Police in Creston report two weekend arrests. Saturday afternoon, 25-year-old Brianne Schaffer, of Creston, was arrested at the Dollar General Store, on a charge of Theft in the 5th Degree. Schaffer was cited and released from the scene, on a Summons to Appear in court. And, Sunday afternoon, 21-year-old Noah Young, of Creston, was arrested at his residence on charge of Theft in the 5th Degree, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Possession of Controlled Substance 1st Offense. He was being held in the Union County Jail on a $1,600 bond.

Creston Police said also, late Friday morning, a woman residing in the 600 block of New York Avenue, reported that someone had kicked her door to her residence in and taken multiple items including: a box of spray paint; a Harley Davidson Jacket; an Acer Laptop; a Dyson Vacuum; Miscellaneous Jewelry; Bat Wingz Fairing Trim; a Lockbox; a Milwaukee Sander and Dremel Tool, as well as several pairs of jeans. The loss was estimated at $2,810.

Members of the Atlantic City Council are set to receive a presentation Wednesday, with regard to Child Care in the community and in Cass County. On November 5^th, Officials with Childcare Resource & Referral of Southwest Iowa (CCR&R) reported multiple childcare programs in Atlantic had closed their doors over the previous two-weeks, for a variety of reasons. That left almost 100 children without childcare, and prompted CCR&R to host a “Child Care Ready ” series, an online recruitment event, with hopes to recruit, retain, train and support quality childcare and early education providers.

CCR&R officials said that have partnered with the Iowa Women’s Foundation to provide a small $250 incentive grant to each participant who completes the series. Funding will be primarily used to pay for costs associated with the start-up of becoming a childcare home provider opening a Child Development Home business.

During Wednesday’s 5:30-p.m. Council meeting, officials with the Cass-Atlantic Development Corporation (CADCO), Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, and CCR&R will appear before the Council to discuss the program and other, childcare-related matters. Due to new COVID restrictions, the meeting will be held via Zoom.

Southwest Valley Community School District Superintendent Chris Fenster, Friday, announced on social media, that a mask mandate would begin today (Monday), for all students. Saying ” It’s time to Step Up and Mask Up!”

(Fenster says students will be required to wear face masks or gaiters. He says those students without face coverings will be sent home.)

SWV has had two new cases in the teaching ranks, one at Southwest Valley Middle School and one at Corning Elementary. The students affected have been contacted, and the staff members are at home recuperating. On Friday, there was a 19-percent positivity rate in Adams County. Today (Monday), the rate is 18.3-percent.  The mask mandate, Fenster said is an added layer of protection in order to keep students in school and not have to go to remote learning.

(He said the staff will try and give the students as many breaks as possible from the face coverings. The students aren’t going to like it, but they’re doing this for our students and staff’s safety so we can have school.)

More Guidance will follow on High School sports before the first game on November 30th.

Police in Red Oak report the arrest at around 12:45-a.m. Monday (Today), of 37-year old Stephen Ray Adams, of Red Oak. Adams was taken into custody on a Class-B Felony charge of Arson in the 1st Degree. Adams was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $25,000 bond.

Sunday afternoon, Red Oak Police, assisted by Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies, arrested 30-year old Dylan Thomas Griffeth, of Red Oak, for Public Intoxication. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – After disappointing statewide election results for their party, Democrats in the Iowa Senate have chosen a new leader, but Democrats in the House are keeping theirs. Zach Wahls of Coralville is the new minority leader for the 18 Democrats in the Iowa Senate. He says it’s clear his party has rebuilding to do.

“One of the the things that’s ahead of us is really clearly defining what it means to be an Iowa Democrat…There may may be some folks who look at what happened here in Iowa and say, you know, the problem is the Democrats are spending too much time talking about, you know, this issue or that issue…I think the reality is the Democratic Party has always stood — probably since the New Deal — for civil rights and workers rights,” Wahls says. “…The work ahead of us is to clearly define that brand.”

Wahls, who is 29, was elected to the state senate in 2018 and comes from Johnson County, an urban county dominated by Democrats. His district includes rural areas, however — including the home of the Iowa Republican Party’s chairman. Wahls says voters in rural areas of his district want to see change. “My message whether it’s in rural Iowa or in Iowa City or Des Moines or anywhere else is going to be very consistent,” Wahls says, “which is that the Democratic Party is here to make sure that we are supporting every Iowan, not just the wealthiest Iowans.”

Todd Prichard of Charles City, the leader of House Democrats for the past two years, was re-elected this weekend as the group’s leader. “We need to learn from this election. We need to find ways to expand our reach to voters and find ways to bring people into the Democratic Party,” Prichard said. “But I don’t think that, you know, the conclusion was…everything that happened in this last election is…in our immediate control.”

Democrats were aiming to win more seats and majority control in the Iowa House, but Republicans expanded their majority to 59 of the 100 seats in the House. Prichard says good Democratic candidates just got swept aside in a Republican wave election. “Unfortunately they weren’t successful in a way that we wanted to be successful,” Prichard says. “…I’m proud of them for fighting the good fight.”

The 2021 Iowa legislative session is scheduled to begin January 11th.

(Radio Iowa) – There were nearly 14-hundred Covid patients in Iowa hospitals Sunday evening. That’s three times as many as a month ago and nearly double the number that were hospitalized on November 1st. Dr. Dan Diekema is director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Iowa.

“I think the word unprecedented is probably being overused this past year, but the type and degree of spread that we’re seeing now in the state — it is really unprecedented,” he says, “…record numbers of patients who are in the hospital with Covid-19, in our intensive care units.”

There were 271 patients in Iowa intensive care units Sunday night — a 61 percent increase from October 15th. Diekema says Iowa hospitals are converting general wards to areas for Covid patients only and retraining staff who work in other areas to care for Covid patients. “Oftentimes you’ll read or see on public health websites, for example, numbers of beds available or ventilators available, but often that isn’t the limiting factor,” he says. “The staffing becomes the real issue.”

Diekema made his comments during an appearance on Iowa Public Radio. This weekend, public health officials in Polk County said staffing is the biggest issue facing hospitals in Des Moines. A statement from the Polk County Public Health Department used words like “dire” and “alarming” to describe the continued escalation in cases of the coronavirus.