Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, passed a Resolution approving the disposal of two City-owned properties acquired through the condemnation process. Interim City Administrator John Lund said a structure at 1200 Birch was used for firefighter training and the lot is currently vacant.

The other property at 1106 Poplar Street has a house located on it. Who ever purchases the property must agree to tear down the house and dispose of the debris in a timely manner. Mayor Dave Jones instructed Lund to establish a bond for the property because past agreements haven’t been fulfilled when it comes to removing dilapidated structures on properties sold by the City. Jones said the City had “Been burnt…[by people who get the property who promise to tear a structure down]…and two-years later it’s still standing there.” Lund said City Attorney Dave Wiederstein has given him a draft Demolition Agreement to look over and approve for future prospective buyers.

There will be a $1,000 demolition expense deposit that will be required that must be submitted with a sealed bid. Councilman Chris Jimerson said City will accept sealed bids on the properties later this month. Jimerson said the bidding process will open beginning 12-p.m. Oct. 17th and ending at 5:30-p.m. Nov. 5th.

In other business, the Atlantic City Council approved a six-month salary and benefits contract with Interim City Administrator John Lund that Councilperson Kathy Somers said was recommended by the City’s Personnel and Finance Committee.  She said it was agreed that after six-months there would be a performance evaluation, followed by another six-month contract, and then a more formal arrangement may be possible.

The Council also agreed to provide Lund with a vehicle allowance for mileage of $100 per month, since Lund uses his personal vehicle for City-related business. That figure may be renegotiated in six-months with verification of expenses and mileage. And, Mayor Dave Jones said he would refer the City’s “Mowing Ordinance” model to the Public Safety Committee. If approved, Atlantic’s ordinance would be similar to that of Creston, which the proposed model ordinance is based on.

Jones said the City Attorney has looked it over, and when approved, will require lawns to be mowed within the City of Atlantic from March 1st through Oct. 31st. Any grass during those months that grows over 12-inches tall and remains that high on the 1st and 15th of each month, will be mowed by the City and the property owner fined upwards of $150, and if the fine is not paid, the cost will be assessed to the owner’s tax bill.”

The Democrat running in Iowa’s fourth congressional district staged events outside four of Republican Congressman Steve King’s offices around the district Wednesday to criticize King for supporting last fall’s government shutdown. Jim Mowrer points to a Standard and Poor’s analysis indicating the government shutdown cost the U.S. economy 24-billion dollars in lost wages, government services and travel spending.

“He shut down federal agencies,” Mowrer said. “He shut down federal parks and now he’s talking about shutting the government down again in December.” Mowrer made stops outside King’s congressional offices in Ames, Fort Dodge, Mason City, and Sioux City and invited supporters to join him in presenting an “invoice” Mowrer had draw up for the cost of the shutdown.

“He threatened America’s economic security,” Mowrer said in Ames. “He threatened America’s national security and that should disqualify him from ever serving in Congress again for the future.” A spokesman for King says Mowrer is a desperate candidate who is “resorting to gimmicks.” King’s campaign has called on Mowrer to pull a campaign ads against King that FactCheck-dot-org has rated a “double-whopper.”

The non-partisan website routinely uses the word “whopper” to refer to false claims in campaign advertising.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — As time runs short in the competitive Iowa Senate race, Democrats are trying to tarnish the centerpiece of Republican Joni Ernst’s successful Senate campaign — her appealing image as a down-to-earth farm girl. Ernst, a state lawmaker and lieutenant colonel in the Iowa National Guard, is running against Democratic Congressman Bruce Braley.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Agriculture ministers from West African nations at the center of the Ebola epidemic say only money and global coordination will keep the health care crisis from becoming a food emergency. In Sierra Leone, where thousands are infected and more than 900 have died, 40 percent of the nation’s farmers have abandoned their fields. The officials made the remarks Wednesday at the World Food Prize Foundation annual meeting in Des Moines.

SWISHER, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say they’re investigating an officer-involved shooting after police chase in eastern Iowa. The state Department of Public Safety says deputies with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office responded Monday to a report of a suicidal man. They identified him as 32-year-old Bradley Wayne McNeese. He is now being treated in an Iowa City hospital.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police say a woman has been fatally stabbed at a Des Moines apartment building. Sgt. Jason Halifax with the Des Moines Police Department tells the Register the woman was found wounded in the torso Wednesday afternoon in the office of an apartment building on the city’s east side.

Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones, Wednesday, signed a proclamation designating the week of Oct. 24th through the 31st at “Red Ribbon Week.”

Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones signs the Red Ribbon Week Proclamation. (Ric Hanson photo)

The National Family Partnership organized the first Nationwide Red Ribbon Campaign. NFP provides drug awareness by sponsoring the annual National Red Ribbon Celebration. Locally, the event is a collaborative effort between the Atlantic Middle School Builders Club, Kiwanis, Young Professionals of Atlantic, the Elks Drug Awareness Program, Cass County Memorial Hospital, and Officer Devin Hogue.

The campaign is designed to raise awareness, encourage family talk, and make educational materials available, in an effort to offer citizens the chance to commit to a drug-free lifestyle. On the website redribbon.org, there is a pledge parents and citizens can take to demonstrate their commitment.

The Pledge states:

• As parents and citizens, we will talk to our children and the children in our lives about the dangers of drug abuse.
• We will set clear rules for our children about not using drugs.
• We will set a good example for our children by not using illegal drugs or medicine without a prescription.
• We will monitor our children’s behavior and enforce appropriate consequences, so that our rules are respected.
• We will encourage family and friends to follow the same guidelines to keep children safe from substance abuse

Since its beginning in 1985, the Red Ribbon has touched the lives of millions of people around the world. In response to the murder of DEA Agent Enrique Camarena, angered parents and youth in communities across the country began wearing Red Ribbons as a symbol of their commitment to raise awareness of the killing and destruction cause by drugs in America.

VILLISCA, Iowa (AP) — An unknown amount of ammonia has entered a small unnamed tributary of the West Nodaway River. The state Department of Natural Resources says the anhydrous ammonia was released from the United Farmers Mercantile Co-op in Villisca between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning. It went into a city storm sewer before entering the tributary.

The Iowa Department of Transportation said Wednesday, building on recent interstate improvements that include last week’s opening of the bridge on southbound Interstate 29 over I-80, the new I-80 on-ramp to northbound I-29 just east of the Missouri River is scheduled to open this Friday, Oct. 17th.

Motorists traveling eastbound I-80 headed for northbound I-29 will now exit on the right side of the interstate and use the new bridge to access northbound I-29. Interstate signage will direct motorists.