(Atlantic, Iowa) – AtlanticFest, presented by First Whitney Bank & Trust, will be held Saturday, August 13th rain or shine. Officials with the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce say AtlanticFest is an annual festival that serves as a fundraiser for the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce. According to Bailey Smith, Executive Director at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, “AtlanticFest is the largest fundraiser of the year for the Chamber. Our sponsors help cover a lot of the costs of the event, allowing us to raise funds through registration fees, pop stand sales and the 50/50 raffle. We use the funds from AtlanticFest to continue to grow community events while also supporting business-based programs. We love this partnership with First Whitney Bank and the experience AtlanticFest offers the community. It also gives us the chance to support local businesses and civic organizations,”

Smith says downtown Atlantic will be filled with fun activities for the whole family to enjoy. Come early and start the day with a pancake breakfast or a run/walk in the Annual Road Race with chip timing. There will be crafters from all over Southwest Iowa, as well as some of the best food vendors to help satisfy any appetite. Kids can enjoy bounce houses and games throughout City Park. The 24th Annual Car Show and 8th Annual Motorcycle Show will be taking place once again this year. And with free entertainment throughout the day, you can’t go wrong.

Baily said also, a bags tournament has been added to the fun this year and will be held in City Park. Enter a team of two for $50 and try your chance to win $500, $300 or $200 guaranteed. Alcoholic beverages will be available for sale. No outside coolers or beverages will be permitted.

Preregistration for the Car Show, Motorcycle Show, Road Race and Bags Tournament is going on right now, with day-of registration accepted. Registration to be a craft or food vendor are being accepted now through August 8th. To register for any activity, visit www.atlanticiowa.com, email chamber@atlanticiowa.com or call the Chamber office at 712-243-3017.

AtlanticFest is sponsored in partnership with: First Whitney Bank & Trust; The Atlantic Community Promotion Commission; Atlantic Parks & Recreation; A.M. Cohron & Son; Armour Insurance; Atlantic Business & Professional Women; Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company; Atlantic Home Realty; Atlantic Municipal Utilities; Brocker, Karns & Karns; Brown Electric; Brown’s Shoe Fit; Deter Motor Company; Downtowner Café & Catering; Lindeman Tractor; McAtee Tire; McDermott & Son Roofing; Nishna Valley Family YMCA; R/T Motors, Inc.; Roland Funeral Home; Rolling Hills Bank & Trust; Rush, CPA & Associates; Salute Gymnastics; TW Auto Sales, and the Wiota Steakhouse.

(Radio Iowa) – Some demonstrators at weekend Iowa rallies expressed concern issues like same-sex marriage or contraception might be next to be revisited by the U-S Supreme Court, after last week’s rulings on guns and abortion. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley doubts such issues would be reconsidered by the high court. “They’re not needed and I don’t expect that,” he says.

Grassley, a Republican, says there’s a clear difference between issues like abortion and birth control or L-G-B-T-Q rights. He says abortion has been the topic of debate for five decades — and longer. “Roe v. and Casey never settled anything in 50 years,” Grassley says. “It’s been a constant debate, where all these other speculations of what might come up have been long-term accepted by the American people, and none of them involves a life-or-death situation.”

In his concurring opinion issued Friday, Justice Clarence Thomas said the Supreme Court -should- reconsider opinions which protect same-sex relationships, marriage equality and access to contraceptives.

(Atlantic, Iowa) –  Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department Director Bryant Rasmussen says, “This July, “We Rise Up for Parks and Recreation.” Be sure and join the Atlantic Parks and Rec Department in July, for Parks and Recreation Month, as “we celebrate how Atlantic, Iowa is stronger, more vibrant, and more resilient because of parks and recreation.” Rasmussen says a variety of activities are planned for people of all ages and abilities. The big highlight is July 9^th for the block party which takes place from 12 until 4-p.m., with a band to follow at 6pm.

Atlantic Parks and Rec is celebrating Park and Recreation Month, an initiative of the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), by inviting our community to share their experiences, memories and stories about what parks and recreation means to them. There are plenty of ways to celebrate with us as well. All month long they will be having either suggestions of what you can do for that day, or having something for you to participate in.

The NRPA and Atlantic Parks and Rec encourages everyone who supports parks and recreation to share how it has improved their quality of life, as well as why local parks and recreation is important to them on social media using the hashtag #RISEUPJULY. To learn more information about Parks and Recreation Month, visit Atlantic Parks and Recreation Facebook page and www.nrpa.org/July.

There is a calendar of events on the Atlantic Parks and Rec Facebook page, but check back daily to learn more about the programs happening over the course of July.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Engineer’s Office reports the contractor for two box culvert projects have begun work on the second of those projects. As a result, Pinewood Ave. (Adair County Road P-21) is closed roughly 1.5 miles north of Orient to replace a culvert. A detour is in-place (shown in green on the map below). The closure is expected to last roughly 3-4 weeks.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with the Atlantic Police Department report six arrests. On Sunday, 43-year-old Shane Seagler, of Massena, was arrested for: Public Intoxication and Cass County warrants for: 2-counts Controlled Substance Violation; 2-counts gathering where controlled substances are used; 3 counts of Keeping a premises or vehicle for a Controlled Substance Violation; 2 counts of Probation Violation, and on an Adair County warrant for Violation of Probation. Seagler was being held in the Cass County Jail.

On Saturday, 57-year-old David Frazier, of Atlantic, was arrested for Reckless use of Fire or Explosives. He was cited into court, and released. On June 23rd, 30-year-old Gage Mundorf, of Atlantic, was arrested for OWI/2nd offense, and Possession of a Controlled Substance. He was booked into the Cass County Jail. And, 45-year-old Jason Tasto, of Atlantic, was arrested on the 23rd for Public Intoxication.

On the 22nd, 19-year-old Maria Mullenberg, of Atlantic, was arrested for Trespassing. She was cited into court, and released. And, on June 8th, 43-year-old Christel Buskirk, of Atlantic, was arrested for Theft in the 5th (Shoplifting). She was cited and released.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A pickup truck not placed in “Park” got away from a man and crashed into a fence, Sunday morning, in Red Oak. Authorities say there were no injuries, but the damage amounted to $2,100 altogether. 64-year-old Michael Dean Norris, of Red Oak, was driving the City of Red Oak-owned 1998 Dodge RAM pickup, when he stopped at around 7-a.m. to pick up trash from the Fountain Square Park.

The pickup rolled south in the 500 block of N. 3rd Street, with Norris in pursuit, on foot. The vehicle turned to the west and went down the alley before turning slightly northwest into an empty grass lot, and came to rest against a steel fence owned by Davis Taylor Insurance. The impact caused the fence to be slightly bent-over. There were no citations issued.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports two people were arrested over the weekend on separate warrants. Authorities say at around 11:45-p.m. Friday, 33-year-old Cassi Mae Bird, of Des Moines, was arrested on two warrants at a motel on Laurel Street.  First was a Des Moines Police Department warrant for Domestic Abuse Assault. The second warrant was for a Parole Violation. Bird was transported to the Adams County Jail, were she was being held without bond until an initial appearance on the first warrants, and no bond on the second. She was also being held pending extradition to the Polk County Jail.

And, just after 10-a.m. Saturday, 24-year-old Cody Igor Corfits, of West Des Moines, was arrested at the Creston Union County Law Enforcement Center. Corfits was taken into  custody on a Union County Warrant for Violation of Probation, on an original charge of Domestic Abuse 1st offense (a simple misdemeanor). Corfits was transported to the Union County Jail where he was being held on $600 cash or surety bond.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – This week’s Produce in the Park is packed full of family friendly activities, a new food truck vendor, and honoring the “Founding Mother” of the annual event. Pim’s Thai mobile restaurant is the featured vendor for the event in the down Atlantic City Park (10 W. 7th Street). Produce in the Park is held each Thursday through September, from 4:30-to 6:30-p.m.

Other info.: 

Activities: Bounce Houses from the Nishna Valley Family YMCA, Yard Games and more fun from Atlantic Parks and Rec, and more
Live Music: Sarah Selders
Herbs week: Fresh herbs taste tests, Guest Chef recipe featuring herbs, buy fresh herbs and herb plants from various vendors. Visit the Grow Another Row Cass County table to learn about donating herbs.

Products: Fresh produce, local meats, farm-fresh eggs, honey, popcorn, fresh lemonade, pastries, kringle, soaps, candles, freshies, art, jewelry, and more!
Celebrate LaVon Eblen of KJAN’s Backyard and Beyond. After 25 years on the air, LaVon is retiring. Backyard and Beyond has been a great program that has covered Produce in the Park many times. LaVon was also a founding mother of Produce in the Park. Come thank her for all she’s done for the community!

Self-Care Summer:  The VA Nebraska Western Iowa’s suicide prevention oordinator will be at the park with info.
Free drawing for a dozen eggs sponsored by the Cass County Local Food Policy Council. (Anyone age 18+ can enter for free. Winner will be drawn after the market and receive eggs the following week.

Payment methods accepted: All vendors accept cash. Many accept credit card and Venmo. All qualifying food vendors accept SNAP/EBT (also known as food stamps). All fresh produce vendors both accept and distribute Double Up Food Bucks (coupons given for SNAP/EBT purchases of fresh produce). Follow PiP at https://www.facebook.com/ProduceInThePark

(Greenfield, Iowa) – Court records show a preliminary hearing is scheduled to take place 10:30-a.m. Thursday, in Adair County, for a Nebraska man who faces Felony Class-C charges that include Theft in the 1^st Degree and Burglary in the 2^nd Degree, a Felony Class-D charge of Theft in the 2^nd Degree, and a serious misdemeanor charge of Criminal Mischief in the 4^th Degree. Those charges against 25-year-old Luis David Penaloza-Garcia are associated with a June 9^th rural Adair County residential break-in. His cash or surety bond was listed as $30,000.

Penaloza-Garcia allegedly tried to break-into a residence southwest of Casey, on June 9^th after he allegedly crashed a stolen vehicle he was driving on I-80, near the Adair rest areas. A resident of the home heard suspicious noises, and shot Penaloza-Garcia when he found the man inside his home.

(Afton, Iowa) – A collision between a pickup truck and an ambulance, Friday night in Union County, but no one was hurt. According to the Union County Sheriff’s Office, the accident occurred at around 10:47-p.m. on Highway 34, near Lark Avenue, northwest of Afton. Officials say two Greater Regional Medical Center ambulances were checking on a vehicle in the ditch. Both vehicles had their emergency lights activated. One of the ambulances, a 2021 Dodge Ram-based vehicle, had stopped on the shoulder of the road and was attempting to turn around.

The driver of the 2005 Chevy 2500 pickup, 21-year-old Bradley Wayne Toppin, of Afton, had stopped for the ambulances. When Toppin, and the driver of the ambulance turning around, 40-year-old Dennis Wayne Cheers, of Afton, proceeded at the same time, their vehicles came into contact in the center of the highway. Both vehicles sustained minor damage that totaled $2,000.

Toppin was cited for Failure to Yield to an Emergency Vehicle.