(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors will meet this Wednesday morning (June 5th), beginning at 8:30-a.m. in their Board Room at the Courthouse in Red Oak. During their session, the Board will hear from Marielle Anne Alipio, with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). She will present information with regard to Disaster/Recovery Assistance.

The Board will also hear from Laura Kyndesen, with the 4th Judicial District Court Administration, with regard to office space for Magistrate Mensen. And, they will discuss RAGBRAI participant camping on the property of the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center (LEC), with action as necessary.

The final order of business for the Montgomery County Supervisors, is action on passing a resolution with regard to the 2024-25 Sheriff’s schedule of fees.

(Massena, Iowa) – Democrat Phyllis Stakey has officially announced her candidacy for the Cass County Board of Supervisors in District 5. The District includes Anita, Wiota, Massena, and Cumberland. The District 5 seat is currently held by Republican Bernard Pettinger.

Phyllis describes herself as a lifelong resident of Cass County with a history of community involvement. She is running for Cass County Supervisor because she believes it is important for elected county officials to manage our monetary resources efficiently, and she wants to help promote and further develop thriving communities in Cass County.

Phyllis served on the Cass County Hospital Board of Trustees for 18 years, where she was a member of the finance committee. She also worked as a realtor for 23 years. While serving on the Cass County Board of Review, Phyllis gained experience with tax assessments. Phyllis says the combination of these responsibilities gives her insight into taxation and finance, at both the personal and county level.

Phyllis Stakey (Photo & information submitted)

Phyllis is quick to point out that she knows how much Cass County has to offer, and says she is committed to spending the time and doing the hard work to position the county for long-term success. Phyllis believes all County Supervisors should be actively engaged in supporting and promoting their communities. Through the years, Phyllis has been active in Cass County
tourism, various housing committees, Massena Historical Society, Massena Chamber of Commerce, and other various community organizations.

Phyllis and her husband Jim, a rural mail carrier, raised their three children in Massena. Jim passed away from Alzheimer’s in 2014. Phyllis is an active member of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Massena. Phyllis can be reached at 712-779-0291.

(Bellevue, Iowa) – A head-on collision this (Sunday) morning in eastern Iowa’s Jackson County left one person dead and another injured. According to the Iowa State Patrol, a 2019 Ford SUV was traveling north on Highway 52 north of Bellevue, at around 3:30-a.m., when it crossed the center line and collided with a 2001 Chevy passenger car that was traveling southbound.

The names of both crash victims was being withheld by the Patrol, pending notification of family. Multiple agencies assisted at the crash scene.

(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – Drake University and CBS News will work together to provide educational lessons on having good character to teachers free-of-charge through a new partnership. The collaboration will bring together CBS News’ “Kindness 101” series and the Character Counts program, housed within the Robert D. and Billy Ray Center at Drake, according to a news release. Both are centered around teaching about good choices and character.

Developed in 1992 by the Josephson Institute, Character Counts is aimed at instilling six pillars of good character — caring, citizenship, fairness, respect, responsibility and trustworthiness. Character Counts moved to Drake in 2019.

CBS News Correspondent Steve Hartman will work with Drake University to create educational programming centered around good character. (Photo courtesy of Drake University)

In a news release, Drake University President Marty Martin said “We are proud to partner with CBS News to bring new, inspiring resources to educators through Kindness 101. We seek to transform lives and strengthen communities, and our Kindness 101 partnership provides a unique and powerful platform to achieve those goals.”

The programs will develop short videos containing lesson plans and activities surrounding pillars of good character for K-12 teachers. They will be available and free for K-12 teachers to utilize at Kindness101.com starting in August.

“Kindness 101” is a video series created by CBS News Correspondent Steve Hartman and his children during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the news release stated, covering stories of people demonstrating kindness and character and featuring sections from Hartman’s “On the Road” series. It is now a weekly series that airs as part of “CBS Mornings.”

“This has been a dream of mine for a very long time,” Hartman said in the release. “The people I’ve met ‘On the Road’ have given me so many important life lessons. I’m beyond grateful to now have this opportunity to share those lessons with school children across the country.”

GREENFIELD, Iowa [WHO-TV] – When an EF-4 tornado rolled into Greenfield Iowa, it carved a swath of destruction, taking out some 153 homes. Cheryl Ringer, of Greenfield was watching the news coverage, warning of the tornado, when she heard the sirens sound. She headed for the basement. Ringer told WHO-TV in Des Moines, she grabbed most of her cats when the storm hit and headed for the basement. When the tornado hit, she was struck on the back and trapped in the rubble.

After about 15-minutes, she saw daylight and stuck her hand out through the debris, which allowed her to be spotted and rescued.

She was pulled out of the debris, and was ok, but one of her 5 cats, “Danny,” a seven-year member of her family, was missing. A wildlife trail cam got a picture of Danny in the ruins of the house. So Amy Heinz, with AHeinz57 Animal Rescue, who worked to keep demolition crews from hauling the debris of the house, so the injured animal could be located.

Danny the cat was eventually found, and Cheryl has relocated to an apartment.