(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston say a woman from Prescott reported Saturday night, that someone had stolen her car keys and work bag out of her vehicle in a parking lot at an apartment complex located at 120 Manor Drive, in Creston. The loss was estimated at $40.

(Creston, Iowa) – Authorities in Creston say no injuries were reported following a collision Monday night at the intersection of Townline Street and Sumner Avenue. According to the Creston Police report, a 2024 Ford Bronco driven by 55-year-old Jeffery Coffin, of Greenfield, was traveling north on Sumner Avenue at around 11-p.m., Monday, and had stopped at the flashing red light. The Bronco was in the inside lane, and turned west onto Townline, into the inside lane.

A 2024 Dodge Ram pickup driven by 55-year-old Scott Tridle, of Creston, was traveling west on Townline in the inside lane, and came to a stop at the flashing red light. When the pickup and SUV entered the intersection, the left front side of the pickup struck the right rear of the Bronco, causing a police estimated $2,000 (minor) damage to each vehicle.

No citations were issued.

(Radio Iowa) – A new study shows cancer rates in the Midwest are among the highest in the nation, and the number of cancer cases in Iowa is rising, while the state’s rate of cancer deaths is falling. Dr. Ben Parsons, a hematologist-oncologist at Gundersen Health System, says part of the reason for the rising numbers is lifestyle choices like alcohol and tobacco use, but obesity also plays a big role in cancer risk. “There are significant hormonal changes that happen as people carry a lot of extra weight, especially women and breast cancer, and it’s a huge deal,” Parsons says, “and I think it’s one of those ones that people don’t always think about when they’re thinking about their health.”

A report from the University of Iowa-based Iowa Cancer Registry estimates 21-thousand Iowans will be diagnosed with cancer this year, an increase from last year, while the projected number of Iowans who will die from cancer is falling. With Iowa being such a farm-focused state, Parsons says chemicals may also play a leading role in the rise in the state’s cancer cases. “If you look at the number of unregulated chemicals that are released into our society, there’s 250-plus new chemicals that have been released since 1950 and a lot of that we’re learning more and more about them,” Parsons says. “The Midwest is a large agricultural area. There’s definitely an association with glyphosate or Roundup and some cancers, especially lymphoid malignancies, like lymphomas.” Access to health care can also be a factor in cancer rates, and Parsons says some rural areas of Iowa are under-served.

“Most of our communities actually have access to a relatively high level of quality health care,” Parsons says, “and that’s really what obviously sways whether or not you’re going to have early detection, treatment, and have better outcomes associated with that.” He says some keys to staying healthy include getting annual physicals, keeping up with vaccines, and getting screened for various risks — like routine colonoscopies or mammograms. Plus, there’s exercise. “It’s encouraged to have 150 minutes of exercise every week. That can be as simple as taking a 15-minute walk a day,” Parsons says. “It doesn’t have to be what most people think of as exercise, like going to the gym and lifting weights and things like that. It’s really just getting your body moving, taking the stairs at work, parking a little further away from the grocery store, any of those little things add up.”

(Radio Iowa) The Iowa Waste Reduction program’s report for the last fiscal year shows they worked with some 52-hundred businesses to find a home for items that no longer needed. Iowa Waste Exchange Coordinator Shelly Codner says that kept 87-thousand tons of items from landfills. “We are talking about anything from industrial sludge, to stuffed animals and anything in between,” she says. Any Iowans who have a product that they don’t want to sent to the landfill, they give us a call, and we try to find an alternative home for it.” She says for the fiscal year that ended in June they saved businesses three-point-four million dollars.

“That includes disposal fees, freed up storage, transportation. There’s a number of metrics that are included in that avoided purchases,” Codner says. Codner says the fun part of the job is helping people find materials they need at very little cost. “The ones that are probably most rewarding are those that were taking something that is in perfectly good condition, destined for the landfill, and then helping another demographic and serving the need that they have,” she says. For example, they recently were able to send unneeded beds and mattresses from Iowa State University to flood victims in Spencer. Codner says there are many other examples where they have found a new purpose for items.

“During covid, for example, we had an onslaught of t-shirts and the Food Bank of Iowa actually needed additional bags to get the food out, so staff with the Iowa waste exchange actually made t-shirt bags for the food bank of Iowa to use for that purpose. We use the t-shirt sleeves, and we teamed up with the Des Moines public libraries community outreach and we made first aid kits. We made drawstring bags out of the sleeves and made first aid kits for the library to hand out,” she says. You might not think there’s a use for industrial sludge, but Codner says they can find one. “It depends on the composition. If it’s got some nutritional value, there might be markets for that. If it’s if it can be remanufactured into a new product, there is applications for that as well,” Codner says. “If we’re talking about syrupy liquids and those type of things that are coming out of food processing, there may be a nutritional value for that that can go to a food producer, for example.”

Codner says they added more than 400 materials to their database in the past fiscal year. She says last year they kept more than 10-thousand truckloads of material from going to Iowa landfills.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A man on an ATV died Monday evening near Red Oak, after the machine overturned into a creek bed. Red Oak Police Chief Justin Rhamy reports Jay Douglas Woodward, of Red Oak, died after attempts to safe his life were unsuccessful. Chief Rhamy says the Montgomery County Communications Center received a call about the ATV accident on the trails west of the levy off of Oak Street, at around 5:31-p.m.

Upon arrival of Red Oak Police and Red Oak Rescue, responders located an ATV in the creek bed, with Woodward trapped beneath the machine. After he was extricated, medical personnel attempted to save him, but it was too late.

Red Oak Police were assisted at the scene by Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies, Red Oak Fire and Rescue, Montgomery County Emergency Management, and Montgomery County Communications.

(Radio Iowa) – Today (Tuesday) is the day Iowa’s Secretary of State certifies which candidates will have their names printed on Iowa ballots for the November election, but three Libertarian Party candidates have gone to court asking for a delay until their legal challenge is resolved. Last week, a state panel kicked Libertarians running in three Iowa congressional districts off the ballot after Republicans in those areas signed petitions saying the timing of Libertarian Party county conventions did not follow state law.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, a Republican, discussed the decision this weekend during an appearance on “Iowa Press” on Iowa P-B-S.  “It’s never easy as a member of the Objections Panel to have to tell someone that they didn’t qualify for the ballot,” Bird said, “but the law applies equally to everybody, every candidate, regardless of their party.” Bird says Libertarians held their precinct caucuses AND county conventions on the same date, which is not allowed under state law.

“Just to be clear, everybody gets their day in court, so they can appeal the decision to the district court if they want to, but my position is I’m not going to pick and choose which parts of the Iowa Code are going to apply,” Bird said. “I’m going to uphold the law.” Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, a Republican, joined Bird in voting to remove the Libertarians from this fall’s ballot — while State Auditor Rob Sand, a Democrat who also serves on the panel, voted to keep the Libertarians on it.

Sand says the Objection Panel does not have the authority to rule on how a political party conducts its business. The Iowa Libertarian Party’s chair says the decision to remove her party’s candidates from the ballot is a direct attack on voter choice.

The Libertarian Party nominated Nicholas Gluba of Lone Tree to run in Iowa’s first congressional district, Marco Battaglia  of Des Moines to run in the third district, and Charles Aldrich of Clarion to run in the 4th district.

(Radio Iowa) – The Mid American Museum of Aviation and Transportation in Sioux City will host a special presentation this month. Museum director Kevin Blosch says it will honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country. “Just think it’s an important event where we are going to be commemorating the Fallen Soldiers from here in Iowa that gave their lives for our freedom in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts,” he says. The memorial will feature pictures of each of those fallen soldiers.

“I think it’s a chance for people to reflect, but I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of family members, a lot of pictures being taken. We’ve already gotten quite a bit of response for people that are going to be visiting, and we expect it to be pretty busy,” he says. They will make some changes for the exhibit as admission will be free and they will only ask for a free will offering.

(MidAmerican Air Museum graphic)

“We’re also going to be open all week, from Monday through Saturday, with Sunday being the only exception’ Blosch says. “As right now we’re only open Thursday, Friday and Saturday. But during the event and then hopefully from then on, we’ll be open all week.”

The memorial display opens on September 4th and will run through the 24th.

(Iowa News Service) – Practical Farmers of Iowa is looking for landowners who want to help restore natural habitat on their property, and get help doing it. It’s part of a larger effort to help farmers become more environmentally friendly.
PFI’s Habitat Incentive program offers farmers a financial incentive to plant prairie strips on their land, for example.

PFI’s Senior Habitat Viability Coordinator Grace Yi said those strips restore habitat for native species while at the same time reducing soil erosion. “All of these practices are going to have multiple benefits,” said Yi. “So they are going to be good for soil health, good for water-quality improvement, and also provide habitat for wildlife. ”

In addition to the prairie strip portion of the Habitat Incentive Program, PFI is also making incentives available to do precision conservation analysis on their land – which helps farmers make use of unproductive acres. Yi said the end goal of the program is different for most of the farmers who apply.

Rolling Farm Fields, North of Dubuque, Iowa

For some it might be reducing soil erosion and runoff into nearby waterways. For others it night be finding a productive way to use other acres. “For some farmers it might be that corner of the farm is low yielding,” said Yi, “it’s difficult to farm with because it’s steep in slope or it has weird turnarounds, so they can’t easily round out the field. ”

In order to be eligible for the program, at least 50% of the area the farmer plans to change has to be unprofitable. The incentive, funded by federal and state sources, is capped at $10,000.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – Officials with the Council Bluffs Police Department reports a man experiencing what was described as a “mental health crisis,” walked into a church, armed with a long gun and a handgun this (Monday) afternoon. Officers responded to the scene at 300 S. 9th Street, a little after 12 Noon.   At the time of the incident there were no services going on and the few occupants who were in the church exited leaving the man in the building alone.

Arriving officers made contact with the subject and a negotiator established a line of communication with him.  A perimeter was established around the immediate area of the incident.  The roadways were shut down to all traffic and neighbors were advised to shelter in place.  After about one-hour of negotiation with the man, he surrendered to police.  The individual was detained and transported to the hospital for a mental evaluation.

There were no injuries.  At this time the name of the subject was being withheld by authorities due to this being a mental health issue.  He will be cited for discharge of a firearm in the city limits and disorderly conduct.

NO FURTHER INFORMATION IS BEING RELEASED AT THIS TIME

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City Council in Atlantic will meet 5:30-p.m. Wed., Sept. 4th, in their chambers at City Hall. On their agenda, is:

• An Order to approve an Engineering Agreement with Snyder and Associates, for the 2025 Street Improvements Project. City Administrator John Lund says the non-west 22nd St. projects for next Spring, Summer and Fall, are projected to cost more than $2.1-million. They include 66 street improvement projects, including overlays for the downtown area. 2025, Lund says, is the first year of the new cycle of street improvement projects in the City’s 10-year CIP (Capital Improvement Plan), and should be financed by the LOST (Local Option Sales Tax) Street revenues, which will not impact the Debt Service Levy, and not require property taxes service for the debt.
• The Council will act on passing the Second Reading of an ordinance “Vacating the 66′ wide Street Right-Of-Way (ROW), a parcel .7 of an acre. The First Reading was passed following a public hearing, on August 21st.
• The Atlantic City Council will act on approving a second pay application (for nearly $56,000) to Hydro-Klean, LLC, for the 2024 Sanitary Sewer Rehab project – Ultra Violet Cured In Place Pipe (CIIP) lining project. The total cost of the project was $91,500. The first payment of $30,975 was approved by the Council on August 21st.

The Council’s next meeting will take place on Monday, Sept 16th, instead of the regular Wednesday meeting on the 18th, due to the Annual Iowa League of Cities Conference.