The 18th Annual Cass County Relay for Life was a big hit on Friday night at the Atlantic High School Track.  A large crowd gathered to celebrate survivors, remember those they have lost, and fight back against cancer on what turned out to be a beautiful night in Atlantic.

Relay day was kicked off with a tractor ride that included 37 tractors that left from the Cass County Fairgrounds at 9:00am and returned in the afternoon to Sunnyside Park.  The Windbags and UCC Riders Motorcyle team had another great ride as well that started in the noon hour at the Atlantic City Park and wound down at the Survivors Dinner at the High School.

The Survivor dinner was held at 5:00pm at the Atlantic High School Commons with a meal provided by Atlantic Hy-Vee.  That meal was followed by the opening ceremonies on the track and the survivors lap honoring all those that have won or are battling their fight against cancer.

The event featured a wide variety of entertainment, food, games, and fun.  Entertainment was provided by Sheltered Reality drumline, Zumba with Allison Knox-Westmeyer, and performances by Villa Dance Students. Food was available from the Atlantic Kiwanis, Troublesome Creek BBQ, and cotton candy from the Lewis Life Preservers team.  Kids games were provided by National Honor Society students and a bounce house was available courtesy of the Nishna Valley Family YMCA.

Fundraising was a huge success with end of the night totals at $71,958.37 raised with more funds still expected to come in.  The Relay for Life Committee would like to thank everyone who helped make Relay 2016 a great success in Cass County.

The Chairpersons for the Cass and Audubon County Community Foundations, both  countywide community foundations, have announced that the fall grant program is now beginning for non-profit organizations in the separate, respective counties.  The deadline to apply for funds through the online grant application process is September 1st.  In Cass County, $27,800 was allocated for the fall grant cycle. In Audubon County, $39,000 is available.

Of the Cass County funds, $2,500 is from the Griswold Community Development Endowed Fund, and $500 is from the Triumph Endowed Fund for Cass County. Of the funds available in Audubon County, approximately $2,000 comes from the Leon and Iva Milliman Endowed Fund for the Exira area, $2,500 is from the Charles T. and Kathleen K. Manatt Endowed Fund, $650 is from the Audubon State Bank/Stephen Garst Endowed Fund, $1,000 is for the City of Audubon from the Audubon Masonic Association Endowed Fund, $450 is for the City of Audubon from the Fred and Evelyn Nissen Endowed Fund for Audubon, and $450 is for the City of Audubon from the Merle and Norma Petersen Endowed Fund.

In both counties, Foundation grant dollars will be awarded for a single year. The mission of the Community Foundation grants and programs, is to participate in funding community betterment projects and nonprofit organizations who have similar objectives.  The goals are to improve the quality of life in the county by supporting needs that are not being met in the areas of civic, cultural, health, education and social service.  The objective is to fund projects that will have a permanent impact for the counties that people can take advantage of for many years.

Only organizations providing services in Cass County or Audubon County are eligible (in their respective counties, only).  They must be able to demonstrate broad community/county support and supply a copy of their 501(c)(3) IRS determination letter.  Requests for general operational funds will not be considered.  The mission is to provide funds to those nonprofit and governmental agencies that are involved in community betterment through their organizations.

After July 15^th, application procedures and grant guidelines will be available online at www.iowacommunityfoundations.org/casscef (for Cass County) or www.iowacommunityfoundations.org/auduboncef (for Audubon County).   Click on the Grant Information tab or contact any board member for additional information.  Detailed instructions are provided in a downloadable form, as well as a link to the online application.  Only online applications will be considered.

Community Foundations in Southwest Iowa are particularly attractive charities because donations to these funds may be eligible for a 25% Endow Iowa Tax Credit. Contact Dennis Nissen or Denise Cardos at 800-794-3458 with grant application specific questions.   All completed applications will be considered at the October board meeting with notification of results the end of October.

Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy Josh McLaren told KJAN News late Friday night, that one person was in custody at the Cass County Jail, charged with Domestic Abuse Assault, following an incident that took place a few hours earlier, in Massena.

McLaren said at around 8:02-p.m., Cass County Communications received a call from the Des Moines Police Department, with regard to a domestic situation in Massena. Shortly thereafter, the Comm Center received a 9-1-1 call from Massena. Dispatchers were able to ping the cell phone to determine a general area where the incident took place. McLaren and Deputy Ryan Johnson responded. Eventually, the residents were contacted.

An adult male and adult female came out of a residence. The female was distraught, and advised an altercation had taken place with her boyfriend. At that time, the boyfriend was inside the home, with a minor child. The deputies went inside the home and located the child and gave the child to its mother. They then repeatedly tried to make contact with the boyfriend, but were unable to do so.

The Communications Center advised deputies the subject might be armed, therefore the deputies left the home and requested assistance from other law enforcement officers. Deputies from Adair, Adams, Montgomery, Pottawattamie, and Shelby Counties, along with the Iowa State Patrol, all responded to the scene and set up a perimeter. MidWest MedAir was also notified and were enroute in case they were needed, but they were subsequently cancelled.

The male subject was seen by a family member going to an apartment in Massena, but a search revealed he was not there. He was later seen traveling on foot toward the Massena Sale Barn, and while the search efforts were concentrated at the area, a short time later, it was learned the subject was inside another residence occupied by a female. The deputies arrived and took the man into custody without incident a little after 10-p.m. He was unarmed.

A weapon was recovered after from the original residence once the scene was secured. The unidentified man was brought to the Cass County Jail. Additional charges are possible. Authorities utilized the Cass County Wireless Emergency Notification System (WENS) to notify residents in Massena of the situation.

If you are not signed up for WENS, go to the KJAN.com home page and click on the link.

THE ALL CLEAR has been given in Massena. Authorities thank you for your cooperation. The subject being sought by authorities in Massena, has been “detained.” The incident which lead officials to urge residents in the community to lock their doors appears to be under control. Again, no further details are available, other than they were looking for a man who reportedly had a gun and was on foot.

(Update 10:05-p.m.: THE ALL CLEAR has been given in Massena. The subject being sought by authorities in Massena, has been “detained.” The incident which lead officials to urge residents in the community to lock their doors appears to be under control. Again, no further details are available, other than they were looking for a man who reportedly had a gun and was on foot. Authorities thank you for your cooperation.)

Numerous local law enforcement agencies are in Massena this evening searching for a man with a gun. The subject was described as wearing blue jeans and a light colored shirt. The Cass County Emergency Management Agency put out a message to residents in the area to “Please remain inside your home and lock the doors.”

The are trying to track the subject, who was last seen leaving an apartment and on foot. We will update you when more becomes known.

The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs has awarded 119 grants totaling more than one-point-two million dollars for projects in 40 communities. Spokesman Michael Morain says the grants are given in several categories with the goal strengthening the quality of life and cultural vitality of Iowa.

Morain says “There are grants for individual artists, we have a handful of Iowa artist fellowships that we hand out every year. There are grants for specific art projects.” There are also grants for operating support and stability. “To help fund some of those organizations and nonprofits that need help just with day-to-day operations. The stuff that isn’t as easy to raise money for, just the day-to-day stuff that is harder to build a campaign around,” Morain says. He says a panel of experts reviews each grant application.

The panels he says, are “really picky” and it can sometimes take someone two or three applications to refine their plan so that when they do get a grant they can make the most of it. The new Des Moines Jazz Festival at the Des Moines Social Club won a 10-thousand dollar grant. Another grant was awarded to a project in Dubuque.

Mural artist Jordan Weber won a grant for an individual project. “He’s from Des Moines, but he partnered with Creston. So, he’ll be doing a mural in a visible spot in downtown Creston,” Morain explains.

He says the hope for some of these grants is that they serve as seed money for projects. Morain says a good past example is artist Rose Francis, who won a grant to do portraits of Maquoketa residents. “Just from that little boost, it turned into this huge, huge community project where she ended up with 180 portraits of Maquoketans. And that collection of portraits traveled to Washington, D-C, it was displayed at the national portrait gallery,” Morain says.

“Eventually the Figge Museum in Davenport bought the whole collection, and right now they have loaned it to the State Historical Museum so you can see it here on display.”

(Radio Iowa)

The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office reports a Carroll County man was arrested following an investigation into a burglary that took place, Wednesday. 46-year old Carey Lee Huffman, of Carroll, faces charges that include Burglary in the 3rd degree and Criminal Mischief in the 2nd degree.

Officials say employees at Sparky’s One Stop in Bayard, arrived at work to discover several ceiling tiles had been broken out, as if someone was climbing around in the ceiling. Surveillance video revealed a man entered the store at around 9:30-p.m. Tuesday. He entered through the restroom and climbed up through a false ceiling, where he waited for the store to close before committing a burglary.

The investigation involved a search warrant being executed at a residence in Bayard, where Huffman was staying.

A two vehicle accident was reported Friday morning at 8:03am at the intersection of 2nd Street and East Prospect Street in Red Oak.

Officers determined that a 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan owned by Nishna Productions Inc. and driven by 60-year-old Edward Eugene Guyer of Red Oak was traveling north on 2nd Street through the intersection with East Prospect Street when it was struck by a 2003 Chevy Silverado owned and operated by 22-year-old Logan Samuel Cashatt of Red Oak.  No injuries were declared at the time of the accident.

Cashatt was cited for Failure to Obey Yield Sign or Yield Right of Way.  The van sustained $6,000 damage and the Silverado received around $3,000 damage.

The Red Oak Fire Department and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office assisted the Red Oak Police at the scene.

A vehicle malfunction is believed to be to blame for a car backing into a rental home in Red Oak on Friday.  At 10:40am officers were called to the corner of East Coolbaugh Street and Towle Street for that accident.  Upon arrival officers found a 1993 Chevy Lumina owned by 96-year-old Maxine Louise Cleveland resting against the foundation of the home located at 1100 E Coolbaugh Street.

Ms. Cleveland told police that she had returned home and parked her car in the garage and took the keys out and was leaving the vehicle when she realized it was still running. She then got back in the car and the vehicle popped into reverse and began backing down her driveway. The door was still open and struck the side of her house and a sidewalk railing.  The car kept backing and crossed over East Coolbaugh Street and into the yard at 1100 East Coolbaugh Street and struck the foundation of the home.  Cleveland said she attempted to brake but the brakes failed.  The vehicle was still running when officers arrived and they were unable to get the ignition to turn off.  The malfunction is believed to have caused the accident.

Damage to the Chevy was $1,5000 and damage to the rental home owned by Sherry Bourlon of B&B Rentals was approximately $4,000.  No injuries were reported.

Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources said Friday, the City of Anita has received a Water Quality Improvement Loan amounting to $1.6-million dollars for drinking water source and treatment improvements. Anita, along with 22 other Iowa communities will be able to move water quality projects forward with the support of a combined total of more than $40.4 million in low-cost water quality loans.

The City of Mt. Ayr, in Ringgold County, received $900,000 for sewer treatment improvements. And, the City of Walnut, in Pottawattamie County, received $170,000 for Drinking Water – Planning & Design.

The financing is made available through Construction and Planning & Design Loans through the State Revolving Fund. Construction Loans are a low-cost construction financing option available for Iowa cities and municipalities for water quality initiatives. Planning & Design Loans are zero percent loans that assist with the first-phase of project expenses.

The Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources jointly administer the State Revolving Fund in Iowa. IFA Executive Director Dave Jamison says “The Iowa Finance Authority is committed to enhancing the quality of life for Iowans and one way we do this is by providing communities with access to affordably maintain and update water systems. The State Revolving Fund provided low-cost financing for water quality infrastructure improvements benefiting one million Iowans in last fiscal year alone.”

Iowa DNR Director Chuck Gipp says “The State Revolving Fund plays a vital role in advancing water quality improvements throughout Iowa. The recent awardees join more than 500 other Iowa cities in recognizing the State Revolving Fund as their best choice for financing of their water quality initiatives.”

The State Revolving Fund has awarded Iowa communities and municipalities with more than $2.5 billion in Construction Loans and nearly $150 million through Planning & Design Loans since the program’s inception. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides annual capitalization grants to states. Leveraged bonds and loan repayments expand the reach of the federal investment. More than $3 in assistance has been leveraged for Iowa water quality projects for every $1 of federal funds.