Healthy Cass County and Cass County ISU Extension have updated the Cass County Urgent Need Resource Guide. The guide can be found on the Cass County ISU Extension website (http://www.extension.iastate.edu/cass/).

Cass County Director of Public Health Beth Olsen says “It is critical that everyone know about all the excellent resources available to Cass County during this time. This guide has been updated to include resources related to food security, COVID-19, mental health, and more.”

The organizations collaborating on the document are asking for assistance in making sure the document reaches everyone in Cass County. Healthy Cass County is a community-focused volunteer network formed to promote the health and well-being of Cass County residents.

Follow Healthy Cass County on Facebook @HealthyCassCounty (https://www.facebook.com/HealthyCassCounty/). Reach out to Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh at bhoegh@iastate.edu or call 712-249-5870 more information.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden has selected Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge as his housing and urban development secretary and former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to reprise that role in his administration. That’s according to four people familiar with one or both of the decisions who spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday on condition of anonymity to avoid preempting the president-elect’s announcement.

Fudge, a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, was just elected to a seventh term representing a majority Black district that includes parts of Cleveland and Akron. Vilsack spent eight years as head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture during the Obama administration and served two terms as Iowa governor.

Slippery road conditions contributed to a fatal collision Tuesday morning, in Union County. The Iowa State Patrol reports 18-year old Alexis L. Rounds, of Creston died, after the 1998 Jeep Wrangler she was driving went out of control on Highway 34, about one-mile west of Creston.

The SUV spun across the center line and into the eastbound lane, directly into the path of a 2009 Peterbilt semi, driven by 64-year old Gregory A. Powell, of Diagonal. The semi hit the Jeep, over-riding it before both vehicles came to rest against a guardrail. Both vehicles were then consumed by fire. The accident happened at around 5:44-a.m.

Rounds died at the scene. Powell was uninjured in the crash.

Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon reports Severe Weather Sirens will be test throughout Cass County today (Tuesday). There is no severe weather expected. Disregard any sirens you may hear. Thank you.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Federal officials say the amount of water being released into the Missouri River from a key dam on the Nebraska-South Dakota border has been reduced to winter levels. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said in a news release Tuesday that the amount of water flowing out of Gavins Point Dam has been reduced to a rate of about 17,000 cubic feet per second. That’s down significantly from the reduction seen a year earlier, after heavy rain and snow melt in the spring of 2019 sent the river to record levels and flooded parts of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.

The Harlan Police Department has issued a report on arrests that took place over the past week. On November 29th, 51-year old Patricia Jeannette Bissen, of Harlan, was arrested following a traffic stop. Bissen was transported to the Shelby County Jail where she was charged with operating while intoxicated, speed, and fail to display license plate. On Dec. 2nd, 48-year old Jamie Dean Anderson, of Harlan, was arrested on an active warrant. Anderson was transported to the Shelby County Jail.

December 3rd, Harlan Police arrested 22-year old Sara Ann Cooper, of Harlan, following a call for service. Cooper was transported to the Shelby County Jail where she was charged with domestic abuse assault. And, on Sunday (Dec. 6), 68-year old Thomas Mathias Wageman, of Harlan, was arrested following a traffic stop. Wageman was transported to the Shelby County Jail where he was charged with operating while intoxicated and trespass.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say one person has been hospitalized for injuries received in a north Des Moines house fire. The Des Moines Register reports that the fire was reported around 7 a.m. Monday along 5th Avenue. Fire Department Lt. Rick Thomas says two people were in the home when the fire broke out, which officials say started in the attic. Firefighters entering the home were met with a smoke explosion, which happens when a buildup of unburned gasses mixing with air and an ignition source.

Thomas said one person was injured and hospitalized with burns. Authorities did not release that person’s name. Officials did not immediately know the cause of the fire.

DES MOINES, IA – A District Court Judge in Des Moines, Monday, sentenced a West Des Moines man to prison for Possession of Child Pornography. Officials say 33-year old Bryant Dale Voss received a sentence of 84 months (7 years), followed by five years of supervised release once he serves his sentence. He must also comply with sex offender registry requirements upon release.

An investigation into Voss began in July 2017 when law enforcement were operating a law enforcement version of the file sharing program BitTorrent in an undercover capacity. Agents
located child pornography files available for sharing from Voss’ computer and downloaded multiple files from him in July 2017. Voss knew that his file sharing program made certain child
pornography files on his computer available to others to download. Subsequently, investigators executed a search warrant at Voss’ West Des Moines residence where they seized his computers and electronic devices.

The investigation showed that Voss knowingly possessed hundreds of images and ten videos of child pornography on an external hard drive and used his computer to knowingly access and view videos of child pornography.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday (today) appointed Kipp Harris, of Atlantic, to fill a vacancy on the County Compensation Board. The vacancy was created by the resignation of Phyllis Nichols. Harris will fill the position for the remainder of Nichols’ four-year term, which expires June 30, 2021.

In other business, the Board passed Ordinance #37 on the first reading. The Ordinance basically updates the County’s Code of Ordinances, as required by the Code of Iowa. Auditor Dale Sunderman explained what it entails: It repeals Ordinance 33 and updates policies concerning the construction/reconstruction of roadways, division of taxes for the 2017 Cass County Agribusiness Urban Renewal Area [for Elite Octane], and regulates the operation of ATV’s on County roadways.