A woman from Adams County escaped injury when the car she was driving went out of control and rolled into a Union County ditch, Thursday (today). The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports 27-year old Mariah Kay Bernita Swanson, of Corning, was driving a 2008 Dodge Avenger eastbound on 170th Street at around 2:15-p.m., when the accident occurred. Her car rolled into the south ditch and landed on its top.

The vehicle sustained $5,000 damage and was declared a total loss. No charges or citations were issued.

Adair County Tourism officials are pleased to announced they have a new logo. The design is the creation of Adair County native Rachel Scheel. ACTC commissioned the logo to help market and promote the county’s tourism attractions and businesses in print and digital media.

Scheel, a 2017 Nodaway Valley graduate, says “It is so cool to represent Adair County.” Currently residing in Ankeny, Scheel completed her degree in graphic design at DMACC and is employed by Wee’s Tees in Ankeny. Scheel’s work is familiar to the NV community. She designed the graphic for the gym floor as a student. She also gained recognition this summer with her winning entry in the Iowa State Fair Blue Ribbon Foundation t-shirt design contest.

Terri Queck-Matzie, ACTC chairman, says “We’re very pleased to have the talents of a bright young artist like Rachel available to us. She did a wonderful job creating a design that encompasses our key branding elements – rural, modern, artistic, active, peaceful, natural and rooted in history. And, of course, our designation as Iowa’s Garden County.”

Scheel says she tried several sketches before she settled on the design. “At first I wanted to include specific landmark locations, but in the end I wanted a more all-inclusive logo,” she says. “I grew up in Adair County with a love for the nostalgic small towns and prairies, and the prairie seemed to cover all of the main components I wanted, while not resting on one particular spot.”

Information on events and sites to visit in Adair County can be found on ACTC’s Facebook page Adair County Iowa Tourism.

Health officials in Mills County report one additional case of COVID-19. Authorities today (Thursday), said the newest case bring to 32 the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Mills County. Of that total, 25 have recovered from the virus, and 1,820 have been tested. The newest case is a person age 18-to 40. They contracted the virus by community spread.

After a day with no new cases of COVID-19 reported in Pottawattamie County, Wednesday, health officials today (Thursday), said there 22 new cases. Four of the individuals are from Carter Lake, one is from Treynor, and the rest are from Council Bluffs. The individuals were tested before June 17th and 23rd. Three are 17 years of age or younger, seven are 18-to 40, nine are 41-to 60, and three are 61-to 80 years old.

Of all 711 positive cases in Pott. County (including those that have been epi-linked), 185 are self-isolating at home, seven are hospitalized, and 482 have recovered from the virus,

Police in Council Bluffs report a man faces armed robbery charges following an incident that took place at around 10:45-a.m. today (Thursday). Council Bluffs police officers responded to Boost Mobile, 2600 West Broadway, for a hold-up alarm. Upon arrival, officers found 32-year old Brian Thomas Berry inside the business, threatening a pair of female employees with a knife. When confronted by officers, Berry dropped the knife and surrendered.

Brian Thomas Berry

Officers were able to link Berry to another robbery at Max I. Walker Dry Cleaners, 802 1st Avenue, which had occurred about 30 minutes prior to the Boost Mobile incident. No injuries were reported in either robbery. After being interviewed by detectives, Berry was booked into the Pottawattamie County Jail on two counts of Robbery 1st Degree, one count Kidnapping 2nd Degree and one count of Theft 1st Degree.

Cass County Deputy Auditor Sheri Karns reports Darrin Petty has filed papers to run for the Cass County Ag Extension Council. There are total of four positions available in advance of the November General Election.

(Radio Iowa) — Governor Kim Reynolds has signed a bill into law that makes it easier for plumbers, electricians and others who work in professional occupations get a license to work in Iowa. Representative Shannon Lundgren, a Republican from Peosta, was among the lawmakers who worked on the bill. “One quarter of all Iowans need a license to do their job,” she said. “…The average licensed professional in the state of Iowa faces an average cost of $178 in fees and 288 days of required education or experience and these strict licensing requirements have a negative effect for all Iowans — increasing the costs of goods and services, restricting employment opportunities.”

The bill lets Iowa licensing agencies accept work experience as a substitute for education. It also lowers licensing fees for low-income Iowans. These changes do NOT apply to licensing for teachers. Some Democrats like Senator Herman Quirmback of Ames say the licensing changes in this new law are too broad. “There are a lot of states that don’t have standards that are up to Iowa’s standards, that don’t protect their consumers as well as we protect our consumers,” Quirmbach said, “so we need to look at it on a case-by-case basis.”

The bill passed the Senate with Republican support. It passed the support with “yes” votes from Republicans AND several Democrats. Governor Reynolds signed the bill into law late this (Thursday) morning.