(Radio Iowa) – The owner of a catering business and event venue in northwest Iowa is being named the Iowa Small Business Person of the Year by the Iowa district office of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Cathy Bishop opened a restaurant called Aggies in the Sioux City suburb of Sergeant Bluff in 1994, but after a several years, realized she had to make a change — for the better. “We had such a different menu and everything’s homemade from scratch, and people started asking us to cater for them,” Bishop says, “and so we did. Then, it got to be so much that my kitchen couldn’t handle the restaurant and the catering all at the same time.”

In 2009, Bishop pivoted into catering full time, turned the restaurant into an event venue and immediately began hosting graduations, birthdays, retirements, weddings, funerals and more. Offering breakfast, lunch and dinner catering weekdays and multiple events on weekends, Bishop has continued adding members to her staff over the past 15 years.  “We have about 10 that come every day,” Bishop says. “I have one that comes in at 4:30 every morning because that’s when she likes to get up, and then we have up to 50 people that we pull from for events, because if you have five parties, you have to have five different teams.” A 1983 graduate of Texas A-and-M (where the mascot is the Aggies), Cathy worked for several years as a bank examiner, but her heart’s desire was to become an entrepreneur, which led her to the hospitality industry.

Cathy Bishop (Photo provided by SBA)

Being named Iowa’s Small Business Person of the Year is a wonderful honor, but she says her motto’s and business practices are simple: “I treat people the way I want to be treated. My dad was an entrepreneur and he taught me to do deals with a handshake and I’ve always done that,” Bishop says. “It’s always good to get involved in your community, supporting other people, helping other people get involved in starting new businesses. Small businesses are all in the same kind of boat and they need each other to help support each other.”

As the Iowa Small Business Person of the Year, Bishop will represent Iowa at National Small Business Week ceremonies in Washington D.C. in April, where she will compete for the National Small Business Person of the Year Award.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Police Department reports 10 arrests took place from March 11th through the 18th.

Officers with the Atlantic P-D arrested two people on separate charges, March 18th: 25-year-old Agnes Koki, of Atlantic, was arrested for Disorderly Conduct; and 42-year-old Melanie Stoural, of Atlantic, was arrested for OWI/1st offense.

On the 16th, 38-year-old Brandon Hammer, of Atlantic, was arrested in Atlantic for Public Intoxication. Hammer was also arrested March 13th, for Disorderly Conduct and Public Intoxication.

On the 12th of March, officers with the A-PD arrested 28-year-old G Love Kovac, of Atlantic, for Violation of a No Contact Order. And, there were five arrests in Atlantic on March 11th:

• 38-year-old Winser Ekiek, of Atlantic,was arrested for Accessory After the Fact.
• 58-year-old Michael Turnbaugh, of Altoona, was arrested for Driving While License Denied or Revoked.
• 30-year-old MJ William, of Atlantic, was arrested for Disorderly Conduct.
• 21-year-old Easter Sakate, of Atlantic, was arrested for being an Accessory After the Fact.
• and, 39-year-old Rosita Rikar, of Atlantic, was arrested March 11th on a Active Fugitive Warrant out of Oregon.

All above subjects were taken into custody and transported to Cass County Jail and Booked in.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – Narcan is now available in every residence hall on the University of Iowa’s campus, as well as the Iowa Memorial Union. Narcan, also known as Naloxone, is a medication that can reverse the effects of opioid overdoses. That includes prescription drugs like hydrocodone, as well as heroin and fentanyl.

Student Wellness Associate Director Trisha Welter says they’re implementing it to keep up with Iowa’s growing opioid crisis. Though she says overdoses, especially opioid overdoses, are not common on campus. But even though overdoses aren’t common on campus, Dr. Heidi Wood with the UI’s Addiction and Recovery Collaborative says the problem of opioids is happening close to home.

According to a survey by research institute RAND Corporation, about 42% of Americans know someone who’s died of a drug overdose. Because of this, the Wood hopes to be able to expand this program even further in the future. Wood says that there’s no risk of endangering someone with the medication, as it won’t have any adverse effects on someone not experiencing an opioid overdose.

AMES, Iowa — Thousands of Iowans will be part of another round of public service loan forgiveness. Thursday morning, the Biden-Harris administration announced an additional $5.8 billion in student debt/loan debt relief for 78,000 public service workers. Next week, Biden will send emails to 78,000 people, letting them know if they continue public service work they will be eligible for loan forgiveness.

DAVENPORT, Iowa – An Iowa City man was sentenced Wednesday (March 20th) to 25 years in federal prison for Conspiracy to Distribute a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Heroin Resulting in Death and Distribution of a Mixture and Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Heroin Resulting in Death.

The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa says according to public court documents and evidence presented at trial, on January 23, 2021, Iowa City Police Officers were dispatched to a residence related to a suspected overdose. After investigation, Lugene Shipp, 43, and Dione Dante Mobley, 43, were arrested related to the conspiracy to distribute and distribution of heroin.

Shipp and Mobley were both convicted after a trial last fall. This week, Shipp was sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment. After completing his term of imprisonment, Shipp will be required to serve 5 years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Mobley is scheduled to be sentenced on April 23, 2024.

The case was investigated by the Iowa City Police Department, the University of Iowa Police Department, and the Johnson County Drug Taskforce.