COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A new western Iowa animal shelter to be used by the Midlands Humane Society and the Council Bluffs Animal Control Department is set to open early next year. Society spokeswoman Michelle Miller tells the Daily Nonpareil that it could open the first week of January.

Located near the Iowa Western Community College campus, the $3.2 million, 11,600-square-foot building will greatly expand the number of holding areas currently available at the city shelter. Dogs and cats kept in the shelter will be exposed to natural light in a climate-controlled environment.

Private donations paid for the shelter. Miller says fundraising efforts now will go toward covering the first 18 months of daily operating expenses.

A message from the Clarinda Police Dept.: All Clarinda citizens need to have any vehicles parked on the street removed as soon as today’s (Saturday’s) snow accumulates two inches. Vehicles not removed will be ticketed & towed.

Motorists are also being advised to slow down. Authorities are seeing a significant number of traffic accidents. Remember speed limits are based on ideal driving conditions. A driver can be cited under Iowa motor vehicle for driving too fast for the conditions.

Only minor injuries were reported following a single-vehicle accident Saturday at around noon, near the Cass/Adams County line. The crash was said to have occurred on Highway 148. No other details are currently available. Other accidents have been reported along I-80 in Cass County, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.

Snow started falling in Atlantic at around 9:45. Slow down, allow extra space between vehicles on the roadways, and give yourself spare time to reach your destination, safely. As of Noon, roads in western Iowa along and south of Interstate 80 and west of Highway 59, were completely covered with snow. Roads east of Highway 59 were partially covered with snow.

Road condition information is available at 511ia.org, or by calling 5-1-1 in Iowa.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Those looking for a job at Sioux City’s newest casino can count on more than Lady Luck. The downtown Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City that opened nearly three months ago is still looking to fill 40 to 45 jobs, many of them front-line positions, including table game dealers, security officers, bartenders, servers, cooks and housekeepers.

But some of the jobs are managerial. Hard Rock General Manager Todd Moyer tells the Sioux City Journal  that the casino is still looking for a purchasing manager, director of hotel operations and environmental services manager.

Moyer says a tight local labor market has made recruiting more challenging. The Sioux City area unemployment rate recently stood at 4.4 percent.

The Atlantic Park and Recreation Board will meet Monday, November 17th at 5:15pm in the Council Chambers at City Hall.

Included on the agenda will be a presentation of the completed Fire Pit Eagle Scout Project at the Sunnyside Park Camblin Shelter.

The board will also discuss capital projects updates including: renovation and refurbishing of the Camblin Shelter and Kiddie Korral with preliminary plans and costs, an update on the Senior Activity Area, painting of lines on basketball courts and pickle-ball courts, and shelving installed for an equipments storage room.

There will also be updates on the bike hitch progress at the city park and courthouse.  Discussion of repair to the Shildberg fishing dock which is closed.  They will discuss the 2016 budget and the park and rec Assistant position.

The meeting will finish with a Director’s report that will touch on the bull creek pathway, park restrooms being closed for the winter, Sunnyside gates being open as long as possible, the Cass County Community Foundation Grant, and ending of seasonal employee employment on November 12th.

The next meeting after Monday will be December 15th.

An underage drinking bust at approximately 12:30am Saturday (11/15) morning in Red Oak led to eight teenagers being charged.  The incident occurred at a residence on East Hammond Street.

18-year-old Ryan Plambeck of Red Oak was charged with consuming Alcohol Underage.  The other 7 teens were charged with Minor in Possession of Alcohol.  Those individuals were Autumn Athey of Red Oak, Matthew Wood of Stanton, Francisco Rohner of Red Oak, Bennett Archer of Red Oak, Quin Hall of Red Oak, Brooke Samms of Stanton, and Alyssa Wilkins of Red Oak.