(UPDATED 7/24) – As the Cass County Fair continues, members of the Atlantic, CAM and Griswold FFA Chapters would like to remind everyone that the FFA Foodstand is open for business.  Atlantic FFA Advisor Eric Miller says the FFA foodstand is open to the public for people to get a meal and go (there is no seating).  The FFA Foodstand will also take Cash, Checks or Credit Cards this year.

The FFA Foodstand will open from 7:00am until 4pm Friday through Monday and open in the afternoon on Tuesday during the Cass County Fair.   Every morning there will be freshly made cinnamon rolls and breakfast burritos. For lunch, stop out and get a Cass County Fair classic, the FFA Maidrite.  Miller says “We will also have hamburgers, hot dogs, walking tacos, nachos chips and chocolate chip cookies. We hope to see you at the FFA Foodstand!”

Atlantic School District Superintendent Steve Barber, Thursday afternoon, released to the media the District’s 70 page Return-to-Learn Manual, with a reminder “Recommendations within this manual are fluid and subject to change.” The same information was sent out in an e-mail to parents of District students. The document can be found in its entirety, here.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A western Iowa nursing home has acknowledge a coronavirus outbreak at its facility that has left six residents dead. Risen Son Christian Village in Council Bluffs said the six COVID-19 deaths at its facility have occurred since it reported its first case on June 26. Risen Son says 21 other residents and 13 employees have been infected with the virus.

The facility says it has dedicated units for infection control and is not allowing infected employees to come back to work until they are cleared by the health department.

(Radio Iowa) — The Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy (ODCP) is sending out money from two federal grant programs. O-D-C-P director Dale Woolery says one program involves money from the coronavirus emergency funding. “It’s a new grant program and its intending to address evolving needs from the evolving pandemic,” Woolery explains. “In this case in Iowa we are applying these funds in particular to helping shore up response in the justice system.”

The program is sending out nearly two-and-a-half millions dollars to 26 agencies. “A lot of it is technology-driven. Many of these grants are going to support technology solutions or systems — like case management, connectivity between places like jails and courtrooms, and even hospitals basically to help remotely manage resources and the provision of services,” according to Woolery. He says the need for these types of resources increased as the pandemic hit. “So, it’s a lot about logistics in situations or circumstances where we have to operate remotely. Like a lot of entities — those in the justice system are having to adapt as well,” Woolery says.

Some of the examples of the projects are a county-wide mobile networking for law enforcement agencies and county attorneys; a cloud-based case management system for 19 county attorney offices, in coordination with the Iowa Association of Counties; connectivity between jails and electronic health records; remote court/jail connections. The other money comes from the yearly Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program. “Those federal dollars go out mainly to local jurisdictions to support drug and crime prevention, treatment intervention and enforcement efforts,” Woolery says.

He says the money can help fund a variety of services. “Drug enforcement task forces, drug courts, mental health courts,community crime prevention coalitions. And other projects that would either fit the prevention, treatment, intervention or enforcement category,” he says. These grants total nearly two million dollars and require a match from the agency that is receiving them.

Among the JAG grant recipients is:

• Council Bluffs Police Department Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force $72,000
• Sioux City Police Department Tri-State Drug Task Force $94,500
• Mills County Public Health Not Alone Youth Mentoring Program $13,200

And, included among the recipients of the coronavirus emergency funding, is:

• Crawford County Attorney’s Office Remote Access $5,874
• Fifth Judicial Dist Dept of Corr Service Electronic Monitoring, Remote Access $72,166
• Fourth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services Remote Services $20,000
• Third Judicial District Court Remote Services $15,715

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The complete list is as follows:

JAG grants:
Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement DNE Task Force $190,895
Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office Multijurisdictional Drug Law Enforcement Task Force $63,300
Seventh Judicial Dist. Dept. Corr Services Scott County Mental Health Court $34,000
Polk County Sheriff’s Office Mid-Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, (MINE) $325,374
Marshall County Sheriff’s Office Mid-Iowa Drug Task Force $82,000
Waterloo Police Department Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force $188,000
Iowa City Police Department Multi-Agency Drug Task Force $100,000
Council Bluffs Police Department Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force $72,000
Seventh Judicial Dist. Dept. Corr Services Gateway Action Plan Diversion Program $52,000
Burlington Police Department Southeast Iowa Narcotics Task Force (SEINT) $38,600
Partnerships in Prevention Science Institute – ISU Improving Coaching Capacity of National Guard Counterdrug Civil Operations Program $21,285
Centerville Police Department South Central Iowa Drug Task Force $15,000
Ottumwa, City of Southeast Iowa Inter-Agency Drug Task Force $100,000
Scott County Sheriff’s Office Scott County Special Operations Task Force $59,000
Sioux City Police Department Tri-State Drug Task Force $94,500
Mason City Police Department North Central Iowa Narcotics Task Force $51,000
Mills County Public Health Not Alone Youth Mentoring Program $13,200
Story County Sheriff’s Office Central Iowa Drug Task Force $35,200
Decorah, City of Northeast Iowa Narcotics Task Force $11,000
Clinton County Board of Supervisors Partnership to End ENDS in Clinton County – FY21 $15,820
State Public Defender State Public Defender Digital Forensics Resource $28,290
Polk County Sheriff Polk County Sheriff’s Office /Bridges of Iowa Drug Treatment Partnership RSAT
Lee County Sheriff’s Office Lee County Narcotics Task Force $34,800
Linn County Mental Health Access Center Crisis Team Operations and Training $21,000
Muscatine County Muscatine County Drug Task Force $34,000
Clinton Crime Free Housing Project $13,150
Coronavirus emergency funding:
Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office Remote Access $970
Clarke County Attorney Office Remote Access, Social Distancing, Remote Offender Monitoring $38,170
Clay County Attorney Social Distancing $10,210
Corrections, Iowa Department of Remote Access, Housing, ICON Enhancements $804,376$
Crawford County Attorney’s Office Remote Access $5,874
Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning Criminal Justice Information System – Health Records $212,779
Fifth Judicial Dist Dept of Corr Service Electronic Monitoring, Remote Access $72,166
First Judicial District DCS Remote Access, Remote Services $61,582
Fourth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services Remote Services $20,000
Iowa Department of Public Safety Remote Access, Remote Services $153,700
Iowa Judicial Branch Transportation, Interpreters, Remote Access $315,000
Jones County Attorney’s Office Remote Access $2,839
Justice, Iowa Department of Remote Access $12,000
Law Enforcement Academy, Iowa Equipment $6,235
Meskwaki Nation Police Department Mobile Computing $21,833
Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office Mobile Computing $24,500
Muscatine County Remote Courtroom $18,031
Polk County Sheriff’s Office Polk County Jail Remote Hearing Initiative $24,995
Public Health, Iowa Dept of – Medical Examiner’s Office Equipment $110,000
Second Judicial District, DOCS Remote Access, Remote Services $148,815
Sixth Judicial District Dept of Correction Remote Access, Remote Services $100,600
Story County Attorney’s Office Case Management System – multiple counties $200,000
Third Judicial District Court Remote Services $15,715
Winneshiek County Attorney’s Office Remote Access $3,000
Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office Mobile Computing $43,000

(Radio Iowa) — The Field of Dreams movie site in Dyersville will host an unusual baseball game this weekend, pitting officers from the police departments in Chicago and New York City against one another. The field’s operations manager Roman Weinberg says Saturday’s match is part of First Responders Appreciation Day.

The day will be filled with events, including a silent auction with Field of Dreams and sports memorabilia, kids’ activities, and the baseball game at 4 P-M, followed by live music. During the afternoon, there will be three baseball-related skills events.

The grand prize offers a rare treat for some lucky fan of the 1989 film.

The event is a fundraiser for the Dubuque County Emergency Responder Training Facility, the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation and the New York Police Widows and Children Fund. The New York and Chicago police departments are facing off this weekend as this summer’s Major League game was originally to be between the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox.

The lineup for the August 13th game has since been changed to the Sox versus the St. Louis Cardinals.
www.FieldofDreamsMovieSite.com

(Radio Iowa) — A man who sold a variety of drugs at music festivals in eastern and central Iowa will spend more than six years in federal prison. Twenty-two-year-old Jack Arthur Stumberg of Grundy Center pleaded guilty to conspiring and possessing with intent to distribute L-S-D, ecstasy and mushrooms. Evidence showed that between 2016 and 2019 Stumberg ordered large quantities of the party drugs on the “dark web.”

The drugs were delivered to Stumberg through the mail, disguised to look like common household items. Stumberg then sold the drugs in various communities and music festivals. He was sentenced to 78 months in prison.

The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports a woman from Nebraska was sentenced last week to slightly more than six years in prison for the distribution of methamphetamine. 54-year old Kimberly Ann Jacobsen, of Omaha, received her sentence July 16th in Council Bluffs U-S District Court.

Jacobsen was also ordered to serve a four-year period of supervised released upon completion of her 74 month sentence, and to pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victims’ Fund. There is no parole in the federal system.

Authorities say in Oct. 2019, Jacobsen sold 97 grams of meth during two separate undercover law enforcement operations. She plead guilty to the offense March 6, 2020. It was Jacobsen’s second federal felony methamphetamine conviction.

The case against her was investigated by the Council Bluffs Police Dept., the Southwest Iowa Narcotics Task Force, and the D.E. A.  It was prosecuted by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A U-S District Court Judge on July 14th, sentenced a Pottawattamie County man to slightly more than 5-years in prison, for being a felon and drug user in possession of a firearm. 27-year old Jimmy Joe Gappa, of Council Bluffs, was also ordered to serve a period of supervised release of three years to follow his prison term and pay a $100 special assessment payable to the Crime Victims’ Fund. There is no parole in the federal system.

On June 8, 2019, Gappa and a friend were in Mills County driving when their vehicle broke down. As they walked away from the vehicle, a law enforcement officer stopped them. Gappa had an outstanding warrant and he was arrested. Gappa was in possession of a stolen pistol, ammunition, and methamphetamine.

The investigation was conducted by the Mills County Sheriff’s Office and the Southwest Iowa Narcotics Task Force. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports a judge has sentenced a Shelby County man to serve five-years in prison for being a drug user in possession of a firearm. 51-year old Blake Edward Cooper, of Harlan, had plead guilty to the charge and was sentenced July 14th in Council Bluffs U-S District Court. Cooper was ordered to serve a period of supervised release of three years to follow his prison term and pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victims’ Fund. There is no parole in the federal system.

On July 29, 2019, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office was advised that Cooper made threats to kill law enforcement officers and innocent civilians. Specifically, Cooper sent a text message to a person he knew, which read: “There gonna come for me: I bet this week. Collateral damage is key to whether or not people get informed· as to how rigged the whole family law system is. It’s sad to say, but I need as much collateral damage as possible. If a cop gets shot -in the leg while serving a warrant, that’s local news. If 6 cops get killed, 4 wounded and several innocent civilians get killed or severely wounded, then it becomes national news. And that’s the only way anything is ever gonna get stuff changed. And now· that my whole plan had to be revealed to you, you will be an accessory.”

Cooper also sent the same person a photo of a box along with the following message: “Package came today; 50lbs of -ammonia nitrate. Google that.” In addition, Cooper sent an order confirmation email showing that he purchased 50 pounds of ammonium nitrate on July 25, 2019.

Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Cooper’s residence on July 30, 2019. They found 21 firearms, ammunition, 50 pounds of ammonium nitrate, and materials that could be used to make an explosive device. They also found methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

Cooper admitted to being a regular user of methamphetamine. The investigation was conducted by the Iowa State Fire Marshal, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau for Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

LE MARS, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have identified a man who died after becoming trapped in a grain bin in northwest Iowa. The Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office says 65-year-old Daniel Cronin died Tuesday after becoming trapped in the bin located about five miles east of Le Mars. Officials said deputies and other first-responders were called Tuesday morning to the grain bin for a report of a man trapped. Investigators say Cronin had been loosening stuck corn when the crust broke, and he sank into the grain.

Officials say the accident happened despite the use of safety measures. Officials say Cronin had died by the time his body was recovered about an hour after rescuers arrived.