w/ Ric Hanson

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Authorities in Atlantic said Tuesday they are no longer searching for a suspect in connection with a stabbing incident that occurred Monday night at 4th and Pine Streets. According to Atlantic Police Chief Steve Green, 27-year old Raymond Cassidy, of Atlantic, suffered a single stab wound to the abdomen during the incident, which happened at around 7:40-p.m.

Cassidy was brought to the Cass County Memorial Hospital and later transferred to Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, for further treatment. Green could not confirm the man inflicted the wound upon himself, due to HIPPA rules, but he did say the incident is no longer under investigation.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Department reports the arrest Tuesday afternoon, of 57-year old Jeff Mendenhall, from Corning. Mendenhall was taken into custody on charges of OWI/3rd offense, and Driving While Revoked. He was arrested at around 3:20-p.m. following a traffic stop and brought to the Adams County Jail, where his bond was set at $6,000.

Officials with the Shenandoah Police Department announced earlier this week, that no criminal charges will be filed against a Shenandoah Elementary school teacher, who allegedly encouraged other students to spit on another student. According to a statement issued by Police Chief Kris Grebert, authorities reviewed the relevant facts in the case and the Page County Attorney’s Office determined the teacher did not have the requisite criminal intent necessary to prove any criminal charges.

Grebert said also, the investigation included interviews with students who were present in the classroom on October 8th, a day in which the music teacher at Shenandoah Elementary allegedly encouraged students to spit on Jaxon Kindopp. The boy was allegedly sticking his tongue out and blubbering to a classmate. The teacher allegedly encouraged other students to spit on the boy as way of teaching him a lesson.

Chief Grebert said Monday, that their investigation into the incident is closed.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

The annual survey from Iowa State University shows farmland values increased almost 24-percent over last year to a new record high of an average cost of eight-thousand-296 dollars an acre. I-S-U economist, Mike Duffy compiles the numbers from the survey. “Basically what we found was higher-quality ground moving at a pretty good level, and lower quality ground not increasing so much,” Duffy says. “For example northwest Iowa was up almost 34-percent, where southeast Iowa was up only nine percent.” Duffy says record corn and bean prices are part of the reason for the increase.

“The commodity prices were a primary driver, another driver was the very low interest rates that we have. People also said lack of alternative investments was another reason,” according to Duffy. The faster increase in the price of the better quality ground goes hand-in-hand with the amount of money to be made with the higher commodity prices.  “I think the higher quality ground is going to be less susceptible to weather problems for the most part, it’s a more stable return if you will than some of the lower quality ground. And people are perceiving it to be a better buy than the lower quality,” Duffy says.

O’Brien County had an estimated 12-thousand-862 dollar average value, the highest average county value. O’Brien County also had the highest percentage increase and highest dollar increase in value, 35-point-two percent and three-thousand-348, respectively. The 23-point-seven-percent increase marks the third straight year the land values have increased by 15-percent or more. Duffy doesn’t agree with those who say the high price bubble of ag land is going to eventually burst. “I don’t think that it’s going to be a bubble pop. I think it would either be be more akin to a tire getting a nail in it, where we’ll gradually adjust down. Or it may even be that we don’t adjust down much, but the rate of increase will either slow or slightly go down,” Duffy says.

He does think the double-digit increases in land prices may not last much longer. “I don’t see any way that we can maintain the rate that we’ve had,” Duffy explains. “The last three years we’ve increased almost 64-percent, and that’s just not sustainable.” He says the supply and amount of corn and soybeans that are grown will make an impact on the land prices moving ahead.”The world is already responding by planting more, so we’re going to see adjustments,” Duffy says. “Now all that said though, the drought that we’re experiencing right now is very serious. And what it portends for next year is kind of anybody’s guess right now. But if we don’t get rain, we’re not going to have a crop. So it doesn’t matter how high prices are.”

In Cass County, the value of Ag land increased $1,426 over last year, to $7,984 per acre. In Audubon County, land increased just $25 shy of $2,000 per acre, to $9,215. In Adair County, land prices increased a little more than $1,100, to $6,425. In Adams County, the value of land went up a little more than $800, to $5,094. In Pottawattamie County, the price of land went up $1,600 from last year, to $9,142 per acre. Land went up nearly $1,800 in Shelby County to $9,262. In Guthrie County, the price went up just over $1,600 to $8,220. And, Montgomery County realized a $1,058 dollar price increase, to just over $6,710 per acre.

This is the highest state land value recorded by the survey and the first time county averages have reached levels over 10-thousand dollars an acre.

(Radio Iowa) (more info. at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/article/farmland-value-reaches-historic-8296-statewide-average)

The United States Postal Inspection Service said Tuesday, it is offering a reward of up to $500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the theft of mail in Adair County, which occurred on December 6th, 2012. As we mentioned last weekend, Adair County Sheriff Brad Newton stated about 40 mailboxes were hit between Greenfield and Stuart, to the northeast late last week.

Investigators believe the thief or thieves are taking all the contents from mailboxes, rifling through them for the items they want, then dumping the rest. Newton says he believes the thieves are looking for Christmas cards with cash in them.  The sheriff said they don’t have a lot to go on, but they’re looking for two white males driving a mid-sized white vehicle.

If you have any information concerning this crime please contact the U. S. Postal Inspectors at 1-877-876-2455 or the Adair County Sheriff’s Department at 641-743-2148.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office today (Tuesday) reported three arrests over the past week. On Tue., Dec. 4th, 54-year old Timothy Dayle Meyer,  of Massena, was arrested on a Probation Violation charge. Meyer was taken to the Cass County Jail where he is being held on $5000 bond.

On Wed., Dec. 5th, 28-year old Laura Lynn Madden, of Atlantic, turned herself in at the Cass County Jail on a Sheriff’s Office warrant for Aiding and Abetting regarding violation of a no contact order. Madden pled guilty and was released the following day.

And, on Saturday, Dec. 8th, Cass County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 22-year old Clayton Varel Schmidt,  of Massena, on a charge of OWI 1^st Offense. Schmidt was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released on his own recognizance later that day.

(12-p.m. News 12/11/12)