GREENFIELD, Iowa — The City of Greenfield is looking for volunteers this week, to help clean-up ahead of the July 23rd RAGBRAI event. A 12-day cleaning event will take place from July 10 to July 22. Volunteers can check in at the temporary Greenfield Fire station (801 NE 6th Street (just north of Cardinal Glass). Volunteer check in starts at 8 a.m. each day

Large groups are encouraged to call ahead. Contact the Emergency Operations Center phone number: 913-961-4717. Every volunteer must check in before beginning any work.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department had a busy holiday weekend. Authorities report nine arrests took place. Friday evening, 40-year-old Yarioska Rondoncama, of Brooklyn, NY, was arrested for Driving While Revoked. Rondoncama was cited and released on a promise to appear.

Two arrests took place Saturday, in Creston: 43-year-old Tammy Jo Coleman, of Des Moines, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance (PCS)/Marijuana – 1st Offense, and OWI/1st offense. Coleman was taken to the Union County Jail and later posted bond before being released; 38-year-old Holly Renee Donehoo, of Mount Ayr, was arrested in Creston, Saturday, for Driving While Suspended. She was cited and released on a promise to appear in court.

And, there were six arrests Sunday, in Creston:

• At around 2:50-a.m., 34-year-old William Albert Bethke, IV, of Sharpsburg, was arrested for OWI/1st Offense. Bethke was taken to the Union County Jail and held on $1,000 bond.
• At around 3:30-a.m., 30-year-old Laura Cecilia Zapata Gonzales, of Lenox, was arrested following a traffic stop, and charged with two counts of Child Endangerment/Substantial Risk, as well as OWI/1st offense. During the same incident, 24-year-old Julissa Padilla, also of Lenox, was charged with two counts of Child Endangerment/Substantial Risk. Padilla and Gonzales were released from the Union County Jail after posting bond.
• Sunday afternoon, 34-year-old Nathaniel Darnell Bifford, of Creston, was arrested for Driving while Suspended. Bifford was cited and released on Promise to Appear.
• Sunday evening, 59-year-old Robbie Allen Dohrn, of Creston, was arrested on a Adams County Warrant for FTA (Failure To Appear). Dohrn was taken to the Union County Jail, and later released on cash-only bond.
• Sunday night, 39-year-old Sherrence Patricia Kilgore, of Greenfield, was arrested on a Union County Warrant for FTA on an original charge of Driving while License Denied, Suspended Cancelled or Revoked. Kilgore was taken to the Union County Jail and later released on $300 cash or surety bond.

(Atlantic, Iowa) [updated]  – Rescue crews from Anita and Griswold responded to separate accidents over the weekend, in Cass County (IA). Sunday evening, a single-vehicle rollover accident was reported on westbound Interstate 80, just east of mile marker 70. Anita Rescue was called to the scene, where a woman in the vehicle complained of chest pain following the crash that occurred at around 5:20-p.m. Additional information was not immediately available.

And, a single-vehicle accident happened at around 8:55-p.m., Sunday, on Highway 92, west of Griswold. According to a Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office accident report, an eastbound 2020 Kia driven by Daniel Paul Rossell, of Griswold, was crossing the Nishnabotna Bridge on Highway 92, when Rossell swerved to miss a tree branch on the roadway. The branch was deposited on the road during a recent storm. The car went out of control, entered the south embankment, vaulted a driveway in the yard of 53823 Highway 92, and rolled over, coming to rest in the yard at that location.

A passenger, 52-year-Jody Rossell, was injured in the crash. She3 was transported by private vehicle to Nebraska Medicine in Omaha, for treatment.

(Radio Iowa) – Several health advocacy groups are raising concerns about cancer risks linked to a chemical that’s used to decaffeinate coffee, but a local expert says you can still likely trust that morning cup of joe. Michaela Eckstein, a registered dietician with Gundersen Health System, says a solvent is commonly used on coffee beans to wick out caffeine, and the F-D-A is being petitioned to ban the use of that chemical compound.

“Methylene chloride is in the same category as the sun in terms of being a possible carcinogen,” Eckstein says, “but with the rest of that process, the coffee beans are then rinsed and heated to a super-high temperature so the methylene chloride all evaporates off, in order to be approved by the FDA and end up on our grocery store shelves.” Coffee beans are typically roasted at 400-degrees, which is up to four times higher than the evaporation point of the chemical. Eckstein says only very small amounts of methylene chloride may remain in the beans, or fewer than ten drops for every ten gallons of coffee. Studies find drinking coffee can have a variety of health benefits, including weight management, preventing heart failure, and a lower risk of developing multiple cancers and chronic diseases. Still, Eckstein says moderation is key.

“If we’re drinking caffeinated coffee, usually I recommend less than two cups per day, otherwise we start becoming more at risk of that shaky, jittery feeling,” Eckstein says. “When it comes to the decaf coffee, there’s definitely health benefits up to that three cup per day mark, or about 24 ounces a day.” Iowans who love their decaf coffee don’t have to go without, she says, as that chemical can be avoided with a little effort.

“If we are concerned about that methylene chloride, there are other options readily available,” Eckstein says. “You could get solvent-free coffee, certified organic coffee, or decaf coffee that’s made with the Swiss water processing method as well, or try some of those other great decaf drinks, like herbal tea or sparkling water.” The F-D-A is being asked to ban or restrict the use of several chemicals in food preparation, including methylene chloride, as it’s been connected to causing cancer. Groups making the request include the Environmental Defense Fund, Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, Center for Environmental Health, and Environmental Working Group.