(Atlantic) – Coca-Cola Days was cancelled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the local committee wanted to find a way to still celebrate the occasion. Bailey Smith, Executive Director at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce said “With the National Coca-Cola Collector Association making the tough decision to cancel the event, we searched for a way to celebrate safely. Our Atlantic Coke Days committee decided to carry on the annual t-shirt tradition and celebrate virtually giving collectors and community members the opportunity to still celebrate Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company,”

This year’s feature theme is “Chilin’ with Coca-Cola”. 2020 Coca-Cola Days t-shirts are now available online at www.atlanticiowa.com. T-shirts are $15 for short sleeve or $25 for long sleeve. Shirts may be picked up locally or can be shipped for an additional fee.

Contact the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce at 712-243-3017 or email chamber@atlanticiowa.com with further questions.

(Associated Press) – A White House task force focusing on the coronavirus pandemic has told Iowa officials that many of the deaths caused by the high level of virus spread in Iowa were preventable. The report was released to the media a day after Gov. Kim Reynolds said Iowans shouldn’t let the virus dominate their lives.

Average daily deaths have increased over the past two weeks to 10 per day. State health data shows 1,515 new cases were identified through testing over the last 24 hours on Thursday and five additional deaths bring the state death toll to 1,419.

(Radio Iowa) – We’re now 26 days from the election and political analysts are trying to determine how much larger an influence women voters will be during this cycle compared to past presidential election years. Karen Kedrowski, director of Iowa State University’s Catt Center for Women and Politics, predicts more American women will be voting in 2020 than ever before. “What we have found over time is that women’s voting behavior, their turnout, has steadily increased to the point where in 2016, women were the large majority of voters,” Kedrowski says. “More than 10-million more women than men showed up and cast votes in 2016.”

Since 1980, there’s been what Kedrowski refers to as a “gender gap,” as women are more likely to vote for Democratic candidates, while men are more likely to vote Republican. “This, of course, is not a pure division, there are Republican women and Democratic men, but in 2016, it was the largest gender gap that we had ever seen,” Kedrowski says. “It was 11 points in favor of Secretary Hillary Clinton over President Donald Trump.”

In this year which marks the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment — which gave millions of women the right to vote, it appears women could be key in swinging this year’s presidential race. “The early polling indicates the gender gap in 2020 promises to be even bigger,” Kendrowski says. “It’s looking like as much as 20 points between men and women in whether or not they are going to vote for President Trump or Vice President Biden, so that’s definitely something to watch.”

There’s a continued push to get students on the I-S-U campus to take part in the November election. In 2016, she says on-campus participation in that presidential election was around 55-percent, compared to only 40-percent of college students nationwide. Kendrowski says under-24-year-olds are the least likely demographic to vote.

(Radio Iowa) – Overall unemployment numbers continue to move down. Iowa Workforce Development reports ongoing unemployment claims dropped by more than 67-hundred last week to 51-thousand-666. Ongoing claims peaked at more than 189-thousand in May. The drop in ongoing claims comes as the number of new claims increased slightly for the week. The manufacturing industry and self-employed individuals each had more than 900 new job claims in the last week.

Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department Director Bryant Rasmussen reports the Parks and Recreation Dept. will close the road in Sunnyside Park, located between the Cass County Fair Grounds and the Kiddie Korral bathrooms, so that maintenance can take place on the disc golf course hole #15. The closure is effective this Saturday, October 10^th.

The Cass County Pork Producers have honored the first baby born during October with a special gift basket in celebration of National Pork Month. According to CCHS Public Relations Coordinator Ann McCurdy, the basket includes a bib, diapers, $20 in pork gift certificates, and a bacon-shaped teether. The lucky baby is Wade Alan Zellmer, born on October 3, 2020 to parents Maddi and Gage.

Photo courtesy of the CCHS Obstetrics Nursing Team

Photo courtesy of the CCHS Obstetrics Nursing Team

(Radio Iowa) – A man and woman caught late at night in the Marion High School parking lot with two pounds of meth have been sentenced to federal prison. Prosecutors say 40-year-old Christin Campbell-Martin of Ames and 28-year-old Adam Scott Leiva, of Marshalltown, had been driving around Iowa, selling meth for a couple of days, and were arrested in late May of 2018 before they could sell a batch in the Cedar Rapids area.

Campbell-Martin has 25 prior convictions and she’ll spend 16 years in federal prison. Leiva has 13 prior convictions and his sentence was for 19-and-a-half years.

The Glenwood Police Department reports 27-year old Rocky Runyon, of Glenwood, was arrested today (Thursday), on charges that include felony Eluding, driving while suspended and six traffic citations. His bond set was set at $5,300, plus $1,252.50 traffic citations fees.   Additional details were not available.