Griswold Community School District Superintendent Dave Henrichs reports members of the Facilities Committee of the Griswold School District will hold a work session on Tuesday, July 26th at 6:30-p.m. at the Griswold Community School District’s Middle School /High School Library. The purpose of the meeting is to assess the current educational facilities. No action will be taken at that time.

Reports of storm damage are filtering-in this (Tuesday) afternoon. The most recent, a tree that fell on a power line across from 509 Spruce, in Massena, at around 12:30-p.m.  Massena Fire responded to the scene. A nearby home was not damaged.

Fallen tree in Massena Tue. afternoon. Photo courtesy Cass County Emergency Mgmt. Coordinator Mike Kennon.

At 12:20-p.m., thunderstorm winds were clocked by an automated weather system at 63-miles per hour four-miles north-northeast of Anita. Earlier, thunderstorm winds gusted to near 60-miles per hour as they pushed through Shelby County at around 11:25-a.m.  A tree fell on a car along Highway 59 just a few minutes later, one-mile north of Harlan. No injuries were reported. And, just before 11:30, a roof was lifted off of a barn in Irwin.

Officials with Mid-American Energy say power should be restored to some 309 residents in Montgomery County and 65 homes and/or businesses in Pottawattamie County, following a problem with a substation. The problem began a little after 9-a.m. Crews are working on the issue, and it’s anticipated service will be restored by approximately 1:00 PM.  The outage stretches from just south of Atlantic, through Griswold to Red Oak and Emerson.

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) has announced six Iowa communities have been awarded fluoride certificates by the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors on behalf of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and American Dental Association (ADA). Fluoridation is the adjustment of fluoride in the water to an optimal level for preventing tooth decay.

Among the six communities receiving the 50 Year Award for maintaining continuous community water fluoridation from 1965-2016, is Elk Horn Municipal Water Works.

Fluoride is a natural mineral present in almost all water. Its benefits for teeth were discovered in the 1930s. Dental scientists found low tooth decay rates among people whose water supplies contained natural fluoride. Today, approximately 75 percent of Americans and 91 percent of Iowans served by community water systems have access to optimally fluoridated water. Even with the availability of other fluoride-containing products, fluoridated water prevents approximately 25 percent of tooth decay in children and adults.

The CDC has recognized community water fluoridation, the process of adjusting the fluoride concentration in water to the optimal level for preventing tooth decay, as one of the ten great public health achievements of the 20th Century. It is supported by the U.S. Surgeon General, American Dental Association, American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, and American Public Health Association as a safe, effective, and inexpensive method of preventing tooth decay. Both Healthy People 2020 and Healthy Iowans have set goals to increase the number of people receiving fluoridated water.

IDPH is a strong supporter of fluoridation programs. The IDPH Bureau of Oral and Health Delivery Systems monitors the fluoride levels of Iowa communities and provides information and assistance to water supply professionals, healthcare professionals, and the public. To see the fluoridation status of Iowa counties and towns, visit https://nccd.cdc.gov/DOH_MWF/Default/Default.aspx.

CHEROKEE, Iowa (AP) – A former teacher in northwest Iowa has been given five years of probation and a suspended 10-year prison term for having a sexual relationship with a student. Court records say Chad Osler, of Manchester, pleaded guilty to sexual abuse after prosecutors dropped two related charges. At his sentencing Monday he also was fined $1,000.

Court documents say Osler was a physical education teacher in Cherokee when he had sex with the student in July 2013. The relationship continued through 2014 and early 2015.  Osler took a job with the West Delaware Community School District, where he was put on administrative leave after he was arrested in April 2015. He’s no longer listed in the district staff directory.

Sheriff’s officials in Audubon County today (Tuesday) released details about a tractor-trailer rollover accident that took place Monday afternoon, northeast of Exira. Authorities say the driver of the semi, 32-year old Shawn David Irvine, of Clearmont, MO., was transported by private vehicle to the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic, following the accident that took place at around 3:30-p.m. on Pheasant Avenue, near 280th Street, or about three-miles northeast of Exira.

The Sheriff’s Dept. says Irvine was traveling south over the posted speed limit in a 2013 Peterbilt tractor-trailer registered to Sioux Valley Transport, L-L-C, of Estherville, when he entered a curve in the road. A load of market hogs shifted in the trailer, causing the semi to roll over onto the shoulder of the road. About 60 hogs died in the crash.

The semi sustained an estimated $100,000 damage. Irvine was charged with Failure to Maintain Control. The Iowa State Patrol and Exira Fire and Rescue assisted at the accident scene.

The Iowa Soybean Association’s board of directors has voted unanimously to spend 150-thousand dollars to help Sac, Buena Vista and Calhoun counties defend themselves against a federal lawsuit brought by the Des Moines Water Works. Association C-E-O Kirk Leeds says the organization supports the three northwest Iowa counties because the suit could impact farmers statewide and this will bring a quicker end to the case.

“We ultimately think we’re going to be successful in throwing this case out,” Leeds says. “If you look around the country and certainly look around Iowa and the work we’re doing in Cedar Rapids, for example, it’s a great example of farmers and urban folks working together.” He says the court action takes away from the cooperative and proactive approach farmers have taken on water quality and nutrient management.

Leeds says, “It’s unfortunate because it certainly has distracted many of us from the work that was going on before and that continues but certainly at a distracted pace as relates to cleaning up the water and and improving nitrogen management.” He says the suit is also hurting efforts by farmers and the utility itself from implementing programs and practices to address water quality.

“It has taken dollars away from those programs, not only for farmers and farm organizations and the counties but also Des Moines Water Works,” Leeds says. “Before this is said and done, this first round in the lawsuit will have over $3-million invested in legal fees.” That’s money he says could have been invested in improving the water works’ facilities and in helping farmers to make the needed changes.

The lawsuit filed in March of 2015 charges the county supervisors allegedly allowed nitrates coming from 10 drainage districts to pollute the Raccoon River, a primary water source for 500,000 customers in Des Moines. The case is scheduled to go to trial in June of 2017.

(Radio Iowa)

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa woman who duped dozens of people into buying non-existent tickets to the Super Bowl and other high-profile events has been charged with fraud. The federal charges of mail and tax fraud against Ranae Van Roekel of Boyden, Iowa come four years after her alleged scheme became public. A document filed Monday charges Van Roekel with fraudulently obtaining more than $531,000 from customers between 2008 and 2012.

Prosecutors say Van Roekel falsely claimed to have access to tickets, hotel rooms and VIP passes at deep discounts due to personal connections, once claiming she was on the Super Bowl planning committee. After collecting money, she told customers she couldn’t fill most of the orders. She often targeted customers that she had contact with through youth sports.

The Missouri State Patrol says a woman from Page County was injured during a crash Saturday night, in Nodaway County, MO. 19-year old Carrie L. Beason, of Clarinda, who was wearing her seat belt, was transported to St. Francis Hospital in Maryville, MO., following the single-vehicle accident that happened at around 11:30-p.m., Saturday.

Officials say Beason was traveling west on 330th Street in a 1999 Ford Escort, when her car left the north side of the road and began to slide. The car then struck an embankment and rolled over, coming to rest on the driver’s side, facing north.

A man from Page County died following a crash Monday afternoon, in northwest Missouri. According to the Missouri Highway Patrol, 52-year old Todd M. Pedersen, of Clarinda, who was wearing his seat belt, died in a collision with a semi in Nodaway County, MO. The accident happened at around 12:10-p.m. on Highway 71.

Authorities say Pedersen was traveling south in a 2005 Chevy Impala, when for reasons unknown, his car cross the center line of the road, into the path of a northbound 2013 International semi, driven by 55-year old Donald Root, of Punkhannock, PA.  Root was not injured in the crash.

Following the impact, the car skidded off the north shoulder of the road and came to rest in the ditch. The semi came to rest on its wheels off the south side of the road.