(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Creston Police Department report three recent arrests. On Thursday (12/21), 49-year-old Robert James Reed, of Creston, was arrested for Intent to Manufacture/Deliver-Methamphetamine (Over 5 grams but under 5 kilograms). Reed was being held in the Union County Jail on a $32,000 cash or approved surety bond.

There were two arrests Wednesday, in Creston. Authorities say 40-year-old Alicia Ellen Lovell, of Creston, was arrested for Driving While Suspended. She was cited at the scene and released on a promise to appear in court. And, 33-year-old Tlee Jo Jones, of Creston, was arrested for Failure to Appear (in court). She was transported to the Adams County Jail and held on a $300 cash-only bond.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, Thursday, announced the winners of this year’s “Angel of Christmas.” This year, there were two “Angels” receiving the award: Atlantic Food Pantry volunteers, Sharon Sandhorst and Dr. Ken Burkhart.

The Chamber says the title, “Angel of Christmas” recognizes and thank area residents who symbolize the true meaning of the season. Angels exemplify the true holiday spirit all year long – putting others first, spreading generosity and sharing the holiday spirit with everyone they meet. The title is sponsored by Cass Health.

During the presentation, Cass Health CEO Brett Altman said, of Sandhorst and Dr. Burkhart, “We just really appreciate your kindness, your compassion, your willingness to help other people. day in and day out- giving of your time and your help.” He added, “Cass Health is privileged to sponsor this every year, and we’ll tell you that we had several great nominations, but you guys stood out.”

From left to right: Atlantic Food Pantry Volunteers, Dr. Ken Burkhart and Sharon Sandhorst, Cass Health CEO Brett Altman (Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce photo)

Sandhorst and Burkhart were nominated by Barbara Lytte, and she explained in her nomination letter why the two should receive the title.

“Sharon Sandhorst has volunteered for the food pantry for many years,” Lytte wrote in the letter. “She puts in countless hours weekly to make sure everything runs smoothly. You could call her the ‘office manager’ of sorts. Paperwork, counting, bagging, almost (becoming) a full time (volunteer) job for her. And all without complaints. Sharon gives and gives and expects no thanks and no recognition in return.”

“Dr. Ken Burkhart was in charge of our local food pantry,” Lytte wrote in the letter. “After many, many years of managing the big endeavor, he finally stepped down in October of this year. He handled it all any time of the day. He lined up and scheduled the volunteers that helped out in the pantry. He was there when the Food Bank of Iowa truck delivered. He helped pick up donations from local businesses. He fielded phone calls. He ordered the food that is handed out weekly. He knew the patrons that came to the pantry and he knew their food favorites. If a business donated desserts, he knew who liked what desserts. If it was a large family, he made sure there was an adequate amount of food for the family. He calmly listened to complaints and tried to rectify the issue. He treated each and every patron with dignity and always with a smile. He was always caring and compassionate to all of us that volunteered and worked with him. He knows and exemplifies the true meaning of “giving back to others.”

POLK COUNTY, Iowa — [KCCI] – A former Polk County Jail inmate is now suing the county, the sheriff, and a former jail worker. Justin Mowery says he was sexually manipulated by Brianna Miller, who was a cook at the jail. Miller was Mowery’s supervisor while he worked in the kitchen as an inmate. She pleaded guilty to three counts of harassment in January. Mowery is now suing for damages.

The lawsuit says Polk County and the sheriff were negligent in their duties to protect him and supervise Miller. Polk County says it cannot comment on ongoing litigation.

CLEAR LAKE, Iowa — [KCCI] – Two people suspected in a Michigan murder were arrested Tuesday, in northern Iowa. Clear Lake police say they got a call Tuesday night from law  enforcement in Michigan asking for help. Authorities believed Margaret Kempainen, 50, and Jacob Kempainen, 20, were in town. They’re suspected of killing an 87-year-old family member in Michigan. Clear Lake police tracked the two down at a gas station and took them into custody.

(Radio Iowa) – If you have games, watches or electronics under your tree, you likely have those shiny, button-sized batteries in the box, too, and those batteries can be a critical problem if a child swallows one. Tammy Noble, a registered nurse and spokeswoman for the Iowa Poison Control Center, says the moisture in the throat can trigger the flow of current in the battery, which can lead to serious trouble in the esophagus. “The esophagus is the tube that goes from the back of your throat down to your stomach,” Noble says. “When it’s stuck in the esophagus, it can cause burns, even significant burns, within two hours after they swallow it.”

Curious kids can find those batteries in all sorts of products, from bathroom scales to grandma’s hearing aids. Unfortunately, it likely means a trip to the E-R if a battery is swallowed. “This is definitely an emergency situation when kids swallow these batteries,” Noble says. “Even the small ones, we get concerned about just to make sure it’s not stuck in the esophagus. We always refer those in to the hospital to get X-rays.” Parts of Iowa have snow on the ground and ice melt in the garage — or on the sidewalk and driveway. Noble says those white granules of ice melt might also look appetizing to a child. The various ice melting products on the market often contain either of two primary ingredients.

“Some are like your table salt, with sodium chloride, and other ones have potassium chloride,” Noble says. “Both of those, when you swallow that, it’s a larger quantity than just shaking the salt shaker on your food, so it can cause an upset stomach, especially if you’re swallowing larger quantities of it.”

If your child ate ice melt — or anything else questionable, be on the safe side and call the Sioux City-based Iowa Poison Control Center. The experts are available around-the-clock at 1-800-222-1222.

(Radio Iowa) – Scratch tickets are often given as Christmas gifts, but Iowa Lottery spokesperson, Mary Neubauer says they are not recommending them for minors. “Technically, it is not against the law for you to give a lottery ticket to someone who is under age, but we would just ask folks to stop and ask whether it’s a good idea,” Neubauer says. She says it can be a gray area for some people. “We’ve tweaked our message a little bit this year. And we’ve said that we think that lottery tickets are something that should be purchased by adults for adults. And you know, that’s true for a lot of products,” Nueabauer says. “You know, certainly alcohol and tobacco come with age restrictions. And those are things that people give a lot this time of year, even movies and toys have age recommendation guidelines. So we just asked people to keep that in mind when they’re buying lottery tickets, please reserve lottery tickets for the adult audience.”

Neubauer says scratch tickets are a form of gambling. “Studies have shown that problem gambling can begin in adolescence when impulse and attention control are still developing. So we at the Iowa Lottery want our products to go to those who are mature enough to enjoy that entertainment,” she says. Neubauer says you have to be 21 to buy a scratch ticket, but it is NOT illegal for a minor to redeem a gift ticket.

“We at the lottery would always ensure that the ticket was legally purchased, legally presented, and legally possessed. And we would ask the right questions in that situation to make sure that that was the case. In this case, it simply comes down to who are you giving that ticket to and under what circumstances ” Neubauer says.

You can find out more about the issue on the Iowa Lottery’s Blog on their webpage.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A Red Oak man was arrested Thursday afternoon on an assault charge. Red Oak Police report 54-year-old Vernon Brinkley Warf was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault and Child Endangerment. Warf was being held without bond, in the Montgomery County Jail.

(Radio Iowa) – Former Iowa Congressman Jim Ross Lightfoot is sharing the story of his life in a new memoir called, “Climbing Mountains With God.” Lightfoot says the book is about the importance of faith in helping meet life’s challenges.  “That’s what life is — it’s a bunch of mountains,” said Lightfoot. “They pop up in front of you and you’ve got the choice of either trying to climb them, or just sitting on your fanny and doing nothing. If you don’t try to climb them, sitting on our fanny is about all you’re gonna’ accomplish.”

Born in 1938 in Sioux City, Lightfoot graduated from Farragut High School in 1956. After serving in the U.S. Army and Army Reserve, he worked for I-B-M as a customer engineer and was eventually transferred to Oklahoma, where he later worked as a Tulsa police officer. Returning to southwest Iowa in the 1960s, Lightfoot joined the K-M-A radio farm department and stayed until 1984, when he was elected to the U-S House, serving until 1997. Lightfoot says he decided to write the book after recalling things his father said.

“My dad had all these wonderful stories to tell about riding his pony to school, and growing up in the Great Depression,” he said. “He and my mother renting a four-room house, and subletting two rooms so that they had enough money to live on. He farmed in the daytime and cut wood at night. She did sewing, and so on. All those years — almost 20 years at KMA — I had a tape recorder sitting right beside me and never once did I turn that recorder and get any of those wonderful stories he had to tell.” Lightfoot says he came to an epiphany of sorts in writing his memoir.

“As I was writing it,” said Lightfoot, “it occurred to me that, hey, I didn’t do all this stuff. I was just a tool. God used me to do it, and I believe that’s what’s life is all about. I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up — so, we’re still working on it.” Lightfoot also recalled the mountains he faced in attempting to pass his first bill in Congress, one aimed at helping farmers during the farm crisis of the mid-1980s.

“I was green. I was a freshman. I didn’t know ‘come here’ from ‘sic em’ and I had to learn the ropes,” he says. “I wrote a bill that basically gave farmers some financial relief and allowed lending institutions to step outside the rules that are the Banking Commission had on them so they can negotiate with farmers and suppliers and so on. There are a lot of people sit down and made some fantastic deals which never would have happened otherwise, but it saved all of them and they stayed in business.”

The book “Climbing Mountains With God” is available through his website, jimrosslightfoot.com.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Police Department says four people were arrested between December 2nd and the 12th. Several others cited into court and released.  Most recently:

33-year-old Tyler Mills, of Atlantic, was arrested December 12th for Stalking/3rd & subsequent offense, Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree; Providing False Information, and Interference with Official Acts. Officers cited and then released 42-year-old Heather Ott, on December 12th. Her citation was for Compulsory Education Violation/1st offense.

There were two arrests in Atlantic on Dec. 11th: 26-year-old Sergio Ramos, of Atlantic, was arrested for Violation of Probation; and, 23-year-old Fietko Ranu, of Atlantic, was arrested for Public Intoxication.

Atlantic Police report also, 19-year-old Brianna Loving, and 18-year-old Zoey Hansen, both of Atlantic, were cited into court Dec. 10th, for Possession of Controlled Substance (marijuana)/1st Offense. The woman were released from the scene with their citations.

On December 9th, the A-PD arrested 18-year-old Efrain Sandiego, of Atlantic, for Public Intoxication.

On the 7th, 46-year-old Robert Loving, of Atlantic, was cited for Theft in the 5th Degree, and released. On the 3rd, 41-year-old Chad Wilcox, of Atlantic, was cited for two-counts of Theft in the 5th Degree. And, on the 2nd, 20-year-old Kayden Good, of Atlantic, was cited for Theft in the 4th Degree.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s unemployment rate increased to three-point-three percent in November. That’s six-tenths of a percent higher than it was in July and the fourth consecutive month it has inched up. Beth Townsend, director of the Iowa Workforce Development agency, says there were about a thousand job losses in Iowa’s professional and business services sector in November — including a reduction in administrative support staff. “We also saw a number of people drop out of the workforce — about 6700 people between October and November. That was mostly due to retirements and students who willingly left the workforce,” Townsend says. “While we don’t like to see a reduction in our labor force, that number’s not overly concerning at this point.”

Just over 68 percent of Iowans who are 16 or older and actively seeking employment were working in November — that’s about five points higher than the national average. “Before the pandemic, we were at about almost 69% labor particiption rate and we’ve been over 68% for 2023,” Townsend says, “so we’re inching up and moving closer to pre-pandemic labor rate participation numbers.” There were about 100 layoffs in Iowa’s manufacturing sector in November, but Townsend says compared to the beginning of the year, there were about three-thousand more people employed in Iowa manufacturing by the end of November.

The most job GROWTH in November came in Iowa’s construction industry, which added 18-hundred jobs. “The good weather has certainly helped us out in that,” Townsend says, “and the hiring was primarily in commercial construction, so that was a good sign.” About a thousand jobs were added in the financial services sector in November. “Insurance and the financial industry are very key to the Iowa economy,” Townsend says, “and one of our bigger industries.” Townsend says 11-hundred people were hired in November to work in Iowa hospitals, nursing homes and other health care settings.

“Which is really good news for the health care industry because as you know they’ve had a difficult time hiring since the pandemic,” she says, “and they are up over 8500 jobs over the past 12 months.” The state’s IowaWORKS website lists 62-thousand job openings today. According to government data, more than one-point-six million people are working in Iowa. The national unemployment rate dropped to three-point-seven percent in November.