(Radio Iowa) – As gas prices and inflation bound into record territory, Iowa U-S Senator Chuck Grassley is co-sponsoring a bill he says will provide relief and protections for our savings accounts. Grassley, a Republican, says the Middle-Class Savings and Investment Act would help lower- and middle-income Americans save as inflation outpaces any interest they might earn through targeted tax relief. “We need more incentive to save,” Grassley says. “If people save, they aren’t spending the money. That reduces the amount of money chasing too few goods. The other thing is, this inflation is making a miserable impact upon people’s savings.”

Grassley says many people are watching their savings erode while facing taxes on gains that may not be keeping pace with inflation. That creates what he calls “a perverse incentive to spend now” instead of saving, which further fuels inflation. “We’ve had savers’ incentives going way back to 2001 and 2003 when I was chairman of the Finance Committee,” Grassley says, “so inflation is those limits when you can save and not pay tax on it, or get a credit for saving a certain amount.” Grassley says the legislation will ensure that those who are hurting the most from inflation aren’t further burdened by taxes.  “Those dollar figures that were set 20 years ago are hurt by inflation, so we’re raising them so more people can take advantage of it,” Grassley says. “My middle income savings bill will help families through tax relief, as well as helping them save more for the future.”

Grassley says key elements of the bill include: Excluding a reasonable amount of interest income from being subject to tax ($600 for married couples, $300 for individuals; more than doubling the size of the zero percent (lowest) tax bracket for long-term capital gains and qualified dividends; eliminating the marriage penalty which subjects some income to an additional 3.8 percent tax, and indexing its income threshold to inflation; increasing the maximum “savers credit” anyone can get for contributing to qualified retirement accounts and expanding the availability of that credit to more taxpayers.

(Audubon, Iowa) – An Audubon Community School District Building Project has hit a snag. Superintendent Eric Trager said he couldn’t legally comment on all the specifics because of pending litigation against the General Contractor, who Trager says “Backed-out” on the project about two and a-half weeks ago.

He said it’s unclear right now, how far this might set the project completion timeline back.

He said Camblin Mechanical out of Atlantic and Nelson Electric out of Carroll, are “doing such a great job and are ahead of schedule” on their part of the project.

In any case, a delay in getting a General Contractor isn’t expected t affect the start of school year, on August 23rd.

In other business, Superintendent Trager said the Audubon School Board approved six Summer Launch Program contracts.

And, the Board, he says, hired Gary Keller, who will come back to teach vocal music until a permanent replacement is found for a late resignation, and, Brad Kirchhoff will serve as the Assistant Wrestling Coach next year.

(Radio Iowa) – The leader of the group pushing for a casino license for Cedar Rapids says they aren’t giving up. Linn County Gaming Association board president Anne Parmley says the group had hoped the governor wouldn’t sign the bill that puts licenses on hold. “Well, I think it would have been pessimistic not to hold out hope. So yes, we held out a little hope, but figured this probably be the outcome,” she says. The bill the governor signed Friday freezes the casino licenses at 19 for the next two years. Parmley’s group had artist renderings of the facility done and was preparing for the license approval process to start. “How we look at it now is we have to wait two years and work over those two years to ensure that things move forward in two years, so we can build that facility out and start gaining the benefits for Linn County,” Parmley says.

Parmley says they’ll continue working on their plan and keep supporters up-to-date. “Standing in front of city council letting them know what’s going on, as well as the supervisors, those groups have been incredibly supportive of this effort and will continue to be active with them in understanding what’s going to happen,” Parmley says. ” I think this gives developers more time to just kind of moved the whole concept, location and all that forward.” The Republican leader in the Iowa Senate, Jack Whitver, said “gaming fatigue” led lawmakers to the temporary moratorium as they want to see how things shake out. Parmley says the gambling competition with the border states of Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Illinois is one of the things that could be an impact in the next two years.

And the concern will remain about how a Cedar Rapids casino impacts existing casinos. She expects another study to look at that issue. “And I think that study would both look at cannibalization as well as you know, within the state but across the borders, and really given us better information to look at as far as what that exactly means these days,” she says. Parmley says the moratorium is disappointing — but they have to move forward. “You kind of have to figure out what’s in your control. And right now, the two-year delay is not in our control. So we just have to push forward and we’re really excited about what’s possible,” according to Parmley. “The city is very much behind, pushing forward, despite the delay, and getting really excited about what that side of the river could look like with this facility.”

The license moratorium will expire in July of 2024.

(Radio Iowa) – This (Tuesday) is the first day of summer and the continued hot, windy conditions are raising fears of flash droughts in Iowa and across the region. Meteorologist Dennis Todey, director of the U-S-D-A’s Midwest Climate Hub in Ames, says we’ve been seeing elevated temperatures for a few weeks already and that heat may soon start impacting Iowa corn and soybeans. Todey says, “Summer is hot but when you are warmer than average and have sunny skies, lots of wind, lower relative humidity, the atmosphere puts more demand or wants to use more water out of a crop.” A flash drought is the rapid onset or intensification of drought, brought on by all of the conditions we’re seeing.

Todey says it can appear — and spread — very fast. “That can add on problems very quickly, can add distress to a crop,” Todey says. “If you’ve got soil moisture to draw from, plants can handle this for a while. If your soil moisture is a bit more limited, the problems will show up sooner.”

The latest climate outlooks show warmer temperatures across Iowa and much of the Northern Plains into September. Soil moisture, he notes, is being depleted rapidly due to the hot, windy weather.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A Pottawattamie County man was arrested a little after 2-a.m. today (Tuesday), following a traffic stop in Red Oak. According to Red Oak Police, officers arrested 44-year-old Matt Len Staley, of Oakland, on a Felony charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance/3rd offense, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (A simple misdemeanor). Staley was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $5,000 bond. Red Oak Police were assisted during the incident by the Mills County K9 “Judge,” and Mills County Sheriff’s Deputies.

(Radio Iowa) – Ten million Americans camped for the first time during the height of the pandemic according to Campgrounds America and — with the popularity of R-V campgrounds growing — a city in the one of Iowa’s tourism hot spots is reviewing its zoning rules for R-V parks. Okoboji City Administrator Michael Meyers says R-V camping is currently allowed in his city’s commercial district along the Highway 71 corridor.

“It just kind of came up here and we kind of started doing a hard look at our own zoning text and trying to figure out how we fit into that puzzle,” Meyers said. “I think the feel of the community is that we want to make that a conditional use moving forward.” Making property use conditional in a commercial zone gives Okoboji residents a chance to provide input.

“Our zoning districts are generally split into two different sections: permissible uses and conditional uses,” he said. “Conditional uses generally require much more approvals from the city including going through the Planning and Zoning Commission as well as going to the Board of Adjustment, notification of neighbors and just some heightened regulations around the specific use.”

Okoboji’s Planning and Zoning Commission will meet soon to consider these changes, which would ultimately have to be approved by Okoboi’s City Council. According to the R-V industry, more than 50 new campgrounds and R-V parks opened this summer in the United States.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City of Atlantic’s Parks and Recreation Department Board, Monday evening, discussed entry into Sunnyside Pool, in light of a staff shortage, and the possibility of increasing the Hotel/Motel Tax to pay for a Splash Pad and other, related matters. Parks Director Bryant Rasmussen appeared before the Board electronically, as he and two of his staff are out with COVID. Another staffer is out for a few more days with the virus. Rasmussen said some season pass holders to Sunnyside Pool have threatened to ask for reimbursement of their pass costs if they can’t get priority when there is limited admission to the pool when there are only one or two lifeguards on duty.

Bryant says the lifeguards are doing the best they can with the staff they have.

He says “Typically, pools lose money every single year. It’s a service we provide to the City of Atlantic.” Any money they do make is off gate fees and the concession stand. Rasmussen said “We’re doing our best to try and get as many patrons into [and out] of the pool as we possibly can, with respect to the amount of staff that we currently have there. Parks Board member John Krogman said understands the frustrations of season pass holders.

Krogman says “It’s an unfortunate situation given how staffing is at our pool and many other pools are around the State right now, but I don’t think we can limit [pool entry] or give preferential treatment just because you have a seasonal pass.” As it stands, there are four lifeguard available currently, three more are coming, and one more is coming in July. The issue is not just staffing the pool, it’s making sure the applicants pass the swimming test before they can be certified.

The staff they currently have, are working 40 or more hours per week.

In other Parks and Rec News, Board Chair Jolene Smith said she has been talking with Atlantic City Clerk Barb Barrick about getting more money to come into the pool, and increasing the amount of the hotel/motel tax from the current 4% to the maximum 7%, would be the best way to bring in more funds, especially when it comes to acquiring a splash pad, which surveys have indicated, is a desire of the people to have. The last time a measure to increase the hotel/motel tax went before the voters, was in November, 2017. The proposed three-percent increase failed by more than 53% of the vote. Smith said the Parks Department needs to do a better job of promoting what the funds would be used for.

If a proposed measure to increase the tax to 7%, it would come very close to paying for a splash pad project, Smith said. The Board agreed to continue with discussion during a work session.

(Avoca, Iowa) – A semi tractor-trailer rollover Monday afternoon, north of Avoca, has apparently resulted in only minor injuries. According to scanner traffic, the accident happened at around 4:48-p.m. near Avoca Regional Water, off Highway 59, north of Interstate 80 and Shelby County Road F-66.

Additional information is currently not available.

(Guthrie Center) – A teenager from Bayard was cited following a rollover accident at around 5:30-p.m. on June 15th. The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office says 14-year-old Taytum Odel Bates was traveling east on School Street in Guthrie Center. Where the road transitioned from paved to gravel, the 2006 Ford Ranger Bates was driving began operating in what authorities said was a “reckless fashion intentionally fishtailing on the gravel.”

The pickup fish-tailed for about 300 feet before the passenger side tires entered the south ditch. Bates over-corrected, causing the vehicle to skid across the road and enter the north ditch, where it overturned. Bates was not wearing his seat belt, and suffered suspected minor, non-incapacitating injuries. He was helped out of the truck by friends who had been following in a second vehicle.

The Sheriff’s Office says Bates was not part of the pickup owners’ family, and he was driving on a school permit. He was cited for Violation of the conditions of a minor’s school license, and Careless Driving. The pickup sustained $6,000 damage, and was a total loss.

CARROLL, Iowa — The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reports untreated wastewater overflowed from a manhole near St. Anthony Regional Hospital on the southeast side of Carroll Monday morning.

An unknown amount of untreated wastewater reached the Middle Raccoon River before hospital and city staff stopped the spill about 11 a.m. City staff helped identify the likely cause of the discharge, a collapsed sewer pipe owned by the hospital.

DNR staff were onsite Monday afternoon to take water samples and look at the river. Residents should keep children and pets out of the river for the next 24 to 48 hours. DNR will monitor cleanup and consider appropriate enforcement action.