(Elliott, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County say the driver of a Subaru Outback was arrested following a crash that occurred a little after 11-p.m. Friday, east of Elliott. Authorities say Roger Dean Cook, of Red Oak, was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia, with additional charges pending the results of a drug screen. Cook was traveling west on 100th Street when his vehicle crossed into the opposite lane of traffic and went into the ditch, where it struck a power line pole, breaking it in half.

The SUV continued in the ditch and hit a barbed-wire fence before coming to rest. The vehicle sustained an estimated $15,000 damage, and was declared a total loss. Cook denied rescue and suffered no injures during the incident.  He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – It appears the long-running drought in western Iowa will continue running well into 2022 as experts predict below-normal flows for the Missouri River basin this spring and summer. Doug Kluck, the Central Region climate service director for the National Weather Service, says soil moisture levels are well under average across the entire region.

“It’s all below normal, pretty much everywhere,” Kluck says. “Portions of the Dakotas have a little bit of soil moisture in them but going into spring, we’re really focusing on getting help from spring rainfall at this point. Fall and winter didn’t help us out.” Kluck predicts temperatures from March through May will be warmer than the norm.

“Better chances for above-normal temperatures, although slight, across almost the entire basin,” Kluck says. “Upper basin actually has a little bit of weak signature towards cooler-than-normal temperatures in the far northwest and then warm once you get halfway through South Dakota, Wyoming, all the way through the south and east of there.” Kluck says he’s concerned about the worsening dry conditions across the region.

“What we don’t like seeing but is typical of a La Nina year on the precipitation outlook is this below-normal forecast sneaking up from the south and southwest,” he says. According to Kluck, the mountain snowpack, which feeds into the basin, is about 80-percent of normal.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has passed a bill that would nullify many city and county ordinances that critics say prevent Iowans from having successful home based businesses. Representative Skyler Wheeler of Orange City, a Republican, says Iowans should be able to operate a business out of their home if they aren’t disturbing neighbors.

“Home based businesses empower entrepreneurs to start businesses from their homes, earn and save money, maintain a flexible schedule and realize their dreams of self-employment,” Wheeler says. “Unfortunately, local governments impose costly restrictions on these businesses through a patchwork of outmoded zoning, licensing and permitting requirements.” A section of the bill would allow home-based baking businesses to earn up to 50-thousand dollars a year — the cap today is 35-thousand dollars — and make it legal to sell jams, jellies and syrups made in a home kitchen.

State regulators would have authority to inspect food prep businesses in a home. “Six states have this. South Dakota just passed something very similar to this,” Wheeler says. “We believe folks may already be doing this, so this sets a framework up to not just legalize it, but to keep people safe through the proper channels.” Representative Chuck Isenhart, a Democrat from Dubuque, says a lot of folks liked working from home during the pandemic and these concepts are worth discussing, but the bill may go too far.

“I think the bill is very broad in scope,” Isenhart says, “and probably has some unintended consequences that a lot of us will be wailing and gnashing our teeth over in the future.” The bill passed the House on a 66-to-25 vote. If the Senate and the governor approve it, too, Iowa cities and counties would only be allowed to have regulations for at-home businesses that are based on public health and safety or the impact the business might have the residential neighborhood.

(Radio Iowa) Officials say three people were injured after a train hit a semi-truck and derailed, in Denison. Tim Zenk is the assistant fire chief for the Denison Fire Department. He says the truck carrying weights for a crane reportedly got hung up on a railroad crossing on Thursday afternoon.

“An eastbound locomotive and train traveling around 65 miles an hour separated the trailer in half,” Zenk said. “We had to get Public Works involved to get some streets shut off and get the traffic out of the area.” Union Pacific confirmed in a written statement that two members of the train crew and the truck driver were all taken to the hospital in Denison after the collision.

Picture from our sister-station KDSN

Crews arrived late Thursday to begin clearing and repairing the tracks. Zenk says up to a thousand feet of railroad tracks may have to be replaced. “They’ll clear all the wrecked material and locomotives, rebuild the lines, and get this thing flowing again,” Zenk said. “The railroad won’t mess around and I would recommend the public try to stay a couple of blocks away from here.” That area includes a pair of railroad crossings just south of Highway 30 in Denison.

A number of rail cars derailed. Union Pacific does not have an estimate on how long repairs are expected to take.

Devin Hogue (A-PD Photo)

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Atlantic Mayor Grace Garrett, today (Friday), announced the next leader of the City’s Police force. Garrett said in a press release, “It is my honor to announce that effective April 1, 2022, Atlantic will have a new Chief of Police and an Assistant Chief of Police. Lieutenant Devin Hogue has been promoted to Chief of Police and Lieutenant Paul Wood has been promoted to the Assistant Chief of Police.

Lieutenant Hogue and Lieutenant Wood have a combined 31 years of experience in Law Enforcement, with 27 of those years serving the City of Atlantic. They bring many talents and abilities to the department and already have the respect of their team. I look forward to working with them as they lead the Atlantic Police Department in this new era. Congratulations to both officers!”

Current Police Chief Dave Erickson has served the City for 25 ½ years, the last 5 ½ as Chief. On Feb. 2nd, he announced his resignation, saying “It’s time to step down and let some of the younger generation take over.” Erickson’s last day as Chief is March 31st.

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Devin Hogue joined the Atlantic Police Department in August of 2011. Prior to joining the APD, he worked at the Shenandoah Police Department and attended the 13th Basic Academy Class through Western Iowa Tech Community College, where he became certified as an Iowa Law Enforcement Officer. Devin attended Simpson College and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice. Devin was promoted to the position of Lieutenant in 2016. Devin and his wife Jodie have two children, Charlie and Cullen. In the past, he spent several years as a substitute teacher with the Atlantic Community School District and has been very involved with the implementation and trainings surrounding emergency preparedness for the schools. Devin has overseen the many community programs the APD runs throughout the year since joining the department. Devin is a firearms instructor, computer voice stress analyst, and has received training to offer peer support for the department. He has also been the team leader of the Cass County Drone Team since its implementation in 2020.

Paul Wood joined the Atlantic Police Department in November of 2004. Prior to joining the APD, he worked for the Pella Police Department and attended the 187th basic class through the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy. Paul attended Western Iowa Tech Community College and earned an Associate’s Degree in Police Science. Paul was promoted to the position of Sergeant in 2011 and to the position of Lieutenant in 2016. Paul has been a member of the Atlantic Fire Department since 2007. He and his wife Sara have two children, Riley and Brady. Paul has served the roles of field training officer, sexual abuse investigator, arson investigator, Taser instructor, and radar instructor for the department.

Two people were arrested on drug charges today (Friday), in Glenwood. According to the police report, 34-year-old Sherman Condrey, and 34-year-old Kristi Stewart, both of Council Bluffs, were taken into custody, on charges that include Possession of Methamphetamine and Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia. Condrey was additionally charged with Poss. of Contraband in a correctional institution, and Poss. of marijuana. His bond was set at $7,300. Bond for Stewart was set at $1,300.

On Thursday, Glenwood Police arrested 44-year-old Clinton Prindle, of Glenwood. He was taken into custody on a Mills County warrant for OWI/1st offense. With bond set at $1,000 (10% allowed by the court).

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Master Gardeners kicked of their 2022 year with a new slate of officers, new members and a regional award for their outgoing president. At their meeting in late January, the group welcomed new members Lori Anderson and Kolton Hewlett as new members. Both recently completed the Master Gardener training course, consisting of 40 hours of online education delivered in September-November of 2021. After successfully completing the course post-test, Anderson and Hewlett begin their year as Master Gardener interns, who will complete 40 hours of community service activity to become full Master Gardeners.

The Master Gardener class is offered annually through Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and Cass County is planning to host another session of the course beginning in August of 2022. Also recognized at the meeting was immediate past-president Cathy Booth, who received the Southwest Iowa Exceptional Volunteer Service Award. The award is given to one Extension volunteer in Southwest Iowa; and is a new award in 2022. Cathy was recognized for two terms as president of the Cass County Master Gardeners, including leadership during the pandemic to keep group members active and connected.

In addition, over the last 12 years, Cathy has averaged 95 hours of service reported each year, well exceeding the required 20 hours to maintain her active status. She is also an integral part of the food donation work the Master Gardeners are involved in across the county- growing, transporting and collaborating to connect fresh produce to those who need it.

The Cass County Master Gardeners are also planning many activities for the upcoming spring and summer. The Spring Garden Seminar returns in 2022, with a theme of “Gardening from the Ground Up!” This event will be held on Saturday, March 19th and registration is now open. The date for their annual spring plant sale has been set for Saturday May 14th, and their summer bus tour will take place on Wednesday June 8th. Additional activities to support garden education, food access and community improvement are also in the works for 2022.

The group uses funds from their plant sales and other activities to fund many projects including scholarships and community grants. Applications are now open for the horticulture scholarships, available to high-school seniors or older students who are completing post-secondary studies in a horticulture related field. Applications for the scholarships are due April 1.

For more information on any of the upcoming events, scholarships or grants, including information on becoming a Master Gardener, contact the Cass County Extension office at 712-243-1132 or visit them online at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass. Questions can also be directed to Extension Director Kate Olson by email at keolson@iastate.edu.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Chamber Ambassadors visited with owners of Atlas Atlantic Cinema, Rylea & Devon Anderson, on Thursday, March 10th, 2022, to view the updated theater seating and learn about upcoming projects and events. Rylea & Devon Anderson purchased the Fridley Theater in November of 2019 and in March of 2020 were forced to close due to the pandemic. That did not stop the couple from investing in new seating and brainstorming ideas for the future.

Since re-opening, full time, in May of 2021, Atlas Atlantic Cinema has launched some great additions to keep movie-goers engaged in the happenings at the theater. Earlier this year, the theater launched an app with current show times and events. Also available on the app, is a monthly newsletter Rylea introduced to keep community members informed about upcoming movies, events details, and possible premier setbacks.

Rylea and Devin did not anticipate the wild success of their gourmet popcorn fundraiser when they started taking orders in December 2020. Since then, the couple has successfully completed two “Popcorn Christmas Box” programs and are now working to get the beloved popcorn into the community’s hands on a year- round basis. Atlas Atlantic Cinema’s gourmet popcorn can be found in CoffeeGirl, located at 422 Chestnut Street. The couple hopes to partner with more businesses throughout Cass County to carry the many flavors of popcorn.

“Dinner at the Movies” Night have had some great success in the first three events. Attendees pay $25 to see a new movie the night before it is officially released into theater. Along with admission, attendees are served a home-cooked meal, beverage (soda, Icee, 1/2 bottle of wine, or up to 3 beers), and intermission cookies. The next “Dinner at the Movies” is scheduled for Thursday April 14th, 2022, at 7pm, showing Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

For more information about showtimes or events visit www.atlasatlanticcinema.com, download the app in the App Store or Google Play.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans are griping about the cost of gasoline as prices approach four dollars a gallon, but imagine having to keep a fleet of semis fueled with diesel for routine cross-country jaunts. Jeff Arens is general manager of the Le Mars-based Schuster Trucking Company, which has 450 trucks on the roads across the U-S and Canada. “With fuel prices making 15- to 20-cent jumps per day, some of these weeks, you end up pretty upside-down on your cost per mile on things,” Arens says, “especially with a company like Schuster purchasing roughly 125- to 150,000 gallons a week, it can make a big impact at the end of the day.”

All of the company’s routes are under contract and estimating the cost to deliver products to far-away destinations is becoming exceptionally challenging. “Looking at the West Coast where prices today reached over $6.50 a gallon for diesel, if you’re running from Le Mars to California, that’s a three-day run and with the prices changing almost hourly, you eat the difference on what you’re not able to recoup right now.”

Higher fuel prices mean higher prices for the products the company hauls — including with two of its major contracts at Wells Blue Bunny ice cream, or hardware tools for Bomgaars. Plus, it’s more than the diesel. “It effects trucking not just in fuel, but the amount of pieces on our equipment that are based from oil,” Arens says. “There’s the tires, the belts on the engine, the oil the engine’s running on, any of the plastic that is on the equipment, even brake pads and brake shoes are all oil-based products.”

Arens says Schuster is trying to make certain each truck and trailer is aerodynamic to help reduce the amount of fuel needed to run on the highways. “Well-maintained equipment, clean air filters, proper tire inflation, things of that nature, whether it’s a car or a truck, will help your fuel economy,” Arens says. “We’re looking all the time to make sure we’re doing maintenance as best as possible.”

Orville Schuster started Schuster Grain in 1956 with one truck hauling grain in and around Sioux City, eventually expanding to include refrigerated and dry van services. After 60 years, the company now hauls a wide range of products, from frozen Bomb Pops to ball-peen hammers, across much of North America.