The Harlan City Council approved to surface Maple Road from Highway 44 to the Wasterwater Treatment Plant. In a regular meeting Tuesday, The council approved the bid from StaBilt Construction for $36,185.90. City Administrator Terry Cox said the city will maintain the road following the surfacing. The city has never put an overlay on the road as Cox said it has been rock for thirty six years. In other business, the city approved a solar light school crossing blinker sign for Highway 44 and 19th Street crosswalk. However, the city still needs to go through the proper channels on getting the sign approved by the Iowa Department of Transportation. Cox said at the meeting he submitted the sign to the DOT office in Atlantic but it now has to be sent to the office in Ames for approval. Cox says the solar powered lighting will be much more noticeable for traffic,

Cox1: “When you push the button to cross it will flash these lights. It won’t be 24/7. Once the person crosses, it will be a green light going east and west. We did get the LED light from the utilities. This is a safety thing to help the neighborhood kids.”

The cost for the new LED lighted cross walk will be $6,280. Currently there is a crossing sign on Highway 44 but the city will have to install the new signs with the LED lights. In other news, Harlan Mayor Gene Gettys reported there are four seats up, 3 on the council and the mayor’s position, for election in November on the Council. If you are interested in a seat on the Harlan City Council, stop at City Hall to pick up a packet as the due date is September 19th. Gettys also announced the “Today in America” film crew will be in the area on Monday, August 26th to start filming the city of Harlan for the program.

(Joel McCall KNOD)

The Atlantic Police Department reports the arrest today (Wednesday) of 20-year old Jarret Christensen of Exira for OWI/1st offense. He was transported to Cass County Jail and booked in.

On August 19, 2013, 43-year old Paul Kramer of Granger, Iowa, was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge James E. Gritzner to 90 months in prison for wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. Judge Gritzner also sentenced Kramer to five years of supervised release following incarceration.

From 2006 through 2009, Kramer knowingly used his mortgage company, Kramer Mortgage, and his real estate closing company, Iowa Closing and Escrow, to defraud multiple lenders out of over $1 million. Kramer executed the fraud, in part, in connection with a real estate development company, LDF. Kramer and the members of LDF, including Lane Anderson, orchestrated straw sales of thirteen properties to another LDF member, Shannon Flickinger. LDF was the true buyer but LDF could not qualify for financing for the purchase of the properties because the company already had too much debt. Flickinger was used as a straw buyer to obtain the financing to purchase the additional homes. At Kramer’s direction and with Kramer’s oversight, Kramer Mortgage submitted loan applications in which Flickinger was named as the buyer despite the fact that Kramer knew that LDF was the true buyer. With Kramer’s knowledge, Flickinger’s income was grossly inflated in the applications in order to qualify him for the loans. After Flickinger’s fraudulent loan applications were approved, the straw sales were closed at Kramer’s mortgage company with Kramer’s knowledge. Kramer closed the sales despite the fact that Flickinger paid no down payments for any of the properties, contrary to the documentation that was provided to the lenders.

Kramer defrauded one particular bank by intentionally concealing the sales of properties that had been pledged to the bank as collateral for a $4 million line of credit for Kramer. After the sales of multiple properties in which the proceeds were owed to the bank, Kramer kept the proceeds and used them to pay his own personal or business expenses. Kramer also pledged several properties to more than one bank, without the banks’ knowledge, to obtain additional loans. Kramer’s activities resulted in the primary bank suffering significant losses and also left many homeowners unable to sell or refinance their homes because they did not have clear title to their properties. Some homeowners were threatened with foreclosure due to Kramer’s activities.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey today announced that Mike Naig has been hired as the new Deputy Secretary for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. He will start with the Department on September 4.

“Mike will be a tremendous asset to the Department and I’m glad he agreed to join our team,” Northey said. “His background and experience make him a natural fit for the Department.”

Naig previously served as Manager of State and Local Government Affairs for Monsanto. He has been active in the agribusiness industry for over 13 years, also having served in public policy roles for CropLife America based in Washington, DC; the Agribusiness Association of Iowa; and, the Iowa Biotechnology Association.

As Deputy Secretary, Naig will assist in management responsibilities for the Department focused on the areas of personnel and budget. He will also support the Department’s efforts to be accessible to Iowans by traveling regularly to represent the Department at meetings across the state.

“It is an honor to join Secretary Northey and the team at the Department. I look forward to supporting the important work of the Department to promote Iowa agriculture, serve Iowans and protect our natural resources,” said Naig.

Naig grew up on a farm near Cylinder in Northwest Iowa and is a graduate of Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, with degrees in biology and political science. He and his wife Jaime have two boys.