The Cass County Sheriff’s Office says no injuries were reported following a single-vehicle rollover accident Monday afternoon. The accident was reported to have occurred at around 12:25-p.m., on Tucson Road near 740^th Street. Officials say a 2002 Oldsmobile Alero owned and driven by 62-year old Michael Lee Hurd, of Clarinda, was traveling eastbound on Tucson Road, when Hurd lost control of the vehicle, which rolled into the north ditch. Damage to the vehicle is estimated at $5000.

National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW), April 20 – 27, 2013, is an annual observance to highlight the importance of protecting infants from vaccine-preventable diseases and celebrate the achievements of immunization programs and their partners in promoting healthy communities. Since 1994, NIIW has served as a call to action for parents, caregivers, and healthcare providers to ensure that infants are fully immunized against 14 vaccine-preventable diseases.

The Atlantic Medical Center is celebrating NIIW by providing $5 gift cards to Treasure Cove Gift Shop to the first 20 parents who bring their children ages 2 and under in for immunizations during the week of April 20 – 27. Babies under the age of 6 months are more likely to develop certain infectious diseases than older children, and are not yet protected by vaccines. Babies less than 6 months of age are too young to have received all the doses of vaccine that are needed to protect them from pertussis (whooping cough), flu (influenza) and other dangerous diseases that infants die from every year.

Health officials say it is important for children to receive ALL of the doses required in a vaccine series to be FULLY protected. Normal vaccines a baby/toddler receives in the first two years of life are as follows:  Dtap (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis);  HIB (Haemophilus Influenzae Type B);  Polio; Hepatitis B; Pneumococcal; Rotavirus;       Hepatitis A; MMR (measles, mumps, reubella) and Varicella (chickenpox).

Babies and children can receive up to 6 vaccinations at one time. For more information about infant immunizations, contact Jeri at Atlantic Medical Center, 712-243-3850.

w/ Ric Hanson

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Are you financially fit? Take the first step to finding out by attending a lunch and learn on Monday, April 22nd, at the Cass County Extension Office.  The class allows participants to do a quick assessment of their current financial status, and find resources to help them take a more active role in managing their personal finances.  Kate Olson, Cass County Extension Program Coordinator, says “April 22nd marks the beginning of ‘Money Smart Week’ with events all over the nation, so we wanted to do something locally to tie into that and encourage people to start thinking about the small things they can do, or changes they can make to improve their financial management.” Olson says they will “Start with a quick financial fitness quiz, so people can find out where they’re at,” and then “Look at some best practices and practical tips to help them get where they want to be.” 

The class is designed to be easy for people to attend over their lunch hour. It will start a few minutes after noon, and go for about 45 minutes, to allow attendees plenty of time to get back to work. There is no charge to attend, and people are encouraged to bring a sack lunch if they’d like to eat while participating in the class. 

There is no pre-registration required, and anyone who is interested is encouraged to show up on the 22^nd to join in! For more information, call the Cass County Extension Office in Atlantic at 712-243-1132 or visit them online at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass.

Trial is set to begin this (Tuesday) morning at 9:30 in Atlantic, in the case of a Marne man facing an Aggravated Misdemeanor charge of Animal Abuse in connection with the December 24th shooting of  a family dog. 56-year old Charles Collins Cutler also faces a Serious Misdemeanor charge of a Reckless Use of a Firearm in connection with the incident, which involved the shooting of a Colorado woman’s dog that strayed onto Collins’ property while it was playing. A separate hearing on the firearms charge will be held July 9th in Cass County District Court.

Cutler pleaded not guilty to both charges. His request for a change of venue, was denied.

Nearly 160 Iowans were registered to run in Monday’s Boston Marathon, where two bomb blasts killed two people and injured dozens more. A small contingent from western Iowa was among those who narrowly escaped being injured by the blasts. According to the Daily NonPareil, Kim Moore, from Treynor, was among several people waiting for a medal when she heard the first explosion. Moore, who had finished the Boston Marathon 10 minutes earlier, turned around to see a large plume of smoke and saw the impact as another explosion rocked the finish line of the prestigious race.

Council Bluffs native Mike McSorley finished about the same time as Moore. He was seated at a restaurant table with friends when he heard the news. Lory Van Tilburg of McClelland told the paper she let her family and friends on Facebook know she was safe, but that she missed the bomb by just minutes. Peter Crawford, of Red Oak, also ran in the Boston Marathon. Crawford, an engineer with JFSCO Engineering, was near the finish line when the bombs went off. He told local media representatives that he would have been caught up in the explosions, if his time had actually been quicker than it was.

Three brothers from Cedar Falls ran in the race. Joey, Daniel, and David Sevcik are members of the Iowa State Running Club and according to Joey, they left the finish line area about 10 minutes before the explosions. “Many of our guys heard an explosion…but didn’t know what it was,” Sevcik said. “We were somewhere between the 25th and 26th mile marker. We’re not exactly sure where.” Sevcik said his group only heard one of the explosions and didn’t know what was going on until they started receiving messages on their cell phones.

“We didn’t assume, you know, it was a bomb or thing anything like that. We were just kind of like, ‘Oh, what was that.’ And didn’t think anything of it until we got back into cell service and everybody’s cell phone started to go off and say, ‘Hey! Are you guys OK? Are you guys OK?’ And then that’s when we realized what exactly it was,” Sevcik said. “There were also, at that time all of a sudden, ambulances and fire trucks flying down every which way through the middle of Boston.” This was Sevcik’s sixth marathon and even with the chaotic nature at finish lines, Sevcik said he’d never been concerned for his safety.

“I’ve never felt unsafe at all. There was no reason to feel unsafe (Monday) even. It’s such a crowded area, especially at the finish line,” he said. “Thousands upon thousands of people cheering…so there’s no reason to feel anxious. It was just a completely packed area, so it’s kind of shocking.” The explosions happened about three hours after the winners crossed the finished line. Jeanine Penticoff of Cedar Rapids was about a half mile away from the finish line when officials stopped the race. “There were a lot of family members who were waiting at the finish line that were associated with the runners we were running alongside, so there was just a lot of worry and concern,” Penticoff said. It took Penticoff more than an hour to find her husband, as cell phone coverage was limited and roads had been closed off.

“You just never know what’s going to happen, because obviously these things can happen at any time, at any place,” Penticoff said. This was the first Boston Marathon for Penticoff, who’s the Director of the Energy Efficiency Department at Alliant Energy. Des Moines attorney Doug Gross got a phone call from his daughter, Eileen, shortly after the bomb blast, saying she was O.K.  “Our daughter, Molly, was running in the race. I think Molly missed it by about 10 minutes,” Gross says. “Eileen, my wife, and then our oldest son, Eric, who was with Eileen, were looking for Molly and they went right near that finish line and just minutes before it went off they were right by there. They heard it go off. They thought it was something big dropping out of a building is what they described it as and then they said it was mass confusion — and thank God they’re safe. They’re all safe.”

Molly Gross was part of a group running to raise money for “Best Buddies,” an organization that helps people with disabilities. “There was a special place where they met in a law firm and so they went there and they were locked down there for about an hour-and-a-half to two hours, until they were free to go back to their hotel and I just talked to them and they’re back at the hotel and they’re fine, so thank goodness they are,” Gross told Radio Iowa shortly before six o’clock Iowa time. Des Moines native Jeremey Hellickson, a pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays, was playing in Boston Monday afternoon. He knows the Gross family. Hellickson sent a text message to Mrs. Gross, checking to make sure the family was safe.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Federal regulators are planning to meet with the utility that owns the troubled Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant in Nebraska, but some of the discussion will be private because security information will be on the table. Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials said Monday that the April 22 meetings will focus on flood protection and security for the plant 20 miles north of Omaha.

Fort Calhoun has been shut down for more than two years. Initially, the plant went offline for routine refueling maintenance in 2011, but flooding along the Missouri River and a series of safety violations forced it to stay closed. The Omaha Public Power District has been addressing the problems, and officials say significant progress has been made. Regulators won’t allow the plant to restart unless they’re confident it’s safe.

438 high school seniors across Iowa will be honored Sunday, April 28, 2013, at the Eleventh Annual Governor’s Scholar Recognition Ceremony, held at Hy-Vee Hall in Des Moines starting at 1:00 p.m.

The Governor’s Office, the Iowa High School Athletic Association, and its title sponsor, the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, are presenting this recognition program.

The Honorable Governor Terry Branstad and Honorable Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds will host the event and address the audience of 2,500-plus. Iowa Farm Bureau President Craig Hill, Brett Nanninga, Superintendent at Tri-Center Community Schools, and chairperson of the Board of Control of the Iowa High School Athletic Association, and Tania Johnson, 2013 Iowa Teacher of the Year from Cedar Rapids, will welcome the students and their guests.

The seniors being honored were selected by their high schools as the highest academic achievers. Each student will receive a photo plaque of themselves with Governor Branstad and Lt. Governor Reynolds and a certificate to commemorate their achievement. Each student’s most influential teacher will also receive a certificate of appreciation.  A reception for the students, their parents, their most influential teachers, and other guests will follow the ceremony.

In addition to being recognized as the state’s brightest students, over 99 percent of the group participates in school activities, with approximately 80 percent participating in at least one interscholastic sport. More than 60 percent plan to pursue their post-secondary education in Iowa.

Among the local honorees:  Elizabeth Mulder of Adair-Casey, Kaelly Welsh of A-H-S-T, Scott Caslow of Atlantic, Marissa Haubrich of Audubon, Trevor McKee of CAM, Brendan McAllister of Coon Rapids-Bayard, Andrea Beck of Corning, Jacob Hartvigsen of Exira/EHK, Haley Scmidt of Griswold, Therese Frels of Guthrie Center, Adam Zaccone of Harlan, Jakob Croghan of IKM/Manning, Emily Dickinson of Logan-Magnolia, Hannah West of Missouri Valley, Julie Bricker of Nodaway Valley, Morgan James of Orient-Macksburg, Brenna Hafner of Panorama, Geoffrey Sellers of Red Oak, Rachel Faga of Riverside, Kara Allen of Stanton, Ryan Hempel of Treynor, Charles Peters of Tri-Center, Madicen Fanslau of Underwood, Jill Vanderhoof of Villisca, Lauren Sievers of Walnut and Alyssa Blum of Woodbine.

Click this link to view the entire list: Governor’s Scholar Award Winners