Page County Sheriff’s Deputies, Wednesday, executed a Taylor County search warrant on a residence in Shambaugh. As a result, 50-year-old Philip Everett Brownfield, of Shambaugh, was arrested without incident, for Violation of the Iowa Sex Offender Registry. He was transported to the Taylor/Page County line before being transferred to the custody of Taylor County Deputies for processing. The cash or surety bond on the warrant was set at $2,000.

(Radio Iowa) – An Ottumwa man and woman face multiple counts of sexual abuse and authorities say the abuse dates back seven years. Forty-nine-year-old Jesse Harnden has been charged with 85 counts of second and third-degree sexual abuse. Court records say Harnden started engaging in illegal sex acts with a seven-year-old child in February 2013. Police say the abuse continued until the early months of 2020.

Forty-seven-year-old Heather Mantell is the child’s biological mother and is in a relationship with Harnden. Court documents allege Mantell was aware of the illegal acts occurring between Harnden and her child. Harnden, Mantell, and the victim all lived in the same residence.

Court records also say that when the child was a teenager, Mantell engaged in illegal sex acts with the victim and Harnden. Mantell has been charged with child endangerment and two counts of third-degree sexual abuse. Both Harnden and Mantell are currently in the Wapello County Jail.

Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon reports maintenance will take place, beginning early Friday morning, on the telephone lines at the Cass County Communications Center.  Kennon says from 1-a.m. until 6-a.m. Friday, crews will be performing necessary maintenance activities. That will result in 9-1-1 calls, but they will be routed through the State Patrol or Montgomery County. Non-Emergency [administrative calls] will still get through at 243-2204.

After-hours calls to the Atlantic Police Department will not ring through, so if you wish to call-in a non-emergency matter to the Police Department, you can call the Administration Line at 243-2204, or in an emergency, 9-1-1.

(Radio Iowa) – The latest report from Iowa Workforce Development shows another drop in jobless claims. The number of initial unemployment claims filed last week dropped to around 5,600, down more than 3,300 from the previous week. Workforce Development says the number of continuing weekly unemployment claims was over 34,000, also down about 2,600 from the week before. More than half of the claimants indicated their claims were not COVID-19 related.

Industries with the most claims included, construction, manufacturing, the self-employed, accommodation & food services, and health care & social assistance.

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S-D-A is forecasting net farm income for 2020 will jump 43 percent over last year, reaching a seven-year high of nearly 120 BILLION dollars. Ag economist David Widmar is with the consulting firm Agricultural Economic Insights.  “I would summarize this as an update of a pretty dramatic upswing in the farm economy,” he says. The previous U-S-D-A forecast was released in early September. “It was about seven or eight weeks in August and September that the farm economy got to sort of the edge of looking really, really bleak,” he says, “and then all of a sudden things started turning favorably.”

Widmar uses the word “dramatic” to describe the jump in commodity prices since September. There have also been record direct government payments to farmers in 2020, more than double the amount in 2019, as the Trump Administration made extra farm payments for trade disruptions and the pandemic. Government payments will account for 39 percent of net farm income in 2020 according to the U-S-D-A.”$40-plus billion in direct payments,” he says, “a historically high level of direct payments.”

Adjusting for inflation, 2011 and 2013 were the only other years when net farm income has been higher. Widmar cautions, though, that not ever farmer is making a profit, especially when considering livestock and dairy prices.

Health officials in Cass County are trying to get the word out about a recent shipment of flu vaccine they received from the state. Amy Anstey, a Cass County Public Health Nurse, says the vaccinations are available at no charge for everyone, including persons from outside the county.

Anstey says there are a variety of reasons why people may not be taking advantage of the free vaccine, including the possibility they may have already received it. Their focus now is to get it those who have not received the shot, and, she says it’s not too late to do so. She suggests you call ahead to schedule your vaccination.

Anstey says people shouldn’t confuse the flu vaccine with a vaccine against the Coronavirus.

She says it’s important for people to understand also, that by getting a flu shot, you are not being given the flu, and it will not cause the flu.

She says the shot causes your body to generate immunity to the flu. Antey says also, if you currently have COVID symptoms, take the Test Iowa Assessment. Providers will soon be running both a flu swab and a COVID swab, to determine whether you have a cold or a positive case of the Coronavirus.

The flu shots are available seven days a week, weekends by appointment only. To schedule your appointment or for any questions, call 712-250-8008.

(Radio Iowa) – A University of Iowa student is accused in sexual blackmail case. The UI Department of Public Safety says a 20-year-old student threatened to report she was sexually assaulted unless the would-be victim paid her a thousand dollars. The student, Vy Nhat Dihn, is charged with extortion. The incident allegedly happened at Catlett Residence Hall in April. Dinh was released and is ordered to have no contact with the victim. If convicted, she could be sentenced to five years in prison.

The Creston Police Department reports a teenager faces a charge of OWI/1st offense, following a chain-reaction accident Monday night. Authorities say 14-year old Sarabeth Shakshak, of Creston, was driving a 2012 Ford Fusion, traveling north in an alley south of Irving street at around 8:35-p.m., when the vehicle left the road and struck a guide wire off of a pole. The vehicle then traveled across the alleyway and hit a 2004 Ford F-250 pickup, which was pushed into a 1995 Ford F-250 pickup. The car then traveled across the alley again before coming to rest and catching fire. The vehicle was a total loss.

Shakshak fled the scene but was later located and after speaking with police, was processed on the OWI charge. Damage to the pickups, which were registered to Tadd Carr and Virginia Wilson, both of Creston, amounted to $5,000.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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The Walnut City Council will meet in a regularly scheduled session, 5-p.m. today at the Walnut Community Center (or, online via GoToMeeting). On their agenda is discussion with regard to:

• The Sesquicentennial Celebration
• The Walnut Community Facilities
• Property Maintenance
• The City Budget
• Fire Department
• and, the annual evaluation of City Employees along with salary discussion.

The Walnut City Council will also receive an update on Ramsey’s Market, and a Housing Rehabilitation Grant. They’re expected as well, to set the date for a Public Hearing on the proposed FY City Property Tax Levy, among other matters.