(Atlantic, Iowa) – A Little League Field fence at the Atlantic Sports Complex was damaged over the weekend by a vehicle. A video posted to Facebook by Parks and Rec Coordinator Jeff Christensen, Sunday, showed tracks left in the gravel by an unknown vehicle that was apparently doing “donuts,” when it crashed into a fence, causing the fence to be bent over and broke in some spots. https://fb.watch/uVifR8Agra/

(Christensen said in the video “This is gonna take a little money to fix, people. We need to stop doing this to our stuff.” He urged anyone with information about who may have perpetrated the damage to call the Atlantic Police Department.)

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Red Oak Police, early Saturday morning, arrested a man on an Assault charge. 31-year-old Kyle Robert Danick, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 1:50-a.m., in the 100 block of East Reed Street. Danick was charged with Simple Assault. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) – After authorities searched for about 10-hours, a body was recovered, Friday, from a pickup truck that entered the Missouri River early Friday morning, in Sioux City. KTIV in Sioux City reports a pickup traveling south on Interstate 29 went into the river at around 6:35-a.m., Friday, near the railroad bridge.

A passenger who was in the vehicle during the crash told authorities that the driver had a medical episode. Sioux City Police believe that caused the pickup to go off I-29, through a fence, over a walking trail and into the river. The passenger was able to get out of the pickup and was sent to a Sioux City hospital. Authorities have not identified the driver or passenger.

Sioux City Fire Rescue led the recovery efforts along the Iowa side of the river. The area they were searching in the water was 17 feet deep, and the water was moving at nearly 10 mph in the spot where the pickup was located.

STANTON, Iowa, Sept. 27, 2024 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development State Director in Iowa Theresa Greenfield today announced the completion of a new facility to help meet the childcare needs of families in the rural southwest Iowa community of Stanton. The Lakin Foundation Child Development Center of Stanton is expected to help promote economic development and enable residents of this rural area of Montgomery County to seek more employment opportunities.

“Access to childcare is a critical need for many rural Iowa families,” said Director Greenfield. “Every day, USDA is championing rural America, listening to communities’ needs, fostering job growth through financing for small businesses, and generating outcomes that make rural Iowa a great place to live, work, and raise children.”

The childcare center held a ribbon-cutting and grand opening event to celebrate the project’s completion.

Theresa Greenfield, U.S. Department of Agriculture State Director in Iowa, and USDA staff approach the Lakin Foundation Child Development Center of Stanton to participate in the ribbon cutting for the facility also known as the Stanton Child Resource Center in the town of Stanton, Iowa, on September 27, 2024.

Background

The grant funding was made through the USDA Rural Development Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant program and was congressionally directed spending.

In November of 2022, USDA Rural Development invested $1 million in a grant to help the Stanton Child Resource Center Inc., a non-profit organization located in Stanton, Iowa, build a new facility. The building was designed and constructed to be over 11,000 square feet in size. It houses a sick room, a storm shelter, age-appropriate equipment, a covered drop-off and pick-up area, and larger classrooms than the old building. The new facility has a capacity for over 130 children and outdoor playgrounds. The center will help meet the needs of families and will promote economic development in rural Montgomery County.

PACIFIC JUNCTION, Iowa – Omaha Crime Stoppers are partnering with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation in offering a $25,000 reward for an anonymous tip leading to the arrest of the suspect or suspects involved in the August I-29 Speedway double homicide the night of August 10, 2024, in Mills County. 

At approximately 9-p.m. that night, the Mills County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting at the I-29 Speedway in Pacific Junction. An outdoor concert was about to begin when the shooting occurred in the parking lot. Two men, 28-year-old Marcus L. Johnson, and 27-year-old Charles A. Williams Jr., both from Omaha, Nebraska, died as a result of the shooting.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI)  and the Omaha Police Department are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying and locating the suspects involved.   Anyone with information can contact the Omaha Police Department at 402.444.5610, Omaha Crime Stoppers at 402.444.STOP, or submit a tip on the P3 Tips mobile app.

Anonymous tips leading to an arrest in a homicide are eligible for up to a $25,000 reward from the Omaha Police Department.

(Radio Iowa) – The 10th Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Davenport has been ordained and installed this (Friday) afternoon at a ceremony in Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport. Bishop Dennis Walsh is an Ohio native who has served parishes in Puerto Rico, Baltimore, New York City and — for the past 24 years — in his home state of Ohio.

Cardinal Christoph Pierre, the Vatican’s top envoy to the United States, spoke directly to the new bishop.

The Most Reverend Thomas Zinkula, the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, said it was heartwarming to see so many familiar people in the cathedral.

The archbishop also took a moment to recognize the new bishop’s mother, Marilyn.

Over 83-thousand Catholics attend the 74 parishes in the Davenport Diocese, including the cities of Bloomfield, Ottumwa, Oskaloosa and Iowa City and the Mississippi River cities of Clinton, Burlington and Fort Madison.

(Pottawattamie County) – The Iowa State Patrol said Friday (today) on social media, that a bull elk was discovered dead near Council Bluffs, at around mile-marker 8 off Interstate 80 in Pott County. Authorities say the animal likely died as the result of a collision by a vehicle.

The Patrol reminds motorist to always remain vigilant while driving! Stay safe!!!

Bull Elk found near Council Bluffs (ISP photo)

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources said that elk seem to be visiting Iowa more frequently each fall. Originally, elk were native to Iowa, but they left as the state was settled. An elk was spotted earlier this month running through an Iowa City neighborhood.

While there isn’t a population in Iowa, elk are protected by Iowa Code, which includes a $1,000 fine for illegally killing an elk. That does not exclude the right of a person from dispatching an elk that is causing property damage or from causing physical harm, DNR said

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Efforts to raise money for the proposed School Resource Officer (SRO) position in the Atlantic School District, received a boost today (Friday), from Randy Watts, owner of Camblin Mechanical, in Atlantic. Watts presented a check in the amount of $5,000 to Atlantic Police Chief Devin Hogue at the Police Department, this (Friday) afternoon. The funds will go toward equipment for the SRO, including a vehicle, portable radios, a uniform and vest. Watts said donating for SRO equipment and position was never in question.

In June of 2024, the Atlantic P-D applied for a federal grant that would help with funding for the SRO position. Chief Hogue says once they know the status of the grant application, they can move forward with posting an opening for the position. Until then, donations like the one from Randy Watts, are very much appreciated.

The ultimate goal, he says, is to have an officer hired for this position and placed upon returning from Christmas break.

The Atlantic Rotary is also helping to raise funds to assist the APD in its fundraising efforts to purchase equipment to support the school resource officer position. The Rotary is holding a raffle with prizes ranging from $500-to $1,500 dollars. The drawing will be held November 23rd. For more information and a way to purchase your raffle tickets, see the Atlantic Police Department’s Facebook page, or to contact any member of the Atlantic Rotary Club.

Randy Watts (Center) presents a check for $5,000 to Atlantic Police Chief Devin Hogue.

This past June, the City of Atlantic and the Atlantic Community School District agreed to collaborate on hiring a School Resource Officer. The School Resource Officer will be an employee of the City and a member of the Atlantic Police Department and will work in all of the school district’s buildings.

(Radio Iowa) – Northwest Iowans still face a long road to recovery three months after devastating flooding hit the region. The Big Sioux River forced dozens of people from their homes in the Riverside neighborhood of Sioux City, including Deanna Mercure. “It was rough, and it still is. It’s been the longest three months of my life,” Mercure says. “I was just devastated, thinking, ‘What am I going to do? I don’t want to leave this house.’ It just all fell in place with everybody that stepped up.”

Mercure says she received 26-thousand dollars from FEMA to help with home repairs and is hoping to secure another 50-thousand in state funding. However, she admits that isn’t enough and she still needed to take out a home equity loan. Jeanne Derby’s home, also in the Riverside neighborhood, was heavily damaged when the Big Sioux River poured out of its banks. Even though it will still take some time before she can move back in, Derby is thankful for help from the federal government, the state, and local organizations.

“The community came together. When I didn’t have clothes, people dropped clothes off, people dropped shoes off,” Derby says. “People I didn’t know showed up to help tear my walls off. It was amazing.” A local Long Term Recovery Group was formed to help flood victims connect with much-needed services. So far, FEMA has approved more than three-million dollars for 325 households in Woodbury County. The deadline to apply for individual assistance from FEMA ends on October 22nd for Woodbury and several other Iowa counties impacted by natural disasters this summer.

File photo of this summer’s flooding in Sioux City’s Riverside neighborhood. (KSCJ photo)

Counties included: Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Humboldt, Lyon, Monona, O’Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Pottawattamie, Scott, Sioux, and Woodbury.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Central Community College will be consolidating classes in Storm Lake in a new, 10 MILLION dollar facility. The community college has offered courses and certification programs in Storm Lake, but out of three different locations in the community. Jesse Ulrich, the president of Iowa Central Community College, hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for the college’s Training Center in Storm Lake. “Our purpose at Iowa Central is very simple. We want students to come to Iowa Central. We want them to finish their degrees and their certifications in the shortest amount of time possible with the least amount of student debt so they can go on and have a better life,” Ulrich says. “This building represents a lot of that.”

The two-story building has 16 classrooms, an academic resource center, and a testing center. Ulrich says new programs for certified nurse assistants, welders and electricians will be added on the Storm Lake campus. It will also serve as a career academy for students in local high schools (those school districts are Storm Lake, Alta-Aurelia, Sioux Central in Sioux Rapids, Newell-Fonda and Pocahontas Area and St. Mary’s Catholic High School in Storm Lake). “These schools really came together as a consortium to talk about what the needs were in this building,” Ulrich says. The building will host community education and classes for English language learners at night. Governor Kim Reynolds says community colleges like Iowa Central are key to developing well-trained, capable workers.

Gov. Reynolds listens as Iowa Central Community College president Ulrich addresses crowd at building’s grand opening. (KAYL photo)

“Each of those jobs reflect the incredible power of these institutions to transform lives,” Reynolds said. Iowa Central’s main campus is in Fort Dodge. It operates a satellite campus in Webster City as well as the courses offered in Storm Lake.