In an update to our story Sunday morning on KJAN, the Iowa State Patrol says a 16-year old male from Atlantic was taken into custody following a high-speed pursuit that began about 5-miles south of Atlantic during a traffic stop on northbound Highway 71, at Newport Road. The incident began at around 11:40-p.m. Saturday.
Sgt. Bryan Michelson, with the Patrol’s District 3 office in Council Bluffs, told KJAN News the pickup the unidentified teen was driving, was clocked at 95-miles per hour in a 55 zone.

The chase went through Atlantic at a high rate of speed. The teen ran multiple stop signs and one stop light. The pursuit continued onto a gravel road north of Atlantic. A couple of times during the chase, the suspect drove into and out of fields. When the vehicle became stuck, a Cass County Deputy relayed the vehicles’ locations to other officers, who together went out into the field on foot and approached the vehicle before taking the suspect into custody without incident.

The pursuit ended at around 12:45-a.m. Sgt. Michelson says initial reports indicated the suspect may have had a weapon in the vehicle, but no weapon was found. The teen faces numerous charges related to traffic offenses, with criminal charges being handled through the Juvenile Court system.

A Mills County man was arrested Sunday for Public Intoxication, Assault displaying a weapon, disorderly conduct and willful injury causing bodily injury. The Glenwood Police Department says 33-year old Caleb Wear, of Silver City, was being held in the Mills County Jail on $7,600 bond. And, on Friday, 38-year old Aimee Fritz, of Glenwood, was arrested on a Mills County warrant for violation of compulsory education. Her bond was set at $300.

The Glenwood P-D says also, officials with the Glenwood School reported on Thursday, an incident of attempted burglary. No other details were released.

The City of Atlantic’s Board of Adjustment will conduct a Public Hearing at 7:30 a.m., next Monday, June 8th,  in the Council Chambers at City Hall. During the hearing, the Board will consider a variance application by Lyle Brown, at 802 Spruce Street, in Atlantic, that would allow for the construction of a residential storage shed not conforming to accessory setback requirements as stated in the Zoning Ordinance.

The Public may comment in person at the hearing or may submit written comments in advance to the City Clerk’s Office, 23 East 4th Street, Atlantic, Iowa 50022. Questions may be addressed to the Zoning Administrator, John Lund at johnlund@cityofatlantic.com or you may call 712-243-4810.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A report on a May survey says slower economic growth likely is ahead for nine Midwestern and Plains states. The survey report issued Monday says the overall Mid-America Business Conditions Index dropped to 50.4 last month from 52.7 April. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he highlighted drops in economic activity for companies linked to energy production and agriculture.

The survey results from supply managers are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests economic growth, while a score below that suggests decline. The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

More area, and State news, from Ric Hanson.

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The Neola-Henschal Watersheds Project, along with the Harrison County and West Pottawattamie County Soil and Water Conservation Districts, are sponsoring a meeting on implementing Iowa’s nutrient reduction strategy in the loess soils region, Tuesday June 9th at the Minden Community Club, from 8- to 11:30-AM.

Dr. Matt Helmers, Professor, Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Iowa State University, and, Jamie Benning, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Water Quality Program Manager, will be featured speakers.

Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy is two years old now. The initial reaction and burst of energy has passed, and the State is directing funds towards water quality projects. In terms of helping comply with the Nutrient Reduction Strategy, officials say the nature of the problem in the loess soils region is different than the rest of the state, requiring different solutions. Questions that need to be answered include “What are the differences in how the nutrients cycle? How should we be doing things differently? Do we need to worry more about gullies than sheet and rill erosion?”

The lion’s share of the burden is on agricultural producers and landowners. But everyone has a share of the problem, and a share of the solution. For more information about the Neola-Henschal Watersheds Project, contact West Pottawattamie County Soil and Water Conservation District, at 712-328-2489 extension 3.

The Neola – Henschal Creeks Watershed Project is supported in part by the Iowa Watershed Improvement Fund administered by the Iowa Watershed Improvement Review Board and with support from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Division of Soil Conservation.

The Creston Police Department today (Monday) said there were three arrests over the weekend and one juvenile referred to other authorities. Officials say early Sunday morning, 33-year old Natasha Woody, of Creston, was arrested on a charge of Domestic Abuse Assault. Woody was later released on a $2,000 bond.

Sunday night, 23-year old Brandon Case, of Creston, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana. He was later released from the Union County Jail on $1,000 bond.

Last Friday night, Creston Police arrested 19-year old Jacob Davis, of Creston, for Interference with Official Acts, OWI/1st Offense, and Reckless Driving. Davis, who was arrested near the intersection of Highway 34 and Division Streets, was later released on $1,000 bond. At the same time and place, 18-year old Hunter Miller, of Creston, was arrested for Interference with Official Acts and Public Intoxication. He was later released from custody on a $300 bond.

And on Friday afternoon, 14-year old Sheldon Jones, of Creston, was referred to Juvenile Services on a 4th degree Theft charge. Jones was then released to the custody of his parent.

Creston Police said also, a resident in the 800 block of West Howard Street reported on Saturday, someone took her check book and forged multiple checks on the account. The incidents occurred between April 1st and May 23rd. The loss was estimated at nearly $3,359.

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Dr. Carl Hunt, native of Atlantic and who graduated from the Atlantic High School in 1971, and thirty-year member of the University of Idaho faculty, was recently honored by that university’s alumni association for his service to the University and to the Idaho beef industry. After retiring as head of the University’s animal science department, Hunt continued to lead a Steer-A-Year program, in which the state’s cattle producers and other supporters annually donate steers to support animal science student scholarships and beef cattle research.

Award nomination letters emphasized Hunt’s enthusiastic work with students, both inside and outside the classroom, even after he had assumed the duties of department head. That included industry tours for students, linking them with potential employers in both cattle operations and in related industry companies, and his work with individual cattle producers across the state. The Idaho Cattle Association also recently named Hunt “Industry Leader of the Year” for his work with the state’s industry.

Idaho’s Steer-A-Year program not only provides scholarships, steer donors receive awards in accord with how their donated steers performed in the feedlot and at harvest, in gain per day, carcass cutability, leanness, and product value. Two years ago, Hunt and his wife, Maria, established the Hunt Family Beef Education and Research Foundation, to insure continued support to the beef cattle program of the University.

Hunt is the son of the late Jim and Gertrude Hunt of Atlantic and he and his brother and sister maintain land interests in the Atlantic area.

An Iowa State University researcher will travel to Seattle this week to discuss a promising study about memory loss caused by Alzheimer’s disease. Auriel Willette will present his findings at an annual meeting of the Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society. Willette has found evidence that an elevated presence of a certain protein, neuronal pentraxin-2, may slow cognitive decline and reduce brain atrophy in people with Alzheimer’s disease.

Auriel Willette

“I think this could give us, as researchers, a new insight into why some people might go on to develop Alzheimer’s disease or perhaps why their disease progression might more marked than those with a kinder profile,” Willette said. The protein neuronal pentraxin-2 is naturally produced in the body and regulates connections between nerve cells or neurons. Both physical and mental exercise can help induce more activity between neurons, which could in turn boost a person’s level of neuronal pentraxin-2.

“One venue of research I would like to pursue with this is looking to see if being more mentally active perhaps raises these (protein) levels, because being more mentally active tends to cause more of these connections between neurons, between these brain cells,” Willette said. The Alzheimer’s Association predicts that by 2050, nearly 14 million Americans over 65 will have Alzheimer’s.

(Radio Iowa)