The Shelby City Council has suspended all but one member of the Shelby Volunteer Fire Department because of a dispute over fundraiser proceeds. According to the Daily NonPareil, Fire Chief Eric Wendt said he was the only member of the 12-person department who was not suspended Monday. Without any active firefighters, the city will rely on Minden and Avoca to respond to emergencies by way of a mutual aid agreement.

Wendt said the dismissals stem from a disagreement over a separate bank account that the department uses to hold its fundraiser money. Wendt said the council thinks they control their pancake money, and the dispute is over whether monies generated from pancake feeds and events should be labeled as public funds or fire department funds. Wendt said he does not know why he was not suspended.

Shelby City Attorney Clint Fichter said multiple issues led to the suspensions. Asked if the separate funds were an issue, Fichter said state code requires fire departments to be subject to the same regulations as the rest of the city. All monies, including those raised by fundraising, are public funds, subject to the same rules as tax money. Fichter said in the last two years, audit notes were made to make sure the money was accounted for.

He said also the separate account held about $40,000. The city is accepting applications to re-staff the fire department as quickly as possible. Fichter said all suspended members were notified that they could reapply under a stipulation that they would follow council directives and state code.

Robert Hall, a volunteer firefighter for seven years, said he received an email that said insubordination was the reason for the suspensions. Asked about the email, Fichter said he could not comment for legal reasons. The firefighters have obtained legal counsel, Hall said, and hope to return to their duties as soon as possible.

A plan by two Pottawattamie County men to sell items on a social media page backfired Tuesday night, when the men were assaulted and robbed. Council Bluffs Police Lt. Mark Galvan said in a press release, that 20-year old Ronald Kleckner and 18-year old Scott Evans, both of Council Bluffs, had advertised items for sale on a local buy/sell Facebook page.

A person contacted the men, and a date, time and location was set up to meet them and purchase the advertised items. At around 11-p.m. Tuesday, Kleckner and Evans arrived at the location in the 100 block of 4th Avenue in Council Bluffs, and were approached by four people, two black males, an Hispanic male and an unknown male subject.

The men assaulted Kleckner and Evans with a club and robbed them of several items. The victims, who suffered minor injuries, were able to get in their car and drive away. As they left, they reported hearing a gunshot. The black male suspects were described as being between 19 and 24-years of age. No other details about the suspects is available.

If you have any information about the robbery, contact the Council Bluffs Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division at 712-328-4728.

A meeting is set to take place this Saturday morning in Clarinda, with regard to Governor Branstad’s proposal to close or re-purpose the Clarinda Mental Health Institute. The meeting, featuring Dept. of Human Services Director Chuck Palmer, will be held in the Clarinda MHI auditorium beginning at 10-a.m.  Saturday, January 31st. District 24 Republican Representative Cecil Dolecheck also plans to attend.

Governor Terry Branstad said earlier this week his administration wouldn’t be violating state law if they continue to run “significant” prison operations and a military-style academy on the Mental Health Institute campuses in Mount Pleasant and Clarinda.

Key legislators says they were “disturbed” because they didn’t learn of Branstad’s plan to close the two mental health care facilities in Mount Pleasant and Clarinda until they were shown the details of Branstad’s proposed budget.

Iowa Lottery players continue to win large prizes across the state. Officials with the Lottery say an Atlantic man is the latest, big instant-scratch game winner, in Cass County during calendar year 2014. Douglas Holtz won $5,000 in the “SUPER CROSSWORD” game with a ticket purchased at Caseys in Atlantic. Carolyn Johnson, also of Atlantic, was the county’s latest and biggest lotto winner during the same period, winning $30,000 in the HOT LOTTO game with a ticket purchased at Caseys in Atlantic.

Iowa Lottery players won a total of $186.9 million in prizes in fiscal year 2014, the latest complete year for which the lottery has records. However, there are a significant number of prizes that expire each year without being claimed. The lottery reminds its players to double-check their tickets. In fiscal year 2014, nearly $1.4 million in lotto prizes expired in Iowa without being claimed.

Prize money left unclaimed after redemption deadlines goes into the lottery’s prize pools for future games and promotions. On the lottery’s website at www.ialottery.com, there is a current list of unclaimed lotto prizes of $10,000 or more.