(Atlantic, Iowa) – For the second year in a row, “Back to the Ballfields” will take place this evening (August 31st), in Atlantic. This year’s event (Appropriately named “Back to the Ballfields”) will be held at the Atlantic Sports Complex (across from KJAN), and will feature live music from the Happy Endings Band, as well as face painting, balloon artist, the Nebraska VR Game Truck, bounce houses, character visits, foam cannon, and other special additions.

Atlantic Police Chief Devon Hogue says there will be several food trucks on-hand for the event, as well as a beer garden, handled by Atlantic Little League. The evening will be capped off by the City of Atlantic Fireworks show put on by Wild Wayne’s.

Schedule of events:

1. Kids events will run from 5:00 – 8:00
2. Happy Endings will play from 6:00-9:00
3. The beer garden and food trucks will run from 5:00-9:00
4. Fireworks – shortly after 9:00PM

“Bash at the Ballfields” was first held Sept. 2nd, 2023, because the annual 4th of July Fireworks Show was cancelled due to bad weather. The event was so well received, organizers decided to hold it again this year.

Council Bluffs IA– Officials with Connections Area Agency on Aging say they’ve teamed up with USAging and Ring, on a new community initiative to help older adults maintain their independence and quality of life as they age. Ring is donating up to 500 Ring Video Doorbells and Stick Up Cams and a free subscription for the life for each device. On May 1st, USAging announced the national collaboration with Ring that included the donation of 5,000 Ring devices, including Ring Video Doorbells and Stick-Up Cams, and a free subscription for the life of each device to 10 Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) located across the country. Connections AAA is one of the recipients of this donation and will be receiving 500 devices.

Connections AAA CEO Kelly Butts-Elston says they are honored to be one of ten agencies nationwide selected to participate in this impactful program. She says “It’s a privilege to be part of a program that will greatly enhance the health and well-being of older Iowans.” Sandy Markwood, CEO of USAging says “Ring technology meets the critical needs of older adults by providing an additional layer of security and enabling them to see who is at their door. This partnership between Ring and Area Agencies on Aging will ensure that these devices reach the older adults who need them most, allowing them to age safely in their homes and communities.”

To celebrate the launch of this partnership, Connections AAA will host Ribbon Cutting and Open House events at each of their three western Iowa locations. The events are open to the public, and the Iowa Legal Aid Justice Bus will be present to share legal information and assist with on-site intakes. Additionally, applications for the Ring program will be available at the events.

Open House locations, dates and times are as follows:

Sioux City, Connections office 2301 Pierce St.; Monday, September 16th, Ribbon Cutting at 12:30 PM

Creston, Connections office 109 North Elm St; Wednesday, September 18th, Ribbon Cutting at 10:00 AM

Council Bluffs, Connections office 231 S Main St; Wednesday, September 25th, Ribbon Cutting at 1:00 PM

Refreshments will be available. Connections AAA will distribute devices on a first-come, first-served basis to eligible older residents.

Eligibility requirements include:

• Must be 60 or older.
• Must have Wi-Fi.
• Must have a smart phone that can download the Ring App.
• Must have access to an email address to set up their Ring Account.

(Palo Alto County, Iowa) – A collision east of Emmetsburg Friday afternoon resulted in one death and three persons injured. The Iowa State Patrol reports the accident happened a little before 3-p.m., at the intersection of 370th Street and 480th Avenue, in Palo Alto County.

Authorities say a 2013 KIA was traveling south on 480th Avenue. The driver, 32-year-old Desiree Angela Sternhagen, of Janesville, MN, failed to stop and yield at the intersection with 370th Street. Her car struck the passenger side of a 2018 Mitsubishi, driven by 34-year-old Mathia Kay Nieves, of Emmetsburg, as she was traveling west on 37oth.

A passenger in the Nieves vehicle, 67-year-old Ernest Eugene Manwarren, of Emmetsburg, who was not wearing a seat belt, was fatally injured. Nieves, and another passenger in her car, 33-year-old Justin Eugene Manwarren, of Emmetsburg, along with Desire Sternhagen, were all injured and transported to the Palo Alto Hospital by ambulance.

The Patrol says Sternhagen was not wearing her seat belt. Mathia Nieves and Justin Manwarren were belted into their vehicle.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – Officials with the Council Bluffs Police Department said late Friday night, that an arrest had been made in connection with the shooting Thursday night, of a 17-year-old male. Detectives with the Council Bluffs Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division located and arrested 19-year-old Isaac James Landanger, of Council Bluffs. Landanger was booked into the Pottawattamie County Jail for Attempt to Commit Murder, a Class B Felony.

The investigation is ongoing and it is anticipated that additional suspects will be charged as the investigation moves
forward.

Isaac James Landanger booking photo (Courtesy Council Bluffs PD)

Previously, authorities reported that at around 9:30-p.m., Thursday, Council Bluffs Police Officers were dispatched to the area of S. 26th St. and 3rd Ave.for a “shots-fired” call. Officers arrived in the area and discovered that a 17-year-old male was shot in the chest and leg. The victim was transported to Mercy Hospital prior to officers arriving on scene. He suffered non-life threatening injuries.

An initial investigation indicated that a disturbance had occurred in front of 215 S. 26th St. During the disturbance one subject produced a firearm and fired multiple shots.

The Criminal Investigation Division is still seeking additional information and witnesses related to this incident. Anyone
with information is encouraged to call the Council Bluffs Police Department Criminal Investigation Division at 712-328-
4728.

(Radio Iowa) – A northwest Iowa business that makes trailers for hauling livestock and grain will be laying off dozens of employees this fall. Sioux City’s Wilson Trailer Company has notified the State of Iowa it will be laying off 58 workers on September 30th. By law, businesses that have more than 100 employees are required to provide 60 days advance notice of layoffs. Employees were notified Thursday.

The company, in a written statement, cited slowing trailer sales in the agricultural market as the reason for the layoffs. Wilson Trailer Company, founded in 1890, is a family-owned business with headquarters in Sioux City. It operates five production plants, including two in Sioux City. The rest are in Moberly, Missouri, Yankton, South Dakota, and Lennox, South Dakota.

In addition to trailers to haul grain and livestock, the company makes flatbed and gooseneck trailers.

(Osceola, Iowa) – A motorcycle accident early this (Friday) afternoon in Clarke County, claimed the life of a man from Des Moines. The Iowa State Patrol reports 38-year-old James Paul Qualls died, after the 2014 Harley Davidson motorcycle crashed on Interstate 35 northbound at the exit ramp to Highway 34, near Osceola. The accident happened just before 1-p.m.

The Patrol says witnesses told Troopers the cycle was passing multiple vehicle at a high rate of speed when it took Exit 33 and went out of control. The motorcycle overturned before hitting a sign post. Qualls was ejected from the machine and landed in the ditch. The cycle rolled down the embankment and also came to rest in the ditch.

James Qualls was transported to the Clarke County Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased. Osceola Police assisted at the scene.

(Radio Iowa)  – Hundreds of Iowa hunters will hit the fields this holiday weekend for the start of the rabbit and squirrel seasons. Nate Carr, an Iowa D-N-R conservation officer for Hamilton and Hardin counties, says the weather should be ideal.
“Rabbit and squirrel season are going to open up this Saturday,” Carr says. “The two things you’re going to need for that is pretty basic, your typical hunting license, and habitat fee are what’s required for those. For rabbit, shooting hours are sunrise to sunset, you can take up to 10 per day, and then for squirrel, your daily bag limit is six.”

Iowa’s rabbit season runs through February 28th, while the squirrel season will end on January 25th. Carr says this Sunday will also kick off the hunting season for mourning doves.”That’ll run from September 1st all the way through November 29th. Your daily limit for doves is going to be 15 birds,” Carr says. “Just like rabbit and squirrel, make sure you have your hunting license and habitat fee, but also, like any migratory bird, you’re going to need to be registered through HIP or have your HIP registration.”

HIP is the Harvest Information Program, for which you can sign up at IowaDNR-dot-gov. Sunday also marks the start of the teal hunting season, which runs through September 16th.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Glenwood Police Department reports the arrest today (Friday), of 41-year-old Ralph Cleveland, from Council Bluffs. Cleveland was arrested on an Omaha, NE, warrant. He was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is working on a constitutional amendment that would make clear children do not have to testify in person — in a courtroom — against their alleged abuser. In June, the Iowa Supreme Court overturned the conviction of a man who argued it was unconstitutional for two children to testify against him via a live video link that was shown in the courtroom. “Iowa is the only state that has found that and so I am working in my office to draft a constitutional amendment to solve this problem,” Bird says, “because we have to protect children.”

Four Iowa Supreme Court justices joined the majority opinion that says remote testimony from children in abuse cases violates a defendant’s right to confront their accuser in court. Bird says while she respects the opinion as an officer of the court, the attorney general’s office argued the confrontation clause in the constitution does not require an in-court appearance by a child abuse victim. “They’re kids. It would be hard for them to testify in court about something good that had happened,” Bird says, “much less something really bad and awful that has happened.” Bird, a former county attorney, prosecuted cases involving child sex abuse victims. “I would advise child victims and also adult victims of crime that they did not have to look at the defendant. They are there as a witness,” Bird says, “…but these kids and other victims are often really scared to be there.”

The process of proposing amendments to Iowa’s constitution is long and 2027 is the earliest an amendment on this topic could be presented to voters for ratification. The Iowa Supreme Court’s ruling requiring in-the-courtroom testimony from children is likely to spark appeals from adults who’ve been convicted of child abuse or assault. An Illinois LAW passed in 2023 gives Illinois judges the discretion to let children under 13 testify outside the courtroom when warranted. Last year Colorado’s Supreme Court ruled prosecutors may use outside-the-courtroom testimony from older children.