(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday (today), discussed using ARPA (COVID recovery relief) funds for a 100 child daycare project in Griswold. The Board heard from Matt Leighton, with regard to an application requesting funds for their 2.3-million dollar Noble Initiatives Daycare project, which he says has a lot of community support. Leighton says they have hired an architect and have the blue prints, and are nearly ready to solicit bids. Their goal, he says is to hopefully break ground this Fall. Their request is for $150,000 from the County’s ARPA allotment.

Supervisor Steve Green said the Board has pretty much already agreed to provide funds for daycare’s throughout the county, therefore he would prefer to get those entities involved in the discussion. Leighton said they already have the 8.3-acres of undeveloped land acquired for the project, so all that’s needed now is money for the building itself, and some of the infrastructure costs.

The Board tabled action on the matter until their meeting on April 29th, when other daycare’s in the county can also be represented and present in any decision that is made. The Supervisors also discussed and tabled a request from the Iowa Firearms Coalition, for a Resolution making the County a 2nd Amendment Sanctuary County. The Resolution lays out the County’s intent to oppose any impediment of the Second Amendment to keep and bear arms – including universal gun background checks.

Board Chair Steve Baier read from the Resolution, which says, in summary..

Supervisor John Hartkopf, says parts of the (whole) Resolution seem contradictory.

Many critics agree second amendment sanctuaries will not hold up in court, including Cary Short, who said the Resolution proposed for Cass County is inaccurate, both constitutionally and legally.

Short, who stopped being a card carrying member of the NRA because they “deviated from their mission,” said of the original counties that implemented the 2nd Amendment County “junk,” the sheriff’s of those counties says they would not cooperate with any federal agencies that involve anything on people carrying guns.

Cary Short said he is a gun owner, has spent 36 years in military, was a weapons instructor. He owns several guns, and is passionate about what’s constitutionally right. He says the citizens are already protected under the 2nd Amendment, so the sanctuary Resolution is moot. The Board’s decision to table the proposal was because they want to get more input from several parties, including law enforcement and the Coalition, before they proceed. There are currently 36 out of 99 2nd Amendment sanctuary counties in Iowa.