(Mount Ayr, Iowa) –  A Ringgold County Sheriff’s Deputy observed a man walking west on Highway 2 through the City of Mt. Ayr early this (Friday) morning, ended-up arresting the subject on a drug charge. Authorities say the Deputy stopped at around 2:15-a.m. to see if the man needed help. The subject, identified as 23-year-old Roman Wendel Vanessen, of Norwalk, mentioned he had no where to stay, and that his belongings were at his girlfriend’s apartment.

When the Deputy and Vanessen went to the apartment to gather his things, the Deputy noticed the man also picked-up drug paraphernalia. Roman Vanessen was arrested for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He was booked into the Ringgold County Jail and held on $300 bond, pending an appearance before a magistrate.

Roman Vanessen

DES MOINES, IA – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports 58-year-old Troy John Pitzen, of Peru, Iowa, was sentenced May 26, 2022, to 24 months in prison following his guilty plea to making false statements to the Social Security Administration (SSA). Pitzen’s term of imprisonment will be followed by three years of supervised release.

Between 2006 and 2017, Pitzen stole approximately $371,356 in Social Security survivors benefits belonging to his three minor children. Those benefits were paid to Pitzen, as the children’s representative payee, following the death of the children’s mother. During that time, Pitzen repeatedly submitted paperwork to the SSA falsely claiming the children were living with him and he was using the children’s survivors benefits to care for the children. In fact, the children were living with and being cared for by other individuals while Pitzen continued to receive the children’s benefits and converted most of those benefits to his own use.

The matter was investigated by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and the case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court has denied the appeal of a man found guilty of brutally murdering a hunter in Appanoose County. Ethan Davis of Promise City was found guilty of first-degree murder in a random attack on hunter Curtis Ross. Ross’s body was found in a public hunting area the Saturday after Thanksgiving in 2017, he had been shot and stabbed several times. Ross appealed his conviction saying a jury instruction on reasonable doubt was not adequate, and an instruction given to the jury after they appeared deadlocked pushed them to a verdict.

The Iowa Supreme Court ruling says the instruction given to the jury was adequate. And it says the jury continued deliberating for four-and-half hours after the second instruction — which the Court says was ample time for them to discuss the evidence and thoroughly evaluate each other’s opinions.

(Radio Iowa) – The City of Dubuque is urging residents to be “bear aware” after a black bear has been seen roaming northeast Dubuque since early May. City officials say the D-N-R is working with them the Dubuque County Conservation Board, and the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Department to monitor the bear’s movements. They are asking residents to take steps to help discourage the bear from staying in the area.

Those include securing garbage, removing low-hanging bird feeders, not putting pet food outside, and keeping the barbecue grill clean or in a shed. A D-N-R wildlife biologist says the bear will move on if these food sources are not available.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The lawyer for an Atlantic man facing felony charges of Arson and Attempted Murder, entered a written plea of Not Guilty for his client Wednesday, in Cass County District Court. In addition to the felony charges, 30-year-old Anthony Rey Asay is charged with Assault causing bodily injury or mental illness, Willful Injury causing bodily injury, and Possession of Marijuana/1st offense. Asay is set to be arraigned June 6th, with a pre-trial conference on June 11th, and trial on July 12th at 9:30-a.m.

Asay is accused of being involved in a May 4th residential structure fire on Cedar Street in Atlantic, and an assault that occurred later that same day at 1207 Birch Street in Atlantic. During the apprehension, he was uncooperative and resisted Officers. Asay was charged with Possession of Marijuana./1st offense, and a separate assault charge in connection with an incident that took place April 30th .

(Radio Iowa) – A majority of over 400 clinical and administrative staffers at Planned Parenthood facilities in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota and the Dakotas are taking the first step to unionize. The group has notified the National Labor Relations Board they’d like to join the Service Employees International Union. Ashley Schmidt is a Planned Parenthood training and development specialist who works in Nebraska and western Iowa.  “As we move forward into what will be a challenging a difficult time, having this union will ensure that all of our voices are heard,” Schmidt says.

The group of employees work at facilities in Iowa and the four other states in Planned Parenthood’s North Central States region. They say Planned Parenthood’s front line workers are experiencing burn out. April Clark is a registered nurse who has worked at eight Planned Parenthood Clinics around Des Moines and eastern Iowa for the past decade. She says unionizing is a way to make sure Planned Parenthood executives take care of front line workers. “To make sure that our people have fair and just wages, safe and adequate staffing ratios and equal access to benefits,” Clark says.

If the organization’s executives do not recognize the union, the National Labor Relations Board will oversee an election among Planned Parenthood workers in the five states.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with Cass County Public Health said Thursday, CCPH recently completed  their most recent session of their “A Matter of Balance,” course.  The award-winning program helps older adults learn to manage their concerns about falling, make changes to reduce the risk of falling, and increase their physical activity, flexibility, strength, and balance.

The next session of A Matter of Balance will be held from on Wednesdays August 3rd through September 21st.  Registration is required as class size is limited. To register, or for more information, please contact Victoria Means at Cass County Public Health at 712-243-7443.

Back left to right: Victoria Means (Course Instructor), Linda Jensen, Suzzane Just, Sheryl Buroughs, and Linda Edelman (Course Instructor)
Front left to right: Marcene Arn, Dick Hensley, and Carol Hensley. (Photo submitted)

(USDA, Washington, D-C) – Doing things “halfway” can often cause problems later on, especially when it comes to having a holiday weekend cookout. Gary Crawford reports….

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And, just like there is a certain brand-name hotline for turkey cooking tips before and during Thanksgiving, Meredith Carothers, food safety expert with the USDA’s Meat and Poultry Hotline, says there are several ways you can get food safety questions answered live by real experts.

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(The hotline is 1-888-674-6854 [1-888-MPHOTLINE]; Live chat M-F 9-a.m. to 5-pm Central time, at ask.usda.gov ; or e-mail mphoptline@usda.gov, or search usda.)

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Before the Iowa Legislature wrapped-up their session this week, they reached an agreement on a bill that which will allow ATV/UTVs on county highways as a part of a statewide law.

(R) Rep. Tom Moore

Iowa House District 21 Representative Tom Moore….

He said also, HF 2147 appropriates $150,000 to support the christening and commissioning ceremonies of the new USS Iowa (SSN 797).

And, with regard to the Budget, Tom Moore expressed disdain toward actions taken in the Senate, with regard to the Budget, which he says “are always the focal point at the end of the session.”

“In my opinion,” Moore said, “the goal of government is to serve the people of Iowa by making informed decisions on how to use taxpayer money. When one chamber acts unilaterally and doesn’t listen to their departments the people of Iowa suffer. Although the budget is done and is an increase there are many areas,” Moore says “where we fell short of what [he] believes to be good conservative government..”

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Local Food Policy Council is encouraging low-income adults age 60 and older and WIC recipients to apply for Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) produce vouchers. Adults age 60 and older with annual incomes less than $25,142 (single) and $33,874 (married) are eligible to apply for the Senior FMNP. The Senior FMNP provides $30 in farmers market produce vouchers to qualifying seniors first come, first served. To apply for the Senior FMNP vouchers, individuals over age 60 should call the Connections Area Agency on Aging at 800-432-9209 (extension 8888) and leave a message with their name and phone number. The agency may take up to five days to respond to messages.

FMNP produce vouchers are also provided to WIC (Women, Infants, Children) recipients first come, first served. For more information on the WIC program and the WIC FMNP vouchers, people in Cass County should call 800-338-4129.

FMNP is a congressionally authorized program with the goals of providing fresh, nutritious, locally grown produce to nutritionally at-risk women, infants, children, and low-income seniors; increasing the domestic consumption of agricultural commodities by expanding farmers markets; and aiding in the development of farmers markets. More information on the program can be found at https://iowaagriculture.gov/agricultural-diversification-market-development-bureau/farmers-marketnutrition-program.

All four Cass County farmers markets accept both Senior and WIC FMNP vouchers.

Cass County Summer Farmers Markets

• Anita Farmers Market:
  Location: Bandshell Park on Main Street in Anita
  Time/Dates: Tuesdays 4:30-6:30 PM, June – August
  $: Some vendors accept FMNP Senior and WIC vouchers. Some vendors accept SNAP/EBT (also known as “food stamps”).
  Contact: (402)677-2460.
• Atlantic Farmers Market:
  Location: Farm Bureau (1501 East 7th Street, Atlantic, IA 50022)
  Time/Dates: Saturdays 9:00 AM- Noon, May 21 – End of August
  $: Some vendors accept FMNP Senior and WIC vouchers. Some vendors accept SNAP/EBT (also known as “food stamps”).
  Contact: (402)677-2460.
• Lewis Farmers Market:
  Location: 3HO (201 1st St., Lewis, IA 51544)
  Time/Dates: Tuesdays 4:00-6:30 PM, Thursdays 4:00-6:30 PM, May 31– October 13
  $: Some vendors accept FMNP Senior and WIC vouchers.
  Contact: (712)789)-9455
• Produce in the Park:
  Location: Atlantic City Park (10 W 7th St., Atlantic, IA 50022)
  Time/Dates: Thursdays 4:30-6:30, June 2– October 13
  $: Some vendors accept FMNP Senior and WIC vouchers. All qualifying food vendors at Produce in the Park accept SNAP/EBT (“food stamps”). All produce vendors at the market both accept and distribute Double Up Food Bucks ($1 coupons for fresh produce provided for every dollar spent on fresh produce with SNAP/EBT up to $10 per transaction).
  Contact: (712) 249-5870

More About Cass County Local Food Policy Council: For more information on local food, farmers markets, and food access, follow the Cass County Local Food Policy Council’s Facebook page @CassCountyLocalFood. The Cass County Local Food Policy Council is a Cass County Government advisory body that promotes local foods and food access. The Council facilitates networking among people and groups who are involved in all aspects of the local food system—from growing and processing, to selling and eating. In its work, the Council gathers information about local food-related needs and considers what might be done to make sure everyone in Cass County has access to healthy food. The Council then makes recommendations and supports organizations working toward that goal.

To learn more about the Council, contact Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh at bhoegh@iastate.edu or (712) 249-5870. The next Council meeting is July 12 at 2:00 PM at the Cass County ISU Extension Office (805 W. 10th St. Atlantic, IA 50022). Meetings are open to the public.