(Radio Iowa) – There will be no Democrats holding elected office in Woodbury County in January after Auditor Pat Gill was beaten by his Republican challenger and deputy auditor Michelle Scaff by about eight points. The political landscape has changed since Gill first took over as auditor, recorder, and commissioner of elections 28 years ago when Democrats controlled county offices. “It went from a blue county to a purple county to a bright red one. I suffered the consequences of that. And that’s just the way it is,” Gill says. Gill says the state shortening the window for early voting and outlawing the mailing of pre-filled absentee request forms hurt voters.

“The legislature over a period of time made it very difficult for people to participate in the election by mail,” he says. He also says the integrity of the election process has been under attack. “It was unbelievable that I would get some of the phone calls and people accusing you of different things,” Gill says. “It really did do a lot of damage to the way that people look at elections.”

Gill says he wishes Scaff the best of luck as he looks forward to spending more time with family before figuring out what’s next.

(Creston, Iowa) – A collision Sunday evening between an SUV and a deer in Union County, resulted in the driver of the vehicle being transported to the hospital for treatment of unknown/possible injuries. According to the Union County Sheriff’s Office, 49-year-old Maria Kaye Dukes, of Afton, was driving a 2017 Nissan Murano eastbound on Highway 34 at around 5:30-p.m., when a deer came out of the ditch. When the SUV struck the animal, the vehicle’s airbags deployed.

Dukes complained of pain and possible injury. She was transported by ambulance to the Greater Regional Medical Center in Creston. Damage to her vehicle was estimated to be $10,000, or a total loss.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Red Oak Police, Monday, arrested 46-year-old Heidi Ann Divis, of Red Oak. She was taken into custody at around 5:40-p.m. on a charge of Theft in the 5th Degree (a simple misdemeanor). Divis was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Sheriff’s Office, has released a report on recent arrests and/or citations. On November 3rd, 29-year-old Matthew Jeffrey Le, of Urbandale, was arrested at around 9-a.m. in Greenfield following a traffic stop. Le was charged with Possession of Marijuana/1st offense. He was pulled over for failure to maintain lanes and a steady speed (30 mph in a 55 mph zone). He was released from the Adair County Jail a few hours later on a $1,000 cash or surety bond.

Later that day, 32-year-old Brittany Marie Weddington, of Omaha, was arrested by the Iowa State Patrol in Greenfield, after the Trooper saw her vehicle on the side of the road, with its flashers on, and a jack on the ground behind the vehicle. Upon further investigation, Weddington was arrested on a Pottawattamie County warrant for Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Marijuana. Her cash/surety bond was set at $2,000. A passenger in the vehicle, 33-year-old Andrew Michael Simmons, of Cedar Rapids, was arrested for Violation of a No Contact-Protective Order/Contempt of Court. He was released the following day on a $300 bond.

On November 4th, Greenfield Police cited 40-year-old Kristin Nicole Ladd, of Greenfield, for Public Intoxication. She was released with the citation, but at around 4:10-a.m. on November 5th, Ladd was arrested in Greenfield for Public Intoxication, two-counts of Theft in the 5th Degree, and Assault. The charges stem from the alleged theft of alcohol from the Casey’s Store in Fontanelle.

Ladd was arrested again on November 6th, in Greenfield, for Theft in the 5th Degree.  Her bond was set at $300.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic School Board will hold their annual organizational meeting and regular business meeting this Wednesday evening, at the High School Media Center. Their session begins at 5:30-p.m.  During the organizational portion of the meeting, the Board will elect a new President and Vice-President of the Board, and appoint the Board Secretary Treasurer.

In other business, the Atlantic School Board will act (as part of the Consent Agenda) to approve the resignation of Derek Knisely, Boys Assistant HS Soccer Coach, and numerous recommendations to hire (See the attached Agenda PDF, below). Action items on their agenda include:

• The Superintendent Contract with current Interim Superintendent Dr. Beth Johnsen.
• A Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) with the City of Atlantic, for a School Resource Officer (The Atlantic City Council previously approved the agreement during their meeting last week).
• A Snow removal bid, and
• Lawn Mower purchase.

The Board is expected to discuss District Enrollment Data and Staff BEDS (Basic Educational Data Survey) data.

_11132024 Public Agenda

(Radio Iowa) – The Wisconsin-based Jack Link’s company which makes beef jerky is planning to lay off 91 employees at its distribution facility in Laurens in northwest Iowa. K-C-R-G T-V reports the company will cut the jobs on January 24th. A company statement says that a restructuring of its operations resulted in a decision to downsize the facility in Laurens, and that affected employees will have the opportunity to apply for positions at Jack Link’s Underwood facility (in southwest Iowa). Workers at the plant received notice of the layoffs today (Monday, November 11).

Jack Links is headquartered in Minong, Wisconsin. The Jack Links location in Laurens will lay-off employees in the transportation and warehousing areas. State records show 57 people were laid off there in September 2022 and another 46 a year later.

Full statement from Jack Link’s:

(Radio Iowa) – The hospital in the southwest Iowa town of Greenfield is fully reopening today (Monday), nearly six months after being severely damaged in a tornado. Philicia Hancock, the hospital’s chief clinical officer, says major parts of the hospital are finally up and running, including the inpatient floor and the emergency room.

“The closest hospital for ER is about 20-25 minutes,” Hancock says, “and so that’s why we’ve been trying hard to get back open to be able to provide those emergency services that our patients really count on.” The E-F-4 tornado that tore through Greenfield last spring didn’t directly hit the Adair County Memorial Hospital, but its strong winds and flying debris caused enough damage that the hospital had to close. Hancock says the facility faced a long list of challenges to get it’s doors fully reopened.

“The whole construction process, making sure that we’re rebuilding to meet code, to meet our needs,” she says. “Being patient has been the biggest challenge, and we wanted to be open months ago, and that just wasn’t feasible.”

The May 21st tornado killed four people and injured at least 35.

(Radio Iowa) – Veterans Day Ceremonies across the state today (Monday) honored the men and women who served the country. Andrew Nelson, the chaplain of the 185th Air National Guard Unit in Sioux City was the master of ceremonies at an event at the Woodbury County Courthouse.

“We gather to recognize those still serving, to honor veterans and to show our appreciation for their sacrifice and for our continued freedom,” he says. Woodbury County Deputy Sheriff Zane Chwirka, a veteran of 21 years in the military was the keynote speaker. He told the story of meeting a veteran in a wheel chair at a Vikings game in Minnesota, and how he told the veteran he didn’t need to shake his hand fore his service. But the veteran said that wasn’t the case.

“You raise your right hand and took an oath to protect this country. Correct? You went overseas, correct? Yes, so what happened to me could have happened to you,” he says “So this vet was missing both legs and missing part of his right hand. So, seeing that so kind of comes surreal to us on the sacrifices that some of us have made, and what could have happened to any of us serving this great nation.” Chwirka says the injured veteran said he had considered taking his own life after being wounded.

“But then with one of his buddies that was there with him, talking about, don’t give the terrorists. And there’s some other more adult language that went with the satisfaction of knowing that you did that afterwards,” he says. “So he has a whole new outlook on life. And so we both agreed that each and every day is truly a gift and a blessing.”

Chwirka’s service included seven-and-a-half years in the Army National Guard, and then he switched to the Air Guard in Sioux City and retired as a Master Sergeant in 2022.

(Radio Iowa) – A Des Moines man is jailed who police say kidnapped his own daughter. Des Moines police were called to a house Sunday afternoon where a woman claimed the non-custodial father of her child had kicked in a door, threatened her with a machete, then forcibly took their four-year-old daughter. Minutes later, police spotted the suspect’s car, pulled him over and arrested him — though the child wasn’t with him.

The girl was located a short time later, unharmed, at the home of a relative of the suspect. Police say 36-year-old Duane VanDenHemel is charged with kidnapping, burglary and violation of a no contact order and is being held in the Polk County Jail.

(Radio Iowa) – Sioux City police say there’s been an increase in reports of scams involving online threats, and some people have fallen for them. Sergeant Tom Gill says they’ve had at least ten reports in the last several weeks. “Which means that that number is probably well above ten, because most people don’t report it for one reason or another, whether they’re embarrassed if they fell for the scam, which is probably why they don’t report it,” he says. Gill says the warning is the same for all types of scams, don’t fall to the pressure.

“Anytime you get a phone call somebody wanting you to give money over the phone or wire it through Western Union or put it on iTunes cards, it’s 100 percent a scam,” Gill says. “Don’t fall for it. A lot of times you’ll get text messages now saying that, hey, we’ve observed your social media activity, and we know you’ve been on all these different sites, and we’re going to make it public. Unless you pay us this money, don’t fall for it. It’s a scam.” Many scams are targeted at older people, but Gill says they are also now targeting young people as well.

“There’s so many different apps now, and it’s scary, especially for young kids, teenagers, they find out about these apps, and they’ll get on these apps, and then all of a sudden, next thing you know, they’re going to ask for a picture of them in the nude,” he says. “And sometimes those pictures get sent, and we advise never send a picture, especially a nude picture, to someone, because that never goes away. And then all of a sudden, they’ll try to blackmail that individual, saying we’re going to send this out to your family, your friends. We’re going to put it all over social media, unless you pay us X amount of money.”

Some of the scammers make vicious threats that include saying they are going to harm you. Gill says you should let police know if someone tries to scam you. “By all means, report this, because we want to know about the new scams that are going on and to alert the public not to fall for them,” Gill says. “But just understand, if you send money, whether you wire it through Western Union or pay for gift cards, you’re out that money.” Gill says report it even if you fall for the scam, because it may help prevent someone else from being a victim.