The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports an investigation into a disabled vehicle on Highway 34 at around 12:40-a.m. today (Wednesday), resulted in a felony drug arrest. Deputies found the vehicle broken down, in the 2900 block of Highway 34. Authorities say 40-year-old Austin Marie Schutt, of Creston, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance (PCS)/3rd offense, a Class-D Felony. Schutt also had multiple warrants out of Missouri for PCS, four counts of illegal possession of an item in a county facility, and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

She was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $15,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Former Iowa Congressman Steve King has published a book that names and blames some fellow Republicans for what King calls a massive conspiracy to end his political career. “Maybe some of the people at that upper echelon who might get their tail feathers singed a little bit in this book will reset themselves and go back to being the decent human beings I knew before they did this,” King says.

King, who is 72, says things “started to melt down” for him politically just before the 2018 election when the Wall Street Journal and others criticized him for meeting with members of a European political party associated with the neo-Nazi movement. In early 2019, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy said the G-O-P would not tolerate King’s remarks about white supremacy and King was removed from House Committees.

In the book, King accuses McCarthy of blocking steps that could have led to King regaining those committee assignments. “I just couldn’t believe there could be, I’ll say, that low a level of integrity at those high levels in office,” King says. Radio Iowa was unable to reach a spokesperson for McCarthy. King endorsed Ted Cruz before the 2016 Iowa Caucuses and King admits there was a political cost once Trump won, as Trump did not acknowledge King publicly in 2018 or when King faced a G-O-P Primary opponent in 2020.

“That’s part of the cancellation that came about and the governor was involved in some of that,” King says. “…She took Randy Feenstra by the hand and led him back to shake hands with President Trump.” A spokesman for Governor Reynolds declined to comment. Feenstra finished 10 points ahead of King in a five person G-O-P Primary and won the fourth congressional district last November with 62 percent of the vote. The title of the book is called “Walking Through the Fire” and King says it’s partly written so his eight grandchildren can read his own words rather than the 41 pages about him on Wikipedia.

“I’m very grateful to my staff and my family and my real friends. None of them left me through all of that — not a staff person, not a family member said: ‘You know dad, you’ve gone too far,’ or anything like that,” King says. “The real people in my life stuck together.” The book can be purchased online at SteveKing.com and King says his publisher will release it nationally in a few weeks. The book was published by a company co-founded by Oliver North, the former National Rifle Association president and T-V host who was involved in the Reagan Administration’s Iran-Contra Affair.

(Harlan, Iowa) – Officials with the Harlan Police Dept., Tuesday, reported two arrests from the past couple of weeks. On Oct. 13th, 24-year-old Connor Patric Green, of Harlan, was arrested on an active Harrison County warrant for Failure to Appear. And, on Oct. 6th, 50-year-old John Plumb, of Harlan, was arrested following a call for service. Plumb was transported to the Shelby County Jail where he was charged with willful injury.

There were also two  non-injury accidents that took place Oct. 10 and 14th.  On the 10th, a 2010 Ford Edge driven by Carley Seaman, of Harlan, was traveling south on Maple Road, when the SUV entered the ditch, jumped a field drive, and came to a rest at the embankment.

On the 14th, a 1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue driven by Sheila Mikkelsen, of Harlan, was traveling east in the 1300 block of Garfield Ave. While observing the vehicle, an officer observed it swerve off the roadway and strike two mailbox stands.

Atlantic, Iowa, October 15, 2021 – Rolling Hills Bank & Trust has been awarded a Top Workplaces 2021 honor by Iowa Top Workplaces Top Workplaces. The list is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by employee engagement technology partner Energage LLC. The anonymous survey uniquely measures 15 culture drivers that are critical to the success of any organization: including alignment, execution, and connection, just to name a few.

Heather Link, Vice President of Human Resources states, “We are very proud of this award because it is measured by our most valuable asset, our employees! There is no better feeling than knowing you are on the right track to having a great work culture. Being spread out across the state, this can be a challenging task but we are fortunate to have the teams we do that encourage and inspire each other. Our customers notice and we are honored that our employees believe that Rolling Hills Bank & Trust is a great place to work!”

(Walnut, Iowa) – The City Council in Walnut will hold a special meeting beginning at 5-p.m. Wed., Oct. 20th, at the Walnut Community Center. On their short agenda, is discussion with regard to Employee Health Insurance, possible approval of the a roof replacement for City Hall, and a Fire Hydrant Replacement Project.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa remains in the middle of the pack in a new report called The State of Mental Health in America, which ranks the states based on 15 mental health access and prevalence measures. Schroeder Stribling, president and C-E-O of Mental Health America, says Iowa places 23rd on the latest rankings.”Iowa has been staying generally the same,” Stribling says. “I think you’re in a strong position with that trend and of course, as is true for all states, you can continue to develop additional resources for people, especially as we get prepared for the current mental health crisis.”

The non-profit organization offers a free, anonymous, online mental health screening program which has seen exceptionally heavy use in the months since the pandemic struck our country. “We have had a more than 600-percent increase in the number of individuals using that screening program,” Stribling says. “Primarily, these are youth, ages 11 to 17, and they are looking to screen themselves chiefly for depression, anxiety, or thoughts of self-harm or suicide.” The report finds COVID-19 has brought greater morbidity and mortality, as well as disastrous effects on the nation’s mental health.

“One of the things that is true for some states and true for Iowa is that there’s a real difference between urban and rural areas,” she says, “and how they can address mental health concerns and what policies and programs they need in place to do so.” As an example, Stribling points to a recent University of Iowa study that found the rate of farmer suicides is three-and-a-half times higher than the general population. Despite all of the negatives, she says there are reasons to be optimistic about the future. Much like 9-1-1, a new three-digit National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is being created.

“There’s a new mental health crisis response system that is rolling out this year,” Stribling says. “All advocates, lawmakers, policymakers should be involved. It’s called 988. It’s been federally approved and it’s now up to the states to enact this legislation. That’s another thing that’s relevant for Iowa which has not yet enacted legislation on 988.” While Iowa ranked 23rd on the report this year, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Pennsylvania were the top three states, while Arizona, Idaho and Nevada ranked last.