(Greenfield, Iowa)  – Officials with the Adair County Health system say they are “Thrilled to announce that Adair County Health System is officially open to all patients,” nearly six-months after an EF-4 tornado tore through the community, killed four people and damaged over 150 homes, as well as the hospital and other businesses. As of now (November 11th), the hospital is open and ready to provide patients and clients “with exceptional care” in their newly renovated facility.

From the ACHS: “Thank you for your continued support and patience!”

(Radio Iowa) – Waterloo police are investigating reports of “white power” flyers. The flyers claim to be from the Aryan Freedom Network and carry a line reading, “We are everywhere! Your race is calling, will you answer? Take a stand.” There’s a link to a white power website, and across the bottom it says, “Distributed randomly without malicious intent.”

Reports say the flyers appeared Sunday morning on various properties in Waterloo, and KGAN-TV says police don’t believe there’s an immediate threat.

The report says police are asking anyone with home security or doorbell camera footage that might help identify the source to forward it to investigators.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday morning (Nov. 13th), will canvass votes from the Nov. 5, 2024 General Election. The canvass takes place as part of the regular weekly Board meeting, which begins at 8:30-a.m. Wednesday, in the Red Oak Courthouse Supervisor’s Meeting Room. Following a canvass of the votes, the Board will act on passing a resolution certifying the outcome of votes cast during the General Election, as outlined in the Code of Iowa.

In other, regular business, the Board will act on approving the Treasurer’s semi-annual report ending-fund balance as of Oct. 31, 2024, in the amount of $15,280,458. They will also act on approving the Recorder’s report of fees for Oct. 31st, in the amount of $22,958.50, and Claims payable for Nov. 13th, in the amount of $1,284,556.94.

The next, regular meeting of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors takes place on Tue., Nov. 19th, beginning at 8:30-a.m.

(Radio Iowa) – While today (Monday) is Veterans Day, a solemn service on Wednesday will recognize three former Iowa State University alumni who served in the military and made the ultimate sacrifice. Megan Moore, with the I-S-U Memorial Union, says the Gold Star Hall Ceremony has been a tradition on the Ames campus for more than two decades. “Our first honoree is Air Force Second Lieutenant Max Harvey Collins. He died when his aircraft crashed on takeoff during the Korean War,” Moore says. “We are also honoring James Wayne Harrick, Junior. He was a captain in the Air Force, and he was on a mission when his plane was lost near North Vietnam.”

This year’s third honoree is Army First Lieutenant Sidney Peterson, who served in World War Two and died after taking on anti-aircraft fire aboard a B-26 Marauder. “These wonderful service members were young men, and they were Iowa State students studying various degrees here, and so part of the ceremony is we tell their personal story,” Moore says. “We tell from the very beginning, stories from when they were born and what their family life was like, and then we do go into detail of what their life was like here at Iowa State.”

Wednesday’s program is scheduled to begin at 4:15 P-M at the ISU Memorial Union.  “The Gold Star Hall Ceremony did start in 2003 and it’s our way to remember and honor Iowa State students who died while serving their country,” Moore says. “Their names are engraved into the walls and so every year, we select a handful of our service members who are in the Gold Star Hall to be honored at our ceremony.”

The Memorial Union was built in 1928 as a memorial to Iowa State students who died in World War One. It has continued to be a living memorial for students who died in future conflicts and names have been added to the walls throughout the years.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors will meet Wednesday (Nov. 13th), beginning at 9-a.m. in their courthouse Boardroom. On their agenda is:

• A Quarterly Report from Cass County Conservation Executive Director Micah Lee, for the quarter ending June 30, 20224.
• An Annual Report from the Cass County Library Association.
• A presentation by Cass County Tourism President Laura Kanning, with regard to a new, interactive brochure.

The Board will also discuss, and possibly act on:

• A lease agreement with the 4th Judicial District as it pertains to County-owned property off of S. Walnut Street.
• The issuance of a county credit card with a $2,500 spending limit, to Cass County Public Safety Communications Director Mike Kennon, and Bobbi Jo Steffensmeier.
• Approval of a Federal-Aid agreement for the replacement of Bridge 269, over the Jim Branch of 660th Street.

And, the Cass County Board of Supervisors will receive a regular report from County Engineer Trent Wolken before conducting the 1st Tier of the November 5, 2024 General Election Results.

(The full agenda and Zoom link/Call-in information can be found here:Agenda – 2024.11.13 – for publication-2)

DES MOINES, Iowa — The jury has come to a verdict following the two-week-long court case of the Safris family vs. Urbandale Schools. WHO-TV reports the lawsuit was filed by the Safris family alleging that negligence and ignorance of policy led to their daughter being assaulted by a male classmate during her middle school English class, eventually causing her to become suicidal. Their daughter had sent nudes to a male classmate in the fall of 2018, he later began assaulting her and sharing the nudes with others in the school after she refused to go out with him.

The jury has been tasked with determining if the school was negligent in its supervision of the classroom and reporting the incident. They have also been asked to determine if the alleged assault has permanently affected the girl, resulting in lifelong consequences. The Safris family alleges that because the photos were reportedly spread throughout the school and several students were aware of them, administrators and teachers should have also noticed something and opened an investigation. The defense argues that nobody ever reported the issues, not even the victim or students, so they weren’t aware. They also explained their in-depth policy, ensuring that if they had been aware of the issue they would have acted swiftly and made sure the issue was addressed.

The jury heard testimonies from teachers and students in the school, each providing different perspectives on whether they knew about the photos and if they knew there were issues surrounding the victim and the male classmate. They also heard from several administrators who laid out their clear policy and all the steps they took. Finally, psychologists were asked to give their perspectives on the issue and the lasting effect of the incident on the victim.

The jury was also presented with evidence proving the existence of policies and procedures that were in place to keep the students safe. They also saw messages that were exchanged between administrators and the family. The court also presented the jury with a detailed outline of the sequence of events beginning with the fall of 2018 until the present day.

The jury was released to deliberate at the end of court Thursday, they reconvened at 9 a.m. on Friday where they remained sequestered until a verdict was reached. A verdict has been reached but the full report was not immediately released due to the Veteran’s Day holiday.