(Creston, Iowa) – The Union County Sheriff’s Office says a passenger in an SUV that struck a pickup Friday afternoon west of Creston, was transported to the hospital in Creston, for treatment of a head injury. Authorities say a 2002 Jeep Liberty driven by 45-year-old Alan Wayne Blazek, of Fontanelle, was southbound on Clover Avenue at around 1:20-p.m., Friday. He noticed a 2005 Dodge RAM 1500 pickup driven by 72-year-old Michael James Wolfe, of Creston, was crossing the intersection with 160th Street. Blazek tried to press on the brakes to avoid hitting the pickup, but was unsuccessful.

The Jeep struck the pickup on the passenger side. A side airbag curtain deployed in the pickup upon impact. A passenger in the Jeep, 48-year-old Velma Blazek, of Fontanelle, was injured and transported to the hospital by ambulance. The Union County Sheriff’s Office says Wolfe failed to yield the right-of-way from the stop sign. Wolfe told authorities he didn’t see the Jeep when it went into the intersection.

Wolfe was issued a citation for failing to yield from a stop sign. Both vehicles were able to be driven from the scene. Damages amounted to $3,500.

Des Moines, IA – A Muscatine County man was sentenced Friday, April 7, 2023, to twenty years in prison following his guilty plea for Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Child.

According to court documents, from February 2022 to September 2022, David Franklin Duncan III, 33, used cellphones and Facebook to communicate with a person he believed to be a fifteen-year-old child. During the conversations, Duncan attempted to employ, use, persuade, entice, or coerce the person he believed to be a child to capture and send Duncan images and videos of the child engaged in sexually explicit conduct, to travel to Duncan’s location or meet him at an agreed location for the purpose of engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and to engage in commercial sex acts. Duncan also sent images and videos of his penis and of him masturbating. Unbeknownst to Duncan, the person he was communicating with was an undercover law enforcement officer.

Following his prison term, Duncan must also serve a ten-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Altoona Police Department, in conjunction with the Iowa Crimes Against Children Task Force, investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Kyle Essley prosecuted the case.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports two arrests:

Saturday afternoon, 53-year-old Raquel Ann Hansen, of Sunrise Beach, MO., was arrested for OWI/1st offense. She was taken into custody at around 2:40-p.m. following a traffic stop on I-29 at mile marker 43. Bond was set at $1,000.

And, at around 9:45-a.m. today (Monday), 60-year-old Thomas Dean Schroder, of Carson, was arrested at the Pottawattamie County Jail on a Mills County warrant for 2 counts of Possession of Controlled Substance and Drug Tax Violation. His bond was set at $36,000.

April 10, 2023 (DES MOINES, IA) – Today, the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) announced innovation funding for three startups through Iowa’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). The companies are located in Ames, Iowa City and Washington.

The SSBCI program invests in Iowa’s small businesses through federal assistance targeted at expanding access to capital that supports growth. The Innovation Fund, one of four areas established under the initiative, increases funding opportunities across Iowa’s innovation continuum to assist entrepreneurs through concept, launch and expansion.

 Three startups approved for Innovation Funds

Based in Ames, Nebullam Inc. offers a full-service subscription opportunity selling produce directly to consumers. Their vertically integrated indoor farms grow a variety of produce for sale via their online platform with fresh local delivery. The company was awarded a $250,000 Innovation Acceleration Launch Fund loan for key personnel.

Iowa City’s SmartScripts Holdings, LLC is a data provider focused on patient outcome solutions. Their platform facilitates distribution between pharmaceutical manufacturers and patients to help lower costs. The company was awarded a $1,000,000 Innovation Acceleration Expansion Fund loan for product refinement, key personnel, equipment and software development.

Continuum Ag, based in Washington, provides farmers with a digital roadmap for soil health success. TopSoil, their proprietary software, helps farmers profit from the regenerative practices they implement on their farms. The company received a $250,000 Innovation Acceleration Launch Fund loan for key personnel and IP development and evaluation.

Award recommendations for the SSBCI innovation funding are made by the SSBCI Review Committee to the IEDA executive director for approval. The committee met on April 4, 2023, to review eligible applications. Additional information on application process, deadlines and eligibility can be found at iowaeda.com/innovate.

(Cass County, Iowa) – Atlantic and Massena are hosting mobile food pantries this week, on Wednesday afternoon April 12. A mobile pantry is a traveling food pantry that delivers food directly to families in need for a one-day distribution. People from surrounding towns and communities are welcome. Mobile food pantries are available free of charge. Anyone in need is welcome, and no documentation is required. Each car can take food for up to two households at a time. It is important to note that Massena pantries require pre-registration. See below for details.

April 12 Mobile Food Pantries:

• Atlantic, at the Cass County Community Center on the Fairgrounds, from 4-6 PM. Enter from 10th Street on Fair Avenue. Questions call 712-243-1132.
• Massena at Southwest Iowa Egg, 74877 Clark Avenue, Massena, Iowa – Enter from west end and drive across the scale for the pick up.  Time:  4:30 – 5:00. NOTE: You MUST sign up by Mon. April 10 to get food from this pantry. Boxes are limited, so early signup is appreciated. To sign up, call 712-779-3447.

Upcoming Atlantic 2023 Mobile Food Pantries

Please note: Atlantic 2023 Mobile Food Pantries are being held at different locations during the school year (Cass County Community Center) and summer months (Atlantic High School).

• Time: 4:00-6:00 PM
  • Cass County Community Center (805 W. 10th St., Atlantic, IA 50022): October 11
  • Atlantic High School (1201 E. 14th St. Atlantic, IA 50022): June 14, July 12, August 9

Upcoming Massena 2023 Mobile Food Pantries

Please note: Massena pantries require registration. Boxes are limited. Registration ends the Monday prior to the pantry date. To register for pantries in Massena, call (712) 779-3447.

Where: Southwest Iowa Egg Coop (74877 Clarke Ave. Massena, IA 50853)

2023 Dates: June 14 (register by June 12), July 12 (register by July 10), August 9 (register by Aug. 7), October 11 (register by Oct. 9)

Box pick-up time: 4:45-5:15 PM

Mobile pantry dates, times, and locations are subject to change. For the latest information on mobile pantries in Anita and Atlantic, visit https://foodbankheartland.org/food-resources/find-food/. For the latest information on Massena pantries, call (712) 779-3447. For information on local food, farmers markets, and food access, follow the Cass County Local Food Policy Council’s Facebook page @CassCountyLocalFood.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Chamber Ambassadors visited with owners and staff of Eleven O Three Clothing Company on Friday, April 7th, 2023, to view the recent additions from Bonnesen’s Five & Dime store. Eleven O Three is a clothing boutique that was started in Villa Dance Company to give dance parents and students something to shop around for while waiting for classes to begin and end. It began with a few racks of options and kept growing to the point where a party room was converted into a full-time boutique.

After Bonnesen’s announced they would be closing their doors at the end of 2022, Rachel Johnson, Villa Dance Company owner, couldn’t see the old school candy and coffee options go away. They have spent the past few months installing the Bonnesen’s candy counter and working through state inspections to ensure everything was done by the books. Today, you will find the same fun, “old school” candy you would find at Bonnesen’s with a few new fun twists and options.

Eleven O Three Clothing Company carries a variety of clothing ranging in sizes XS-3XL. The business also carries jewelry, bags, soaps, salts, a limited supply of baby clothes and now candy and coffee. The boutique is open Monday-Wednesday, 11:03AM-7PM, and Friday, 11:03AM-5PM. The boutique is open on select Saturday’s for special events.

Photo submitted

Eleven O Three Clothing Company is located at 1103 SW 7th Street, Atlantic. To learn more, visit them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/elevenothreeclothingcompany

(Greenfield, Iowa) – Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports two recent arrests.

• 46-year-old Joseph Eric Funke, of Fontanelle, was arrested April 2nd, for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Funke was a passenger in a vehicle that was at a convenience store in Adair. As a Deputy approached to speak with Funke, he could smell the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. Funke admitted to smoking a joint earlier. A Probable cause search of the vehicle turned up a small amount of marijuana joints inside of a cigarette box, and a glass pipe with methamphetamine residue. An additional glass pipe with residue consistent with the smoking of meth, was found in the vehicle’s center console. Funke was cited for Possession and released at the scene with a summons to appear in court.
• 40-year-old Dustin Brian Benge, of Greenfield, was arrested April 6th on an Adair County warrant for Tampering with a witness or juror. Benge was also taken into custody for Violation of Probation. He was being held on a combined $8,000 cash-only bond.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports four-people were injured, with one person suffering serious injuries, during a collision Sunday afternoon northeast of Orient. In an update to our earlier report, Sheriff Jeff Vandewater said a 2016 Dodge RAM pickup driven by 70-year-old Judy Ann Sammons, of Orient, was facing west at the intersection of Henry A. Wallace Road and 300th Street, at a posted stop sign. A semi-truck same out of the south on Henry A. Wallace Road, and turned west onto 300th Street.

Sammons failed to see a 2016 Honda Odyssey van coming from the south and headed northbound, behind the semi. Sammons proceeded to continue traveling west, and in doing so, was struc by the van, driven by 55-year-old Laura Michelle Baker, of West Des Moines. Sammons suffered suspected serious/incapacitating injuries, and was transported by Adair County Ambulance to the Greater Regional Hospital, in Creston. She complained of neck pain, and has also suffered cuts and bruises.

Laura Baker was transported to the Adair County Memorial Hospital in Greenfield, also by an Adair County Ambulance. She complained of head, neck and abdominal pain. Two passengers in the van, 17-year-old Braden Baker and 19-year-old Brielle Baker, both from West Des Moines, also complained of pain and were transported to the hospital. Both vehicles sustained a total of $25,000 and were towed away. Sammons was cited for Failure to Yield.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds has chosen an attorney who represented the Trump campaign in a high profile case to be a state gambling regulator. The governor is appointing Alan Ostergren to replace a former state legislator on the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission next month. Ostergren is president and C-E-O of The Kirkwood Institute, which is described on its website as a conservative public interest law firm. Ostergren was elected to three terms as Muscatine County Attorney, but resigned in May of 2020 to enter private practice.

Ostergren successfully represented the Trump campaign’s challenge of voter registration forms mailed by county auditors from Linn, Johnson and Woodbury Counties for the 2020 General Election. He also represented Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks campaign during the recount in her 2020 race for the U.S. House. In 2022, Ostergren was the attorney who handled challenges to the nomination petitions Democrat Abby Finkenauer submitted for the U-S Senate Primary.

Ostergren’s nomination to the Racing and Gaming must be confirmed by at least 34 senators. Republicans now hold 34 seats in the 50-member Iowa Senate.