(Atlantic, Iowa) –  The City Park in Atlantic, has been egged! It’s no “yolk.” The Easter Egg Hunt is schedule for Saturday April 16th from 10:30 am-until Noon, at the downtown City Park.  Parks and Rec Director Bryant Rasmussen says “We invite all of you to come out for that.  In addition to the Easter Egg Hunt, we will have painted eggs which people have decorated for you to vote on.  The eggs will line the park so you can either walk through and look at them or drive around the park and view them from your cars.”

If you are choosing to drive; start at the intersection of Chestnut and 6th Street.  Head south on Chestnut street and loop around the block.  The eggs will be on your right side.  Once you have seen all the eggs, stop by the Parks and Rec tent to place your vote for your favorite egg.  Votes will be tallied and the winning egg will be announced Saturday evening!  If you have not turned in your eggs.  Please do so by Wednesday afternoon by 3 pm.

Rasmussen says “We are doing the “cruise” a little different this year.  We are lining City Park with them since the traditional Easter Egg Hunt is back.”

(Washington, D-C) – According to multiple media reports, former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, the current US Secretary of Agriculture, is isolating after testing positive for COVID-19. Vilsack received word of his test results on Friday. He’s the latest high-profile Washington figure to test positive for COVID-19. In a Twitter post, Saturday, Vilsack said “I tested positive for COVID. I’m both vaccinated and boosted and thankfully my symptoms are mild. If you have yet to get vaccinated and boosted, please don’t wait.” Vilsack’s office said he is is experiencing mild symptoms.

The positive test comes after the secretary met with Mexican officials earlier this week. The secretary tested negative at the time of his departure and after his return. The Mexican government has been informed of this positive test.

(Milo, Iowa) – A single-vehicle rollover accident Friday night in Warren County claimed the lives of two 19-year-old men. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2001 Ford F-250 pickup driven by Bryce Vandeliune, of Milo, was traveling south out of Milo on County Road S-23 at around 10:45-p.m., when the vehicle went out of control.

The pickup slid into the west ditch and rolled over several times. The driver, and his passenger, Koby D. Clary, of Des Moines, were ejected and died at the scene. Neither was wearing a seat belt.

The Patrol was assisted at the scene by Warren County Sheriff’s Deputies and Milo Fire/EMS.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Minor injuries were reported but no one was transported to the hospital, following a collision between a full-size pickup and a small car, Saturday afternoon, in Atlantic. Assistant Police Chief Paul Wood said the accident which occurred at around 1:13-p.m. at 7th and Chestnut Streets, when a northbound red Mitsubishi at the stop light at the intersection, proceeded into the intersection after the vehicle in front, turned right.

(The driver of the car thought she had a green light. As she entered the intersection, her car was hit on the passenger front side by a Dodge Ram pickup traveling west on 7th Street.)

The pickup driver had a green light. After the impact, the car spun around and ended-up facing southwest on the corner of the intersection.

(The impact caused the car’s airbags to deploy.)

The occupants of the car suffered from minor bumps and bruises, according to the Assistant Chief. The names of the driver’s were not immediately released.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A traffic stop early this morning at 200th Street and Boxelder Avenue in Red Oak, resulted in the arrest of a woman on drug charges.  According to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, the traffic stop happened at around 3:18 a.m. During an investigation that followed, Deputies arrested 39-year old Elysia Tylene White, of Red Oak, for possession of Marijuana 1^st Offense, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Interference with Official Acts.

White was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

(Des Moines, Iowa_ The Iowa Department of Natural Resources and its federal partners are working together to monitor for the presence of avian influenza in Iowa’s wild birds. Avian influenza is a highly transmissible, naturally occurring disease often found in certain waterfowl and shorebirds. There are various strains of the disease ranging from strains causing no harm to domestic poultry to strains that are lethal. “Bird loss in the wild is a natural occurrence, so seeing one dead bird shouldn’t be cause for alarm, but if someone is finding a number of dead birds, especially ducks, geese or raptors, we want to know about it,” said Dr. Rachel Ruden, state wildlife veterinarian with the Iowa DNR.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has an online database tracking avian influenza positive wild birds by state at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-disease-information/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-2022/2022-hpai-wild-birds

Ruden said those who find five or more dead wild birds within a week should report their findings to their local wildlife biologist or state conservation officer. Contact information is available online at www.iowadnr.gov under the About DNR tab on the homepage. (https://www.iowadnr.gov/Portals/idnr/uploads/contacts/wildlife_management.pdf) (https://www.iowadnr.gov/Portals/idnr/uploads/Law%20Enforcement/dnrlemap31422.pdf)

Avian influenza can exist in a deceased bird for several weeks, depending upon environmental conditions. “We are encouraging the public not to handle sick or dead birds or to take sick birds to a wildlife rehabilitator to avoid unintentionally spreading avian influenza in the event that the bird is positive,” said Dr. Ruden.

At this point, she said, backyard birdfeeders are not of concern, unless mallards are actively using the feeder. Avian influenza’s impact on upland birds, like wild turkeys, is much less, because of the behaviors and preferred habitats make them less likely to encounter the disease in the wild. Spring turkey hunters can find information on handling and preparing wild turkeys online at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/publications/animal_health/2015/fsc_hpai_hunters.pdf

(Marshalltown, Iowa) — The family of a Marshalltown man, who worked in the town’s JBS plant, says the company disregarded workers’ safety when it came to COVID-19, which led to the death of Jose Andrade-Garcia.

Andrade-Garcia, who worked at the meatpacking plant for 21 years, according to the lawsuit, died of COVID-19 on May 15, 2020, after getting rushed to the hospital on April 17 for severe difficulty breathing. KCCI reports, according to the lawsuit, the man went to work, even though he felt sick, and worked until April 13. He was afraid he would be fired if he didn’t show up to work due to the company’s “point system” for attendance, the suit states. If an employee received enough points they would be fired for not showing up, according to the filing.

The company had a steak lunch, to thank employees for their work. According to the lawsuit, despite the Governor’s order at the time that public gatherings be limited to no more than 10 people, “… hundreds of Defendants’ workers were crammed inside the Marshalltown plant cafeteria” with inadequate safety precautions, such as social distancing and limited quantities of people, and provided no protective equipment such as masks or barriers.”

The suit also alleges that workers endured similar conditions while working inside the plant. The Andrade-Garcia family seeks punitive damages and compensation for his loss. It accuses the company of fraudulent misrepresentation, such as the spread of COVID-19 in the Marshalltown plant, sufficient safety measures implemented inside and sufficient safety equipment. It also accuses the company of gross negligence because it owed a duty to Andrade-Garcia to not create intentional or reckless policies to cause injury.

A JBS spokesperson says the company does not comment on pending litigation, lawyers for the company have not filed a response to the initial motion. Tyson faces two separate suits from families of four Waterloo employees who died from the virus in 2020. The company has filed a motion to dismiss both cases, but the court has not rule on those motions. Both cases are set to go to trial in 2024.

(Red Oak, Iowa) –A traffic stop late Friday night in Red Oak, resulted in an arrest. According to Red Oak Police, 21-year-old Ayden Michael Rossell, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 11-p.m., for driving while barred. Rossell was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $2,000 bond.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office released details on the arrest of three individuals following a traffic stop on Monday, April 4th. The traffic stop was conducted at 8:41 a.m. in the 1400 block of N 7th Street in Red Oak.

Deputies arrested 28-year-old Cody James Copeland of Graham, MO for Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Deliver, Possession of Marijuana 3rd or subsequent Offense, and Driving Under Suspension. He was held on $100,000 bond.

Also arrested was 25-year-old Dejonh Eugene Malik Delarge-Kimble of Olathe, KS for Possession of Methamphetamine 3rd or subsequent offense, Possession of Marijuana 3rd or subsequent offense. he was held on $7,000 bond.

20-year-old Carter Allen Christensen of Maryville, MO was also arrested during the stop for Possession of Marijuana. He was held on $1,000 bond.

Sheriff’s Deputies seized a sizeable amount of methamphetamine and some US currency during the stop. The Sherrif’s Office was assisted by the Red Oak Police Department.

(Radio Iowa) – President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit Iowa early next week. Officials from the White House told The Des Moines Register Biden will be in Des Moines on Tuesday, but details about when and where were not released. Biden’s last trip to Iowa was in the fall of 2020, for a pre-election rally at the state fairgrounds.

The Iowa Democratic Party’s chairman says he’s eager for Iowans to hire directly from the president next week about projects around the state that are financed by the infrastructure bill Biden approved last year. The Iowa Republican Party’s chairman says Biden is pursuing big government policies that are reckless.