(Radio Iowa) – Federal drug agents are warning Iowa parents about so-called “rainbow fentanyl” being a potential danger to kids going trick-or-treating next month. Emily Murray, spokeswoman for the regional U-S Drug Enforcement Agency office in Omaha, says they haven’t seen any evidence of that controversial, colorful killer in the region — yet.

Halloween is a month away yet, but Murray urges Iowa parents to sort through all the candy their kids bring home before any of it is eaten.

Murray says there are some common sense steps to take, like not eating anything that’s not properly wrapped.

Along with the fentanyl dangers, Murray says the agency is still seeing — and seizing — large quantities of meth in the region.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors held their regular weekly meeting Friday morning, during which they received a resignation from Sara Harris, Cass County Auditor. The letter states her last day is September 12, 2022. During their meeting last week, the Board had refused to accept her resignation. The board, Friday (today), accepted her resignation date to effective as of Friday, October 7, 2022.

In her Agenda minutes, Deputy Auditor Sheri Karns said that after publishing the Notice of Intent to Appoint Cass County Auditor in all three county newspapers the board came to a consensus that they have decided to appoint, per Iowa Code Section 69, Kathy Somers to the vacant position of Cass County Auditor to begin October 10, 2022.

In other business, as we previously reported, the County Sheriff’s and Attorney’s offices have requested permission to add a shared part time position. After conducting five interviews they have chosen Stephanie Witzman to fill the position ‘Office Liaison’ for their offices. Ms. Witzman has 23 years prior experience in the Sheriff’s Office and 11 months in the Clerk of Court. The offices recommend, based on her experience, that she begin at a starting wage of $24.00/hour. The position is considered a part time basis with no more than 32 hours per week and benefits are included according to the County Employee Handbook. The Board approved the request as written.

During the Public Comment portion of the meeting, Wendi Barnett, Cass County Clerk of Court, requested new locks on the Court Attendant, Magistrate Court and Juvenile Services Offices. Supervisor Steve Green will contact a locksmith. Clerk of Court Office inquired about the mail distribution at the courthouse. It was advised that the Clerk of Court is able to obtain their own suite number and have their mail delivered directly to them.

The Supervisors recessed for public hearing on County Ordinance Two: General Relief Assistance Program. The Board motioned and approved the Ordinance Two after the second reading, with the Third reading to take place October 11, 2022. In regular session once again, Cass County Treasurer, Tracey Marshall, presented wage adjustments for 3 employees, Stacy Mueller and Jordan Liddell to 85% and Celeste Burroughs to 80% of the annual salary of the county treasurer’s base salary. The Supervisors approved the wage increases as submitted.

Cass County Treasurer, Tracey Marshall, also requested pay increases for Stacie Linfor and Bailee Smith to increase from $18.00/hr. to $20.00/hr. The board referred to minutes from June 8, 2022, where it was approved that their wage could be increased to $19.00/hr after 90 days and a performance review. The Supervisors approved increasing Bailee Smith to $19.00/hr starting 9/26/2022 and Stacie Linfor to $19.00/hr starting 10/25/2022.

Cass County Treasurer made a written recommendation to the Board of Supervisors to abate taxes due on two mobile homes. After lengthy discussion, the Board voted 5-to 1 (with Mark O’Brien opposed) to adopt RESOLUTION 2022-046 Resolution to Abate Tax. In other news, the Cumberland Public Library submitted to a Board an ARPA request. They request $16,249.00 to replace the roof and gutters on the library building. The supervisors said they would like to visit with the City of Cumberland before deciding on whether or not to award ARPA funds to repair a city owned building. Action was tabled until their meeting on October 11, 2022.

The Sale of the County Owned Farm was discussed. The consensus of the board is that an auction seems to be the preferred method at this time. A public hearing must be held to proceed any further. A Resolution was approved to Set Date of Public Hearing for Sale of County Owned Farm. Public Hearing dates would be October 18, 2022, and October 25, 2022 and October 31, 2022.

The Cass County Supervisors’ next meeting is Tuesday, October 11, 2022.

(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.