(Atlantic, IA) – A trial for the former Atlantic Chamber Director who faces multiple felony charges, has been continued for another month. 33-year-old Bailey Linn Smith had been set to stand trial January 27th, will instead appear before a jury in Atlantic on February 24th. Online court records show Judge Michael Hooper granted the requested continuance today (Monday). Smith’s pre-trial conference scheduled for today (Jan. 12th, will instead be held February 9th.

Bailey Smith faces a Class-B charge of Ongoing Criminal Conduct – unlawful activity, and Class- Felony charges, that include Theft in the 1st Degree, Fraudulent Practice in the 1st Degree, and Unauthorized Use of a Credit Card over $10,000. Smith entered a written plea of not guilty back in November, and has waived her right to a speedy trial.

Bailey Smith resigned from the Chamber on September 15th. She turned herself in to the Cass County Sheriff’s Office on October 8th and was released on bond. According to a criminal complaint, between January 2020 and August 2025, Smith allegedly made 761 personal transactions with Chamber funds totaling $26,913.22, of which $6,632.38 was admitted by Smith. She was charged with Theft in the First Degree for allegedly misappropriating over $10,000.

Smith also allegedly orchestrated a scheme from November 2022 to August 2025, making 47 fraudulent transfers between Chamber bank accounts to cover up her theft. The loss amounted to $76,215, and resulted in the charges of Fraudulent Practice in the First Degree and Ongoing Criminal Conduct.

Additionally, Smith allegedly used Chamber-issued credit cards for approximately $25,065.71 in personal expenses, with $6,632.38 acknowledged by her in a letter to the Chamber Board. She was charged with Unauthorized Use of a Credit Card over $10,000.

(Guthrie Center, IA) – The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office reports there were three, non-injury accidents in the County, last week. Authorities say on Jan. 6th, at around 2:35-p.m., a vehicle driven by 61-year-old Deana Arends, of Bayard, was stopped facing eastbound on State Street/Highway 44, waiting to turn north on 7th Street, when her SUV was struck from behind. The driver of the other vehicle, 39-year-old Ali Abdulmehdi Alhussaini, of Ankeny, told deputies he failed to notice the SUV was stopped in the roadway, prior to his pickup striking the SUV. Deputies cited Alhussaini for Failure to Reduce Speed to a reasonable and proper rate. Damage from the collision amounted to an estimated $13,000 altogether.

Another accident January 6th in Guthrie County caused a combined, estimated $2,000 damage to a van and an SUV. The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office says the registered owner of a 2021 Chevy Blazer came to the Sheriff’s Office to report a fender bender that had occurred earlier in the day in the courthouse parking lot. The witness said she saw a 2022 Chrysler Voyager van driven by 27-year-old Charlie Quinn Walker, of Menlo, back out of a parking space and strike the legally parked SUV. The accident happened at around 9:30-a.m. Walker was cited for No insurance – accident related.

And, on January 8th, a 2013 Nissan Juke driven by 36-year-old Rachael Tenk, of Manning, was traveling on Highway 141 at around 11:47-p.m., when a deer came out of a ditch and crossed in front of her vehicle. When the vehicle hit the deer, the driver’s side airbags deployed. Tenk, who was wearing her seat belt, and not hurt. The vehicle was disabled in the collision. Authorities estimated the damage at $3,000.

(Greenfield, IA) – A man from Adair County was arrested Jan. 5th at the Adair County Sheriff’s Office, by officials with the Iowa Department of Corrections. According to the Adair County Sheriff’s Office, 57-year-old Jack Howard Davis, of Orient, was arrested on the warrant for Violation of Parole. Davis was being held in the Adair County Jail without bond.

(Creston, IA) – Officials with the Creston Police Department say four people were arrested on separate charges between late Friday morning and early Saturday evening. Three of the arrests took place on Friday:

• 19-year-old Ava Nicole Sales, of Cedar Rapids, was arrested late Friday morning at the Creston/Union County Law Enforcement Center, on an Outstanding Warrant by an Outside Agency, on an original charge of OWI/1st offense. Sales was released from the Union County Jail after posting 10% of her $1,000 bond;
• 49-year-old Liliana Cabrera Castro, of Lenox, was arrested Friday afternoon in the 1300 Block N. Cherry, in Creston. She was charged with Interference w/Corrections Official Acts, and Public Intoxication/1st offense. Castro was taken to the Union County Jail and later posted a $300 cash bond;
• And, 26-year-old Jairon Darien Oliva Bernal, of Osceola, was arrested Friday afternoon in the 200 block of S. Maple Street, in Creston. Bernal was charged with Domestic Abuse Assault/1st Offense – Causing Bodily Injury. He was taken to the Union County Jail and held without bond until seen by a Judge.

And, at around 5:25-p.m., Saturday, Creston Police arrested 56-year-old Charles Leon Harris, of Creston. He was taken into custody in the Creston Walmart parking lot, for Driving While License Denied/ Suspended/Cancelled or Revoked. Harris was later released from the Union County Jail on a Promise to Appear in court.

(Atlantic, IA) – The City of Atlantic’s Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Commission will hold  a public hearing beginning at 5:30-p.m. on Tuesday, Jan 13th, in the City Hall Council Chambers. The hearing is with regard to the 2025 City of Atlantic Comprehensive Plan, which includes Design Standards for Single-Family Dwellings.

A Comprehensive Plan, according to Iowa State University Extension and Outreach’s paper on Planning and Zoning and the Purpose of the Comprehensive Plan, is “…a document designed to guide the future actions of a city or county. The Iowa Supreme Court has stated that the legal purpose of the comprehensive plan is to ‘direct use and development of property by dividing it into districts according to present and potential uses.’ The comprehensive plan also presents a vision for the future with long-range goals and objectives for all activities that affect the local government. This includes guidance on how to make decisions on public and private land development proposals, the expenditure of public funds, and issues of pressing concern (such as farmland preservation for counties, or the rehabilitation of older neighborhoods in cities). Most plans are written to provide direction for ten to twenty years after their adoption.”  It is recommended such plans be reviewed and possibly updated every five years.

Following the public hearing, the Commission will act on an “Order to Approve the 2025 Comprehensive Plan.” Other P&Z business, Tuesday, includes the introduction of new Planning & Zoning Commission member Roger Poulsen, who was sworn-in by Atlantic Mayor Rob Clausen during the Jan. 7th City Council meeting, and, discussion on a questionnaire regarding regulation for non-traditional housing.

(Radio Iowa) – The is one of the slowest times of the year for the American Red Cross to recruit blood donors in Iowa, so the agency is making a special offer in hopes of scoring a touchdown for hospitals. Emily Holley, spokeswoman for the Red Cross’ Nebraska-Iowa region, says everyone who donates blood between now and January 25th will automatically be entered for a chance to win a trip to the Super Bowl next month in San Francisco. Holley says, “The winner and the guest will receive two tickets to the Super Bowl, access to day of in-stadium pre-game activities, round-trip airfare, and three nights of hotel accommodations.” She says it’s often difficult to find blood donors during these early weeks of winter.

“The Red Cross blood supply is under pressure right now, following a busy holiday season when winter weather impacts schedules, making it tougher to ensure that hospitals have the blood products needed for critical care,” Holley says. “That’s why we’re encouraging helping individuals to donate now and throughout the winter to help patients who are counting on blood transfusions.” Holley urges Iowans to roll up their sleeves and donate a pint. “It’s very easy to find a blood drive near you and make an appointment,” she says. “All you have to do is go to redcrossblood.org, type in your ZIP code, and all of the upcoming blood drives near you will show up and you can make an appointment.”

All blood types are needed. You can safely donate blood every 56 days and the process typically takes less than an hour, while the actual collection just lasts about ten minutes.

(Radio Iowa) – The only Iowa State University graduate to walk in space is thrilled to see NASA is planning to send humans into lunar orbit next month for first time in more than a half-century. The Artemis Two mission is scheduled for launch as soon as February 6th, and former astronaut Clay Anderson says it’s an important test of the spacecraft and systems for future lunar ventures. “The Artemis I mission was to test the vehicle, test the idea, make sure everything functions, but now you’re going to put humans in there,” Anderson says, “so you have to worry about things like air conditioning, and exercise, and the toilet system, and the food system, and all those things that humans require when we travel to the moon and eventually land on the surface.”

The plan calls for an Orion spacecraft carrying four astronauts to orbit the moon as part of a 10-day mission. It’s the first crewed moon mission since Apollo 17 in December of 1972. Anderson says some colleagues are concerned about a flight to the moon without more tests of the Orion capsule, the European service module and S-L-S rocket. He says there are always risks involved with any spaceflight. “It’s like anything,” Anderson says. “There’s always going to be a concern, and you can’t test everything so much that you’re perfectly certain that nothing’s going to go wrong. That’s why we explore. That’s why we do this thing in the first place.”

If this mission is successful, NASA hopes to launch Artemis III to land on the moon next year. Plans call for using Space X’s Starship vehicle to transport astronauts to the lunar surface. Anderson says it’s hard to predict whether the lunar landing will take place in 2027. “You have to plan, you have to put it out there, you have to have a schedule you’re working toward,” Anderson says. “Then, as long as things go well, and systems are working, and when they come back from this mission, and they feel comfortable they’ve knocked out a lot of the problems that need to be solved, who knows? They could very well go then.”

After several failures, the Starship finally flew a successful test mission in October. Anderson, a Nebraska native, flew two missions aboard the International Space Station, spending a total of 167 days in orbit. He received a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from Iowa State University in 1983, and had returned to ISU as a distinguished faculty fellow in 2013 to teach aerospace engineering.

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) – A fire was reported Sunday night on the Morningside University campus, in Sioux City. According to KTIV-TV, Sioux City Fire Rescue personnel responded to the Joan L. and Norm Wait Senior Apartments at 3500 Peters Ave, on the university’s campus. Crews were initially called to the scene for a reported fire alarm. Once on scene, they determined a fire had been extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system.

Sioux City Fire Rescue Assistant Fire Chief, Frank Fulton, told KTIV that the cause was something next to a space heater that caught fire. Morningside University says no students, faculty, or staff were injured during the incident. University officials say one residential unit was affected.

Students residing in the unit were temporarily relocated to other on-campus housing.

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI-TV) – High nitrates levels are back in the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers, prompting Central Iowa Water Works officials to turn-on their nitrate removal facility again. KCCI reports the facility turned on three of their eight nitrate removal vessels last week, which is a rarity for January. Plant officials, however, said all the water the facility produces is below the EPA safe drinking water standard of 10 milligrams of nitrates per liter that public water systems are required to meet that.

Former University of Iowa researcher Chris Jones tells KCCI the recent weather is worth considering as a reason for the rise in nitrate levels. According to Jones, the warm weather we’ve had kept the ground from freezing, and with no frost below four-feet, it remains thawed down where the field tiles, the agricultural field tiles are found.

When rain comes, it washes the nitrates out. Jones said the high numbers aren’t just hitting central Iowa. He noted the Cedar River on Thursday was almost 10 milligrams per liter.

In spring and summer 2025, the nitrate removal facility ran in part of fully for 112 days. A wet July drove nitrates out of farm field drainage tiles and into lakes and rivers. That all led to an unprecedented lawn watering ban in central Iowa last summer. The nitrate removal facility, located in Des Moines but operated by Central Iowa Water Works, has been in used since the 1990s. This is the fourth time in the facility that it has run in the winter.

(Atlantic, IA) – You’re invited to come and meet members of the Civil Air Patrol’s Southwest Iowa Composite Squadron, this coming Sunday (Jan. 18th) in Atlantic, beginning at 2-p.m. The program takes place at the Atlantic Armory (201 Poplar St.), and offers you a chance to learn how the organization develops youth and serves our community, state, and nation.

Atlantic is home to the Squadron, which is comprised of anywhere from 18-to 30-members, at any given time. Current cadets and adult members come from Harlan, Avoca, Red Oak, and Anita as well as Atlantic. Southwest Iowa Composite Squadron meets Tuesday nights from 6:30-8:30pm at the Armory to advance their education and training within the program.

Mary McBride and other adult volunteers from Atlantic, Harlan, and Red Oak provide oversight and guidance to the program. Once they reach a certain rank in the program, cadets begin to take ownership over the program and do most of the planning and carry out training for the lower ranking cadets.

Photo from the ARISE Facebook page

The Civil Air Patrol is an auxiliary of the United States Air Force and became official in 1941 at the beginning of WWII. It continues today with three missions from the Air Force: Emergency Services, Aerospace Education, and Cadet Programs.
The Cadet program is aimed at 12-18 year old youth, developing their skills in the areas of leadership, aerospace knowledge and experience, fitness, and character development.

Adults and cadets are also given opportunities throughout Iowa and the country to train in whatever areas of C.A.P. that interests them. Civil Air Patrol also offers funding to keep uniforms and programs affordable. Adults in the program can choose to train and serve their community within any of the missions mentioned. Emergency services offers opportunities to serve in the areas of search and rescue or disaster response.

The program is sponsored by ARISE and held at the American Legion Memorial Building (the Armory) at 201 Poplar, Atlantic. There is no fee to attend, and everyone is welcome.