The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports two arrests. On May 14th, 34-year-old Reciever Berdon, of Atlantic, was arrested on a charge of OWI 1^st offense.  Berdon was transported to Cass County Jail and was later released on his ow recognizance.

And, on May 17th, Cass County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 37-year-old Ryan Joel Castle, of Griswold, on two Cass County warrants for probation violations.   Castle was transported from the Pottawattamie County Jail to the Cass County Jail where he is being held on $40,000 bond.

“All criminal charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in the court of law.”

(Radio Iowa) – The Republican-led Iowa legislature passed a second round of election law changes this week, including limits on who can take someone else’s absentee ballot to the county auditor’s office. Senator Roby Smith, a Republican from Bettendorf, says there are all sorts of security provisions once an absentee ballot reaches a county auditor’s office, but without these changes, anyone can grab someone’s absentee ballot and claim they’ll deliver it.

“It was treated like a Kleenex. There’s no security when someone can knock on your door. ‘Oh, yeah, I’ll return your ballot,'” Smith says. “You don’t know who it is. They can open it up. They change the vote. They can throw it away. They could shred it.” Family members may deliver a relative’s absentee ballot and any registered voter in Iowa can help two blind or disabled voters deliver their absentee ballot to the county auditor’s office.

Political parties, unions and campaigns cannot have paid representatives or volunteers collect absentee ballots. Senator Pam Jochum of Dubuque and all the Democrats present Wednesday opposed the bill. “One more nail in democracy’s coffin,” Jochum said. “You’ve been working overtime, pal…to make sure you are creating an obstacle course for Iowa’s voters.” Senator James Carlin, a Republican from Sioux City, says the FEDERAL election law congress has proposed is designed to facilitate fraud and Iowa needs strong state rules.

“I like knowing that the people who are voting are who they say they are,” Carlin said, “and my trust issue, whatever it is, has really been triggered since Election Day.” Senator Tony Bisignano, a Democrat from Des Moines, says Republicans are using former President Trump’s claims of a rigged election as their guide for this year’s election-related bills. “What you’re doing is all based on a premise of a lie,” Bisignano said. “It’s a big lie.”

The election bill Republicans approved on the 2021 legislative session’s final day covers a wide range of issues. It stipulates 17-year-olds who’ve registered to vote because they’ll be 18 by Election Day are not to be removed when voters are cut from registration lists if they haven’t cast a ballot in the last General Election. That problem cropped up as a result of the election law passed earlier in the legislative session.

Creston police report the arrest of John Antonio Medina, 35, of Waterloo, Iowa at 1:48 pm on May 20, 2021, on a charge of Theft 5th.

Medina was cited and released on a Promise to Appear

The Trevor Frederickson Memorial Fund donated $500 to The Friends of Lake Anita for their free fishing clinic which will be held on Saturday, June 5^th at Lake Anita State Park.  This is a wonderful opportunity to spend time as a family fishing and enjoying the great outdoors at one of Iowa’s beautiful state parks.  Trevor loved to fish and this donation fits our mission statement perfectly.

The fund is in full swing getting ready for their 13^th Annual TFred Memorial Golf Tournament which will be held on Saturday, August 14^th at Nishna Hills Golf Club in Atlantic.  Please contact Melanie Petty at 249-3696 if you would like reserve a spot for a team, donate to our silent auction or become a hole sponsor.  All donations are given back to the community Trevor loved.  Since Trevor’s passing we have been blessed to give back over $250,000 and we look forward to giving back for many more years.

Today, Governor Kim Reynolds signed a proclamation that eases transport for crews and drivers hauling motor fuels.

The proclamation temporarily suspends regulatory provisions of Iowa law pertaining to hours of service for crews and drivers hauling motor fuels, including gasoline, diesel #1, diesel #2, ethanol and biodiesel. The proclamation also temporarily provisions of Iowa law pertaining to oversize and overweight loads of fuel. Increased demand, along with above average wait times at petroleum product terminals, along with ripple effects of the Colonial Pipeline shutdown, have created challenges to timely access of these fuels.

While some states across the country are experiencing shortages, the state of Iowa wants to proactively take steps to maintain supply. The proclamation is effective immediately and expires on June 19, 2021 at 11:59 pm.