(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports two accidents took place last week. On March 17th, a two-vehicle accident happened near the intersection Highway 83 and Gary Road. Officials say s 2017 Dodge Ram driven by Christopher Ullerick, of Wiota, was traveling North and preparing to turn East onto Gary Road.  A 1989 Oldsmobile driven by James Johnson, of Atlantic, was also traveling North behind Ullerick.  As Ullerick was turning East onto Gary Road, Johnson’s vehicle struck Ullerick’s vehicle on the passenger side.  Both vehicles sustained an approximated damage amount of $5,000, each.  No injuries were reported.

The next day, Cass County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a two-vehicle accident on Interstate 80 westbound, near mile marker 64.  Authorities say a 2017 Freightliner being operated by Tyrone Williams, of Norfolk, VA collided with a 2013 Freightliner being operated by Wisnal Michel, of Sunrise, FL.

As a result of the collision, the semi driven by Michel ended up in the North ditch, facing West, on it’s side.  The vehicle sustained an approximated $40,000 worth of damage.  Williams’ semi sustained zero to minor damage.  All parties involved denied medical attention with only minor injuries.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports there were five arrests over the past week. On Tuesday (3/22), 20-year-old Dylan Thomas, of Atlantic, turned himself-in on a warrant for Sexual Abuse 3^rd Degree.  On Monday, 29-year-old Jordan Kopp, of Anita, was arrested for Domestic Assault 1^st Offense.  Kopp was transported to the Cass County Jail, and later released on bond.

On March 19^th, 2022, Cass County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 43-year-old Timothy Wiig, of Council Bluffs, for OWI 1^st Offense.  Wiig was later released on his own recognizance.

On March 16^th, 28-year-old Donovan Bruning, and 27-year-old Thomas Bruning, both of Griswold, were separately arrested for Driving While Barred. Both were later released on bond.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Chamber Ambassador’s were hosted by Drennan Insurance on Thursday, March 24th, to celebrate Donnie Drennan’s 40 years in insurance.

Donnie Drennan began his career in insurance on March 1st, 1982, with Farm Bureau in Corning, and in May of 1983, he made the move to Atlantic to work with United Group Insurance. Five years ago, he made the decision to branch off on his own and opened Drennan Insurance. Drennan specializes in life, health, crop and long-term care annuities. He and his wife Arlene have been appreciative of the business community since their time in Atlantic and love how everyone takes care of each other.

Drennan Insurance is located at 104 E. 5th Street in Atlantic and is currently looking to sublease the multiple office spaces within the building. For more information, contact Donnie at 712-249-3253.

Adair County Deputy of Election, Joshua Nelson, reminds voters in Adair County, that “Beginning Tuesday, March 29, 2022 you may request an absentee ballot be mailed to you for the 2022 Primary Election to be held June 7, 2022.  Absentee ballots will be made available (in-office or by mail) no sooner than Wednesday, May 18, 2022.  If you have any questions regarding the Primary Election or absentee voting please contact the Adair County Auditor’s Office at (641) 743-2546.”

A traffic stop on a pickup truck for a moving violation this (Thursday) morning in Page County, resulted in a man taken into custody on drug charges. The vehicle was pulled-over at around 12:30-a.m. in the 900 block of Ferguson Road, in Shenandoah. During the traffic stop, the Shenandoah Police K-9 conducted a free air sniff of the vehicle. Shenandoah Police K-9 “Remmi” alerted to the presence of a controlled substance in the vehicle.

Daniel Lee Mattox

An investigation resulted in the arrest of 41-year-old Daniel Lee Mattox, of Clarinda. He faces charges that include Possession of a controlled substance (Methamphetamine), and Possession of Drug paraphernalia. Mattox was transported to the Page County Jail where he was being held on $1,000 bond, pending further court proceedings.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Conservation Board has partnered with the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, for a Land Protection in Iowa Public Program. Officials with the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation will speak about Iowa Natural Heritage’s statewide land protection efforts and challenges, in permanently protecting large blocks of wildlife habitat in Western Iowa.

The program will be held at the Atlantic Public Library Community Room on Saturday March 26th 10 AM. Please join the CCCB in enjoying this great adult public program.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports two people were arrested the past couple of days on separate warrants, while another person was arrested on an Assault charge. Early Wednesday afternoon, 35-year-old A-J Sydney Kercheval, of Omaha, was arrested on a warrant for Failure to Appear on an original, Possession of a Controlled Substance, charge. Bond was set at $2,000. This (Thursday) morning, 47-year-old Eva Marie Leon, of Bellevue, NE, was arrested at the Pottawattamie County Jail, on a warrant for Violation of Probation. Bond was set at $5,000.

And, Wednesday afternoon, 22-year-old Dustin Lee Mitchell Mabbitt, of Malvern, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault. He was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail.

(Radio Iowa) -A new national poll by Grinnell College finds teaching about racism is a big factor in the lack of trust in public schools. Poll Director Peter Hanson says the mistrust is large. “We asked our respondents whether or not they believe that public schools are on the right track or the wrong track in terms of what they are teaching in the classroom,” Hanson says, “and 64 percent of the people said that public schools are on the wrong track. And that included almost all Republicans — but even a plurality of Democrats.” He says they broke down the issues in three questions.

“Most Americans trust the choices that schools make about libraries –71 percent. Most Americans trust schools to make good decisions when a student is at risk of doing something violent — 69 percent. But only 49 percent trusted the ability of schools in terms of teaching about racism in the United States,” Peterson says. He says a further examination of the numbers reinforces the point. “Those who don’t trust schools teaching about racism were much more likely to say that schools were on the wrong track So, it really seems this continuing debate over how to teach racism in the classrooms is driving negative views about schools overall,” according to Peterson.

He says the concerns about the teaching of racism stand out again when they questioned if students should be taught to respect people of different races.”Sixty-nine percent of people said that that was essential — that they did want respect for people of different races to be taught in school,” he says. Peterson says this shows where the fault line is in how people think about how to teach about race in schools.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has unanimously approved a bill that defines elder abuse as a crime and sets up enhanced penalties for assaulting or defrauding an older Iowan. The bill applies to alleged crimes against dependent adults or individuals who are 60 or older. Republican Representative Dustin Hite from New Sharon, says “Many of us have dealt with these situations, whether it involves friends, family members, neighbors…and what this bill does is it provides additional protections for older Iowans.”

Hite, who is a lawyer, says he’s seen cases where someone has taken advantage of an older Iowan. “Whether it’s a family member, it’s a huckster or whether it’s somebody else that this person trusts, we see where they can take advantage of some of our most vulnerable Iowans,” Hite says.

The bill cleared the Iowa Senate last year. House members have made a small change to the legislation, to ensure family members or guardians don’t get charged for steps to protect an older Iowan by, for example, taking their car keys if they’re no longer a safe driver or telling a bank to stop allowing withdrawals on the person’s accounts. Representative Mary Wolfe, a Democrat from Clinton, voted for the bill, but she says there’s no evidence enhanced penalties would be a deterrent. “And personally, I don’t think that as soon as I turn 60, somehow a person who assaults me or steals from me should be more heavily sanctioned than someone who does it against someone who’s 59,” Wolfe says.

The bill has been a priority for A-A-R-P of Iowa. The group says because elder abuse has not been defined as a crime in Iowa, police and financial institutions have sometimes been unable to properly prosecute people who’ve taken advantage of an older Iowan or who’ve abused a dependent adult. House changes to the bill must be approved by the Senate before it could be signed into law by the governor.