(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County Extension will be celebrating all things 4-H during National 4-H Week October 2-8. Now is the time of year for youth to join and participate in 4-H, a worldwide youth development program, hosted in Iowa by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. Keep an eye out for Cass County 4-H members, volunteers, and supporters showing their 4-H pride during National 4-H Week. Many of the local 4-H clubs will be creating window displays in local businesses. Other clubs will be doing special events and activities during the week such as wearing 4-H shirts to school or doing service projects around their community!

In addition, the Iowa 4-H Foundation and Cass County 4-H are partnering to host the Iowa 4-H Giving Day (www.iowa4Hgivingday.org), a special 24-hour event, on October 4th and 5th from Noon to Noon during National 4-H Week. Each year on Iowa 4-H Giving Day, supporters and alumni across the state come together to financially support Iowa’s largest youth organization, to ensure these opportunities continue to be available to youth across the state and at the county level. 4-H supporters can donate online or in person to support programs at the county or state level!

To wrap up National 4-H Week, Cass County 4-H will be hosting a Fall Fest on Sunday, October 9 from 2-4 PM at the Cass County Fairgrounds followed by a 4K Fun Run. 4-Her’s will be on hand to celebrate 4-H as well as invite new/potential 4-Her’s to join in the fun and see what 4-H all is about. All members of the community are invited to come out for an afternoon of family fun!

Katie Bateman, County Youth Coordinator with Cass County Extension says “We have a variety of fun activities planned which will showcase some of the project areas with hands-on activities, games and fun at our Fall Fest October 9th!. We will have youth hosting game booths, a hayride, plinko, a scavenger hunt and much more. A 4-H information booth and snacks will be available from 2-4pm. Following the Fall Fest, we are hosting a 4-K for 4-H starting at 4:00pm. You can sign up for the run or a 1-mile fun-run/walk option at the Youth Council Booth from 2-3:30pm at Fall Fest!”

Fall Fest will be a fun event for all ages to come out and celebrate National 4-H Week! Details about National 4-H week events are located on the Cass County Extension Website, www.extension.iastate.edu/cass. You are invited to follow Cass County 4-H on Facebook page, www.facebook.com/CassCoIAExt or search for “Cass County Iowa 4H” on Instagram. We will feature our club activities, share 4-H trivia and more on these social media pages throughout the week.

Bateman says “4-H is a year round program for youth in grades kindergarten through 12. National 4-H Week is a great time to show some the wonderful things 4-H offers to youth. In fact, research has shown that young people in 4-H are nearly four times as likely to contribute to their communities and are twice as likely to engage in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs during after school time.”

4-H is active in each of Iowa’s 99 counties and empowers youth to reach their full potential through many different types of experiences including photography, music, woodworking, sewing, livestock and horticulture. 4-H grows confidence, creativity, curiosity, courage, character and much more in youth. 4-H allows youth to use the skills that they learn to go out and make a positive difference in their communities.

Cass County 4-H has more than 300 4-H youth and 100 volunteers involved in the program. Interested in joining 4-H? Contact the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132 or visit the Cass County Extension website at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass.

Crawford County Authorities say a woman’s body and her car have been recovered from a pond in Deloit. The Crawford County Sheriff’s Office says Deputies responded to a call Wednesday morning just after 7:30 a.m. and determined a car had driven into into Riggleman’s Pond behind a house. When the car was pulled out of the water the body of 26-year-old Randi Lynn Heiman was found inside and pronounced dead by the Crawford County Coroner.

KDSN reports the initial 911 caller mentioned a second unidentified female who came through a nearby backyard soaking wet. The Crawford County Sheriff’s Office says the incident is still under investigation. Heiman’s body was transported to the Iowa State Medcial Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.

More than ten different area agencies responded to the scene.

(Radio Iowa) An experimental drug being tested on people with Alzheimer’s disease is showing promise and is very encouraging, according to Tim Harrington, a spokesman for the Iowa chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. The drug is called Lecanemab (lah-CAN-ah-mab) and medical reports out this week say it can slow the rate of cognitive decline by 27-percent, which Harrington calls significant.

The clinical trial of Lecanemab is in its third phase, so the next step is getting the F-D-A to approve the drug as a viable treatment.

While it’s promising that this drug appears to be able to slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s, he reinforces that it’s not a cure, but it is an important step on the long road. Harrington says it could be some time before this drug is available in Iowa.

More than six-million people nationwide are living with Alzheimer’s disease, including 66,000 in Iowa. Learn more at: alz.org

**Update 9/30: The Mills County Sheriff’s Office says the man has now been identified. They thank the public for their assistance in the case.

The Mills County’s Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s help in identifying a man that was found dead in the Missouri River on April 23, 2022. His remains were found just north of the Highway 370 bridge that connects Nebraska to Iowa. He was wearing dark pants and boxers when found.

The State Medical Examiner has been able to help identify some tattoos on his body. Those tattoos include:

• A large skull/face- located on the right side of his back
• A skull/face with ram-like horns and a goatee- located on his left shoulder blade.
• A design with multiple curved points, possible flames- located on his right shoulder blade.
• A design which possible at one time included an animal image as teeth/fans are possibly present- located on his right calf.
• A red geometric shape- located on the right side of his chest.
• A large geometric shape which resembles a compass or star with four points. A face is situated in the middle-located on his right foot.
• Images of people. Faces are visible- located on his right shoulder.
• A large, red, geometric shape. A long red line with a red ring at the top- located on his right side.

If you know of someone who is missing that these tattoos might match, please contact the Mills County Sheriff’s Office at 712-527-4337. Please reference Case # 22-006358 and ask for Deputy Buttercase or Chief Deputy England.

(Radio Iowa) A southern Iowa man accused of convincing a Missouri girl to send him nude photos of herself has pleaded guilty to a federal child pornography charge. According to a U.S. Attorney’s Office in Missouri, 60-year-old David Jonathon Dodds of Corydon began contacting the victim through Instagram when she was 13 and she sent Dodds nude photos of herself when she was 14. The teenager told investigators she tried to cut off contact, but Dodds repeatedly called her cell phone and messaged her on Facebook. The harassment lasted until she was 18 and prosecutors say Dodds even called the victim’s boyfriend and sent online messages to the victim’s parents. She eventually told her family about the harassment and her father contacted law enforcement. As part of the plea deal, Dobbs is expected to serve 15 years in federal prison.

(Radio Iowa) Governor Kim Reynolds has signed onto a lawsuit that seeks to stop President Biden’s plan to cancel up to 20-thousand dollars in student loan debt for many borrowers.

Reynolds is joining a lawsuit filed by the Republican-led states of Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and South Carolina. In a written statement, Reynolds said the president’s plan is an insult to working people and it punishes Americans who didn’t go to college or already paid their student loans. According to the Biden Administration, more than 400-thousand Iowans are eligible for student debt relief. Deidre DeJear, the Democrat running against Reynolds, says her opponent is fighting against the interests of hardworking Iowans by trying to get the courts to block Biden’s plan.

In late August, Biden announced a plan to forgive at least 10-thousand dollars in student loan debt for Americans making 125-thousand dollar or less annually. It would be doubled to 20-thousand dollars of debt relief for low income students who qualified for Pell Grants.

(Radio Iowa) The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission is planning to raise the penalty against casinos for underage gambling and violations of the self-ban. During its meeting Thursday, members discussed raising the minimum penalty from one to three thousand dollars. Iowa Gaming Association president and CEO Wes Eherecke says the industry is concerned about how the amount is determined.

He says the current wording says a fine up to one-thousand dollars — but all fines have become one thousand. Eherecke says the industry would like to see some plan for fines that differentiates them based on the seriousness. He cites a recent case.

Commission members say one of the factors is inflation and the fine has not been changed in 32 years. They also agreed to look at some parameters so that the fines are based on the severity of the violation. Racing and Gaming Commission Administrator, Brian Ohorilko, says the recent violations prompted them to take a look at the fines.

The have been 162 fines of one-thousand dollars by the Gaming Board in the last five years and 79 were for violations by minors and 24 for self-exclusion violations. Ohorilko says they will move forward with the rule process after the discussion Thursday.

The Racing and Gaming Commission met in West Des Moines.

The Creston Police Department reports the arrest on Wednesday at 9:06 p.m. of 20-year-old Cody Alan Robertson of Creston on a charge of OWI 1st Offense. Robertson was arrested at 302 North Pine Street in Creston. He was booked into the Union County Jail and later posted $1,000 bond.

CRESTON, Iowa – Sept. 29, 2022 – A project to set beams for the new Ashworth Road bridge over Interstate 80 in West Des Moines requires a complete closure of westbound I-80 and closure of the left lane of eastbound I-80 between Jordan Creek Parkway (exit 121) and Grand Prairie Parkway (exit 118) from 10 p.m. Monday, Oct. 3 until 5 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4, weather permitting, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Creston construction office.

During these closures, traffic will follow a marked detour route using Grand Prairie Parkway, University Avenue, and Jordan Creek Parkway.

The Iowa DOT reminds motorists to drive with caution, obey the posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, drivers should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.