(Radio Iowa) – Hy-Vee is eliminating up to 500 more jobs at its corporate offices. The company is offering to pay moving expenses for an undisclosed number of those corporate employees who accept retail jobs in Hy-Vee stores. HyVee made the announcement in advertisements in The Des Moines Register and The Cedar Rapids Gazette. Hy-Vee’s C-E-O said the company is reducing operational costs in preparation for uncertain times ahead.

Hy-Vee already cut 121 corporate positions in March and its C-E-O criticized employees in that group who did not accept transfers to retail positions. Last week, Hy-Vee announced it would no longer open five new stores in Minnesota’s Twin Cities. This week, it announced a delay in construction of a Hy-Vee warehouse in Cumming.

HyVee currently operates at 280 locations in eight states. It has recently scaled back the number of stores that offer its “Aisles On Line” grocery delivery and pick-up service.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – A little more than a week after a Cass County District Court Judge took a change of venue request in the Alison Dorsey case, she ruled today (Wednesday), that Dorsey’s second trial in the death of a child will take place in Council Bluffs’ Pottawattamie County District Court. Judge Amy Zacharias agreed with the Prosecutor, that the case could not be tried again in Cass County, due to extensive publicity.

Dorsey’s new trial remains set for 9:30-a.m. June 20, 2022. Her first trial in Cass County District Court ended November 4, 2021 in a mistrial, because the jury was deadlocked.

Dorsey was on trial for the October, 2019 death of an infant in her care at a facility in Massena. The State charged Dorsey with First Degree Murder and Child Endangerment resulting in death.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Spring is in the air, and plans are underway for gardening projects in Cass County. Local groups planning community gardening, beautification or education programs will again be eligible for assistance from the Cass County Master Gardeners. The group is offering grant money to be used in the 2022 growing season, to encourage gardening to grow food for donation, for gardening education, and/or for gardening projects to improve local communities. The Cass County Master Gardener Memorial Grants are offered in remembrance of the many years of service to the community provided by long-time Master Gardener volunteers who have passed.

Any Cass County not-for-profit group may apply. Schools, churches, libraries, 4-H clubs, Scouts, or other organizations/individuals working to improving their communities can apply for money to begin or improve gardens or landscaping for community benefit, or to provide education for their members or the public. To ensure the money is helping a wide variety of community organizations, those who were funded by 2021 grants will not be eligible to apply in 2022. Each grant has a maximum value of $300. Applications must include plans for teamwork and sustainability. Consideration for the environment is also an important factor in selection. All grant recipients will be expected to submit a report at the end of the growing season, detailing how the money was spent. Recipients will also be given a sign to place in their garden area for the 2022 growing season.

Applications must be received by 4:30 PM on Wednesday, May 4 for guaranteed consideration. They may be submitted by mail or email. Grant recipients will be informed of their application status no later than Monday, May 9 so they can make plans for the growing season. For more information, or with questions, call the Cass County Extension office at 712-243-1132 or email keolson@iastate.edu. You may also contact Master Gardener LaVon Eblen. Application forms can be printed from the Cass County Extension website- www.extension.iastate.edu/cass. You can also call or email the office to request a form be mailed or emailed to you, or stop by 805 West 10th Street in Atlantic to pick one up.

The Master Gardener program trains volunteers to develop their knowledge and skills in horticulture. These volunteers then give back to their communities through gardening service and education. The program is available in all 50 states and Canada through land grant university Extension programs such as Iowa State University Extension. Education courses are available throughout Iowa on a regular basis, with the next statewide training class open for enrollment beginning June 1. For more information on the program, contact Cass County Extension Director Kate Olson, at 712-243-1132 or keolson@iastate.edu.

(Mason City, Iowa) – A single-vehicle accident Tuesday morning in Mason City, claimed the life of a 54-year-old woman. The Iowa State Patrol says Pamela Marie Okerstrom, of Mason City, was driving a 2012 Nissan Juke eastbound on 210th Street at around 7-a.m., Tuesday, when for reasons unknown, the vehicle left the road, entered the south ditch and vaulted a field driveway. When it vaulted the driveway, the car wen airborne, landed and rolled before coming to rest.

Okerstrom was ejected as the vehicle rolled and died at the scene. She was not wearing a seat belt. The Patrol was assisted at the crash site by Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Deputies, as well as Mason City Fire and EMS.

(Radio Iowa) – The Centers for Disease Control’s latest COVID data indicates nearly 62 percent of Iowans are fully vaccinated. The older an Iowan is, the more likely they are to have gotten COVID shots. For example, 87 percent of Iowans 65 and older fully vaccinated, while around half of 12 to 29 year olds have been vaccinated. Nearly a quarter of five to 11 year old Iowa kids are fully vaccinated. State officials have confirmed more than 95-hundred Iowans have died of COVID since the pandemic began in 2020.

The Mayo Clinic currently identifies three of Iowa’s 99 counties as COVID hot spots, based on a seven day rolling average of positive COVID cases. The three are Mitchell County along the Minnesota border, Ida County in western Iowa and Jefferson County in southeast Iowa.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – An adult female was injured this (Wednesday) morning in Atlantic, during an incident involving her pickup truck. Atlantic Police Chief Devin Hogue says the accident happened at around 10:55-a.m. on 18th Street, between Crest Drive and Oak Street. He said contrary to the initial dispatch report, it was more of a runaway vehicle as opposed to a collision.

He said the was no collision that resulted in someone being hit, as previously dispatched and reported. The owner was transported to the Cass County Hospital by Cass EMS to be checked out and treated for injuries, as needed. Her name was not immediately released.

Chief Hogue said both vehicles sustained damage, but a dollar estimated amount was not immediately available.

Atlantic Fire and Cass EMS were called to the scene of a two-vehicle accident at around 10:55-a.m. Wednesday (today). The collision happened at 18th and Oak Streets. One of the vehicles involved struck a pedestrian following the collision. No other details are currently available.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Capital Dispatch is reporting that a state trooper who contracted COVID in January of last year is suing the state for back pay and benefits. Matthew Eimers of Fort Dodge is a former Iowa National Guard soldier who worked in Ogden’s police department for nearly nine years before becoming a state trooper in March of 2001. The lawsuit indicates Eimers has heart and lung problems caused by COVID and has been unable to work for the past 15 months. According to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, the state quit paying Eimers his salary after 60 days and he’s been using sick leave and other benefits to get by.

Eimers’ lawsuit cites an Iowa law that requires the state to pay troopers who are incapacitated due to work-related injury or disease until they recover or are declared permanently disabled. Eimers previously asked a judge to order a medical review board to determine if Eimers is disabled and eligible for benefits from the State Peace Officer Retirement System. A hearing on that case is scheduled later this week.

(Radio Iowa) – A northwest Iowa woman arrested in New Mexico with illegal drugs has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison. Forty-one-year-old Heather Sorgdrager and another person were caught with more than 42 pounds of meth a year ago. Sordrager admitted in court she planned to bring the drugs from New Mexico to Sioux City. She pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy to distribute meth in and around Sioux City.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday, set the date and time of a Public Hearing on an Amendment to the County’s FY22 Budget. The hearing takes place during their meeting on May 18th, at 9:15-a.m., at the courthouse, in Greenfield. Their action followed an explanation from County Auditor Mandy Berg, on some of the reasons for changes in revenue and expenditures, which included new money into the Clerk of Court, Juvenile Services and Sheriff’s Offices.

Some of the expenditures/changes include those for the Secondary Roads Dept., the Conservation Service, Medical Examiner and DHS.

You can review additional details at the Adair County Auditor’s Office. The Board also passed two Resolutions pertaining to $5-million in General Obligation Urban Renewal Bonds.

The second resolution authorized and provided: for the issuance and levying of a tax to pay the bonds; approval of the tax exemption certificate, and continuing disclosure certificate.

And, the Supervisors approved a Right-Of-Way contract for the N5 Richland Bridge. County Engineer Nick Kauffman said bid letting on the estimated $820,000 project is expected to take place May 23rd. A Public Hearing on vacating the western portion of 305th Lane in Adair County, will take place next month as well, but the date and time have not yet been set.