The Atlantic Police Department says the Cass County Sheriff’s Office received reports at around 2-a.m. Monday (July 5), of a large number of cattle out in the area of Littlefield Road and 350th Street. While at the scene, a member of the Cass County Drone Team utilized the Sheriff’s Office equipment and assisted with the call. Over the course of two hours, a Cass County Drone with thermal imagining capabilities was used to locate and bring over 40 head of cattle back to the pasture where they belonged.

During the event, the pilot launched and landed multiple times and eventually found several groups of cattle that had broken off to different areas. The ability to use thermal imaging during the call, authorities say, proved to be invaluable in locating all of the cattle while working in the dark. The availability of the equipment also saved time and resources by speeding up the process of recovery.

The Drone Team consist of members of the Police Department, Sheriffs Office, and Atlantic Fire Department.

(Radio Iowa) – For the second time in a week, a teacher in the Marshalltown Community School District has been arrested on charges of sexual exploitation by a school employee. Adam Edgington turned himself in to Marshalltown Police on the charge yesterday. The 42-year-old English teacher at Miller Middle School is accused of starting a relationship with a 13-year-old student. Edgington was released pending a court appearance on Monday. A statement from the school district says Edgington has been placed on administrative leave. ]

This is the second arrest of a district employee on the charge of sexual exploitation in recent days. Marshalltown High School instructor Mark Esquivel was arrested on June 30th on the same class D felony.

(Radio Iowa) – New vehicle registrations in Iowa are up 28 percent in the first six months of this year compared to the first half of last year when the pandemic hit. Bruce Anderson is president of the Iowa Automobile Dealers Association. “We’ve caught up and surpassed last year’s sales,” Anderson says. The number of vehicles sold in Iowa so far THIS year is 17 percent ABOVE the pre-pandemic level of vehicle sales in the first half of 2019. There are about 300 auto dealerships in Iowa and Anderson says showrooms have turned into empty dance floors and there’s no longer a sea of cars out in the lots. Anderson says it’s not entirely due to supply chain issues. “Manufacturing hasn’t stopped, but it has significantly slowed and, interestingly, demand hasn’t,” Anderson says.

Dealers are getting up to 70 percent of the vehicles they normally receive, according to Anderson. “Dealers are still getting inventory, but more and more of it is pre-sold,” Anderson says. “You can get a car. You can get a truck. There’s just not a lot to look at on the lot.” Because of supply and demand issues, there’s been a double-digit increase in the price of USED cars and trucks, too.  “Your trade has literally never been worth more and might be worth more than when you bought it,” Anderson says.

The pandemic has accelerated the move to online sales and customer service for Iowa car dealerships, according to Anderson. “Expectations have changed,” Anderson says. “Everyone of the 300 franchised new car dealerships in Iowa have got a website with a more robust virtual experience than ever before. We’re talking multiple photographs, detailed reports, even videos of the inventory before you ever take that test drive.”

About 86-hundred cars and more than 64-thousand pickups and S-U-Vs were sold in Iowa in the first six months of the year. Vehicles that Iowa dealers sold to out-of-state residents are not included in the data.

ALGONA, Iowa —  Officials with the Division of Criminal Investigation, Wednesday night, confirmed that a man and his two sons Monday, died in an apparent murder-suicide that took place in Algona.

Authorities received a 9-1-1 call at around 7:51-p.m. Monday, to the 400 block of South Harlan Street in Algona. When they arrived police found brothers, 6-year-old Logan Phelon, 3-year-old Seth Phelon and their father, 32-year-old Christopher Phelon. Following an investigation, the DCI said that Logan and Seth died as a result of gunshot wounds. Their deaths have been declared homicides.

Authorities said Phelon died from a gunshot wound and is considered a suicide. The Algona Police received assistance from the Kossuth County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa State Patrol, Algona EMS, the Kossuth County Medical Examiner’s Office, the Kossuth County Attorney’s Office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.

Christopher Phelon

Logan Phelon

Seth Phelon

Three people from Rock Springs, Wyoming were injured during a collision between a car and a semi tractor-trailer Wednesday evening, in Adair County. The Iowa State Patrol reports the crash happened at around 7:52-p.m. on Interstate 80 eastbound, near mile marker 75.

Authorities say a 2013 Toyota Camry driven by 68-year-old Pamela Willey, of Rock Springs, rear-ended a 1999 Peterbilt semi, which was disabled on the roadway due to an accident that had occurred a few minutes earlier. The car came to rest partially under the trailer of the semi. Pamela Willey, and her passengers, 85-year-old Harold Willey, and 68-year-old Faye Frolic, were injured. All three were transported to Iowa Methodist Hospital in Des Moines.

Pamela Willey and Faye Frolic were flown by Lifeflight to the hospital. Harold Willey was taken there by Adair Rescue. None of the crash victims were wearing seat belts. The driver of the semi, 64-year-old Robert Johnson, of Crescent, was not hurt. Assisting the patrol at the scene, were Deputies from the Adair and Cass County Sheriff’s Departments, Adair Police, numerous local rescue units, and Life Flight.