(Creston, Iowa) [edited for clarification 9/6/22]- Sheriff’s officials in Union County report a man they said is linked to vehicle thefts in six different counties was arrested at around 2-p.m., Saturday. 39-year-old Daniel Floyd Edwards is allegedly responsible for a string of motorcycle, car, pick-up, 4-wheeler, tractor, dump truck, and semitrailer thefts in Union, Ringgold, Adams, Adair, Cass and Madison counties. Charges on the offenses were still pending as of the latest information.

Daniel Floyd Edwards

Authorities late last week alerted the public to be on the lookout for Edwards, who was wanted for parole violations, with nationwide extradition. He was taken into custody after a pursuit. No injuries were reported.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa DNR is now taking public comments as it prepares the rules for the revised bottle bill. The bill was created 44 years ago and after much debate through the years was changed in the last legislative session. The DNR’s Aime Davidson leads the Land Quality Bureau, an says they are not looking for ways to change the law, just input on the rules to implement it. “Our rules would need to be in compliance with the law. We can only work within the authorization that the law gives us,” Davidson says. “So, it would be looking at the law and then looking at the rules and seeing if they aligned, and if things make sense.”

She says you can make your comments online. “If you go to the DNR website, and the easiest way to get to it in the search bar is just search bottle bill and it will pull up the beverage containers control law web page. And it’s pretty much right at the top of the page, titled proposed rule revisions,” Davidson says. You can also email comments at: bottlebill@dnr.iowa.gov.

The input is part of the rulemaking process leading up to the implementation of the new law. “DNR will accept written comments during this informal period until September 21st, and then there’s a formal rulemaking process that includes going to the Environmental Protection Commission, the administrative rules review committee, with the goal that the rules are final by January 1st,” she says.

The changes in the bill will let most grocery stores and other retailers opt out of accepting empty bottles and cans and paying back the nickel deposits. The original Bottle Bill was created as a way to reduce litter and encourage consumers to recycle drink containers.

(Radio Iowa) – A small company that makes tasty treats was launched in an Iowa State University dorm room, and it will soon have its products on the shelves of a major national retail chain. Le Mars native Jarod Steffes, one of the co-founders of Muddy Bites, describes his simple idea that quickly morphed into an expanding business, offering the yummy nibbles in milk chocolate, dark chocolate and white chocolate. “Muddy Bites is essentially the bottom part of a sundae cone, just that waffle end filled with chocolate,” Steffes says, “so essentially, we took the best part of a sundae cone and turned it into a bite-sized snack that one can enjoy over and over again.”

Steffes came up with the concept when he was still an I-S-U student and he needed a partner. Enter Tyler De Vos, who lived just down the hall. “I could do marketing a little bit, but I didn’t know how to make food whatsoever. I knew nothing about producing food, manufacturing, all that stuff and immediately thought of my network — who does?” Steffes says. “At the time, Tyler had started a barbecue sauce company out of his dorm room and so I was like, ‘Hey, I’ve got this idea, you know a little bit at least about food, like, can you help me with this idea?'”

Steffes says De Vos only need to consider for about 30 seconds before agreeing to be a part of the project. From the start, the business partners decided to split up the workload. “He’s running more of the operational side of things and figuring out how to actually make Muddy Bites on a mass scale,” Steffes says, “and I kind of run all the other branding, social media/marketing side of the business. We really started that in 2018, and the idea really started in 2019 when we launched on Kickstarter.”

A crew of I-S-U students created the first batches of Muddy Bites, which are now manufactured in North Sioux City, South Dakota. The treats are already for sale in 52-hundred stores nationwide. The big break came earlier this year, when they competed with several thousand other firms in a “product showcase” before Walmart executives in Arkansas. Muddy Bites was among the products chosen for sale at Walmarts across the country. Steffes says they’re ramping up production to meet an April Walmart deadline.

On the web at https://www.muddybites.com/

(Radio Iowa) – A spokesperson for the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau says there are some simple things you can do to stay safe as you head home today (Monday) from the long holiday weekend. Jenie Sterbenz says with the shutdown for the pandemic, and some people driving less, we don’t remember some of the rules of the road. “It does seem that people have kind of forgotten the safety part of driving — driving the speed limit, wearing your seat belt, putting that phone down,” she says. Sterbenz says driving is not the time to be multitasking.

“When you’re driving that’s where your attention should be is on driving, not messing with the radio eating or watching a movie or playing with your phone,” she says. “We know that those are all distractions and they can cause your mind to be elsewhere.” You may be following all of the rules but still get into an accident. Sterbenz says wearing your seat belt is good protection for anything that happens on the roadway. “Forty-one percent of our traffic fatalities here in the state of Iowa, to date, have not been buckled up. That’s rather disturbing, especially since we’ve had the law in effect since 1986,” Sterbenz. “Even though we do have a great percentage of people buckling up, we still have those people that are not buckling up are the ones that seem to be involved in those fatality crashes.”

There will be extra officers out on the roadways looking for violations today (Monday). Sterbenz says they just want everyone to get into good driving habits again so the number of fatal and other types of crashes drop.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and Healthy Cass County is hosting a free suicide prevention training Monday, September 12, 2022, from noon – 1:00 PM. CALM (Counseling on Access to Lethal Means), focuses on how to reduce access to the methods people use to kill themselves. The Suicide Prevention Resource Center says “Reducing
access to lethal means, such as firearms and medication, can determine whether a person at risk for suicide lives or dies.”

The training will be presented by Gina Moulas, who works for Veterans Affairs (VA) in Suicide Prevention as a Community Engagement and Partnership Coordinator. Gina is an active
participant in Healthy Cass County. People who visited the Cass County Fair may recognize Gina. Others may have seen her sharing coloring books and other mental health resources at
Produce in the Park. The CALM suicide prevention training is open to the public. To join the meting virtually, contact Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh at bhoegh@iastate.edu or 712-249-5870.

The meeting will also be broadcast at the Atlantic Public Library meeting room. Anyone is welcome to attend. Food is allowed in the meeting room, and attendees are welcome to bring
their lunch. Additional information from the VA on suicide prevention, including resources on lethal means, can be found at https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/suicide_prevention/index.asp. For more information on free mental health trainings and programing available to businesses, schools, churches, and other community groups, contact Brigham Hoegh at bhoegh@iastate.edu or 712-249-5870.

Additional events will be planned for Suicide Awareness Month. Follow Healthy Cass County on Facebook @HealthyCassCounty for information, tips, and connection points throughout the
month, as we focus on this important topic.

Healthy Cass County is a community-focused volunteer network formed to promote the health and well-being of all people in Cass County. Healthy Cass County meets on the second Monday
of the month from noon-1:00 PM. All people are welcome. Contact Brigham Hoegh for more information.