(Radio Iowa) – Public health officials in Iowa’s largest county have confirmed the first case of monkeypox in Polk County.
According to a news release from the Polk County Health Department, the patient was likely infected during travel within the United States, is isolating and receiving outpatient care. Iowa’s first case of monkeypox was confirmed on July 1st in an adult from north central Iowa.

Public health officials say the virus does not spread easily and most who are contracting the virus in the U.S. have had inmate, sexual contact with someone who has the virus. People with direct close contact with a monkeypox patient are offered a vaccine series that can prevent symptoms or serious illness.

Monkeypox symptoms can first appear up to 21 days after an exposure. While some patients only develop a rash or lesions, others get enlarged lymph nodes and a fever in addition to a rash.

(Atlantic, Iowa) –  Members of the Atlantic School District’s Board of Education will hold their regular monthly meeting Wednesday, in the High School Media Center, following a 12:30-p.m. Lunch. At 1-p.m., a Public Hearing will be held, during which the Board will consider the proposed plans, specifications, form of contract, and estimate of cost for the Achievement Center roof improvement project. The public may comment and/or object to the plans, specs and form of contract, or to the estimated cost of the improvements. Bids for the project will be opened Tuesday afternoon. (The proceedings may be viewed at this link: https://youtu.be/GhbE9FGWvK4)

Following the Public Hearing, the Atlantic School Board will receive reports from school administrators, including High School Asst. Principal/Athletic Director Andy Mitchell. In his notes, Mitchell says: the Atlantic Booster Club annual golf outing is this Friday, at the Country Club (AGCC); the High School Gym Floor is finished except for the last layer of sealant, and the new sound system for the HS gym will be installed next month; Mitchell reports also, to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the 2002 State Championship football team, a recognition will be held for the team prior to the varsity football game on Sept. 15th, vs. Ballard.

The Board will act on approving the following resignations: Matt Smith, Boys Head Soccer Coach; Joseph Brummer, Head Baseball Coach, and Julia Hansen, Washington Paraeducator. They will also act on Contract Recommendations for: Chase Roller, Asst. HS Wrestling Coach; Michaelin Juhl, Volunteer Cheerleading Coach; Adam Roberts, Vol. Archery Coach, and Laurie Fell, Washington Grade Level Teacher.

Other, action items on their agenda for Wednesday afternoon, include: Spring 2023 Coaching Recommendations; 2022-23 Teacher Leadership Contract Recommendations (Total $105,966.45 from the General Fund); 2022-23 Workers Comp/Liability Insurance Renewal (which is experiencing another significant price increase, according the District’s agent); Fuel Bids for ethanol blends unleaded, #1 & #2 diesel, and propane.

The Atlantic School Board will also act to approve 2022-23 Adult/Student Meal Prices, which calls for an increase in adult lunch meals to $4.13 (breakfast $2), and leaving the student prices unchanged for at least the last four years (Breakfast $1.80 & lunch $2.55 at WA, $2.75 at SE & MS, and $2.80 at the HS). The final order of business, is to accept a bid for the Achievement Center roofing project.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Iowa Courts Online records show an Atlantic man, 20-year-old Michael Gehling, was sentenced today (Monday, July 11), to five-years in prison in connection with a stabbing that took place April 4th. Gehling’s sentence was on a charge of Willful Injury. He had previously pleaded guilty to the charge, after the court, in early May, agreed to dismiss a more serious charge of Attempted Murder.

Michael Gehling (Booking photo courtesy the Cass County Jail)

His sentence will run concurrent with another case in which Gehling was sentenced to a total of nine-years in prison on charges that include Burglary in the 3^rd Degree, Criminal Mischief in the 2^nd Degree and Theft in the 3^rd Degree. Those charges are with regard to an incident in February, when Atlantic Police were called to investigate a broken store window at 200 Chestnut Street.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Officials with the Glenwood Police Department report four separate arrests occurred over the past week. On Sunday, 40-year-old Ellen Pankievicz, of Malvern, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. Cash/Surety bond was set at $300. On Thursday, 40-year-old Kevin Petersen, of Glenwood, was arrested on a Mills County warrant for Failure to Appear. His bond was set at $300 cash only.

On July 5th, 28-year-old Ashten Horner, of Glenwood, was arrested for OWI/1st offense ($1,000 cash/surety bond). And, on July 4th, 21-year-old Preston Clark, of Glenwood, was arrested for Public Intoxication. Cash or surety bond was set at $300.

(Radio Iowa) – Thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the Iowa Capitol on Sunday afternoon to protest attempts to restrict abortion. Among the speakers, Jean Swenson said her mother told her stories from before the Roe versus Wade decision, when Iowans had to travel to Chicago or New York to get abortions, or they would try to perform abortions themselves, which could be very risky. Swenson said, “But we will never go back to those days because abortion rights are human rights.”

Groups including Planned Parenthood and the Iowa Coalition for Collective Change hosted the event. It drew a huge crowd with many people holding signs and wearing shirts declaring their support for protecting the right to terminate a pregnancy. On Saturday, a few dozen people gathered outside of a Roman Catholic cathedral in downtown Des Moines to pray, then they walked to the Statehouse to pray more. Tom Quiner is president of the board of Pulse Life Advocates, which co-hosted the event. He says his Catholic faith teaches that human life begins at fertilization.

“I believe that it is always unjust to kill an innocent person,” Quiner says, “so philosophically, theologically and politically, it’s just an issue that animates me.” Quiner says he’d like to see the ban on abortions after a “fetal heartbeat” is detected take effect. He also wants the Iowa Legislature to approve an anti-abortion constitutional amendment, which would then go to voters to decide.

Abortion is still legal in Iowa up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.

(Radio Iowa) – A northwest Iowa community is the latest to adopt a curfew for children and teenagers. Lake City’s City Council made the move after recent vandalism to stop signs and streets and in the town square. Eric Wood, the city administrator for Lake City, says the new ordinance applies to everyone under the age of 18. “It’s unlawful for any minor to be or remain in any of the public places in the city between the hours of 12:30 and 5 for ages 16 and 17,” he says, “and 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. for minors 15 years of age and under.”

There are some exceptions to Lake City’s curfew. “If you’re accompanied by an adult, if you’re on your own property, if you’re coming back from an activity such as a school event,” he says, “those are all exceptions to the policy.”  In 1989, the Iowa Supreme Court upheld a curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. in Panora for anyone under the age of 18 and many Iowa cities have curfews for minors.

Other area cities with curfews include:

• Atlantic: Midnight to 5-a.m. daily
• Audubon: Midnight to 5-a.m.
• Clarinda: 1-a.m. to 5-a.m.
• Greenfield: (age 14 & Under…10 p.m.-5 a.m. Sunday-Thursday, and 11 p.m.-5 a.m. Friday and Saturday, unless they are accompanied by a responsible adult; persons age 15-17 are prohibited from being in public from 11 p.m.-5 a.m. Sunday-Thursday and midnight-5 a.m. Friday and Saturday, unless they are accompanied by a responsible adult.
• Guthrie Center: Midnight to 5-a.m.
• Harlan: 12:30-a.m. to 5:30-a.m.
• Shenandoah: from 1-a.m. until 6-a.m.

(Radio Iowa) – The fall semester won’t start for several weeks at the state’s colleges and universities, but now is a key time in the financial planning process. The C-E-O of Iowa Student Loan, Steve McCullough, says parents and students need to do some research when it comes to student loans. “This time of year when people get their award letter, and they see the amount that students are going to get in scholarships and grants and the amount that students can pay using their own student loans. But then there’s this bottom line, which is the amount that the parents and families is supposed to pay,” McCullough says.

He says there are federal student loans, private loans, and the loans offered through the Iowa program. “The Federal Direct Plus loan has a really high interest rate, it just reset. They don’t publish an A-P-R, but we estimate it’s going to be about eight-point-five percent (8.5). And if you think about that, that’s a really high rate for a loan these days,” McCullough says. “In comparison, the highest rate that I-S-L education lending offers, in our state-based program that was authorized by the legislature is an A-P-R of seven-point-four percent (7.4%). He says the state loan could save a family one-thousand dollars over the life of a 10-thousand dollar loan. McCullough says their website at iowastudentloan.org can help you see your options.

“We actually do a side-by-side comparison with the Federal Direct Plus loan. And there are other features different repayment options, different other things to consider as well, besides the interest rate, and we want people to recognize those two and make the choice that’s right for them,” he says. There’s been a lot of talk from the Biden Administration about forgiving student loans. McCullough says the shouldn’t be a factor in any student loan decision right now. “It may not apply to parents that are currently borrowing for their students for this fall, and so we don’t want them to be distracted by that we want them to really be considering the factors that matter, so they can try and borrow less money,” he says.

McCullough says there are things students can do to reduce the amount they need to borrow. “They can work while they’re in college, they can try and lower their living expenses. So that it doesn’t cost that much for them to be at college. There’s lots of things that they can do. And the less they borrow now, the less they have to repay later,” McCullough says.

He says if you base your decisions on the facts at the time and really take the time to do your research and understand that interest rates and the other factors you can make a difference in how much you end up paying in the long run.