(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic RAGBRAI ® housing forms for hosts and riders continue to be open for Atlantic RAGBRAI 2024. All forms can be found at www.atlanticragbrai.com, or at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, located at 102 Chestnut Street, in Atlantic.

Volunteers who are interested in becoming a host family are encouraged to apply. Hosts can choose to provide any space that they are willing, whether that be lawns, basements, or spare rooms. A bathroom and shower space must be made available for the riders.

The deadline for riders applying for housing closes on June 14, but host applications will continue to stay open until all housing requests have been filled. If you have any questions about what it takes to become a housing host or about the host process, please don’t hesitate to contact Atlantic RAGBRAI at 712.243.3017 or email atlanticragbrai@gmail.com.

The Atlantic RAGBRAI Committee will continue to meet regularly to plan for Atlantipalooza on July 22nd. As information is available, it will be shared with the community and on the website www.atlanticragbrai.com. Community members and riders alike are encouraged to follow Atlantic RAGBRAI on Facebook and Instagram for updates and all things Atlantic RAGBRAI.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – In an update to our early posts and reports, the Atlantic Police Department says no injuries were reported following a collision Sunday at W. 22nd and Chestnut Streets. According the P-D, a vehicle driven by Carole Schroder, of Walnut, was facing eastbound on W. 22nd Street at the stop sign. A vehicle driven by Tyler Turner, of Atlantic, was southbound on Chestnut Street.

Schroder proceeded into the intersection, failing to yield from the stop sign before her vehicle was struck by Turner’s vehicle. The accident happened at around 3:11-p.m.

Schroder told Officers she didn’t see the other vehicle approaching. Damage to the vehicles amounted to $10,000 altogether.

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston say seven people were arrested on separate charges and/or warrants over the past few days. There were two arrests on Friday, in Creston:

At around 4:05-p.m., 30-year-old Darren McCay Wilker, of Creston, was arrested at the Creston/Union County LEC, under the authority of a Department of Corrections Warrant charging him with two-counts of Violation of Probation, on an original charge of Domestic Abuse Assault. Wilker was later released on a $600 cash or surety bond. And, at around 4:47-p.m., Friday, Creston Police arrested 39-year-old Samantha Lynn Hays, of Creston, for OWI/3rd or Subsequent Offense. Hays was taken to the Union County Jail then transferred to the Adams County Jail. She was later released on a $5,000 cash or surety bond.

Two people were arrested Saturday, in Creston:

At around 6:15-p.m., 36-year-old Wesley Gene Keeler, Jr. of Creston, was arrested on a Union County Warrant for Domestic Abuse Assault by Impeding Air/Blood Flow – causing Bodily Injury, and False Imprisonment. Keeler was taken to the Union County Jail and later released on a $6,000 bond; At around 2:30-a.m., Saturday, Creston Police arrested 24-year-old William Joseph Wulff, of Creston, at the Creston Union County LEC. Wulff was charged with OWI/1st Offense. He was later released on a $1,000 bond.

And, three people were arrested in Creston, on Sunday:

A little after 12-a.m., 30-year-old Storm Julian Spencer, of Creston, was arrested for Disorderly Conduct-Fighting/Violent Behavior, and Public Intoxication. Spencer was taken to the Union County Jail and later released on a $600 bond; 50-year-old Timothy Daniel Williams, of Creston, was arrested at around 12:10-a.m., Sunday for Possession of Controlled Substance/Marijuana-1st offense, Public Intoxication, and Disorderly Conduct-Fighting/Violent Behavior. Williams was taken to the Union County Jail and later released on a $1,600 cash or surety bond; and, 39-year-old Kevin Wayne Rauch, of Creston, was arrested a little before 10-p.m., Sunday, at the Creston Union County LEC. Rauch was charged with False Reports-911 Call, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Possession of Controlled Substance-Methamphetamine 1st Offense. He remains held in the Union County Jail on a $1,600 cash or surety bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa State University researchers have created a test to detect a disease that could threaten the state’s pork industry, although it has not been found in the U-S. The test can identify Japanese encephalitis virus, or J-E-V, which is spread by mosquitoes and is related to West Nile and Zika. Rahul Nelli, at I-S-U’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, says most cases of J-E-V in pigs result in mild symptoms, but an outbreak could be very costly.

“The economic losses could be around $600-million for the pork production,” Nelli says, “so that’s a significant impact on our pork industry in Iowa.” Nelli, who led I-S-U’s development of the test, says J-E-V can also be a health threat to humans and other animals, including water birds and horses. The virus is present in Southeast Asia and spread to Australia in 2022. Nelli says the test will identify the virus in samples from pigs, or it can be used to tell when it is spreading in the environment.  “Basically, if you have a mosquito population,” he says, “you can collect mosquitos and collect their DNA and screen whether there is J-E-V around your farm.”

Nelli made his comments on the Iowa Public Radio program “River to River.”

(Radio Iowa) – A petition to manage nitrate pollution in northeast Iowa’s Driftless Area is trying to follow the successful approach in Minnesota to implementing federal Clean Water Act protections. Iowa Environmental Council attorney Mike Schmidt says the Iowa petition to the E-P-A will be modeled after Minnesota because of geological similarities. “Minnesota issues permits, or issues a general permit, covering more than 12-hundred facilities. Iowa has even more concentrated animal feeding operations, but fewer than 200 of those with permits under the Clean Water Act,” he says. Schmidt says water quality challenges associated with the Driftless Area go beyond state lines.

The facts of the Minnesota case are extremely similar to Iowa because it’s the same geologic formation,” Schmidt says. “Southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa, the Driftless Area and the Karst terrain do not follow a political boundary, it is a geological formation.”

Part of the E-P-A’s protections would include assistance for the region’s private well owners in danger of nitrate pollution. The I-E-C petitioned the E-P-A unsuccessfully for those protections for northeast Iowa in 2022.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) — The Linn County Sheriff’s Office reports Brent Brown, the fourth victim of an attack that killed three others on Wednesday in rural Linn County, has died from his injuries. Johnson County Medical Examiner pronounced Brown dead on Friday. He was 34 years old.

Luke Truesdell is now charged with four counts of first-degree murder. Officials said the attack happened on Wednesday, where police found three people – Romondus Cooper, Keonna Ryan and Amanda Parker – dead in an out building at the 3600 block of East Otter Road in northern Linn County.

Investigators said Truesdell admitted to beating four people with a metal pipe. Truesdell is expected to make an appearance in court on Monday on that new, fourth charge of first-degree murder.

Brown’s body will be transported to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Ankeny for autopsy. The investigation into this incident continues.

(Hartford, Iowa) – One teenager died and two others were injured Sunday night in a rollover crash in central Iowa’s Warren County. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2004 Toyota Camry Solara was traveling north on 200th Avenue west of Hartford at around 9:22-p.m., when the vehicle went out of control near Delaware Street and entered the west ditch.

The car overturned and vaulted over a driveway before rolling over again, and ejecting two of the three occupants. None of the crash victims were wearing seat belts. One of the car’s occupants – a 15-year-old – was flown by helicopter to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines where they died from their injuries. Two teens – ages 15 & 16 – were transported to Mercy and Blank Hospital’s respectively, in Des Moines by ambulance. No names were released.

The crash remained under investigation.

(Radio Iowa)- Iowa Democratic Party chairwoman Rita Hart says the party is focused on reaching out to over 92-thousand Iowans who voted as Democrats in 2018, but did not cast ballots in the 2022 election. “We didn’t lose them to Republicans,” Hart says. “….That’s what we have to turn around and that’s what we’re bound and determined to turn around between now ’til November.” All four of Iowa’s seats in the U-S House are held by Republicans and Republicans currently hold sizable majorities in the state legislature. Hart predicts Democrats will field candidates in around 80 of the 100 seats in the Iowa House.

“Which is very encouraging and we’ve got candidates all across the state that are stepping up,” Hart says, “and a lot of our candidates have been inspired to run because of the many things that are happening at the state level that are very concerning to folks.” Hart cites both the state-funded accounts for private school students and Area Education Agency changes that Republican lawmakers approved as concerns. Hart also says Iowa Republicans are out of sync with the general public on the abortion issue.

The only statewide race in Iowa this November is between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. A Des Moines Register Iowa Poll conducted in March found 29 percent of those surveyed approved of Biden’s job performance. Hart says Trump is morally compromised and Democrats have a good story to tell about Biden’s presidency. “The contrast here is pretty stark,” Hart says. “The American people and Iowans recognize that we are looking at a Republican Party that is struggling to get behind their nominee.”

Hart made her comments during a weekend appearance on “Iowa Press” on Iowa P-B-S. The Iowa Democratic Party’s state convention is this Saturday, June 15th. The Iowa Republican Party’s state convention was held May 4th.

(Iowa News Service): New data rank Iowa seventh in the nation for the overall health and well-being of its kids. The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s “Kids Count Data Book” shows while Iowa did well among many of the 16 key indicators, some areas need improvement. The report focuses in part on educational indicators and shows a drastic drop in the performance of the state’s public schools, which are historically among Iowa’s crown jewels. Iowa Common Good Executive Director Anne Dichser calls the school’s performance numbers “concerning.”

Iowa dropped to 17th in fourth-grade reading proficiency and 16th in eighth-grade math proficiency. The research used numbers from the 2022 school year, and Discher says some of the lower scores could be a lingering effect of the pandemic. She adds policy solutions are in place to address the deficiencies. The state also improved in the category of “Family and Community Issues.”

For the first time in more than 20 years, Iowa slipped as the leader in high school graduation rates into a tie for seventh among the states. Discher says the poor school performance numbers hit especially hard in a state that has a reputation for making its public schools a top priority.

The state saw important improvements in the “Kids Count” numbers. Fewer children are living in poverty and in single-parent families. The teen birth rate also dropped.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Atlantic Fire & Rescue along with Cass EMS were dispatched at around 3:10-p.m., Sunday (Today), to the scene of a collision between a pickup and an SUV. The collision occurred at W. 22nd and Chestnut Streets. Additional information is currently unavailable.