(Greenfield, Iowa) – In an update to our earlier report, Police in Greenfield say a teen missing since last Sunday has been located.

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The Missing Person Information Clearinghouse (MPIC) says a Greenfield (Iowa) teen was reported missing to the Greenfield Police, last Sunday (April 23, 2023). Curtis Allen League, Jr., age 15, weighs 151-pounds, is 5-feet nine-inches tall. He has brown hair and brown eyes. Additional information on his disappearance was not immediately available from Greenfield Police, this (Friday) morning. A photo of the teen is also not available.

If you know Curtis League, Jr., have seen him and/or know where he is, get as much information as possible (such as a vehicle license plate number, the exact location of your sighting, and any activities he may be involved in). Call the Greenfield Police Department at 1-641-743-2323, or the MPIC at the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, at 515-725-6036.

(Radio Iowa) -The Iowa Utilities Board has approved an application for a large scale solar farm in southeast Iowa. The board has issued a certificate, so an Alliant Energy subsidiary will be able to place solar panels on 925 acres of ag land in Lee County. A battery facility at the site will store energy generated by the array of solar panels. Alliant still has to provide state regulators with final designs for the site as well as a flood mitigation plan and a road use agreement with Lee County. According to a news release from the Iowa Utilities Board, all the landowners involved signed voluntary agreements with Alliant.

In other action this week, the Utilities Board granted temporary rates for Alliant’s solar project near Palo. Linn County’s Board of Supervisors approved the development last November. State utility regulators have also asked MidAmerican to confirm its nearly four BILLION dollar Wind PRIME Project can be constructed at no net cost to ratepayers. The project, which also includes solar energy generation, will study nuclear generation and battery storage. The terms for two of the three members of the Utilities Board end Sunday. The Iowa Senate has confirmed two new members who will start at the board Monday.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Police in Glenwood, Thursday, arrested 24-year-old Madison Power, of Glenwood. He* was taken into custody for Driving While Revoked. Power posted a $1,000 bond and was released.

(*Corrected from earlier post)

(Creston, Iowa) –  Police in Creston, late Thursday morning, arrested 40-year-old Mark Anthony Weems, Jr., of Creston. Weems was charged with Fraudulent Practice 4th Degree and 3 counts of Fraudulent Practice in the 5th Degree. He was served with the arrest warrant in the Union County Jail. Weems’ Jr.’s bond was set at $1,900.

And, at around 1:42-a.m. today (Friday), 38-year-old Jesse Edward Ramey, of Greenfield, was arrested in Creston. He was charged with Operating While Under the Influence 2nd Offense. Ramey was taken to Union County Jail and later posted a $2,000 bond.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – Trial in the case of a Cass County (IA) woman facing felony charges of Murder in the 1st Degree and Child Endangerment resulting in death, is set to begin Monday in Pottawattamie County. 39-year-old Alison Dorsey, of Anita, is on trial for the death at a Massena day care, of an infant in her care in October 2019. Her trial was moved to Council Bluffs after the jury in Dorsey’s first trial ended in early November 2021, with a deadlocked jury, after which a mistrial was declared.

Her re-trial was originally set for January 2022, but it was continued twice thereafter until May 1, 2023. A ZOOM pre-trial conference in the case was held Thursday, April 27th. Dorsey is accused of shaking a baby to death at her Massena day care in 2019.

The baby boy, who died in October of 2019, was one of 11 children Alison Dorsey was caring for in a Massena day care on the morning the child stopped breathing. In her first trial, Dorsey testified 11-week-old Luka Hodges was gasping for air about three hours after the baby’s father dropped the child off, so she called the boy’s father. When the father walked into the home, the baby, which was being held by Dorsey, went limp. She immediately handed him to the father. The baby’s father and an off duty sheriff’s deputy who was nearby performed CPR and the infant was taken to a hospital in Atlantic, then transferred to a hospital in Omaha, where the boy died.

Shaken Baby Syndrome was initially identified as the cause of death, but the Iowa Medical Examiner’s report was inconclusive.

(Radio Iowa) – The only statewide fundraising event for Iowa’s chapter of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, or PanCAN, is this weekend in central Iowa. Katie Tigges, of Urbandale, is chairing what’s known as PurpleStride Iowa, which she’s hoping will draw at least a-thousand people, including cancer survivors, caregivers, families, researchers, and other supporters.
[mkpan1] :20 “for patients” “It’s a great event to really help those impacted by pancreatic cancer,” Tigges says. “It pays a tribute to their family members. It honors them, family and friends. And it also just raises the public awareness and, of course, the funds to support research and treatment options for patients.”

Pancreatic cancer is the nation’s third-leading cause of cancer-related death. It’s estimated 600 Iowans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year and more than 500 of them will die from it. Tigges’ father was diagnosed with inoperable, stage-four pancreatic cancer four years ago, and beat all of the very long odds.  “He is our miracle,” Tigges says. “The chemo and radiation worked for him, plus, a whole lot of faith and hope. He’s very positive. Just that journey, I feel like because I was blessed with my dad being a survivor that this is my way of making sure that others can have that hope as well.”

PurpleStride Iowa is scheduled for Saturday at Raccoon River Park in West Des Moines, with a three-mile walk around the lake. The opening ceremony starts at 9 A-M. The Iowa event is among 60 being held nationwide on the same day. The goal of PurpleStride Iowa is to raise 135-thousand dollars, which would go toward the national goal of 19-million.  “When I started getting involved with PanCAN four years ago, it was only at a 9% five-year survival rate and now it’s already grown to 12%,” TIgges says. “So the more we can raise, the more research and things we can do to help those that are facing pancreatic cancer.”

By comparison, the five-year breast cancer survival rate is 95-percent. This type of cancer is so deadly because its symptoms are often vague and can be mistaken for something else. That includes things like abdominal pain and back pain, changes in stool, yellowing skin, weight loss, appetite loss, and a feeling of being full after only eating a little food.

Learn more at: https://secure.pancan.org/site/TR?fr_id=2662&pg=entry

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Red Oak Police report a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica was traveling east in the 600 block E. Coolbaugh Street, Thursday afternoon, when the vehicle sideswiped a legally parked 2016 KIA Sorento SUV. The accident happened at around 12:37-p.m.  No injuries were reported. The driver of the van, 61-year-old Caryn Ann Pedersen, of Red Oak, told police she simply got too close as she was passing the SUV. She claimed not to have been distracted when the mishap occurred.

Damage to the van was estimated at $4,500. The SUV sustained $4,000 damage. No citations were issued. Police noted in their report that Pedersen “Failed to keep in the proper lane.”

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest following a traffic stop, Thursday evening, of 29-year-old Shawnee L. Edwards. The Red Oak woman was taken into custody near the intersection of Broadway and Alix Avenue at around 6:30-p.m., for a Controlled Substance Violation – a Class C Felony. Edwards was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $10,000 bond.

(Omaha, NE) – The Community Foundation for Western Iowa was honored, Wednesday (April 26), to accept a regional award given for excellence in marketing material. The organization received a Pinnacle Award for “Total Marketing Campaign” in the Not-For-Profit category during AMA Omaha’s Pinnacle Awards at the Truhlsen Events Center at UNMC. The Omaha Chapter of the American Marketing Association annually hosts the Pinnacle Awards to celebrate area organizations and their most successful marketing campaigns from the previous year.

Campaigns were judged by three AMA Chapters across the United States — Charleston, Cincinnati, and San Diego — based on metrics and measurable tactics. Judges looked at results-based marketing campaigns and their impact in the community. The Community Foundation’s “Total Marketing Campaign” entry encompassed its recent name change and rebrand, including a new logo, updated website and social media posts — all designed and managed in-house — and with brand awareness videos from local producer, Craig Carlsen.

Donna Dostal, President and CEO of the Community Foundation said “This project is a culmination of 18 months of research, community engagement and internal leadership discussions resulting in not only a name change, but also a complete brand strategy. It is wonderful to be recognized for hard work that ultimately, we believe, will help result in building a culture of philanthropy, enhanced by better community engagement throughout the nine western Iowa counties that we serve.”

The following individuals attended the awards dinner and celebrated the Community Foundation’s highest honor in the “Total Marketing Campaign” category – Mick McKinley, current board chair and executive committee member; Kelly Summy, founding member, past board chair, and finance committee member; Tony Tauke, past board chair, investment committee member, and education committee member; Craig Carlsen, marketing and communications committee member; Catrina Trabal, Community Partnerships Manager at the Community Foundation; Rachel Morehead, Marketing and Engagement Manager at the Community Foundation; and Donna Dostal, president and CEO.

“We are delighted to be recognized as a Pinnacle Award winner by AMA Omaha – it is such a tremendous honor and moment of immense pride,” said Rachel Morehead, Marketing and Engagement Manager at the Community Foundation for Western Iowa. “To be able to create and coordinate the rebrand and name change with our marketing committee, board of directors and Foundation team was such a rewarding experience, and this award is a moment for our entire team to savor and celebrate!”

Community Foundation for Western Iowa,, formerly Pottawattamie County Community Foundation, is your connection to creating a lasting legacy and ensuring western Iowa is strong, vibrant, and attractive for years to come. The Community Foundation provides a highly personalized plan tailored to each individual or family’s charitable goals, financial interests, and desired impact.

The Community Foundation for Western Iowa is nationally accredited by the Council on Foundations (www.cfstandards.org), is overseen by a volunteer board of leading citizens, and run by professionals with expertise in identifying the needs of western Iowa.

Mission: The Community Foundation for Western Iowa is dedicated to creating a lasting legacy in our region by engaging our citizens and communities for durable change and fostering a culture of philanthropy. This is where giving grows.

(Creston, Iowa) – An SUV traveling west on Highway 34 in Union County, Thursday night, struck a deer on the road, but the driver of the vehicle was not injured. The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports the 2016 GMC Yukon driven by 42-year-old Scott Allen Pendegraft, of Creston, sustained $5,000 damage, but was able to be driven away. The accident happened a little after 8-p.m.