(Radio Iowa) – Many traditional 4th of July weekend festivals and fireworks displays have been called off this year due to the pandemic, and Iowans who plan gatherings with friends and family are urged to take health precautions. Mask wearing is still very important, according to Shelby Kroona, Hamilton County’s public health director. She fears a sharp uptick in COVID-19 cases if people don’t use common sense. “We want to see our friends and neighbors, but please do it responsibly,” Kroona says. “Wear a mask and keep yourself distanced away from people.”

Maintaining that six-foot space can be irritating, especially after many of us have been isolated for so long. Still, Kroona says it’s crucial. “If you’re feeling ill, please don’t go,” Kroona says. “I know it’s hard to stay home, but we could potentially see a spike here in five to seven days.”  With warm weather in the holiday weekend forecast, Kroona fears thousands of people will be drawn to Iowa’s parks, beaches, lakes and rivers, raising the risk for transmitting the disease.

(Radio Iowa) – A report finds up to ten-percent of food grown in Iowa is left in the field because it’s not visually attractive or can’t be sold, while more than 300-thousand Iowans can’t cover their basic food needs. Those facts are prompting an effort to find volunteers to glean surplus vegetables from Iowa’s fields to donate to the hungry. Nicki Ross, executive director of the Table to Table Food Rescue, says nutritious food is vital, now more than ever. “We need volunteer gleaners, folks who are willing to get out there and pick the food from the farm and prepare it to be delivered to people who need it,” Ross says. “We are also looking for farm partners. We know there are a lot of local farms, a lot of them are organic farms, who sell what they can and then leave the rest.”

That produce would otherwise go to waste. The Feeding Iowans Task Force also seeks AmeriCorps members and hunger relief organizations willing to be host sites to help in the effort to harvest food, fight hunger and build community. Gleaning leftover produce is not an easy job, but it’s rewarding. “If I know anything about Iowans, it’s that they’re hearty,” Ross says. “Getting out there and doing hot, maybe challenging work would appeal to some folks. Also, with so many things across the state cancelled, people are looking for things to do with their time.”

Potential volunteers, she says, would -not- be spending eight hours a day, toiling in the summer sun. “We will keep those gleaning operations to a few hours a piece with a few people at a time to make it as enjoyable of an experience as possible,” Ross says. “I think ultimately, folks know that they’re doing something that’s really valuable to their community and getting food to people who really need it.” Blueberries are already ripe and ready to be picked, while Ross says there’s a cornucopia of other veggies that need to be harvested now or very soon. “There’s all kinds of crops like green onions, kale, lettuces, kohlrabi and even broccoli is coming right up,” Ross says. “We’re watching this now and we expect in another month, we’re going to have even more things to glean from the fields, like tomatoes and zucchini and cucumbers, and of course, corn when it comes ripe.”

People who want to volunteer should send an email to the Iowa Gleaning Network at gleaniowa@table2table.org.

https://table2table.org/

A man from Carroll was arrested Wednesday morning on a Mills County warrant. 19-year old Michael John William Lyons was arrested at the Carroll County Jail, on a Mills County  warrant for Violation of Probation. Lyons was being held in the Mills County Jail on a $5,000 bond.

(9-a.m. News)

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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The Trevor Frederickson Memorial Fund recently donated $2,500 to the Atlantic Little League.  Fund spokesperson (Trevor’s mom) Melanie Petty, says the money will be used for fencing improvements to the fields.  Although a normal season wasn’t held this year due to COVID-19, Petty says the board continued to do work on the fields and grounds to update them and have them ready to go for the clinics that were held along with different travel teams and this year,  the AHS Softball program.  She says “Atlantic should be very proud of the facilities that are available for our children to play on.”

Pictured: Grant Petty and Sara Wood (President of Little League) (Photo submitted)

Petty says baseball is one of the fund’s favorite things to help with, as Trevor played ball from the time he was 5 years old all the way through college.  After college he continued to play ball on town leagues.  It was a true passion of his.

The annual TFred Memorial Golf Tournament will be happening in just over a month on August 8th at Nishna Hills Golf Course.  Melanie Petty says “We are looking forward to a great day of golf and hope to see a lot of people out there.  There is still time to sign up your team to golf, donate an item for our silent auction or sponsor a hole.  All money raised is given back to the community that Trevor loved.”

The Trevor Frederickson Fund ia a 501(c)3 Nonprofit Organization. Petty says they look forward to another year of giving back [to the community].

The Iowa Department of Public Safety says the last few months have brought incredible challenges for our communities. As our nation begins to reopen, many Americans will be eager to celebrate the Fourth of July with family and friends. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau (GTSB) want to remind drivers to not let the celebration turn dangerous by driving impaired.

Nationally, during the 2018 July 4th holiday period (the most recent statistics available) 193 people died in motor vehicle crashes and 78 of these fatalities occurred in an alcohol-impaired crash. On the fourth of July in 2018, one person lost their life in Iowa due to an alcohol related crash. On July 4, 2019, Iowa experienced 112 crashes which involved 2 fatalities and 9 serious injuries. These fatalities and injuries are certainly nothing to celebrate.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 71 percent of those who died in alcohol related crashes were in vehicles involving a driver with a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of .15 or higher, almost two times the legal limit of .08. Law enforcement agencies across Iowa will be participating in the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign from July 3 to July 7, 2020.

In an effort to combat impaired driving, officers will be exhibiting zero tolerance for impaired drivers. Impaired driving is not only dangerous but illegal, and it puts everyone on the road in jeopardy. There is also a financial aspect of driving impaired. An OWI arrest can cost up to $10,000. You could lose your license, your car, and your job. Before you set out to celebrate this holiday weekend, make a plan – have a designated driver, call an Uber, or other rideshare service.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau reminds you that it is never okay to drink and drive!

The City Council in Walnut is set to hold a meeting at the Walnut Community Center and online at GoToMeeting (You can also dial in at 1-(669)-224-3412 & use access code 491-221-661). Their session begins at 5-p.m. Among the items on their agenda, is:

• Discussion & possible action on the 1st reading of Ordinance 167, amending the Code with regard to provisions pertaining to water service discontinued and customer deposits.
• Discussion of the Walnut Community & Fitness Center, & Family, Inc. lease renewal.
• The appointment of the City of Walnut Zoning Administrator.
• A Housing Rehabilitation Grant
• Discussion of Property Maintenance.
• Discussion of the City of Walnut Sesquicentennial Celebration.
• And, information with regard to Quarterly Inspection of City Property.

The Iowa Department of Public Health today (Thursday), say (as of 6-a.m.),  no new deaths resulting from the virus were reported, Wednesday. The toll remains 717. However, 411 people tested positive for COVID-19, for a total of 29,701. Negative test results amount to 283,012 (4,065 more than yesterday).  Those who have recovered from the virus number 742.

In Regional Medical Center Coordination (RMCC) data: 145 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized (compared to 149 yesterday); 36 are in an ICU (37 yesterday); 18 were admitted to a hospital (compared to 29 in Wednesday’s report), and 18 are on a ventilator. That’s 3 less than reported earlier. There was no change in the RMCC Region 4 (western/southwest IA) data.

Long-Term Care (LTC) facility outbreaks remain at 20. At those facilities, 558 persons (Staff & patients) have tested positive,. Recoveries from the virus amount to 430, while COVID-19 deaths at LTC’s amount to 381. There has not been much change in area County COVID-19 data, except to say: Audubon County has one less positive case, Shelby County has two more positive cases, for a total of 108, and two more persons recovered (for a total of 81).

Pottawattamie County’s numbers show 712 positive cases (an increase of 21), 599 recovered (11 more than yesterday).

(Radio Iowa) – A new state law that took effect with the first day of July enhances the penalties for those caught abusing, neglecting or torturing pets. The law makes it easier for prosecutors to pursue these cases. A person convicted of seriously injuring or killing a pet could be sentenced to up to two years in prison. A second offense would be a felony. Representative Mary Wolfe, a Democrat from Clinton, says the penalties in the new law are reasonable.

“And will, in fact, provide law enforcement and judges with a better tool to both rehabilitate people convicted of these crimes and perhaps provide a little bit of deterrence,” she says. The new law defines animal abuse as intentionally or recklessly injuring or poisoning a pet. Senator Brad Zaun, a Republican from Urbandale, led Senate debate of the bill.

“Countless times we hear stories in the media of just disgusting abuse of our companion animals that so many times are members of our families,” Zaun said. Senator Tony Bisignano of Des Moines, a Democrat, says Iowa’s animal abuse penalties had been classified as the 49th weakest in the country before now. “Iowa has a good animal cruelty bill, not the best, but a good one and I thank all of my colleagues on both sides who have had to compromise,” Bisignano said. “…There’s nothing wrong with that. That’s what makes good legislation.”

Efforts to toughen penalties for animal abuse faltered over the past decade. Farm groups raised concerns that animal rights activists would use an updated law to target farmers. The new law applies to abuse, neglect and torture of “companion animals” and specifically excludes livestock and wild animals.