DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Des Moines man is charged with vehicular homicide after a crash killed a woman and injured her husband. Des Moines police say witnesses told them 67-year-old Bertoldo Zuniga was driving erratically and speeding before the crash Thursday involving four vehicles. A woman in one vehicle, 71-year-old Linda Vander Hart, died of her injuries and her husband was seriously hurt. Investigators say Zuniga was driving drunk when he didn’t slow down and hit three vehicles at a light. Zuniga is facing four charges, including vehicular homicide by OWI, and several traffic violations.

(Radio Iowa) – Four people were killed in three separate accidents on Iowa’s roads Thursday. The state highway patrol says a semi ran a stop sign in Hancock County at midday, hitting a car and a pickup, killing two people in the car from Britt — Bruce and Debra Kamp — and injuring two others. About 5 PM on Interstate 80 in Polk County, troopers say a car collided with two other vehicles that were slowing down for congestion, killing 46-year-old James Bartels, the Altoona man driving the car. About 8:30 PM, Des Moines police say a four-car crash killed a 71-year-old woman. Police say an alleged drunk driver is charged.

Officials with Atlantic Municipal Utilities, Friday (today) announced the winners of their 15th Annual Holiday Christmas Lighting Contest. The announcement was made at the historic Rock Island Depot on N. Chestnut Street, by AMU General Manager Steve Tjepkes, who explained how they determine who has the prize-worthy displays.

(He say often recruit a young family to drive around and look at all the displays. The only restriction placed on the awards, is not to have duplicate winners.)

Left to right: Ted & Lucinda Goodnber; Linda Conrad, and AMU GM Steve Tjepkes.

Tjepkes said the Third Place winner, with a $50 credit applied toward their utility bill, was Ted & Lucinda Goodner, at 1905 Oak Street.

(Ted Goodner said they would like for their credits to be donated to the family of Steele McLaren.)

Their credits will go to Steele’s mom, Jess Ehrman. As you may know, Steele suffered a traumatic brain injury when he fell out of the back of a pickup truck in late October. He has endured many procedures at two facilities since then, and remains in the hospital today.  Casey & Clairissa Swanson, of 2010 Oak Street, who were the First-Place winners of a $100 credit, said they will also donate his to Steele’s father, Dustin McLaren.

The Second Place winner of the lighting contest, and a $75 AMU credit, was Chris and Linda Conrad, at 1311 Sunnyside Lane.

(Tjepkes said they have a new house with a huge display. All three winners, he said, are neighbors, or at least former neighbors.)

Linda Conrad said she was going to talk to Chris, but they will most likely donate their credit to the Steele McLaren family also.

Atlantic, IA — As we get closer to receiving a COVID-19 vaccine in our county, Cass County Public Health reminds all residents the initial doses of vaccine will be limited and will be available to individuals prioritized according to guidance received from our state and federal partners. According to Cass County Public Health Director Beth Olsen, “The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) has preemptively suggested the initial doses of vaccine go to health care providers and those in long term care facilities. As more vaccine becomes available, we will be able to offer the vaccine to more people.”

Moderna Vaccine Expected Soon: In Cass County, the first doses of the Moderna vaccine are expected to arrive by the end of the month. The vaccine will be prioritized for:

• Healthcare Personnel: paid and unpaid people serving in health care settings who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials and are unable to work remotely.
• Long Term Care Facility (LTCF) residents. Adults who reside in a residential care facility, nursing facility, skilled nursing facility, assisted living program, or elder group home.

The Moderna vaccine can be refrigerated for 30 days, but the multi-dose vials present a logistical challenge for the staff who will administer it.  Olsen says “The Moderna vaccine comes in a multi-dose vial, which means that each vial has 10 doses inside of it. Once we open that vial, we only have 6 hours to use all 10 doses. I think we can all recognize that this vaccine is a valuable commodity, and we have to do our part to eliminate any waste.”  She adds, “We will be setting up appointments in blocks of 10 so that we know we’re going to use up every dose that is available to us. This could result in some additional waiting times, or it could result in having stand-by appointments.”

Administering the Vaccine to the Public: Cass County Public Health will be administering all COVID-19 vaccines for the public. More information about public vaccinations will be announced once the plans and locations are finalized. It may be several weeks or months before the vaccine is readily available for the public. There is currently no waiting list or sign-up for the public. More information will become available when we more details are known.

Beth Olsen says “We are working with local partners to come up with an easy-to-access location for the vaccinations, and we’re also finalizing our strategy on which populations to target first.” All patients who receive the vaccine will also need to be monitored for 15 minutes afterwards. Beth says also, “There will be no exceptions made to this, so we need everyone to plan accordingly.”

Preventive Measures Still In Place: veryone should continue taking measures to limit the spread of COVID-19, even after they receive the vaccine:

•  Stay home if you’re sick
• Wash your hands often
• Stay six feet away from others at all times
• Wear a mask when you can’t properly social distance from others

Recognize also, that older people and those with chronic health conditions like diabetes, obesity, heart issues, and organ transplants have a much higher risk of serious complications from COVID-19. More information is available at our web page at casshealth.org/COVID-19. You can also visit the IDPH Coronavirus page at https://idph.iowa.gov/emerging-health-issues/novel-coronavirus; and the state COVID-19 dashboard at https://coronavirus.iowa.gov/.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports a hit-and-run property damage accident occurred Thursday afternoon. Authorities say a 1993 Geo Tracker driven by 26-year old Dillon Ray Winemiller, of Creston, was traveling north on Highway 169 at around 4:25-p.m., when he went to pass. A black Chevy Impala driven by a person unknown (License plates unknown), also went to pass and came out before Winemiller’s car could pass. The Impala struck the Tracker, causing it to spin out of control into the south ditch.

The Impala did not stop. No injuries were reported.