Atlantic, IA—Flu season is approaching soon, and Atlantic Medical Center, RHC is making it easy for patients to get their annual flu vaccine. This year, options include drive-thru appointments in Atlantic, as well as drive-up appointments in Anita, Griswold, and Massena.

Cass Health will begin administering flu shots on Monday, October 3rd and continue throughout the month. In Atlantic, drive-thru appointments are available on Monday and Friday mornings from 8 am to noon and on Wednesday afternoons from 2 to 6 pm. The annual Ayzlee’s Family Flu Clinic will be held on October 12th.

The drive-thru will be located in the curved driveway on 10th street, at the top of the staff parking lot (Lot D). Appointments can be made by calling 712-243-2850.

Drive-up flu shots will be available in Anita, Griswold, and Massena on the following dates.

Anita Medical Center, October 27 from 1 to 5 pm
Massena Medical Center, October 28 from 1 to 5 pm
Griswold Medical Center, October 19, 25, and 26 from 1 to 5 pm
Fall Lab Draws and Flu Shots

Cass Health is also currently offering appointments for fall lab draws, which is a low-cost option for routine blood work. Appointments are available October 18-22; patients can schedule online at casshealth.org/laboratory or by calling 712-243-2850. Flu shots can also be given at this time to patients after they complete their blood draws.

If the drive-through options aren’t feasible, then patients are encouraged to make an appointment with the Immunization Room by calling 712-243-2850.

Patients without an appointment will be seen as promptly as possible, but may encounter longer wait times.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, September 26, 2022 – The Council Bluffs community participated in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s on Saturday, September 24 at the River’s Edge Park. Walkers helped raise $32,000 so far to support the care, support and research programs of the Alzheimer’s Association. Fundraising continues through the end of the year, so there is still time to donate at alz.org/walk.

Team Jensen led by Ross Jensen from Edward Jones was named the Top Team raising over $3,800. Jensen walks in memory of his grandmother and aunt.

The other top teams and walkers are:

• Team Primrose Retirement Council Bluffs led by Tiffany Eggett raised $3,100
• Team Availa Bank Council Bluffs led by Team Captain Samantha Adland raised over $2,200
• Top Walker Jessica Duncan, Team Captain of the Angels Home Health team, raised over $2,000 in honor of several family members and the residents she serves.

More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease – a leading cause of death in the United States. Additionally, more than 11 million family members and friends provide care to people living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. In Iowa alone, there are more than 66,000 people living with the disease and 73,000 caregivers.

The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office reports two people were arrested following a recent investigation in Jamaica. On September 20th Deputies executed a search warrant for a burglary investigation at 603 1st Avenue in Jamaica.

Two people were present in the home, 42-year-old Tony Owens and 43-year-old Carly Hubby were found with drugs and drug paraphernalia in the home. A second search warrant was obtained for drugs and then executed. Owens was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance (3rd or subsequent offense), Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Theft (4th Degree), Criminal Mischief (4th Degree), and Criminal Trespass (Causing Damage over $300). Hubby was charged for Possession of a Controlled Substance (3rd or subsequent offense) and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

There was also information and evidence obtained to help further investigate additional burglaries/thefts in the Jamaica area.

The Glenwood Police Department reports two arrests over the weekend.

On Saturday, September 24th Officers arrested 34-year-old Seth Peters for Driving Under Suspension. Peters was taken to the Mills County Jail and held on $300 bond.

On Sunday, September 25th Glenwood Police arrested 42-year-old Brian Johnson of Plattsmouth, NE for Controlled Substance Violation, Possession of a Controlled Substance 3rd Offense, and Failure to Affix a Drug Tax Stamp. Johnson was booked into the Mills County Jail on $32,000 bond.

The Creston Police Department reports three arrests over the past weekend.

On Friday, September 23rd at 3:42 p.m. Creston Police arrested 43-year-old Brady Gale Richert of Creston at his residence. Richert was charged on 2 Union County Warrants for Failure to Appear on Violation of Probation. Original charges were Operating Under the Influence 2nd Offense. Richert was transported to the Union County Jail and held on $4,000 cash only bond.

Also on September 23rd at 5:37 p.m. Officers arrested 36-year-old Michael Dale Sheldahl at his home on a charge of Domestic Abuse Assault, Strangulation. Sheldahl was taken to the Union County Jail and later posted $2,000 bond.

On Saturday, September 24th at 9:58 p.m. Creston Police arrested 41-year-old Robert Gene Shimer of Creston on a charge of Public Intoxication 1st Offense. Shimer was taken to the Union County Jail and later posted $300 bond.

Sioux City’s “Camp High Hopes” is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Sarah Morgan is the camp’s executive director.

Archery and canoeing are among the activities for campers. The facility opened in the fall of 2012. Morgan says there’s been a lot of growth since then and new programs are being added this fall and next spring.

A crowd gathered at the facility Sunday for a celebration that featured games, a fire truck — and two birthday cakes. Morgan says there were smiles all around.

The Camp High Hopes property covers 90 acres and includes a lake and a lodge. Fundraising for the camp began in 2004 and it opened eight years later. Campers come from Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota.

With six weeks remaining in the 2022 campaign, Iowa Republicans have about a four-and-a-half percent statewide voter registration edge over Democrats. Jeff Link is a consultant who’s worked for a number of Democrats, including Fred Hubbell, the party’s nominee for governor in 2018.

Iowa G-O-P chairman Jeff Kaufmann says a big turning point was in 2020, right after the Iowa DEMOCRATIC Party’s presidential Caucuses.

For years, independents were the largest voting block in Iowa. During the last midterm election, back in 2018 — 36 percent of all active registered voters were independents. Link says having independents shrink from being the largest to the smallest block of voters in Iowa is significant.

Kaufmann says he intends for the G-O-P to keep its foot on the pedal and seek out new voters.

As of September 1st, there were a TOTAL of over one-point-eight MILLION active registered voters in Iowa.

Iowa State University researchers are part of a multi-state effort to map out where a rare type of bumble bee lives and to figure out what sorts of habitat it prefers. I-S-U grad student Erika Ibarra-Garibay says they’re assembling clues about the genetic diversity and overall health of what’s known as the rusty patched bumble bee.

Teams from I-S-U surveyed 50 sites across Iowa twice in recent months and they only found the rusty patched bumble bee at four locations — in Ames, Brushy Creek State Recreation Area near Fort Dodge, and two locations near Dubuque and Yellow River State Forest.

Another I-S-U grad student and team member, Kelsey Shepherd, says the findings could help wildlife managers and land stewards reverse the decline of bee populations and support other pollinators more broadly.

The I-S-U teams are also collecting data on the threatened American bumble bee. Once widespread across the eastern U.S. and Upper Midwest, the number of rusty patched bumble bees has plummeted nearly 90% since the 1990s.

While the rusty patched bumble bees were only found at four of the 50 Iowa sites, they were abundant in a few of those sites. Team leaders say that suggests there are survivor populations out there and it’s not too late for conservation action in Iowa.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports an accident between a pickup and a stationary tractor on Sunday evening. At approximately 8:52 p.m. a 2007 Dodge RAM 1500 pickup was traveling South on Green Valley Road and came upon an unoccupied tractor along side of the road.

The pickup, driven by 41-year-old Cody Allen Schaffer of Creston, attempted to swerve to miss the tractor but ended up side swiping the tractor and spun out and came to rest in the east ditch. No injuries were reported.

The owner of the tractor later showed up and said the tractor was broke down and had a flat tire. The tractor was then towed from the scene. The pickup sustained approximately $8,000 damage and the tractor sustained approximately $2,000 damage.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – One person was taken into custody early Sunday morning in Atlantic, after allegedly stealing a pickup truck and crashing into a home at 1612 Oak Street. According to the Police Department,  28-year-old Nicholas Renner of Atlantic, faces charges that include OWI/1st Offense and Theft in the 2nd Degree.

Authorities report that at 2:18 a.m. Sunday, Cass County Communications dispatched the Atlantic Police Department to a motor vehicle accident at 1612 Oak Street. When officers arrived, they found a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado had struck the residence. An investigation determined Renner allegedly took the pickup from the 1400 block of Linn Street, prior to the accident.

Damage to the home was estimated at $50,000. The pickup sustained approximately $10,000 damage. Additional information was not available. Anyone with information about the incident should call 712-243-3512.

(Authorities note the charges are an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law)