(Menlo, Iowa) – Adair and Guthrie County Emergency Management Deputy Coordinator Jeremy Cooper reports, “With the potential for severe weather for our area on Wednesday April 19, 2023, the National Weather Service has requested a date change for the Annual Storm Spotter Training. We were able to confirm availability for the Menlo Community Center for Wednesday May 3, 2023.” 2023 Storm Spotter Class Flyer – Updated Date Change-1

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Southwest Iowa Planning Council (SWIPCO) recently completed 3 owner-occupied housing rehabilitation Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) projects in Dexter, Fontanelle, and Leon. These grants addressed updates to HVAC, electrical, plumbing, windows, doors, siding, roofing, handicap accessibility, and lead based paint, bringing the homes up to Iowa’s minimum housing standards. The grants assisted 14 low to moderate income households, with a total of $530,837 spent in grant funded repairs.

Unusually, these projects are outside the normal SWIPCO service area of the counties of Harrison, Shelby, Pottawattamie, Cass, Mills, Montgomery, Fremont, and Page. But, in this case SWIPCO had previously contracted with Southern Iowa Council of Governments (SICOG), based in Creston, to provide the inspections portion of their housing CDBG repair projects while SICOG continued to provide overall project administration. In February 2022 due to SICOG being unable to administer CDBG projects due to staffing issues, SWIPCO contracted with the cities to provide administration services for the CDBG rehab projects in nine communities that were currently underway. The three communities of Dexter, Fontanelle, and Leon were the first of these projects to be completed and the remaining are well on their way to completion.

“It is important for us to stand beside our fellow COGs and assist where we can,” said John McCurdy, Executive Director at SWIPCO. “The value of what these grants bring to communities is that they not only help the individual homeowners by improving the safety and energy efficiency of their homes, but they also help improve the value of all the homes in the community over time.”

CDBG is a program funded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development managed in Iowa by the Iowa Economic Development Authority. SWIPCO is a council of governments serving the eight counties of southwest Iowa with public transportation, community development, and housing. SWIPCO is an equal opportunity employer, provider, and lender. To learn more about what current programs are available, visit www.swipco.org or call 712-243-4196.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – A woman from Cass County was arrested Sunday on a Cass County warrant charging her with Felony Theft in the 1^st Degree. Rebecca Jean Dreager, age 44, was being held in the Cass County Jail on a $20,000 cash or surety bond. A criminal complaint was filed on April 11^th. Dreager served as the Secretary/Treasurer for the Cass County Chapter of Pheasants Forever. She allegedly used Pheasants Forever funds amounting to more than $18,284 for her personal use.

According to court documents, between the approximate dates of February 26, 2021 and June 3, 2022, Pheasants Forever representatives reported that during that time, a large number of transactions were made that were not made at normal times of spending and were not consistent with the amounts normally spent. Dreager had not turned in receipts for the transactions to support the purchases. Organization representatives said they had made many attempts to gather information from Dreager, and provided law enforcement with a copy of a letter that was sent to her, requesting receipts and additional information. She failed to respond to the request.

It is alleged that the transactions she made with four different entities were paid for by checks written on the Pheasants Forever account. Most of the transactions were for what appeared to be groceries, clothing, household goods, and a large number of gift cards. Pheasants Forever representatives examined the receipts and determined that most of the purchases were not for the local Chapter. They also identified receipts that were consistent with items that would be used for their events and that were in the time frame in which those events took place.

In an interview with Rebecca Dreager, she reporedly identified transactions she claimed were for items related to the organization, and furthermore acknowledged that a large number of transactions were for personal items and not for the Chapter. She said in the interview, that she thought she would be able to pay the money back, and that the spending got out of hand. She said she didn’t realize how much of the organization’s money she had spent.

Dreager remained held in the Cass County Jail pending a court appearance, as of the latest on-line court information.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Pork Producers are once again taking nominations for the best breaded pork tenderloin in Iowa. Spokesperson Kelsey Sutter says the criteria are simple. “We are looking for a delicious hand breaded tenderloin in the state of Iowa. So any restaurant that you visit that makes a really delicious tenderloin in their in house and has it on their regular menu,” she says. You can nominate your favorite tenderloin online. “Go to our website, Iowapork.org, and on our homepage you’ll see the Iowa’s best breaded pork tenderloin. Go ahead and click on that — the nomination process is really easy on our website,” Sutter says. “And we will be taking nominations from the public until June 5th.”

She says they then narrow down the field to five from each of the eight Iowa Pork Producers districts in the state. “We will spend the entire summer judging those 40 with our pork producer members across the state we have a point system and criteria that they need to follow to do the judging process<” she says. “And then at the end of the summer we’ll collect all those forms in the photos that they take, and our restaurant food service committee members will sit down and go through them and pick a top five.”

The winner will be announced in October, which is pork month. Last year’s winner was Lid’s Bar and Grill in Waukon.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Congressman Zach Nunn of Bondurant is leading a bipartisan group that’s sponsoring two bills to crack down on so-called puppy mills. Nunn says responsible dog breeders support closing the legal loopholes that have allowed Iowa to be ranked by the Humane Society as the second worst state in the country for puppy mills. “There’s no reason that Iowa should be at the bottom of this pile,” Nunn says. “More importantly, I think this is something that anyone who’s ever had an animal in their home as a companion animal, a dog specifically, wants to see these animals growing up in this hardship.”

One of the bills, called the Puppy Protection Act, would set standards of care for federally licensed dog breeders — requiring that animals get regular check-ups with a vet, adequate housing and a healthy diet. Nunn points to the case of Daniel Gingerich, who was charged with 120 violations of the Animal Welfare Act after USDA inspectors found dead and malnourished on a property near Seymour. “This idea that you would bring puppies into a confinement facility, stack them multiple crates high (to) urinate and defacate on animals below them and then sell that puppy off to become part of a family member’s home — no livestock farmer would treat their livestock that way,” Nunn says.

The other bill Nunn is co-sponsoring, called Goldie’s Law, was introduced two years ago by Democratic Congresswoman Cindy Axne, who Nunn defeated last November and Nunn is trying to advance it this year. The bill is named for a golden retriever that U-S-D-A inspectors saw was emaciated, but the agency did not order removal of animals from the Wayne County property until months later, when it was too late to save Goldie. Nunn says the local sheriff, who wanted to act sooner, supports the bill.

Cong. Zach Nunn. (Iowa PBS photo)

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture had notified the farm several times that they were in violation, but never followed up, so this is as much as holding the bad actors accountable as it is the federal government,” Nunn says. “…This is something that we’ve picked up and we’ve expanded on with the Puppy Protection Act just to make sure that there are clear guidelines, so that growers know what they can do, realy sets a best practice out there.” Nunn made his comments this weekend on “Iowa Press” on Iowa PBS.

More than 500 animals were removed from the Gingerich property in Wayne County in Septemer of 2021. Gingerich, who now lives in Ohio, pleaded guilty to two counts of animal neglect last year.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report the arrest at around 10:15-a.m. today (Monday, April 17), of 30-year-old Maura Elizabeth Jones, of Red Oak. Jones was arrested at the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center, for Public Intoxication. She was being held on a $300 bond.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Sheriff’s Office is reporting eight arrests:

Today (April 17th, 2023), Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 47-year-old Anthony Hernandez, of Atlantic, on a warrant for Littering.  Hernandez was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his initial appearance.

On Sunday (April 16th) 28-year-old Shawn Jensen, of Atlantic, was arrested on a warrant for Simple Assault.  Jensen was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his initial appearance. And, 44-year-old Rebecca Dreager, of Adair, was arrested Sunday on a warrant for Theft – 1st Degree.  Dreager was transported to the Cass County Jail where she was also booked and held pending her initial appearance.

On April 11th, 22-year-old Curclund VanAernam, of Atlantic, was arrested by Cass County Deputies on a Federal warrant.  VanAernam was transported to the Cass County Jail while awaiting extradition.

On the 9th, 24-year-old Sikfrit Muritok, of Atlantic, was arrested for Public Intoxication.  Muritok was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on his own recognizance. And, 30-year-old Preston Myers, of Anita, was arrested for OWI/2nd Offense, and Driving While Revoked.  Myers was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on his own recognizance.

On April 8th, Cass County Deputies arrested 47-year-old Steven Gustin, of Adair, for OWI 1st Offense.  Gustin was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on his own recognizance.

And, on April 7th, 51-year-old Joel Lary, of Massena,  was arrested for Theft 5th Degree.  Lary was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on bond.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports seven recent arrests. On April 10th, Police in Stuart arrested 53-year-old Petrina Lavonne Lohman, of Saint Regis, MT, following a traffic stop at around 2:20-a.m. on I-80 westbound, for erratic driving. She was subsequently charged with Possession of Meth/1st offense, and Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia. Inside the vehicle, Police found a loaded and chambered .9-mm handgun hidden in the center console. Lohman was released later that same day on a Recognizance Bond.

On April 11th, Adair County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 29-year-old David Allen Brent, of Des Moines, at the Polk County Jail. He was taken into custody on an Adair County warrant charging him with three counts of Sexual Abuse in the 2nd Degree. Brent was being held in the Adair County Jail on a $250,000 cash-only bond. Also arrested April 11th, was 33-year-old Chevy Van Sauer, of Greenfield. He was arrested on a Union County warrant for Harassment in the 1st Degree, and on Adair County charges that include Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia (needles, a scale), and for being a person ineligible to carry a weapon (a knife greater than 5-inches in length was found in Sauer’s backpack, along with the paraphernalia). Chevy Sauer was released April 14th on a $1,000 cash or surety bond.

Greenfield Police arrested 55-year old Bonnie Ranee Decker and 32-Dillion Cole Savage, both of Lorimor, April 12th, on charges of Theft in the 4th Degree. Both subjects were being held in the Adair County Jail on $1,000 bond, each. On April 13th, Stuart Police arrested 49-year-old John Earl Whitten, of Des Moines, on a Dallas County warrant for Failure to Appear on a Driving Under Suspension charge. Whitten was released on a $300 bond.

And, on April 14th, Adair County Deputies picked up from authorities in Nebraska, 40-year-old Stacy Jean Quakenbush, of Lincoln, NE. She was wanted on an Adair County warrant for Violation of Probation. She was later released on a $2,000 bond.

(Corning, Iowa) – A student of the Southwest Valley School District faces charges and was removed from school, following an alleged threat of violence. In a letter to parents and the public on the Southwest Facebook page, Superintendent Chris Fenster said, “It was brought to my attention late Friday (April 14, 2023) that a threat was made by SWV student of violence. The threat was made on Thursday and was not reported to authorities or myself (Fenster) until after school Friday.

“Upon an investigation between the Adams County Sheriff’s Orffice and myself,” Fenster said “the threat was deemed credible, and the student has been charged and removed from SWV. The failure to report this to either the Sheriff’s Office,” he said, or to Superintendent Fenster, “Is inexcusable and not tolerable; therefore I have taken appropriate personnel action while this matter is being investigated.”

The Superintendent went on to say “I apologize for the egregious lapse in judgment in not reporting this threat. I am thankful that nothing happened and will continue working to ensure our facilities are safe I ask for your support in talking with your child about not making comments of any threatening nature, and if they hear them, to tell an adult immediately.”

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Hospital officials in Atlantic report Cass Health Auxiliary has teamed up with Jose Madrid Salsa, for a unique fundraiser. The Auxiliary is selling jars of the award-winning salsa now through May 12th. Proceeds from the fundraiser go to support the Auxiliary’s projects, such as purchasing equipment for the hospital and funding scholarships for local healthcare students.

Learn more and order online, at casshealth.org/volunteers, or, you can place your order in person at the Cass Health Gift Shop. Stop by the Gift Shop to taste test several varieties between Tuesday, April 18th and Thursday, April 20th.