Atlantic, IA—Cass Health’s Senior Life Solutions team is hosting a free community walk in support of Suicide Awareness Month on Saturday, September 17, 2022 beginning at 7:00 pm at the Rotary Shelter at the Schildberg Recreation Area. The event is being co-hosted by Healthy Cass County and Cass County Iowa State University Extension. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), there are, on average, 130 suicide deaths per day, and throughout 2020, there were an estimated 1.2 million suicide attempts. Each September, many across the country work together to help bring awareness to suicide and encourage education to help in the prevention of more lives lost.

Karmen Roland, RN, Program Director of Senior Life Solutions, says “Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month is a chance to take time to stop and assess yourself and those around you to ensure those you need help have access to it and aren’t living at risk. By raising awareness and educating people about the signs that can indicate someone is having suicidal thoughts or are possibly in danger of attempting suicide, we can help to prevent suicide from happening.”

The event will kick-off at 7:00 pm with local speakers who will share their story on how suicide has touched their lives. The walk portion of the evening will begin around 7:30 pm. Participants will walk the trail loop at the Schildberg Recreation Area. Information about mental health services and community resources as well as light refreshments will be available at the Rotary Shelter.

If you or someone you know is in an emergency, call 911 immediately. If you are in crisis or are experiencing difficult or suicidal thoughts, call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.

For more information about the walk, check out the Facebook event or call 712-250-8100.

(Radio Iowa) – Proud Iowa parents who’ve already posted photos online of their kids heading back to school might consider taking them down. Lisa Schiller, with the Better Business Bureau, says sharing pictures of your child holding a sign on their first day of the new school year could create risks.  “Back to school photos with those children holding a board with their full name, age, height, and other details,” Schiller says, “that’s great for your own personal information, keep it in the home, but don’t put it on social media.”

Schiller explains how those popular photos could become dangerous in the online environment.  “Scammers or predators could actually use this information to commit identity theft or they could use it to earn your child’s trust,” she says. Also, all of that data could be used to steal your — or your child’s — identity, or it could be used to guess passwords and break into online accounts.  Schiller says, “You may want to remove personal information from your account that others can see, like your telephone number or your address.”

It’s important to check your social media settings to see with whom you’re exchanging information. Also, look over your “friends” list and make sure what you’re sharing is going to the correct people. Some settings mean if a friend hits “like” on your post, all of their friends can see it, too.

(Radio Iowa) – A federal agency suggests increased noise would be the major impact of a railroad merger that would increase train traffic in some parts of eastern Iowa. The Surface Transportation Board is considering Canadian Pacific’s acquisition of Kansas City Southern Railway. Joshua Wayland, an environmental specialist at the agency, says the increased traffic along the merged line would increase the risk of derailments, hazardous materials spills and collisions. “But we expect that the risk of such incidents would remain small throughout the combined network,” he says, “and that most incidents that would occur would be minor and would not result in any injuries or fatalities.”

The agency calculates there would be a small increase of vehicle delays at rail crossings along the proposed Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern line.  “We project that there would be approximately 24.9 involving trains and motor vehicles per year under the proposed acquisition,” Wayland says, “compared to 19.1 accidents compared to the no-action alternative.” The agency’s Environmental Impact Statement suggests a rail line that stretches from Canada to Mexico would reduce truck traffic in the United States. “The applicants expect that approximately 64,000 truck would be removed from highways each year due to these truck to rail diversions,” Wayland says.

There could be increased truck traffic at terminals where products are unloaded from the trains, but Wayland says regulators don’t expect that to cause much disruption on streets and highways.

Police in Creston arrested a man from Polk County, for Violation of a No Contact/Protective Order. 24-year-old Aristides Esau Perodomo was taken into custody at the Union County Courthouse. He later posted a $300 bond, and was released.

Police in Red Oak, early this (Friday) morning, arrested a woman on a drug charge. Authorities say 18-year-old Lanee Joe Harmsen, of Clarinda, was arrested at around 3:54-a.m. in the 1600 block of Broadway Street, in Red Oak. She was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance (PCS)/1st offense, a Serious Misdemeanor. Harmsen was being held in the Montgomery County Jail, where her bond was set at $1,000.