(Radio Iowa) – The electrical system controlling the lights and door locks in the cell block at the Worth County Jail in Northwood has failed. Worth County Sheriff Dan Fank has briefed the Worth County Board of Supervisors.

Fank says there have been no security issues, as he and his deputies are manually opening cell doors and flipping light switches because it’s not a position he wants jail employees to be in. If the latest computer fix is unsuccessful, the county’s board of supervisors will explore buying a new electronic security system for the county’s jailhouse, which was built in 1955.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Rotary Club has announced that they will again host their “Annual 4th of July Flight Breakfast,” featuring the Pancake Man. Rotary members invite the public to join them for this fun local tradition. The Atlantic Rotary 4th of July Flight Breakfast is scheduled for Monday, July 4th, 2022 at the Atlantic Airport, located at 59706 Airport Road just west of Atlantic. 

Breakfast with The Pancake Man will be served by Rotary members from 7-11 AM, featuring $8 all you can eat pancakes with sausage and drinks. Pilots from across Southwest Iowa and beyond are invited to fly into the airport for breakfast as well, and all fly-in pilots will eat for free. The public will be able to enjoy watching the planes take off and land at the airport while enjoying a meal.

All proceeds from the flight breakfast support Atlantic Rotary Club Service Projects.

(Radio Iowa) – Twenty-seven years have now passed since a TV anchorwoman from eastern Iowa disappeared while on her way to work.  27-year-old K-I-M-T morning anchorwoman Jodi Huisentruit is believed to have been abducted from the parking lot of her apartment complex early on the morning of June 27th, 1995. Her body has never been found, she was legally declared dead by a Cerro Gordo County district court judge in 2001, and the case remains unsolved. A gathering of family and friends was held in front of K-I-M-T late Monday morning. Current K-I-M-T anchor Amy Fleming read from a written statement by Huisentruit’s family.  “We know that along with us, you feel the pain and anguish over not having found our Jodi, and not having justice served in her face. Whoever thought on June 27th, 1995, we would still be searching for her 27 years later,” she says.

Huisentruit’s family thanked law enforcement and those who continue their efforts to solve the case. “To law enforcement, we are grateful for the work you have done and continue to do in Jodi’s case, but we must continue to pursue all leads that come in and not dismiss any of them as insignificant. Please be willing to listen and accept help from others. We need all the assistance we can get in solving this case.” Amy Kuns was the producer for the morning news program at K-I-M-T in 1995 and was the last person to speak with Huisentruit, calling her on that morning since she was late for work. Kuns says a lot of people still feel the impact of her disappearance 27 years later.

Huisentruit Memorial Tree (photo courtesy KRIB/Radio Iowa)

“This isn’t just trauma to Jodi, there are a lot of victims in this story, first and foremost Jodi, Jodi’s friends, her co-workers, me because I was the last person to talk to her. There’s a lot of survivors’ guilt there, like ‘why did that happen to Jodi and why not to me?’. We may never know the answers to so many of our questions,” she says. Kuns says she was recently talking to a relative who did not know about her connection to the Huisentruit case. Kuns says it’s situations like that where she wants to make sure Jodi’s story is kept alive until the case is solved. “I don’t know how old she is — 20-30-some years old — and she doesn’t know the full story, and that really struck me that now is the time for me to speak up, to keep the story alive, to keep Jodi’s memory alive, and to make sure that this doesn’t happen to anybody else,” Kun says.

If you possibly have any information regarding Huisentruit’s disappearance, you can call the Mason City Police Department at 641-421-3636.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa law enforcement officers are launching a special traffic enforcement program as we approach the holiday weekend. State Trooper Paul Gardner is a public resource officer based in Fort Dodge and says this Independence Day is expected to break travel records, so the roads will be very busy. Gardner says, “We will be out watching for drunk drivers and working the roads hard to make sure everyone’s obeying the speed limit, everyone’s buckled in, people aren’t distracted by a cell phone while they’re driving.”

These weeks between Memorial Day and Labor Day are often considered the most dangerous of the year on highways in Iowa and nationwide. “We’re in the middle of our ‘100 Deadliest Days’ when our crashes are starting to be on the rise,” Gardner says. “Typically, the cause of these crashes are impaired or drunk driving, so we’re going to be out on the roads, watching to make sure everyone’s sober and getting to where they need to go safely.” Those who are imbibing to celebrate the holiday need to remember not to get behind the wheel, but to instead call a cab, a friend or an Uber.

“One-third of our traffic crashes yearly are caused by drunk and impaired driving and on the 4th of July nationwide, between 2016 and 2020, 41% of crashes were caused by drunk drivers,” Gardner says, “so that’s an alarming statistic and it’s something that we aim to decrease.” The Iowa D-O-T says seven people were killed in motor vehicle crashes statewide over the Fourth of July holiday last year.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors met this (Tuesday) morning in their regular weekly session. At the beginning of the meeting, Board Chair Mark Peterson moved to strike from the agenda, discussion with regard to a Wind Turbine Ordinance. Prior to the Board discussing the subject of the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline, they heard from Jan Norris, who was appointed in the meeting and in separate business, as the County Representative to the Red Oak Library Board. Norris applauded the Board for agreeing to hire a local inspector, but suggested – based on persons knowledgeable about the process – the Board research and interview potential inspection companies.

Jan Norris addresses the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors (6/28/22) – Ric Hanson photo

She said there are some questions that should be asked….

Three months ago, the Montgomery County Supervisors agreed to send a letter to the Iowa Utilities Board, objecting to the use of eminent domain to acquire land for the pipeline. Norris said if they should decide to pursue that course of action, they would not be alone.

Norris said also, “Landowners are making it clear: they are not eager to sign-over their land.” Supervisor Donna Robinson suggested the Board hold-off until additional information is available.

The Board moved to table any further discussion until their meeting on July 12th. In other business, the Board set July 19th at 8:45-a.m., as the date and time for a public hearing on a revised Montgomery County Solar Ordinance. They approved also: a Business Associates Agreement with Nishna Productions; the renewal of a Tobacco Permit, for Cubby’s in Red Oak, and they passed a Resolution Supporting State Recreational Trails Program.

Jenna Ramsey, Stanton Community Development Director explained they are applying for a grant with regard to the project, which requires a match from the City of Stanton. The City is striving to have a trail around the community, and eventually to Viking Lake State Park.

She said because Phase Two of the project within the Stanton City Limits is currently out for bids, they should be in a better position to obtain grant funds through the revised application.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (June 28, 2022) – The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) recently announced the recipients of the 2022 Silver Achievement in Quality Award. Creston Specialty Care (Creston, IA) and Pleasant View Care Center (Whiting, IA) were recognized by AHCA/NCAL with this award.  The AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program honors long-term and post-acute care providers that have demonstrated their commitment to improving the quality of care for seniors and individuals with disabilities.

“Reaching the Silver Award level successfully while also compassionately protecting and caring for Iowa’s elderly and most vulnerable during these ever-changing times is remarkable,” said Brenda Irlbeck, vice president of quality improvement and regulatory affairs for the Iowa Health Care Association. “The resiliency and dedication of these facilities for continuing their quality improvement journey is admirable and a wonderful testament to the quality of care provided by Iowans to Iowans in long-term care facilities.”

Out of the 46 total award recipients in 24 states, 40 were skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), three were assisted living (AL) facilities and three had combined AL/SNF programs.

The National Quality Award Program is a rigorous process, made up of three levels – Bronze, Silver and Gold – that is reviewed and judged by trained experts against a set of nationally recognized standards for organizational excellence. The Silver Award is the second of three distinctions possible through the AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program. At the Silver level, members develop and demonstrate effective approaches that help improve organizational performance and health care outcomes. Silver recipients may move forward in developing approaches and achieving performance levels that meet the criteria required for the AHCA/NCAL Gold Excellence in Quality Award.

The awards program is based on the core values and criteria of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, which also serves as the foundation for the metric-based AHCA/NCAL Quality Initiative. The Baldrige framework helps organizations among different business sectors improve organizational effectiveness and achieve strategy-driven performance.

Winners of the 2022 Gold Excellence in Quality Award will be announced in August.

(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Creston Police Department say a woman was arrested Monday afternoon, for Domestic Abuse Assault/1st offense – Causing Bodily Injury. 53-year-old Lisa Ann Hoffman was arrested at her residence, in Creston. She was taken to the Union County Jail and later transferred to the Adams County Jail. Hoffman was being held without bond until seen by the magistrate.

And, at around 11:17-p.m., Monday, 36-year-old Shane Curtis White, of Creston, was arrested for Driving while Barred. He was cited and released from the scene.

(Audubon, Iowa) – The Audubon School District’s Board of Education will meet in a Special Session at 7:30-a.m., Wednesday (June 29th). Their meeting takes place in the High School Board Room. During their session the Board will act on approving End of Fiscal Year Expenditures. Afterward, they are expected to receive an update on their facilities project.

The Board’s next REGULAR meeting is 7-p.m., July 18, 2022, in the High School Board Room.

(Radio Iowa) – Federal prosecutors say a Cedar Rapids man who was the leader of a major drug ring has pleaded guilty to distributing heroin, fentanyl and other synthetic substances. Court records indicate federal authorities got a wiretap on 32-year-old Brian Jarell Dennis’s phone to track drug dealing activity. He’s pleaded guilty and faces at least a decade or a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Seven other people have previously pleaded guilty to being involved in the drug ring and are awaiting sentencing. One man involved already has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison and three other people are awaiting their trials.

Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope Reports:

On June 23rd, around 12-p.m., deputies were called to Riverton for a dispute. They arrested 64-year-old Edward Umbreit, of Riverton, for Disorderly Conduct and Simple Assault. Umbreit was being held at the Fremont County Jail on $1,500 cash bond.

Umbreit

At around 4:15-a.m. Monday, June 27th, Fremont County Deputies were called to a single-vehicle roll over accident involving a semi, in the 1700 block of Highway 275, north of Sidney. Deputies made contact with the semi driver, 40-year-old Joseph Dale Linkenhoker.  He had been traveling south on highway, and failed to negotiate the curve. The semi left the roadway to the left, and entered the ditch, where it rolled onto its side. Linkenhoker was uninjured. The semi was a total loss. Alcohol is believed to be a factor in the accident. Linkenhoker was arrested for OWI 1st Offense, and was being held on $1000 bond. Sidney Fire and Rescue assisted the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office on the call.

Linkenhoker

At around 10-a.m. Monday, deputies were called to the Tall Corn Motel near Shenandoah for a report of a burglary in progress. Law Enforcement made contact with 31-year-old Hope Kalkas, of Shenandoah. She was observed by witnesses removing items from a hotel room that did not belong to her. Kalkas was arrested for Theft 5th Degree and Burglary 3rd Degree. Kalkas was being held at the Fremont County Jail on $5,300 bond. (No photo available)

And, a little after 2-p.m., Monday, Fremont County Deputies were called to an address in Sidney for a report of a fight in progress. Witness advised a male was on top of a female assaulting her outside of a residence. Upon arrival, witnesses advised the pair had entered a residence. Deputies could hear a disturbance inside the residence and made entry. Deputies arrested 35-year-old Robert Reafling, of Sidney, for Domestic Abuse 2nd Offense. Reafling was being held at the Fremont County Jail pending initial appearance with a Magistrate.

Reafling

Disclaimer: A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.