(Atlantic, IA) – Officials with Cass Health in Atlantic say the June session of “Healthy U” will be presented by Emergency Department Provider Tammy Bireline, ARNP, June 19th at noon in Conference Room 2 at the hospital. As we enter the “dog days of Summer,” Bireline will present on heat related illnesses, and how to best prevent them.

Bireline is board certified in family practice by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. Over the course of her career, she has had varied clinical experience in healthcare including Medical/Cardiac Intensive Care at Iowa Methodist Hospital, Emergency Department/Trauma Coordination at Lutheran Hospital-Des Moines and Cass Health, Cardiac Rehab, Wellness, Medical/Surgical, as well as Outpatient Clinics including chemotherapy and infusion services at Cass Health.

Tammy Bireline, ARNP

She has also completed extensive training specific to emergency care, including ER fundamentals, boot camp and procedures courses.

Space for the program is limited. A free boxed lunch is provided for all attendees, so reservations are required. Call 712-243-7479 to reserve your seat. For more information about Healthy U, visit casshealth.org/healthyu.

(Clarinda, Iowa) – Page County Sheriff Charles McCalla reports a man from Missouri was arrested early Sunday morning following an accident investigation.The Page County Dispatch Center received a call at around 3:30-a.m. Sunday, about a vehicle in the ditch and someone laying on the road, at 200th Street and E Avenue in rural Shenandoah.

When Deputies arrived they found a Ford F-550 pickup driven by 19-year-old Mark Keith Whitehill, of Maryville, MO. Shenandoah EMS arrived on the scene as well, and evaluated Whitehill and his two passengers. The passengers were released from the scene, but Whitehill was arrested for OWI/1st offense.

Mark Keith Whitehill (Page County S/O photo)

He was transported to the Page County Jail and held on a $1,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – The ACLU of Iowa has filed a complaint alleging state officials discriminated against The Satanic Temple Iowa by denying its request to host an event and put up a display in the Iowa Capitol Rotunda last December.

“When the government makes the public space in the state capitol available for mainstream religious groups to use, for example for a Christmas event or a Hanukkah holiday display, it can’t then legally deny that same right to other religious groups and that includes our clients,” ACLU of Iowa legal director Rita Bettis Austen said during an online news conference. “…It is one of the foundational principles of our country and of our state civil rights law that the government should not favor one religious viewpoint or belief over another.”

In 2023, The Satanic Temple of Iowa had a holiday display in the Capitol that was vandalized. In 2024, it asked to host a celebration in the Capitol that would have included a ritual as well as a costume contest, coloring sheets and make-and-take ornaments for children. In 2023, The Satanic Temple of Iowa had a holiday display in the Capitol that was vandalized. In 2024, it asked to host a celebration in the Capitol that would have included a ritual as well as a costume contest, coloring sheets and make-and-take ornaments for children.

Mortimer Adramelech, the Minister of Satan at The Satanic Temple of Iowa, read a statement at today’s online news conference. “State officials made a number of outlandish assumptions about our religion and used those assumptions to discriminate against our congregation,” he said. Adramelech said the plan was to host a “family friendly” event. “We are compassionate and caring human beings. We have families. We are Iowans and we are simply seeking to exercise our right to freedom of religion,” he said. “…That’s what our complaint is all about. We are looking for resolution.”

In a written statement issued today, Governor Reynolds said the State Capitol is open to the public and “the State’s event policy takes into consideration conduct that would be harmful to minors.” Reynolds said the proposed “satanic event, which specifically targeted children, would have been harmful to children and so it was denied.”

Under state law, the complaint is a required first step before a lawsuit with the same claims may be filed. After 60 days, the ACLU may ask the Office of Civil Rights for permission take the matter to court and the agency is required to grant that request.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley will chair a Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday to study the privacy and potential national security issues surrounding the bankruptcy of “23andMe.” Many thousands of Iowans are among the 15-million customers of the genetic testing company which filed Chapter 11 in March. Iowa is -not- among the two dozen-plus states that filed suit Monday to block the sale of personal genetic information in the company’s massive database.

Grassley says it remains unclear what Iowa customers of 23andMe should do. “I suppose some of these points will come out in our hearing, but I can definitely speak to one point that concerns us and for the hearing,” he says, “and that deals with the privacy of individuals and what can happen if their individual DNA gets out.”

There is fear that if the testing revealed a person’s genetic health issues, they could face higher health insurance premiums, or even be rejected for coverage. “That’s very much a possibility, but the whole purpose of this hearing is because we don’t know the dangers that are out there,” Grassley says, “but we think that the privacy of people ought to be standard and it shouldn’t come out in the bankruptcy proceedings.”

Grassley says he’s cosponsoring the Don’t Sell My DNA Act that would protect people’s genetic information. The Senate hearing in Washington is scheduled for 9:15 AM/Central on Wednesday. When 23andMe went public in 2021, its market value rocketed to nearly $6-billion. In the first nine months of this fiscal year, the company reported losses of $174-million.

A University of Iowa legal scholar, and an expert on genetic privacy, says Iowans who used 23andMe should consider deleting all of their data and profiles.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Sheriff’s Office has released a report on eight arrests that occurred from May 29th through June 7th. Among those arrested on:

• May 29th, was 26-year-old Melissa Jean Wiechman, of Villisca, who was arrested on a warrant for violation of probation. Wiechman was later released on her own recognizance.
• May 31st, 51-year-old Jeffery Dean Etter, of Red Oak, was arrested on two warrants for violation of probation. Etter was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and later transferred to Montgomery County.
• Cass County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 45-year-old Peter A. Mualia, of Anita, on June 1st. He was charged with OWI-2nd offense, and later released on his own recognizance.
• On June 2nd, 55-year-old Robert Alan Leslie, of Atlantic, was arrested on a warrant for violation of parole. Leslie was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held.
• On June 4th, 64-year-old James Richard Cisar Jr., of Atlantic, was arrested for two counts of theft 5th degree (< $300), burglary in 2nd degree, felon in control of firearm, four counts of theft 2nd degree (> $1,500 < $10,00), eight counts of theft 3rd degree (> $750 < $1,500), and two counts theft 4th degree (> $300 < $750). Cisar was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held.
• On the 6th of June: 25-year-old Chad Michael Herrmann, of Massena, was arrested for Possession of marijuana-1st offense. He was later released on bond; 57-year-old Lisa Ann Herrmann, of Massena, was arrested on charges of possession of controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and OWI-1st offense. She was also later released on her own recognizance.
• And, on June 7th, Cass County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 18-year-old Hunter Wolff Murphy, of Wiota, on charges of trafficking stolen weapons-1st, theft 3rd degree, and transfer of pistol or revolver to person under 21 1st offense. Murphy was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and later released on bond.

(Radio Iowa) – The Board of Regents discussed the search for a new Iowa State University president during their meeting today (Tuesday) with a member of the Washington, D-C search firm they have hired. Rod Davis of A-G-B Search discussed a variety of topics, including finding someone outside the academic community. “So what the what the search committee has to do is to not kind of get closed in to only looking for people that have come to the academic ranks. And oftentimes we have to remind folks on the search committee that don’t focus on where people have been, but focus on the qualities that they’re going to bring to you,” Davis says. He says if there is a good profile of the candidate for the job, it will guide the search committee in finding the right person.

“Let me assure you there are many non traditional folks that are out there that we think have a skill set that could be helpful to institutions like Iowa State, but the search committee has to has to be willing to kind of, first of all, talk with those folks and move them forward,” he says. Davis says the key to a good search is following the plan they set up ahead of time. “Where I have seen searches go off the tracks, is when you at the end of the process and all of a sudden either someone on the search committee or someone on the board wants to introduce another set of criteria,” he says. “So that is to say that what was written is no longer the primary criteria.”

A-G-B will be paid a fee equal to 25 percent of the annual base salary contract for the first year of the new president, plus expenses. The Board of Regents has appointed a search committee to work with the search firm. The only other information discussed was that the names of the candidates will be kept confidential until the finalists are named. The search will replace current I-S-U President Wendy Wintersteen, who is retiring.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak say two people suffered suspected minor/non-incapacitating injuries, during a collision late Monday morning at the intersection of Highway 34 East and North 4th Street.  Authorities say an investigation determined a 2012 Ford Fusion driven by 80-year-old Jane Waltz, of Red Oak, was driving north on 4th Street at around 11:45-a.m., when Waltz failed to stop at the northbound stop sign with Highway 34. Her car was struck broadside by a 2006 Nissan SUV driven by 53-year-old Frances Baughman, of Braddville, as she was traveling east on Highway 34.

Waltz had to be extricated from her car by Red Oak Fire. Both drivers were transported by Red Oak Rescue/EMS for treatment of their injuries. Waltz was cited for Failure to Obey a Stop Sign. Damage from the collision amounted to $19,000.

Red Oak Police were assisted at the scene by Red Oak Fire & EMS, Red Oak Emergency Management and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa tourism officials estimate there are about 25-hundred miles of paved bicycle trails in the state and a new stretch of trail in northwest Iowa is adding to that tally. The trail runs from Spencer, through rural Clay County and the city of Fostoria and to the Dickinson County line. Clay County Supervisor Barry Anderson was at Monday’s ribbon cutting. “There’s things that we can do as supervisors to help with the quality of life in Clay County,” Anderson said. “A bike trail, some people may not think that that’s a part, but it brings people together. A healthier society is good for anybody, so it was just a good project that the supervisors could get behind.”

Brian Schmidt was the engineer on both phases of the trail. Phase one started in Spencer and, for the most part, was built within a railroad right of way. He says construction on the second phase was a bit more challenging. “That included 2.2 miles of new trail and also 0.9 miles of on-street trail on the old frontage road in Fostoria,” he says. “That project involved a lot more cooperation with the DOT and it was challenging. We went through quite a few revisions in the design, just to try to make it fit, but overall we’re really happy with the results.”

Kathy Fueston of Spencer has been pushing to expand the trail system in northwest Iowa to — ultimately — connect to trails that reach Des Moines. Monday night’s event was an emotional moment for her. “Literally, I did almost cry. It’s been a lot of years,” she said. “We’re so forever thankful. We can finally cut the ribbon and have it open.” She says the newly-opened trail out of Spencer to the Dickinson County line is safer for bicyclists than city streets and stretches of rural highway.  “I have seen so many people on bikes that probably haven’t been on a bike in 20, 30 years that feel safe on the trail to ride it and to get their bike out of the garage and go,” she said.

A proposed four mile segment from Fostoria to Milford and an 11 mile stretch from Sac City to Lake View would complete the Iowa Great Lakes Trail project.

(Sac City, Iowa) – Sac County Sheriff Ken McClure reports a jailer and two Sac County Sheriff’s Deputies were assaulted last week while preventing the escape of a jail inmate. McClure said 36-year-old Artis Karazins, who was being held in the jail since May 31st on Criminal Mischief charges and leaving the scene of an accident, both in Lake View, was in the Jail holding cell. At around 3-p.m. June 4th, jail staff opened the 14-inch wide by 8-inch high food pass-through door to his cell (a standard procedure) to hand Karazins some paperwork. Karazins is seen on video surveillance grabbing the arm of a jail staff member and pulling her into the cell door. He released his grip on the jailer, but not before she suffered a bruise to her forearm.

Later that evening while serving meals, the same jailer is seen on video peeking through the cell window to see where Karazins was located in his cell. The inmate was laying on his bunk, naked. When the jailer opened the pass-through door to hand him a food tray, Karazins jumped-up from his bunk and was able to get his head and a shoulder through the pass-through door. When the Jailer called for assistance Karazins crawled out of the pass-through door before law enforcement could get to his cell. He was seen on video chasing the jailer down the steps to the exit to the booking area. The Jailer ran past two deputies, who were charged by Karazins. A physical altercation that took place between the inmate and deputies resulted in Karazins being subdued and placed in handcuffs. Additional law enforcement and Sac County EMS responded to the Jail.

Karazins was transported by EMS to Loring Hospital for evaluation. He was transported the following morning to the Woodbury County Jail. Sheriff McClure said Sac County “Jail staff followed protocol, and because of this, Karazins was not able to escape the building.” He said law enforcement’s presence in the building “most likely prevented further injury to [the] jailer in the stairwell, and prevented Karazins from leaving the building.”

The Sheriff said the incident is “Yet another reminder of the need to replace the 90-year-old, outdated [Sac County] Jail.” The incident also reflects past jail inspection reports, McClure said, “Which state that out jail is a safety hazard not only to the public but to staff and inmates as well.”