(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County Treasurer Tracey J. Marshall, today (Tuesday), said her office remains closed until further notice. According to Marshall…

• NEW STAFF MUST BE PROPERLY TRAINED AND LEGAL TO ISSUE DOT FUNCTIONS. FEDERAL FINGERPRINTS AND BACKGROUND CHECKS ARE REQUIRED TO BE IN GOOD STANDINGS WHICH TAKE 4-6 WEEKS.
• DRIVER LICENSE – PLEASE MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH ANOTHER COUNTY OR STATE STATION; 24/7 SERVICES ONLINE WWW.IOWADOT.GOV
• MOTOR VEHICLE TRANSACTIONS ARE BEING DONE ON A DAILY BASIS
• NEW VEHICLE PURCHASES MAY BE PROCESSED WITH A NEIGHBORING COUNTY  – (CALL FOR AN APPOINTMENT)
• TAG RENEWALS MUST BE DONE IN THE COUNTY YOU LIVE IN. THERE IS A YELLOW DROP BOX NEXT TO THE COURTHOUSE DOOR.
• 24/7 SERVICES ONLINE AT WWW.IOWATREASURERS.ORG
• TAXES AND ADMINISTRATION – WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF FISCAL YEAR END.

COUNCIL BLUFFS – The new campground at Lake Manawa State Park has opened. According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, tghe 40-campsite campground features modern amenities including full hook-up campsites, a shower house, and a paved walking trail connecting the campground to the beach and Dreamland Playground. It also features a gated entrance for campers to access the campground. A registration building at the campground gate provides online and telephone reservation information for those who come to the park looking for a site. Campers will receive a four-digit access code to open the gate and enter the campground.

All 40 campsites are available for online reservations; walk-in sites will not be an option. “Lake Manawa is the third Iowa state park to offer 100 percent reservable campsites,” said Sherry Arntzen, chief of the Parks, Forests and Preserves Bureau. “Campers have been pleased with the flexibility and convenience it provides and we are excited to offer this feature and for campers to enjoy this beautiful new campground.”

With 100-percent reservable sites, availability is known in real time. Campers can search and book sites online before leaving home, on the way to the park, or at the campground. Reservations can be made from April 15 to October 15 until 9 p.m. CST the day of arrival online at https://iowastateparks.reserveamerica.com/ or by calling the reservation call center at (877) 427-2757 Mondays through Fridays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; the call center is closed on Sundays.

Customers will no longer need to fill out the paper walk-in registration forms or pay with cash or check; all reservations will require a credit card payment online or over the phone. Customers can still pay by check if the reservation is made through the call center and made at least 21 days in advance.  Construction began on the campground in fall 2020. It officially opened on June 1st.
Out-of-state user permits required for Lake Manawa, Waubonsie state parks

The Iowa Legislature has extended the out-of-state user permit requirement for Lake Manawa and Waubonsie state parks through December 31, 2025. The law also changes the expiration date for annual permits from one year from the date of purchase, to the end of the calendar year. Annual permits purchased January 1 – June 30, 2022 will be honored into 2023, expiring one year from purchase date.  Annual permits purchased starting July 1, 2022 will be valid until the end of 2022. The daily permit for out-of-state visitors costs $5 and an annual permit is $40. Daily passes can be purchased at pay stations throughout the park. More information can be found at: https://www.iowadnr.gov/Places-to-Go/Nonresident-Vehicle-Entrance-Permits

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports two recent arrests: 41-year-old Deann Marie Kuhl, of Glenwood, was arrested Sunday afternoon, for Obstruction of Prosecution or Defense, Possession of a Controlled Substance, Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia, and Driving Under Suspension. She was taken into custody on I-29 at mile marker 38, and held on a $3,600 bond. And, at around 11:24-p.m. Saturday, 41-year-old Sean Michael Cooney, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Violation of a No Contact Order. Cooney was taken into custody on I-29 at mile marker 32, and held without bond in the Mills County Jail.

One person was flown by LifeNet helicopter to the UNMC following an ATV rollover accident at around 11:05-p.m., June 19th. Authorities say 21-year-old Oscar Lupercia-Castaned, of Tabor, was driving an ATV on Raleigh Avenue (A dirt road), when the left front tire hit a rut in the road, causing it to flip-over. A passenger on the ATV was ejected and injured. Their name was not released. An investigation was made on the scene, during which Lupercia-Castaned admitted to drinking, but was under the legal limit.

ATLANTIC, IA – Produce in the Park Market Manager Brigham Hoegh said she is thrilled to report the event will be hosting Pim’s Thai Food Truck at the Atlantic City Park on June 30 from 4:30-6:30. Pim’s Thai has been requested by multiple people in the community and comes recommended with rave reviews. Pim’s Thai Food Truck menu includes entrees such as crispy chicken, curry, fried rice, and pad Thai (a delicious stir-fry noodle-based dish), in addition to appetizers such as crab rangoon and dumplings. The food truck also sells fabulous cold drinks including fruit chillers in flavors mango and tropical punch and boba tea, wildly popular cold teas that are easy to identify from their black tapioca balls.

Pim’s fruit chillers in flavors mango and tropical punch and boba tea

In addition to Pim’s Thai, visitors to the park on June 30 will want to check out the bounce houses. The bounce houses have been at the park throughout the month of June thanks to Nishna Valley Family YMCA, the June sponsor for the market. June 30 is the last day the bounce houses will be at the park. Other attractions at the park on June 30 include yard games with Atlantic Parks & Recreation, live music by Sarah Selders, and nearly 20 vendors selling everything from fresh produce and local meats to jewelry and soaps.

As for free taste tests and recipe ideas, it’s herbs week at Produce in the Park! Taste test fresh herbs and herb butter, buy fresh herbs and herb plants from various vendors, and visit the Grow Another Row Cass County table to learn about donating herbs.

Special thanks: Produce in the Park invites the community to celebrate LaVon Eblen of KJAN’s Backyard and Beyond. After 25 years on the air, LaVon is retiring. Backyard and Beyond has been a great program on KJAN that has covered Produce in the Park many times. LaVon was also a founding mother of Produce in the Park. LaVon will be at Produce in the Park on June 30. The community is invited to come thank her for all she’s done.

(Radio Iowa) – A group of clinicians from Sioux City’s Air National Guard 185th refueling wing has been training together at the Air National Guard Combat Readiness Training Center in Savannah, Georgia this past week. First Lieutenant Amber Franco says it’s the first time since 2019 that the large group from the 185th medical group has been able to get together to knock out a good portion of their annual training requirements.

The pandemic, along with worldwide deployments and financial constraints has kept the Iowa Air National Guard clinicians from training together as a group for more than three years. The training in Georgia provided a variety of scenarios.

During the past few years, 185th clinicians have volunteered for various duties like helping at state covid-19 testing centers. Others have recently deployed to the middle-east. The 185th members also helped with resettlement efforts after the U-S pullout from Afghanistan earlier this year. 

(Radio Iowa) – The electrical system controlling the lights and door locks in the cell block at the Worth County Jail in Northwood has failed. Worth County Sheriff Dan Fank has briefed the Worth County Board of Supervisors.

Fank says there have been no security issues, as he and his deputies are manually opening cell doors and flipping light switches because it’s not a position he wants jail employees to be in. If the latest computer fix is unsuccessful, the county’s board of supervisors will explore buying a new electronic security system for the county’s jailhouse, which was built in 1955.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Rotary Club has announced that they will again host their “Annual 4th of July Flight Breakfast,” featuring the Pancake Man. Rotary members invite the public to join them for this fun local tradition. The Atlantic Rotary 4th of July Flight Breakfast is scheduled for Monday, July 4th, 2022 at the Atlantic Airport, located at 59706 Airport Road just west of Atlantic. 

Breakfast with The Pancake Man will be served by Rotary members from 7-11 AM, featuring $8 all you can eat pancakes with sausage and drinks. Pilots from across Southwest Iowa and beyond are invited to fly into the airport for breakfast as well, and all fly-in pilots will eat for free. The public will be able to enjoy watching the planes take off and land at the airport while enjoying a meal.

All proceeds from the flight breakfast support Atlantic Rotary Club Service Projects.

(Radio Iowa) – Twenty-seven years have now passed since a TV anchorwoman from eastern Iowa disappeared while on her way to work.  27-year-old K-I-M-T morning anchorwoman Jodi Huisentruit is believed to have been abducted from the parking lot of her apartment complex early on the morning of June 27th, 1995. Her body has never been found, she was legally declared dead by a Cerro Gordo County district court judge in 2001, and the case remains unsolved. A gathering of family and friends was held in front of K-I-M-T late Monday morning. Current K-I-M-T anchor Amy Fleming read from a written statement by Huisentruit’s family.  “We know that along with us, you feel the pain and anguish over not having found our Jodi, and not having justice served in her face. Whoever thought on June 27th, 1995, we would still be searching for her 27 years later,” she says.

Huisentruit’s family thanked law enforcement and those who continue their efforts to solve the case. “To law enforcement, we are grateful for the work you have done and continue to do in Jodi’s case, but we must continue to pursue all leads that come in and not dismiss any of them as insignificant. Please be willing to listen and accept help from others. We need all the assistance we can get in solving this case.” Amy Kuns was the producer for the morning news program at K-I-M-T in 1995 and was the last person to speak with Huisentruit, calling her on that morning since she was late for work. Kuns says a lot of people still feel the impact of her disappearance 27 years later.

Huisentruit Memorial Tree (photo courtesy KRIB/Radio Iowa)

“This isn’t just trauma to Jodi, there are a lot of victims in this story, first and foremost Jodi, Jodi’s friends, her co-workers, me because I was the last person to talk to her. There’s a lot of survivors’ guilt there, like ‘why did that happen to Jodi and why not to me?’. We may never know the answers to so many of our questions,” she says. Kuns says she was recently talking to a relative who did not know about her connection to the Huisentruit case. Kuns says it’s situations like that where she wants to make sure Jodi’s story is kept alive until the case is solved. “I don’t know how old she is — 20-30-some years old — and she doesn’t know the full story, and that really struck me that now is the time for me to speak up, to keep the story alive, to keep Jodi’s memory alive, and to make sure that this doesn’t happen to anybody else,” Kun says.

If you possibly have any information regarding Huisentruit’s disappearance, you can call the Mason City Police Department at 641-421-3636.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa law enforcement officers are launching a special traffic enforcement program as we approach the holiday weekend. State Trooper Paul Gardner is a public resource officer based in Fort Dodge and says this Independence Day is expected to break travel records, so the roads will be very busy. Gardner says, “We will be out watching for drunk drivers and working the roads hard to make sure everyone’s obeying the speed limit, everyone’s buckled in, people aren’t distracted by a cell phone while they’re driving.”

These weeks between Memorial Day and Labor Day are often considered the most dangerous of the year on highways in Iowa and nationwide. “We’re in the middle of our ‘100 Deadliest Days’ when our crashes are starting to be on the rise,” Gardner says. “Typically, the cause of these crashes are impaired or drunk driving, so we’re going to be out on the roads, watching to make sure everyone’s sober and getting to where they need to go safely.” Those who are imbibing to celebrate the holiday need to remember not to get behind the wheel, but to instead call a cab, a friend or an Uber.

“One-third of our traffic crashes yearly are caused by drunk and impaired driving and on the 4th of July nationwide, between 2016 and 2020, 41% of crashes were caused by drunk drivers,” Gardner says, “so that’s an alarming statistic and it’s something that we aim to decrease.” The Iowa D-O-T says seven people were killed in motor vehicle crashes statewide over the Fourth of July holiday last year.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors met this (Tuesday) morning in their regular weekly session. At the beginning of the meeting, Board Chair Mark Peterson moved to strike from the agenda, discussion with regard to a Wind Turbine Ordinance. Prior to the Board discussing the subject of the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline, they heard from Jan Norris, who was appointed in the meeting and in separate business, as the County Representative to the Red Oak Library Board. Norris applauded the Board for agreeing to hire a local inspector, but suggested – based on persons knowledgeable about the process – the Board research and interview potential inspection companies.

Jan Norris addresses the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors (6/28/22) – Ric Hanson photo

She said there are some questions that should be asked….

Three months ago, the Montgomery County Supervisors agreed to send a letter to the Iowa Utilities Board, objecting to the use of eminent domain to acquire land for the pipeline. Norris said if they should decide to pursue that course of action, they would not be alone.

Norris said also, “Landowners are making it clear: they are not eager to sign-over their land.” Supervisor Donna Robinson suggested the Board hold-off until additional information is available.

The Board moved to table any further discussion until their meeting on July 12th. In other business, the Board set July 19th at 8:45-a.m., as the date and time for a public hearing on a revised Montgomery County Solar Ordinance. They approved also: a Business Associates Agreement with Nishna Productions; the renewal of a Tobacco Permit, for Cubby’s in Red Oak, and they passed a Resolution Supporting State Recreational Trails Program.

Jenna Ramsey, Stanton Community Development Director explained they are applying for a grant with regard to the project, which requires a match from the City of Stanton. The City is striving to have a trail around the community, and eventually to Viking Lake State Park.

She said because Phase Two of the project within the Stanton City Limits is currently out for bids, they should be in a better position to obtain grant funds through the revised application.