(Clarinda, Iowa) – Page County Sheriff Charles McCalla has released a report on arrests that took place from Sept. 3rd through the 7th.

On Sunday (Sept. 7), Page County Deputies arrested 34-year-old Christine Whitney McGlade, of Villisca, for OWI, and Interference with Official Acts.

Last Friday (Sept. 5th), 52-year-old Gary Lynn Runyon, Jr. of Coin, was booked into the Page County Jail to serve time.

Five people were arrested in Page County on Sept. 4th:

• 21-year-old Lance Jo Harmsen, and 27-year-old Jason Lee Sarabia, Jr., both of Clarinda, were booked into the Page County Jail on Assault charges.
• 24-year-old Dunick Edward Garcia, of Clarinda, was booked into the Page County Jail on a warrant for Failure to Appear.
• 33-year-old Jessie Marie Patterson, of College Springs, was booked into the Page County Jail on Sept. 4th, on a warrant for Violation of Probation.
• and, 18-year-old Carly Jean Carnine, of Clarinda, was arrested for Assault and False Imprisonment.

On Sept. 3rd, Page County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 45-year-old Timothy Scott Fletcher, of Coin, on a warrant for Violation of Probation.

(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Creston Fire Department said a malfunctioning washer in a laundry room Sunday night at a dorm on the Southwestern Community College Campus, caused light smoke, setting-off a commercial fire alarm. The incident occurred a little after 10-p.m. at the Spartan Suites dormitory. Authorities say all students successfully evacuated the building.

Firefighters arrived and detected light smoke on the second floor, which appeared to be coming from the laundry room. By 10:15 p.m., additional resources were requested to assist with the investigation, and to clear the smoke. The investigation revealed that the source of the smoke was a malfunctioning washer.

Firefighters used fans to evacuate the smoke and the alarm system was reset, allowing students to return safely to their dorm rooms. No injuries were reported. (Photos: Creston FD Facebook page)

GREENE COUNTY, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Public Safety has issued a report on an officer-involved, fatal shooting that occurred over the past weekend. Authorities say on Saturday, September 6, 2025, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) requested assistance from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) with an officer-involved shooting in Greene County, Iowa.

At approximately 10:49 p.m., the GCSO assisted the Boone Police Department and the Boone County Sheriff’s Office with a pursuit that started in Boone County and continued into Greene County. The pursued vehicle came to a stop, and officers encountered 18-year-old Camryn Stonehocker, of Boone. Stonehocker exited his vehicle armed with a weapon. When Stonehocker advanced on officers, an officer fired his weapon, striking Stonehocker. Stonehocker died at the scene.

The involved officers were uninjured. They have been placed on critical incident leave in accordance with their department policy.

Once the investigation is completed, the findings will be forwarded to the Greene County Attorney’s Office and the Office of the Iowa Attorney General for review. No further details will be released at this time.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Red Oak Police Department reports a woman from Ringgold County was cited following a non-injury accident Friday afternoon. Authorities say a 2020 Jeep Cherokee driven by 74-year-old Sharon Kay Carr, of Mount Ayr, was traveling west on Highway 34 at around 4:35-p.m., Friday, when she ran a solid red light and proceeded into the intersection. Her SUV hit a 2002 Chevy pickup driven by 18-year-old John Hayes, of Red Oak, as he was traveling north on Highway 48, in Red Oak.

Hayes told police his light had turned yellow after he had already entered the intersection. Witnesses confirmed Carr had a red light and Hayes had a yellow light. Red Oak Police cited Sharon Carr for Failure to Yield to a traffic control device (Stoplight). Damage from the collision amounted to a police-estimated $12,000 altogether.

(Radio Iowa) – A Republican who was the youngest state legislator in Iowa history when he was sworn into office is running for the U-S House. Twenty-eight-year-old Joe Mitchell of Clear Lake served for the past eight months in the Trump Administration, most recently as regional director of the federal agency focus on housing. “Donald Trump needs the strongest ally possible in congress and I believe I’m that person,” Mitchell says. “Secondly, we have to make sure that we maintain and keep the Second Congressional District red, so the president has allies in congress that can support his agenda.” Iowa’s second district is currently represented by Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson of Marion, who is running for the U-S Senate in 2026.

After Trump won the 2024 election, Mitchell worked on the president’s transition team and he worked in the Federal Housing Finance Agency before his appointment in the Department of Housing and Urban Development this year. “I have the experience both on the inside and the outside because I’ve been a property developer for the last five years in this state. I’ve done workforce housing developments all across Iowa,” Mitchell said. “Every day I had to deal with regulation on the federal, state and local level and so I’m going to take that real life experience and take it to Washington.” Mitchell has worked on housing projects in places like Dyersville, Grinnell and Clear Lake.

Joe Mitchell of Clear Lake is running for Iowa’s 2nd district congressional seat. (campaign photo)

Mitchell, who was born in 1997, is part of Generation Z and nearly four years ago he founded a national non-profit called Run GenZ to encourage young conservatives to run for state and local office. Mitchell says his generation deserves a seat at the negotiating table in congress. “The issues we’re going to vote on in congress are going to impact me and my generation and my children more than anybody else,” Mitchell says. “…Right now you have $34 trillion in debt that my generation and our children will have to pay for. That’s something that’s ultimately something that’s driving me to run.” Mitchell holds a degree in business administration from Drake University and this past spring he was a visiting fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University. Mitchell worked alongside Democrats and other Republicans, including the general counsel for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

“I was the Kennedy School and the Institute of Politics. It’s a bit removed from the day-to-day at Harvard,” Mitchell said. “…But I did deal with a lot of the students from undergrad that would tell the bias they would deal with every day in class and I think the president’s right in the fight he’s taken to the Ivy League schools.” Mitchell is a native of Wayland, in southeast Iowa, and represented the area in the Iowa House for four years. “I learned what it meant to have a balanced budget as a state, to cut regulations, to cut taxes for working class families,” Mitchell said, “and so we’re going to take the same mentality to the United States Congress.”

Mitchell is likely to face a G-O-P primary in the second congressional district and three Democrats have announced they are running in the district, which includes 22 counties in the northeast portion of the state and includes the cities of Mason City, Cedar Rapids, Dubuque and Waterloo.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department today (Monday), says a man was arrested last Thursday (Sept. 4th) on an OWI charge. 22-year-old Angel Eduardo Medina, of Creston, was arrested at around 12:15-a.m., Thursday, for OWI/1st offense. Medina was transported to the Union County Jail and booked-in.

(An Iowa Capital Dispatch report) – Three wind turbine blades sit ground up inside the concrete blocks of a new retaining wall at Premier Credit Union in downtown Des Moines. It’s the latest project from Renewablade, a company in Bondurant that has found a way to use the materials and, in turn, alleviate the issue of what to do with the massive hunks of fiberglass and resin. Brian Meng with Renewablade said the company is finally in production after several years of research and development to figure out the best way to grind up the blades and incorporate them into the concrete. Right now, Renewablade makes three main products: the retaining wall blocks, like those used at the Premier Credit Union project, commercial highway barriers, and larger barriers used to bunker agricultural materials.

A retaining wall at Premier Credit Union in downtown Des Moines is made from concrete mixed with fiber from decommissioned wind turbine blades. (Photo courtesy of Renewablade)

Meng has spent his career in the recycling industry and several years ago started to notice the need for recycling the blades, which by nature must be replaced about every 20 years. One study estimated by 2050 there would be more than 2 million tons of retired wind turbine blades in the U.S.  Lawsuits cropped up in Iowa and other states as officials took notice of areas where the blades were being dumped and abandoned. It turned out the parties dumping the blades had been paid to recycle them but weren’t doing so.

Another Iowa-based company, REGEN Fiber, processes the blades into a grind that can be added to various types of concrete. A company in Boone has focused on the turbine generators and recycles rare earth materials from decommissioned wind turbines. Meng said Renewablade collects the blades from Iowa turbines, which are easier to transport to the company’s processing facility in Earlham, and from as far as Seattle and Maine. Meng said it “works well” when the decommissioned blades are close to home. For example, Renewablade recycled some of the blades that were damaged in a tornado near Greenfield in 2024. The blades can be around 200 feet long, or about the wingspan of a Boeing 747 jet, which makes transportation difficult and expensive.

The scale also means these blades take up a lot of space in a landfill. And yet, once ground up into concrete blocks, Renewablade was able to repurpose the blades from one whole turbine in just one small parking lot wall. Despite early pushback in Earlham towards the business, Meng said the company is fully operational this year with big plans to expand. Meng said the company is eying expansions into the UK and Texas.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Produce in the Park is now accepting vendor and sponsor applications for their 2025-2026 Holiday Farmers Market Series. This year, the holiday market series in Atlantic has expanded to five events: Boo-tique Market (October 18, 2025), Harvest Market (November 24, 2025), Christmas Market (December 20, 2025), Sweetheart Market (February 14, 2026), and Spring Celebration Market (April 4, 2026). Vendor applications and sponsorship information for holiday markets can be found online at www.ProduceintheParkAtlanticiowa.com. Printed copies are available at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce (102 Chestnut St. Atlantic, IA 50022). Questions can be directed to the Produce in the Park Market Manager at produceintheparkatlanticiowa@gmail.com or 712-249-5870.

Produce in the Park is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote local food and build community. Produce in the Park’s summer farmers markets are held weekly on Thursday evenings (4:30-6:30 PM) in the Atlantic City Park from June 5th through September 25th, 2025. Holiday farmers markets are held just before Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Easter. With the exception of Harvest Market, which is held on the Monday before Thanksgiving at the Cass County Community Center from 3-6 PM, all holiday markets are held at the Nishna Valley YMCA from 10 AM to noon.
Produce in the Park seeks vendors who sell handmade or homegrown foods and crafts. The 2025-2026 Holiday Farmers Market Series vendor fee is $25 per market, but vendors who register for all five markets and pay by October 1 receive a $25 discount and only need to pay $100 for all five markets.

Produce in the Park seeks sponsors who support community and wellbeing. Sponsorships offer various levels of recognition, including mention in radio and newspaper ads and press releases, booth space at markets, and the organization’s logo on event flyers. 2025-2026 holiday market sponsorships range from $250 to $1,000.

Annual sponsors for the full 2025-2026 summer and holiday market season include the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, Cass County Tourism, Cass Health, City of Atlantic, First Whitney Bank & Trust, Nishna Valley YMCA, and Gregg Young Chevrolet of Atlantic.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Agriculture says it will continue a special program that directs state funds to six food banks across the state so they can buy fresh food from local producers. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig says there is growing demand statewide for local foods.  “Survey after survey tells us that consumers are interested more and more in buying local, and of course, what we love from a business development, or a market development side, is we have tremendous opportunity. Our farmers, our food businesses in the state have a tremendous opportunity to meet that growing demand.” The Choose Iowa Food Bank Program sent funding to food banks in 55 counties in the first year, allowing them to buy nearly half a million dollars’ worth of local food.

The director of the Hawkeye Area Community Action Program food bank, Kim Guardado, says the program has helped stock the food bank’s shelves with good, healthy, colorful foods that will help feed some of the 344-thousand Iowans who don’t have enough to eat. “It’s one in nine Iowans, or up to one in six children that are facing food insecurity on a daily basis,” she says. Her organization purchased more than 300-thousand dollars of local food in the program’s first year.  “We’re so thankful that the legislature, the Department of Ag, has come together to really say, ‘hey, we agree that this is really worthy cause’, and also that food banks – we’re able to support that,” she says.

The Choose Iowa Farms to Food Banks program will direct another 200-thousand dollars to six food banks across the state.