(Red Oak, Iowa) – A pickup truck not placed in “Park” got away from a man and crashed into a fence, Sunday morning, in Red Oak. Authorities say there were no injuries, but the damage amounted to $2,100 altogether. 64-year-old Michael Dean Norris, of Red Oak, was driving the City of Red Oak-owned 1998 Dodge RAM pickup, when he stopped at around 7-a.m. to pick up trash from the Fountain Square Park.

The pickup rolled south in the 500 block of N. 3rd Street, with Norris in pursuit, on foot. The vehicle turned to the west and went down the alley before turning slightly northwest into an empty grass lot, and came to rest against a steel fence owned by Davis Taylor Insurance. The impact caused the fence to be slightly bent-over. There were no citations issued.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports two people were arrested over the weekend on separate warrants. Authorities say at around 11:45-p.m. Friday, 33-year-old Cassi Mae Bird, of Des Moines, was arrested on two warrants at a motel on Laurel Street.  First was a Des Moines Police Department warrant for Domestic Abuse Assault. The second warrant was for a Parole Violation. Bird was transported to the Adams County Jail, were she was being held without bond until an initial appearance on the first warrants, and no bond on the second. She was also being held pending extradition to the Polk County Jail.

And, just after 10-a.m. Saturday, 24-year-old Cody Igor Corfits, of West Des Moines, was arrested at the Creston Union County Law Enforcement Center. Corfits was taken into  custody on a Union County Warrant for Violation of Probation, on an original charge of Domestic Abuse 1st offense (a simple misdemeanor). Corfits was transported to the Union County Jail where he was being held on $600 cash or surety bond.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – This week’s Produce in the Park is packed full of family friendly activities, a new food truck vendor, and honoring the “Founding Mother” of the annual event. Pim’s Thai mobile restaurant is the featured vendor for the event in the down Atlantic City Park (10 W. 7th Street). Produce in the Park is held each Thursday through September, from 4:30-to 6:30-p.m.

Other info.: 

Activities: Bounce Houses from the Nishna Valley Family YMCA, Yard Games and more fun from Atlantic Parks and Rec, and more
Live Music: Sarah Selders
Herbs week: Fresh herbs taste tests, Guest Chef recipe featuring herbs, buy fresh herbs and herb plants from various vendors. Visit the Grow Another Row Cass County table to learn about donating herbs.

Products: Fresh produce, local meats, farm-fresh eggs, honey, popcorn, fresh lemonade, pastries, kringle, soaps, candles, freshies, art, jewelry, and more!
Celebrate LaVon Eblen of KJAN’s Backyard and Beyond. After 25 years on the air, LaVon is retiring. Backyard and Beyond has been a great program that has covered Produce in the Park many times. LaVon was also a founding mother of Produce in the Park. Come thank her for all she’s done for the community!

Self-Care Summer:  The VA Nebraska Western Iowa’s suicide prevention oordinator will be at the park with info.
Free drawing for a dozen eggs sponsored by the Cass County Local Food Policy Council. (Anyone age 18+ can enter for free. Winner will be drawn after the market and receive eggs the following week.

Payment methods accepted: All vendors accept cash. Many accept credit card and Venmo. All qualifying food vendors accept SNAP/EBT (also known as food stamps). All fresh produce vendors both accept and distribute Double Up Food Bucks (coupons given for SNAP/EBT purchases of fresh produce). Follow PiP at https://www.facebook.com/ProduceInThePark

(Greenfield, Iowa) – Court records show a preliminary hearing is scheduled to take place 10:30-a.m. Thursday, in Adair County, for a Nebraska man who faces Felony Class-C charges that include Theft in the 1^st Degree and Burglary in the 2^nd Degree, a Felony Class-D charge of Theft in the 2^nd Degree, and a serious misdemeanor charge of Criminal Mischief in the 4^th Degree. Those charges against 25-year-old Luis David Penaloza-Garcia are associated with a June 9^th rural Adair County residential break-in. His cash or surety bond was listed as $30,000.

Penaloza-Garcia allegedly tried to break-into a residence southwest of Casey, on June 9^th after he allegedly crashed a stolen vehicle he was driving on I-80, near the Adair rest areas. A resident of the home heard suspicious noises, and shot Penaloza-Garcia when he found the man inside his home.

Luis Penaloza Garcia

(Afton, Iowa) – A collision between a pickup truck and an ambulance, Friday night in Union County, but no one was hurt. According to the Union County Sheriff’s Office, the accident occurred at around 10:47-p.m. on Highway 34, near Lark Avenue, northwest of Afton. Officials say two Greater Regional Medical Center ambulances were checking on a vehicle in the ditch. Both vehicles had their emergency lights activated. One of the ambulances, a 2021 Dodge Ram-based vehicle, had stopped on the shoulder of the road and was attempting to turn around.

The driver of the 2005 Chevy 2500 pickup, 21-year-old Bradley Wayne Toppin, of Afton, had stopped for the ambulances. When Toppin, and the driver of the ambulance turning around, 40-year-old Dennis Wayne Cheers, of Afton, proceeded at the same time, their vehicles came into contact in the center of the highway. Both vehicles sustained minor damage that totaled $2,000.

Toppin was cited for Failure to Yield to an Emergency Vehicle.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa may not be at the top of the list of cruise ship destinations — but hundreds of people will be visiting on Missippi River cruises this year. Steve Ahrens is the executive officer of the Riverfront Improvement Commission in Davenport, which greets the passengers during stops. “They are all over I have so much fun interacting with them,” he says, “here they are having sort of that Mark Twain-esque kind of experience plus right — and a little bit of that whole that Midwest, nice kind of hospitality that goes with it.”

The American Cruise Line has been traveling the Mississippi for 15 years, and its American Melody boat made its first stop along Davenport’s riverfront Sunday. The Viking Cruise Line is starting its first North American trips on the Mississippi River later this year. Ahrens says the cruises bring a wide variety of people to Iowa. “They are from all over this country, and many times international guests are aboard as well,” according to Ahrens. “And we’re told especially that will be the case with Viking when they start up in early August.” Ahrens says the stops are not long — but there are many things for the passengers to do — including specially crafted exhibits and stops such as the museum or art center.

“They want unique experiences, that we sometimes that the folks that live here take for granted, many others enjoy these immensely. They also enjoy something else we take for granted. And that is the majestic views of the Mississippi River,” he says. He says the size of the cruises varies — but the companies say they have great interest. “We go from like 170, I think, to 300. You know, as far as a number of passengers, and we’re told that they’re both in both cases, they’re already booking, you know, into through 2023 into 2024,” Ahrens says.

Aherns says the cruises start from different ports of call, including Dubuque, Hannibal, and St. Louis, and can go up to St. Paul.

(Radio Iowa) – Work will begin tonight (Monday) on the final portion of a long-awaited bridge that will benefit thousands of fans on football game days in Ames. The East Gateway Bridge over University Boulevard allows fans to cross the roadway to Jack Trice Stadium from the parking areas east of the stadium. John Harvey with Iowa State University’s facilities management team, says fans from all around can use the bridge.

Harvey says they will close the roadway to traffic and install a steel truss over the roadway connecting two towers. They will then install the bridge deck. He says there are other panels that will go on the bridge as well and they plan to have it all done by the season opener.

The project costs ten-million-dollar dollars, and will also benefit motorists who won’t have to stop for pedestrians crossing the roadway.

(Radio Iowa) – Crowds gathered in many cities over the past three days to protest the end of nationwide abortion rights. Kathleen Murrin, who attended a protest in Des Moines, says she’s heartbroken and furious.  “I had an ectopic pregnancy as my first pregnancy. That would be considered an abortion today. That just makes no sense to me. And I would not have a choice in that,” she said. “It’s my health care, my body. My doctor and I are the ones that did make that decision and should still be able to make that decision.”

Hundreds of protesters rallied in front of the governor’s mansion on Friday night. Lexi McKee Hemmingway spoke at a rally in Sioux City. She leads an abortion rights group in South Dakota, where abortion was banned immediately after the Supreme Court’s ruling. She says their mission has now changed. “It’s going to be getting people across state lines to receive the necessary, accessible health care, because abortion is health care,” she said.

An abortion rights protester near the courthouse in Cedar Rapids was injured Friday night when a pick-up drove through the pedestrian cross walk. Other protesters took photos of the license plate. Cedar Rapids police have interviewed the driver.

(Radio Iowa) – Democratic Congresswoman Cindy Axne of West Des Moines and Republican Senator Joni Ernst voted for the bipartisan gun bill President Biden signed into law this weekend. The rest of Iowa’s congressional delegation opposed it.

Republican Congresswomen Ashley Hinson of Marion and Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa as well as Congressman Randy Feenstra of Hull opposed the bill, as did Senator Chuck Grassley. All expressed concern it does not provide adequate due process rights when it comes to confiscating guns from people considered a threat to themselves or others. Miller-Meeks specifically criticized including access to mental health records during background checks for gun buyers under the age of 21.

Republican Senator Joni Ernst says the law does not place new restrictions on law-abiding gun owners. Congresswoman Axne, a Democrat from West Des Moines, says the bill will make schools safer, but doesn’t go far enough. Axne supports restoring the ban on assault weapons.

(Polk County, Iowa) – A man on a motorcycle died from injuries he suffered Saturday night, in Johnston. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee was traveling west on NW Beaver Avenue at around 10:21-p.m., at the same time a 2002 Harley Davidson motorcycle was traveling east. When the SUV turned onto NW 70th Avenue, the driver, 25-year-old Makenna Kathleen Streff, of Polk City, failed to see the approaching cycle operated by 33-year-old Landon Mark Crabtree, of Knoxville. The Jeep struck the motorcycle during the turn.

Streff was not injured in the collision. Crabtree was transported by Johnston EMS to Methodist Hospital in Des Moines, where he died. The crash remains under investigation.