The Atlantic City Council will meet Wednesday evening at City Hall. During their 5:30-p.m. regular session, the Council will act on approving a request from the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, for the closure of Chestnut Street between 6th and 7th Streets, in preparation for this Thursday’s Annual Christmas Grand Lighting event at the Atlantic City Park. If approved, Chestnut Street will be closed from 4-p.m. Thursday through 9-a.m., Friday.

During the Grand Lighting ceremony at 5:30-p.m. Thursday, visitors and citizens can enjoy a sparkling cider toast while welcoming Santa and his reindeer to town, and watch the unveiling of Santa’s new hand-built chair. There will also be free horse-drawn carriage rides, hot coco and popcorn in Santa’s Cabin, a photo booth and the Chamber’s Annual Recipe Walk from 5:00 – 7:00 PM. The Chamber has also requested Chestnut Street be closed from 6th to 2nd Streets on Dec. 6th, for the Lighted Christmas Parade.

In other business, the Council will act on approving a change order amounting to $3,900, for additional design services that include plan preparation and making the sanitary sewer improvements a separate division of work. The change order affects the 2014 Highway 6 reconstruction program.

They’ll also act on approving an Engineering Contract with Snyder and Associates, for the 2015 Street Improvement Project, in the amount of $127,750, and a similar contract with Snyder’s for the Sanitary Sewer Relining Project, in the amount of $21,850.

The Street Improvement Project will include: 5th Street, from Walnut to Mulberry; 6th Street, from Spruce to Walnut; 8th Street, from Palm to Poplar and Walnut to Cherry Streets; 14th Street, from Linn to Olive; 16th Street, from Oak to Olive; Laurel Street, from 8th to 10th; Linn Street from the railroad tracks to Commerce; and Spruce Street, from 5th to 7th.

The sewer relining project includes  the following streets: Teresa Drive, from 14th to the cul-de-sac; Bryn Mawr Blvd., from Ridge Road to the apartment complex parking lot; 18th Street, from Hillcrest to Fair Ridge Circle; Fair Ridge Circle, from 18th to Oak Streets; Walnut Street, from 9th to 11th; 19th Street, from Hemlock to Bryn Mawr Circle; Chestnut Street, from the 1901 to 2001 addresses; and 8th Street from Cherry to Plum.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – University of Iowa President Sally Mason says she would have concerns about extending a tuition freeze to cover nonresident and graduate students. The Iowa Board of Regents is expected to set tuition rates for next school year Dec. 3.

Key members have indicated support for a third straight freeze for resident undergraduate students, but have been considering what to do with others’ rates. The board is planning a media availability later Tuesday. Mason told reporters that she supports the resident undergraduate freeze but would be “less enthusiastic” about extending it to other students.

She says the state has always required nonresidents to pay the full cost of their education, and should continue that policy. She says graduate education is “very expensive” to deliver, given the faculty support and equipment required.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Congressman Steve King will host several potential 2016 presidential candidates at a political summit in January. King on Tuesday announced he will hold the Iowa Freedom Summit on Jan. 24 in Des Moines. Conservative group Citizens United will co-host the event.

Confirmed guests include Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Utah Sen. Mike Lee. All are considered possible 2016 Republican presidential candidates.

In a news release, King says this is the right time to bring leaders to Iowa in advance of the state’s leadoff caucuses in early 2016. He says the event will “energize conservatives.”

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports a man from Casey was arrested last Friday on a charge of Child Endangerment. 45-year old Michael George Dennis was also arrested for OWI 1st Offense. The man was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released the following day on his own recognizance.

Last Thursday (11/13), deputies in Cass County arrested 23-year old Haylee Marie Thompson, of Exira,  on a charge of OWI 2nd Offense. Thompson was taken to the Cass County Jail where she was released later that day on her own recognizance.

And on November 10th, 20-year old Sunnie Jo Marie Peck, of Walnut, was arrested in Cass County on a District Court warrant for Probation Violation. Peck was taken to the Cass County Jail where she remains held on $10,000 bond.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a woman who was “bumped” by a train in Sioux City has been hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Sioux City police Lt. Rex Mueller says the woman stepped onto tracks Monday as a train was approaching. The engineer was able to slow down the train, and Mueller says it “bumped her.”

The Sioux City Journal reports the woman was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Additional information about her condition is not available. Mueller says the woman appeared to be emotionally distressed prior as she walked on the tracks. No other information was released about the circumstances of the incident.

The Atlantic Police Department today (Tuesday) reports two arrests over the past few days and two accidents. On Sunday, 21-year old Curtis McCoy, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Possession of a Controlled Substance, and on Friday, 30-year old Gwen Vanderhoof, of Atlantic, was arrested on a charge of Public Intoxication. Both subjects were booked into the Cass County Jail.

An accident Sunday morning at 7th and Chestnut Streets in Atlantic caused $13,500, but no one was injured. Officials say vehicles driven by Peter Smith and Nancy Reynolds, both of Atlantic, collided at around 10:30-a.m., when Reynolds failed to obey a stop light. She was subsequently cited for the infraction.

And on Saturday, vehicles driven by Jessica Mack and Joseph Fredericksen, both of Atlantic, collided at 7th and Linn Streets, at around 1:15-p.m. The P-D says Fredericksen was cited for having no proof of insurance, after his vehicle rear-ended the Mack vehicle after she lost control on the icy road as she applied her brakes. Her vehicle’s rear end spun around and was hit by Fredericksen’s vehicle on the right side. Damage from the collision amounted to $7,100.