Red Oak, Iowa — Montgomery County Memorial Hospital + Clinics (MCMH), in partnership with Major Gen. (R) Chris Hughes, along with seven other Western Iowa Hospitals, are sending urgently needed medical supplies to Ukraine.

Russ Reynolds- MCMH Environmental Services Manager, Major Gen. (R) Chris Hughes, and Russ Cooner – volunteer from Audubon County Memorial Hospital.

Major Gen. (R) Chris Hughes, a native of Red Oak, Iowa, has been working with the non-profit organization, Nova Ukraine (https://novaurkaine.org) to find, purchase and ship urgent medical supplies in support of the Ukrainian military and citizenry. Major Gen. (R) Hughes reached out to MCMH CEO, Ron Kloewer, asking for help in identifying medical suppliers. This request led to MCMH reaching out to other Western Iowa Hospitals in a coordinated effort to supply Nova Ukraine with the medical supplies needed on the ground.

CEO’s left to right – Russ Cooner – volunteer from Audubon County Memorial Hospital + Clinics, Suzanne Cooner – CEO Audubon County Memorial Hospital + Clinics, Major Gen. (R) Chris Hughes, Barry Jacobsen – CEO Myrtue Medical Center , Ron Kloewer – CEO Montgomery County Memorial Hospital + Clinics, Brett Altman – CEO Cass Health

MCMH CEO, Ron Kloewer said “Here at MCMH we are honored and humbled to help with this effort for the people of Ukraine. I am proud of my staff and I’m grateful to the area hospitals for their tremendous effort stepping up to help coordinate gathering and shipping of the supplies. MCMH is the staging location for shipments headed to Ukraine. Seven other hospitals including; Audubon County Memorial Hospital + Clinics, Crawford County Memorial Hospital, St. Anthony Regional Hospital, Cass Health, Myrtue Medical Center, Shenandoah Medical Center and Spencer Hospital, brought medical supplies to MCMH, Friday, March 11th.

MCMH is working closely with Nova Ukraine to get the supplies on the ground in Ukraine. Nearly a dozen pallets of medical supplies were collected from this joint effort and will be heading to Ukraine.

The Iowa State Patrol reports five people were injured, Friday, during two separate accidents on near opposite sides of the State. At around 12:06-a.m., Friday, a single vehicle accident in Dickinson County resulted in a man and woman from Milford to separate hospitals.

The Patrol says a 2003 Chevy Suburban was westbound on 9th Street in Milford, when for reasons unknown, the SUV left the road, began to skid and then jumped the northwest curb at the intersection of 9th Street and K Avenue. The vehicle then hit a tree and a house at 901 K Avenue. The occupants, 35-year-old’s Rodney and Sasha Allen, were ejected in the crash. Neither was wearing a seat belt. Rodney Allen was transported to Avera Sioux Falls in Sioux Falls by air ambulance. Sasha Allen was transported by Spirit Lake Ambulance to the hospital in Spencer. The Patrol the it’s not clear who was driving the SUV.

The other accident happened at around 10:40-a.m., Friday, in Cerro Gordo County. The Patrol reports a 2019 transit bus was westbound in the north driveway at Hy-Vee in Mason City, when the driver, 69-year-old Terry Wolters, of Mason City, suffered a medical emergency. The bus went out of control and swerved to the left into the path of an eastbound 2011 Dodge Caravan driven by 76-year-old Bobby Dirks, of Mason City.

The bus and the van collided head-on. Following the impact, the transit bus hit a tree in the parking lot and came to rest against the tree, facing southwest. The van spun and came to rest facing west. Both drivers and a passenger in the van, 77-year-old Joyce Dirks, were injured. All three were transported to Mercy One Hospital in Mason City. The injured were wearing their seat belts.

(Lewis, Iowa) – A reminder to motorists in Cass County: A project to repair the bridge deck on the U.S. Highway 6 bridge over Indian Creek, just west of Lewis, requires closure of U.S. 6 from 7 a.m. Monday, March 14 until 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 16, weather permitting. The Iowa Department of Transportation’s Creston construction office says during this project, traffic will be detoured around the work zone using U.S. 71, Iowa 92, and Iowa 48.

The Iowa DOT reminds motorists to drive with caution, obey the posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, drivers should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.

(Elliott, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County say the driver of a Subaru Outback was arrested following a crash that occurred a little after 11-p.m. Friday, east of Elliott. Authorities say Roger Dean Cook, of Red Oak, was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia, with additional charges pending the results of a drug screen. Cook was traveling west on 100th Street when his vehicle crossed into the opposite lane of traffic and went into the ditch, where it struck a power line pole, breaking it in half.

The SUV continued in the ditch and hit a barbed-wire fence before coming to rest. The vehicle sustained an estimated $15,000 damage, and was declared a total loss. Cook denied rescue and suffered no injures during the incident.  He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – It appears the long-running drought in western Iowa will continue running well into 2022 as experts predict below-normal flows for the Missouri River basin this spring and summer. Doug Kluck, the Central Region climate service director for the National Weather Service, says soil moisture levels are well under average across the entire region.

“It’s all below normal, pretty much everywhere,” Kluck says. “Portions of the Dakotas have a little bit of soil moisture in them but going into spring, we’re really focusing on getting help from spring rainfall at this point. Fall and winter didn’t help us out.” Kluck predicts temperatures from March through May will be warmer than the norm.

“Better chances for above-normal temperatures, although slight, across almost the entire basin,” Kluck says. “Upper basin actually has a little bit of weak signature towards cooler-than-normal temperatures in the far northwest and then warm once you get halfway through South Dakota, Wyoming, all the way through the south and east of there.” Kluck says he’s concerned about the worsening dry conditions across the region.

“What we don’t like seeing but is typical of a La Nina year on the precipitation outlook is this below-normal forecast sneaking up from the south and southwest,” he says. According to Kluck, the mountain snowpack, which feeds into the basin, is about 80-percent of normal.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has passed a bill that would nullify many city and county ordinances that critics say prevent Iowans from having successful home based businesses. Representative Skyler Wheeler of Orange City, a Republican, says Iowans should be able to operate a business out of their home if they aren’t disturbing neighbors.

“Home based businesses empower entrepreneurs to start businesses from their homes, earn and save money, maintain a flexible schedule and realize their dreams of self-employment,” Wheeler says. “Unfortunately, local governments impose costly restrictions on these businesses through a patchwork of outmoded zoning, licensing and permitting requirements.” A section of the bill would allow home-based baking businesses to earn up to 50-thousand dollars a year — the cap today is 35-thousand dollars — and make it legal to sell jams, jellies and syrups made in a home kitchen.

State regulators would have authority to inspect food prep businesses in a home. “Six states have this. South Dakota just passed something very similar to this,” Wheeler says. “We believe folks may already be doing this, so this sets a framework up to not just legalize it, but to keep people safe through the proper channels.” Representative Chuck Isenhart, a Democrat from Dubuque, says a lot of folks liked working from home during the pandemic and these concepts are worth discussing, but the bill may go too far.

“I think the bill is very broad in scope,” Isenhart says, “and probably has some unintended consequences that a lot of us will be wailing and gnashing our teeth over in the future.” The bill passed the House on a 66-to-25 vote. If the Senate and the governor approve it, too, Iowa cities and counties would only be allowed to have regulations for at-home businesses that are based on public health and safety or the impact the business might have the residential neighborhood.

(Radio Iowa) Officials say three people were injured after a train hit a semi-truck and derailed, in Denison. Tim Zenk is the assistant fire chief for the Denison Fire Department. He says the truck carrying weights for a crane reportedly got hung up on a railroad crossing on Thursday afternoon.

“An eastbound locomotive and train traveling around 65 miles an hour separated the trailer in half,” Zenk said. “We had to get Public Works involved to get some streets shut off and get the traffic out of the area.” Union Pacific confirmed in a written statement that two members of the train crew and the truck driver were all taken to the hospital in Denison after the collision.

Picture from our sister-station KDSN

Crews arrived late Thursday to begin clearing and repairing the tracks. Zenk says up to a thousand feet of railroad tracks may have to be replaced. “They’ll clear all the wrecked material and locomotives, rebuild the lines, and get this thing flowing again,” Zenk said. “The railroad won’t mess around and I would recommend the public try to stay a couple of blocks away from here.” That area includes a pair of railroad crossings just south of Highway 30 in Denison.

A number of rail cars derailed. Union Pacific does not have an estimate on how long repairs are expected to take.

Devin Hogue (A-PD Photo)

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Atlantic Mayor Grace Garrett, today (Friday), announced the next leader of the City’s Police force. Garrett said in a press release, “It is my honor to announce that effective April 1, 2022, Atlantic will have a new Chief of Police and an Assistant Chief of Police. Lieutenant Devin Hogue has been promoted to Chief of Police and Lieutenant Paul Wood has been promoted to the Assistant Chief of Police.

Lieutenant Hogue and Lieutenant Wood have a combined 31 years of experience in Law Enforcement, with 27 of those years serving the City of Atlantic. They bring many talents and abilities to the department and already have the respect of their team. I look forward to working with them as they lead the Atlantic Police Department in this new era. Congratulations to both officers!”

Current Police Chief Dave Erickson has served the City for 25 ½ years, the last 5 ½ as Chief. On Feb. 2nd, he announced his resignation, saying “It’s time to step down and let some of the younger generation take over.” Erickson’s last day as Chief is March 31st.

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Devin Hogue joined the Atlantic Police Department in August of 2011. Prior to joining the APD, he worked at the Shenandoah Police Department and attended the 13th Basic Academy Class through Western Iowa Tech Community College, where he became certified as an Iowa Law Enforcement Officer. Devin attended Simpson College and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice. Devin was promoted to the position of Lieutenant in 2016. Devin and his wife Jodie have two children, Charlie and Cullen. In the past, he spent several years as a substitute teacher with the Atlantic Community School District and has been very involved with the implementation and trainings surrounding emergency preparedness for the schools. Devin has overseen the many community programs the APD runs throughout the year since joining the department. Devin is a firearms instructor, computer voice stress analyst, and has received training to offer peer support for the department. He has also been the team leader of the Cass County Drone Team since its implementation in 2020.

Paul Wood joined the Atlantic Police Department in November of 2004. Prior to joining the APD, he worked for the Pella Police Department and attended the 187th basic class through the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy. Paul attended Western Iowa Tech Community College and earned an Associate’s Degree in Police Science. Paul was promoted to the position of Sergeant in 2011 and to the position of Lieutenant in 2016. Paul has been a member of the Atlantic Fire Department since 2007. He and his wife Sara have two children, Riley and Brady. Paul has served the roles of field training officer, sexual abuse investigator, arson investigator, Taser instructor, and radar instructor for the department.

Two people were arrested on drug charges today (Friday), in Glenwood. According to the police report, 34-year-old Sherman Condrey, and 34-year-old Kristi Stewart, both of Council Bluffs, were taken into custody, on charges that include Possession of Methamphetamine and Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia. Condrey was additionally charged with Poss. of Contraband in a correctional institution, and Poss. of marijuana. His bond was set at $7,300. Bond for Stewart was set at $1,300.

On Thursday, Glenwood Police arrested 44-year-old Clinton Prindle, of Glenwood. He was taken into custody on a Mills County warrant for OWI/1st offense. With bond set at $1,000 (10% allowed by the court).