(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Sheriff’s Office has issued a report on arrests.

• On August 7th, 29-year-old Ismael Alejandro Cerpa Huerta, of Monticello, was arrested on charges that include: Sexual exploitation of a minor; Enticing a minor under the age of 16; Four counts of dissemination and exhibition of obscene material to minors, and Grooming. Huerta was being held in the Cass County Jail.
• On August 9th, 38-year-old Paige Renee Rebarcak, of Walnut, was arrested for OWI – 1st Offense. She was later released on her own recognizance.
• On August 10th, Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 68-year-old Gary Lynn Kent, of Clarinda, for Possession of a controlled substance, and Possession of drug paraphernalia. Kent was was later released on his own recognizance. And, 30-year-old Christian Monreal Sempek, of Elliott, was arrested August 10th, on a warrant for failure to appear. Sempek was later released on bond.

(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Creston Police Department say two men were arrested on separate charges, Wednesday (Aug. 13):

• 40-year-old Jarod James Wilmeth, of Creston, was arrested for Violation of Probation. Wilmeth was being held without bond in the Union County Jail until seen by a Judge.
• 40-year-old John David Foster, of Creston, was arrested Wednesday for Theft in the 5th Degree. Foster was released from the Union County Jail after posting a $300 bond.

MONTICELLO, Iowa (KCRG) – The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reported a plane crash near Monticello, Monday. According to the the report, at around 2:49 p.m. Monday, the Jones County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a plane crash in a field south of Monticello. According to the NTSB, the crash involved a 1950’s-era North American T-28B Trojan, registered to East Iowa Air, Inc.

Another plane located the crash in a soybean field. The plane circled the area to alert first responders of the crash location. First responders located the crash shortly after. The pilot, identified as James Rohlf, died as a result of the crash. Rohlf was a member of Trojan Thunder – a team of pilots that perform in air shows all across the country. He was also a flight instructor and was the founder of his own nonprofit called the Aviation Heritage Foundation.

(Photo credit: https://www.warbirdsflyhere.com/t-28d)

After further investigation, authorities say the plane reported engine trouble shortly after leaving the Monticello Regional Airport and was returning to the airport. The pilot reported they were going down in a beanfield a minute later.

(Radio Iowa) – The leader of Lutheran Services in Iowa (LSI) says donations from across the state helped them continue working with around 200 refugees, despite the January loss of federal funding. L-S-I’s director of refugee services, Nick Wuertz, told supporters at the community’s response to the funding cut was immediate and generous.

Donations ranged from ten to 200-thousand dollars. He says organizations all across the country had to make staff layoffs immediately, and but they didn’t have to because of the donations.

L-S-I received donations from almost 600 people.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Supreme Court Justice Thomas Waterman won’t be a part of the case surrounding the deadly collapse of a Davenport apartment building in 2023. Three people died in the collapse and one woman had her leg amputated be rescue workers to get her out. A statement from the Iowa Judicial Branch says Justice Waterman decided to step away from the case because his former law firm is involved. The firm represents the City of Davenport and two city officials who are named in the lawsuit.

The Iowa Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments in early October.

(Radio Iowa) – It’s going to be a throwback Thursday (today) for the Iowa Lottery at the Iowa State Fair. C-E-O Matt Strawn says they will commemorate the sale of first lottery ticket at the Fair 40 years ago.  “So we’re going to attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the most people simultaneously scratching a lottery ticket,” he says. Strawn says they will try to go well beyond the record. “The current record was set in Poland in 2023 with 550 participants. Of course, at the Iowa Lottery, you know we don’t do anything small, so we’re going to aim for close to two-thousand participants out here at the fairgrounds,” Strawn says.
Each participant will get a free “Scratch, Match & Win” ticket that has a maximum prize of 50 thousand dollars.

“That’s the one that everyone will scratch simultaneously. We’ve got a commemorative gold coin that is going to be used for scratching,” he says. “And then during the course of the event, we have three separate drawings, two drawings for four-thousand dollar cash prize. And then we thought on the 40th anniversary it would be fun to have a 40-thousand dollar cash prize.” The big prize winner will be drawn after the record attempt. Strawn says the Iowa Lottery has come a long way from that very first scratch ticket that cost one dollar. “And that was a ticket that if you bought it at a grocery store convenience store, you could only redeem it at that grocery store at that convenience store where you purchased it,” Strawn says. “So you think about the tremendous evolution of all the lottery’s products, right? There wasn’t a Powerball back then. There wasn’t a Mega Millions. There wasn’t additional scratch tickets.”

Strawn says you can take part in the record attempt, but you need to get there early. “Any Iowan that wants to be a part of this Guinness World Record attempt, I would encourage them to line up no later than 4 o’clock. So the gates are going to open at 4.30 in the Elwell Family Park, which is in the northwest corner of the fairgrounds. And we do have limited capacity,” Strawn says. Scratch tickets have consistently remains the Iowa Lottery’s top selling product throughout the 40 years.

Strawn says the Lottery has raised two-point-five( $2.5) billion dollars for state programs in those four decades.

DES MOINES, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – The federal government’s most recent assessment of health-facility inspections indicates Iowa has failed to meet three key standards.

The new report from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services indicates the state-run inspection agencies that oversee nursing homes and hospitals around the nation fielded more than 107,000 complaints about health care facilities last year. That’s a 31% increase from 2019, which officials say may have contributed to 38 states failing to meet all of the federal performance standards.

Each year, CMS assesses the performance of the state agencies tasked with enforcing federal regulations concerning health care facilities. The latest data shows that last year, only 14 of the 52 agencies met all of the acceptable thresholds for the annual recertification of nursing homes, according to the CMS State Performance Standards System Findings published last week.

CMS’ report indicates the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing met most of the federal standards related to the inspection process in 2024, but failed to meet the standards in three areas:

— Off-hour inspections at the worst nursing homes: Under CMS guidelines, state agencies are to inspect the worst care facilities in their jurisdiction — the federally designated “special-focus facilities” that have recurring, serious deficiencies in resident care — during off hours to guard against homes altering their routine in anticipation of what should be a surprise visit by inspectors.

— Immediate jeopardy in acute-care settings: To accurately record the seriousness of deficiencies that can cause actual injury or death to residents in acute and continuing-care settings, inspectors must use a CMS-prescribed “immediate jeopardy template” in at least 80% of all cases where immediate jeopardy is cited. The template is used to document the evidence of each issue that places patients at risk.

— Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act violations in acute-care settings: State inspection agencies must initiate, on a timely basis, the intake and investigation of at least 95% of EMTALA immediate-jeopardy complaints tied to acute and continuing-care providers. EMTALA violations often relate to emergency-room patients being discharged without first being stabilized.

The Iowa Capital Dispatch asked the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing on Tuesday for its perspective on the CMS report. As of Wednesday afternoon, the agency had not commented on the report.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says she has not encouraged the government efficiency panel she appointed this spring to make certain recommendations. “This is an independent group. I’m not sitting in on the meetings,” Reynolds said during an interview with Radio Iowa. “I haven’t been talking to them and I want them, honestly, independently looking.”

The governor’s comments come after a member of the “Department of Government Efficiency” or DOGE said last week, that changing the pension system for public sector employees is an idea worth considering to trim government spending. It would mean flipping to a 401K like system where retirement income comes from investments.

House Speaker Pat Grassley and Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver say Republicans in the legislature have no interest in making those changes. Governor Reynolds said when she appointed members to her government efficiency panel, she made it clear nothing was off limits and changing the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System has been discussed before.

IA Gov. Kim Reynolds in a May, 2025 appearance on Iowa PBS

“Not to touch anybody that’s in it, but to take a look at new people coming in,” Reynolds said. “…This is a very complex issue. It’s a very sensitive issue. I’m counting on it. My daughter who is a teacher is counting on it.”

Democrat Rob Sand, the state auditor who’s running for governor, said changing the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System would break a deal made with public employees of the past and the future. He said they work for less than what they’d earn in the private sector, with the promise of a steady pension when they retire.

The government efficiency task force Governor Reynolds assembled plans to vote on recommendations in the coming weeks and present a final report at the end of September.

(Radio Iowa) – A Brazilian company that’s the world’s largest meat processor is buying a Hy-Vee food preparation facility in central Iowa that closed this spring. Hy-Vee used the facility in Ankeny to make sandwiches, salads, bakery items and take-and-bake pizzas. J-B-S will retool the plant and it will make fully-cooked, ready-to-eat bacon and sausage.

J-B-S is hoping to hire some of the Hy-Vee employees who were laid off when production starts next year. J-B-S operates plants in Council Bluffs, Marshalltown and Ottumwa and is building a plant in Perry to produce fresh sausage.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic High School Media Center saw more than the usual number of people in attendance during a regular meeting this (Wednesday) evening, of the Atlantic School Board. Six persons out of the crowd signed-in to voice their support of Atlantic High School Band/Choir Director Jarrod O’Donnell, who supporters say is doing much more for the program with no additional compensation.

ACSD School Board meeting, 8-13-25 (YouTube image)

Band and Choir teachers in the Atlantic District have two contracts: one for their full-time teaching contract for all of their classes and lessons taught during the school day. The other is an extra duty contract for taking students to after-school activities, such as competition, honor band, choir camps, etc.

According to concerned parents and community members, Mr. O’Donnell was asked to cover the music position for at least the first semester of the 2025-26 school year and for the second semester, if needed. O’Donnell was told he would not be reimbursed for giving up his prep period, because he goes to the middle school band during their band period. What it boils down to, is that the position is two full-time jobs, without additional compensation.

Superintendent Dr. Beth Johnsen has stated they are still looking for someone to handle the extra-duty contract. High School Principal Heather McKay acknowledged they ARE still searching for someone to fill that position.

Parents, meanwhile, are frustrated by the District’s decision to reduce children’s’ music education to a single 45-minute class period, rather than an enriched program. The speakers at tonight’s (Aug. 13^th) Board meeting, expressed their concern the District is gutting the program for the upcoming school year, which will negatively impact students.

Michelle Schuler

Michelle Schuler was the first to speak during the public forum. She said she is a long-time Atlantic resident, with four children who graduated from the District. She spoke on how the music program will be impacted.

Sophie Johnson, who will be an AHS Senior this coming school year, also addressed the School Board, on behalf of the student body.

She said the music program is just as important as sports.

The Board took no action on request to offer Mr. O’Donnell additional compensation for what supporters said was the equivalent of cramming 11 periods into seven periods of class time. The Board did approve (under their Consent Agenda), Recommendations to hire personnel for other positions, including: HS Building Secretary; HS Varsity Girls Soccer Coach; Girls Swimming Volunteer Coach; and NHS Sponsor, and Nutrition Dept. Cook.

In other business, the Atlantic School Board passed a Resolution setting August 27^th as the date for a Public Hearing on the Proposed Issuance of approximately $18.5-million in School Infrastructure Sales, Services and Use Tax Revenue Bonds.