(Afton, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Union County say the driver of a pickup escaped injury, Friday evening, after their vehicle struck two Black Angus cows near Afton. Authorities say a 2005 Dodge RAM 1500 pickup driven by 40-year-old Willhun Christopher Lee, of Afton, was traveling south on Creamery Road at around 6:05-p.m., when it struck the cows that were standing in the middle of the road, outside of their fenced-in area.

The pickup was disabled by the collision, sustaining an estimated $15,000, according to the Sheriff’s Department. The cattle, owned by Randal Pettit, of Afton, were valued at $5,000.

(Radio Iowa) – The search for lead water pipes in the state is near the end and some communities are already notifying residents of what they’ve found. Sioux City Utilities Director Brad Peutz (Pitts) says it’s part of a federal program to get rid of lead pipes. “All lead service lines, all galvanized lines requiring replacement, and those lines that are unknown to either be replaced or verified within ten years,” he says. Peutz says residents who have a line that needs attention will soon get a letter.

“Sioux City has roughly 26-thousand service connections. Of those 26-thousand service connections, the city has identified roughly 73-hundred service connections that could potentially need replaced by that November of 2037 date, the focus at this time is outreach,” he says.

The Iowa D-N-R is overseeing the federal program here. A spokesperson for the D-N-R says they are still compiling all the survey results and doesn’t yet have an exact statewide count on how many pipes need to be replaced.

(Radio Iowa) – It’s been a tough couple of years for Iowa’s tree canopy, between terrible tornadoes, derechoes, and killer insects like the emerald ash borer wiping out tens of thousands of trees. Chip Murrow, an urban forestry program specialist at the Iowa D-N-R, says the agency’s now offering 900-thousand dollars in competitive grants for Iowa communities to plant trees. “The money is for tree planting, and along with that, they can do staking if needed, mulching, supplemental watering,” Murrow says. “It’s a two-year grant, so the idea is they can do planting both spring and fall of 2025 and 2026.”

The grants do not require matching funds and are being awarded in amounts of between 10- and 30-thousand dollars per community. Murrow says the trees to be planted have to come from the D-N-R’s list of approved species, which is on the agency’s website. He says a group of Iowa foresters created the list of about 85 species, everything from the black maple to the Serbian spruce. “We discussed what ones are still good, what ones are starting to show problems that we haven’t seen before, if there’s any new cultivars, we can add to it, so we update it every so often,” Murrow says. “The idea is that we keep a good list of tree species that do well in the Iowa environment and also in the urban settings where we’re planting trees.”

Iowa’s seen more than its share of severe weather this year, with a record of 127 tornadoes, and many towns still haven’t replaced all the trees they lost during the “land hurricanes” known as derechoes in recent years. “Communities are hurting for tree resources,” he says. “We’re not a highly canopy-covered state, as we put it. We know that our canopy is low. We have a goal of in 2050 to try and increase our canopy growth by three-percent or 3,000,000 trees, but the emerald ash borer, of course, and the derecho has set us back a little bit on that.” The funding for communities comes through the I-R-A Iowa Tree Planting Grant. The deadline to apply is December 30th.

Learn more at the Iowa DNR’s Urban Forestry website: https://www.iowadnr.gov/Conservation/Forestry/Urban-Forestry

(Iowa News Service) – The Iowa Alzheimer’s Association chapter is making new resources available to caregivers during November, a month set aside to educate and help people with the disease and those who care for them. Nearly 100,000 Iowans are family caregivers, helping more than 62,000 people living with this form of dementia.

Erica Eikern – program manager with the Alzheimer’s Association, Iowa chapter – said the group is making a huge effort this month in particular to get resources to those caregivers, letting them know they are not alone. “We have approximately 50 local caregiver support groups, in many communities across the state of Iowa,” said Eikern. “We also have a virtual support group that we just started for young adult caregivers who are taking care of a parent or older family member.”

Nationally, nearly half of all caregivers who provide help to older adults are doing so for someone with Alzheimer’s disease, according to data on the association’s facts and figures website.  Eikern said the association is working at the state level to give those caregivers some respite options.

Eikern said caring for a person with Alzheimer’s can take a heavy physical and emotional toll. So, she said the association is trying to make sure they know help is available. “At our Iowa chapter, we’re averaging about 30 programs that we’re doing per month, out in various communities throughout the state,” said Eikern. “We have a goal of trying to reach everyone in all 99 counties through our awareness presentations, through support services.”

Those resources are also available on the association’s website.  More than 11 million people in the U.S. are providing unpaid care to a person living with Alzheimer’s or other form of dementia. Last year alone, that care was valued at more than $346 billion.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Red Oak Police Department reports a man was arrested at around  12:30-a.m. today (Sunday), on two charges. 35-year-old Bryceton Lee Flathers, of Red Oak, was arrested for Interference with Official Acts, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (both are Simple Misdemeanors). Flathers was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.

(West Des Moines, Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa Restaurant Association, have announced, their 2024 Restaurant Neighbor Philanthropist Award Winner is Katie Huff, owner of the Tiger Drive-In, in Greenfield.

The award was presented to her for “Her steadfast dedication to Greenfield, both in crisis and in daily life,” in response to the devastating, May 2024 tornado that hit Greenfield, and claimed four lives. More than 150 homes and businesses were either heavily damaged or destroyed by the twister.

Restaurant Neighbor Philanthropist Award Winner: Katie Huff
Tiger Drive-In, Greenfield, Iowa

The Restaurant Association says while hundreds of volunteers eventually came to help, locals like Katie Huff, owner of the Tiger Drive-In, stepped up immediately to support the community. The 60-year-old Tiger Drive-In, a classic walk-up spot, survived with minimal damage despite an employee’s car being tossed against it. Recognizing the urgent need, Katie rallied her team to help. Without power, friends brought in generators, enabling her to serve hot and cold food.

Huff said “There were a lot of things I couldn’t do, but I could feed people.” She and her team handed out free ice cream, chili dogs, and sandwiches to volunteers, first responders, and residents. After news coverage, support poured in from across the country, enabling weeks of free meals.

“The angels appeared,” says Katie, “sending money from as far as Florida and Colorado to keep us going.”

Society Insurance sponsored the Iowa Restaurant Association’s 2024 Community Impact Awards.

(North Liberty, Iowa) – A single-vehicle accident early Saturday morning in Johnson County claimed the life of a teen from Swisher. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2013 Hyundai Azera driven by 17-year-old Kaden A. Blair, was traveling on I-380 southbound near mile-marker 5 at around 12:35-a.m., when the vehicle drove off the roadway and collided with a concrete barrier. Blair was ejected during the crash and died at the University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center. The car burst into flames.

The Cedar Rapids Prairie High School wrestling program posted on Facebook saying Blair was a former wrestler at the school. The wrestling program shared a GoFundMe fundraiser that was created to help cover the cost of services.

And, the Patrols say a 21-year-old man from Urbandale suffered life-threatening injuries, when he was struck by an SUV Friday night, in North Liberty.  Carson C. Boyle was crossing W. Penn Street in front of the Tin Roost at around 9:40-p.m., when he was struck.

The SUV fled the  scene but was later located. Charges against the driver, 25-year-old Tagian D. Hughes, of North Liberty, are currently pending.

Both accidents remain under investigation.

Meeting Agenda – Guthrie Center School Board

The Board will meet at the AC/GC High School Media Center | 906 State Street | Guthrie Center, beginning at 7-p.m.

(Audubon, Iowa) –  The Audubon School Board is set to hold their Annual and Organizational Board meetings Monday, beginning at 7-p.m. Both sessions take place in the Audubon High School Board Room. During the Annual Meeting, the Board will act on approving the FY23 Audit Report and FY 24 Engagement Letter, authorizing Nolte-Cornman to begin the FY24 Audit.

During the Organizational part of the meeting, the Audubon School Board will elect Officers, including Board President and Vice President. They will also act to approve several administrative matters, including: the paying of monthly bills through Direct Deposit (just as with the payroll); ACH/Direct Deposits for Warrants; the Audubon County Advocate as the official newspaper for general circulation of District information; Ahlers-Cooney as District Legal Counsel; a Snow Removal Contract; and Early Graduation Requests.

Personnel matters include approving the hiring of Brandi Mulford – Associate, and the resignation of Rachel Gunderson (effective at the end of the current school year).