Police in Creston today (Monday), report three arrests over the past week, including one person who was arrested twice on drug-related charges. Officials say last Tuesday, 28-year old Cody Vandel, of Creston, was arrested on a Union County warrant for a felony Controlled Substance Violation. Vandel was being held in the Union County Jail on $175,000 bond.  He was arrested again on Friday at the Union County Jail, on a Union County warrant charging him with Violation of his Pretrial Release associated with three, original counts of a Controlled Substance Violation.

Also on Friday, 29-year old Ashly Johnson, of Creston, was arrested on a Union County warrant for Probation Violation – Failure to Appear. Johnson was being held without bond, in the Ringgold County Jail. And, on Sunday, 45-year old Skeet Miller, of Creston, was arrested on a Simple Domestic Assault charge. Miller was being held in the Union County Jail while awaiting bond.

Creston Police said also, the Wal-Mart Store in Creston reported last week that sometime between 7:15-p.m. and 7:35-p.m. Monday (Jan. 11th), a woman entered the store and had several pre-paid debit cards loaded with funds, without paying for them. The loss was estimated at $2,300.

Former Arkansas Gov. and current Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee will be in the KJAN listening area this week. Huckabee will address the Douglas County, NE., Republican Party during an event 6-p.m. Tuesday at the Ramada Plaza Omaha Hotel and Convention Center. Wednesday, he’ll have “Huckabee Huddle” stops in Harlan, Carroll, Wall Lake and Cherokee. And on Thursday, he’ll be in Sioux City.

His schedule is as follows:

Wed., Jan. 20th:

8:30-to 10-a.m. at the American Legion Hall, in Harlan. Topic: “Values & Veterans Matter.”

11:30-to 1-p.m. Central Church Youth Center, in Carroll.

2-to 3-pm Wall Lake Community Center, in Wall Lake.

4:15-to 5:30-p.m. Cherokee Train Depot Renovation, in Cherokee.

Thu., Jan. 21st:

8-a.m. to Siouxland Center for Active Generations, in Sioux City.

The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce will host its Annual Dinner Saturday, January 23rd, 2016 at the Cass County Community Center. Chamber Executive Director Ouida Hargens said she always look forward to the Annual Dinner, adding that ”It’s a great opportunity for us to reflect on what we’ve accomplished, look forward to what we will accomplish and most of all, highlight all of our volunteers and Chamber Members that have invested their time and money back into our organization and our community.”

Dinner will be catered by the Atlantic Hy-Vee and is open to the entire community. Tickets are available for purchase at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce for $25 per person, or $200 for a table. The Chamber will be talking about accomplishments of not only the Chamber, but the community in 2015. For the upcoming new year, goals and the campaign “Explore, Discover, Share” for 2016 will also be introduced.

Bailey Smith, Community Marketing Associate with the Chamber, says “The theme for 2016, “Explore Discover, Share”, is something we are so excited to introduce.” She says “This campaign is going to encourage community members all over Cass County to get out and explore an attraction or business they may have never been to, discover something new and share it with others. This campaign is really exciting because we get to interact with the entire county and create something fun for the whole family to enjoy.” Further details regarding the campaign will be revealed at the Annual Dinner.

The Chamber will be honoring successful businesses, organizations and individual leaders in the community during the event, as well. And, awards will be given for Business of the Year, Community Betterment, Distinguished Service Award, Ambassador of the Year, Volunteer of the Year and Educator of the Year. The Chamber will also be recognizing the new Board Members for the 2016 year: Dan Mehmen, Scott Bennet and Jennifer Miller.

The Annual Dinner is sponsored by Deter Motors and will begin at 6:00 p.m. with a social followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m.

WINTERSET, Iowa (AP) – The death of a 33-year-old Madison County Jail inmate has been ruled a suicide. The State Medical Examiner’s Office says Joshua Barker’s death Jan. 6 was caused by a self-inflicted hanging. Barker’s cellmates found him hanging by a towel around 12:30 p.m. Jail officials began CPR, and Barker was taken to a hospital in Winterset, where he later died.

Madison County Sheriff Jason Barnes says he hopes to release records related to the death, but that the office is still waiting for Barker’s toxicology results. Barker was arrested during a traffic stop Jan. 3, when officers seized more than 200 grams of marijuana and drug paraphernalia from his car.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Terry Branstad’s budget recommendations for the upcoming fiscal year leave out direct funds for a bullying prevention office he created months ago via executive order. Branstad didn’t direct general fund money to the Center for Violence Prevention at the University of Northern Iowa in his recent budget proposal. The center, which requested $250,000, was tasked with managing the Governor’s Office for Bullying Prevention.