(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Creston Police Department report five recent arrests:

At around 9:30-p.m. Sunday (7/2), 46-year-old William Peter Fargo, of Creston, was arrested at the Creston/Union County Law Enforcement Center (LEC). Fargo was charged with Assault Causing Bodily Injury or Mental Illness, No Intent. He was transported to the Union County Jail and later released on $1,000 bond; and, 21-year-old Austin Zachary Bloyd, of Creston, was arrested at the Creston/Union County LEC at around 7:30-p.m., Sunday. Bloyd was charged with Criminal Mischief 5th-Damage Under $300. He was cited and released.

There were two separate arrests Saturday, in Creston. At around 6-a.m., 34-year-old Maria Guadalupe Rodriguez, of Creston, was arrested in the 100 Block New York Ave., for OWI/1st Offense. Rodriguez was transported to the Union County Jail then onto the Adams County Jail, where she was released on a $1,000 cash or surety bond; and, at around 7:30-p.m. Saturday, 44-year-old Carrie Nawacy Pendegraft, of Creston, was arrested at the intersection of Adams and Elm Streets, in Creston. She was also charged with OWI 1st Offense. Pendegraft was transported to the Union County Jail then onto the Adams County Jail. Pendegraft was later released on OR.

And, Friday morning, 32-year-old Blake Robert Lacina, of Thayer, was arrested at Hanson Fitness Center in Creston. Lacina was charged with Violation of No Contact/Protective Order. Lacina was taken to the Union County Jail and released on his Own Recognizance.

(Cass County, Iowa) – Atlantic and Massena will host mobile food pantries on Wednesday, July 12th. A mobile pantry is a traveling food pantry that delivers food directly to families in need for a one-day distribution. People from surrounding towns and communities are welcome. Mobile food pantries are available free of charge. Anyone in need is welcome, and no documentation is required. Each car can take food for up to two households at a time. Both Atlantic and Massena will be distributing the same food products. If supplies run low in Massena, families will be directed to Atlantic. Full details about the July 12 Mobile Pantries, as well as dates for upcoming mobile pantries in 2023 are shown below:

July 12 Mobile Food Pantries:

• Atlantic: Atlantic High School front parking lot, from 4-6 p.m. Enter from 14^th Street and follow signs. Questions, call 712-243-1132.
• Massena: Southwest Iowa Egg, 74877 Clark Avenue, Massena, Iowa – Enter from the west and drive across the scale for pick up.  Time:  4:30-5:00 p.m.

Upcoming Atlantic 2023 Mobile Food Pantries

Please note: Atlantic 2023 Mobile Food Pantries are being held at different locations during the school year (Cass County Community Center) and summer months (Atlantic High School).

Time: 4-6 p.m.

• Atlantic High School (1201 E. 14^th St. Atlantic, IA 50022): August 9
• Cass County Community Center (805 W. 10^th St., Atlantic, IA 50022): October 11

Upcoming Massena 2023 Mobile Food Pantries

Where: Southwest Iowa Egg Coop (74877 Clarke Ave. Massena, IA 50853)

Remaining 2023 Dates: August 9, October 11 (NOTE: Registration may be required by the Monday prior to distribution for these pantries. More information will be released before the pantries and posted on the Cass County Local Food Policy Council’s Facebook page listed below.)

 Box pick-up time: 4:30-5:00 p.m.

Mobile pantry dates, times, and locations are subject to change. For the latest information on mobile pantries in Anita and Atlantic, visit https://foodbankheartland.org/food-resources/find-food/. For the latest information on Massena pantries, call (712) 779-3447. For information on upcoming events and local food, farmers markets, and food access activities, follow the Cass County Local Food Policy Council’s Facebook page @CassCountyLocalFood.

(Radio Iowa) – As more Iowans search for remote employment opportunities, the experts say more scammers are appearing and preying on unsuspecting job hunters. Better Business Bureau, spokeswoman, Bao Vang says they saw a significant increase in the number of online con artists earlier this year. In the first three months of 2023, B-B-Scam Tracker received reported losses of nearly 840-thousand dollars. Vang says scammers are typically looking for one of two things, that’s your cash and your personal or financial information.

The B-B-B says a reliable way to research companies offering jobs is on the agency’s website, which contains multiple business profiles that include how long someone has been in business, who owns the company, and reviews of the company.

(Radio Iowa) – A campaign is underway to teach about the symptoms of a stroke and the importance of acting quickly. Doctor Clinton Wright, with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, says in addition to being potentially deadly, strokes cause more serious long-term disabilities than any other disease. A federal report says someone in the U-S has a stroke every 40 seconds, while every four minutes, someone dies of stroke.

Wright says symptoms are things like numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially when it happens on one side of the body, confusion that happens suddenly, trouble speaking or understanding speech, sudden loss of vision in one or both eyes or trouble seeing, walking, dizziness or loss of balance or coordination.

Wright says surviving a stroke is possible and damage can be greatly reduced with quick action.

(Lewis, Iowa) –  The Cass County Conservation Board is once again holding a “Stand Up Paddleboard” (SUP) Demonstration. The public demonstration will be held 9-a.m. and 10:30-a.m., Saturday, July 22nd, at the Cold Springs Park Beach, near Lewis. There is no charge, but children must be 16 years or older, and paddler’s must weigh LESS than 250-pounds. You MUST CALL to reserve your spot, at 712-769-2372. The program will be cancelled if there is unsafe weather conditions on the Lake.

SUP is the fastest growing sport in the paddling community not only across the country, but especially right here in land-locked areas like Iowa. It’s fun, healthy as a total body work-out and offers a unique perspective when it comes to being on the water. After a quick demonstration try out the boards for yourself! If you do not bring a life jacket one will be provided to you. The CCCB Stand Up Paddleboard programs are held monthly, ending after the Labor Day Weekend on Saturday, September 2nd.

Available slots (as of June 29th):

Saturday July 22nd

9AM- 5 spots

10:30AM- 5 spots

August 26th

9AM- 5 Spots

10:30am- 5 Spots

September 2nd

9am- 5 Spots

10:30am- 5 Spots

(Massena, Iowa) – The Cass County Conservation Board is holding a Guided Blooming Prairie Hike this weekend. The program will start at the Outdoor Classroom shelter, located near Massena, at 76977 Tucson Road, beginning at 10-a.m. Saturday, July 8, 2023. The program is FREE, and all ages are welcome.

You’re invited to join Cass County Naturalist Lora Kanning, for a hike in the prairie. Explore blooms throughout the numerous prairies inside the park.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak arrested a man following a traffic stop Sunday night, in the 1400 block of Eastern Avenue. 42-year-old Niklaus Scriver (No address given) was taken into custody at around 8:25-p.m., for Driving While Suspended – a simple misdemeanor. Scriver was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on slightly more than $491 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – A coalition that includes patient advocacy groups and the Iowa Pharmacy Association is launching what they’re calling an accountability project focused on Pharmacy Benefit Managers. Pharmacy Benefit Managers are companies that manage prescription drug benefit plans for insurance companies and Medicare Part D as well as large companies. Some large businesses say they’re concerned P-B-Ms promote higher priced medications when lower cost alternatives are available.

Drug companies accuse P-B-Ms of pocketing the discounts they provide on some medications. Brett Barker is a pharmacist in Nevada. “It’s really increased the list price of the drugs,” Barker says, “and that’s a problem for uninsured patients, for high deductible plan patients because they’re not seeing the benefits of those rebates that are then captured.” And pharmacists like Barker say the reimbursement rates P-B-Ms establish are driving pharmacies out of business, particularly in rural Iowa.

“Pharmacies and pharmacists have been really sounding the alarm about the PBM business model now for decades,” Barker says. “The Iowa Pharmacy Association first took legislation to the legislature in the mid-2000s and so what’s encouraging now is there’s a broad stakeholder group across the industry and with employers, with unions, private sector companies and pharmaceutical companies that all are on the same page, that something needs to be done to reform the system.”

The three P-B-M corporations handle 80 percent of the prescription claims in America and Barker says they use the pharmacy networks they control to drive independent pharmacies out of business. “If something’s not done, there will be more and more communities in Iowa that are going to lose access to pharmacy services because of basically the monopoly take-it-or-leave-it business practices of these PBMs,” Barker says. “They’ve found ways to siphon money out of the entire supply chain and what started as prescription claim processors, those big three are now Fortune 15 companies. They’re three of the 15 largest companies in the United States.”

The goal of the P-B-M Accountability Project is to educate Iowans about the industry and to urge state and federal lawmakers to require more transparency about the actual costs of medications and ban unfair pricing schemes. Pharmacy Benefit Managers say they help improve patient outcomes and control prescription drug costs, which lowers insurance premiums.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – A collision between a car and a bicycle Saturday evening in Atlantic, resulted in injuries to a 47-year-old woman from Atlantic. The accident happened at around 5:36-p.m. on 5th Street, between Cedar and Birch. The woman, whose name was not officially released, suffered head and arm lacerations. She was transported to Cass Health in Atlantic for treatment, and is expected to recover.

Additional details are currently not available.

(Wiota, Iowa) – A single-vehicle rollover accident Saturday afternoon on eastbound Interstate 80 in Cass County, resulted in injuries. According to Cass County Deputy Kyle Quist, the crash happened at around 1:30-p.m., near the Wiota Exit (Exit 63). One person suffered injuries when their vehicle rolled into a ditch. The unidentified, injured male driver of the vehicle was transported by ambulance to Cass Health in Atlantic.

The crash was under investigation by the Iowa State Patrol. The Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Wiota and Anita Fire Departments, and Cass EMS assisted at the accident scene.