One person suffered non-life threatening injuries during a motorcycle accident Wednesday night, in Atlantic. According to reports, the accident happened at around 9:10-p.m. in front of the Family Table Restaurant in the 600 block of W. 7th Street. The injured party suffered from a head laceration.

Cass EMS and Atlantic Rescue responded to the scene. Additional information was not immediately available.

A man from Exira died Wednesday from injuries he suffered during a motorcycle accident in Audubon County. The Iowa State Patrol reports 65-year-old Jed Bengard, Jr., was riding an Indian Challenger motorcycle north on Littlefield Drive just before 5-p.m. and entering a curve south of 310th Street, when for reasons unknown, the cycle left the road and entered a ditch.

The motorcycle overturned in the ditch, causing Bengard to fall from the machine. He died at the scene. The accident remains under investigation. The Patrol was assisted at the scene by Deputies with the Audubon County Sheriff’s Department.

(Radio Iowa) – The man who leads the union representing thousands of state employees plans to retire. AFSCME Council 61 president Danny Homan says he will retire at the end of his term and a new president will be elected at the union’s upcoming convention on July 24th. The 68-year-old Homan has been an employee of Council 61 for more than 33 years and was elected President in 2005.

Homan says in a statement that working for the union has been the “honor of his life” — and says while there is a lot of fight left in him –now is the time for new leadership to move the council forward. Homan joined AFSCME in 1986 when he worked as an officer with community-based corrections in Sioux City.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says she’s confident the new majority on Iowa’s Supreme Court will overturn a 2018 ruling that upheld abortion rights. The court ruled a 72-hour waiting period for an abortion violated the due process and equal protection clauses of Iowa’s constitution, but in the three and a half years since that ruling, Reynolds has appointed four of the court’s seven members. She is appealing this week’s district court decision that a 24-hour waiting period for abortions is unconstitutional.

“I absolutely don’t agree with that decision and that’s what the process is for and so we will be appealing that decision,” Reynolds says, “and we’re pretty confident that we can get the outcome that we’re looking for.” Rita Bettis Austen, the legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, says the district court judge’s opinion is consistent with the precedent set by the 2018 Iowa Supreme Court ruling.

“We would have no reason to think the court would reach a different outcome,” Bettis Austen says. Republicans in the legislature are proposing an amendment to the state constitution that says the document does not recognize the right to an abortion or public funding of the procedure, but it has to clear more hurdles before it would be put to a statewide vote.

Some Republicans are hoping the legal dispute over a 24-hour waiting period for abortions in Iowa could be appealed all the way to the U-S Supreme Court and be the means by which Roe v Wade is overturned. In May, the U-S Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law that required doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital.

One person suffered a laceration to their hand, during a collision Wednesday evening near the Atlantic Fire Station on southwest 7th Street. The collision occurred at around 5:07-p.m. Cass EMS and Atlantic Fire and Rescue responded to the scene. Both lanes of traffic – east and west bound – were blocked for about 20-minutes.

According to Atlantic Police Lt. Devin Hogue, the driver of a 2021 Chevy 2500 pickup was attempting to pull out onto southwest 7th Street from 1307 southwest 7th, when they failed to see an approaching southbound 2004 Grand Am. The two vehicles collided in the middle of the highway.

Cass EMS transported the driver of the Grand-AM to Cass Health for treatment of possible minor injuries. The pickup driver wasn’t injured. The accident remains under investigation. More details will be released on Thursday.

(Council Bluffs, IA) – Pottawattamie County Community Foundation (PCCF) has announced the creation of two new Funds in partnership with the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s office. The Pottawattamie County Shop with the Sheriff Fund was created to support the annual “Shop with the Sheriff” event that, for more than 20 years, has made the holidays a bit warmer and brighter for children and families in need.

Shop with the Sheriff 2020 .

Additionally, The Pottawattamie County K-9 Unit Support Fund helps fund the purchase and training of additional K-9s to utilize in the Road Patrol Department. A Fund at a Community Foundation is a charitable entity of money established by donors, individuals, corporations, or nonprofit organizations designated for specific or unrestricted charitable purposes.

The Shop with the Sheriff event started in 1998 by the late Lt. Larry Brown and has provided hundreds of children and families with support during the holiday season. The Sheriff’s Office collaborates with the local Department of Human Services to determine the participating children and families, and last year, 72 children and 33 families throughout our community benefitted from the event. Children received clothing and toys valued at $200 per child, and families received a $75 gift card for a Christmas meal.

Donations from businesses, organizations and individuals provide the financial means for the annual event and the newly established Fund at PCCF will provide an easier platform for supporters to make financial contributions with added tax benefits.

In early 2021, Sheriff Andy Brown recognized the lack of K-9 assets in the Sheriff’s Office. Currently, the only K-9 detection dog is on a long-term commitment to a federal task force and unavailable to the Road Patrol Deputies that conducts regular Sheriff’s Office business.

To add K-9 assets to the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Brown and his team worked with PCCF to create The Pottawattamie County K-9 Unit Support Fund to receive charitable donations for a K-9 program without the use of additional tax dollars. With several individuals and businesses expressing interest in a K-9 program, the Fund at PCCF will provide individuals a vehicle to make donations with the ability to use the tax advantages of a charitable fund.

“The protection of residents, the apprehension of criminals, and the safety of our Deputies is our mission,” said Andy Brown, Pottawattamie County Sheriff. “Law enforcement service dogs perform a critical function in modern law enforcement. They give the Deputies the ability to be more pro-active in drug investigations and protect both law enforcement and the public during the apprehension of dangerous criminals.

We are thankful for the staff at Pottawattamie County Community Foundation who have made it possible for us to receive financial support to purchase K-9s for our Road Patrol Division, and to the people of Pottawattamie County who are supporting this program.” Sheriff Brown’s goal is to add two additional dogs to the regular Road Patrol with the intent that the dogs be narcotic detection dogs with the ability to do patrol functions like tracking and apprehension in high-risk environments. The costs for these assets are substantial and include the purchase of a highly specialized breed, critical training, veterinary fees, and additional costs to support the K-9.

“By leveraging the power of PCCF for asset management and media outreach, I feel we can achieve the goal of adding two additional dogs within the next two years,” said Brown. “The role of PCCF is to collaborate toward community-wide impact and to support charitable giving,” said Donna Dostal, president and CEO of the Pottawattamie County Community Foundation. “These two unique projects illustrate the amazing work and commitment our Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s department makes toward the well-being of our entire community. Through the generous support of the folks that live and work in our county, the Sheriff’s department is able to continue this important work, and we are honored to amplify and lift up their efforts.”

Individuals, families, and businesses can contribute to the two new Funds by visiting www.ourpccf.org or by calling 712.256.7007. PCCF can also work with donors to maximize their charitable gifts, which can include but are not limited to the following: cash gifts, financial investments, bequests, gifts of grain, stocks and securities, livestock, real estate, and vehicles.

About PCCF: The Pottawattamie County Community Foundation (PCCF) is a tax-exempt public charity, 501(c)(3), that serves thousands of people who share a common interest in improving the quality of life in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. Through PCCF, individuals, families, businesses and organizations can create permanent charitable funds that help their  communities meet the challenges of changing times. The foundation invests and administers these charitable funds. Like all community foundations across the United States, PCCF is overseen by a volunteer board of leading citizens and run by professionals with expertise in identifying the needs of their community.

Mission: The Pottawattamie County Community Foundation is a partnership of rural and urban citizens dedicated to improving the lives of all residents by supporting and stimulating donor-driven philanthropy. “Give Where We Live” at www.ourpccf.org.

The Harlan Police Department reports five arrests:

• On June 22nd, 19-year-old Riley Joseph Hubbell, of Harlan, was arrested following the execution of a search warrant. He was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with assault.
• On June 21st, 50-year-old David Allen Sampo, of Harlan, was arrested following a traffic stop. He was charged with Driving While Suspended.
• On the 18th, 19-year-old Madison Ann Parman, of Harlan, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault.
• And, on the 16th, 39-year-old Jennifer Rose Miller and 38-year-old Elizabeth Grace Christo, both of Harlan, were both arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault.