Members of the Nishna Valley Trails organization will hold a public meeting Monday evening, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, in Atlantic. During the event, which begins at 6-p.m., the group will hear a report on conversations with railroad officials with regard to development of the T-Bone and other recreational trails in Atlantic and Cass County, a review of recent events, other updates on trail development efforts, and plan for future activities. For more information, contact Ed or Myra Kail at 712-243-4265.

EDNA IRENE BALCH, of Atlantic, died Sun., Sept. 23rd, at the Heritage House in Atlantic. Funeral services for EDNA BALCH will be held 10-a.m. Thu., Sept. 27th, at the Roland Funeral Home in Atlantic.

An open visitation will be held at the funeral home on Mon. (9/24) & Wed. (9/26), from 8am-to 5:30-p.m. Condolences may be left to the family at roland@iowatelecom.net

Burial will be in the Athelstan Cemetery, east of Bedford.

EDNA BALCH is survived by:

Her children – Linda Balch, Nancy Balch, Mike and wife, Joey [Jahsee), all of Atlantic; Margaret (Rick) Norman, of Stevensville, MT; Randy Balch & special friend Roxie Stuit, of Clive.

Her sister – Mary Smith, of NE.

7 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.

A northwest Iowa man facing four felony charges is scheduled to be arraigned Monday, in Cass County District Court. According to online court records, formal charges will be read in the case against 38-year old Timothy Leigh Russell, of Cherokee. Russell is expected to enter a plea to the felony charges of Attempted Murder, Willful Injury causing serious injury, Willful Injury causing bodily injury, and Going Armed with intent. The charges stem from an incident which occurred on September 3^rd, during which Russell allegedly attacked a man in Atlantic during an altercation early that same morning.

Atlantic Police Lt. Dave Erickson told KJAN News the altercation took place at around 1:50-a.m. in the 1200 block of Elm Street, where a man was attacked with a shop tool or tools. The unidentified victim was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital before being transported to a hospital in Omaha for surgery.

Russell was being held in the Cass County Jail on $100,000 cash bond. A pre-trial conference in his case is scheduled to take place October 15^th, with trial set for November 6^th. A separate trial on a Simple Misdemeanor charge of Public Intoxication is set to take place January 8^th at 9-a.m. in Cass County District Court. The charge stems from the same incident which occurred on Sept. 3^rd.

One person suffered minor injuries during a rollover accident Saturday morning, east of Red Oak, in Montgomery County. Sheriff’s officials say 22-year old Ryan Gillispie, of Kansas City, MO., was traveling west on Highway 34 at around 3:23-a.m., when he fell asleep at the wheel of his 1999 Chevy Monte Carlo. The man was awakened by the sound of gravel from the north shoulder of the road, and tried to take corrective action.

Gillispie over-corrected, causing the car to slide across the road and enter the south ditch, about four-tenths of a mile east of 200th Street. The car rolled twice before coming to rest in a soybean field. A witness to the accident called 9-1-1. Gillispie suffered a cut to his head and was transported to the Montgomery County Hospital by Red Oak Rescue. The car was declared a total loss. Damage to the fence and bean field was estimated at $800. There were no citations issued.

Sheriff’s Officials in Pottawattamie County were investigating an apparent non-injury, rollover accident last Saturday night. According to dispatch reports, a red, Ford F-250 belonging to a subject out of Carson, rolled into the north ditch off of Highway92, near the 23 mile marker. Carson Rescue and Pott. County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the scene after a motorist called 9-1-1 at around 11:45-p.m., saying they saw headlights in a ditch, but the caller failed to stop and see if there were any injuries. The first deputy on the scene less than 10-minutes later, was unable to find any victims. No other details are currently available.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A state push to bring felony charges against noncitizens who voted in recent Iowa elections could run into two key roadblocks: local prosecutors who do not want to pursue cases and jurors who may find no criminal intent. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation announced Thursday that three Council Bluffs residents — a couple from Canada and a Mexican citizen living legally in the U.S. — were charged with election misconduct. They were the first charged under a two-year contract Secretary of State Matt Schultz’s office signed with DCI to investigate voter fraud. But local police and prosecutors have declined to bring similar cases this year, citing questions about intent, the costs and the harsh penalties. Defense lawyers say juries may be sympathetic to claims that suspects were simply mistaken.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

HAIGLER, Neb. (AP) – A retired California firefighter who disappeared from a Chicago-bound train has been found dead in western Nebraska. The family of 69-year-old Charlie Dowd said Friday night that his body was spotted by a railway worker in Haigler, NE, an area where investigators had focused their search.  Dowd was last seen Sept. 13 on an Amtrak train traveling from California. Reports from passengers who saw him had investigators thinking he may have fallen off the train in eastern Colorado or western Nebraska.

In a statement on the family’s Facebook page, relatives say they’re devastated but thankful to those who helped search. Family member Sheila Stevens confirmed the information in an interview, saying details would be released later. Dowd was from San Mateo, Calif.

Break out the blankets and hot cocoa. The National Weather Service has issued a freeze warning for parts of Iowa and Nebraska.  A freeze warning is in effect from 1-a.m. Sunday through about 9-a.m., for most of the KJAN listening area, as well as eastern and north-central Nebraska.

In Iowa, overnight lows are expected to dip to as low as 26 degrees in the freeze-warning areas. In Nebraska, lows are expected to be mainly in the lower 30s, but could drop to the upper 20s in the north-central and northeast areas. The Weather Service expects temperatures to rise into the upper 50s in the western and central Iowa, and into the 60s in eastern Nebraska.

Authorities in Fremont County investigated a reported car-versus-train accident early Saturday morning. Sheriff’s officials said 20-year old Marissa Ann Robinson (no address given) was ejected from the 2002 Chevy Cavalier she was driving, when it rolled several times after she lost control of the vehicle, as it was traveling south on Main Street, just south of the intersection with Washington Street. The woman was not wearing a seat belt. The car came to rest near the railroad tracks, adjacent to the road. The accident at around 2-a.m.

Officials say they were notified by about the accident by Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railway employees, at around 2:08-a.m. When deputies arrived they determined the train was NOT involved in the crash. BNSF employees advised that a white pickup truck was parked nearby. As deputies approach the truck, the vehicle took off.

Robinson was transported by Hamburg Rescue to Grape Community Hospital and later flown by LifeNet helicopter to the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Authorities said alcohol and speed were contributing factors in the crash. The accident remains under investigation by the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office. Anyone with information about the case, or any information on any possible witnesses, is asked to call 712-374-2424.