The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday evening, recognized Atlantic Police Officer Cameron S. Ward, who was promoted during the meeting by Chief Dave Erickson, to Sergeant. Ward’s father and Omaha Police Officer/Millard North Middle School SRO Tony Ward, pinned the badge on his son after he was sworn-in.

Atlantic Police Sgt. Cameron Ward gets a hug from his father Tony, following his promotion and badge pinning. (Atlantic Police Dept. Facebook page photo)

Cameron Ward joined the A-PD in Dec., 2016. He’s a native of Griswold and G.H.S graduate. Mayor Dave Jones recognized Chris Dvorak, for her thirty-years of service with the Atlantic Police Department. And. the Council also recognized Crista Wiskus for her 20-years of service to the Atlantic Public Library.

In other business, the Council approved/passed the following:

• An Order to close the alley behind the Fireside Lounge to 7th Street, from 8-a.m. to 11-p.m on July 11th. Owner Mark Foegen plans on holding a street dance with live entertainment, similar to what took place last year, during RAGBRAI.
• They also passed the 3rd & final reading of an ordinance amending the Animal Shelter’s fee schedule to cover State mandated vaccinations of all intake animals and those adopted, if there is no proof of prior vaccinations. The costs, ranging from $13-to-$60 or more, will be passed on to the adoptee.
• The Council passed the 2nd reading of an ordinance amending City Code with regard to Curfew, which will be changed from 6-p.m. to Midnight, to Midnight to 5-a.m. The error was caught by Atlantic Police Lt. Paul Wood and brought to the Council’s attention.
• The Atlantic City Council also approved the 1st reading of an amended ordinance pertaining to Tree Trimmer Licensing. The amendment requires proof of Worker’s Comp Insurance (if applicable), and adds exemptions for: City employees performing tree work as part of their job; Private property owners trimming, removing or cutting trees on their own property or the publicly-owned right-of-way abutting their property, or any exceptions determined valid the Mayor, on a case-by-case basis (such as a declared emergency).
• The Council held and passed the 1st reading of an amended ordinance pertaining to “Peddlers, Solicitors and Transient Merchants.” Changes include the addition of mobile food vendors and requirements, bond requirements are changed to insurance requirements, and there are two new exemptions.
• They also passed the 1st reading of an ordinance concerning “Doing Business with the City,” which adds requirements for persons and businesses doing work for the City, to include insurance requirements.
• And, the Council passed the 1st reading of an ordinance pertaining to “Truck & Large Vehicle parking.”

DES MOINES – A new Test Iowa clinic site is scheduled to open in Pottawattamie County on Mon., July 6, 2020. The new clinic site will be located at All Care Health Center, 902 South 6th St., in Council Bluffs.

Clinic sites are partnerships between the State of Iowa and local health care providers to increase access to testing in their communities. Clinics operate and staff the test sites. The state provides testing supplies and processes the samples through the State Hygienic Lab.

This is the second Test Iowa location in the area. The first site opened on May 29 at the Western Historic Trails Center, 3434 Richard Downing Ave., also in Council Bluffs. Individuals who wish to get tested at any site must first complete the online assessment at testiowa.com. They will then be directed to schedule an appointment.

Test Iowa is a statewide initiative to expand COVID-19 testing. Locations and hours of operation for all test sites can be found at testiowa.com or coronavirus.iowa.gov.

FORT DODGE – Officials with the Iowa Department of Corrections said Wednesday, the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility earlier in the day, that an inmate has tested positive for COVID-19.  The inmate is an adult (between the ages of 18 and 40) male, and has been in medical isolation since first notifying staff that he was not feeling well on Tuesday, June 30. The inmate is experiencing mild symptoms, and will receive any medical care necessary as he recovers.

Staff at FDCF have also place the unit that the inmate was originally residing into a quarantine status, and additional testing is underway. Other sections of the facility will be placed on restricted movement status until thorough contact tracing can take place, and expanded testing can be conducted. While under restricted movement, privileges like video visitations will be suspended. Family are encouraged to check the department’s website for more information (doc.iowa.gov).

As expanded testing takes place across the facility for both staff and inmates, it is likely that more positive cases will be found and placed in medical isolation. The department will continue to update information on its website related to these statistics on a daily basis (https://doc.iowa.gov/COVID19). The department will be working closely with the Iowa Dept. of Public Health to ensure all reasonable mitigation steps are being taken.

DES MOINES, Iowa. (AP) — Police used tear gas and arrested people at the Iowa Capitol during a protest to persuade Gov. Kim Reynolds to restore voting rights to felons. KCCI reports the police said protesters started the confrontation on Wednesday but protesters accused law enforcement of mishandling the arrests.

Videos from the scene show Iowa State Patrol troopers taking some protesters to the ground while others tried to pull authorities away. Des Moines police arrived and more arrests were made. It was not immediately clear how many people were arrested or if there were any injuries.

(Radio Iowa) – The state is offering a lifeline to people impacted by the pandemic, but so far very few have accepted. Several weeks ago, the Iowa Finance Authority opened its Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Program. Roger Pavey, executive director of Community Action of Eastern Iowa, says it’s for people who’ve lost income due to COVID-19 and have not received federal unemployment benefits under the CARES Act.

“Sometimes it’s just people choosing to not file for unemployment because they have some other, still-lesser opportunity but maybe better than drawing unemployment,” Pavey says. “And then we have a lot of people who maybe they were doing gig-type work – Uber, Lyft, Grub Hub, babysitting – informally on the side.”

Pavey’s agency serves Scott, Muscatine, Clinton and Cedar counties, and as of last week, just 42 people from those four had applied. He’s heard similar reports from other agencies across the state. One possible explanation is applying through the Iowa Finance Authority is, in his words, “cumbersome,” so his agency will help people apply. Income limits vary by county (80% of median income in each county), and those who qualify can receive up to four months of rent or mortgage payments, up to a maximum of 3,200 dollars.

The deadline to apply is December 31st, or when the money runs out – 15 million dollars has been allocated to the program.

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) Iowa Newborn Screening Program, in partnership with the North Dakota Newborn Screening Program, today (Wednesday) began a pilot to screen all newborns for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).

SMA is an inherited neurological condition that leads to progressive muscle weakness. Without treatment, the infantile form of SMA typically leads to death in the first two years of life. Untreated later-onset forms of SMA lead to physical disability due to increasing muscle weakness. It’s estimated that nationally, 1 in 6,000 to 1 in 10,000 babies are born with SMA.

The State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa will perform screening for SMA on all newborn screening specimens submitted to the Iowa Newborn Screening Program.  If a baby’s screen is abnormal for SMA, the Iowa Newborn Screening Program will contact the baby’s primary care provider with further recommendations.

The Iowa Newborn Screening Program currently screens for over 40 inherited disorders including blood spot screening, hearing screening and critical congenital heart disease screening.

Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies, Tuesday, arrested 21-year old Jeffrey Michael Hackett, of Glastonbury, CT. He was taken into custody on charges filed in Dallas County for Eluding and Reckless Driving.

Hackett was transported to the Dallas County Jail and released later that day on $2,393 bond.