(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak arrested a man Monday night who has no known address of residence. Authorities say 44-year-old Phillip Andrew Page was arrested at around 9:45-p.m. for Public Intoxication, and a Weapons Violation. Page was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – At least three Iowa cities are seeing multi-million-dollar legal settlements from chemical companies for PFAS contamination in drinking water. The biggest Iowa payout is to Des Moines which expects a ten-million dollar check as part of a class-action case. Christina Murphy is with the WEST Des Moines Water Works, which will receive more than three-million dollars from 3-M, DuPont, and other companies.

“The frustrating thing is that it hasn’t been ruled out at the federal level, so people can still use those compounds in manufacturing,” Murphy says. “A lot of industries have taken steps to not use them anymore, but there’s no federal rule preventing them from doing so.” Exposure to PFAS comes with several health risks, including thyroid problems, immune system changes and a higher risk of certain cancers.

Cory McCoid, with the Iowa D-N-R, says they started statewide sampling for PFAS in 2020 and about a dozen locations statewide have levels above federal guidelines. PFAS from firefighter foam is one of the sources.  “What we’ve seen a lot so far across the state is people taking wells offline,” McCoid says, “and then utilizing other wells or putting new wells in.”

Dubuque is also expecting a payout of more than three-million-dollars, Sioux City should get more than 500-thousand, and several more cities are still waiting on word. McCoid says smaller communities might not have the resources to participate in the class-action lawsuit.

(Radio Iowa) – A soybean disease called sudden death syndrome – or S-D-S — is showing up in more fields this year due to a wet growing season. Iowa State University Extension plant pathologist Daren Mueller says a soil fungus causes S-D-S, largely by producing a toxin that’s absorbed into the soybean’s leaves, which turn yellow and die. “The more rain we get, the more toxin that’s going to be there and sort of hastens the death of the plant. But you still, it is a patchy disease and sometimes the fields are not 100 percent infected. So, it’s still good to have a few rains to finish out the crop that isn’t infected,” he says.

Mueller says treatment is not an option once S-D-S is detected, but farmers can consider different soybean varieties and seed treatments next year. He says planting later in affected acres can also decrease risks of the disease.“As farmers are planting earlier and earlier, that actually increases the risk of S-D-S, so maybe identify the fields that are worst, and try to put those toward the end of your list that you’re going to plant,” Mueller says.

Mueller made his comments on the Iowa Public Radio show “River to River.”

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Fire Department was dispatched to the scene of two vehicles on-fire this (Tuesday) morning, The unoccupied vehicles were located on Commerce Street, just west of Linn Street. The dispatch was requested by an Atlantic Police Officer at around 3:46-a.m., who  saw the vehicles on fire while on patrol.

photo by KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

Fire fighters arrived on scene at around 3:54-a.m.

Additional information is currently not available.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Sheriff’s Office took to social media, Monday, to warn residents of a phone scam. Someone may call you saying that they are allegedly members of the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, and are trying to collect fees over the phone. Some of these scammers are even phishing the Sheriff’s office phone numbers and calling, masked as the Sheriff’s number.

The Sheriff’s Office reminds residents they WILL NOT collect fees over the phone. In fact, they will NOT ask for payment of any type over the phone.

If you are in question about the legitimacy of the phone call, gather the name of the alleged Sheriff’s Office employee, hang up and call the Cass County Sheriff’s office directly. Their office phone line is 712-243-2206 or the Cass County Public Safety Communications line is 712-243-2204.

As a general reminder, it is good practice to not give personal or financial information out to anyone over the phone, especially questionable sources.

NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa (KCRG) – An Eastern Iowa woman faces multiple charges after asking gas station customers to blow into her interlock device. On July 4, law enforcement were dispatched to a Kwik Star in North Liberty after receiving a report of a woman asking people to blow into her interlock device for her.

When police arrived on scene, they found 34-year-old Kristin State sitting in the driver’s seat of a running vehicle. According to a criminal complaint, State was the only one in the car. Officers made contact with State and noticed a strong smell of ingested alcohol. Police also noted that State had watery and bloodshot eyes, and slurred and delayed speech. State denied consuming any alcohol.

Police conducted standardized field sobriety tests on State. She failed two of them. A criminal complaint reports she showed signs of impairment during the tests she was able to complete. Testing revealed State’s blood alcohol content to be .351.

State is charged with operating while under the influence (OWI), driving while license is denied or revoked, and tampering or circumventing with an ignition interlock device. State also has three prior OWI convictions within the past 12 years.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Public Safety has updated the look and some of the features of the Sex Offender Registry website. D-C-I Agent Hunter Bellon oversees the site and says one thing they updated is the landing page. “Put a few of those features that we found were most used more prominently on that landing page to include our search feature in a lot of different locations. We’ve updated our most wanted landing site and our active registrant website,” Bellon says.

He says they’ve added what’s called a “heat map” to the iowasexoffender.gov site that shows where the 67-hundred registered offenders are located. “We had that in a portion of our old site, but it was searchable by county. So now you can go in and on this interactive map, scroll over any of the areas that you’re looking at and it gives you a count of offenders that are in those particular areas, then you can click on that particular county or area and it actually pulls up those offenders that are in that area,” he says.

Bellon says they send out some 70-thousand notifications each month to those who sign up to get them.  “We received millions of pings on our site, so that’s somebody going in and clicking on the various features so, it’s a widely used site,” Bellon says. “We’re super happy that people are using it and we want people to know about it so they continue to use that to provide safety for them and their family.” Bellon says you can still get the same notifications with the new website.

“If anyone is going into the site that has an established account already on the old site, all of their watches and notifications will continue to transmit. However, if they sign in on the new site, they will have to establish a new account with an e-mail address. And once they sign in under that new account, they’ll have the option to merge their old account in their new account. So everything should carry over seamlessly,” Bellon says.

Bellon says if you have trouble signing in, you can get help on the contact page of the website.

(Radio Iowa) – Bankers in Iowa and nine other states who responded to the latest “Rural Mainstreet” survey predict many Midwest grain farmers will have more expenses than profits this year. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss conducts the monthly survey. “It’s all about those two words that we always use: supply and demand. And I think in this case it’s too much supply for most of the grain products out there,” Goss says. “The bankers expect one-fifth of the grain farmers to experience negative cash flow — of course that’s not good, negative income.”

The U-S-D-A predicts Iowa farmers will harvest the largest ever corn crop this fall and that bumper crop means lower prices — projected to be around three-dollars-and-60 cents per bushel. Goss says there are other troublesome economic signals in the farm economy. “Farmland prices are down for the month and farm equipment sales down for the 24th straight month,” Goss said. “…Iowa and Nebraska had the worst economic performance from the fourth quarter of 2024 to the first quarter of 2025 — the worst in the nation — and that’s all about agriculture.”

Goss says urban areas are doing much better, but Midwest economies rely heavily on the performance of the ag sector. A weaker U.S. dollar may eventually boost overseas grain sales, according to Goss, and he says there may at least be a short term break for borrowers if the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates in September.

(Atlantic, Iowa) –  The Board of Directors of the Atlantic Community School District will meet at 6:30pm on August 27, 2025 for a public hearing and a special board meeting in the Atlantic High School Media Center located at 1201 E 14th Street in Atlantic, IA.

Public Hearings (public hearing will begin at 6:30PM and be held in the following order):
1. Call to Order
2. Roll Call
3. Motion to Open Public Hearing
4. Allow for Public Comment
5. Motion to Close Hearing
● High School Roof Replacement – Phase 1 The board, through Snyder & Associates, is accepting bids for the High School Roof Replacement – Phase 1. Notice was published on August 15, 2025 in the Atlantic News Telegraph that a hearing for the public to appear and present objections to, or arguments in favor of, any part of the High School Roof Replacement – Phase 1 bids.
● Hearing on the Proposed Issuance of Approximately $18,500,000 School Infrastructure Sales, Services and Use Tax Revenue Bonds: The hearing is for the purpose of the proposed issuance of approximately $18,500,000 School Infrastructure Sales, Services and Use Tax Revenue Bonds which may be issued in one or more series over multiple fiscal years pursuant to Iowa code Sections 423F.2 and 423F.4 for the purpose of providing funds to build, furnish and equip a new multipurpose indoor practice facility/fieldhouse at the high School with related site improvements, including costs of issuance and a debt service reserve fund if required by the purchaser. Any bond proceeds remaining after completion of this project will be used for other school infrastructure projects as authorized by the School District’s Revenue Purpose Statement. Notice was published on August 15, 2025 in the Atlantic News Telegraph that a hearing for the public to appear and present objections to or in favor of.

School Board Special Meeting
(Immediately Following Public Hearing):
1. Call to Order
2. Roll Call
3. Motion to approve Agenda
4. Discussion Item(s)
a. HS Roof Replacement Bids-Phase 1, with Austin Sonntag from Snyder & Associates Bid Tabulation
b. Bond Referendum and Master Plan Review
c. Bull Creek Project
5. Action Item(s)
a. Approve High School Roof Replacement Bids
b. Resolution Approving Revenue Purpose Statement, Ordering an Election on a Revenue Purpose Statement to Authorize Expenditures From Revenue Received From the State Secure an Advanced Vision for
Education (SAVE) Fund, and Ordering the Publication of a Notice of Election
c. Resolution Supporting the Proposed Issuance of Approximately $18,500,000 School Infrastructure Sales, Services and Use Tax Revenue Bonds

d. Approve Recommendations to Hire:

• Angela Gallegos & Janet Carpenter – Nutrition Cooks
• Michelle Andersen HS Musical Pit Director, supplemental pay
• Benjamin Cordova, Dillon Cox, Gracey Pelzer, Kourtney Baier, Luke O’Reilly, Lennae Grandin, and Laura Retallic, Special Education paraprofessionals.

Approve Resignations:

• Nathan Block, Freshmen Boys Basketball Coach
• Brett Johnson, Grounds Crew Supervisor
• Brett Johnson, MS Softball Coach
• Amber Jipsen, Athletic/Activities Secretary

f. Approve Open Enrollment – In/Out
g. Approve Vendor Contracts
i. Athletic Training Contract (Proposal #2) with Peak Performance, Owner Bobby Reisz to provide an athletic trainer for Football, Wrestling, Cross Country and Soccer Athletic Training Contract (Proposal #1) which includes Football, Wrestling, Cross Country, Soccer but also includes Home Basketball games, On-site hours on Tuesdays and away Varsity football games.
ii. Council Bluffs Consortium Agreement for Children’s Square (learning services) and Heartland Family Service (therapeutic services), Heartland of Omaha.
iii. Athletic Sharing Contract for Swimming: Griswold School District
iv. Approve Early Childhood Consultation

6. Upcoming Dates: Regular Board Meeting, September 10, 6:30 pm, High School Media Center
7. Motion to Adjourn Meeting

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with the Cass County Auditor’s Office, Monday (today) released a list of persons who filed for an elected office in Cass County, in advance of the 2025 City/School Election in November. Candidates who filed their nomination papers as of August 25th, include:

For Mayor of Atlantic:

• Rob Clausen

For the Cumberland City Council:

• Matthew Dolch

August 25th was the first day candidates could file their nomination papers with the required number of signatures. The last day to file is September 18th, 2025, at 5:00 p.m.