(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – Authorities in Council Bluffs need your help in locating “person of interest” in connection with a fatal shooting. Council Bluffs Police and EMS were called 1200 East Washington Street, at 3:42am this (Friday) morning, for a reported shooting. Upon arrival, they found a resident of the home, 24 year-old McKayla Glover, of Council Bluffs, with a single gunshot wound to her chest. Glover was taken by ambulance to the Emergency Department at Nebraska Medicine where she was pronounced deceased.

Council Bluffs police detectives are actively investigating the shooting, conducting interviews and processing the scene for physical evidence. At this time, no arrests have been made, but officials would like to locate and speak to 28-year-old Vaughn White. He’s described as being a black male, 6’3”, 250 lbs. White currently has an active arrest warrant for Felon in Possession of a Firearm.

Vaughn White

If you know he is, please contact either 9-1-1 or Council Bluffs CrimeStoppers at 712-328-STOP (7867).

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Atlantic Rising hosted a Trivia Night at the Cass County Community Center Friday, October 15th. The non-profit organization raised funds during the event, for the Christmas Box Program that supplies food boxes to nominated individuals and families throughout Cass County during the holidays. Eight teams participated in the fundraiser and the organization was able to raise $2,790 that will go toward The Christmas Box program this December.

Kelsey Beschorner, Atlantic Rising Social Chair, said “The event was even more successful than last year, and we are so appreciative of our community’s generosity and support towards this special project. There was a lot of excitement throughout the night about the event and program, and everyone had a great time.” Beschorner added, “The Defending Champions from 2019 won again this year. The winner of the 50/50 raffle took home $157.”

Teams were encouraged to create a theme and dress up and decorate their team table. There were several teams that took advantage of this opportunity, and the team theme winners had a Sesame Street theme, dressing up as the characters of Sesame Street and character themed snack platers. They were awarded AtlantiCash for their creativity. The night consisted of eight rounds with 10 questions each; each round had a theme and some double point questions. Emcees for the night were Ann and John McCurdy, who also put together all the categories and questions.

Atlantic Rising is looking forward to delivering Christmas Boxes Thursday, December 16th. Nominations for the boxes will be accepted beginning November 1st. For more information on Atlantic Rising or the Christmas Box Program, contact Kelsey Beschorner at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce at 712-243-3017 or visit www.atlanticiowa.com.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports two men were arrested on separate charges, Thursday afternoon. 67-year-old Robert Charles Carlson, of Omaha, was arrested at the Lancaster County, NE. Jail, on a Mills County warrant for Violation of Probation. Carlson was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail.

And, 24-year-old Devin Michael Ramirez, of Bellevue, NE., was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance. Bond was set at $1,000.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office report 36-year-old David Allen Coenen, of Lewis, was arrested Wednesday, on a Pottawattamie County warrant. The warrant was issued for Failure to Appear (in court). Coenen was transported to Cass County Jail and held, pending transport to Pottawattamie County.

And, on October 14th, Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to an accident on White Pole Road and 560th St., near Lewis.  Authorities says James Benjamin Overman, of Griswold, was driving a 1998 Chevy pickup was traveling west bound on White Pole, when an unknown vehicle, traveling eastbound, crossed the center line and struck the left side of Overman’s vehicle. The unknown vehicle left the scene and was not located.  No injuries were reported.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Cindy Axne says after fielding complaints from constituents waiting for answers from the Social Security Administration, she’s introduced a bill requiring more staff be assigned to answer phone calls. In-person appointments at local Social Security offices have been canceled during the pandemic and Axne says many Iowans cannot connect online for a virtual appointment. “What’s happened is our older Iowans have had to turn to the 1-800 number, the hotline that’s been set up, to talk to a live person,” Axne says, “but here’s where the rub is: folks in Iowa aren’t reaching these live people.”

Axne, a Democrat from West Des Moines, says she’s heard from constituents who’ve waited on hold for hours, but never reached a real person and instead waded through recorded messages to try to find answers. “What that means to me is that it’s really not a hotline then and so this needs to be fixed,” Axne says. The Social Security’s toll-free automated hotline is meant to connect callers with a real person who works in a nearby Social Security office, but Axne says that’s not happening.

Cindy Axne. (photo from conference call.)

Axne’s bill directs the Social Security Administration to assign more staff to answer phones Monday through Friday during regular business hours — 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. “My bill doesn’t ask taxpayers to spend an extra dime,” Axne says. “What it does is ask the Social Security Administration to be more effective and efficient.”

The Iowa Association of Area Agencies on Aging has endorsed Axne’s bill. Joe Sample, the association’s executive director, says many older adults, especially those in rural Iowa, may not have access to the internet. “Use of technology can, at times, be the very roadblock or barrier that prevents an older adult from getting what they need,” Sample says. “In 20 years, it might be that older adults will have access to affordable technology and navigating websites will be more comfortable, but that day is not today.”

Two other Democrats in the House are joining Axne’s call for more Social Security staff to answer the telephones. Congressman Tim Ryan is running for Ohio’s open U.S. Senate seat in 2022 and Congresswoman Val Demings is running to challenge Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio in 2022.