An initial report of a possible house fire early this (Saturday) morning south of Atlantic turned out to be a controlled burn or trees and other debris. The Atlantic Fire Department was initially dispatched to a possible house fire at 7:13-a.m. Two separate callers had reported seeing flames from a distance, possibly from a home east of Highway 71 off the Landfill Road.

Once fire officials arrived on the scene, it was determined there were several fires…all trees and other types of debris cleared from a field or ditch…that was part of a controlled burn. The flames were easily visible from Highway 71. Fire officials were set to have a talk with the person responsible for the controlled burn…reminding them they need to call the Fire Department when such activities are planned, so false alarms do not cause the fire department to respond needlessly, with personnel and equipment.

(Update 7:22-a.m.)

The Atlantic Fire Department has been called to the scene of a possible house fire this (Saturday) morning. Two separate callers reported seeing flames from a distance, at a home near Highway 71 and the Landfill Road, not Lansing Road, as the first caller had initially indicated. The first call came in at around 7:13-a.m.

We’ll update this information as it becomes available.

Democrats in the Iowa Senate this week will start drafting legislation that would forward more state tax dollars to public schools for the 2015/2016 school year. Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal says the State of Iowa is about 15-hundred dollars behind the national average in per pupil spending. “So we’re well below the midpoint in terms of the support we provide for students in this state and we’ve been slipping,” Gronstal says. House Speaker Leader Kraig Paulsen of Hiawatha — the top Republican in the legislature — says Republicans won’t take up the Democrats’ school spending proposal.

“Here’s the deal: we’re not going back to the days where Governor Culver was making all kinds of promises and then turning around doing across-the-board cuts,” Paulsen says. “That 10 percent across-the-board cut that he did was one of the most devastating things that happened to schools.” In the fall of 2009 as state tax revenue started to fall because of the recession, Governor Culver imposed a 10 percent across-the-board cut in the entire state budget, including state aid to schools.

(Radio Iowa)