Residents of Greenfield and Griswold will experience brief power outages this week. Officials with the Nishna Valley Rural Electric Cooperative (NVREC) report that on Wednesday, June 10th, NVREC members in the Griswold area will experience a brief, 10-15 minute power outage between 9:00am and 10:00am while crews make substation equipment replacements.

Officials with Greenfield Municipal Utilities report GMU will be conducting mandatory Black Start Testing from 10-p.m. Tuesday, June 9th through 6-a.m. Wednesday, June 10th. The process allows GMU to test their ability and train their employees to re-power the town in the event of a complete loss of power from their supplier, Central Iowa Power Cooperative. During the test, some or all customers may experience an interruption of their power service for short periods of time.

Officials say if all goes as planned, the outage should not last more than 10-minutes at a time, and service may be out numerous times during the event. GMU says they understand the inconvenience of this testing, and has tried to schedule it to hours with less demand on the electric system, to avoid seriously impacting as many customers as possible. If you have any questions, call GMU during their business hours (7:30-a.m. to 4:30-p.m.) at 641-743-2741.

(Radio Iowa) — A committee in the Iowa Senate has narrowly approved a plan to give Iowa restaurants and bars permanent permission to sell mixed drinks to go. Governor Reynolds ordered restaurants and bars to close on St. Patrick’s Day due to the pandemic, but she issued a proclamation on March 31st that allowed bars and restaurants with a liquor license to sell carry-out cocktails along with carry-out food. Senator Claire Celsi, a Democrat from Des Moines, says she’s no prude, but continuing this practice now that bars and restaurants have been allowed to reopen is unwise. “We’re setting a terrible example for our youth, just having a cocktail culture in this state,” Celsi says, “and it’s getting worse and worse and worse.”

Another senator says says it’ll be easier for someone to pass mixed drinks to minors, making some 21-year-olds the hit of the parking lot. Senator Craig Johnson, a Republican from Independence, says the proposal does NOT lift the state ban on consumption of alcohol in a public place. “These are sealed drinks,” Johnson says. “It’d be no different that what you would buy in a convenience store, one off the shelf.”

The proposal also would let the state’s vineyards sell so-called growlers that hold up to 72 ounces of wine AND it would create a new state permit for selling beer and spirits at charity events. This package of changes in Iowa’s alcohol laws cleared the Senate State Government Committee on an eight-to-seven vote late Friday night and is eligible for debate in the full senate.

An accident in Mills County, Saturday afternoon, resulted in a Glenwood man being transported to Mercy Hospital by Glenwood Rescue. Sheriff’s officials say 44-year old Darrin Goos was stopped in traffic near Goode and Grande View Avenues at around 12:40-p.m., and waiting for a vehicle to finish pulling into a driveway, when his 2006 Harley Davidson motorcycle was struck from behind by a 2008 Nissan. The driver of the car, 18-year old Jamie Poole, of Glenwood, was not hurt. Authorities cited him for Failure to Stop in an Assured Clear Distance.

Mills County Deputies, Saturday morning, arrested 21-year old Nathen Tate Hardisty, of Tabor. He was taken into custody at around 1:47-a.m., on a Fremont County warrant for Disorderly Conduct. Bond was set at $300. And, Friday evening, 58-year old Darrell Alan Klahn, of Glenwood, was arrested on a warrant for two counts Probation Violation. His bond was set at $2,000.

Officials with the Atlantic Food Pantry say they have an ample supply of containers for now, but they need plastic grocery bags.  If you have time to double bag your bags, that would be greatly appreciated.  They prefer bags from Walmart, Hy-Vee and Fareway be doubled together to make them stronger. If you don’t have time to double them please bring them as singles!

Due to the higher than normal volume of clients the pantry is also in need of donations of canned vegetables – corn, green beans, peas, baked beans. Please check that the expiration dates are 2018 or later. Donations can be brought to the pantry Monday and Thursdays from 9-11 AM. The volunteers at the Food Pantry thank you for all your support!

Sheriff’s officials in Pottawattamie County report 24-year old Marissa Elinna Castaneda, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at around 2:30-a.m. Saturday. Castaneda was taken into custody following an investigation into an assault in progress at a residence in the 13,800 block of 192nd Street, where Castaneda was identified as the victim, but was being uncooperative. She was treated for injuries suffered during the assault. Since she had active warrants through Pott. County for being a Fugitive from Justice and Violation of Probation, Castaneda was taken into custody after being released from the hospital. She was also charged with Kidnapping in the first degree.

Authorities report 32-year old Christopher Courtney Young, II, was arrested in Avoca at around 1-a.m. Saturday, for Trespassing on property (a local bar) he had been banned from.  Saturday night, 32-year old Vitoria Joleigh Hopkinson was arrested following a traffic stop on at mile marker 29 of eastbound I-80. The vehicle was pulled over after State Radio broadcast reports the car had no brake lights, and was not maintaining its lane. Hopkinson was charged with Driving While Barred/Habitual Offender, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

And, a traffic stop in Avoca Sunday night resulted in the arrest of a woman from Omaha. 23-year old Nyarial Chuol Gatluak was arrested after a 9-1-1 call about a vehicle with its hazard lights on, swerving all over the road on I-80 at mile marker six. Gatluak was charged with OWI/1st offense.

DES MOINES – Test Iowa will further expand access to COVID-19 testing with new sites opening this week, including one in Dallas County to better serve the Des Moines metro area, and four clinic sites in rural communities. The Dallas County drive-thru site opens today from noon to 6 p.m., and is located in Waukee at South Middle School, 2350 SE LA Grant Parkway.  Individuals must complete the assessment at testiowa.com and schedule an appointment online to be tested.

Additionally, four clinic sites will serve Page, Union, Carroll and Crawford counties. 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.

The new clinic sites include:

Page County: Clarinda Regional Health Center, 220 Essie Davison Dr., Clarinda, opened June 3
Union County: Greater Regional Health, 801 Wyoming Ave., Creston, opens Mon., June 8
Carroll County: St. Anthony Regional Hospital, 311 South Clark Street, Carroll, opens Wed., June 10
Crawford County: St. Anthony Clinic, 1820 4th Ave S., Denison, opens Wed., June 10

Individuals who wish to get tested at any clinic site or drive up test site must first complete the online assessment at testiowa.com. They will then be directed to call the clinic 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.

(Radio Iowa) — City and county leaders in Iowa are working to address some issues being raised by protesters who demand racial justice. Linn County Supervisor Stacey Walker is calling on police officers across the state to not use tear gas against peaceful protesters. At a Black Lives Matter rally in Cedar Rapids on Saturday, Walker said Iowans who are expected to remain peaceful should be free from harm as they exercise their rights. Walker says, “I’ll be sending a formal letter this week to all police chiefs in the state of Iowa making this request that they ban the use of chemical agents against peaceful protesters.”

Tear gas causes skin irritation, tearing up, coughing and difficulty breathing, and in severe cases can cause respiratory failure. The effects can be especially dangerous amid the COVID-19 crisis, as the coronavirus is spread by respiratory droplets. Some in Cedar Rapids are calling for other reforms — a citizens’ review board of police and a ban on the use of chokeholds, among other things. Rally organizer Leslie Neely laid out some of the demands at the event. “We are demanding decriminalizing minor marijuana crimes and other low level offenses,” Neely said, to cheers from the crowd. “Our current drug laws and policing practice, disproportionately impact communities of color.”

Organizers also urged protesters to continue taking action through November, by holding elected officials accountable up and down the ballot. The Des Moines City Council will consider a proposal today (Monday) that would ban racial profiling by city police. Passing the ordinance was one of the demands made by Black Lives Matter organizers who led a march to Mayor Frank Cownie’s home last week. After the protest, Cownie told reporters he expects the ordinance to pass. “We know this isn’t the end, but we have to have a place to start and let’s say, all right, we’re gonna do it,” Cownie says. “So, we’re gonna put that ordinance on the table on Monday.”

Some community activists want the council to add onto the current proposal. They’re calling for mandatory data collection and a ban on pretextual stops where a minor violation is used to look for something more serious like drug possession. The council meeting will take place remotely because city buildings are still closed due to the coronavirus. During Saturday’s march in Des Moines which reached the state capitol steps, Lori Young of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement called on Des Moines leaders to pass a ban on racial profiling by police officers. “We want a strong racial profiling ban that has some teeth to it,” Young says. “Don’t come to us with no mess, no watered-down ordinance.”

The city’s Human Rights Commission first shared a draft of the ordinance with the Des Moines City Council more than a year and a half ago. Saturday’s demonstration marked the ninth straight day of marches in Des Moines.

(By Kate Payne and Grant Gerlock, Iowa Public Radio)