The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Thursday morning, approved an application by Bernard Vais with the Anita Livestock Auction, for an Industrial Property Tax Exemption for the construction of full frame cattle and veterinary sheds. Board Chair Frank Waters and Auditor Dale Sunderman discussed how the 5-year tax exemption would play out. Because it’s new construction, it would be 75% exempt the first year, 60% the second year, 45% the third year, 30% and 15% the last two-years.

The Board also approved the regulations passed by the County Board of Health, for “Radon Control Methods.” Supervisor Duane McFadden said he spoke with Sanitarian Steve Patterson about the regulations, which serve to mitigate radon. Patterson serves Guthrie, Adair and Cass Counties. Patterson said the regulations would apply primarily to new construction or additions.

And the Board spent an hour discussing with representatives of Solutions, Inc., the County’s computer server needs and services. The County is rapidly running out of storage space for its technology needs, so the Board wanted to explore the options for expanding the current server and related technology.

Solutions’ Zach Ramsey told the Board they have two options when it comes to the new data center located across the street from the courthouse. He said Option 1, A Storage Area Network (SAN) would cost about $39,000 and is the “Cadillac” or high-end version of their servers, which will also serve to aid in the transition to paperless information. He said it would have huge data storage, would be efficient, powerful and very fast.

Ramsey said it has a 10-years life expectancy with regular maintenance. A three-year maintenance agreement would cost $6,000. He said a second, and more logical option, which he called the “Chevy” version, would cost $15,096, and it would better serve the County’s needs now and in the future, without going overboard at the onset. It would include a bigger server, with three virtualized servers and one specifically for the GIS Department. It would have 6 terabytes of storage instead of 8, and the option to add as many as six extra bays for more data storage.

It has a five-year warranty and is more readily adaptable to changing technology. The The Supervisors passed a motion accepting the second option, which, with everything figured-in, will run about 20-to $25,000. It should be up and running by no later than April 1^st.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reports a northwest Iowa teenager was fatally injured late Wednesday afternoon while operating a snowmobile on a creek southwest of Fonda in Pocahontas County. 13-year old Raymond Gatzemeyer, of Fonda, was operating a snowmobile when he struck a rope that was suspended between two pillars of a bridge shortly before 5 p.m. He was in a group that included two other snowmobiles and an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) when the incident occurred. No one else was injured.

Gatzemeyer, who was wearing a helmet at the time of the incident, was transported to Loring Hospital in Sac City where he was pronounced dead. The incident remains under investigation by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

The Atlantic Police Department reports two recent arrests. On Wednesday (February 5th), Atlantic Police arrested 27-year-0ld Levi Olsen of Atlantic on a Cass County Warrant for Probation Violation.  He was taken to the Cass County Jail and booked in.

And today (Thursday, February 6th) 36-year-old Eric Ostrander of Atlantic was arrested on a Cass County Warrant for Possession of Controlled Substance.  He was also transported to the Cass County Jail and booked in.