(Lenox, Iowa) – Lenox Community School District Superintendent Dave Henrichs, Monday, released a statement (See below) on the District’s social media site with regard to his and other district’s having received screenshots of purported threats of school violence. Henrichs said the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office was notified at around 5:45-p.m., Monday (Sept. 16) by the Governor’s School Safety Bureau, of a concerning social media threat that was re-posted in the Lenox CSD’s boundaries. The Superintendent said the post copied a picture from an online clothing equipment shop from CANADA, along with a vague threatening statement. After identifying the source of the re-posted post, the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, Henrichs said, notified district officials about the post, at around 7:30-p.m., Monday.

Henrichs said the district takes ALL threats of school violence “incredibly seriously, and will continue to do so.” He reminds citizens it is a crime for any person to create and share electronic communication with the intent to intimidate or alarm others, and that district staff will continue to implement their safety protocols. There will be a law enforcement presence in the district this week. Please report social media threats to your local law enforcement agency, the school, or through the Safe and Sound Iowa website.

An arrest has been made following an investigation into a threat made toward a Norwalk elementary school, last week. According to the Norwalk Police Department, a potential threat to Oviatt Elementary School was reported on Sept. 10. An investigation and response was coordinated with the NPD and Norwalk School District staff. On Monday, the NPD said Margaret Anderson, also known as Maxwell Anderson, made a threat to harm students at the school district. Officials say Anderson was removed from the public at that time and has been charged with a threat of terrorism. Anderson has been booked into the Warren County Jail and is being held without bond.

And, the Perry Police Department, Monday, announced that two teens have been charged for allegedly joking about planning a school shooting at Perry Middle School. In a Facebook post the police department said Perry Middle School staff notified the school resource officer and police department Monday morning about information regarding a potential school shooting threat. An investigation was conducted and it was determined that the threat was not credible.

According to a letter from Perry Middle School, last Thursday two middle school students were discussing how to get class canceled, and allegedly jokingly discussed plans for a shooting at the school. Nearby students overheard the conversation and became alarmed. The middle school said it wasn’t informed of the threat until Monday morning when the students who overheard the conversation told school staff. The police department said the two 14-year-old students have been charged with threats of terrorism in connection to the incident. Both have been referred to Juvenile Court.

(Radio Iowa) – Artificial Intelligence software is being used to reduce paperwork — and headaches — for healthcare professionals at the University of Iowa, and now a pilot A-I program is being rolled out statewide. Dr. Charles Blum, chief health information officer at U-I Health Care, says some physicians were having to spend two hours doing administrative work for every hour they spent with patients. “Those that have started to use the technology have dramatically reduced the administrative burden that they’ve been faced with,” Blum says. “We’ve gotten lots of emails that have said things like ‘game changing,’ ‘life changing,’ ‘I’ve never been able to be done with my work before I went home, and now I’m able to do that. Thank you,’ so we’ve just got fantastic feedback.”

Excessive paperwork can lead to physician burnout, which can translate to reduced job satisfaction and decreased quality of patient care. One study found 42-percent of clinicians are actively considering leaving the healthcare industry due to burnout. Blum says the U-I started testing the A-I program with a small number of providers and they saw very promising results. “People have seen somewhere in the neighborhood of anywhere from a 50 to 80% reduction in their time spent with paperwork and other administrative burdens associated with documentation in the record,” Blum says. “It’s dramatically reduced the amount of time that people are spending after-hours and what we would call ‘pajama time,’ time at night, where people are sitting there on the computer, trying to wrap up their work for the day.”

U-I-H-C has more than one-hundred offices across Iowa and this new technology is now being offered to professionals in all of them. “The vast majority of our providers are here in Iowa City, but we have clinics throughout the state, and it’s available to not just doctors, but our advanced practitioners, our dietitians, our physical therapists, our nurses, it’s available to everyone,” Blum says. “Ultimately, I think that number of people that are using this technology is going to be well above 3,000.” With every encounter, Blum says patients are asked if they’re comfortable with the use of the technology. Of some 65-hundred patents so far, he says only one refused.

“We’re very happy to accommodate whatever the patient’s wishes may be in terms of using this technology,” Blum says. “I think it’s indicative of the fact that our patients in Iowa have really embraced technology, much more than I think they get credit for, and are willing to use things that are going to help their providers lead better lives and provide better care.” Anyone using the software is forced to do a full review of the report before it’s finalized, which Blum says should help improve accuracy. The A-I is referred to as Ambient Listening and it’s being developed by a company called Nabla.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report two people were arrested on separate warrants, Monday. 34-year-old Michael Todd Archer, of Red Oak, was arrested on a Montgomery County warrant for Violation of Probation. His cash-only bond at the Montgomery County Jail was set at $2,000. And, at around 4:30-p.m., Red Oak Police arrested 47-year-old Chrystal Rush Stewart, of Red Oak, on a Montgomery County felony warrant for Gathering where marijuana is used. Stewart was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Today (Tuesday) is National Voter Registration Day and Secretary of State Paul Pate has a check list. “If you’ve already registered, is it up to date? Is it the right address? Do you know where your polling location is?” Pate says. “But for those folks who have moved this a chance for them to get it updated and, of course, there are still a few folks out there who haven’t registered.” Pate says a national day dedicated to this issue is a little like civics 101.

“It is to instill some civic pride and to get people thinking about what the mechanics are of an election so that they’re successful,” Pate says. “We want you to know the deadlines. We want you to know where you vote at. Know you have options, you know, if you want to vote by mail, if you want to vote early at the courthouse, whether you want to vote in person — you need to know what those are.”

The period for REQUESTING an absentee ballot is underway. October 16th is the first day election officials can mail absentee ballots to voters. October 16th is also the first day Iowans can vote in person at their county auditor’s office. There was a delay in printing ballots in Iowa’s first, third and fourth congressional districts this year — until the Iowa Supreme Court issued its ruling last Wednesday that Libertarian candidates in those districts had not qualified to be listed on ballots. Saturday, September 15th was the federal deadline for mailing ballots to Iowans in the military who’re serving out of state or to Iowa residents living overseas and Pate says county election officials met that deadline.

“They were prepared because we kept them informed and we also made sure they had almost all the other pieces,” Pate says, “so once we got the last one resolved they could just fit it in and away they went.”

More than two-point-two MILLION Iowans are registered to vote. About 40 percent of them did not vote in the 2022 election.

(Radio Iowa) – A legendary small-town music venue in northwest Iowa’s Calhoun County has found a new home. Byron’s Bar on Main Street in Pomeroy closed at the end of July due to structural issues. Owner Byron Stuart originally planned to build a new venue, but the city sold Stuart the community center.

“The crowds have been better because it’s been a bigger place, and it sounds really good there, so I’m excited. I’ve got I’ve got music lined up every Sunday to the end of the year,” he says. Stuart says support for his bar has been overwhelming and greatly appreciated. GoFundMe donations that helped him pay 100-thousand dollars for the new location.

“I just want to thank all my supporters. The love that has been sent towards me is overwhelming and greatly appreciated,” Stuart says. “Live music only happens once you have to be there.”

The bar located about 35 miles northwest of Fort Dodge hosts everything from Iowa entertainers to national acts. Customers have to bring their own alcohol to listen to concerts while Stuart waits for a liquor license for his new venue.

(Radio Iowa) – Part of a state office building was evacuated this (Monday) morning over a concerns about a package. The spokesman for the Iowa State Patrol says they were called to the Lucas State Office Building at 11 this morning about a suspicious package within the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office.

The first floor was evacuated and the Des Moines Fire Department’s Hazmat Team was contacted. The State Patrol spokesman says the package was determined not to be threat.

The origin of the package is being investigated.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – An employee with the Adair County Attorney’s Office was arrested Monday (Sept. 16th), on a warrant for a felony offense allegedly committed in Fontanelle on Sept. 11th. According to Iowa Courts Online, a criminal complaint filed Sept. 13th by the Fontanelle Police Department accuses 52-year-old Donnell M. Griffith, a paralegal in the Attorney’s Office, of Going Armed with Intent, which is a Class-D Felony charge.

The warrant was issued Friday and returned today (Monday). Griffith posted a $5,000 bond. Judge Michael Huppert has ordered a Special Prosecutor to be appointed in her case.

Additional details concerning Griffith’s arrest are currently unavailable.

(Cedar Falls, Iowa) – One person died and another was injured this (Monday) afternoon, during a UTV accident in Black Hawk County. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2019 Polaris Ranger was traveling north on N. Union Road (northwest of Cedar Falls), and failed to yield before turning in front of a 2013 Chrysler 200, which was traveling southbound on Union Road. The crash happened at around 2:20-p.m.

Following the collision, both vehicles came to rest in the southwest ditch, where the UTV caught fire. The names of the victims were being withheld pending notification of family.

The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office, MercyOne EMS, Covenant EMS, Cedar Falls and Waterloo Fire Departments.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City of Atlantic has been reimbursed $100,000 from SHIFT ATL, thanks to the sale of a property SHIFT rehabilitated at 201 W. 14th Street. Work on the home took about a year. Atlantic First Ward Councilperson Emily Kennedy commented on the success of the project and ongoing efforts at housing rehabilitation in the City.

Kennedy, who is one of three board members for non-profit SHIFT ATL, said they received an interest free loan from the City’s Housing Fund on or about November 1st, 2023. The house they purchased and 201 W. 4th Street was in foreclosure and had a tree on it. It needed a lot of work, she said. The home was purchased with SHIFT’s own funds, and then renovated using the money from the City. The finished home was sold and the purchase closed in August. “And so we paid-off the loan and the profit that we made we are donating to Vision Atlantic as well as doing two scholarships.”She said it turned out very nice.

The Atlantic City Council, Monday, passed a Resolution appointing McLean as the new City Clerk.

Mayor Grace Garrett issues the Oath to Laura McLean.

Former City Clerk Barb Barrick’s last day was March 22, 2024. She resigned to take a similar position with the City of Huxley. McLean was the top choice of the City’s Personnel and Finance Committee, who said in the recommendation, she was vetted through “a multi-tiered interview process, ” and that “Throughout the process, Laura made it clear she would always strive to do what is best for the City, its citizens and our employees. She brings a strong set of education, skills and experience, and is excited to join our team.”

McLean currently serves as Vice-President of the Atlantic School Board. She has served as a member of the School Board since Nov., 2019. Mayor Grace Garrett issued the Oath of Office to Laura McLane near the end of the meeting. She succeeds Acting City Clerk Rich Tupper, who was appointed as City Clerk following the resignation of Barb Barrick.

In other business, the City Council also approved:

• The reappointment of Shawn Shouse and Melissa Ihnen to the Board of Adjustment.
• An Order to close Indian Trail Drive on Sept. 29th from 4-until 9-p.m., for Church Worship Night, which is hosted by a number of local churches. The temporary street closure is intended to decrease the risk of safety concerns with children running back-and-forth from their parents to the Kiddie Korral Playground at Sunnyside Park.
• The 3rd and final reading of an Ordinance “Vacating the 66-foot wide Street Right-Of-Way on W. 4th Street, in Atlantic. ” The two earlier readings were previously passed by the Council.

The Atlantic City Council, acting on a recommendation from the Parks Commission, to include additional trees to the “Do Not Plant” list. The prohibited trees include: Freeman/Hybrid Maple (Acers x freemanii Autumn Blaze, Armstrong, Marmo and Sienna Glen are frequently seen cultivars); Amur Maple; Norway Maple; Golden Raintree; Tree of Heaven; Black Locust; White Polar; Siberian Elm; Russian Olive, and Salt Cedar. Those same trees are on the DO NOT PLANT list issued by the Iowa DNR and Trees forever, due to their lack of disease resistance and susceptibility to storm damage.

In the Council Committee Reports, Engineer Dave Sturm mentioned the City’s Airport received a grant for nested T-Hangars, which will be through design and engineering until 2025 and then construction in 2026. Sturm said we’ll most likely get additional funding next year to pay for 90-percent of the project cost. The grant allows for the construction of eight more T-Hangars. Sturm said “They [the airport] has a waiting list of way more than that,” and the hangars will be full when the project is done. The hangars will be located on the north side of what used to be G-30, he said, on the east end. The pad is already available for the aircraft storage buildings.

The City Council’s next meeting is a Workshop at 5-p.m. on September 25th.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa (September 16, 2024) – Officials with ITC Midwest says they will be conducting aerial patrols of high-voltage transmission structures and lines throughout its service territory from approximately September 23 – October 1, weather permitting. Helicopter patrols provide an overall status of the overhead transmission system owned and operated by
ITC Midwest. The flights take place across the following areas of the ITC Midwest service territory:

Central zone
The flights will be conducted in the Ames, Ankeny, Boone, Cedar Rapids, Dysart, Gladbrook, Iowa Falls, Marengo, Marion, Marshalltown, Newton, Palo, Perry, Vinton and Williamsburg areas. Iowa counties in the aerial patrol areas include Adair, Benton, Boone, Cass, Dallas, Franklin, Greene, Grundy, Guthrie, Hardin, Iowa, Jasper, Linn, Marshall, Polk, Story and Tama.

Image via ITC Holdings Corp Facebook page

The company says the patrols are a North American Electrical Reliability Corporation (NERC) requirement for ITC Midwest’s vegetation management program, support proactive maintenance objectives, and align with the company’s model for operational excellence. The flights will include the inspection of vegetation in the vicinity of transmission structures, wood poles, conductors (wires), insulators and other equipment.

The inspection flights are often conducted at low altitudes to facilitate accurate visual inspection of vegetation hazards. This is normal procedure, so there is no cause for alarm if a low-flying helicopter is sighted near transmission lines during the time frame mentioned above.