(Radio Iowa) – Hundreds gathered this (Friday) morning for a prayer service at the Cornerstone Church in Ames where two women were shot and killed last (Thursday) night. Terry Montang told the congregation his daughter, Eden, was a person of faith.

“She died for her faith,” he said, pausing to gather himself before he added, his voice breaking: “I’m proud to have been her father.” The church’s lead pastor says the shooting happened just as a summer program for Iowa State students was to begin inside the church. Eden Montang and Vivian Flores were I-S-U students and the pastor says both had been active in the church’s youth ministry.

(Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Grant Gerlock)

(Radio Iowa) – Story County Sheriff Paul Fitzgerald says the murder and suicide outside an Ames church Thursday was a targeted domestic situation. Fitzgerald in a news conference this (Friday) morning says 33-year-old Johnathan Lee Witlatch of Boone shot and killed 22-year-old Eden Montang and 21-year-old Vivian Flores outside the Cornerstone Church with a nine-millimeter handgun. “Whitlatch fired several rounds, and within a matter of seconds Eden Montang and Vivian Flores were fatally injured from the gunfire,” he says.

The sheriff says a third woman escaped and then Whitlach shot himself. The two women were I-S-U students, on their way to a bible study. Fitzgerald says Whitlach and Montang had recently broken up a relationship. “On May 31st, 2022, Whitlatch, was charged by the Ames Police Department and ultimately arrested in Boone County for harassment third-degree and impersonating a public official. Both of these charges were directly related to Eden” Fitzgerald says. “Whitlatch posted bond on these charges and was scheduled to have an initial appearance on June 10th.”

Story County Sheriff Paul Fitzgerald addresses the press (6/3/22)

Fitzgerald did not yet know the hometowns of the two women who were killed. He says they are also trying to determine if Whitlach followed them to the church. “Right now, there are certain points that we’re going to have find out through the investigation as we’re doing this. What we know is the three women were in the parking lot going to go into the church, the suspect pulled up in his pickup and got out. And then the chaos began,” according to Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald says Whitlach was focused on Montang and didn’t have any intention of shooting others in the church. “He went right into action when he got there from all indications — I think that’s pretty evident that he was there for that purpose,” Fitzgerald says. The sheriff believes there was a no-contact order against Whitlach. Fitzgerald says they will dig deeper into what may’ve led to the shooting. “We’ll be looking into social media on Facebook. We’ll be doing interviews with others at the church, people who know them, that man knew what kind of relationship they had and what happened in that aspect. There’s a whole host of things that we need to still complete in order to bring a full understanding as to what happened and why,” he says.

Fitzgerald says deputies arrived four minutes after the 9-11 calls about the shooting and everything was already over. He says there were some 80 people in the church at the time, and it could have been worse had Whitlach entered the church.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled in a franchise dispute involving a new truck dealership in north Iowa. Peterbilt got approval from the Iowa D-O-T to open a dealership in Clear Lake. Owners of the Sioux City Truck Sales Peterbilt dealership sued — saying the 23 counties surrounding Clear Lake were in its 71 county “community” under state franchise law, and the new dealership should not be allowed to open.

The Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that the Clear Lake franchise is far enough away to not be included in the Sioux City dealership’s “community.” Justice Christopher McDonald wrote the dissenting opinion — saying the majority’s approach undermines franchisee protection, contrary to the plain text of the statute and the purpose of the law.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – Officials with the Adair County Roads Department say several roads will be closed to through traffic due to construction, beginning Monday, June 6th. Work will begin on Airport Rd. and G-61 first and will move to the others as construction progresses. Residents will have access to their properties but you’re asked to “please allow extra time when traveling through these areas.” Work is expected to last 4-5 weeks for all of the projects. If you have any questions or concerns please call the Adair County Roads Department at 641-743-6111.

The following roads (see the map) will be closed during the construction process:

• CR G-61 (310th St.) Closed from Adair-Cass County line to Bridgewater Rd.
• 250th St. & Marion Ave. (Lakeview Dr.) Closed from Lewis Ave. to Hwy 92
• E Iowa St. Ext & Orange Ave. Closed from Greenfield City Limits to Hwy 92
• Airport Rd. Closed from Hwy 25 to the Aviation Museum

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Board of Regents has approved making the Iowa Center for School Mental Health a permanent part of the University of Iowa’s College of Education. The center was launched about a year ago with a combination of 20 million dollars in federal pandemic relief and state funds. Daniel Clay is the dean of the university’s college of education. “Some extraordinary faculty here….spent the last year building the center and simultaneously responding to a multitude of crises across our state, including student suicide, teacher suicide and the murder of a teacher — and that’s just the very tip of the iceberg,” he says. “The underlying mental health issues are quite extraordinary.”

Dr. Allison Bruhn is the center’s interim director. She says there are long-term impacts if students don’t get the support they need, since at least half of Americans with mental health difficulties began struggling before the age of 14. “So that means we have a lot of kids in our country sitting in classrooms that are suffering from social, emotional, behavioral, psychological issues,” she says. Bruhn cites research indicating 16 percent of Iowa kids between the ages of 12 and 18 have a mental health disorder. “Less than half of them receive treatment,” she says. “Over the last decade, there’s been a 53% increase in the number of students contemplating suicide and it’s the second-leading cause of death among adolescents.”

Bruhn says students are more likely to be disciplined and do poorly on school work if their mental health struggles are not addressed. The Iowa Center for School Mental Health is offering training to teachers and conducting research in Iowa schools to figure out what approaches work best to address students’ needs. University of Iowa officials say they started getting calls for help from parents and educators the day after Governor Reynolds announced the center’s existence during a news conference.

(Atlantic, Iowa) –  The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with Atlantic High School (AHS) Alumni Smackdown Committee and Atlantic Parks & Recreation, is pleased to announce “Smack Down After Dark” will take place Saturday, August 20th, 2022. Kelsey Beschorner, Programs Director at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, said “The AHS Alumni Smack Down is an annual golf tournament that has grown to be a large event that gives alumni from all over the globe an opportunity to reconnect for a day of fun. The planning committee reached out to the Chamber to expand on the event and add evening entertainment the entire community can enjoy.”

The event will take place at Sunnyside Park with a beer garden, organized by the Atlantic Fire Department, and food vendors beginning at 5 PM. The Classic Rock band “Oreo Meatwagon” will play from 7 – 10 PM on the Band Shell. The event will be free admission with more details available as the date gets closer.

The 8th Annual AHS Alumni Smackdown Tournament will be held the morning of August 20th. The event will take place at both Nishna Hills Golf Course and Atlantic Golf & Country Club. To learn more about the tournament or to register, visit www.atlanticiowa.com.

Stay up to date on the latest information regarding Smackdown After Dark by ‘liking’ the event page on Facebook or visiting the Community Calendar on www.atlanticiowa.com. Smackdown After Dark is sponsored by the Atlantic Community Promotion Commission.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors will hold their regular weekly meeting next week at 9-a.m. on Wednesday, instead of the normal Tuesday, due to June 7^th being the Primary Election Day. One of the main topics the Board will discuss, is the sudden revelation on Wednesday (June 2^nd), that the Treasurer’s Office hours have been reduced (effective today), due to staffing issues and having to train new employees to fill the vacant positions. As previously mentioned, the new hours are Monday-Wed.-Thursday & Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., closed for lunch those same days from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., and re-open from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. The Office is now closed all day, on Tuesdays.

Board Chair Steve Baier says the number of hours the Treasurer’s Office was reduced to, caught the Supervisors by surprise because they had not received prior there was no prior discussion. He acknowledged that while the treasurer has control over her office, and as such can set the hours accordingly, there may be other options that would allow staff training to take place without impacting the level of service to the public.

Some Treasurer’s Office transactions may be accomplished online, but Baier said the people of his generation tend to prefer in-person communication and transactions, whenever possible. He said “As you know, we recently had a transition in the auditor’s office that included training a new deputy (Dee South) to take Mary Anstey’s position, as Mary took over assessor duties as well as Sara Harris stepping into the auditor’s position with Dale Sunderman’s retirement.”  He added that “We were able to reach out to personnel in neighboring counties, specifically Montgomery County Auditor Stephanie Burke, who came to Atlantic several times to help Sara as she took over the reins.  We only had one day when the auditor’s office was closed and that was due to state training on new election laws.

“It is pretty standard practice among counties, Baier said, for counties “to help each other as staff turns over.” He added that “ With Tracey being state treasurers’ association president, I would certainly expect her to have the connections to get the assistance she needs.” A Treasurer’s Office employee, Julie Symonds, who has three decades of experience, is planning on retirement in a few weeks. Baier said “This certainly isn’t how she expected her career with the county to come to a close,” and he feels badly for her being asked to work longer than planned.