbound at 3rd St. and N. Washington. Francis Hanig was in the crosswalk on the south side of the intersection. When the transit bus turned southbound and failed to yield, the front end of the bus struck him.

Mason City Police assisted at the accident scene.

(Radio Iowa) – A central Iowa entomologist says there may actually be some science behind the folklore about how the thickness of a woolly bear caterpillar’s stripes can help predict the severity of the winter ahead. Ginny Mitchell, of Boone, says a fellow entomologist in New York state studied the fuzzy creatures in the 1940s. “He sampled all of the woolly caterpillars in the area for nine years, and during that time, there was actually some correlation between the markings on the woolly caterpillar and the winter,” Mitchell says, “but that study had a very small sample size, so people do not consider it scientifically factual.” The black-and-brown caterpillars are prevalent in Iowa right now as they’re looking for safe places to spend the winter. As the story goes, Mitchell says the thickness of the caterpillar’s center stripe is key in weather forecasting.

“The rusty, kind of orange color, if that band is really big, that means we’re going to have a mild winter,” Mitchell says. “If the black parts of the woolly caterpillar are very large, it’s going to be a more severe winter. If there is more hair on the woolly caterpillar, then that means that it’s going to be a more severe winter.” There are also theories that if the caterpillar is crawling south when you find it, it’s trying to flee the looming northern cold, and the reverse, if it’s heading north, a mild winter is ahead. At least two communities — Vermilion, Ohio and Banner Elk, North Carolina — have fall festivals devoted to the alleged prognosticating abilities of the woolly bear caterpillar. One remarkable fact, Mitchell says these fuzzy critters hibernate during the wintertime and their bodies contain a sort of natural antifreeze.

“Say you’re out raking leaves or moving some brush and you find one, it will look like it’s dead. It’ll be curled up like a ‘C’ and it won’t be moving very much,” Mitchell says, “but if you take it inside and you warm it up, then it’ll start to move.” There are reports of wooly bear caterpillars surviving temperatures as low as 90-degrees below zero, even spending an entire winter frozen in an ice cube, to emerge just fine in the spring. Once temperatures warm up for the season, it will create a cocoon and emerge a few weeks later as an Alexandra or Isabella tiger moth.

(Radio Iowa) – The American Farm Bureau’s 40th annual Thanksgiving Dinner cost survey shows another drop this year. Iowa Farm Bureau research director Christopher Pudenz says the survey checks the prices of 12 items each year. “The total cost came in at 55-dollars, 18 cents, which is a total decline of five percent from 2024,” he says. Half the items went down in cost, including the centerpiece turkey. “It dropped 16 percent from 2024, or it dropped from 25-dollars, 67 cents last year to 21-50 this year,” Pudenz says. Turkey prices have been impacted by avian influenza and supply issues in past year. He says this year it appears the bird is being used as an incentive to shoppers.

“One of the things that seems to have happened this year is that retailers seem to have realized that folks are feeling a pinch in their pocketbooks,” he says, “and they are offering more of their whole birds on sale this year. Sort of, you know, to entice folks to get them in the door and to keep the overall dinner cost down”. Pudenz says the hurricane that hit North Carolina impacted production and raised the price for sweet potatoes, and weather also impacted the carrots and celery a little bit for the veggie tray.

Roasting Turkey in the Oven for Holiday Dinner

He says the cost for the ten-person meal topped out topped in 2022 at 64 dollars, and has fallen every year since then. Pudenz says producers haven’t seen any increase in what they make. “According to U-S-D-A, farmers only receive 16 percent of the retail dollar that folks spend at the grocery store. So when they spend a dollar at the grocery store, only 16 cents of that does make it back to the farmer,” he says. Pudenz says it’s important to think of the farmers as you sit down to give thanks.

“You know, while folks should be thankful that their Thanksgiving dinner is relatively cheap this year and they should be thankful for those sales that retailers are running, they also do need to keep in mind that folks out in the countryside and farm country are having a challenging year,” Pudenz says. “Especially on the row crop side of things. Corn and soybean prices haven’t done very well this year for a variety of reasons.”

The survey did look again at an expanded menu that includes a boneless ham, russet potatoes and frozen green beans along with the turkey. That total was 77-dollars, nine cents for ten servings, which that is 24 cents cheaper than in 2024.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a woman from Red Oak was arrested Wednesday night for Violation of a No Contact Order – a Simple Misdemeanor. 20-year-old Dea Rose Anderson was taken into custody in the 100 block of W. Coolbaugh Street, at around 8-p.m., Wednesday. She was transported to the Montgomery County Jail, and held.

Anderson was previously arrested by Red Oak Police at around 12:30-a.m. Wednesday in the 700 block of Market Street, in Red Oak, on charges of Domestic Assault with a weapon and Child Endangerment, both are aggravated misdemeanors.