A Kiwanis project that started 25-years ago in Atlantic, continues with their mission of keeping kids safe while on a bicycle. Kiwanis member Steve Green said it all started with a Bell Helmets advertisement in a magazine.

After he got the go ahead to incorporate a bike safety program, Green called then Atlantic Police Chief Roger Muri, he wanted to get involved and sent his – at that time – Officer Steve Green to work with the program. It wasn’t long afterward that Barb and Dave Chase with Nishna Valley Trails got involved, to share their experiences and expertise in riding bikes.

Bell Helmets used local newspaper articles about the program to start other programs across the nation. To date, there are 5,000 similar programs established across the country for kids’ bicycle safety.

During the third year of the program, if a child’s helmet was damaged while being used, it would be replaced. In one such instance, a girl’s helmet broke into three pieces, but she didn’t suffer any injuries to her head. Atlantic’s program was also a part of Bell’s test program of a new helmet design.

The Kiwanis are giving helmets to third-graders in Atlantic and the CAM School District. The Griswold Optimists buy helmets for third-graders in Griswold, as well. Home school kids are also invited to attend the bicycle safety program. This year school has a “No Visitor” policy, so the program is not available. Last year the Bicycle Safety Program was put on hold due to COVID, but kids were still given helmets. They were placed inside their lockers for them to take home free of charge.

The discounted helmets still cost the organization $32,000 over the course of the 25-years the program has been in existence. Green says he knows of at least a half-dozen kids who were saved from more serious injuries, through the use of a bike helmet. In addition to bicycle helmets, the Kiwanis donate teddy bears to emergency rooms to help settle down a child who may be upset due to their injuries. He says about 150 bears are given away each year at the hospital.

If you would like to become involved with the Kiwanis and helping youth in the area, call Steve Green at 243-1247.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans who are members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community spoke out against increased violence against Asians across the country during a weekend rally in Des Moines. Speakers told stories of hate and discrimination to help raise awareness of Asian experiences in Iowa. Bonnie Manyvong said she’s proud of her younger brother for helping to organize the event.  “Someone had to speak out,” Manyvong says. “I mean, our culture is pretty much brought up where we were raised to be silent and quiet. Not to talk, not to speak, walk away from a situation even if it bothers you.”

A report found there were more than 37-hundred Asian hate incidents nationwide in the past year. Matthew Manyvong says he decided to put the rally together on impulse after six women of Asian descent were killed in Atlanta two months ago.  “It can happen anywhere,” Manyvong says. “Why wait for something to happen here when we can prevent it from happening?”

From 2019 to 2020, anti-Asian hate crimes increased more than 140-percent. Manyvong says that’s why there are more events like these to come. He says this was the first event of many to unify the Asian community in Iowa.

(By Kassidy Arena, Iowa Public Radio)

The Cass County Board of Supervisors will hold their regular weekly meeting beginning 9-a.m. Tuesday (April 13). On their agenda is discuss and possible action (D/A) on:

• Approving a Resolution for the Secondary Roads Dept. Construction Program.
• Approval of new hires by the County Engineer.
• Approval of a Resolution with regard to the 2021 Weed Control Program.
• Establishing a Cass County temporary county redistricting commission (districts based on 2020 Census data).
• Appointing members to the Cass Co. Zoning Board of Adjustment and/or Zoning Commission, for the remainder of open terms.
• And, appointing a member (A licensed physician) to the Cass County Board of Health (for the remainder of a term ending 12/31/2023).

The meeting takes place in the Supervisor’s Board Room at the Courthouse in Atlantic. Persons interested may view/and or participate via Zoom, at the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/138870131?pwd=dnRLK2ZjcWQ2SWpMQm0wK1c0b2pwUT09

With Ric Hanson.

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The Creston Police Department reports six people were arrested over the past few days. At around 1:45-a.m. today (Monday), 32-year-old Gilberto Pantoja, of Lenox, was arrested for Public Intoxication. He was later released on a $300 bond.  At around 7:20-p.m. Saturday, 33-year-old Cody Wilson, of Thorton, CO., was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, on an Adams County warrant for Harassment in the 3rd Degree. He was also later released on a $300 bond.

Saturday afternoon, 42-year-old Brady Richert, of Creston, was arrested in Creston for OWI/2nd offense. He was later released on $2,000 bond. 29-year-old Lucas Perrigo, of Thayer, was arrested Saturday, for Assault with Injury. He was later released on $1,000 bond. Friday afternoon, 35-year-old Skylar Rufenacht, and 33-year-old Samantha Meek, both of Creston, were arrested for Violation of a Protection Order. They were later released on $300 bond, each.

And, a Creston man reported to Police on April 5th, that mailboxes were vandalized in the 900 block of Cottonwood Street. Officers at the scene discovered three mailboxes and a post that had been damaged. The loss was estimated at $150.

The 7:07-a.m. local news report, w/Ric Hanson.

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Red Oak Police say no injuries were reported following a collision Sunday at the intersection of N. 8th and E. Reed Streets. Authorities say a 2007 Pontiac G6 driven by 17-year-old Courtney Lynn Hoswell, of Red Oak, was traveling east on Reed Street (going the wrong way on a one-way street). When she attempted to cross N. 8th Street, her vehicle was struck by a 2018 Chevy Equinox driven by 24-year-old Candis Ann Tiepelman, of Lenox, that was traveling northbound on 8th.

Damage to the vehicles amounted to $4,000. Red Oak Police cited Hoswell for Failure to Yield upon entering a through street.

The Red Oak Police Department reports officers arrested two women on drug and other charges late Sunday night. Authorities say 28-year-old Ray Jean Mae Steele, and 28-year-old Alina M. McFarland, both of Red Oak, were arrested a little after 11-p.m., for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Gathering where marijuana is used. Steele faces an additional charge for four counts of Child Endangerment. Her bond was set at $2,000. Bond for McFarland was set at $1,000.

A traffic stop at around 9:50-p.m. Sunday, in Red Oak, resulted in the arrest of 42-year-old Devlin Jay Phillips, of Council Bluffs, for Driving Under Suspension. His bond was set at $491.25. And, at around 6:30-p.m. Sunday, 62-year-old Scott Wade Barry, of Red Oak, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) –  On Sunday, hundreds lined the highway into Independence as the hearse carrying the body of 51-year-old Iowa State Patrol Sergeant Jim Smith passed by. Smith was shot to death late Friday night during a stand-off with a Grundy Center man. Iowa Public Safety Commissioner Stephen Bayens says Smith died a hero.

“He was shot and killed, attempting to arrest a barricaded subject. He sacrificed himself protecting others.” Smith, a 27-year veteran of the patrol, was the leader of a regional tactical unit and had entered the Grundy Center home of Michael Lang with a team on Friday night when he was shot to death. After another gun fight three hours later, Lang was taken into custody. Authorities say he’s in critical condition at the University of Iowa Hospitals after surgery for multiple gunshot wounds. The public safety commissioner paid tribute to Sergeant Smith during a news conference on Saturday.

“Sergeant Jim Smith was a guardian of justice,” Bayens said. “…I’m going to keep saying his name until his sacrifice is seared upon the hearts of anyone that can hear my voice.” Smith is survived by a wife and two children. Smith, who has been stationed at the patrol’s Oelwein office since 1996, is the first trooper to be shot to death while on duty since 1936. The man charged with murdering Smith Friday night was known to authorities, according to the Division of Criminal Investigation.

The Des Moines Register reports Lang had recently been cited for trespassing at a Grundy Center bar where he had been banned due to belligerent behavior. Court records show he was charged with third offense drunk driving in 2009, a felony. Lang unsuccessfully ran for sheriff as a Democrat in 2020. Authorities say Lang’s father went to his son’s house early in the stand-off and told officers his son had several guns inside, including a shotgun.