(Atlantic) – The recent rains and the more moderate temperatures make this fall a great time for gardening projects. And, if you’re looking for late-season additions to your yard and garden, the Cass County Master Gardeners have just the event for you!  Their second annual Fall Plant Sale will be held Saturday, October 10th, at the Cass County Community Center, (805 W 10th Street, on the Cass County Fairgrounds).  The sale begins at 8 AM, and will be held in the front parking lot of the Community Center. Interested gardeners are encouraged to arrive early for best plant selection, as the annual spring and fall sales occasionally sell out before 10 AM.

The sale will be open to the public to purchase divided perennials suitable for fall planting. Plants already confirmed to be on the sale include hosta, spring-flowering bulbs, daylilies, perennial geranium, sedum, ornamental grasses, and Naked Lady bulbs. Additional plants will continue to be added to the sale, as well as possibly some garden tools and decor.

The Master Gardeners were unable to hold their annual Spring Plant Sale this year due to the COVID pandemic, so a large selection is anticipated as this will be the only opportunity to purchase from the group this year.  Due to the pandemic, several safety measures will be in place for this sale, including recommending the use of masks, spreading out sale items to allow for social distancing, a one-way traffic flow for shoppers and, if necessary, limiting the number of people shopping at any given time.  Hand sanitizer stations and options for drive-through pickup will also be available.

The Master Gardeners appreciate the great response to the group’s Bulb Sale, consisting of pre-orders for tulip and narcissus (daffodil) bulbs. As of the latest report, all of the tulip bulbs have been sold, while roughly half of the narcissus (daffodil) bulbs are still available.  Order forms and photos of the variety colors can be found at the Cass County Extension Office or on the Extension website at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/cass.  All pre-ordered bulbs will be available for pickup at the plant sale, and any remaining bulbs will be available for purchase that day. Bulbs will be sold in bags of 5 mixed colors for $5/bag. Pre-orders are still being taken, and are encouraged to guarantee availability of bulbs.

Cass County Master Gardeners will be bringing a variety of plants from their own gardens, as well as plants dug from gardens around the community, for this sale.  Community members are also welcome to donate plants to this event, and members may even help you dig! Please call in advance and make arrangements to drop off donated plants before the date of the plant sale.

For more information about these events and about Master Gardener activities in Cass County, please call the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132, or email Cass County Extension Director and Master Gardener Coordinator Kate Olson at keolson@iastate.edu.  In addition, you are invited to follow the Cass County Master Gardeners at their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CassCoMG to keep up with local events and tips for gardening!

Shelby County Election Commissioner Mark Maxwell reminds voters in his county and elsewhere, that:

• Iowa absentee ballots cannot be placed in the mail system until October 5th.
• In person absentee voting will be available at the Courthouse on October 5th.
• Many groups are sending out absentee ballot requests. The Shelby County Auditor’s office does not send out absentee ballot requests unless we are asked to by the voter.
• Many groups are sending out registration forms. The Auditor’s office in Shelby County does not send out unsolicited registration forms.
• Get your current voter registration information or track your absentee ballot at SOS.IOWA.GOV use the voter information tab or link.

Maxwell says “There are approximately 8,000 voters in Shelby County and over 2,200 have requested absentee ballots so far.  This election will break all absentee request records and ease election day crowds at the polls.  This puts much more labor into the election process before election day, this was the hope of my office, public health officials and voters to ease any congestion at the polls on election day November 3rd.”

Maxwell says “In your search bar type IOWA SOS BALLOTT this should bring up the information  needed to see the progress of your absentee request and ballot.”

(Radio Iowa) — Election officials say the most common mistake Iowans make when voting by mail is failing to sign the so-called “affidavit” envelope for the absentee ballot. It’s the OUTER envelope that’s used to MAIL the ballot, not the secrecy envelope that contains the ballot itself. Clinton County Auditor Eric Van Lancker is one of 99 county election officials who’re preparing for Iowans to vote in their office starting NEXT Monday and to start receiving hundreds of thousands of ballots through the mail.  “You come in or you fill out your ballot at home and then you put it an envelope,” he says, “and then it stays in that envelope until we count it on Election Day.”

On Friday, a panel of legislators gave county election officials permission to start opening the outer envelopes in which ballots are mailed on October 31st. Van Lancker says his office has already received about 11-thousand absentee ballot requests from Clinton County voters who asked for a ballot to be mailed to them. “For comparison, the most absentee ballots we’ve counted in my 12 years as county auditor was 12,469,” Van Lancker says. “…6000 of those were mailed and we’re already sitting on pretty much 11,000.”

As of last Friday, STATE election officials indicated nearly 600-thousand Iowans had submitted a request for an absentee ballot.

Officials with the Adair County Transfer Station report “Due to COVID and lack of employees,” the [Transfer Station] “will not be offering city recycling services until further notice.” (TFN). Recycling services will still be available on-site at the transfer station.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest late Sunday morning, of 45-year old Tracey Lynn Klahn, from Glenwood. Klahn was arrested on a warrant for Failure to Appear on a Driving While Barred, charge. Klahn was being held in the Mills County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Waterloo police say two people died of their injuries and another 10 were hurt when at least two people began shooting at each other inside a private club. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reported that police said Monday that the second person to die at a hospital this weekend was a woman from outside Waterloo. A 22-year-old Waterloo man also died at a hospital after being shot. No arrests have yet been made.

Police said the shooting occurred about 3:15 a.m. Saturday. Authorities estimated that about 100 people were at the club when gunfire erupted inside following a confrontation.

DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Corrections reports 27-year old Christopher Corey-Lance Hanson, who was convicted of Burglary 2nd Degree  and other crimes in Polk County, walked away from the Fort Des Moines Residential Facility without permission Sunday afternoon, and has not returned. Hanson is white, 6-feet 5-inches tall. He weighs about 388 pounds. He was admitted to the work release facility on August 28, 2020.

Christopher Hanson (IA DOC photo)

Persons with information on Hanson’s whereabouts should contact local police.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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The Creston Police Department reports two arrests from over the weekend. 23-year old Christopher Palmer, of Liberty, MO., and 46-year old Angela Wimber, of Afton, were arrested on separate charges Saturday, at 104 W. Taylor Street. Palmer was arrested at around 11:04-p.m., for Simple Assault. Wimber was arrested at around 1:18-p.m., for Disorderly Conduct. Both were released from the scene on a Summons to Appear.

And, a Creston man reported to Police late Saturday morning, that sometime between Sept. 21st and 24th, someone entered his vehicle, which was parked outside his residence in the 500 block of N. Cherry Street. A Springfield Arms semi-automatic .380 was stolen from inside the vehicle. The weapon was valued at $400.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:05-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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