The 2012 Cass County Relay for Life took place Friday night (6/22) at the Atlantic High School Track.  A beautiful evening accommodated a large crowd that came out for a night of celebrating survivors, remembering loved ones lost, and fighting back against cancer.

Teams and committee members work throughout the year to raise funds to support the American Cancer Society and the fight against cancer.  This year’s effort in Cass County raised an impressive $68,880.08 to date with more donations still coming in.

A tractor ride started the day for Relay for Life with 44 tractors on the ride.  A motorcycle ride took place later in the day and the survivor’s dinner began at 4:30pm.  The Survivor’s lap kicked off the festivities on the track.  The crowd was able to enjoy entertainment on the infield stage, children’s activities throughout the night, and an education tent along with strolling around the track.  The luminary ceremony wound down the night supporting those with cancer and remembering those lost.

The Cass County Relay for Life committee would like to thank all of the area businesses and residents that supported the Relay effort and helped make it a great success.

Officials with the Iowa Department of Economic Development, Friday, announced that the City of Hamburg was awarded $500,000 in direct financial assistance, to maintain and supplement as needed, the existing federal levee and install three new flood-closure gates on highways in and around the city. The levee will then continue to protect businesses, employees and citizens who represent the majority of industry in Fremont County. The project represents a $2.2 million capital investment.

The award was announced following action Friday by the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA), which awarded financial assistance to 10 companies in all, and one community, for job creation and expansion projects. The awards will assist in the creation of 238 new jobs, retention of 142 jobs and will result in $77 million of new capital investment to the state.

In addition to assistance provided to Hamburg, the board approved assistance for planned or proposed projects located in Ames, Farley, Dubuque, Polk County, Clinton, Keokuk County, Orange City, Urbandale and Davenport.

Shelby County Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Seivert says 2200th Street, just west of the intersection of 2200^th Street and Road M56, is currently closed for repairs between Jefferson Townships 15 and 22, in Shelby County. The road will be closed during the construction process, which is expected to last approx 5 days, depending on weather. Emergency responders and others should plan to take alternate routes while work on the road is being conducted.  If you have any questions, please call the county engineer at 712-755-5954.

Seivert reminds emergency responders that it is  illegal  for  an emergency vehicle,  as well as the motoring public to violate a work zone.  When  approaching a work zone with  an emergency vehicle,  recommended procedure is to stop and have the flagman or traffic controller clear the work zone prior to your entering it.  Entering  an unsafe work zone could result in your vehicle being disabled by the hazard being repaired,  or could result  in you striking a worker who does not expect you there.  Contractors and  County work  crews will make  every effort to make your passage through the work zone expeditious and safe.

Animal Control Officers had a hard time trying to corral cattle that got loose on a major freeway in Omaha on Thursday and an Iowa cowboy came to their rescue. The J-F-K was closed for more than five hours after a cattle truck overturned. Of the 57 cattle in the trailer, 44 escaped and stampeded away. Logan Allen, who lives near Council Bluffs, knows how to handle a horse and how to round up cattle. Allen says he wasn’t exactly welcomed with open arms when he showed up on his horse ready to work. He says, “They really didn’t want us to come over and help at first because they said, ‘We can’t have civilians coming over and get hit by a car,’ and I said, ‘I’m not just some greenhorn.’ I said, ‘I don’t want you guys shooting the cattle just because you can’t catch ’em. I can catch whatever you got.’ Yeah, I like beef.”

Before moving to southwest Iowa, Allen lived in Texas and New Mexico. He said rounding up cattle on the highway was all in a day’s work. He says it’s best to let someone with experience handle this kind of situation. “Just go easy and gentle, ’cause them cows, they just had a big ole’ wreck and they don’t know what the hell’s going on. Then to ask them to get back on a trailer when they just tipped over, that’s a lot to ask for a cow,” Allen says. “People call them dumb animals all the time but they are brilliant, really.”

Allen says the semi was hauling fat cattle and they were used to seeing horses. “They’re actually better about horses than people so if he’s going to walk up to them, they would know better a horse than a person so they stay pretty quiet,” he says. While he has lots of experience rounding up loose cattle, Allen says this was the largest populated area that he has had a chance to “play” in.  “All’s I do is ride horses,” Allen says. “I train horses for the public and I can ride at home all day long and it’s the same for them horses everyday. You don’t get to make horses like these unless you come do stuff like this. You can’t sell a horse for a bunch of money if you just stay at the house and they don’t ever see anything. We ask quite a bit of these horses, drainage ditches all over and stuff like that and they keep clacking along.” Allen did have to keep a close eye on the clock while helping authorities round up the cattle. He had to make it to South Dakota for a rodeo later in the day.

(Radio Iowa)

An on-going operation to deter the sex trafficking of children netted seven arrests Wednesday, in Council Bluffs. Council Bluffs Police Sgt. Bob Christensen, who is with the Vice/Narcotics Division, told KJAN News the prostitution sting, part of the “Great Plains Lost Innocence Task Force, was conducted at a Bluffs’ motel, with the cooperation of the Southwest Iowa Narcotics Task Force, and FBI. He says they are targeting teenage or child prostitution, by looking at ads both online and in print. If the ad offers or asks for young girls, the Task Force will place their own ads, and try to lure prostitutes or their customers, into a motel room. Once in the room, he says, most of the prostitutes or customers, both male and female, turn out to adults. He says once money is offered or requested for a sex act, the persons involved are cooperative for the most part, when confronted, but sometimes they’re not. 

Sgt. Christensen says both male and female undercover officers are used in the sting. Taken into custody on Suspicion of Prostitution charges, were five women: 23-year old’s Charla Bulcalf and Seanna Clemmon, 25-year old’s Abigail Rodriquez and Jessica Mackey, and 24-year old Courtney Evans, all of whom were from Omaha. Two men, 59-year old Timothy A. Jensen, and 30-year old Jeremy Jensen (no relation) were also arrested on Suspicion of Prostitution. Both are from the Omaha area. 

Christensen said Wednesday’s stormy weather may have played a role in how many actual perps and prostitutes they were able to nab, but he’s still satisfied with the results. He said they try and run these types of operations every couple of months, and they typically end up making about 10 arrests each time. The fact Wednesday wasn’t a “pay day” for most people seeking those types of services, also may have factored into the low response. In April, 17 people were arrested in a two-day operation, also held in a Council Bluffs motel. Christensen has some advice for those who seek prostitutes or those who offer sexual services for pay…He said “We’re going to be operations all the time, so if you’re doing this kind of stuff, you need to stop.”

The main purpose of the sting, he said, is not to try and lure men, regardless of age into the motels to arrest them. He says they’re trying to target the people who are forcing young girls into prostitution. Some of those girls start as early as 13- or 14-years of age.

w/ Ric Hanson

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w/ Ric Hanson

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Officials with Atlantic Municipal Utilities (AMU) say residents in the community may have noticed AMU crews installing Fiber Optic cable around town. Matt Klein, AMU Information Technology Coordinator says the project has been in the works for months and installation began this Spring. The Fiber Optic Project consists of placing Fiber Optic cable from the Power Plant and Control Center, located near the intersection of Pine and 3^rd Street, to AMU’s Main Office on West 3^rd Street. The special cable is also being installed to the substation and water tower located on 22^nd Street, thereby providing a direct data connection to a majority of the utilities’ facilities.

The cable is being installed to allow AMU to control and monitor equipment, which should improve their reliability and increase our responsiveness to AMU’s customers. And, it will allow a high speed data connection to the 22^nd Street Water Tower area. Kelin says in the near future AMU plans to begin installing Smart Meters to certain parts of their service area, as part of a pilot project that is being partially funded by the US Department of Energy.

With the data connection, the Smart Meter program will allow AMU to obtain meter readings remotely from their office, and obtain real-time data from the electric meter Klein says having a fiber connection to these locations will allow us to provide reliable High Speed Internet Service between all of AMU’s facilities. Previously, AMU utilized a private wireless internet network to provide internet connections from the main office to the water plant, power plant and control center. The connection will also allow AMU to back up large data files located in one facility to a server located in another facility. By doing this, Klein says they hope to greatly improve their  ability to recover data from a minor event or a major catastrophe.

Authorities say a traffic stop late Thursday night at 12th and Stuart Streets in Clarinda, resulted in the arrest of 31-year old Adam James Randolph, of Clarinda. Randolph was taken into custody at around 10-p.m., for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, 1^st offense. Randolph was released on a personal recognizance bail and will appear before the Page County Magistrate Court at a later date.