(Des Moines, Iowa) – MercyOne Hospital in Des Moines has updated its visitor guidelines. The new policy essentially says masking is encouraged, but no longer required. The guidelines say visitors must be 16 years old, with the exception being for patients meeting certain or compassionate care criteria. Visitors must also be free of signs of illness and will be screened for symptoms of COVID-19. The new guidelines went into effect on Oct. 17th.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak have arrested a man on a warrant. Authorities say 43-year-old Dewight Eugene Binau, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 6:30-p.m. Tuesday, on an active Fremont County warrant, for Violation of a No Contact Order/Contempt of Court. Binau was being held in the Montgomery County Jail, on a $3,000 bond.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports the arrest Tuesday evening, of 53-year-old David Wayne Kemp, of Creston. Kemp was arrested at his apartment and charged with Sex Offender Registration Violation 1^st Offense, and 2 counts of Sex Offender Verification 1^st Offense. He was being held in the Union County Jail on a $6,000 cash or approved surety bond. 

HENDERSON Co., Ill. (KWQC) – Two workers with a Burlington, Iowa construction company died Tuesday morning, after they were struck while on a bridge worksite, in Illinois. According to the Illinois State Patrol Troopers responded to the scene at around 8 a.m. on the Great River Bridge. The workers, identified as 20-year-old Pearson J. Franklin and 35-year-old Andrew Whitcomb, both from Burlington, were walking behind their stationary pickup truck and trailer, with the yellow construction lights activated, while setting construction barrels for a work zone on the Great River Bridge of U.S Route 34 westbound.

A 2016 Mazda CX5, driven by 21-year-old Emily Johnson, was westbound on the bridge hit a barrel, and then hit the two workers causing fatal injuries. The driver and both construction workers were transported to an area hospital, according to troopers. Both of the construction workers were pronounced dead. Johnson was cited for Scott’s Law – improper passing of a stationary emergency vehicle, improper use of an electronic communication device and failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash.

(Radio Iowa) – Early voting begins today (Wednesday) in Iowa for this year’s General Election. Iowans may vote in-person at their county auditor’s office or the election office in their county. This is also the first day county auditors can mail an absentee ballot to a voter who requested one. In order to be counted, your county auditor must RECEIVE that ballot by 8 p.m. on November 8th. Secretary of State Paul Pate says don’t depend on overnight delivery by the U.S. Postal Service.

“Allow for at least five days, conservatively, and you’ve got well over a million homeowners mailboxes and we’ve got another 4000 ‘blue’ (USPS) boxes to utilize,” Pate says. “County auditors usually have a dropbox as well.” Dropboxes must be inside or directly outside the county auditor’s office. Iowans can track the progress of their absentee ballot online. The address is voter-ready-dot-Iowa-dot-gov (www.voterready.Iowa.gov).

“I highly encourage that for anybody who’s voting through the mail, the absentee process. I think it gives you a better feeling of security that, ‘Yep, it got there,’ and so you can also check to find out where your ballot is at,” Pate says. “If you’re requesting one and wonder why you haven’t gotten it yet, you can see if they got your request. It’s, I think, a very good tool for folks to look at and use.” The most common mistake voters make on a mail-in ballot is they forget to sign and date the envelope.

Next Monday, October 24th, is the last day you may ask your county auditor to mail an absentee ballot to a voter. “If they have questions, we always encourage them to go to www.voterready.iowa.gov, or to call their county auditor,” Pate says, “just to make sure they’re successful.” Early voting has been underway in the neighboring states of Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota and more than a dozen other states. By Tuesday morning, 153-thousand Iowans had submitted a request for an absentee ballot and Pate is repeating that reminder about a new deadline for absentee ballots.

“We want to make sure you know it needs to be in the possession of the county auditor on November 8th,” Pate says. Voters do not have to mail absentee ballots. They may be hand-delivered to their county auditor’s office. A voter’s relatives or guardian may assist in returning an absentee ballot. Under a new state law, anyone else could be charged with a crime if they collect or deliver an absentee ballot from a voter with whom they have no legal or family relationship.

(Radio Iowa) – The Cherokee Community School Board has voted to let select staff members carry firearms on school grounds. The school board’s president says the policy is a response to active shooter situations around the country. Superintendent Kim Lingenfelter spoke with K-T-I-V television:

“We were approached by staff that wanted to carry, that carry a gun competently wherever they go except for school and that’s how our conversation began and they asked that we bring it to the board,” she said. “Then conversation began with law enforcement officials — the chief of police, our school resource officer.”

Those approved to carry a weapon in Cherokee schools will have to undergo training and the Cherokee Police Department will determine which staff members qualify. The Spirit Lake school district passed a similar measure in August. Its plan involves ten anonymous staff members who carry concealed guns on school grounds, but none of them are teachers.

(Radio Iowa) – FedEx is opening a new distribution center in Cedar Rapids. FedEx announced plans for the 109 million dollar facility earlier this year. The center will sort FedEx Ground packages and a company press release indicates it will be able to process up to 15-thousand packages per hour.

The company intends to hire nearly 300 full and part-time employees for the Cedar Rapids operation as the holiday shipping season gets underway. They’ll be given a chance to remain on the FedEx payroll beyond the holidays.

The facility in Cedar Rapids is of more than 160 fully-automated FedEx Ground stations. The company says more than 97 percent of its daily package volume is managed through these sites.

(Emerson, Iowa) – A single-vehicle accident at around 8-p.m. Tuesday near the Mills/Montgomery County line, claimed the life of a man from Pottawattamie County. According to the Iowa State Patrol, 52-year-old Richard Keith Snyder, from Treynor, died when the 1998 Chevy 2500 pickup he was driving crashed off of Highway 34, near Emerson.

The pickup was traveling eastbound when it left the road to the right, crashed through a fence and across a creek before striking an embankment. Snyder died at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt. The accident remains under investigation.

The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office along with Emerson Fire & Rescue.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Iowa 3rd District Congresswoman Cindy Axne appeared in Atlantic Tuesday afternoon for a round table discussion with community leaders at the Atlantic Depot/Chamber Office. Among those in attendance was Mayor Grace Garrett, City Administrator John  Lund, Police Chief Devin Hogue, Chamber and economic development officials, SWITA Transit Director Mark Lander, and CCHS CEO Brett Altman.

In her opening remarks, Axne said because this is an election year, candidates tend to spend much of their time campaigning. “I feel like too often the official side of things people stop doing, so I want to let you know I’m still doing the official side of things,” and she wanted to make sure the needs community leaders are being met as much as possible.

She focused her time during the meeting, on things that are in the works in Washington, D-C, including the “Inflation Reduction Act,” and “Invest to protect” Act. With regard to the latter, it was recently passed out of the house, and it is aimed at trying to fix things locally, including police and sheriff’s units across the state and country, when it comes to receiving grants for staff and equipment. Axne said the problem is that small town Iowa is competing against large cities like New York, Chicago, L.A., Des Moines and others, for the grants.

The Invest to protect act, she said “Literally creates a separate pot of funding” from the major grants most law enforcement agencies pursue, but separate for department or units with under 125 staff. “We have condensed the [grant]  application to two hours,” instead of the multiple hours it would normally take to fill-out or have attorney’s handle the mind numbing task. That way, she says, the funding can be used for recruitment, retention and education bonuses, instead of for operational expenses only. Congresswoman Axne said the bi-partisan bill passed in the House. She suggested those in attendance contact their Senators to have the bill brought up when they return in November, “because we still have time to move some agendas forward.”

She says she’s also working on hearings for the Farm Bill and reducing the “red tape” for USDA Programs and bureaucracy. Axne said the House just passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which she says is designed to “put money back into people’s pockets.” She says the Act will: lower prescription drug prices and energy costs; hold corporations accountable for their share of taxes; and reduce the deficit without individual tax increases for Iowans. Axne said the tax rate for corporations should be at least 15%. There should be taxes on corporate stock buybacks, and encouragement for companies to invest in workers.

(Radio Iowa) – Congresswoman Ashley Hinson has been released from the Cedar Rapids hospital where she had been undergoing treatment for a kidney infection. Hinson entered the hospital Sunday night and was dismissed this (Tuesday) morning. In a written statement, Hinson said she is feeling much better and will continue resting at home. Hinson said she looks forward to being out on the road soon, but did not offer a time frame for resuming campaign activity. Hinson, a Republican, is seeking a second term in the U.S. House.

The televised debate tonight (Tuesday) between Hinson and Democratic challenger Liz Mathis of Hiawatha has been cancelled and will not be rescheduled.