(Radio Iowa) – Just over 885-thousand Iowans have already voted in Iowa. That’s about 56 percent of the total turnout in Iowa for the last presidential election in 2016, so Iowa has obviously set a record for early voting. There are about 100-thousand outstanding absentee ballots that have been requested, but not cast. Both political parties are encouraging those voters to either deliver their ballots in person at a drop box or to the County Auditor’s office by Monday at noon OR show up at a polling site on Election Day with that ballot.

Iowa voters can turn over their absentee ballot and get a new one to vote in person on Election Day. If an Iowan asked for an absentee ballot, but cannot find it, they may cast what’s called a provisional ballot on Election Day.

Atlantic Rising, in partnership with Hy-Vee, will continue to lead the Christmas Box Program this holiday season despite the challenges 2020 has brought. On December 17th, members of Atlantic Rising will help fill and deliver boxes of food items families and individuals can use to cook Christmas dinner to those who have been nominated. To nominate a family or individual, or if you are interested in volunteering, contact Atlantic Rising at 712.243.3017 or chamber@atlanticiowa.com.

Bailey Smith, Executive Director at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce said “The program was started by the Atlantic Jaycees over 20 years ago and helps families and individuals in need of a Christmas dinner.” Kelsey Beschorner, Program Director at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce said “Atlantic Rising, along with volunteers, delivered boxes to 86 individuals and families last year. With the challenges of COVID-19, we are expecting to see a significant increase in nominations this year.”

Kelsey said also, “Trivia Night was continued this year as the organization’s main fundraising event and saw another packed venue in February. With the expected increase in families served, we will be reaching out to businesses and community members asking for donations and volunteers to help serve as many families as possible. Our community needs us more than ever and we are ready to put in the work.”

Beschorner says “Atlantic Rising is proud carry on this tradition of the Christmas Box program, and we are thankful that we are able to partner with HyVee and give back to the community in such a great way.”

The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors have announced that they intend to make an appointment to fill the vacancy in the office of Montgomery County Treasurer. Their action takes place at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, December 1, 2020, in the basement meeting room at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Red Oak. The person appointed will conduct the duties of that position until the seat appears on the General Election ballot in November 2022 or earlier if a Special Election is ordered.

Persons interested in the appointment must submit a letter of interest and a resume no later than November 20, 2020 at 4:30 p.m. Requirements must be sent to the Montgomery County Auditor’s Office, 105 E Coolbaugh, PO Box 469, Red Oak, Iowa, 51566. They can be mailed, hand-delivered or put in the drop box located at the Courthouse.

Notice is further given that the electors of Montgomery County have the right to file a petition in accordance with Code of Iowa 69.14A requesting a Special Election. Said petition shall be filed with the County Auditor within 14 days after the vacancy is filled by appointment. The petition shall meet the requirements of Code of Iowa 331.306, which, in part, states the petition must be signed by a number equal or greater than at least 10 percent of the votes cast in the County for the office of Governor at the proceeding General Election which equals to 397 signatures

(Radio Iowa) – The Harrison County board of supervisors has approved a countywide mask mandate, but the requirement won’t be in place quite yet. Harrison County Public Health Administrator Brad Brake says the county is still figuring out the next steps. He says the document will be published in local newspapers next week and will likely take effect several days later.  Brake says, “For our schools that don’t currently have a requirement in place, it gives me time to talk through what that looks like for those schools.”

Two school districts don’t require masks on their own, but the countywide requirement forces them to. The requirement applies to schools and other indoor public settings — like pharmacies, grocery stores and hardware stores. There’s no enforcement behind it but Brake says he hopes it draws attention to how real the pandemic is there.  Brake says, “If nothing else, people have learned more and we will see an uptick in mask use until we have better measures that can protect our residents.”

Some exemptions include people who are under two years old and while someone is exercising. The county’s coronavirus infection rate has stayed above 20 percent since October 9th. Three of its four long-term care facilities currently have outbreaks.

(reporting by Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – Halloween is tomorrow (Saturday) night, which also marks the end of Daylight Saving Time, as we move our clocks back an hour. Sioux City Police Sergeant Jeremy McClure says the weekend brings a high potential for an increase in drunk drivers: “This weekend’s going to be big for parties and people going out, especially with Daylight Saving Time ending this weekend, so that’ll be an extra hour at the bars,” McClure says. “We know there will be an increase of impaired drivers on the road. We want to remind people to designate a driver and get home safe.”

Even though trick-or-treating takes place early in the evening, McClure says those early party goers need to be aware there will be more people than normal out on the streets:  “With more people out and about, especially Saturday night, more kids trick or treating, even just a few drinks impairs your ability to drive a car safely,” he says. “We want people to be aware of that and not drive if they’ve been drinking.”

There will be more local law enforcement on the streets, too. “As always, we have grant funds to have extra patrols out,” McClure says. “We will have officers out specifically looking for impaired drivers. Our goal would be to find no impaired drivers. That would be a great weekend for us.”

McClure hopes those people who are out partying will take advantage of ride shares or have a designated driver.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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A woman from Adams County says she forgot her cell phone while she was in the restroom at the Creston Walmart, on Oct. 16th. The Prescott woman told police that when she went back to retrieve it, the Samsung S9 phone was gone. The device was valued at $400.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police in Des Moines say they’ve made an arrest after a shooting killed a man and injured a woman. Police say the shooting happened around 7:30 p.m. Thursday near the grounds of East High School. Officers called to the scene found a 29-year-old woman with a gunshot wound to her leg and learned that a 21-year-old man had been taken to a hospital with a gunshot wound to the chest and later died. Police have not yet released his name.

Minutes after the shooting, police arrested a suspect with the help of information from witnesses. Police say 27-year-old Wesley Marquise Bekish is charged with first-degree murder and a weapons count in the shooting.

(Radio Iowa) – Despite the pandemic, many Iowa communities are still holding trick-or-treat nights for kids this weekend, while some adults are hosting socially-distanced Halloween parties. Juanita Cameron is a clerk at the Theatrical Shop in West Des Moines, which specializes in costumes. She says one particular mask is selling big this fall. “That plague doctor mask with the pointy nose, it’s brown,” Cameron says. “Of course, plague says it all, so I think they just want to show people that they’re in the mood.”

Plague Doctor mask

While health care workers are being seen by many as heroes during the COVID-19 plight, Cameron says very few people are dressing up in scrubs or other costumes to resemble doctors and nurses. “Interestingly enough, I have not sold any,” she says. “People are going towards superheroes because they want to see victory at the end of what’s going on.” The popular superheroes this Halloween include old favorites like Superman, Batman and Spiderman. With the election days away, Cameron says political candidates are also making for sought-after costumes.  “The most popular ones are the presidential nominees, Mr. President and also Mr. Biden, so those are very popular,” Cameron says, laughing. “We even have Dr. Fauci.”

It’s said that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, and if that’s the case, Trump is leading Biden at her store. “Most of them are getting the Trump wigs,” she says, “so I would say the Trump wigs are going out faster than the Biden mask.” Forecasters say it’ll be a chilly weekend for trick-or-treaters, with lows expected both tonight (Friday) and Saturday night in the 20s and 30s across the state.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:05-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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