(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – The Alzheimer’s Association is inviting Council Bluffs area residents to join the fight to end Alzheimer’s by participating in the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s®  this Saturday, Sept. 28th, 2024, at Iowa Western Community College. Registration begins at 9-a.m. with an Opening Ceremony and 2-mile Walk to follow. There is no fee to register for Walk, however, all participants are encouraged to raise critical funds that allow the Alzheimer’s Association to provide 24/7 care and support and advance research toward methods of prevention, treatment and, ultimately, a cure.

Jessica Duncan, Alzheimer’s Association Program Director, says “This is a pivotal moment in the fight against Alzheimer’s and all other dementias, including Frontotemporal Dementia that my dad lost his life to at 58 this year. There are now treatments that can give families more valuable time with their loved one. We hope that everyone in the community can join us by starting a Walk team to help the Alzheimer’s Association raise awareness, raise funds for free care and support services and education for families facing the disease, vital research to find more treatments, and ultimately a cure.”

On Walk day, participants honor those affected by Alzheimer’s with a meaningful Promise Garden Ceremony that signifies solidarity in the fight against the disease. The colors of the Promise Garden flowers – purple, yellow, blue and orange – represent the different reasons why people walk to end this disease. Nearly 7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease – a leading cause of death in the United States. Additionally, more than 11 million family members and friends provide care to people living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. In Iowa, there are more than 62,000 people living with the disease and nearly 100,000 caregivers.

To register and receive the latest updates on this year’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s, visit alz.org/walk.

(Atlantic, Iowa) — Cass Health in Atlantic was recently awarded the honor of “Top Workplaces 2024,” by Iowa Top Workplaces. Achieving the award is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by employee engagement technology partner Energage LLC. The confidential survey uniquely measures the employee experience and its component themes, including employees feeling Respected & Supported, Enabled to Grow, and Empowered to Execute, to name a few.

Energage CEO Eric Rubino says “Earning a Top Workplaces award is a badge of honor for companies, especially because it comes authentically from their employees. That’s something to be proud of. In today’s market, leaders must ensure they’re allowing employees to have a voice and be heard. That’s paramount. Top Workplaces do this, and it pays dividends.”

Officials at Cass Health say their mission is to provide a superior experience to everyone that they are privileged to serve, while working towards the vision of becoming the best rural hospital in the country. The team at Cass Health, officials say, cares for patients with medical needs ranging from minor aches and pains to life-threatening emergencies, and everything in between.

Cass Health is the largest employer in Cass County and a huge economic engine for the region. Cass Health has been recognized as an Iowa Top Workplace, a Top 100 Critical Access Hospital in the country, and as a Top 20 Critical Access Hospital in the country.

(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Creston Police Department report the arrest Friday afternoon, of 30-year-old Patrick Riley Iiams, of Creston. Liams was arrested on charges that include: Disorderly Conduct; Assault on Persons in Certain Occupation – Intend Injury; Criminal Mischief in the 2nd Degree; Interference with official acts – Inflict Serious Injury; Possession of Controlled substance – Marijuana/1st offense; Possess Drug Paraphernalia; Assault on Persons in Certain Occupation – No Injury, and Possessession of a Controlled Substance/2nd Offense. Iiams was being held in the Union County jail on a $19,000.

Early Saturday morning, Creston Police arrested 32-year-old Curtis Alan Nish, of Creston, for OWI/1st Offense, and Carrying a Weapon – While Intoxicated (OWI). Nish was later released on his own recognizance. Saturday evening, 42-year-old Scott W. Lemon, of Creston, was arrested on a Union County Warrant for Probation Violation. Lemon was taken to the Union County Jail where held without bond.

Early Sunday morning, Creston Police arrested 42-year-old Mika Marie Luddington, of Creston, for OWI/2nd Offense, and Possessession of Drug Paraphernalia. Luddington was taken to the Union County Jail, where she later posted a $2,300 bond and was released.

FORT DODGE, Iowa — A Webster County woman who lived modestly and saved a small fortune by often working two jobs and amassing a small fortune until her death last Fall at the age of 80, left behind a legacy that benefits several organizations. KCCI-TV reports Bonnie Barnett was well known in Fort Dodge, but not many knew how much she was worth.

Barnett willed more than $530,000 to Iowa Central Community College, money that will be used to create an endowed scholarship in her name. The Fort Dodge Library received $130,000. There were also gifts to the local YWCA, Trinity Health Foundation, Domestic Sexual Abuse Outreach Center, Humane Society of Central Iowa, and the Boy Scouts of America Troop 8 totaled more than $1.3 million.

Iowa Central was close to Barnett’s heart — she was a student there from 1961-1962. She also worked for the dining service that served meals to the campus community.

Mark Crimmins, an attorney who is the executor of Barnett’s estate, says it seems like she saved nearly every penny she earned from working as a waitress for 30-to 40-years, saving her tips and wages and investing. She spent only what she needed to survive,

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A traffic stop early this Monday morning (Sept. 23rd), in Red Oak, resulted in an arrest. Red Oak Police report 45-year-old Keith Benard Johnson, Jr., of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 12:45-a.m. in the 300 block of N. Broadway Street in Red Oak, on valid Page County warrants for two-counts of Child Endangerment and OWI/1st offense. Johnson was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) Pickleball is said to be the fastest-growing sport in America, and more than 20 Iowa cities have opened new pickleball courts this year. The game is played on a small court with a net, similar to tennis or ping pong, and players use paddles to hit a plastic ball with holes across the net to score points.

(That’s Stephanie Mehmen (MAY-men), general manager of Pickle Palace in Cedar Rapids.) The restaurant and event space opened in January and has six pickleball courts. Jesup resident Megan Gable started playing pickleball with her kids last year.

Photo from USA Pickleball Association.org.

While more courts are being found in cities like Des Moines and Davenport, rural Iowans are jumping on the trend, too. Two years ago, Winthrop resident Dave Flexsenhar converted the hay loft in his barn into a pickleball court. He plays there in the wintertime every week, or on rainy days when they need an indoor court.

According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, the number of pickleball players has tripled in the past three years.

(Radio Iowa) – Several Iowa cities were swamped with flood waters, but Iowa Workforce Development director Beth Townsend says the flooding didn’t significantly impact unemployment numbers. “We only saw a few hundred claims total in the flooded areas at the at the peak, and it’s, you know now it’s down probably closer to one hundred or less,” Townsend says. The claim numbers didn’t go up after the initial filings. She says they’ve continued to decline pretty steadily and fairly quickly. Townsend says there was the opportunity for some to make claims that normally wouldn’t.

“When the President declares a national disaster area, then individuals who might not otherwise be qualified for unemployment, i-e because they’re self employed, would be eligible to receive benefits. And then the Feds reimburse the state trust fund for the amount of the disaster related unemployment claims,” Townsend says. “So actually, disaster related claims do not hurt our trust fund balance, because we’re going to get that money back from the feds.”

Townsend says the floodwaters did not hit any of the larger cities where there are large concentrations of workers, and that is why unemployment didn’t see the impact.

(Iowa News Service) – Advocates for a fair, sustainable and healthy food system have released a report showing that nearly all of the corn seed in Iowa is controlled by just four companies. Economists say concentrations that large can lead to market manipulation. Farm Action’s report shows nearly 90-percent of the corn seed in Iowa is controlled by Corteva and Bayer. AgReliant and Syngenta control the rest. Farm Action President Angela Huffman says that kind of control and concentration is happening all the way from seeds to the consumer’s plate, and she warns it makes market conditions ripe for abuse.

The same type of consolidation is happening in ag operations where livestock are raised in large confinements, and manure runoff is known to damage the air, ground and surface water in rural Iowa.

SALO, FINLAND – AUGUST 22, 2015: Line up of four John Deere agricultural tractors, 6115R and 7340 on the left, at Puontin Peltopaivat Agricultural Harvesting and Cultivating Show.

Operators have said they’re always looking for more efficient and environmentally friendly ways to raise livestock.

Huffman argues that monopolies like this can lead to collusion, price fixing and other types of market manipulation. She and other advocates have called on lawmakers in Congress to address the issue in the pending Farm Bill.

The current Farm Bill, which was supposed to expire in September of last year, has been extended – but debate still hasn’t started on a new version.

(Radio Iowa) – Two of Iowa’s top election officials say the window for receiving and then returning an absentee ballot is very narrow and mailing the ballot back may not be the best option. Adams County Auditor Becky Bissell is president of the Iowa State Association of County Auditors. Bissell says after she drops a ballot off at the Post Office, it takes between five to seven days before it’s delivered to a voter if they live in rural areas of her county.

“We have a 20 day window from when we can mail out the ballots. Three of those days the Postal Service doesn’t deliver mail,” Bissell says. “If it takes seven days for the ballot to get to them, they essentially have three days to get that ballot voted and back to us and that’s a pretty small window.” Iowans are able to fill out a form and REQUEST an absentee ballot today, but October 16th is the first day county auditors can start mailing out the ballots. Bissell says voters have other options once they get the absentee ballot — like hand delivering it to their local county auditor’s office.

“They can put it into an election drop box, if the county has one,” Bissell says. “In my county, they don’t have an election drop box, so===so if they can’t get out of the car, pull into a spot outside the courthouse, call my office and we’d be more than happy to come down and get that from the voter.” That’s an option in other counties, too, plus eligible Iowa voters can cast ballots at their county auditor’s office staring October 16th.

Secretary of State Paul Pate says voters who want to vote-by-mail can track their ballot online at www.voterready.iowa.gov. “You can see: ‘Did the county courthouse get my request for an absentee ballot? It shows you the date. It’ll show you the date that the courthouse mailed it out to you. It’ll show you the date they received it back and if at any point here you see your ballot’s not getting there, go to plan B,” Pate says. “And Plan B will be either to come down to the courthouse ad vote or go to a traditional polling location.” Pate and Bissell made their comments this weekend during an appearance on Iowa Press at Iowa P-B-S.

“My office and so have the county auditors have had some serious discussions with the legislature about looking at the timetable on the early voting/absentee ballot scenario and I’m sure we’ll be having more of those,” Pate says. “…There are just some administrative things that we may need a little more room to adjust for.”

Earlier this month state and local election officials around the country issued a statement warning delayed delivery of ballots by the U-S Postal Service could lead to fewer people voting and a loss of trust in the electoral system.

POLK COUNTY, Iowa — The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a two-vehicle accident that killed three people Sunday evening. Deputies were called to the scene east of Ankeny, at the intersection of Northeast 46th Street and Northeast 94th Avenue, a little before 8 p.m. Sunday

A preliminary investigation determined one vehicle was traveling eastbound with two occupants while the other vehicle was northbound with one occupant. All three people were pronounced dead on the scene.

The victims have not yet been identified. No other information is available at this time.