(Exira) The 159th annual Exira Fourth of July Celebration takes place now through Sunday. The theme of this year’s events is “Reflections. Celebrating like it’s 1924.” You can find the full slate of events in this story on the news page at kjan.com, or on the Exira Community Club’s Facebook page. Greg & Char Bintner, who have been parade announcers for 32-years, are the Grand Marshals for the Exira July 4th parade on Thursday. Greg reflected on how their love of the parade began.

He says the parade is a great way to see friends you may not have seen in a while.

Char Bintner says the Exira Community Club is young and active, and have made the event exciting for the community, and are set on keeping it going. Greg agrees.

The Parade starts at 10:30 a.m., Thursday. There’s also a Bags Tournament, Thursday, along with a Kid’s Tractor Pull, and the Grand River Rodeo at Kickapoo Park, beginning at 6:30 p.m. The Fireworks Display will begin at dusk at the Spartan Football Field.

There’s also a great variety of yummy food and treats.

The holiday festivities – which continue on Friday and Saturday – includes amusement rides. The events conclude Sunday with a church service at the Exira City Park, and Alumni Coffee at 2:00 p.m.

(Radio Iowa) – State Fire Marshal Dan Wood says if you plan to shoot off fireworks this holiday, take some time to plan out what you are doing to avoid any problems.

“It’s still a good idea to have that bucket of water or a hose nearby in case you have an accidental flare up of dry grass,” he says. Even with the rain we’ve had lately they’re still dry grass.” Wood says for the fireworks or bottle rockets that shoot into the air, make sure they are going to land somewhere that is safe.

“If they get near gutter on your roof and you have you know leaves up there or whatever, that can that can start a fire and be bad news,” he says. There is a large variety of fireworks available in the state with some elaborate devices that do different things. Wood says you should know what is coming before lighting the fuse. “It is always a good idea to read those instructions and make sure they are consumer fireworks. There are some fireworks out there that for whatever reason, get sold or get somehow acquired and are not consumer fireworks,” Wood says. “To be safe make sure you’re shooting consumer fireworks and leave the commercial fireworks to the professionals.”

It is legal to buy fireworks in Iowa, but local governments are allowed to ban them. Wood says to be sure and check your local regulations before shooting off any fireworks.

(Radio Iowa) – A recent poll found nearly half of Iowans or those close to them experienced a serious mental health issue at least once in recent years. The Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll also showed 57-percent of those surveyed say it’s difficult to access competent mental health treatment. Christie Harris, a wellness education specialist at Gundersen Health, says mental and physical health are both vital to our lives, but they often aren’t perceived of as equals.

“Like if we had a broken arm, we would share that story with somebody and we would talk about why we went to the doctor and this is what they did,” Harris says, “but when we have mental health, we just don’t seem to be as open about that. Sometimes, that can be the barrier between somebody feeling like they truly are supported.” While there are improvements and strides being made, Harris says stigmas about mental health still exist, and some people hesitate to talk about it freely.

“Mental health is mental health. Physical health is physical health. They both affect each other and they’re both really important,” Harris says. “It would be really healthy for just about everybody to see someone regarding their mental health even if it was just for a little tune up and I think that’s where we’re lagging a bit.” Courage is needed to take the next step and seek mental health treatment, Harris says, and it’s a tremendous help if those we’re close to are open and supportive.

“As human beings and friends and family members, we could maybe be more comfortable and confident in having conversations with people that we love and that we care about, to check in on them more frequently,” Harris says. “I think that is definitely getting better, but we still have a ways to go with that.” While it’s normal to be a little nervous if you’ve never had mental health treatment, she says there has to be a leap of faith to try it in order to begin the healing process.

Gundersen Health System has clinics in Calmar, Decorah, Fayette, Lansing, Postville and Waukon, and a hospital in West Union.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A man from Red Oak was arrested Tuesday evening on a Pottawattamie County warrant. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports 21-year-old Braden Alan Gray was arrested at around 8-p.m. in the 1800 block of E. Summit Street, in Red Oak. He was wanted on a Pott. County warrant for Violation of Probation. Gray was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

ANKENY, Iowa [KCCI-TV] — An Ankeny firefighter faces first-degree theft charges for allegedly embezzling more than $72,000 from the Ankeny Professional Firefighters Local 4814 union. According to court documents, Zach Farrell was the union’s treasurer from 2020 to May 2024. A month later, in June, an investigation began.

The City of Ankeny says Farrell is a member of the Ankeny Fire Department and he is currently on administrative leave. The investigation started mid-June when union leaders reported a theft.

According to court records, union leaders say Farrell began acting “weird” a few months ago, when they were considering moving the union’s bank accounts from one bank to another. A search warrant shows the leaders realized Farrell was the only person with access to the accounts and despite calling him to gain access, those calls were not returned.

However, court records show the union leaders did eventually gain access to the accounts, looked through bank statements from the last five years, and saw transactions that were not related to the union: payments to personal credit cards, MidAmerican Energy bills, and cash withdrawals in Farrell’s name.

According to a criminal complaint, Farrell did admit to investigators that he used union funds to make “personal expenditures” not related to the union.

(UPDATE: Officials with the Ottumwa Community School District identified the 8-year-old boy who died Tuesday after being hit by a truck. Jaxxon Cain had just finished second grade at Douma Elementary School in Ottumwa, the school district posted on Facebook.)

(Ottumwa, Iowa) — An accident Tuesday afternoon in southeast Iowa claimed the life of a child from Ottumwa. The Iowa State Patrol says the 8-year-old died after being accidentally backed over by a pickup truck.  The incident happened shortly before 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, in the east alley of the 200 block of North Hancock and Dewey Street in Ottumwa.

The unidentified child was riding a bicycle in an alley, and was in the pickup truck driver’s blind spot, when the accident occurred.

No charges have been filed and the incident remains under investigation by the Ottumwa Police Department and Iowa State Patrol.

(Fort Dodge, Iowa) – A crash late Tuesday night in Fort Dodge resulted in the death of one teenager and injuries to two others. The Iowa State Patrol reports the crash happened at around 11-p.m. in Loomis Park. A car driven by 16-year-old Leah Claire Lynch, of Ft. Dodge, was traveling through the park when the vehicle went out of control and struck a tree. Despite having worn her seat belt, Leah Lynch died at the scene.

Her passengers, 16-year-old Amyrra Marie Lumsden and 16-year-old Jessie Bibi Leyja, both of Ft. Dodge, were injured in the crash. Lumsden was flown by Life Flight to Mercy One in Des Moines. Leyja was treated at the scene and released. Both teens were wearing their seat belts.

The crash remains under investigation. The Patrol was assisted at the crash site by the Webster County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Dodge Police and EMS.