(Radio Iowa) – State health officials believe a cooling tower may be the cause of the recent outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease in Marshalltown, though the investigation is still underway. There are 34 confirmed cases and one death. Dr. Jeff VanGundy, at the Marshall County Public Health Department, is urging people to get checked immediately if they’re showing symptoms of the disease.  “You might experience fever, chills, fatigue, muscle aches, eventually a cough that is typically dry and when if the illness advances, you could get short of breath,” VanGundy says. “Some people also have diarrhea and that’s madding, because then it acts more like a GI illness.” Matters are being complicated by recent cases of COVID as well as a summer virus, all which have similar symptoms, but VanGundy says if you think you might be sick, get tested right away.

“Fortunately, testing for Legionella is super easy. It’s just a urine test. You don’t have to even have your blood drawn, and that comes back in six to 24 hours,” VanGundy says. “The provider that you see might very well want to also check you for COVID or some of these other illnesses depending on the presentation of your symptoms. But just know that you don’t have to come to the ER. You can see an urgent care. You can see your family provider.” Unlike with COVID or a virus, VanGundy says Legionnaire’s disease isn’t highly contagious.  “The only way you can really get this is by inhaling contaminated aerosolized water droplets,” he says. “So please don’t change your social behaviors. Go out to restaurants, go see your friends.”

VanGundy says treatment of Legionnaire’s disease involves taking a course antibiotics like a Z-pack, which are widely available, inexpensive and are typically well tolerated.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A powerpole and lines owned by MidAmerican Energy sustained a company-estimated $30-to 40-thousand dollars damage, Wednesday, in Red Oak, when the pole was hit by a tractor that was pulling a 123-foot long auger. Red Oak Police say the accident happened at around 11-a.m., in the 200 block of W. Oak Street. Authorities report a 1982 John  Deere 4640 tractor hauling an AGI auger, and driven by 38-year-old Thomas Michael Ryan, of Northboro, was pulling out of the New Cooperative south lot and attempting to turn west onto 200th Street.

Ryan failed to notice the auger would not make the turn. The result was the implement struck the power pole, which was snapped in-two. That caused the power lines to fall across the ground. The tractor continued west on 200th Street. Information was obtained by New Cooperative employees that both the tractor and auger are owned by the company. Thomas Ryan works for the Co-Op out of their Essex location.

There was no damage to the tractor or auger, and no injuries were reported. No citations were issued. Red Oak Police provided traffic control while Red Oak MidAmerican Energy crews replaced the pole and power lines.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report a woman was arrested Wednesday afternoon on an assault charge. 35-year-old Lindsey Kylin Bricquel Hardin, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 1-p.m. at a fast food restaurant in Red Oak. She was charged with Simple Assault. Hardin was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court will decide if two families can sue the Superintendent of the Southeast Polk school district who they claim didn’t do enough when their children were harassed and threatened. School District attorney Samuel McMichael told the justices during oral arguments that administrators can’t be sued because public employees have qualified immunity under Iowa code.

“Plaintiffs have brought in the superintendent, really, simply based on his position within the school district, and not based on his involvement and underlying action. So I think qualified immunity here is important to protect those type of instances,” he says. The parents’ attorney, Marrissa Pasker, says civil rights lawsuits are meant to prevent discrimination from happening. “It would be illogical to think that the legislature intended educational institutions to be liable, but not the individual actors who were carrying out the discrimination,” Pasker said.

The Iowa Supreme Court will issue a ruling on the case at a later date.

(Radio Iowa) – A police standoff in the north-central Iowa town of Eagle Grove ended peacefully last (Wednesday) night. The Eagle Grove Police, Wright County Sheriff’s Office and Iowa State Patrol responded in which an alleged gunman surrounded street near Ag Processing,Incorporated near the business district. Reportedly, the subject was harassing another person and was armed with a handgun. A law enforcement negotiator was summoned to end the situation.

The subject was then pinned down, with his vehicle surrounded by law enforcement and armored vehicles. One of the businesses near the scene was closed to allow its employees and shoppers to flee the scene. The situation came to an end after the subject surrendered to law enforcement and placed in custody.

There were no injuries. The name of the individual was not released.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Officers with the Red Oak Police Department arrested a man late Wednesday night on an OWI charge. Authorities say 50-year-old Thaddaeus J. Zehr was arrested at around 11-p.m. at the intersection of Highway 34 and G Avenue, in Red Oak. Zehr was charged with OWI/1st offense. He was also taken into custody on two counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance. Zehr was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – A report from a national trade group suggests about half of U-S manufacturers already use artificial intelligence in their factories. Nicole Crain is president of the IOWA Association of Business and Industry, which represents about 600 manufacturers in the state and she says use of A-I probably isn’t at that level yet in Iowa factories. “Twenty-some percent are looking into it,” she said. “They’ve dabbled into a little bit.” A couple of manufacturers in Fairfield were early adopters of A-I technology, according to Crain.

“I look at the innovation that they have there,” she says. “They just invested in automation and robotics early on.” Google and Microsoft operate data centers in Iowa and both companies are building A-I infrastructure and some manufacturers are using the technology to speed up interactions with customers and accelerate the work of employees doing things like developing products. A-I is also being used to identify risks on the shop floor and manage the assembly line.

“So I think as far as competing, our members are leaning into A.I.,” Crain said. Crain says a state grant program for manufacturers with fewer than 125 employees is helping. The grants can be used to buy to buy things like 3-D printers, autonomous robots and augmented reality devices “We want to encourage the state to do that so those small and mid-sized folks can compete because as we’re looking at the rural economy…in order to keep those jobs in rural Iowa, those manufacturers have to invest,” Crain said.

“They want to invest, but we have to support that at the state level as well.” Applications for the next round of these grants are due in November. Crain made her comments during a recent appearance on Iowa P-B-S. A National Association of Manufacturers report suggests 80 percent of U-S manufacturers expect A-I will be critical to either growing or maintaining their business by the end of the decade.

(Calhoun County, Iowa) – The teenage driver of a pickup truck died Wednesday morning, after his vehicle collided with a semi northeast of Lytton, in northwest Iowa. According to the Iowa State Patrol, the accident happened at around 7:05-a.m. at U-S Highway 20 and Fletcher Avenue, when a Ford F-150 pickup driven by 15-year-old Cadyn Oscar Ogden, of Rockwell City, failed to stop at the posted stop sign, as the vehicle was traveling north on Fletcher Avenue. Dense fog was present at the time of the crash.

The pickup collided with an eastbound Mack truck driven by 71-year-old Richard Larence Kanne, of Lake View (IA). Following the collision, the pickup came to rest in the south ditch, while the semi ended-up in the median. Cadyn Ogden, who was not wearing a seat belt, died from his injuries at the scene. Ogden was a sophomore at South Central Calhoun High School. It is homecoming week for South Central Calhoun. Wednesday night’s homecoming activities were postponed out of respect for Ogden’s family. Richard Kanne was injured in the crash, but the report said he was not transported to a hospital.

The crash marked the second fatal accident in that occurred in nearly the same area, that also involved a teenager. As we reported, Tuesday afternoon, a teenager from Rock Valley died when the SUV he was driving was struck by a semi. That crash occurred near the junction of U-S Highway’s 75 and 18. The Patrol has identified the person who died in the crash as 17-year-old Axel De Santos, of Rock Valley. A second teen, 17-year-old Dominic Olvera Flores, of Rock Valley was injured in the crash and eventually flown to a hospital in Sioux Falls.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa elected officials and candidates for office are expressing shock at the death of Charlie Kirk, a leading voice in the conservative movement who was shot Wednesday, while speaking in Utah.  The statements Iowa politicians posted online included words like horrific, terrifying and heartbreaking.

Most called for prayers for Kirk and his family and many — from both of Iowa’s political parties — called for an end to political violence. The Iowa Democratic Party said Kirk’s shooting was appalling and political violence has no place in our country.

Iowa Republican Party chair Jeff Kaufmann wrote that: “In America, we settle our differences at the ballot box, not through threats or violence.”

Read the entire statements from Iowa’s political leaders at www.radioiowa.com.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – A candidate running for one of two seats on the Atlantic School Board, tonight (Wednesday night) informed the Board he had presented to the Board Secretary, a petition with more than 500 signatures, requesting that the proposed athletic facility (Field House) project be put to a public vote.

Justin Williams addresses the Atlantic School Board, 9-10-2025 (YouTube image)

During the Public Comment portion of the meeting, Justin Williams described the language in the petition calling for a Special Election:

Williams, who put the petition together, said more than 20 volunteers worked to gather these signatures of eligible voters, in just 10 days. The response, he said, was overwhelming.

Williams said if the District intends to spend $18.5-million dollars on the project, that should be authorized by the citizens.

In accordance with Board policy they took no action and had no comment on the statement made during the Public Comment part of the agenda. The Atlantic School Board approved: the resignations of Jessica Burcham, HS Nurse; Lillian Smith, Girls Wrestling Asst. Coach; Angela Gallegos, Nutrition Cook, and Megan Leeper, Nutrition Server.

The Board also approved a Recommendation to Hire Lynnae Grandin, as HS Activities & Athletic Secretary. Other action taken by the Atlantic School Board, included approval of…

• Teacher lane advancements
• 2025-26 Employee Handbook revisions
• A Resolution and contract to Rigid Edge for the HS Roof Replacement Project – Phase 1
• and, Out-of-State Travel (for an FFA trip to Missouri).

The Board’s next meeting is a Work Session on Sept. 24^th at 6:30-p.m. Their next regular meeting is Oct. 8^th, also at 6:30-p.m.