(Atlantic) – Iowa Republican Governor Kim Reynolds paid a visit to Audubon, Atlantic and Greenfield this (Wednesday) afternoon. In Audubon, she visited the Blue Grass Inn & Suites. In  Atlantic, she met with SHIFT ATL organizers and investors in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall. In Atlantic, the Governor learned the mission of SHIFT ATL is “To revitalize Atlantic through projects, services and programs that will enhance the community and foster a sense of development and growth.” That includes the pursuit of a wine bar/tap room, in downtown Atlantic. The Governor was impressed with the efforts the group of young female entrepreneurs and investors have made in bringing vitality to the community.

SHIFT ATL announced late last month they are seeking to partner with a restaurateur that has experience successfully operating and managing a bar and/or restaurant. The objective is to provide a modern atmosphere complete with an upscale experience with a small town feel within the establishment coupled with food items customarily associated with wine bars or tap rooms.

Gov. Kim Reynolds (Left) speaks with SHIFT ATL organizers and investors (9/9/20) Ric Hanson-photo

SHIFT ATL acquired the building formerly known the Downtowner Café with the goal to completely renovate the building for a bar/restaurant space on the first floor and a residential unit on the second floor. The building’s first floor is 1,426 square feet for commercial space and 509 square feet for the kitchen area towards the back of the building. The building is currently a blank slate for the business to work with SHIFT ATL through renovations to occupy the space.

After the session with SHIFT ATL organizers and investors, Gov. Reynolds said when asked, she could not confirm what the Trump Administration may be planning to announce regarding oil company waivers from ethanol blending requirements. Reynolds says she saw the Reuters report on Tuesday evening that indicated Trump has directed the E-P-A to deny waivers the oil industry requested in previous years.

The E-P-A has yet to announce its decision on dozens of oil industry requests to be excused from the federal mandate that a certain amount of ethanol be blended into gasoline each year. These so-called “gap year” waivers date back to 2011. The oil industry just filed a request for the U.S. Supreme Court to review a circuit court decision that the E-P-A has failed to follow federal law when granting past waivers. There’s also a separate batch of ethanol waivers for 2019 and 2020 and Reuters reporting does not indicate the president’s rumored directive would apply to those.

She was also asked about the recent Iowa Court rulings where judges declined to halt enforcement of a State requirement for schools to return students to classrooms.

Her last stop of the day was in Greenfield, at “The Corner.” Earlier in the day, she was in Blencoe and Dunlap. Her schedule Thursday include stops in Casey and Jefferson.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A U-S District Court Judge in Council Bluffs, last Friday, sentenced a western Iowa man to prison on a child pornography charge. 47-year old Jason Wickett, of Little Sioux, was sentenced to 200 months (16.6-years) in prison, and eight years of supervised release to follow his prison term, for distribution of child pornography.  Wickett pleaded guilty to the
offense on April 22, 2020.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation began an investigation into Wickett from an online investigation of a TOR hidden services site, which is designed to conceal an internet user’s identity and activity, by the Federal Bureau of Investigations Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. The hidden services site was primarily operated to sexually exploit children. Wickett distributed child pornography on hidden service sites on the TOR network in November and December 2019. A search warrant was executed at Wickett’s residence on December 17, 2019. Law enforcement seized electronics that contained images and videos of child pornography.

United States Attorney Mark Krickbaum stated, “The sentence imposed in this case should serve as a clear message to anyone who uses the dark web to distribute or view child pornography. You are not anonymous, and after you are arrested and convicted, you will go to federal prison.” Following the sentencing, FBI Omaha Special Agent in Charge Kristi Johnson stated, “The 16- year sentence handed down to Jason Wickett illustrates the seriousness of his crime. FBI Omaha and its Omaha Child Exploitation Task Force will continue to investigate and arrest these predators who prey on the most vulnerable of our communities.”

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigations Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations, and the Harrison County Sherriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A western Iowa man has been sentenced to three years of probation for stealing nearly $15,000 from cash registers at Fleet Farm store in Sioux City. The Sioux City Journal reports that 22-year-old Robert Smith, of Bronson, received the sentence Tuesday after pleading guilty to a single count of first-degree theft. Smith was also ordered to pay $14,805 in restitution to Fleet Farm.

Prosecutors say Smith began taking cash from a register at the store on Sept. 30, 2018, shortly after the store opened, and continued to take money from registers on a daily basis. He was arrested Nov. 19, 2018.

(The missing person alert was cancelled 9/10/20 after the gentleman was found deceased. Please look for an updated report on the kjan.com News page)

(Original Post) Law enforcement officials, friends, and family are searching for a missing Page County resident. Authorities say 80-year old Donald Eugene Ripley, known as “Gene,” a long time resident of Page County, has been missing since early Thursday morning September 4, 2020, when he left Uvalde, Texas. He has yet to arrive home or to any friends or family members’ residence. Ripley was last seen driving a red Chrysler Town and Country Minivan, with license plate number HVM-886. The vehicle has no rack on top. Reportedly, the license plate was read in Denton County, Texas approximately 28 hours after he left Uvalde.

Gene has been entered nationwide as missing. Facebook posts have also listed him as missing with the provided information. A Silver Alert application in Texas was sent by the Sheriff’s
Office and was accepted and broadcasted. PAGECOMM dispatch has sent administrative messages to numerous agencies throughout the southern part of the United States for different
routes that Gene might have taken to see other family members. Gene has a medical condition that requires medication daily. It is believed that the supply that he possibly took with him would be close to running out if not already gone.

Gene was last seen in the clothes in the photos shown in this report. Gene usually wore this clothing style and would usually be clean shaven and wear his hair in this style. Gene is 5’10” tall, approximately 215 pounds. He has brown eyes and white hair. Anyone with information on his whereabouts should contact the Page County Sheriff’s Office at 712-542-5193 or their local Law Enforcement Agency. Your help is needed and greatly appreciated by everyone.

The Cass County Auditor’s Office has been bombarded with calls pertaining to absentee ballot requests forms. In an attempt to answer those questions through social and other media, the Auditor’s Office has provided a list of frequent Questions and Answers (Q&A), to help lessen the call volume for those particular questions:

1. Q: I have already filled out a Absentee Ballot Request Form, do I need to fill another one out, I keep getting them in the mail?
A: NO, only one Absentee Ballot Request form is necessary and only one will be accepted (you don’t get additional ballots for filling out another form). If you are afraid we didn’t receive your request please go to the Secretary of State’s website and track your request form.
2. Q: How many of these forms will you be sending me?
A: Our office does not send those forms out, it is likely that you
will receive several.
3. Q: Are all of these forms good? Could they be fraudulent?
A: Yes, the forms you are receiving from the different candidates and parties are all acceptable.
4. Q: May I fold the form and put it in an envelope or tape it?
A: Yes you may fold it and you may tape but please use the tape sparingly. Sometimes they are taped together too much and they get torn trying to open them. ONE piece of tape is fine.
5. Q: I don’t have my PIN number, how can I get it?
A: If you have a Driver’s License or State of Iowa issued ID card that is the number you need. The PIN number is for those that do not have a drivers license. If you need your PIN number you will need to call our office and answer some questions and then we can give you that number.
6. Q: Can we drop election materials in the box outside the courthouse?
A: You should mail or hand deliver your election materials to the Auditor’s office.
7. Q: When will we receive our ballots?
A: All ballots will be mailed out October 5, 2020
8. Q: Can we vote in the Auditor’s Office?
A: Yes, the first day to vote in our office is October 5, 2020; last
day to vote is November 2, 2020
9. Q: Do I have to declare a party for this election?
A: No
10. Q: Do I need a voter registration card to vote?
A: Your Driver’s License or State of Iowa ID card is what you will use to vote. If you do not have one of these you will need your PIN card which is issued from our office.                                  11. Q: If I receive an Absentee ballot, but do not fill it out, how do I vote on Election day? Do I bring my ballot along? Or can I deliver it to the Auditor’s office?                                  A: Yes please copy it!! We can’t keep up with the phone calls. If you request an absentee ballot but decide you want to vote on election day you need to take that ballot with you to the polling place and surrender it. After you surrender it they will give you a new ballot to vote at the polls. This can only be done at the polls on Election Day, no one can vote in our office on Election Day.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Cedar Falls has approved a mask mandate, joining with other Iowa cities that have taken similar moves as the state continues to see high numbers of confirmed coronavirus cases. Cedar Falls on Tuesday joined Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Dubuque, Iowa City, Mount Vernon, Muscatine and Waterloo in enacting mask requirements. Enforcement of the rules vary but are primarily focused on education, with police in some communities instructed to hand out masks to those not wearing them. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has declined to approve a statewide mask order because she said it would be impossible to enforce. Reynolds has told local jurisdictions that because she hasn’t issued an order, they don’t have the authority to enforce their mask mandates.

(Radio Iowa) – A report by the Iowa Waste Reduction Center finds rural K-12 Iowa schools waste tens of thousands of tons of food and beverages every day. Joe Bolick (BO-lick), director of the center based at the University of Northern Iowa, says their study finds the average student wastes about one-third of a pound of food daily at breakfast and lunch. That works out to about 30-million pounds of waste every year statewide. “We got to those numbers by doing complete waste audits of cafeteria waste,” Bolick says. “We would have the students sort through their organic waste, their recyclables, their actual trash and any liquid waste and then we’d weigh all of those individually and then come out with those.”

The study was based on more than 40 waste audits at rural schools across Iowa during the 2018-19 school year. “We’re looking at about 150,000 pounds of food a day that ends up going to the landfill, estimated on that 0.3 pounds of food per student and the number of students in Iowa,” Bolick says. “That equals millions of pounds a year of food waste that ends up in the landfill that could be diverted other ways.”

The report is being released now, at the start of a new school year, to get everyone to recognize the gigantic amounts of food being chucked in the trash by students daily — and to start enacting change. Coronavirus shook up all factors for the past school year and Bolick predicts there may be shifts in the months ahead. “You’re going to see a lot more prepackaged foods this year with the pandemic,” Bolick says. “When you have prepackaged foods that are uneaten, there’s donation opportunities there that might not otherwise be there. If the package hasn’t been opened, instead of throwing it in the garbage, there’s plenty of food insecure people all across the state that could benefit from that.”

The Iowa Waste Reduction Center is a non-profit organization, part of UNI’s Business and Community Services. See the full report here: https://iwrc.uni.edu/food-waste

Officials with the Atlantic Police Department report six arrests took place from Sept. 1st through the 7th. On Monday (Sept. 7), 27-year old Dylan Russell, of Atlantic, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance/2nd offense, Possession of Marijuana/2nd offense, Violation of a No Contact Order, and on a Cass County warrant for Failure to Appear [in court].

On Sunday, 49-year old Christopher Provancha, of Hancock, was arrested for a Controlled Substance Violation. Last Friday, 34-year old Jessica Webb, of Humboldt, was arrested in Atlantic for Theft in the 1st Degree/vehicle-related, and on a Dickinson County warrant for Failure to Appear on a charge of Theft in the 2nd Degree.

On Sept. 3rd, 31-year old Justin Patton, of Atlantic, was arrested on Cass County warrants for Possession of a Controlled Substance/3rd or subsequent offense, Possession of Marijuana/3rd offense, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. And, there were two arrests on Sept. 1st, in Atlantic: 21-year old Carl Soglin, of Atlantic, was arrested on several warrants out of Kentucky. 36-year old Adam Morris, of Atlantic, was arrested for Interference with Official Acts.

All subjects were booked-into the Cass County Jail. As of the latest report: Soglin, Webb and Russell remain held in the jail.

A Prayer Vigil will be held this (Wednesday) evening in Grant City, MO., for a woman whose abandoned vehicle was found in Ringgold County, Iowa. Melissa Chapman. from Grant City, was last contacted on Sunday, August 23rd. Her vehicle was found in Mount Ayr, with her cell phone found inside the vehicle. Chapman had been set to testify against a man who allegedly beat and threatened to kill her. The Creston (Iowa) Police Department has said Chapman was a long-term Creston resident and has contacts in the area.

She was seen in Mount Ayr, Iowa August 22nd with an unknown man, in a dark colored minivan. A warrant was issued for the man she is to testify against. Authorities say has been captured and (at last reported) remained in jail. He claims to not know where Melissa is. Chapman is described as being 5’3″ with brown hair and brown eyes.

The vigil for her takes place at 7-p.m. on the square, in Grant City. Those with information regarding her disappearance and/or location, are urged to contact the Worth County Sheriff’s Office at 660-564-2222.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A 39-year-old Davenport man charged in the strangulation and beating death of his wife has agreed to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Casey Klemme had been charged with second-degree murder in the July 26, 2019, death of his wife, 39-year-old Tiffany Klemme. An autopsy showed she died after internal injuries to her neck and blows to her head.

On Friday, Casey Klemme accepted a deal in which he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, domestic abuse and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Under the agreement, he will serve 20 years in prison.