(Radio Iowa) – Temperatures have already been dipping below freezing in several Iowa cities, prompting some of us to bring our space heaters out of storage to warm up our homes at night. Lieutenant John Nelsen, of the Sioux City Fire Rescue, says it’s a bad idea to leave those devices on 24-7.

“We definitely don’t recommend you leaving on the space heater, especially when you’re sleeping,” Nelsen says. “We encourage you to shut them off when you leave a room if you’re the last one in the room. You never know if you have a pet in there that could knock a blanket or something closer to the space heater that could potentially cause it to start a fire.”

Nelsen says to never run your space heater near combustibles, like newspapers or magazines. He suggests keeping at least a three-foot ring of clearance around the devices. Also, Nelsen says you shouldn’t be surprised if your smoke detector goes off as you switch on your space heater or furnace for the first time.

“Especially in the winter time, we start using those space heaters that have been stored all year, start kicking on furnaces,” Nelsen says. “We’re going to have our smoke detectors start chirping just because from the dust that’s accumulated on those appliances.”

He says it’s also important to snuff out any candles you have burning before heading to bed, noting, a few recent fire calls in Sioux City were due to unattended candles.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Glenwood Police Department reports two arrests so far this month: 35-year-old Amy Marie McConahay, of Glenwood, was arrested early Saturday morning, for: Possession of a Controlled Substance – 3rd or subsequent offense; Poss. of Marijuana-1st offense; Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia; Unlawful Poss. of a Prescription Drug, and OWI/1st offense. Her bond was set at $4,300 altogether.

And, late this (Monday) morning, Glenwood Police arrested 45-year-old Steven Dale Bascue, of Council Bluffs, for PCS-3rd or subsequent offense, and Theft in the 3rd Degree (Value >$750 but less than $1,500). His bond was set at $3,000.

(Creston, Iowa) – One person suffered unknown/possible injury during an accident late Friday morning, in Creston. Creston Police say the accident occurred at around 11:42-a.m. at the intersection of Adams and Elm Streets, when, according to the accident report,  75-year-old Deborah Blazek, of Corning, failed to yield the right-of-way from a stop sign. Her 2017 Chevy Suburban struck the a 2020 Chevy Equinox broadside. The Equinox was driven by 30-year-old Stephanie Haffner, of Clarinda.

The accident happened as Haffner’s vehicle was more than half-way through the intersection as it was traveling southbound on Elm Street and the Blazek SUV was traveling east on Adams. The collision caused the airbags on Haffner’s vehicle to deploy.

She complained of pain following the crash, but was not transported to the hospital. The accident caused a total of $6,500 damage, according to police. There were no citations issued.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – A man from Stuart was injured during a single-vehicle, rollover accident early Friday morning (Oct. 31st). According to the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office, 21-year-old Jadon Wilson was traveling eastbound on White Pole Road near the intersection with Quail Avenue, when the SUV he was driving left the road on the south side and made contact with the ditch.

The vehicle drove in the ditch for a short distance before it rolled over before it came to rest overturned. The accident happened at around 12:50-a.m., Friday. Wilson suffered suspected serious/incapacitating injuries, and was transported by Stuart EMS to Mercy One.

The SUV – a 2018 Jeep Compass – was totaled in the crash. Wilson was cited for Failure to Maintain Control.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Rotary Club would like to remind Veterans that the annual Rotary Salute to Veterans will be Tuesday, November 11th, at the Cass County Community Center, (805 West 10th Street, Atlantic, Iowa) beginning at 11:45 AM. Speaking will be Specialist Colton Rudy with the Iowa National Guard.

All that have served and are still serving in the military are invited to the annual Salute to Veterans lunch. Spouses/significant others of veterans are also welcome.

Please RSVP by November 7th to Dolly Bergmann at 712-249-9275.

The Rotary says “We look forward to honoring those who have served our country.”

DES MOINES – State Treasurer Roby Smith is celebrating the upcoming holiday season with an ISave 529 Winter Giveaway you will not want to miss! Running through December 31, ISave 529 is giving away a $5,290 contribution to one lucky winner. “This giveaway is a great way to encourage families to start saving for education,” said Treasurer Smith. “Iowans from Allamakee County to the City of Harrisburg and everywhere in-between should visit ISave529.com/contest throughout the holiday season and register a child in their life.”

Iowans can register to win a $5,290 ISave 529 contribution at ISave529.com/contest. It takes about 60 seconds to register and could give a child in your life the gift of education. Participants can also earn additional giveaway entries by setting up automatic investments, adding a successor, setting up automatic yearly increases and opening a new ISave 529 account for a beneficiary. For more information on how to earn additional entries, see the Official Rules.

Connect with ISave 529 on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn to stay informed of updates and news.

More About ISave 529:
ISave 529 is Iowa’s direct-sold 529 plan administered by State Treasurer Roby Smith. With the plan, people can save for future educational expenses for themselves, children, grandchildren or more, and Iowa taxpayers can deduct up to $5,800 in contributions per beneficiary account from their state income taxes in 2025. An ISave 529 account can be opened with as little as $25, and anyone – parents, grandparents, even friends – can contribute. The plan offers a variety of investment options and is easy to manage online at ISave529.com or through the READYSAVE 529 app.

To learn how you can open an ISave 529 account, visit ISave529.com. For more information about the plan, read the Program Description.

(Radio Iowa) – Food pantries around the state say there’s been a surge in demand as federal SNAP benefits are delayed. Craig Gordy is with the Oskaloosa Food Pantry, where they gave away almost five-thousand pounds of food over a two day period.  “Normally, we give about 300 or 400 pounds, so people are stocking up because they know SNAP is not coming,” Gordy said. Gordy says his food pantry is limited on how much food they can purchase from the Food Bank of Iowa and he appreciates the governor’s recent move to try to spur donations to the food bank.

“We do have several farmers in the area that have donated whole hogs. They process it and bring it here,” Gordy said. “We have others that grow garden goods that they grow extra.” Democrats is in the Iowa legislature say the State of Iowa should take immediate action to assist the nearly 270-thousand Iowans who did not receive monthly SNAP benefits on Saturday. Senate Democratic Leader Janice Weiner of Iowa City says she’s glad Governor Reynolds committed a million dollars in state funds to match donations to Iowa’s six food banks — but that’s not enough to replace the 42 MILLION dollars in federal funds tied up due to the government shutdown.

(Photo courtesy of Des Moines Area Religious Council food pantry)

“This program has not ever lapsed since the original version was put in place during the Great Depression,” Weiner said. Weiner says Governor Reynolds has the authority to access 107 MILLION dollars in interest earned from investing federal pandemic relief payments to the state. “I think we ought to use those at this point, simply as a stop gap, until such time as the funds that should be flowing from the federal government start to flow,” Weiner says. Two federal judges have ordered the Trump Administration to dip into contingency funds to make this month’s SNAP payments. The U-S Treasury Secretary said this weekend payments might be made on Wednesday, but officials have to figure out the process. Weiner says the once-a-month payments are critical. “There are a variety of different chunks of Iowans who are on SNAP. There are 100,000 kids who get fed by SNAP; 47% are households with someone with a disability,” she said.

Nearly a third of SNAP households in Iowa are headed by a person over the age of 65.

(Clarinda, Iowa) – Page County Attorney James L. Varley, today (Nov. 3rd) reports the following activities in the Iowa District Court for Page County for the week of October 13, 2025. 

37-year-old Aaron Wade Opdyke, of Sidney, Iowa, appeared by counsel and pled guilty to Possession of a Controlled Substance, Marijuana- 3^rd Offense. The defendant was sentenced 180 days of incarceration, which will run concurrent with his cases in Mills County. The term of incarceration was suspended, and the defendant was placed on probation for 12 months. As a condition of probation, the defendant is ordered to obtain a substance abuse evaluation and follow through with any recommendations. The defendant was ordered to pay a fine of $855, suspended, plus court costs, surcharges and court-appointed attorney fees.

45-year-old Kayela Katherine Weak, of Macedonia, Iowa, appeared by counsel and pled guilty to Possession of a Controlled Substance, Marijuana- 1^st Offense. The defendant was fined $430 and assessed court costs, surcharges and court-appointed attorney fees.

All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Atlantic residents Dave and Barb Chase have made a generous multi-year pledge to support Vision Atlantic’s transformative community development project, which includes a new housing development, child development center, and YMCA expansion. Vision Atlantic officials say “As longtime Atlantic residents and dedicated community advocates, the Chases’ commitment reflects their deep appreciation for the community that has supported them and their desire to help ensure its continued growth for generations to come.”

Dave and Barb Chase say “The community of Atlantic and surrounding area have been very good to us. It has provided us with the opportunity to live, work, and play in an environment that truly fosters the ability to realize the American Dream.  In sincere appreciation of that, we want to give back now to help sustain that environment of opportunity for future generations to come.”

Vision Atlantic, through extensive research and surveying of the community and surrounding region, identified three areas that will help increase Atlantic’s population: expanded childcare, quality housing and quality of life amenities. Infrastructure for the 142 mixed unit Camblin Hills housing development and 300 capacity child development center is almost complete, with construction of 48 homes currently underway. Construction of the child development center and YMCA expansion is slated to begin early 2026.

Pictured: Christina Bateman alongside Dave and Barb Chase.

Vision Atlantic has a fundraising goal of $39 million, which will be used to construct the YMCA expansion and child development center. To date, they have raised $27 million of that goal, thanks to an $8.6 million lead grant from the Charles E. Lakin Foundation and significant support from local donors. In addition to their grant support, the Lakin Foundation has created a separate investment fund of $23 million that will be used to construct homes in the Camblin Hills housing development. The capital will be used as a line of credit, and as the dollars are paid back, the Foundation will donate up to 5% of the interest paid back to Vision Atlantic, who will use those dollars to operate the child development center.

Vision Atlantic’s Project Committee is actively working to secure the remaining $12 million needed to meet their fundraising goal. If you are interested in helping transform Atlantic, whether it’s through monetary donations or acts of volunteerism, please contact Vision Atlantic at visionatlanticiowa@gmail.com. Visit www.visionatlantic.org and follow on Facebook for behind-the-scenes access to project updates and in-depth information of the project scope.

Vision Atlantic is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose mission is to empower growth, enhance lives, and build a thriving community together through the economic development of Atlantic, Iowa.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports a Union County man was arrested October 27th on Adair County warrants for Stalking-Use of Technological Device (A Class-C felony), and Harassment in the 1st Degree (Threats) [an Aggravated Misdemeanor]. Authorities say 39-year-old James Alan Davis, of Creston, was arrested following an investigation into incidents that occurred between July 9th and August 1st, 2025, whereby Davis allegedly “purposefully and repeatedly” engaged in a course of conduct directed toward a man, causing him to feel terrorized, and in fear of injury. The offenses allegedly took place via the use of an electronic device(s), whereby Davis allegedly threatened to commit a forcible felony.

Davis was being held in the Adair County Jail on a $5,000 cash or surety bond. Online court documents state he has waived a speedy trial and entered a written plea of not guilty. Arraignment is set to take place in Adair County District Court on November 7th.