Atlantic, IA – Cass Health and Adair County Health System have jointly announced that Dr. Marcela Pineda will be offering an obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN) clinic at Adair County Health System in Greenfield, Iowa. Dr. Pineda will provide care to patients on the first Wednesday morning of every month.

CCHS Chief Operating Officer Amanda Bireline, says “Cass Health continues to grow as the regional center for obstetrics care, and Dr. Pineda is one of the primary reasons behind that growth. With her outreach clinics in Red Oak, Corning, and now Greenfield, more women in southwest Iowa can receive obstetrics and gynecology care at a location that’s convenient for them. Being able to deliver care close to home increases the safety and health of our rural communities. We are proud to contribute to the well-being of our family, friends and neighbors.”

Catherine Hillestad, CEO of Adair County Health System, says “We are extremely excited to have Dr. Pineda come to ACHS. We know she will be an amazing asset to our community.”

Dr. Marcela Pineda

Dr. Pineda currently provides comprehensive obstetrics and gynecology care for women of all ages at the Atlantic Medical Center, Montgomery County Memorial Hospital, and Corning Medical Clinic. She completed her residency at Jamaica Hospital in Queens, New York, and she obtained her medical degree at Universidad Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala City, Guatemala. She was the recipient of the Striving for Excellence Award and Recognition by Hospital Centro Medico Guatemala for outstanding performance as a Medical Resident. Dr. Pineda is certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Appointments with Dr. Pineda for all clinic locations can be scheduled by calling 712-243-2850.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Chamber Ambassadors, Thursday (August 3rd, 2023), met to celebrate the opening of a new downtown business, RELIC, with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The ambassadors also had the opportunity to meet with the owner and learn more about what went into the process of opening.

Darrin Kimball, owner of RELIC, took the time to share about what inspired him to open a high-end antique shop in the community, as well as what it took to reach his goals. A Brayton, Iowa native, Kimball has had a wide variety of experiences in the design field after traveling the globe and working for different businesses. Kimball also had the opportunity to work for another high-end antique shop in San Francisco, named Loved to Death, which was even featured in a television series. After choosing to retire and move back to the area, Kimball knew that he still needed to stay busy. His previous experience with different antique shops helped inspire the contents and idea of RELIC.

Ambassadors from Left to Right: Paige Jensen, Steve Andersen, Amanda Christensen, Janet Cappel, Connie Wailes, Dr. Keith Leonard, Rick Mericle, Lana Westphalen, Larry Coles, Rebecca Clarken, Elaine Otte, Linda Kimball, John Bricker, Jason Watson, Reagon Watson, Jeremy Butler, Tracy Scott, Brian Wedemeyer, Sue Liston, Darrin Kimball, Anne Quist, Dolly Bergmann, Bill Saluk, Ruth Sears, Tori Gibson, Krysta Hanson, Alisha Wagner, Kathie Hockenberry, Megan Sramek, Jim Kickland, Jen McEntaffer, Kelsey Beschorner. (Photo provided by the Chamber)

Kimball is excited to watch his business and customer base continue to expand, as sales are increasing each day. He stays busy bringing in different vendors and coordinating with the existing 25 to change out inventory displays weekly. RELIC offers a selection of unique items such as traditional antiques, TrUe JuNk candle line, the Old School Barber, and Midwest Mable clothing line. Kimball’s main focus is to not only grow his business, but to also help grow Downtown Atlantic, by partnering with other Atlantic businesses for different events.

RELIC is open 9-5 Monday through Saturday, and 9-7 on Thursdays. For more information regarding the business, visit their Facebook page, RELIC – Atlantic, or call 712-249-5742. RELIC is located at 401 Chestnut Street in Atlantic.

(Radio Iowa) – Fourth District Congressman Randy Feenstra is introducing a bill that would increase the federal government’s monitoring of farmland purchases by foreign business. Feenstra, a Republican from Hull, says the Farmland Act is aimed at China. “We’re seeing it more and more that China or Chinese businesses are buying our farmland and it’s nearly doubled in the last five years from the land they bought over the last decades to just the last three years,” Feenstra says. “They’ve nearly doubled the amount of land they’re buying. And it really comes from a lot of their businesses and obviously security issues is our biggest concern.”

The bill directs U.S. agencies to cooperate on oversight of these transactions. “The one that’s probably most important right now is just trying to get all the agencies together, the USDA, the DOD, other agencies around the country, to get them all together talking the same language and making sure that we are prohibiting some of these things from happening,” he says. “Right now, there’s a lot of lapses that have happened. I know the USDA has only ever really got involved with six different purchases over the last several years.”

Chinese firms have been purchasing U-S ag businesses, and that’s a concern to Feenstra. “If you think about from the farmland to Smithfield to they bought a seed company, I mean, they’re vertically integrated in the whole system from the land all the way to the production side and to our grocery stores,” Feenstra says. “So this has to worry us significantly. What is the purpose? Why are they doing this? And we’re trying to get oversight on this.” In particular, Feenstra says he’s concerned over Chinese land purchases near military bases. “This is sort of what started in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was right by our military installation there,” he says. “We have some of our most secure military assets over there and to have that land being bought and overseen by the Chinese Communist Party is a very significant concern.”

Feenstra says the federal government has not enforced laws already on the books that would protect the U.S. from acquisition of farmland by foreign adversaries.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – State Auditor Rob Sand, today (Friday), released an audit report on the City of Audubon. There were no, unusual findings noted in the report, just some issues with administrative oversight, which is a common feature of reports from the Auditor’s Office.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS:
The City’s receipts totaled $6,352,289 for the year ended June 30, 2022, a 2.8% increase over the prior year. Disbursements for the year ended June 30, 2022, totaled $5,181,056, a 7.8% decrease from the prior year. The decrease in disbursements is primarily due to the decrease in capital project activity in the current fiscal year.

AUDIT FINDINGS:
Sand reported seven findings related to the receipt and disbursement of taxpayer funds. They are found on pages 48 through 56 of the report. The findings address issues such as a lack of segregation of duties, errors in financial reporting, disbursements exceeding budgeted amounts and deficit fund balances in the Special Revenue, Road Use Tax and Economic Development Funds. Sand provided the City and the component unit with recommendations to address each of the findings.

Six of the seven findings discussed above pertaining to the City, are repeated from the prior year. Sand said “The City Council has a fiduciary responsibility to provide oversight of the City’s operations and financial transactions. Oversight is typically defined as the “watchful and responsible care” a governing body exercises in its fiduciary capacity.”

A copy of the audit report is available for review on the Auditor of State’s website at Audit Reports – Auditor of State.

(Radio Iowa) – A Bettendorf woman who claimed to have cancer has been ordered to repay people who donated to cover cancer treatments she never received. Twenty-year-old Madison Russo has pleaded guilty to one count of first degree theft in June and could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison. K-W-Q-C reports court documents show she must pay restitution to victims of her cancer scam before or as she’s sentenced on October 20th. Russo has been ordered to pay over 39-thousand dollars in total, but most of that must be paid to GoFundMe, where more than 400 donors gave money to support her.

Donations came from individuals, schools, businesses and non-profit groups. According to court documents, Russo used photos cancer patients had posted online and claimed she had leukemia, pancreatic cancer and a tumor the size of a football wrapped around her spine.

(Bartlett, Iowa) — A body pulled from Iowa side of the Missouri River last month, was identified as a woman from Nebraska. According to KETV in Omaha, officials with the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation (DCI) reported 39-year-old Elizabeth Adair, of Omaha, was found on July 18th, about four-miles south of the Bartlett boat ramp, west of Bartlett, in Fremont County. Her body was found U.S. Army Corps of Engineers workers.

Adair was identified through finger prints. A State Medical Examiner’s Office autopsy determined no foul play was involved in the woman’s death. Her death was investigated by Fremont County Sheriff’s Office and Iowa DCI, with assistance from Omaha Police.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – If you need to travel around the U.S. 20/Interstate 29 interchange in Sioux City next week, please watch for ramp closures as the Iowa Department of Transportation crews inspect bridges in the area. The five bridges are on U.S. 20 and will be inspected on Aug. 7 and Aug. 8, weather permitting. The DOT will be closing the westbound U.S. 20 to the southbound I-29 ramp on Monday, Aug. 7. Motorists will  be directed to a detour using Floyd Boulevard.

On Tuesday, Aug. 8., the DOT will close the southbound I-29 exit to eastbound U.S. 20 (to Fort Dodge). Travelers will be directed to a detour on U.S.20 over to Nebraska and then turning around to go east.

Both of these ramp closures will be in place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

(Sioux City, Iowa via KCAU) – Iowa Dept. of Transportation data show nearly 80% of Iowa motorcyclists killed in 2022 were not wearing a helmet. As thousands of bikers head to Sturgis, South Dakota for a motorcycle rally that runs through August 13th, the Iowa State Patrol urges safe driving.

Seventy-eight percent of motorcyclists killed in 2022 were not wearing a helmet, a 3% increase from 2021, and a 10% increase from 2020.  The number of fatalities, 49, was down from 2021, when 68 motorcyclists died. Despite Iowa’s lack of a motorcycle helmet law, Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Alex Dinkla said the Iowa State Patrol always recommends safety.

Thirty-two bikers have been killed on Iowa roads so far in 2023, putting Iowa on track to see more motorcycle fatalities than in 2022. There were no laws introduced in the most recent legislative session to require riders to protect themself with a helmet. Iowa, Illinois and New Hampshire are the three states with no motorcycle helmet laws. Other states require helmets for riders age 17 or younger, or for all riders.  In 2022, 45% of motorcyclists were impaired, a 2% decrease from 2021 and 6% decrease from 2020.

83rd Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, 2023 (Sturgis.com)

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report a woman was arrested Thursday evening on a Red Oak P-D warrant. 31-year-old Amanda Joy Williams, of Red Oak, was wanted on a warrant for Urinating and Defecating in Public. Williams was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $300 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – The legislative liaison for the state Board of Education says there isn’t one general set of instructions to schools for removing books from school libraries. Liaison Eric St. Clair was asked about the new laws that prohibit publications that depict sex acts and the teaching about gender identity. “We get feedback from the field, which is helpful in terms of what perhaps we thought was clear and isn’t clear. And as we get that feedback we review it on a case-by-case basis and determine how to appropriately respond,” St. Clair says. He was asked if there is a general set of guidelines they use to respond to districts. “It depends on the situation, and how it would be best addressed,” he says.

Board president, John Roberts, says he’s also getting feedback. “Talking to educators, there’s a lot of confusion, I know. People in the field that I’ve talked with, are looking for the D-E (Department of Education) or for somebody who provides direction, because right now people are and neither guessing what is right or wrong and not being a violation of the law,” he says. Roberts says the law doesn’t take effect until the first of the year — but there is confusion now as districts try to address the issue. “Anything that the D-E can do to help alleviate some of that confusion would be more than welcome,” he says.

The law also requires school districts to make available a comprehensive list of all books available to students in school libraries on their website.