The Atlantic Community School Board’s meeting and public hearing that was scheduled for Monday night has been cancelled due to inclement weather. The meeting will be rescheduled for a a later date.
The Atlantic Community School Board’s meeting and public hearing that was scheduled for Monday night has been cancelled due to inclement weather. The meeting will be rescheduled for a a later date.
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – Diamond Cook, age 31, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced on February 16, 2023, to 48 months in prison following his plea of guilty to being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. After he is released from prison, Cook will serve three years of supervised release.
On February 24, 2022, a Fremont County Deputy stopped a car on Interstate 29 for not displaying registration and a nonworking brake light. The deputy could smell marijuana coming from the car. Cook was a passenger and lied about his name. During a search of the car, law enforcement located a loaded handgun. Cook is prohibited from having any firearms because he is a convicted felon.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Fremont Cunty Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In May 2021, the Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
DES MOINES, IA – A Dallas Center woman was sentenced on February 14, 2023, to 18 months in prison for wire fraud.
According to court documents, Jordyn Darion Culp, age 28, stole $273,698 from the Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) program. From approximately October 2019 to September 2021, Culp accessed FEGLI trust accounts through her employment and fraudulently transferred money from the FEGLI accounts to her personal bank account. Using the funds, Culp purchased a motorcycle, motorhome, and cargo trailer which were forfeited. Culp posted TikTok videos discussing her purchases. Culp was ordered to pay restitution and after her prison sentence she will serve three years of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Iowa Insurance Fraud Bureau investigated the case.
Des Moines – Andrew Thomas Ellis, age 30, of Des Moines pled guilty on February 16, 2023, to one count Presenting False Information (Class D Felony) following an investigation by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau.
The charges against Ellis stemmed from an investigation which began in June 2022. According to criminal complaints filed by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau, Ellis filed a false report to the Des Moines Police Department, claiming theft of personal property. Ellis then provided false statements to an insurer in connection with a personal property insurance claim in an attempt to receive loss claim benefits he would otherwise not be entitled to. Ellis was arrested on October 9, 2022 and booked into the Polk County Jail where he later posted bond.
Following his guilty plea, Ellis received a five-year suspended prison sentence and placed on supervised probation for a period of two years. Ellis was also ordered to pay a fine of $1,025.
Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reports a possible threat to students at the Fremont-Mills School via a social media post was investigated on Tuesday. Deputies made contact with the student and found the threat to be credible.
The 12-year-old student was placed under arrest for Threat of Terrorism and placed in the Southwest Iowa Juvenile Detention Center until further court proceedings.
No further information is available at this time.
The Griswold Tigers will have a new head coach roaming the football sidelines in 2023. The School Board recently approved the elevation of Seth Lembke from assistant coach to head coach. Lembke has spent a total of 10 seasons in coaching, many of those under former Griswold coach Andy Everett. He’s also a Griswold native that is very excited to take over the reigns.
Lembke talked about the foundational pillars that he wants to build the program around.
Lembke said his new staff has already had a chance to have a voluntary meeting with the kids interested in being on the team and they discussed some of the expectations and tried to build some excitement.
Coach Lembke said he feels like they will have more depth than they have had in a long time this upcoming season and he’s excited to get to work with the team in a more hands on approach later this summer.
Hamburg, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Golden Hills RC&D and the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway have announced the Waubonsie State Park Artist in Residence awards for the 2023 Program! The Artist in Residence program was created to help reach a broader audience of park-goers, thus increasing the number of visitors and ultimately educating more people about the Loess Hills ecosystem. The artists and visitors will engage with the natural resources of the park through an artistic lens. Many quality applications were received from artists representing a wide array of disciplines. Three artists were selected to fill residencies ranging from one to two weeks long in March and April. Those artists receiving the residency awards for the current season of the Waubonsie State Park Artist in Residence Program include Rodger Geberdling, Marcia Wilson Holliway and Tina Campbell. The artists will use their time at Waubonsie to immerse themselves in the landscape as a source of inspiration and opportunity to intensely focus on their work. The artists represent a variety of mixed media, painting, and photography.
One of the region’s ecological and recreational treasures, Waubonsie State Park’s 2,000 acres in the (Luss) Loess Hills of southwest Iowa feature prairies, savannas, and woodlands which are home to diverse flora and fauna, not to mention breathtaking vistas. Park Manager Matt Moles has worked with Golden Hills RC&D Project Coordinator Lance Brisbois and Loess Hills National Scenic Byway Coordinator Rebecca Castle to develop and launch the project. While there have been other artist residency programs offered through the National Parks System and parks in other states, this was the first such program in one of Iowa’s State Parks. The program is loosely modeled after similar regional residency programs.
The artists will receive lodging in a studio cabin and a primitive studio space in the park at no cost for the duration of the residency. In return, artists will deliver at least one public program and donate one piece of art to the park at the conclusion of their stay. The programs will be announced as they are scheduled, and may happen either during the residency period or at a later date during the peak season.
Waubonsie State Park is only about an hour’s drive from Omaha or Lincoln, NE; two hours from Kansas City; and 2.5 hours from Des Moines. It is located near the southern end of the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway. To learn more about the Artist in Residence program and the artists, visit www.goldenhillsrcd.org/artist-in-residence. If you are an artist and are interested in learning about how to apply, please email rebecca@goldenhillsrcd.org.
Jim Field visits with Todd Roecker of the Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church Knights of Columbus Chapter about the Lenten Fish Dinners beginning Friday, February 24.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (23.2MB)
Subscribe: RSS
(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston say a man who was arrested Sunday afternoon on drug and other charges, was arrested Tuesday afternoon, as well. 23-year-old Noah Alexander Young, of Creston, was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, on two-counts of Failure to Appear. He was taken to Union County Jail and held on a $2,600 cash-only bond