A reminder from Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers for residents in his community: with the impending winter storm, as soon as 2” of snow/ice accumulation is received, there is absolutely NO PARKING ALLOWED UNTIL CLARINDA CITY STREETS UNTIL THE STREETS HAVE BEEN PLOWED FROM CURB TO CURB.  Also, vehicles found to be in violation will be ticketed and are subject to being towed and impounded until all towing & storage fees are paid in full.

If the person has no off street parking available, the vehicle(s0 can be parked on the city terrace (parking right of way) until the snow plowing operation has been completed.

The ordinance states that no person shall park any motor vehicle or other apparatus upon any street of the city that will obstruct the removal of snow when there has been an accumulation of two (2) inches or more. Any vehicle left parked on any street in violation of this ordinance may be impounded, and the registered owner of the vehicle will be subject to a $15.00 parking fine, and payment of all applicable towing and storage fees in order for the vehicle to be released.

Republican Congressman Tom Latham — speaking publicly for the first time about his decision not to run for reelection in 2014 — says he made the move for personal, not political reasons. “Last weekend my wife and I decided that, you know, there’s no perfect time, there’s no right time, but for us this is the time,” Latham said. “We will have been married 39 years. Half of that time I was on the road with the family business. The other half I spent on the road in congress, gone, and it’s just the right time for us. It’s a personal decision…I’ve got five grandchildren, a great family. I just look forward to a change.”

Latham, though, was emotional as he talked about his long career in congress. “I love the job. I still get a chill every time I walk across the street in Washington and see Miss Liberty on top of the dome. You know, for a kid from Alexander, Iowa, (with a population of) 168 people, to have that honor — it’s really something, ” Latham said, his voice breaking. “And so it’s an emotional thing. It’s a job I love, but it’s the right time.”

Latham jokes that he’s been fielding lots of phone calls from fellow Republicans who are considering running for the seat. Latham will not endorse a candidate in the primary, but he will help the Republican nominee campaign through the fall election. Latham says he’d consider taking another job after his term is up, including a lobbying position, but he intends to live in the Des Moines suburb of Clive, close to his grandchildren. “It has been the honor of my life to represent now a total of 56 counties in Iowa in the U.S. House of Representatives,” Latham said. “Certainly there’s a relief as far as going through an election process, but I expect to stay totally involved to represent the folks here.”

Latham was criticized by some conservatives and Tea Party activists for his recent votes for the budget deals that ended the government shutdown in October and will prevent a shutdown in 2014. Latham says that criticism had no impact on his decision. “You know, my votes are my votes and I’ve always thought in this job that if you do the right thing for the right reasons, you don’t worry about it,” Latham said. “And I was probably, politically, in the strongest position I’ve ever been my career so, no, this is a purely personal decision.”

Latham was first elected to congress in 1994. In 2012 Latham faced off in Iowa’s new third congressional district against incumbent Democrat Leonard Boswell and won by nearly nine percentage points. Latham made his comments late Friday morning during taping of the “Iowa Press” program that airs Sunday, on Iowa Public Television.

(Radio Iowa)

Police in Red Oak report the arrest on Friday of a man charged in connection with an incident which occurred earlier this week. 29-year old Zachariah Michael Holland, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 10:30-p.m. Friday on a charge of Trespassing, for an incident which allegedly occurred on Wednesday (Dec. 18th).

Holland was being held in the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center on $300 cash bond.