Republican Congressman Steve King says he regrets the “tragic, evil and brutal” murders of nine African Americans in a South Carolina church, but he opposes efforts to ban the Confederate flag from Civil War cemeteries run by the National Park Service. “I have been listening to this debate over the last week or so and it troubles me greatly over symbolism that has been redefined by a lot of members of the opposite party,” King says.

The chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa this past week made clear he does not want the party of Lincoln associated with the Confederate battle flag after the driver of a Marion County parade float last weekend displayed three Confederate flags on his truck. King, however, says he sees the situation differently. “I grew up in the north. The Confederate flag always was a symbol of the pride of the south from where I grew up,” King says. “My family, my predecessors, my ancestors were abolitionists. They went to war to put an end to slavery.”

One of King’s five-times-great uncles served in the Civil War and his grandfather from five generations ago was killed fighting for the Grand Army of the Republic. “This country has put this behind us,” King says. “We’ve been through this brutal and bloody battle. We’ve gone back together for the Reconstruction and we’ve healed this country together and I regret deeply that we’re watching this country be divided again over a symbol.” King says in a free country, “we have to tolerate” speech and symbols that some find offensive, so that people not only have the right to burn “Old Glory”, they have the right to fly the Confederate flag.

“When I go to Germany and they’ve outlawed the swastika, I look at them and I think: ‘We have a First Amendment. That can’t happen here in the United States because we’re open enough,'” King says. According to King, the country cannot “erase” history, but should “keep it in front of us” so it can be evaluated by each new generation. King considers to the Confederate battle flag to be “part of the country’s heritage.”

“Everything about America’s history is not glorious. Everything about our history is not right in our judgment, looking back in hindsight, but none of us know what it was like for the people to live in that time and that era,” King says. “We can accept our history, we be proud of our history, we can unify our country, we can grieve for those who were murdered and we can preserve our First Amendment rights.”

King made two speeches on the topic yesterday (Thursday) on the floor of the U.S. House. After objections from Democrats, House Republican leaders tabled a vote on a budget bill that would have allowed the limited display of Confederate flags in cemeteries that are adjacent to Civil War battlefields and maintained by the National Park Service. The Republican speaker of the House says he wants to have a bipartisan review of the issue and that will include whether the Confederate flag and its image may continue to be displayed in the U.S. Capitol.

The State of Mississippi’s flag is there, for example, and it bears the image of the battle flag of the Confederate Army. As this debate was raging in Washington, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley approved legislation to remove the Confederate battle flag from the statehouse grounds in Columbia.

(Radio Iowa)

Officials with the Atlantic Nursing & Rehab Center (ANRC) report the facility has been selected as a 2015 recipient of the Silver – Achievement in Quality award for its outstanding performance in the health care profession. The award is one of three distinct awards possible through the National Quality Award Program, presented by the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL). The competitive award program highlights select centers across the nation that serve as models of excellence in providing high-quality long term and post-acute care.

ANRC Administrator Kelli Jimerson said “We are all so proud of this recognition. The key to our success is our committed team. Their hard work and dedication to improving the lives of the residents we care for every day is why we are in this position. We’ve dedicated ourselves to this quality journey and are looking ahead to the next level.”

Implemented by AHCA/NCAL in 1996, the National Quality Award Program is centered on the core values and criteria of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program. The program assists providers of long term and post-acute care services in achieving their performance excellence goals.

The program has three levels: Bronze, Silver, and Gold.  As a recipient of the Silver – Achievement in Quality Award, Atlantic Nursing & Rehab Center has demonstrated systematic advancements in quality, plans for continual improvement, and sustainable organizational goals. Atlantic Nursing & Rehab Center may now move forward in developing approaches and achieving performance levels that meet the criteria required for the Gold – Excellence in Quality Award, which requires them to address the Baldrige Health Care Criteria for Performance Excellence in its entirety.

Atlantic Nursing and Rehab Center offers outpatient therapy, skilled nursing and long-term care services. They are owned and operated by Care Initiatives, Iowa’s largest not-for-profit senior care provider. With headquarters in West Des Moines, Care Initiatives and Care Initiatives Hospice operate 56 skilled nursing, rehabilitation, Alzheimer’s/dementia, assisted living and hospice locations throughout Iowa.

For more information about Care Initiatives, visit www.careinitiatives.org or call 712-243-9352.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest on Wednesday, of 24-year old Justin Dale Hardisty, of Cumberland. Hardisty was taken into custody on a District Court warrant for Failure to Appear (Child Support related). He was taken to the Cass County Jail where he remains held on $2000 bond.

Deputies in Cass County arrested a Griswold woman Tuesday on a warrant for Domestic Abuse/Simple Assault, and Interference With Official Acts. 24-year old Morgan Kay Leeder was taken to the Cass County Jail, and later released on $750 bond.

An accident late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning south of Atlantic, resulted in minor injuries to a passenger in the vehicle. The Cass County Sheriff’s Office was notified late Thursday morning a 2011 Toyota driven by 30-year old Kevin Patrick Smith, of Atlantic, had left the road and ended-up in a ditch near 610th and Keystone. A passenger in the vehicle, Emily Rebarcak suffered minor injuries and was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital.

Upon further investigation, Smith was cited into court for OWI 2nd Offense, Carrying a Concealed Weapon, and Leaving the Scene of an Injury Accident. Damage to the vehicle is estimated to be $2,000.