(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County Auditor and Commissioner of Elections Kathy Somers has issued a notification to residents of Cass County, that the first day to file nomination papers for the upcoming City/School Election is Monday, August 25, 2025. The last day to file is Thursday, September 18, 2025, at 5:00 PM. City candidates shall file nomination papers with the county auditor. School board candidates shall file nomination papers with the respective school board secretary.

Nomination papers may be circulated prior to the first date of filing and throughout the filing period. Nomination papers and candidate information are available in the auditor’s office and from the Iowa Secretary of State at www.sos.iowa.gov.

The following is a list of positions and signature requirements for the cities and school districts in Cass County:

For more information, please contact the auditor’s office at 712-243-4570 or auditor@casscoia.us.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds has issued a disaster proclamation for multiple counties in Iowa due to severe weather and flooding. Reynolds has issued a disaster proclamation for Chickasaw, Winnebago, and Winneshiek Counties due to severe weather and flooding that happened on Sunday. The proclamation authorizes state resources to be used in response to severe weather and flooding situations. It activates the Iowa Individual Assistance Grant Program (IIAGP) and the Disaster Case Advocacy Program (DCA).

The IIAGP offers grants up to $7,000 for families with incomes that are less than the federal poverty level or up to 200 percent. The grants are available for car repairs, food, and cost of temporary housing. The DCA manages significant needs related to a disaster-impacted household and a disaster case advocate. Case advocates work with individuals to create a recovery plan and provide advice on accessing resources. There are no income eligibility requirements for the program. It closes 180 days following the governor’s proclamation.

The proclamation will remain in effect for thirty days.

(Radio Iowa) – A doctor who helped treat soldiers during the battle that inspired the book and movie “Black Hawk Down” is touting the importance of blood availability. Dr. John Holcomb says it is important to have the blood available before patients are taken to the hospital based on what he learned in that battle in Mogadishu.

Holcomb spoke Wednesday in Sioux City about the protocols he developed for using blood based on that experience.

Dr.Holcomb. (KSCJ photo)

Holcomb says he lives in a rural area seven miles outside of the town of Burton, Texas.

Eric Banks is helping develop the strategies to get blood to people quicker.

Holcomb says it’s a more critical issue for rural areas because of the time it takes crews to respond to emergency calls.

Banks says they’ve talked with the Blood Center in Des Moines to get a pilot program going here.

Dr. Holcomb says the 1993 Black Hawk Down tragedy was the catalyst for him to support pre-hospital blood initiatives. He says blood is currently only available in two percent of ground ambulances in the U-S, and the effort is trying to change that.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – Officials with the Council Bluffs Police Department reports several recent arrests in connection with thefts from cemeteries in western Iowa and eastern Nebraska. Six people from Council Bluffs, one from Red Oak, and a transient were taken into custody In a news release early this (Thursday) morning, authorities said that in late July 2025, the Council Bluffs Police Department’s (CBPD) Criminal Investigation Division (CID) began an investigation into the theft of memorial vases from local cemeteries after receiving a tip from a concerned citizen.

The citizen observed a vehicle containing multiple memorial vases traveling near a scrap metal recycler. The citizen believed this was suspicious and contacted a friend who is a local funeral home director. The director confirmed the suspicious behavior and contacted the police department.

During the course of the investigation, it was discovered that two former contract employees at Westlawn-Hillcrest Cemetery, 5701 Center Street, Omaha, NE, allegedly began stealing memorial vases from the cemetery and selling them as scrap metal. Investigators believe the thefts began in late June or early July 2025. The investigation revealed that those former employees allegedly conspired with others to steal and scrap the vases.

Through the course of the investigation, detectives have recovered over 800 vases that were stolen from cemeteries in Omaha and Council Bluffs. The vases are predominantly made of bronze and are valued between $150 and $600 each, depending on the brand and type of vase. Investigators estimate that the total monetary loss to the many victims of this
theft ring is well over $100,000.00.

Investigators developed probable cause to apply for arrest warrants related to this case and on August 19, 2025, warrants were issued for the following suspects for the listed charges:

• 52-year–old Shane E. JACKSON, of Council Bluffs, was arrested in Council Bluffs on Aug. 20th, for Theft in the 1st Degree/Possession of Stolen Property, a Class C Felony and Solicitation of a Felony, a Class D Felony.
• 66-year-old Kenneth MEYEROTT, a Transient, was arrested in Council Bluffs and charged with Theft 1st/Possession of Stolen Property, after he was found to be in possession of stolen memorial vases with a total value over $10,000.00 He was subsequently charged with one-count of Solicitation of a Felony, a Class D Felony.
• 26-year-old Frankie S. DIAZ-LOPEZ, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Theft 1st/Possession of Stolen Property, a Class C Felony and Solicitation of a Felony, a Class D Felony. DIAZ-LOPEZ is currently incarcerated in the Douglas County, NE Jail on unrelated charges.
• 27-year-old Miranda M. SHAMBLIN, of Red Oak, was arrested for Theft 1st/Possession of Stolen Property, a Class C Felony.

The following individuals from Council Bluffs are being sought on warrants in connection with the thefts:

• 44-year-old Kristin M. DAVENPORT, who is also charged with Solicitation of a Felony, a Class D Felony.
• 50-year-old Tracey L. KLAHN
• 59-year-old Patty M. VANCE, and
• 58-year-old Larry F. TRUSLER

The Council Bluffs Police Department says relies on citizens to play a role in keeping our community safe by reporting their observations to local law enforcement. This investigation highlights the importance of “See Something, Say Something” and reporting anything out of the ordinary to police.

The Council Bluffs Police would like to thank the Carter Lake Police Department, the Omaha Police Department and the Pottawattamie County Attorney’s Office for their assistance in investigating this case. The Council Bluffs Police Department now requests the public’s assistance in locating and apprehending the suspects who remain at large. If you have any information on the whereabouts of these individuals, please contact 911 or the Criminal Investigation Division at 712-328-4728.

To remain anonymous, you may call CrimeStoppers at 712-328-7867 or submit an on-line crime tip at: https://www.councilbluffs-ia.gov/FormCenter/Police-Department-2/Online-CrimeStoppers-Tip-70

The CBPD says it will work diligently to return recovered vases to families. This will prove to be a difficult task due to the items lacking serial numbers. Be sure to have as much information about your loved one’s memorial before contacting police. This would include photographs, a bill of sale, or any information to help identify your loved one’s vase.

Finally, the public is reminded that the charges are not evidence against the defendants, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports three people were arrested Wednesday (Aug. 20th):

45-year-old Justin Alan Roberston, of Greenfield, was arrested for Violation of Probation. Robertson was taken to Union County Jail and held without bond until seen by a Judge.

36-year-old Tyler James Hicks, of Creston, was arrested at his residence for Failure to Appear [in court]. Hicks was being held without bond in the Union County Jail until seen by a Judge.

23-year-old Ethan Leroy Sheley, of Creston, was arrested Wednesday for Domestic Abuse Assault 1st Degree. Sheley was also being held without bond in the Union County Jail, until seen by a Judge.

(Creston, Iowa) — Terri Stephens-Higgins helps people share their journeys at Southwestern Community College in Creston as the marketing director. Now, she is sharing her story.

A year ago, she had her first of two surgeries to remove brain tumors. There are still five smaller tumors that doctors are monitoring. The days since her diagnosis were not always easy, and she turned her experience into advocacy. She wrote a children’s book, “Bella Bean on Blueberry Lane: The Puppy Wonder,” published last month. She is making a complicated topic like brain health easier to process.

In honor of her anniversary, Stephens-Higgins went around campus handing out 100 sunflowers, known as Operation Sunflower. It’s her way of spreading joy and kindness.

(Mitchellville, Iowa) — A central Iowa man has been charged with three counts of second-degree sexual abuse for allegedly abusing a young girl staying at his home in 2022.

Mitchellville police officers arrested Skyler Terry, 35, of Des Moines, on Tuesday for the abuse allegedly carried out in the basement of his former residence in Mitchellville.

According to a criminal complaint, in January of this year the girl “disclosed to her mother allegations of sexual abuse perpetrated by (Terry).” Court documents show that the girl stayed at Terry’s home on three occasions in June 2022 while her mother was traveling, and the abuse “occurred repeatedly during her visits.”

Terry has been on the Iowa Sex Offender Registry since 2007 when he was convicted of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse of a girl 13 or younger.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – A Des Moines police officer and another driver were injured Wednesday night after a crash on the city’s east side.

The police department says just before 7:15 p.m., an officer was on the way to a report of a domestic fight when the patrol vehicle collided with another vehicle in the intersection of Delaware Avenue and East Euclid Avenue.

Both drivers are being treated for minor injuries at local hospitals. The crash is being investigated. Police say other officers were able to respond to the domestic fight call.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Red Oak school officials have formally taken the next step towards changing athletic conferences within the next two years.

During its regular meeting Wednesday evening, the Red Oak School Board unanimously approved accepting an invitation to join the Western Iowa Conference no later than the 2027-28 school year. WIC officials invited 10 schools earlier this year, including Red Oak and Shenandoah–both of which were founding members of the Hawkeye 10 Conference over 90 years ago. The move also comes after school officials held a community forum on the potential switch Sunday evening.

The next steps include the WIC Board of Control officially voting both schools in on August 21st. Additionally, the move would need to be approved by a state conference realignment committee established by House File 783. However, at Sunday’s forum, Lorenz said the committee had yet to receive any official guidance from the state’s department of education.

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa nonprofit that advocates for the state’s hundreds of thousands of care providers is launching a new feature on its website to honor those vital helpers by letting them tell their own stories. Di Findley, executive director of Iowa CareGivers, says the first-person testimonials and photos put a face on the compassion of these important people.

An A-A-R-P Iowa study finds the state has some 65-thousand direct care workers, in addition to a staggering 330-thousand unpaid family caregivers. Findley says they provide the majority of care to Iowans’ loved ones, friends, and neighbors.

Being a caregiver can be very demanding physically and mentally, and often comes with little thanks, yet it’s work to which many people dedicate their lives.

Iowa has one of the nation’s oldest populations and Findley says the demand in the state for caregivers will only continue to rise.

She says the work caregivers do helps older Iowans and people with disabilities to live independently, while reducing the likelihood for institutional care.
https://www.iowacaregivers.org/caregiver-stories
www.iowacaregivers.org