A Villisca man was arrested Friday afternoon in Red Oak, on a drug charge. According to Red Oak Police, 28-year old Joshua Dean Cooney was taken into custody at around 2:15-p.m. in the 100 block of East Coolbaugh Street. Cooney was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,000 bond.

Residents of southwest Iowa and eastern Nebraska are being asked to try and envision what life will be like nearly four decades into the future. Council Bluffs Mayor Tom Hanafan is co-chair of the group “Heartland 2050” and he says surveys are underway via a website and through public meetings to gather opinions. Mayor Hanafan says, “No matter where they live in an eight-county region to talk about their community, their county, and how we can all work together to make it better for all of us.”

The population is expected to double in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro area in the next 30-plus years. Hanafan says this survey will help shape a long-term vision on what the area will look like in the future.

“How do you deal with too many people and what types of jobs are going to be available? What’s the transportation, the cost of infrastructure and where are people going to want to live?” Hanafan asks. “We can’t just keep spreading out.” The surveys address a host of key issues. To participate, visit “heartland2050.org”.

(Radio Iowa)

Shoppers in Atlantic are sure to find many bargains this weekend, during “Crazy Daze.” Megan Roberts, Director of the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, says the City’s downtown sidewalks will offer “Crazy” sales, Saturday (July 20th). The event is a way to encourage people to shop local. It works in conjunction with the “Plus 5” campaign, which is an effort by the Chamber to get residents to shift 5-percent of their out-of-town spending to stores within Cass County.

As part of Crazy Daze this Saturday, the Chamber will serve a free hot dog luncheon from 11-a.m. to 1-p.m. The “Thanks with Franks” meal is sponsored by the Atlantic Animal Health Center, Hockenberry Family Care, Hy-Vee, and Wal-Mart.

During the luncheon, there will be carnival games and activities, in the area of 5^th and Chestnut. For more information, visit atlanticiowa.com on the web, or check out the Chamber’s Facebook page. You can also call 712-243-3017.

An accident in Page County Thursday evening that resulted in one person being sent to the hospital by helicopter, remains under investigation. Sheriff’s officials say a 2012 Mazda CX-9 driven by 47-year old Risa Ann Gladman, of Clarinda, was traveling west on 230th Street at around 8:20-p.m., when the SUV left the road for reasons unknown.

The vehicle entered the north ditch just west of P Avenue and continued west while in the ditch before hitting a mailbox and a field drive. The impact sent the SUV airborne. It touched down and rolled over before coming to rest on the driver’s side. Gladman was transported by Mercy 3 helicopter to Creighton Medical Center in Omaha, for treatment of possible, unknown injuries. Officials say she was not wearing a seat belt. The SUV was considered a total loss.

The City of Harlan is expecting about 15- to 20-thousand bicycle enthusiasts to roll into the community, Sunday. With the help of numerous volunteers, the visitors and their support staff will be given a giant welcome with food, fun and entertainment. Harlan will serve as RAGBRAI’s first overnight stop during the trip across Iowa, Sunday. Biking enthusiasts who have registered for the event will enter the City on Highway 44, before turning north on to 19th Street all the way to Cyclone, before making their way on Cyclone to 5th, and eventually gathering at the Shelby County Fairgrounds, off Broadway Street.

The Harlan Pit Stop will feature music from several local bands including Bob Fields and Swing Time, the Harlan Community Jazz Band and Jessica Errett, a former Harlan resident. While most of the entertainment will be on the square in downtown Harlan,  Errett however, will perform in the Harlan Community High School Auditorium.

Food will be served all over the city with vendors downtown serving everything from Italian sandwiches and burritos, to the American tradition of pie and corn dogs. The Shelby County Fairgrounds will have other food provided by local organizations, as well. Shelby County Community Outreach will open its food booth Sunday, from 4-pm until they run out of food.

The riders will leave Harlan Monday morning from 7th Street and head east on Highway 44.

An intern at the Danish Immigrant Museum in Elk Horn has won a scholarship to attend the 2013 Iowa Museum Association’s Annual Meeting and Conference, scheduled for October 6th through the 8th, in Sioux City. Madeline Mongar is a recent graduate of Northwest Missouri State University (BA History/Public History).  She has just begun a one year internship as an inventory assistant at the Danish Immigrant Museum, Elk Horn,  after which she hopes to attend graduate school.  Madeline expects to broaden her skills and knowledge by attending a variety of sessions at the IMA conference.

Cynthia Sweet, Executive Director of The Iowa Museum Association and IMA Board Vice President Al Harris Fernandez, Sioux City Art Center and IMA Scholarship Committee Chair say Mongar is one of three students selected for the scholarships. Applicants for the scholarship must be first-time attendees of an Iowa Museum Association Annual Meeting and Conference and work as an employee or volunteer at a non-profit art center, museum, botanical garden, arboretum, historic site, zoo or science center located within the state of Iowa. Students enrolled in a degree program involving any of the above fields of study were also encouraged to apply.  The scholarship covers the conference registration fee and conference meals. No lodging, extra meals, or extra workshops are included.

The IMA conference is open to anyone interested in the work of Iowa’s museums.  Conference information is available at www.iowamuseums.org or by contacting Executive Director Cynthia Sweet at imasweet@cfu.net, or 319-239-2236.

The Atlantic Police Department reports the arrest of four persons, Thursday: 27-year old David Anderson, of Atlantic, was taken into custody on a Warrant for Failure to Serve Jail Time; 36-year old Terrence Frazier, of Atlantic, was arrested for Public Intoxication 2nd Offense and Child Endangerment; 26-year old Jeffrey Knight, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Serious Assault charge, and, 52-year old Donald Welter, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Department of Criminal Investigation (DCI) Warrant for Cheating at a Gambling Game.

All four men were booked into the Cass County Jail.

The Atlantic Police Department says no injuries were reported following two separate accidents Thursday. The first occurred at around 10:40-a.m. at 3rd and Linn Streets. Officials say a vehicle driven by Carroll Bouchard, of Atlantic, was traveling east on 3rd Street, and a vehicle driven by Kathryn Jones, of Atlantic, was stopped at Linn, facing south. Police say Jones made a left turn onto 3rd Street, and hit the Bouchard vehicle, causing $1,500 damage altogether. Jones was cited for Failure to Yield upon entering a through highway or street.

The second accident happened at around 1:30-p.m. Thursday, in the 300 block of 2nd Street. The A-PD says a vehicle owned by George Evans, of Atlantic, was parked at the Nishna Valley Credit Union and had begun backing out onto 2nd Street. A 3rd, non-contact vehicle was blocking the view for both Evans, and Robert Nichols, of Brayton, who struck Evans’ vehicle, causing a total of $7,000 damage. No citations were issued.