The Crawford County town of Ricketts was being evacuated early this (Wednesday) afternoon, due to a huge field fire north of Highway 141, headed towards Ricketts. Authorities are advising people to please stay clear of the area. Roads were being shut down.

Fields and bales were reportedly burning in the area. Multiple fire departments were requested to help contain the spread of the flames. The smoke was making for limited visibility, including as far north as Cherokee.

No further details are available at this time.

(Radio Iowa) – A teenager faces a felony gun charge after a shooting in Fort Dodge last (Tuesday) night. Tuesday night around 8:30, the Webster County Telecommunications Center received a call of shots fired at an apartment complex in Fort Dodge. The caller said several shots had been fired and gave dispatchers a description of a vehicle seen leaving the area. Shortly after, police located a vehicle that matched the description.

Police say they found a gun and one of the people in the vehicle was taken into custody. The 17-year-old has been charged with Possession of Firearm by a Felon, which is a class D felony.

According to a news release from the Fort Dodge Police Department, the juvenile — who is male — is being held in the Central Iowa Juvenile Detention facility in Eldora.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County Auditor Kathy Somers advises residents that their polling locations for the November 8th general election may have changed in 2022, due to redistricting following the 2020 census.

Voters are encouraged to confirm their polling location prior to election day using a map of precincts or by going to the Cass County Auditor’s website which offers a link where voters can find their polling place by entering their address at
https://www.casscountyia.gov/county-departments/auditors-office/.

Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.

Police in Council Bluffs report an officer on patrol a little before 2-a.m. today (Wednesday), in the area of the Target Store (3706 Metro Drive), in Council Bluffs, noticed a vehicle traveling behind the store. The Officer called for other Officers to assist in checking the vehicle. As the other Officers arrived, they saw 42-year-old Christopher Rae Holz, of Lewis (IA), by a storage container.

Authorities say it appeared as though Holz was trying to make entry into the store. When he was ordered to stop, Holz fled on foot and refused orders to stop. He was eventually taken into custody. On his person, Holz was in possession of 42.5 grams of methamphetamine. 

He was booked into the Pottawattamie County Jail on charges that include:

• Conspiracy with Intent to Manufacture/Deliver Meth over 5g but under 5 kg;
• Eluding a Police Officer;
• Failure to affix a drug tax stamp for 42.5 grams or more.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans are now able to open enroll under the Affordable Care Act Marketplace. Federal data shows more than 72-thousand Iowans enrolled in health care plans through the marketplace last year. Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen says enrollment in marketplace plans has risen in recent years as more options became available. Ommen says Iowans who haven’t done this before should talk to marketplace navigators or contact the Iowa Insurance Division for help.

Ommen says, “We would encourage all Iowans, if they’re new into the market, that they need to make some effort to talk to somebody that can provide some help to them.” He says Iowans who are interested in enrolling in a plan shouldn’t wait. “We encourage people to don’t delay on their decision,” Ommen says. “Get the decision made and get things sort of locked in. That will impact the coverage in those early months, so it’s really important to get things settled, in my view, before the end of the year.”

Iowans who are interested in signing up for a plan or need help doing so can go to healthcare-dot-gov. Open enrollment opened Tuesday and runs through January 15th.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday morning, approved a Courtyard use permit for Mainstreet Greenfield, for events taking place on November 22nd. Board Chair Matt Wedemeyer…

On a separate note, Mainstreet Greenfield representative Lyne Don Carlos, discussed courtyard flower pots and a bit of rearranging of the benches.

The Board approved the request, which will be accomplished with help of city crews. The Board discussed, and then agreed to send to Adair County Attorney Melissa Larson, an amendment to the Draft version of the county’s hazardous pipeline ordinance. Matt Wedemeyer said the draft they received last week, is pretty basic. Supervisor Joadie Hoadley initially set she would like to see language added to indicate the pipeline set-back is 250-feet from existing, operational private wells, and leave issue of soil compaction off, for now. The ordinance will go back to Larsen, and eventually onto a public hearing.

In other business, Kerry Aistrope with the County Ag Extension, discussed Extension Summer Programming, some of the funding for which came through a grant from the County.

Aistrope said there are funds left over from the grant, and she asked for the Board’s permission to use $800 for supplies used during the Clover Kids Summer Camps. The Supervisors gave their blessing to continue with the funds. And Terri Raasch talked about the Master Conservation Program and coursework available beginning at the end of April, working in conjunction with the Conservation Board.

And, Adair County Engineer Nick Kauffman discussed with the Board, the sale of used equipment, as well as the use of ARPA funds for the fuel system as mentioned in our previous reports. The Board approved the sale of four single-axle dump trucks, and an updated list of Safety Committee Members. But they voted 3-2 against using some of the remaining ARPA funds for the fuel storage/delivery system they previously discussed and we’re reported on. The Board opted instead to hold onto them for emergencies. The matter will be re-evaluated at budget time.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans will have to carefully plan ahead for their Thanksgiving meals this year, as the state’s largest grocery chain won’t be available for last-minute shopping trips. If you forgot the cranberry sauce, need more sweet potatoes or don’t have time to bake a pumpkin pie, get it the day before, because you won’t be able to buy it on Thanksgiving Day at Hy-Vee. The West Des Moines-based chain is announcing that all 285-plus retail locations will be closed on November 24th.

A news release says it will give the company’s 80,000-some employees across eight states the holiday off to spend with friends and family. This is a first in Hy-Vee’s 92-year history.

(Radio Iowa) – Substitute teachers aren’t as hard to come by as they were last year, according to some Iowa school administrators. Mason City School District officials say the district has boosted its substitute fill rate by around 15-percent in the last year. The district’s Human resources director Tom Drzycimski says an increase in pay and training offerings have aided the school’s search. “The local community college has been providing more authorization classes,” Drzycimski says. “We’ve had a number of people that have taken advantage of those, some of them are our own paraprofessionals.”

Despite the progress, Drzycimski says they could still use more staff. This time last year, school board meetings at Sioux City Community School District were full of tense discussion on how to improve its substitute fill rate of 70-percent. The district settled on raising rates by at least 25-dollars a day and providing a one-hundred dollar recruitment stipend. It helped, as district human resource director Jen Gomez says the fill rate has risen to 87-percent. “Staff aren’t having to help fill in during their planning time or during their duty time,” Gomez says, “so, when that fill rates higher our existing staff is less stretched.” Des Moines Public Schools is seeing a similar situation.

It’s increased its fill rate from 46-percent to 64. District officials say they’ll will continue pushing recruitment efforts.

(reporting by Kendall Crawford, Iowa Public Radio)