Atlantic, IA— As of Sunday, September 12, 2021, the Atlantic Evangelical Free Church is now officially known as GracePoint Church. According to Senior Pastor Donald McLean, “There are many reasons to refresh and rebrand. While we are proud to continue our partnership with the Evangelical Free Church of America, we’ve come to realize some parts of our name are confusing for people. For example, the term ’evangelical’ has taken on different connotations in recent years that have little to do with what we mean by the term. We’ve also noticed that the word ‘free’ means different things to different people.

“And even having ‘Atlantic’ in our name isn’t entirely accurate. We certainly love the city of Atlantic, and the majority of our congregation lives here. But more than 25% of our people come from other towns in the area. We want those people to know they are welcome, too!”

Pastor McLean said “We decided on the name GracePoint Church, because it captures the essence of who we are as a church. Our church’s mission is to connect real people to the Real God by engaging our communities with the hope and love of Christ. And that’s what God’s grace is all about – He connects real people to Himself through the grace of His Son, Jesus Christ. We see our church as a point (or place) where people can connect with God’s grace for themselves. And once we’ve experienced this grace in our own lives, we then have the joy of pointing other people to Jesus Christ. Hence the name – GracePoint Church.”

GracePoint Church is a member of the Evangelical Free Church of America, an association of about 1500 Bible-believing churches throughout the United States. GracePoint’s ministries include an active youth program led by Andrew Johnson, Pastor of Student & Worship Discipleship, as well as a wide selection of small group Bible studies and many other opportunities to be involved. The church also offers AWANA, a children’s program for pre-K through grade 5 that runs on Wednesday evenings during the school year.

GracePoint Church is located at 1 East 22nd Street, on the corner of Chestnut and 22nd Street, in Atlantic, Iowa. Sunday worship is at 10:30 a.m. and all are welcome. You can learn more about the church at VisitGracePoint.com or on Facebook at GracePointAtlantic.

(Radio Iowa) – A federal judge has blocked enforcement of the Iowa law that bans mask mandates in schools. A group of parents of disabled Iowa students filed a lawsuit, arguing their children face a greater threat of contracting Covid and the state law on mask mandates in schools is discriminatory. Federal Judge Robert Pratt cited the recent drastic increase in Covid cases among Iowa children and he issued a temporary injunction, barring the law from being enforced, until the lawsuit is decided.

Governor Kim Reynolds says the ruling takes away parents’ ability to decide whether their children wear masks at school and the state will appeal the federal court ruling.

Last week, a judge in state court declined to issue a similar order in connection with a different lawsuit that challenges Iowa’s ban on school mask mandates. That one was filed by a Council Bluffs woman who’s the mother of two first grade boys.

(Radio Iowa) – The president of the state teachers union says some Iowa school districts plan to require that students and staff wear face coverings if state law banning mask mandates is overturned. “District administrators and school boards and educators know what’s best for the communities and they would like to do that and so if there’s a change in the law, it would happen immediately in several districts that I know of,” said Iowa State Education Association President Mike Beranek.

Beranek hosted an online news conference with the National Education Association’s president late this morning, In answer to a reporter’s question, Beranek said masks can help prevent the recent increase in Covid cases among Iowa students. “We are hurting our children and it hurts our heart and we hope that the numbers will not continue to increase,” Beranek said.

Mike Beranek.(ISEA photo)

Late last week, a state judge declined to temporarily block Iowa’s ban on mask mandates in schools. A federal judge has yet to rule on a similar request to at least temporarily block the law. The U.S. Department of Education also is considering action against Iowa’s mask ban. Some school officials in Florida have implemented mask mandates, contrary to Florida policy, but Beranek said that’s unlikely here.

“I do know that there are several districts — administrators and boards of education — who would like to do this, but because the bill is in place and there could be consequences to implementing a mask mandate I know there are locals who are hesitant to do so,” Beranek said.

The Iowa Department of Public Health is updating Covid case numbers on Wednesdays. Last Wednesday’s data showed 29% of the Iowans who had tested positive for Covid in the previous week were under the age of 18.

(Radio Iowa) – Many college freshmen across Iowa are getting their first taste of freedom on new computers this fall, but they need to be careful with trying to find free files and programs online. Consumer protection specialist Lara Sutherlin says file-sharing programs can leave your computer open to being hacked.  Sutherlin says, “So talking to your kids about knowing when they’re sharing files and when they’re downloading shared files that they’re from a secured and trusted source.” Having up-to-date malware protection and firewalls on your P-C or tablet is a good first start to keeping yourself safe.

“It can prevent things that shouldn’t be mined out of your computer from being mined,” she says, “and it also can prevent improper things from being downloaded and we encourage you to do that.” Sutherlin says improperly setting up file-sharing programs could leave parts of your computer open to the internet that you’d rather have kept private.

“You could accidentally provide people with access to your private files if you’re doing some software sharing online and you’re not protecting yourself,” Sutherlin says. Many websites that claim to host pirated games or movies also pack malware alongside those files, she warns, so downloading from them could put your files — and privacy — at risk.

WEST POINT, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Public Safety (DPS) reports, “On September 5, 2021 at approximately 10:16 AM, law enforcement agencies (West Point Police Department (WPPD), Lee County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) and the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI)) were contacted by a property owner who located human remains on their rural West Point property, in the area of 110th Street, West Point, IA.  A search was conducted and no other human remains were located.

“On September 8, 2021 an additional search was conducted by the West Point Fire Department, WPPD, LCSO, DCI and members of a K-9 search and rescue organization. No other human remains were located during the search and additional searches were scheduled. On September 11, 2021 the property owner conducted a large scale brush clearing operation of the property to assist law enforcement with the search for additional human remains.

“On September 12, 2021 at approximately 8:25 AM, the property owner located additional human remains and members of the WPPD, LCSO, DCI and Lee County Medical Examiner Investigator responded and conducted an investigation.  During the scene examination there were personal items discovered at the scene which will assist in the identification, however the final identification will have to be made using DNA analysis.  The human remains were transported to the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy, examination and identification.  Once a positive identification can be accomplished through DNA analysis, law enforcement will conduct family notifications.”

Authorities say “There did not appear to be any signs of foul play related to the investigation and there are no apparent threats or dangers to the general public related to the incident.” They added, “No further information will be released at this time.”

(Radio Iowa) – Des Moines police are investigating a woman’s death which they say was -not- due to natural causes. On Sunday night, Des Moines police were called to a house to investigate a report of a dispute. The caller expressed concern for a woman at the home. Officers arrived and found the body of 42-year-old Amber Burton. They’re not saying how she may’ve died but do say they’re treating it as a homicide. No arrests were made though police add, there’s no ongoing threat to the public. This marks Des Moines’ seventh homicide this year.