(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with Vision Atlantic announced today (Thursday), that Ag Ventures Foundation (AgVA), a 501(c)(3) organization based in Mason City, IA, recently awarded a $10,000 grant to Vision Atlantic to support the outdoor classrooms in the new Lakin Foundation Child Development Center of Atlantic. The AgVA Foundation provides grants to other 501(c)(3) organizations to support agricultural education and nutrition programs for adults and youth.

Bob Cole, President of the AgVA Foundation said, “We are pleased to provide these funds to the Lakin Foundation Child Development Center of Atlantic because they will be used to support outdoor classrooms that will allow our youngest youth to learn how to plant and nurture seeds, harvest and prepare produce, and will provide opportunities for children to enjoy eating what they have produced. These learning opportunities can hopefully lead to continued learning throughout their lives of food production and healthy eating.”

The new child development center is being built to meet the increased need for childcare in Cass and surrounding counties. According to Dianna Williams, Director of the Ann Wickman Child Development Center, they are out of space at the current facility. “Over the past four years, our center has been at full capacity, and we consistently have a waitlist of over sixty children. The lack of available childcare in the region negatively impacts families and employers,” Williams stated.

Pictured: Melissa Ihnen, Vision Atlantic Board Secretary; Christina Bateman, Vision Atlantic Board President; Debbie Waterbury, Vision Atlantic Board Treasurer and Jill Euken, AgVA Foundation Board Member.

According to a study conducted in 2023, it was discovered that Cass County has a childcare availability shortfall of over 1,000 children. The new center will be constructed on south Olive Street in Atlantic and will have capacity for 300 children aged zero – five. The Jack and Jill Preschool, currently housed at the Nishna Valley Family YMCA, will be co-located with the new childcare center. “We are excited about this award to support the Lakin Foundation Child Development Center of Atlantic. We know that the new center will provide quality care for children, which is a critical component of economic development of the region, and an important consideration for families when they choose where they want to live,” Christina Bateman, Vision Atlantic President stated.

Along with a new child development center, Vision Atlantic’s project includes a 144-unit housing development and an expansion to the current YMCA facility. Over the past 11 months, $18.3 million has been raised, 60% of a $30 million goal. Vision Atlantic’s Project Committee is actively working to secure the remaining $12.1 million needed. If you are interested in helping transform Atlantic, whether it’s through monetary donations or acts of volunteerism, please contact Vision Atlantic at visionatlanticiowa@gmail.com. Follow Vision Atlantic on Facebook for behind-the-scenes access to project updates or visit www.visionatlantic.org.

Vision Atlantic is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose mission is to empower growth, enhance lives, and build a thriving community together through the economic development of Atlantic, Iowa.

(Radio Iowa) – Friends and families gathered at a park in Evansdale Wednesday to share their stories of loved ones who have been killed as part of the National Day of Remembrance for victims of homicide. Heidi Maring wears a tattoo on her arm to remember her eight-year-old son Anthony, who was killed by her husband, and tells K-C-R-G T-V she came to Angel’s Park to honor those lost. “We are the last ones to tell our loved one’ story and keep their memory alive,” Maring says. For some, this is a chance to tell people about their journey and the ones they’ve lost.

““It never goes away. You just find ways, you have good days and you have bad days,” Maring says. The Evansdale park is dedicated to Elizabeth Collins and her cousin Lyric Cook Morrissey who were kidnapped and killed in 2012. Drew Collins is the father of Elizabeth and tells K-C-R-G T-V about keeping the hope that the case will be solved. “You have to keep calling the police, you have to keep following up with things, and if you don’t it goes away,” Collins says. Collins spends much of his time connecting with families in similar situations to give them solidarity.  “It’s just important for all these people to know they’re not alone, and they’re not going through it alone,” Collins says.

The people at Angel’s Park, including the father of Elizabeth Collins, said the chance to tell their story to people who understand what they’re going through is rare and also powerful.

(Radio Iowa) – One of the six Republicans who represents Iowa in congress voted against the spending plan that will keep the federal government operating for three months. In a message posted on social media, fourth district Congressman Randy Feenstra said Iowans and Americans deserve fiscal responsibility from their government. Feenstra did not directly refer to his no vote on the temporary spending bill that averts a federal government shut down October 1st, but Feenstra said congress needs to end reckless government spending and produce a balanced federal budget.

First district Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks, second district Congresswoman Ashley Hinson of Marion and third district Congressman Zach Nunn all voted yes on the resolution to provide funding for the federal government through December 20th. Both of Iowa’s U-S Senators voted for the plan, too.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Democratic Party has mailed a second round of absentee ballot request forms to about 36-thousand Iowa voters this month. The shape of the forms in the first mailing prevented them from being automatically processed by Postal Service machines. Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart. “There was a change in postal regulations that took our vendor by surprise and so those absentee ballot requests have been sent out again,” Hart says, “and we have worked with our county auditors across the state to resolve that issue.”

A spokesperson for Iowa Democrats says the party received a call on September 9th that there was a problem with the shape of the ballot request form. New forms were sent to the same voters on September 17th, along with information urging them to submit a new request in case their first wasn’t processed. Nearly 60 percent of the Iowa voters who received both mailings have submitted absentee ballot requests according to the Iowa Democratic Party.

Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart during an appearance on Iowa Press, on Iowa PBS

Early voting in Iowa starts October 16th and that’s the date county auditors may begin mailing out absentee ballots.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office have released a report on those arrested between Sept. 13th and the 25th:

On September 25th: 18-year-old Alexis Hoyt, of Atlantic, was arrested for Operating While Intoxicated (OWI)/1st Offense.

On September 24th: 18-year-old Shantell Michaels, of Atlantic, was arrested on a warrant for Violation of a No Contact Order.  Michaels was taken to the Cass County Jail where she was booked and held until her later release after her initial appearance.

On September 22nd: 27-year-old Clara Mohr, of Anita, was arrested for Domestic Assault.  Mohr was transported to the Cass County Jail where she was booked and held pending her later release on bond.

On September 21st: Cass County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 56-year-old Darren Brooks, of Prescott, for OWI/2nd offense. Brooks was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on bond.

On September 18th: 19-year-old Michael Johnson, of Red Oak, was arrested in Cass County on a warrant for Violation of Probation.  Johnson was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held.

There were four arrested in Cass County on September 14th:

• 22-year-old Korey Parrott, of Atlantic, was arrested for Operating While Intoxicated/1st Offense.
• 26-year-old Chase Holmes, of Griswold, was arrested for Violation of the Sex Offender Registry and Violation of Probation
• 39-year-old Michelle Schroder, of Atlantic, was arrested for OWI/1st offense; and,
• 44-year-old Matthew Steffens, of Atlantic, was arrested for Driving While Revoked.

All four were booked into the Cass County Jail and held pending ROR (Release on [their] Own Recognizance.  And, on September 13th, Cass County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 44-year-old Misty Rhodes, of Atlantic, on a warrant for another jurisdiction.  Rhodes was held pending her released on bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Two disability rights groups in Iowa are hosting candidate forums focused on issues faced by Iowans with disabilities. The seven forums across the state next month will feature candidates for the Iowa legislature. Catherine Johnson, executive director of Disability Rights Iowa, says the first-ever forums are so Iowans with disabilities have a chance to understand how candidates running for state office think through disability issues.

“It’s been our experience that people in general don’t think about disability unless you have a disability yourself or you have a friend or a family member with a disability,” Johnson says. “So having the chance to connect early in an elected official’s career and talk about disability issues is really impactful.” Organizers say they’ve planned the forums to bring issues that are important to Iowans with disabilities front and center for current and future state lawmakers. Piper Haugan, a voting rights advocate at Disability Rights Iowa, says candidates will be asked questions about their experience with disabilities and their related policy priorities.

Radio Iowa graphic

“Of course, every policy that occurs in the legislature does affect people with disabilities,” Haugan says, “so we want to really be able to hear how they consider the disability community when they’re reviewing those bills.” Each forum will have American Sign Language interpretation and captioning.

The first forum is scheduled for October 1st in Council Bluffs. Others will follow: October 8th in Waverly, October 10th in Sioux City, October 16th in Ankeny, October 17th in Waukee, October 22nd in Des Moines, and October 24 in Ottumwa.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports three people were arrested on separate charges, Wednesday. At around 3:25-p.m., 26-year-old Isaac Wayne Hayes, of Creston, was arrested at his residence for Violation of No Contact/Protective Order – Contempt, Harassment – 2nd Degree, Harassment – 3rd Degree, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Hayes was taken to Union County Jail and held without bond until seen by a judge.

At around 5:50-p.m., Wednesday, Creston Police arrested 60-year-old Robbie Allen Dohrn, of Creston. Dohrn was taken into custody at Rainbow Park for Driving While Barred. He was transported to the Union County Jail and later released on bond.

And, 30-year-old Patrick Riley Iiams, of Creston, was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center on a warrant for Violation of Probation. Iiams was already being held in the Union County Jail. He is being held without bond, pending his initial court appearance.

(Radio Iowa) – The oldest living graduate of Grinnell College is the focus of events in Grinnell this weekend. Edith Renfrow Smith was born in Grinnell 110 years ago and graduated with a degree in psychology in 1937. “She knew from the time that she was a young girl that Grinnell was going to be her choice for college,” Jayn Chaney, a Grinnell College vice president, said. “She was the first black woman to graduate from the college.”

A new residence hall for Grinnell students that’s located in downtown Grinnell has been named Renfrow Hall. “We are excited to be able to honor her and have her legacy really celebrated and uplifted in this facility,” Chaney said.

The Renfrow Hall dedication ceremony is scheduled for Saturday at noon. A display in an art gallery on the Grinnell campus provides a timeline of the entire Renfrow family’s trajectory. “Grinnell College has been so honored to be the recipient of many of the treasured, beloved family photos that Mrs. Renfrow Smith’s mother and other family members assembled over time that really helps tell the story of the Renfrow family and the early African American community in Grinnell,” Chaney told Radio Iowa. About 60 Renfrow family members are expected for this weekend’s events in Grinnell. There will be a parade Saturday morning and on Saturday afternoon a temporary mural honoring the Renfrow sisters will be installed on the side of a bank in downtown Grinnell.

110 year-old Edith Renfrow Smith graduated from Grinnell College in 1937. (Grinnell College photo)

Edith Renfrow Smith moved to Chicago after graduating from Grinnell College. She retired from a teaching career in 1976 and has been recognized for her volunteer work in retirement. At the age of 108, she was declared a “super-ager” in Northwestern University research about older adults who have the memory capacity of someone much younger. Renfrow Smith turned 110 in July.

(Radio Iowa) – The University of Northern Iowa is developing a Center for Civic Education after recently receiving approval from the Board of Regents. The head of the Cedar Falls school’s History Department, Jennifer McNabb, helped put together the proposal. “The Center will emphasize the production of educational resources. First, our pre-service teachers at U-N-I will be producing lesson plans and support material for in service teachers across the state, and we will sponsor an annual conference at U-N-I on civic education and free speech,” she says. McNabb says they will also reach out beyond the campus.

“Our public history students will work on public education in civic ed through the creation of traveling exhibits for education and for civic spaces, hoping to draw on our partnership with the Iowa community colleges,” she says. U-N-I already has civic education curriculum in place, created by a team of faculty members after they received National Endowment for the Humanities grant. The new center will build on that curriculum.

Jennifer McNabb, Scott Peters. (photo from Board of Regents meeting)

“The center’s ultimate goal is to help our community develop the civic knowledge, skills and dispositions required for understanding and application the values of free speech, civic leadership, public service and citizenship,” McNabb says. She says the Center for Civic Education is U-N-I’s response to the Board of Regents’ directive in November 2023 for the Regent schools to establish a widespread initiative that includes opportunities for education and research on free speech and civic education.