The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports 3 recent arrests.

On Monday, May 17th at 11:00 a.m. Deputies arrested 37-year-old Travis Mitchell Long of Council Bluffs on a warrant for Failure to Appear. He was arrested in Pottawattamie County and held on $30,000 bond.

Also on Monday, May 17th at 11:07 a.m. Deputies arrested 24-year-old Blake Michael Cole of Villisca on a warrant for Violation of Probation. Cole was arrested in Pottawattamie County and held on $25,000 bond.

On Tuesday, May 18th at 9:33 a.m. Deputies arrested 36-year-old Hector Antonio Melendez Robles of Bellevue, NE on a warrant for Failure to Appear on an original charge of OWI 1st. Robles was arrested in Glenwood, taken to the Mills County Jail and held on $15,000 bond.

Atlantic, IA— Effective officially on July 1, 2021, Cass County Health System will be known as Cass Health.

“As an independent hospital, we can be nimble and sensitive to the needs of the patients, families, and communities we serve. Over the past four years, we have recruited more than 30 new providers to the community, and we have been modernizing, updating, and renovating several areas inside and outside the walls of the hospital. During this renovation process, we along with our board, decided it was the right time to update our name,” said Cass Health CEO Brett Altman.

“Healthcare certainly doesn’t look the same as it did when we opened in 1968, and neither does the area we serve. Today, about 33% of our patients travel to Cass Health from outside of the county.  As we have gotten more regional, we are no longer just a county health system. We have added primary care providers, specialists, and surgeons, and we are seeing our patients come from a much broader region, where similar services aren’t readily available. Our mission is to provide a superior healthcare experience, and that does not stop at the county line.  We want to be inclusive and make everyone feel welcome here,” said Altman.

In recent years, Cass Health has added several providers who have increased the service area for the organization. When Montgomery County Memorial Hospital ceased its labor and delivery services, Cass Health partnered with them and Dr. Marcela Pineda, OB/GYN. While her patients continue to see her in the clinics outside of Cass County, they travel to Cass Health when they are ready to deliver their babies. Additionally, Internal Medicine physician Dr. Bethel Kopp joined Cass Health, also extending its reach, as she had practiced in the southern Iowa communities of Corning, Lennox, and Bedford for over 30 years, including patients from northern Missouri.  Now those same patients are accessing her through Cass Health’s rural clinics in Anita and Massena.  Doctors Weresh and Rinehart are routinely bringing in patients from the Des Moines metro. Most recently, Cass Health recruited Dr. Kim Hendricks, who is the only rheumatologist in southwest and west central Iowa and draws patients from a 70-mile radius.

“Patients are seeking out these physicians because they are highly respected, and time after time, these patients are impressed by their experience with our entire team,” said Altman.

Cass Health Chief Financial Officer Abbey Stangl stated, “The current construction and rebranding project is a refresh for our organization. We will have an entirely new clinic, new and improved parking lots, a coffee shop and new gift shop, a new helipad, and several other major improvements. There is no better time to show our employees, our physicians, our patients, and our community that we are investing in our future, and that we are here to stay as an independent rural hospital. Our investments here are not about us – it’s about investing in our community. That is part of the reason why we are also committed to paying for these improvements with cash; we will not go into debt or need to raise our tax levy to achieve these improvements. In fact, we’ve continued to lower our tax levy each year over the past several years.”

The Cass County Board of Supervisors had a short meeting on Tuesday morning at the Cass County Courthouse.

Veterans Affairs Director Mitch Holmes shared that current Veterans Commission member Dean Harrison will not be continuing his service on the commission at the end of his term which ends on June 30th. He said he will begin advertising for the opening and the Board will eventually have to appoint a new member.

Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken provided an update on equipment and projects. The big news of his discussion was that work will begin on Bridge 433 on Olive Street, 1 mile south of the interstate next week. The bridge will be closed on Monday, May 24th to begin work. The detour will be Highway 71 to 83/6 for traffic in and out of Atlantic. He said the closure is set to be in place until the week after Labor Day but could possibly be done sooner.

The Board also discussed the opening for a County Assessor following the departure of Brenda Nelson. Board Chair Steve Baier said the search process has started.

He said the Examining Board will have a list of qualifications to guide them through candidates and they will make recommendations on a candidate or candidates. County Auditor Dale Sunderman explained the ultimate approval comes down to a vote of a few entities.

Chair Baier said there is a limited pool of candidates and a number of counties have dealt with some lengthy vacancies at the position. They will see what kind of response they get within the next week.

The Adair County Board of Supervisors is set to meet on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. in the courtroom at the Adair County Courthouse.

The board will here from Catherine Olesen in regard to the Greenfield Historic Public Square design guidelines.

They will also hear a report from Conservation Director Dominic Johnson on activities and updates. He will also introduce an AmeriCorps Naturalist.

Last on the agenda is a report from County Engineer Nick Kauffman. He will report on maintenance and activities, as well as provide signing papers for a right of way contract for W10 Orient RCB projects and a final voucher for N11 Jefferson bridge replacement project.

Public in-person attendance will be allowed but will be limited to 21 people to allow for distancing. A phone option will also be utilized at (605) 313-6157 with Access Code: 526272#

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says one segment of President Biden’s proposed two-point-three trillion dollar infrastructure plan will be discussed in a Senate Finance Committee hearing today (Tuesday). The Senate’s official calendar lists the hearing name as, Funding and Financing Options to Bolster American Infrastructure.

Grassley, a Republican, says he still hasn’t made up his mind on whether or not he’ll support the massive measure going forward.

The Biden package goes beyond traditional infrastructure items like roads and bridges, as it also aims to address issues ranging from elder care to climate change. Grassley says he wants to focus on getting high-speed internet service to America’s under-served areas, which includes wide expanses of the Iowa countryside.

The Biden administration is proposing paying for the enormous proposal by raising corporate taxes, an idea Republicans are resisting.