(Radio Iowa) -A University of Iowa student who is in the Air Force R-O-T-C program is the first cadet in the country to get a waiver to wear a beard and turban will in uniform. Gursharan Virk applied for waivers so he didn’t have to choose between his Sikh (pronounced sick) faith and his dream career of being a pilot. The beard did not take that long — the beard waiver came in pretty quick — I think within a month or two. But the waiver from my turban took about eight to nine months to get completely approved,” Virk says. “I had to turn in a letter explaining to why it was important and why, what it meant to me. And then I had an interview with the Air Force chaplain.” he says the meeting with the Air Force Chaplin was more like conversation on why it’s important to him.

“Sikhs wear turbans to basically…. you stand out in a crowd. And historically, Sikhs used to be people who help out others, where there’s a need. Our basic rules are just caring for humanity, in general,” Virk explains. Part of being in the military is wearing the same uniform and being part of the team. Virk says he understands that concept, but doesn’t think the accommodations will change anything. “We are all pretty close, I haven’t felt anything at all. So I don’t think it’s going to be an issue because and as for the uniform as well, like I’m in regulations,” he says.

Air Force ROTC Cadet Gursharan Virk, third from left, takes part in Detachment 255’s color guard ceremony at a football game at the University of Iowa in 2021. Virk is the first Sikh ROTC cadet to be granted religious accommodations by the Air Force in observation of his faith. The accommodations include wear of a turban and facial hair. (Courtesy photo via www/af.mill)

Virk was born in Des Moines, and then his family moved India while he was still young. He returned to the U-S for the start of his junior year at Waukee High School. Virk is a junior at Iowa and is hoping to become a pilot and fly bombers when he graduates — but would take any pilot spot offered. “Pilot slots have always been very competitive. So it is a very competitive process to get one. So I’m in that process right now,” Virk says, “basically making up my profile right now. I had a couple of tests I had to give. And basically, they send my entire profile to the big pilot board.”

He should l know by my summer of next year if he get one of the coveted pilot slots. If the pilot position doesn’t work — Virk wants to be a combat systems officer.

(Radio Iowa) – Reports show nearly one in eight Iowans who take their own lives are veterans, and a new national campaign is being launched to encourage veterans to seek help — and for everyone else to lend a hand. Dave Berkenfield, a former Navy SEAL who lost his brother to suicide, says every day nationwide between 17 and 22 veterans kill themselves, depending on which study is being quoted. “Those numbers are hard to swallow,” Berkenfield says. “They’re terrifying, but then they’re also sort of dismal, and they don’t point to action. They just point to a problem.” The American Legion is launching a campaign in Iowa and nationwide that will be seen on billboards and in T-V and radio P-S-As called “Be The One.”

Be The One:
TO ASK VETERANS IN YOUR LIFE HOW THEY ARE DOING.
TO LISTEN WHEN A VETERAN NEEDS TO TALK.
TO REACH OUT WHEN A VETERAN IS STRUGGLING.

Berkenfield says, “It’s about individuals across the gamut of veterans, veterans’ caretakers, veterans’ spouses, veterans’ families, friends, concerned co-workers — really taking action and being the one to make a difference.” He says mental health is one of the toughest challenges facing veterans, as they’re trained to accept every challenge, to lead and be strong, but there’s a stigma surrounding a veteran who seeks help for the silent wounds of war. Berkenfield says that’s why this “Be The One” campaign is so important. “It’s be the one to reach out and ask for help,” Berkenfield says. “It’s be the one to get educated and connected with resources and then be supportive of a veteran. It’s really taking action is what Be The One is all about.”

Of the 475 reported suicides in Iowa in 2018, a report from the U-S Department of Veterans Affairs says 60 of them were veterans. Berkenfield says being “the one” means being present and available to ask the hard questions and to have those difficult conversations. “Really reinforcing a sense of community, because that’s a lot of what we as veterans have lost is this sense of community,” Berkenfield says, “and that, compounding with other factors, is really one of the big items that pushes people to make this decision to take their own life.”

Veterans who use the new national Crisis Lifeline should dial 9-8-8 and then press “1” to be connected to veteran-specific counselor.

On the web at betheone.org

(Williams, Iowa) – A crash during a pursuit between a car and a semi tractor-trailer Monday night in Hamilton County, resulted in two Washington State residents being flown to a hospital in Des Moines. According to the Iowa State Patrol, a 2019 Toyota Camry driven by 26-year-old Viliami Wight, of Auburn, WA, was eluding law enforcement at a high rate of speed and driving recklessly on Highway 20 westbound, at around 8:10-p.m., when the car crossed the median.

The Toyota struck a 2003 Kenworth semi driven by 52-year-old Joseph Ward, of Steamboat Rock, Iowa. Wight, and his passenger, 52-year-old Laurie Henke, also of Auburn, WA, were flown by Mercy One Airmed and LifeFlight helicopters to Mercy Hospital, in Des Moines. The crash remains under investigation.

The Patrol was assisted by the Hardin and Hamilton County Sheriff’s Departments, Williams Fire and EMS, Van Diest EMS, and Iowa DOT MVE Officers.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Governor Kim Reynolds will be expanding her school choice plan for parents who want to send their children to a private K-through-12 school. “The right to place your child in an environment where they can thrive should not just be for families that have the financial resources,” Reynolds said. “It should be for every single parent and this is the year that we are going to get that done.”

Reynolds asked the 2022 legislature to provide 55 million dollars worth of state scholarships, to cover private school costs for 10-thousand students from low to middle income households — but the plan did not have enough Republican votes to pass in the Iowa House. During a speech to the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, Reynolds made it clear that if she’s reelected, she’ll present the 2023 legislature with a new plan. “I think it’s beyond time to give parents the choice in their child’s education,” Reynolds said, to applause.

Reynolds mentioned the topic briefly during her speech, but did not unveil her new proposal. Arizona’s Republican governor signed a law this summer that lets Arizona parents take the state money set aside to educate their child in a PUBLIC school and use it to cover PRIVATE school costs or homeschooling expenses. Deidre DeJear, the Democratic candidate for governor, says the priority should be to fully fund public schools with public dollars. “We believe in a strong public education system in this state,” DeJear says.

DeJear made her comments during a speech this weekend at the Polk County Democrats Steak Fry.

(Atlantic, Iowa)  – The Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department’s Board of Directors, Monday evening, selected a person to fill a vacancy on the Board, created by the resignation in August, of Ashley Hayes, who accepted a job with SWIPCO, in Atlantic. Parks Board Chair Jolene Smith said there were two applicants for the job.

The Board’s recommendation will be submitted to the City Council for their consideration and action, this Wednesday evening. Assuming the Council has no objections, Mayor Grace Garrett will swear-in Butler, along with Parks Board member Shirley Jensen, whose Oath of Office was done incorrectly, according to Smith.

Atlantic Parks and Rec Director Bryant Rassmussen & Assistant Jeff Christensen at the Parks Board mtg., 9/19/22

In other business, the Parks and Rec Board discussed the Healthiest State Walk, which Parks Director Bryant Rasmussen said will be held 9:30-a.m. on October 5th, beginning in the north parking lot of the Nishna Valley YMCA. From there it will proceed to Harl Holt Park via the Bull Creek Pathway, and then back to the YMCA.

Ramussen spoke also, about the placement of a memorial flag pole on the ridge near the Rotary Shelter side, of the Schildberg Recreation Area. He said the request came from a woman whose husband has passed, and would be in honor of him. There is no cost to the Parks Department. The Kiwanis will install the flag pole and required lighting (for night-time illumination).

Rasmussen said the next Parks and Rec event, is the “Tour de Parks,” sponsored in conjunction with the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce. Tour de Parks on October 2^nd at 2-p.m., is a free bicycle tour of Atlantic parks.

The ride will start and end at the Kiddie Korral at Sunny Side Park (1300 Sunnyside Lane). The Atlantic Kiwanis will be providing a free meal for riders when they finish the ride, and participating organizations and supporters will be giving away free prizes. The ride will be on both trails and streets to highlight area trails and the bike-ability of Atlantic. The ride and following celebration is expected to last until approximately 5:30.

For questions or to borrow a bike or helmet for the ride, contact Atlantic Parks & Recreation at 712-243-3542. Additional information will be forthcoming also, on a Scarecrow Contest. Follow Atlantic Parks and Recreation on Facebook, to see the latest.

(Radio Iowa) – A northwest Iowa town has established a sister-city relationship with a city that’s more than 52-hundred miles away. Junik is in western Kosovo. Joe Nelson, the superintendent of the Clarion-Goldfield-Dows School District, was part of the delegation that visited Kosovo to sign the agreement. “I can’t even tell you how well they treated us for the nine days we were there,” Nelson says. “They really, authentically want to see the partnership grow.”

Nelson says the exchanges will benefit schools, businesses, hospitals and all kinds of commerce in both cities. “I think the thing that the Kosovars want the most is they want to send their high school students here as foreign exchange students,” Nelson says. “They realize there are great opportunities in Clarion so I think that’s one of our next steps is, how can we get their kids over here in our high school?”

The flag of Kosovo.

Nelson is hesitant to send Clarion students to Kosovo at this time. “We’ve had a couple of kids that expressed interest and they want to go over there but as the geopolitical climate heats up in that part of the world, with Serbia just on the border, right now, we just haven’t felt like that’s a great time to be sending our kids over there,” he says, “but that time will come and we’re excited about it.”

Clarion has about 2700 residents, while Junik, Kosovo has a population of about 6000. Iowa and Kosovo have had a sister-state relationship since 2013.

(Radio Iowa) – A former campaign aide to U.S. Senate candidate Mike Franken asked Des Moines Police to investigate after she says Franken kissed her without her consent. Franken says it never happened.

Kimberley Strope-Boggus was political director, then the manager of Franken’s campaign two years ago. She was working as an aide on his current campaign before being fired in late February. Strope-Boggus told police she and Franken met for a drink at a Des Moines bar in mid-March and, according to Strope-Boggus, Franken offered her a new campaign job. Strope-Boggus told police that as the two walked to their cars, Franken kissed her on the mouth.

Strope-Boggus filed the police report a month after the alleged incident and told the female officer that Franken “had an old-fashioned view about how to interact with women.” The police officer’s report said Strobe-Boggus “did not describe any sexual intent nor any intent to harm.”

Mike Franken at Democrat fundraiser this weekend. (RI photo)

Des Moines Police and an assistant Polk County Attorney determined the allegation of an assault was unfounded. The Gazette reports that during a campaign event in Cedar Rapids, Franken said the incident Boggus described to police “never happened.”

Strope-Boggus’ allegations were first reported by the conservative Iowa Field Report website. Radio Iowa has been unable to speak with Strope-Boggus, whose name was misspelled in the police report.

A news release the Franken campaign issued this weekend indicated Democratic congressional candidates Liz Mathis of Hiawatha and Christina Bohannan of Iowa City would be joining Franken today at the event in Cedar Rapids, but neither was present.

A spokesperson for Mathis told Radio Iowa details from the Franken campaign were not made available in time and Mathis attended a previously scheduled event. Mathis also has released a written statement, saying although investigators found that no criminal act occurred and the case was closed, “it is an important reminder that workplaces and law enforcement should encourage women to feel comfortable coming forward with any allegations of inappropriate conduct.” Mathis added that she has a “victim-focused and zero-tolerance stance against all forms of sexual harassment.”

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports two, non-injury accidents occurred over the weekend. Saturday afternoon, a 1997 Dodge driven by 55-year-old Todd Lasswell, of Red Oak, was traveling north/northeast on W. Railroad Street, approaching the intersection with 287th Street, when the vehicle went out of control and drove through the driveway of the Silver City Historical Society. The vehicle continued onto the grass and struck a utility pole, before crashing into an embankment on 287th Street, and coming to rest.

Lasswell told authorities that as he was coming down the gravel road (W. Railroad Street), he saw another (Non-contact) vehicle headed southbound on 287th. When he tried to slow down, his vehicle, which he claimed has had “Bad ball joints,” began to slide when he hit the brakes, causing the vehicle to impact the pole and embankment.

And, at around 7:50-p.m. Sunday, 65-year-old Theresa Olsen, of Omaha, was driving a 2017 BMW northbound in the left lane of I-29 in Mills County, when the car struck a square bale of hay in her lane. The bale was from an unknown source.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Coca-Cola Days will be held September 23rd and 24th in Atlantic. The event is the second largest collector’s show in the United States and includes a tailgate barbecue open to the public, a Show, Swap & Sell, and a Coca-Cola themed raffle. The theme for the 2022 Coca-Cola Days is “Best in Show”. The committee wanted to tie in a Fair theme due to the event taking place at the Cass County Fairgrounds this year.

Raffle items include: A Coca-Cola Cooler filled with Coca-Cola Product and Hy-Vee, Fareway, and BP gift cards worth $100 each. Tickets are available at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce for $5 a ticket or 5 tickets for 20. The winner will be announced Saturday, September 24th at 2 PM at the Show, Swap & Sell meet at the Cass County Fair Grounds. Tickets will also be available for purchase that day.

T-Shirts for the 2022 Coca-Cola Days Celebration are also available for purchase. The shirts are heather grey and feature the theme, “Best in Show”. T-Shirts can be purchased for $20 at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce or day-of at the Show, Swap & Sell Saturday, September 24th.

For more information on Coca-Cola Days or a full list of activities, please visit www.atlanticiowa.com, call the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce at 712-243-3017 or email chamber@atlanticiowa.com.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports numerous arrests from over the past week.  At around 6:40-a.m. today (Monday, 9/19), 26-year-old John Thomas Lawrence Cannon, of Council Bluffs, was arrested in the area of Ives Avenue & Highway 34, for Disorderly Conduct. (Bond: $300)

Sunday night, 39-year-old Michael David Barton, of Glenwood, was arrested for Harassment in the 3rd Degree (No Bond).

There were two arrests in Mills County on Saturday: 30-year-old Aaron Ray McDaniel, of Malvern, was arrested on a warrant for Failure to Appear on a Driving Under Suspension, charge. (Bond $2,000); and, 20-year-old Jacobb Anthony Bowman, of Missouri Valley, was arrested on I-29 at Bunge Avenue, for OWI/1st offense (Bond $1,000).

Four people were arrested on separate charges last Thursday, in Mills County: 41-year-old Donovan Edward Hankins, of Tabor, was arrested on warrants for two counts of Violation of Probation ($20,000 bond); 20-year-old Mykla Christine Montgomery (No known address), was arrested for Theft in the 3rd Degree ($2,000 bond); 45-year-old Justine Elaine Gregory, of Glenwood, and 65-year-old Jo Ann Rae Delashmutt, of Council Bluffs, were each arrested on charges of Burglary in the 3rd Degree. Their bonds were set at $5,000 each.

And, on Sept. 14th, 39-year-old Daniel Charles Meggison, of Malvern, was arrested for Assault while Displaying a Dangerous Weapon (Bond $2,000), and, 19-year-old Nolan Michael Cherek, of Plattsmouth, NE, was arrested in Mills County on two counts of Theft in the 1st Degree (Bond $20,000).