(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – A man from Omaha being held in the Lancaster County, NE. Jail, was transported to Iowa, Thursday. The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports 31-year-old Billy Ray Morgan, Jr., was being held in the Pott. County Jail on Iowa Felony warrants charging him with Theft in the 2nd Degree, and Burglary in the 3rd Degree (Vehicle-related). His bond was set at $7,000.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – After a more than two-hour meeting during which tempers flared at times, the Cass County Board of Supervisor’s, Friday, approved the hiring of Stacey Mueller as new Driver’s License Examiner employee for the Cass County Treasurer’s Office. Mueller has extensive experience in dispatching, both for the Iowa State Patrol and Cass County Sheriff’s Office/Atlantic P-D.
The Supervisors and Treasurer Tracey Marshall butted heads over Marshall having hired an employee (prior to Mueller), allegedly without having the position approved by the Supervisors before the employee was hired. Last week, the Board did approve the hiring of that employee as a Driver’s License Examiner at $18 per hour with full benefits, which is still a lower rate than what was requested by Treasurer Tracey Marshall. Marshall was not happy with how that employee was treated by the Board.
Supervisor Mark O’Brien said any perception of a “toxic environment”the employee referenced, was the Treasurer’s Office itself, as evidenced by Marshal’s alleged attitude toward the Board.
O’Brien said the Board doesn’t try to control what goes on in Marshal’s office. They are trying to get her to comply with what the County’s H-R Attorney says the County needs to do, which is what he said, she hasn’t. Supervisor Steve Green said he believes all the County employees are Probably worth more than we can pay them,” however…
Green and Marshall disagreed over how the position was advertised after the Driver’s License Examiner left, and how quickly the position was filled. In the end, though, the Board agreed to approve the hiring of Stacey Mueller at a rate of $19.00 per hour effective May 6th, with an increase to $20/hour on June 6th, and upon full certification as a driver’s license examiner, a wage of $22.25 (her current wage as a dispatcher). Her County benefits will carry over into her new position.
The Board also approved a Proclamation declaring May as Mental Health Month. And, while not on the agenda, the Board held public discussion over the matter of Cass County becoming a Second Amendment Sanctuary. Cary Short, who is opposed to the Sanctuary position, spoke with the Board about the matter during their meeting April 19th, handed out information with to open and concealed carry laws. He asked if the Board and Sheriff had requested and received a variance stating the courthouse is an open carry site except for the second floor, where the courtroom is located.
Supervisor John Hartkopf asked if Short was aware that an amendment that has passed two general assemblies, will be on the ballot. He said the amendment is “Stricter than the U-S Constitution.” That touched-off verbal sparing between the men.
No other persons offered to speak on the topic, which is expected to come up for discussion again at a later date.
Chris Parks fills in for LaVon and speaks with Walnut Community Center Board Member Rick Blum about the progress they have made on the facility and their open house event this Sunday. They will have a meal and opportunity to tour the facility.
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RANDALL RAFTER, 83, of Greenfield, died Thursday, April 28, 2022, at Iowa Lutheran Hospital in Des Moines. Funeral services for RANDALL RAFTER will be held 10:30-a.m. Wednesday, May 4th, at the Greenfield United Methodist Church. Lamb Funeral Home in Greenfield has the arrangements.
Visitation at the funeral home is on Tue., May 3rd, from 2-until 7-p.m., with the family greeting friends from 5-until 7-p.m.
Burial is in the Fontanelle Cemetery. A luncheon will be held at the church following the committal services at the cemetery.
Online condolences may be left to the family at www.lambfuneralhomes.com.
Memorials may be directed to the Randall Rafter Memorial Fund to be established by the family at a later date.
RANDALL RAFTER is survived by:
His son – Kevin (Jami) Rafter, of Stuart.
His daughter – Ranee Rafter, of Greenfield.
His sister – Raideen Miner, of Greenfield.
5 grandchildren, other relatives and friends.
(Radio Iowa) – The governors of Iowa and seven other Midwestern states are asking federal regulators to approve year-round E-15 sales in their states. Governor Kim Reynolds, along with the governors of the Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Kansas signed a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency, seeking a waiver to permanently allow gasoline with 15 percent ethanol to be sold during the summer months in their states.
“To really help sustain and grow an industry that’s really important first of all to our economy and to farmers where 50 percent of the corn goes to our ethanol plants and it’s a lower cost fuel,” Reynolds says. “As we’re seeing skyrocketing gas prices, check the price at the pump. It’s a good deal.”
Clean Air Act rules prohibit the sale of E-15 from the beginning of June through the middle of September in several states. As President Biden announced at an Iowa ethanol plant earlier this month, the E-P-A is allowing E-15 to be sold nationwide this summer to lower gas prices — but it’s a one-year waiver.
(Radio Iowa) – Iowans who own boats are being warned that their state registration stickers on the hull will expire this weekend. Nate Carr, an Iowa D-N-R conservation officer, says those three-year stickers are only good through April 30th, which is Saturday. “If you’re planning on being on Iowa public water with a boat, you need to make sure you’re registered,” Carr says. “If you’re looking to go down that road, the place to stop is your local recorder’s office, whether you’re registering a vessel for the first time or renewing the vessel.”
Before you hit the open water, Carr suggests making sure key safety equipment is onboard. “One of the big things is life jackets — and having wearable life jackets for everybody on board,” Carr says. “That’s going to include life jackets that are in serviceable condition, so if they’re torn and ripped up, that’s not going to be good.”
The list of safety equipment also includes a fire extinguisher. National Boat Safety Week is May 21 to 27. Find more tips at www.iowadnr.gov/Things-to-Do/Boatin
Chris Parks speaks with some of the top graduating seniors from Griswold High School: Anna Kelley, Lydia Greiman, and Hayden Smith.
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The Creston Police Department reports two recent arrests and a vehicle burglary. Authorities say 43-year-old Jennifer Rose Schaecher, of Greenfield, was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center around 12:10-a.m. today (Friday). She was taken into custody on a Union County warrant for Theft in the 3rd Degree, and Trespass. Schaecher posted a $2,000 bond, and was released.
And, at around 9:20-a.m. Thursday, 27-year-old Marston Shane Randolph, of Alabama, was arrested in Creston for Violation of No Contact Protective Order. He was taken to the Union County Jail and later released on a Promise to Appear in court. Authorities said also, a woman residing in the 900 block of W. Adair Street, in Creston, reported Thursday morning, that someone had stolen keys, gift cards, and a boys baseball bat from her vehicle. The loss was estimated at $500.
The Iowa State Patrol reports two Ringgold County women were injured during an SUV rollover accident Thursday afternoon, in Decatur County. The Patrol says a 1995 Chevy Blazer driven by 50-year-old Debra Sue Percifield and accompanied by 20-year-old Crystal Hughes, both of Mount Ayr, was traveling westbound on Highway 69, west of Davis City, when the SUV drove off the road and onto the right shoulder. Percifield tried to come back onto the road, but she over-corrected and lost control.
The vehicle slid-off the road and entered the left ditch before rolling over and coming to rest on the passenger side. Percifield – who wore a seat belt – was transported by LifeFlight to Methodist Hospital in Des Moines. Hughes was transported by a family member in a third-party vehicle, to the Decatur County Hospital. She was not wearing a seat belt. A report the extent of the women’s injuries was not available.
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