Officials with the Creston Police Department report the arrest at around 1:45-a.m. Friday (Today), of 30-year old Katie Ann Howarth, of Creston. She was taken into custody outside of her home in the 800 block of N. Spruce Street, for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 1st offense. Howarth was brought to the Union County Jail and released on bond.

A Creston woman this (Friday) morning reported to Police, that her garage in the 100 block of N. Stone Street had been entered. The incident happened sometime between 8-p.m. Thursday and 5:30-a.m. today. A red softball bag, grey softball glove, a Ghost bat, and Demarini bat, and batting gloves were stolen. The loss was estimate at $1,700.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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(Radio Iowa) – Republican Senator Joni Ernst and Democratic challenger Theresa Greenfield debated a range of security issues Thursday night, during a live T-V forum. Health care security was a flash point. Ernst said the Affordable Care Act has failed to provide affordable insurance to all. “The public option that my opponent supports is really just a truck stop on the way to, on the road to a single payer system or government take-over of health care,” Ernst said. Greenfield says the public option would create competition with private insurance and let Iowans buy into Medicare rather than rely on their employer for insurance. “I have talked to folks who are entrepreneurs and they want to get started, but the cost of health care has kept them from doing that, forcing them to stay in a job instead of growing our economy with their creativity,” Greenfield said.

Asked to identify the greatest long-term security threat to the country, Ernst cited North Korea, Iran, China and Russia as “bad actors.” “If you look at our security, of course our national debt is a crisis that we really do need to face,” Ernst said. Greenfield responded: “I find it odd that Senator Ernst would recognize debt as a threat when she voted for a tax bill that increased the debt by $2 trillion,” Greenfield said.

As for other domestic threats, Ernst denounced white supremacists as “horrible organizations” and Greenfield said such groups should be monitored by federal law enforcement. Both were asked if systemic racism exists in America. Ernst was first to speak. “I believe that there are many challenges that we have in various systems, but I would not just say broadly that we have systemic racism across the board.” Then Greenfield answered: “Discussing systemic racism does not mean that any one individual is a racist, but rather that we have to look at the discrimination across our systems.”

Ernst spoke from a studio in Washington, D.C. Greenfield was in Altoona at a training facility for union apprentices. Technical difficulties during the live broadcast prevented the candidates from hearing some of the moderators’ questions. In some instances, the candidates’ answers couldn’t be heard. The event was co-sponsored by The Des Moines Register, K-C-C-I in Des Moines, K-T-I-V in Sioux City and K-W-W-L in Waterloo.

(Radio Iowa) – After three consecutive days of escalation, the number of Covid patients in Iowa hospitals has fallen slightly from Wednesday’s record level. On Thursday evening, the state website indicated 468 patients were being treated for Covid. That’s nearly twice as many as were hospitalized two months ago. Governor Kim Reynolds suspended all elective surgeries for several weeks at the beginning of the pandemic, but Reynolds says that’s not necessary now. “Our hospitals have indicated that they’re still doing ok,” she says. “They’re managing it.” However, Reynolds says the state is seeing “significant spread” of the virus.

IA Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks during a Press Conference (File Photo)

“Before we were able to really tie that to maybe a nursing home outbreak or a manufacturing plant and now what we’re seeing is more community spread throughout the state,” Reynolds says, “and we’re seeing more of our hospitals, in general, seeing an uptick in numbers.” The U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services was in Des Moines Thursday, warning the rising number of Covid cases in Iowa is concerning. Secretary Alex Azar advised against “casual household gatherings” among relatives, neighbors and friends. “Just because you’re related to each other doesn’t mean you can’t transmit the disease to each other,” he said. “Just because you’re neighbors and friends doesn’t mean you can’t transmit the disease to each other.”

Dr. Theresa Brennan is chief medical officer for University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, the first facility in the state to treat Covid patients last March. Brennan says they’re currently averaging between 20 and 30 Covid patients each day. “It’s been a long haul,” she says. “It’s been a long journey.” Dr. Brennan and her team monitor their supply of face masks and other personal protective equipment on a daily basis.  “Making sure we have enough for our people — and right now we do,” Brennan says. “But, as we saw in the beginning of the pandemic, those supplies may not be guaranteed and so we continue to watch them very closely.”

The governor’s current public health proclamation advises Iowans to ensure there’s enough room for social distancing for gatherings of 10 or more people. Thousands gathered outside Wednesday night for President’s Trump’s campaign rally at the Des Moines Airport. Reynolds says believes proper precautions were taken — and those who attended had a First Amendment right to do so. “We continue to say social distance. It you can’t, wear a face mask,” Reynolds says. “I had mine on. I was role modeling that’s what you’re supposed to do. Many of the individuals that were there had the face masks on, but much as they’ve done throughout the summer with other peaceful gatherings, at our churches, it is the rights of Americans to do that.”

In March, at the beginning of the pandemic, Reynolds issued a moratorium on large gatherings for religious services, but lifted it at the end of April.

Police in Red Oak report Officers early today (Friday), located a stolen vehicle in the 2400 block of N. Broadway Street. Upon further investigation, Police arrested 33-year old Stacy Irene Kelly, on charges that include Theft in the 2nd Degree – a Class D Felony, Possession of Drug paraphernalia, providing false information, and for being a Fugitive from Justice.

Stacey Irene Kelly

Kelly was taken into custody at around 12:15-a.m. and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where she was being held on a $5,000 bond. Red Oak Police were assisted in their investigation and the arrest, by Deputies with the Montgomery and Mills County Sheriff’s Departments.

The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce is asking businesses to decorate their windows pink for breast cancer awareness October 19th – October 23rd. Each business is encouraged to decorate and/or paint windows to promote breast cancer awareness. A “Pink Cruise” will take place on Thursday, October 22nd starting at 6 PM. Residents are encouraged to decorate their vehicles while they cruise “the loop”, viewing the creative window art. Along with the cruise, there will be a donation bucket at the Depot taking donations for Cass County Relay for Life.

At the request of the Atlantic Police Department, the following rules must be followed:

• Obey all traffic laws including stopping at all stop signs and traffic lights.
• Occupants must remain in vehicles at all times. Please do not sit on top of, or in the back of vehicles.
• No honking, out of respect for residential areas.

Capture the creative window art with #MyAtlanticIA and post to the Atlantic Area Chamber’s Facebook page or Instagram (AtlanticIowaFan). Contact the Atlantic Area Chamber with any questions at chamber@atlanticiowa.com or call 712-243-3017.

(Radio Iowa) – U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is encouraging Iowans who’ve recovered from Covid to donate their plasma. About 22-hundred Covid patients in Iowa have been treated with convalescent plasma. Azar says the product is available at 43 Iowa hospitals. “American enjoy access to convalescent plasma than patients in any other country,” Azar says.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar

Azar, who toured a blood center in Des Moines where plasma is being collected, says Iowa is among the states where Covid cases are rising and, as the weather gets colder, he urged residents to avoid the risks of socializing in groups. “That means family gatherings, it means neighborhood get-togethers,” Azar says. “…We are seeing increasing numbers of community spread throughout the Midwest, upper Midwest, northern plains from these types of casual household gatherings.”

A record number of 482 patients are being treated in Iowa hospitals for Covid. Azar says there’s been a 75 percent drop in the mortality rate among patients over the age of 70 since April due to new treatment options. “That’s real progress, but we also have concerning trends as cases rise in a number of places, including here in Iowa,” Azar says. “We should all be taking steps to protect ourselves — to keep ourselves, our families and our communities safe.”

More than 14-hundred new cases of Covid have been confirmed in Iowa through test results in the past day. At least one of five people tested in eight counties in the past two weeks have had the virus. In 10 other counties, between 15 and 20 percent of residents who were tested had Covid. Azar also visited Ames this (Thursday) morning. He met with a man who’s participating in a clinical trial for antibody products that may help prevent or treat Covid-19.

Azar says it’s the trial is for the same antibody cocktail President Trump took. “We want to just express our deep, deep appreciation to any individual who enrolls in a clinical trial because this enables us to establish the data, the evidence, the science that allow us to bring forward the next generation of therapies that can save people,” Azar says. Azar encourages Iowans to donate blood as well, since most traditional blood drives have been suspended during the pandemic.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa officials are investigating possible abuse at a troubled state-run institution for people with intellectual disabilities.  Kelly Garcia, director of the Iowa Department of Human Services, said in an interview Thursday that there is a “visible marking” on a resident at the Glenwood Resource Center, which has been rocked by scandals twice in the past four years, the Des Moines Register reports.

She said the injury couldn’t have been inflicted by another resident, because everyone who lives in the person’s house is immobile. Garcia said she asked the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation to help determine what happened.  “We’re still very much sorting through the facts,” she said.

The institution is home to about 190 adults with severe intellectual disabilities, such as autism or seizure disorders. The residents live in ranch-style homes spread around the campus.  Although no staff members had been suspended and no criminal charges had been filed, supervision has been increased, Garcia said.

She said her agency also reported the situation to a state entity that regulates health care facilities and the U.S. Department of Justice, which already is investigating the Glenwood Resource Center over allegations of poor medical care and unethical research into sexual arousal.

(Radio Iowa) – The National Weather Service released its annual winter outlook this (Thursday) morning with defined outlooks for either warm and dry or cold and wet conditions going into the winter season. But Climate Prediction Center Deputy Director Mike Halpert says it gets a little bit more complicated when you look at the jetstream and its impact on Iowa.

“The Iowa, Wisconsin area oftentimes falls in between or becomes very uncertain as to whether they become drier as a drier signal as the jetstream shifts further north or becomes wetter as it doesn’t shift quite as far,” he says. “So the forecasts for Iowa are actually in the equal chance category so there’s an equal chance for wet or dry, warm or cold.”

Dave Miscus is a drought expert at the C-P-C. He says our temperatures over the next several months will likely dictate what we expect come spring as far as ongoing drought conditions go even if we do end up in a wetter than normal pattern. He says once the soil freezes in the wintertime the soil doesn’t get into the soil and then we have to wait until spring to get any soil moisture recharge.

Miscus says if the soil freezes soon before any more precipitation, we enter the winter waiting. “Not looking too good for removing that drought in especially western Iowa — which has been lingering for the last six to nine months here. We’ll have to wait and see what the spring brings,” Miscus says.

The outlook released Thursday has higher probabilities or colder and wetter conditions to our north along with drier and warmer conditions to the south, but nothing is definitive at this point, especially not knowing exactly how strong the developing La Nina pattern is going to be.