Southwest Iowa’s public transit service recognized drivers for their service and will deliver gift bags filled with treats to drivers over the next week.

ATLANTIC, IOWA – Southwest Iowa Transit Agency (SWITA) celebrated Transit Driver Appreciation Day on March 18th. The unofficial holiday, observed each year on March 18, recognizes the men and women who ensure safe travel for millions of Americans. This year’s celebration comes on the heels of the two-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been especially stressful for essential workers due to the increased risk they encounter on the job and their roles enforcing state, federal, and local safety measures to keep their passengers safe.

“Transit Driver Appreciation 1” – (Left to right) Transit Coordinator Kristen Templeton, SWITA Driver Brian Elliott, Transit Dispatcher Kersten Abild.

“SWITA is showing appreciation for our drivers this week with goodie bags put together by the staff in the transit office,” said Transit Coordinator Kristen Templeton. “Our drivers go above and beyond daily on their routes getting people to their destinations. Please pause to say thank you when you board or exit a bus or other mode of public transit—today and every day.”

During the pandemic, southwest Iowa’s transit drivers assumed risks others were able to avoid—even transporting patients who had tested positive for COVID-19—because despite the pandemic, people still needed to go to important medical appointments or other essential services. And between spring 2020 and summer 2021, Southwest Iowa Transit Agency (SWITA) drivers delivered more than 1,900 meals through a volunteer-run program for homebound or at-risk residents.

In the coming week, transit office staff will visit drivers in all corners of the SWITA service area to deliver the gift bags and show gratitude to the more than 70 drivers who operate SWITA’s fleet of vehicles.

SWITA offers affordable, safe public transit services throughout southwest Iowa and is available to all residents of Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie, and Shelby counties.

“Transit Driver Appreciation 2” – (Left to right) Transit Coordinator Kristen Templeton, Transit Dispatcher Kersten Abild, SWITA Driver Jo James, SWITA Driver Garry Marcellus, and Transit Dispatcher Cindy Johnson.

(Anita, Iowa) – The male driver of a Volvo suffered from a head injury following a collision with a Jeep early this (Sunday) morning, in Cass County. The accident happened at around 4-a.m. on I-80 eastbound near the 68.5 mile marker.

Firefighters and rescue personnel from Anita and Wiota, as well as Cass EMS and Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the scene.

Reports indicated one of the vehicles went off into the ditch and caught fire. The fire then spread to an adjacent field. The female driver of the vehicle was able to escape without apparent injury, prior to firefighters’ arrival. The flames were quickly extinguished. The driver of the Volvo was transported to Cass Health.

No other details are currently available.

(Missouri Valley, IA) – The Harrison County Emergency Management Agency reports, that at around 4:50-p.m., Saturday, the agency was notified by Union Pacific Railroad, of a minor train derailment outside the California Junction area. Upon arrival, it was discovered eleven cars had derailed near the intersection of Fremont Ave and First St. of California Junction.

The train was made up of cars that contained dry good cargo containers. There are no hazards presented to the public by this train derailment and no injuries to report. Union Pacific Railroad is on site cleaning up the derailed cars and working to get the railroad tracks opened back up.

While crews work to get the railroad open, the railroad crossings at Grover Ave and Fremont Ave are expected to remain closed. Citizens are asked to avoid these areas so crews can restore normal operations to the railroad tracks.

(Clinton County, Iowa) –  The Iowa State Patrol, late Friday night, released the identities of four people who died and one who was injured, during a head-on crash Wednesday evening, in eastern Iowa. All of the victims were from Clinton. The Patrol says a 2014 Chevy Cruze driven by 90-year-old Donald June Bartels, was traveling westbound on Highway 136 at around 4:54-p.m., when the vehicle collided with an eastbound 2014 Honda Odyssey van, driven by 94-year-old Benjamin Early Ehrhart. Both drivers died.

Two passengers in the van, 91-year-old Donna Mae Ehrhart, and 81-year-old Phyllis Ann Krogman, also died. Another passenger in the van, 87-year-old Robert Grego Krogman, was seriously injured and transported by ambulance to the hospital, in Clinton. Three of the victims were not wearing seat belts (Donald & Donna Ehrhart, and Phyllis Krogman).

The crash remains under investigation.