The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports Deputies, along with crews with the Adair County Ambulance Service, Greenfield Fire Department, Menlo Fire and Rescue as well as the Iowa State Patrol, were called to the scene of an apparent, single-vehicle accident late Saturday night.

The crash happened at around 11-p.m., near Highway 25 and 150th Street, or about 4.5-miles south of Interstate 80. No other details are currently available.

(Photos Courtesy Shellie Weed, Adair County S/O)

(Update 10-a.m. 1/27) — The 2019 edition of RAGBRAI will start in Council Bluffs on July 21st and come to Atlantic on July 22nd. The ride continues through the 27th with overnight stops in Winterset, Indianola, Centerville, Fairfield and Burlington.

The 2019 route is 427 miles with 14,735 feet of climb, the eighth easiest route in the rides 47 year history. The 2019 ride is also the sixth shortest and eighth flattest. The full route, including pass-through towns and vehicle directions, is expected to be released in March.

Bailey Smith, Executive Director at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce says “We are excited to see RAGBRAI has named Atlantic as a host community. RAGBRAI has always expressed how much they love coming to Atlantic and we’re excited to show not just the state of Iowa, but cyclists from the country and around the world what kind of people and community we are.”

Kipp Harris, who has chaired the last two RAGBRAI visits, and Nick Harris will co-chair RAGBRAI 2019. Smith says “Hosting RAGBRAI is a community wide effort and we’re pleased to have Kipp & Nick stepping up to lead the charge. RAGBRAI gives Atlantic a lot of positive exposure while supporting local organizations and non-profits. We look forward to partnering with community leading entities as well as community minded individuals to have a successful RAGBRAI 2019.”

More details about committee and volunteer needs will be available in the coming weeks. For more information regarding RAGBRAI 2019, please visit www.ragbrai.com.

Sheriff’s officials in Adams County said Saturday, two people were arrested on assault charges Friday, following an incident that started in a vehicle on Highway 34, near the Prescott Corner. 49-year old Darryn Dugan and 48-year old Dodie Shaffer, of Nodaway, were arrested at around 6:35-p.m. after Adams County Dispatch received a call indicating Dugan had allegedly been beaten up by his girlfriend (Shaffer). Both were transported to the Adams County Jail from their home in Nodaway. They were provided medical attention and then booked into the jail, where their bonds were set at $1,000.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — The last of four men charged in the killing of a man at a Council Bluffs homeless shelter has been sentenced. The Daily Nonpareil reports that 21-year-old Cody Varnes pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery and was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison. His sentencing followed the same sentenced handed down Jan. 15 to 20-year-old James McCauley, also for robbery.

They, along with 32-year-old Brandon Hollis and 47-year-old Vance Good, were charged after the March 21, 2018, killing of 44-year-old Lee Johnson in a bathroom at Joshua House. Hollis was sentenced Jan. 10 to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to robbery and willful injury. Good was sentenced Jan. 8 to life in prison after being convicted of first-degree murder.

PRIMGHAR, Iowa (AP) — Constituents applauded Republican Rep. Steve King at the first of 39 town hall meetings the Iowa congressman plans to hold following his nearly unanimous rebuke by the U.S. House over racist comments he made during a newspaper interview earlier this month. King took questions from about 75 people who attended the Saturday morning meeting in the tiny northwestern Iowa city of Primghar. He did not take questions from reporters.

It was King’s first public event since the New York Times published a story that quoted him saying, “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” The comments were denounced as racist and led the House to vote 424-1 to rebuke King. Republican leaders also stripped him of his committee assignments.

King claimed his comments were taken out of context, saying in a House floor speech that he doesn’t believe in white supremacy, so “I do not know how it could possibly come out of my mouth.”

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa law license of a former Marshalltown prosecutor who stole a co-worker’s underwear has been suspended. The Iowa Supreme Court ordered the license of Benjamin Stansberry suspended indefinitely, for at least one year. Stansberry pleaded guilty to misdemeanor theft and trespassing charges in the case in September 2016 following his arrest a month earlier. He paid more than $200 in fines and court costs and resigned from his job in the Marshall County Attorney’s Office. He also resigned from his position as a member of the Marshalltown Community School District board.

Stansberry’s arrest came after a co-worker reported finding a pair of her underwear in her driveway just after Stansberry had been alone in the woman’s house. Authorities determined he entered her bedroom without permission to take them.

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

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(Radio Iowa) — Media mogul Martha Stewart addressed nearly a thousand people over the noon-hour Friday, at a conference in downtown Des Moines. “I’ve always wanted to come to Iowa,” Stewart said, with a laugh. “I have some ties here. Meredith Corporation is publishing ‘Martha Stewart Living’ and ‘Martha Stewart Wedding’ and our special issues and it was a great opportunity to come and visit…and to see what’s going on here in farm country. ” Stewart was the keynote speaker at the 12th annual “Land Investment Expo” which draws bankers and farmers for a day-long series of seminars. Stewart described her own 150-acre farm in New York State. “I do get dirty. I do get out into the garden. I do clean out the chicken coops. I do know how to do all of that stuff, so it’s authentic,” Stewart said. “…When you’re trying to teach people, if you’re not authentic, you’re not a very good teacher.”

Stewart used the phrase “backyard farm” to describe her operation and she listed the wide variety of livestock, poultry, vegetables and fruits produced there.  “Even though I’m just on a little ‘farmette’ I like the idea of farming and growing,” Stewart said. Most Americans are “really ignorant” about where their food comes from, according to Stewart.  “I think there is room for more exploration and more teaching in that area,” Stewart said. “I think all the fabulous farmers in this room should promote, more, about how it happens.”

Stewart, an advocate of organic food and farming practices, said consumers are growing more concerned about “chemicals and byproducts” in their food. Developing more small-scale organic farms is important, according to Stewart. “The big farms, of course, they’re important and they feed the world,” she said, “but the small farms, too, should be encouraged and subsidized in some way.”

The third season of Stewart’s television collaboration with rapper Snoop Dogg, an advocate for recreational marijuana, starts in February. Stewart emphasized that she does not smoke pot on the show, but Stewart said she is investing in research of the potential medical benefits from cannabis in products for pets as well as humans.

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

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AMES, Iowa ― Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will host a MarketReady workshop for area producers in Atlantic on Tuesday, February 26. The training is designed to provide producers with the skills and knowledge needed to make sound decisions about diversifying operations into wholesale, retail, and institutional market outlets. The workshop will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Cass County Community Center, 805 West 10th St., Atlantic. This training will focus on best marketing practices when dealing with these market outlets, including communications and relationship building, regulations, packaging and labeling, grading, pricing, logistics, and more.

The workshop will also include a buyer panel. The intent of this part of the program is for buyers to meet farmers and producers, and for both sides of the sales transaction to understand what the other needs in order to supply and buy local food. Panelists will include chefs, grocers, and institutional buyers such as those working for school districts and hospitals.

Cost for the workshop is $20 per person or $35 per couple (or two employees from the same farm). The fee includes training materials, lunch, and refreshments. Pre-registration is required by 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22. To register, visit www.extension.iastate.edu/cass, stop by the Cass County Extension Office, or call (712) 243-1132 by 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22. For more information about the workshop, contact Emily Coll, program assistant with ISU Extension and Outreach Local Foods and Value Added Agriculture Programs, at ecoll@iastate.edu or (515) 296-0586.