(Glenwood, IA) – A man and woman from Nebraska were arrested on drug charges, following a traffic stop early Sunday morning in Mills County. The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports the traffic stop was conducted at around 4:55-a.m., and while speaking with the driver of the vehicle, the deputy could smell the odor of narcotics coming from inside the vehicle. A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of 40 grams of methamphetamine, 13 grams of marijuana, and the unlawful possession of 279 prescription pills.

The driver was identified as 48-year-old James William Eads, Jr., of Omaha. His passenger was identified as 43-year-old Diana L. Dubas, also of Omaha. Both were charged with:

• Drug Trafficking more than 5 grams but less than 5-kilograms of Meth (A Class-B Felony)
• Failure to Affix a Drug Tax Stamp (A Class-D Felony)
• Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Unlawful Possession of a Prescription Drug (Both are Serious Misdemeanors).

Both were additionally charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (Simple Misdemeanors). Dubas was also charged with Possession of a Contraband in a Correctional Facility (A Class-D Felony). Their preliminary hearings were scheduled for Dec. 17th.

Bond for Eads, Jr. was set at $40,300. Dubas’ bond was set at $33,300.

Eads and Dubas (Mills County S/O photo)

Sheriff’s Disclaimer: “A criminal charge/citation is merely an accusation, and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty” (In a court of law.)

ATLANTIC, IA (December 8, 2025) – Atlantic is known for great Christmas celebrations and great farmers markets, and Produce in the Park’s Christmas Market brings both together. The 2025 Christmas Market is scheduled for Saturday, December 20, from 10:00 AM – Noon at the Nishna Valley Family YMCA (1100 Maple St. Atlantic, IA 50022). This farmers market takes place the Saturday before Christmas–the perfect time to buy local produce, meats, and baked goods, shop for holiday and hostess gifts, and enjoy festive hot cocoa and indoor activities for the whole family.

Christmas Market vendors will be selling a wide selection of local foods and handmade crafts. With growing attention in both local and national news on the role of produce in health, Christmas Market shoppers will be pleased to find fresh greens (spinach, lettuce, kale, arugula, and bok choi), as well as potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, onions, garlic, and carrots. Other local food at the market will include local meats (beef, lamb, chicken, and pork), farm-fresh eggs, honey, salsa, freeze-dried snacks, and baked goods including sourdough bread, cookies, cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, kringle, and seasonal sweets such as peanut brittle and candied nuts.

In addition to local foods, Christmas Market vendors will be selling a variety of craft items including handmade watercolor paintings, leatherwork such as bags and wallets, wood crafts, candles and wax melts, holiday decorations, potted plants, jewelry, crocheted toys and clothing items, and bath and body products such as soaps, sugar scrubs, and beard oils.

Food truck Spirits of the Faire will be set up outside the YMCA selling a variety of festive drinks. Options include hot cocoa in flavors such as Peppermint, Mexican Style, and Caramel Delight, plus Italian sodas and specialty drinks including Ice Pumpkin Pie cold brew and Spiced Apple Pie made with chai tea. Christmas Market host, the Nishna Valley Family YMCA–an annual sponsor of Produce in the Park–prioritizes family-friendly events, and Christmas Market promises not to disappoint. Market vendors will be selling balloon animals and offering face painting. The YMCA will provide a bounce house for market visitors to enjoy for free, and A Community for Kids is supplying agiant gingerbread house for kids of all ages to help decorate.

Spirits of the Faire food truck will also have a photo booth set up. Lastly, while not part of the Christmas Market itself, the YMCA will host a “Snowballs and Shenanigans” event at their indoor pool during the Christmas farmers market (also 10 AM – noon). The Snowballs and Shenanigans event is free to YMCA members; non-members must pay the YMCA’s visitor fees.

All are welcome at Produce in the Park farmers markets, and admission is free. The market accepts SNAP/EBT and Double Up Food Bucks for all qualifying food items.
Christmas Market is one of five markets in Produce in the Park’s Holiday Market Series. Additional farmers markets in the 2025-2026 series include Sweetheart Market (February 14, 2026) and Spring Celebration Market (April 4, 2026).

Produce in the Park farmers markets are sponsored by the City of Atlantic, First Whitney Bank & Trust, Gregg Young Chevrolet of Atlantic, Cass Health, Cass County Tourism, Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, and Nishna Valley Family YMCA.

Produce in the Park continues to accept applications for vendors and sponsors for their 2025-2026 Holiday Market Series. For details and applications, see www.produceintheparkatlanticiowa.com.
For the latest market updates, follow Produce in the Park on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ProduceInThePark or Instagram at www.instagram.com/produceintheparkatlanticia/, or sign up for the Produce in the Park email newsletter at www.produceintheparkatlanticiowa.com.

(Greenfield, IA) – The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports a woman from Union County was arrested last week. 38-year-old Jillian Rose Weaver, of Creston, was arrested Friday morning at the Adair County Courthouse on an Adair County Bench Warrant for Probation Violation. Weaver was released that same morning on a $2,000 cash or surety bond.

Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports also, the Iowa Department of Corrections (DOC) Recognizes has recognized the Adair County Jail among eight counties in the State, for outstanding jail operations. The designation as a top-performing jail means the Adair County Jail has demonstrated excellence in operations and management, ensuring the safety and well-being of both prisoners and staff. The Adair County and Butler County Jails won in the category of “Small Jails,” those with a capacity of up to 30 beds.

Sheriff Vandewater says “Of the many and varied responsibilities of the sheriff, I believe operating the jail to be the most challenging, on a day-to-day basis and I think most sheriffs in Iowa would agree,  Certainly patrol, investigations, civil, court security, weapon permits, etc., all have their unique challenges, but with the prevalence of mental illness and substance abuse in our jail population, managing and operating a jail is often a difficult and time-consuming task.  At the Adair County Jail, Chief Deputy Mike Algreen primarily manages the jail operations.  Although every single employee of the ACSO contributes daily and is vital to the jail operations, it is ultimately the responsibility of Chief Deputy Mike Algreen and his work and dedication to this endeavor is invaluable.” 

Hamilton and Marion Counties won the award for Medium-size Jails (31–100 beds), while Dallas and Story Counties won in the Large category(101 beds or more). All jails in Iowa undergo an annual inspection as required under the Code of Iowa, and conducted by the DOC, to ensure compliance with the Iowa Administrative Code’s Jail Standards. The inspections include a comprehensive review of daily jail documentation, a facility tour, interaction with prisoners, and an operational review conducted by a DOC Inspector.

Department of Corrections Director Beth Skinner says “Iowa is one of only 21 states where jail standards are overseen by the state’s Department of Corrections. Iowa consistently ranks among the top states for jail management, and that is a testament to the hard work and dedication of jail staff across our state.” In 2017, the Iowa DOC launched the “Best of the Best” award to formally recognize exceptional efforts in jail operations. The achievement underscores the diligence and professionalism demonstrated by all staff every day.

In 2025, Iowa DOC awarded two jails for outstanding improvement of the jail daily operations and professionalism. They are Boone and Muscatine County.

(Radio Iowa) – Applications are still being taken for the Low Income Energy Assistance Program known as LIHEAP. Jean Logan with the Community Action Agency of Siouxland says the state is working on getting out the funds for this year after the government shutdown ended. “We expected there would be delays in making payments to the vendors, that’s the case,” Logan says. “We should have money out by the end of December, everything takes time.”

Those enrolled in the program are covered by the shut off moratorium, so utility companies can’t shut them off for unpaid bills during the winter. Logan says the program will not pay you entire heating bill. “LIHEAP, or energy assistance is really intended to pay partially what you would need for your utility payments over the winter months. And while it’s nice to have the moratorium, we do encourage people to go ahead and make regular payments,” she says.

Assistance is based on income, household size and other factors. You can sign up for LIHEAP wherever you through your local community action agency. Logan says you should check and see if there is an online signup, as that often takes less time.

(Atlantic, IA) – The Cass County Choral Society will present their annual Christmas concert this Sunday, December 14 at 6:00 pm, in the Atlantic High School Auditorium. The concert will include several solo and duet performances of vocal and instrumental pieces, along with the chorus.

Shown is Director Ray McCalla leading a recent rehearsal with the chorus. (photo submitted)

There is no charge for admission. Free-will donations are appreciated. Community members are encouraged to come and share in the music of the season!

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa farmers are starting to talk with lenders about borrowing money to pay for operations, or to buy land and equipment. The Federal Reserve Bank reports weakness in the crop sector weighed further on farm finances, and credit conditions have gradually tightened. Ty Kreitman, an economist with the Federal Reserve of Kansas City, says while we’ve seen a couple seasons of high costs and low crop prices, it’s too early to draw comparisons to the farm crisis of the 1980s.

“We’re in the second year of losses, but we also have to recognize that the two years prior, 2021 and 2022 and to some extent, 2023, were very strong years for crops, across the ag sector, in fact,” Kreitman says. “So, we had substantial increase in farm incomes during those periods. And so, a lot of operations were able to bolster their working capital.” Kreitman says the situation is bleakest in the crop sector, where farmers have been at or below the break-even mark for the past couple of harvests. He says the number of operations they classify as highly leveraged has been creeping up.

“There’s probably about 20% of farm borrowers who have debt-to-asset ratios, so a ratio measuring leverage of above 40%, and I would say that would be considered high leverage,” he says, “and then obviously distributed throughout that, even beyond that, we’re not quite sure how many would have extremely high leverage.” Kreitman says younger farmers and those who rent most of their land have been the hardest hit by the downturn in the ag economy, because they haven’t built equity like more established operations. He says land prices remain near historic highs, meaning many operations have strong equity.

There have been 18 farm bankruptcy filings in Iowa so far this year, the largest number since 2020.

(Radio Iowa) – A man who was working at an Iowa meatpacking plant will spend four years in federal prison for his role in a scheme to illegally get federal loans during the pandemic that were for business owners.
The U-S Justice Department says Yovny Ciero is a former sergeant in Cuba’s military who’s been living in the U-S for nearly 20 years after illegally crossing the Mexican border. Ciero was working at the meatpacking plant in Algona when the pandemic began, but he is one of over one-hundred Cuban immigrants accused of applying and getting Paycheck Protection Program loans in 2020 after claiming to be self-employed, with a six-figure income in 2019.

Court records indicate Ciero was one of six “bundlers” in the scheme that submitted over four-MILLION dollars’ worth of fraudulent loan applications. Ciero got a loan for himself and a person the Justice Department describes as his paramour. Ciero and used the money to buy a pick-up and get a loan for a home in Mason City.

A jury found Ciero guilty of several wire fraud and money laundering charges. Ciero is one of five former Iowa meatpacking plant workers sentenced in this pandemic scheme. Two women and two men pleaded guilty and were each sentenced to less than a year in prison and ordered to pay restitution.

(Radio Iowa) – While some Iowans are grumbling over two consecutive weekends of moderate to heavy snowfall, others are loving it and have learned to embrace all that winter in the Midwest has to offer. Matt Miner is president of the Iowa State Snowmobile Association, based in Cresco. Miner says snowmobiling is a wonderful hobby, as long as all riders follow the basic rules. “We want everybody to have a good time, but we want everybody to be safe. We want them to enjoy the sport, enjoy having fun with friends and family,” Miner says. “We always promote to ride safe and don’t do anything you wouldn’t do in your car. We like seeing the partying and stuff that everybody does, but we don’t want to have it continue on into the sleds and riding when you shouldn’t be riding.”

Iowa DNR photo

Miner says the Iowa Department of Natural Resources offers an online course for new snowmobilers between the ages of 12 and 17. “Just go onto the Iowa DNR website, go under the Snowmobile tab and you can look up the classes,” Miner says. “That’s the only thing we offer right now. We are looking to offer here in the next year or so, hopefully be back into in-person training for youth snowmobiles.” Miner says there are nearly 60 separate snowmobiling clubs in Iowa and each offers its own activities and opportunities to ride the trails. “My home club, we’ve got Snow Fest which will be in 55th year this year, the last weekend in January,” Miner says. “There’s the Winter Games over in Okoboji. We do a thing down in Huxley with spina bifida for the kids with spina bifida. We get them out and have them ride in the snowmobile.”

He says the association has helped to maintain an expansive fleet of trail groomers and a trail system comprising 8,800 miles statewide.

(Creston, IA) – Two people were arrested on separate charges over the past few days, in Creston. According to the Creston Police Department, 32-year-old James Dean Michelson, of Creston, was arrested Friday afternoon, following a traffic stop. Michelson was charged with Driving While Barred Habitual Offender and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He was transported to the Union County Jail, posted a $2,300 dollar cash or surety bond, and was released.

And, at around 12:10-a.m. Saturday, 19-year-old Caleb Lee Bunner, of Creston, was arrested for Public Intoxication. He was transported o the Union County Jail and held on a $300 dollar cash or surety bond. Bunner later appeared before a judge, pled guilty to the charge, and was released.