(Radio Iowa) – Forecasters say drought conditions that spread across much of Iowa earlier this year will likely linger well into winter. Meteorologist Dennis Todey, director of the U-S-D-A’s Midwest Climate Hub — based in Ames, says it doesn’t appear there will be many chances to replenish moisture levels in the soil before things begin to freeze up.  “We had a very dry end of summer and end to fall,” Todey says. “It’s been great for harvest but not good for soil moisture recharge. By this point, it’s very unlikely we’ll get the soil moisture recharged to where we want it to be.”

Despite a warming trend in Iowa this week, Todey says winter will be here in a little over a month. “Our soils are going to go in pretty dry and when the cold does come, we will freeze up and we’re not going to have much chance to recharge soil moisture at that rate,” he says. The drier conditions typically mean a quicker start to the planting season in the new year. “When spring comes around and we do thaw and we want to get to ag activity, there’s a better chance of being able to get moving earlier,” Todey says.

“Downside is that we’ve got some fairly dry soils that we’re going to need to put some moisture in. That’s my bigger concern with this whole situation, these dry soils that we have going on into winter and into the early spring.” Todey says another danger with dry soils is that frost can get much deeper and cause damage to pipes and plants.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A 19-year-old Davenport man is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of a man last month. Sherral Jermaine Tolbert is charged in the Oct. 25 death of 19-year-old Lavonta Baker in Davenport. Police found Baker dead in a car after he had been shot several times.

Tolbert was served with the first-degree murder warrant Monday at the Scott County Jail, where he was being held for allegedly violating his probation on an earlier conviction. He had been sentenced in March to three years of supervised probation for numerous felony convictions.

An accident just before 7-a.m. Wednesday (Today) in Pottawattamie County, resulted in a woman from Harrison County to the hospital. The Iowa State Patrol reports 72-year old Lorene Clark, from Pisgah, was traveling south on I-29, when for reasons unknown, her pickup truck drove into the west ditch, struck a sign for mile marker 65, and then a tree in the ditch. The Ford F-150 caught fire and became fully engulfed in flames, which were extinguished by Crescent Fire Dept. personnel.

Clark was helped out of her vehicle by a passing motorist and an Iowa DOT Highway Helper, prior to the arrival of law enforcement and emergency personnel. She was transported by Crescent Rescue to the UNMC in Omaha. Authorities say she was wearing a seat belt. The accident remains under investigation. The State Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department.

The Atlantic Community School District Board of Education met Wednesday afternoon in the Middle School Library, and voted unanimously to extend the current district-imposed mandate with regard to face masks/facial coverings, until Dec. 10th. The previous mandate was set to expire on the 23rd of November. (The recorded meeting can be viewed HERE)

The Board will meet again on Dec. 9th to revisit the policy, which the Board agreed has reduced the need to quarantine students and staff, and cut down on the number of active cases of COVID-19. Superintendent Steve Barber said the first week the district was affected by a positive case was the week of September 24th. The was the high water mark for cases in the district.

From Oct. 1st through the 22nd, Barber said the cases ranged from 3-to 4 cases. Since then, it’s been from 1-to 4 each week on a Thursday. “We ranged from quarantined staff pre-face mandate (requirement), from 3-to 11, and quarantined students from 35-to 93. Since then,” he said, “our staff has ranged from 2-to 7 quarantined , and from 24-to 61 students quarantined. On the 29th of October, our county (Positivity rate) was 22.1%, and as of this (Wednesday) morning,” he said, “It was 18.8%.”

Barber said also, “There’s been cases where we’ve had a positive case, where masks have prevented quarantine of some students or staff for that matter, so that has happened.” The problem area is at Washington Elementary School where masks must be worn the most out of all district buildings, because there is no room to social distance like there is with other facilities. The Board was unable to come to a consensus on how to relax or improve upon those conditions. Face coverings are still required in all buildings where social distancing is not possible.

In discussion over the matter, Board member Josh McLaren expressed gratitude to teachers, staff and administrators for their efforts to contain and control the spread of the virus, because “What we’re doing is working” inside the schools. McLaren said he’s not in support of a mask mandate to go any further but “I do still hold the position that [The governor] hasn’t changed anything with regard to quarantine and those types of things. My belief is that I think we have to keep it going through this semester just because strictly based upon the quarantine.”

Board President Jenny Williams said she has a hard time wearing a mask and doesn’t have to wear one at work. She said she’s been opposed to a mask mandate from the beginning, but “Had to compromise because of all of the communication the Board was getting [from the public] via text, e-mail, walk-ins.” She said extending the mask mandate was “not an easy decision.”

Superintendent Barber said administrators will continue to try and find a better solution for the Washington School, in the interim between now and Dec. 9th.

City of Atlantic officials announced Wednesday afternoon that the city yard waste site is closed until further notice. The closure is due to the high winds in the area and word will be passed on as soon as the site reopens. They apologize for any inconvenience.

DYERSVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Police have charged the parents of a Dyersville toddler, saying the boy accidentally shot his mother with an unsecured gun he found in the family home. Police say 21-year-old Meriah Carlyle and 23-year-old Logan Keller have each been charged with child endangerment for leaving a loaded handgun on a bedside table on Nov. 4. Investigators say the 2-year-old found the gun, then accidentally shot his mother, who had to be flown to an Iowa City hospital for life-saving treatment. Police say in a criminal complaint that both parents were in the room with the child where the gun was, but didn’t notice the boy had picked up the gun until it fired.

**UPDATE: Montgomery County Authorities report Janice Sue Allen has been found safe and sound. They thank the public for their help.**

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office issued a Missing Person Alert for 74-year old Janice Sue Allen, of Stanton. She was driving a silver, 4-door 2020 Hyundai Sante Fe (SUV), with Iowa license plate number 158 ZNO. Her last known location was in the 100 block of Centennial Road, in Papillion, NE. She apparently got lost on her way from South Dakota to Stanton.

The vehicle is similar to the missing SUV

Anyone with information on her location is asked to call your local law enforcement agency or the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, at 712-623-5107.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Department reports three people were arrested Tuesday. 59-year-old Rodney Russell Smiley, of Logan, was arrested following a traffic stop on Highway 34. He faces charges that include Possession of a Controlled Substance and Failure to provide proof of financial liability (insurance). Bond was set at $1,000. And, 51-year old Julie Ann Wiggins, of Glenwood, was arrested following a traffic stop on Highway 34. She was charged with 2 counts Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Forgery. Bond was set at $12,000.

Tuesday morning, 41-year old Christina Mae Robbins, of Glenwood, was arrested at the Mills County Sheriff’s Office, on warrants for 2 counts of Probation Violation. Bond was set at $20,000.

(Radio Iowa) – The margin in Iowa’s undecided second congressional district race has changed, by three votes, after ballot recounting started yesterday (Tuesday) in Scott County. All 24 counties in the district will be recounting the nearly 400-thousand ballots cast in the contest over the next 10 days. As of now, Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks leads Democrat Rita Hart by 50 votes.

The recount in Johnson County started this (Wednesday) morning. It may take days for the three-member Recount Boards in some of the district’s larger counties to complete the process. The secretary of state will certify statewide election results on November 30th. The re-checked results in the second congressional district are due on the weekend after Thanksgiving.

The Red Oak Police Department and the Red Oak Volunteer Firefighters Assn., with the support and assistance of the following Dept. of public safety agencies, local businesses and organizations in Montgomery County, are once again going to be a distribution point for the Marine Toys for Tots program for Montgomery County. Those agencies involved include: Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency, Stanton Fire & Rescue, Villisca EMS Association, Villisca Fire Department, Grant Fire Department & First Responders, and Elliott Fire First Responders, Fareway, Montgomery County YMCA, Eagle’s Aerie #2715, Bucksnort Restaurant, SWIA Squadron of Heroes, Red Oak Community Schools, Cubby’s, HyVee, Orscheln’s, Hardware Hank. The goal, is to see to it that every child, which is registered in Montgomery County, is able to have at least one new toy for Christmas this year.

Registration dates: Now until Dec. 1st.

• A toy drop off/pre-registration day is set for November 30th, 2020 at Fareway parking lot in Red Oak, from 5PM-7PM with Santa and the Gammell lighted fire truck!
• December 1st, 2020 is the main sign up day. It will be held at the Bucksnort Restaurant, 322 E. Coolbaugh in Red Oak – from 2 until 4 P.M. BOTH EVENTS WILL BE MANDATORY MASK EVENTS.
• At Fareway for the toy drop off, you may drive thru; to see Santa on the fire truck please practice social distancing rules and sign ups need to be contactless so please have child’s birth certificate or medical card ready to display to the officers in charge.
• The main sign-up at Bucksnort will be 1 individual per time, NO Groups or multiples registering together, this will be contactless also – please have documents ready to show. If you are unable to make it on the listed dates, contact ROPD Chief Justin Rhamy and he will assist you in figuring out other means of getting you signed up.
• No matter how you register, whether online, or in person, the necessary information will need to be provided for each child you want to register, and then go through the screening process. After Dec 1st it will have to be done online, through the website. However, delivery of the toys, cannot be guaranteed after that time. This is because of time needed to confirm the details of the necessary registration process, and time available to the person at the local distribution site to follow up.
• The projected toy delivery date will be set for December 21st, 2020.

A parent, guardian, or grandparents are the only ones allowed to sign up a child. There is some information that needs to be brought in with the person registering the child when they come to register. If they can bring a copy of the child’s birth certificate, that works the best. Child’s full name as it appears on the birth certificate, Date of Birth, parent’s names and a telephone number of the person registering the child.

Toys are divided into three age groups with a maximum age of 14.

0-3 Non gender specific

4-8 Male/Female

9-14 Male/Female

DONATIONS: Fareway, Montgomery County YMCA, Cubby’s, The Bucksnort, Hardware Hank, Orscheln’s, HyVee and the Red Oak Police Department, are also a local drop off point for toys, and the toys must be a new unwrapped toy. Any person having questions in regards to the Toys for Tots program are encouraged to contact Chief Justin Rhamy of the Red Oak Police Department at 712-623-6500.