(Des Moines, Iowa) – Auditor of State Rob Sand today (Tuesday) released a report on a special investigation of the City of Cumberland for the period covering January 1, 2014 through June 30, 2021. The special investigation was requested by City officials as a result of concerns regarding certain financial transactions processed by the former City Clerk, Grace Thomsen.

Sand reported the special investigation identified $58,532.27 of improper disbursements, $30,214.56 of undeposited, uncollected, and/or unbilled utility charges and fees, and $3,308.60 of unsupported disbursements. However, because City records were not sufficiently maintained, it was not possible to determine if additional undeposited, uncollected, and/or unbilled utility transactions existed or if additional amounts were improperly disbursed.

Sand reported the $58,532.27 improper disbursements identified includes:
• $26,877.58 of payroll related late fees and interest to Internal Revenue Service, IPERS, Department of Revenue, and Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield.
• $18,837.17 of unauthorized payroll and reimbursements issued to Ms. Thomsen.
• $10,207.80 of unauthorized payroll and reimbursements issued to other City officials and employees.
• $971.86 of improper disbursements to other vendors, and
• $1,637.86 of late fees and finance charges to other vendors.

Sand also reported the total undeposited, uncollected, and/or unbilled utility charges identified includes:
• $4,248.70 of undeposited and/or uncollected payments for the utility account held by Ms. Thomsen and her spouse,
• $2,325.20 of unbilled utility charges for the utility account held by Ms. Thomsen and her spouse,
• $17,993.57 of undeposited collections for other selected utility accounts held by City residents,
• $3,767.09 of unbilled utility charges and late fees for other selected utility accounts held by City residents.
• $1,180.00 of undeposited miscellaneous collections, and
• $700.00 of cash withheld from deposit.

The $3,308.60 of unsupported disbursements identified is composed of transactions for which the City could not provide supporting documentation, including reimbursements to Ms. Thomsen and other City employees and purchases made to other vendors. During an interview, Ms. Thomsen admitted she had either not billed or not paid her utilities until March 2021. In addition, Sand reported several credit memos were processed on various resident accounts to adjust the account balances for payments which had been posted but subsequently deleted.

Sand recommended City officials implement procedures to ensure the City’s internal controls are strengthened, including segregation of duties, performing utility reconciliations, reviewing timesheets and/or calendars for payroll, and ensuring all disbursements are properly supported, approved, and paid in a timely manner. Copies of the report have been filed with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Cass County Attorney’s Office, and the Iowa Attorney General’s Office. A copy of the report is available for review on the Auditor of State’s website at Special Interest Reports.

RED OAK, Iowa – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Ranking Member of the Senate Small Business Committee, Monday, announced her Small Business of the Week: Precision Optical Group of Union County. Throughout this Congress, Ranking Member Ernst plans to recognize a small business in every one of Iowa’s 99 counties.

“Precision Optical Group is a thriving small business with a local impact and a growing global footprint, reaching thousands of customers with their unique product. As a Southwest Iowa native, I’m proud to see the long-lasting success of another family-owned and operated small business,” said Ranking Member Ernst.

Precision Optical Group is the country’s largest independently-owned wholesale optical lab serving customers across 48 states and exporting globally. Headquartered in Creston, Iowa, the team maintains 140 employees amongst three labs and makes 1,700 lenses per day. In 2022, Precision Optical Group celebrated their 30th anniversary

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department says officials with Dog Gone Rescue reported on June 7th, that two bags of donated shoes were stolen off a front porch. The loss was estimated at $30.00. The incident happened sometime between 4-and 4:30-p.m. on June 7th.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Members of the Atlantic Community School District’s Board of Education will meet in a regular session that begins at 5:30-p.m. Wednesday, in the High School Media Center. On their agenda is action on accepting the resignations of Transportation Director Mark Weis, HS ELA Teacher Jumar Sadsad, and Head Varsity Girls Soccer Coach Dan Vargason.

The Board will also act on Superintendent Steve Barber’s contract recommendations for several individuals, including:

Casey Pelzer, Middle School Principal; Mary McBride, a transfer to 4-8 Therapeutic Classroom Teacher; Oren Perkins, 9-12 Link Center Teacher; Jeremy Blake, Special Education Teacher; Nolan Williams, HS Paraeducator; Joe Brummer & Matt Best, Summer Weightlifting Coordinator’s, and Ashley Mosier, Asst. HS Cross Country Coach.

Other action items include the 2nd Reading of 500 Series Board Policies, pertaining to Student Personnel. It should be noted that NONE of the polices deal with the rights of students to protest on school property, which the ACLU has said would be unconstitutional. The Board will also act on TLC Contracts for 11 individuals serving as Instructional Coaches, in an Instructional Support Capacity, and as Mentors.

The Board will take action on a request by Atlantic Activities Director Andy Mitchell, for permission to send Band and Choir students on a field trip to Florida during the Winter/Spring of 2024 (Feb. 29-March 4). The costs are not expected to exceed $1,500 per student if they are transported by a charter bus. Flying would cost at least $1,700 per student.

The Atlantic School Board will also act on a District Developed Special Education Plan, iJAG Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and an Employee Handbook update.

(Radio Iowa) – Former Iowa Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls, of Coralville. says Senate Democrats voted him out of his leadership position because he fired two longtime staffers. Senate Democrats met late last week and voted to replace Wahls and have Senator Pam Jochum of Dubuque be their floor leader.

Wahls did not issue a public statement then, but he’s written a blog post this week. Wahls says the two employees of the Senate Democratic Caucus that he fired did not share his vision for change and he stands by that decision because Iowa Democrats desperately need a new direction and leaders who will chart that course.

Wahls won reelection last November to a four year term and he will continue serving in the state senate. Wahls says it’s critical for the well-being of the state to get more Democrats elected to office and he’s pledging to work with his fellow Democrats to accomplish that goal.

(Radio Iowa) – Another person has come forward with sex abuse allegations against a Catholic priest who served more than a dozen eastern Iowa parishes in the 1980s and ’90s. Father Leo Riley, in Florida since 2002, was placed on administrative leave last month, after a different adult accused Riley of abuse in the mid-1980s. Riley was assigned to a church in Dubuque at the time.

About a decade ago, Riley was accused of abusing a minor at the Church of the Resurrection in Dubuque in 1985. The Archbishop of Dubuque — back in 2015 — said that previous investigation was dropped because the information available didn’t support a reasonable belief that the allegation was true.

Bishop Richard Pates has sent a letter to all Iowa parishes where Riley served, asking people with any information about alleged abuse to contact the archdiocese in Dubuque. Bishop Pates has released a written statement, too, saying the church will do what it can to bring healing in the midst of outrage and hurt — and he said the archdiocese is committed to working diligent sly to ensure a safe environment for children and all vulnerable individuals in its churches and schools.

(Radio Iowa/KJAN) – [**update to Monday’s report] The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa has sent Atlantic’s school board a letter, saying it would be unconstitutional to prohibit student protests at school. During the school board’s meeting in May, LeAnne Pellett of Atlantic said she represented 30 residents who were upset by a March protest at the school over L-G-B-T-Q related bills in the legislature.

“This protest, promoted by a small group of students, and encouraged and promoted for sure by one and maybe more by our taxpayer funded educators is of great concern to us. Please understand, we do not object to anyone’s right to protest,” Pellett said. “…We do, however, object to these events taking place during educational instruction time, approved by school administration and promoted by educators.” Pellet called on the school board to adopt a new policy.  “We would like to see a policy established by this board to allow events such as this protect to be held only before or after regular school instructional hours,” Pellett said, “and preferably not on school property.”

[**] Thomas Story, a staff attorney with the A-C-L-Uof Iowa, says that suggested policy would clearly violate students’ constitutional rights.  “As of right now, we aren’t aware of any further action by the board on this policy,” he says, “but it’s important for us to use this as an opportunity to ensure all school districts in Iowa are aware of the constitutional problems with such a policy and their obligations to their students.”

Story cites a 1969 U-S Supreme Court ruling that says students do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate. The case involved a group Des Moines students who were suspended from school for protesting the Vietnam War. There were student walk-outs in several Iowa school district earlier this year, led by students protesting bills in the legislature. Story says it’s likely other school boards are hearing similar proposals to Pellett’s.

“It’s clear from the letter that we’re watching Atlantic,” Story says, “and if any schools do take the next step, we’d be willing to take a look at all of our options.” According to the A-C-L-U, Iowa law only lets schools limit or punish students for their speech or expression at school if it encourages illegal activities, interferes with other students’ rights, or substantially disrupts school activities.