(Radio Iowa) – The family of a Cedar Rapids man who has been missing since his submerged city truck was found in the Cedar River is hoping his remains can be found. Erik Spaw was last seen on May 6th driving between work sites, and his truck was pulled from the river on May 7th. His mother Karen and other family told K-C-R-G T-V they believe complications from Erik’s Type 1 Diabetes contributed to his crash.  “He was trying to change it some way so he’d get better control of his eyesight and things. And so he was kind of doing things differently you know, and kind of trying to get it adjusted better,” she says. Family members remember Spaw as a daredevil who had loved to jet ski, snowmobile, and race cars. His brother Johnny Spaw said numbness caused by his diabetes led to the end of his brother’s racing. The family has put up flyers asking for help in finding Erik’s body. Karen Spaw says the family grieves, but they also feel they are in limbo.

“We’re just kind of still in shock, but we’re really hoping that they find him because it’s so hard to not know, you know, for sure that he’s deceased and we’re just waiting,” she says. Brother Johnny Spaw has the same feeling. ”Just wish we could find him so we could get this over with. It’s not going to bring him back, but you need the old closure word everybody talks about. I don’t know. It’ll help, but it’s not going to help,” Spaw says. Erik Spaw was 54-years old and worked for the Cedar Rapids Water Division.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, received an update on one project to develop new housing, and acted on passing an engineering agreement for another. Marty Boose, with Boose Building Construction, LLC, of Atlantic, provided an update on his Redwood Subdivision project.

Redwood Subdivision project, lot descriptions (Courtesy Marty Boose)

Boose has been a carpenter for 47 years and moved to Atlantic in 1980. He started his own business in 1988 and has weathered the housing market ebbs and flows. His first custom home in town was built in 1991 and there have been 30 built since then. He says he’s been buying in-field lots, including for the Redwood Subdivision.

He already has two lots for new homes sold, with construction set to begin on one later this year, and the other in 2023. Prospective home buyers must sign a purchase agreement for the lot, to ensure quality houses are built around the cul-de-sac to protect both buyers and the City. Among the provisions: The purchaser of one of the lots must build within five-years from the date of purchase of the property, or it will revert back to the developer (Boose), who will assess a restocking charge; No pre-built or trailer homes will be allowed on any of the lots; Living space must be 1,000 square feet, and the home must be connected to public utilities (no septic tanks). The house cannot have metal siding or a metal ribbed roof.

Some of the nine lots, he says, will have enough room for walk-out basements and larger homes than those featured on his Ash Street project. Councilperson Elaine Otte and other members of the Council thanked Boose for his presentation.

In other business, the Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, approved a Snyder and Associates Supplemental Engineering Agreement for additional services associated with the Prairie Hills Development Project, the land for which will be purchased from Jim Comes, for $830,000. The agreement covers many facets, including: Platting Services (Boundary and topographic survey, preliminary and final plats); Design services; Bid services; construction services and other necessary items plus the administration of those services. The total cost of the Engineering Agreement is $262,750. Councilman Pat McCurdy…

The Snyder representative to the Council, Dave Sturm, said services described for the large project will take “A long time,” to undertake, even with the help of “A lot of people.” Separately, the Council passed a Resolution setting the date for a public hearing on the sale of City-owned property at 611 Linn Street, as June 1st. Henningsen & Baragary, LLC, have proposed building a 3,000-sq.ft home on the lot. City policy says the lot can be sold for $1-dollar, provided a home worth a minimum of $100k is built on it.

(Radio Iowa) – A new report details the economic benefits of a proposed pedestrian and bike trail running from Washington D-C to Washington state, including an Iowa segment stretching from the Mississippi River to the Missouri. Kevin Belanger, project manager of the Great American Rail-Trail, says the ambitious effort could generate a major financial boost for the communities and states it serves. “Trails are super popular now especially during and since the pandemic,” Belanger says. “We’ve seen an incredible trail use increase and that number hasn’t come back down, so we’re seeing a lot of excitement about using trails in your local area but also doing long-distance trips as well.”

A study estimates the full trail could generate more than 229-million dollars in visitor spending every year, along with 104-million in labor income and nearly 23-million in new tax revenue. Iowa already boasts many hundreds of miles of walking and biking trails, but this proposed river-to-river route would run 465-miles through the state’s midsection, from Davenport to Council Bluffs. “There’s already 250 completed miles on the ground in Iowa and that’s about 53% of the route complete in Iowa,” Belanger says. “Completing more of that will see the full economic benefits. We’re projecting about $14.3-million in new annual visitor spending in Iowa once this trail is completed.”

The cross-country trail has the potential to bring visitors, businesses, jobs and spending to communities along its 37-hundred-mile route, he says, though it may be many years before it’s finished. “We’re projecting at least a couple of decades for full completion, but new trail comes on every year so people can go out and explore the segments that are already completed,” Belanger says. “Hundreds of miles, for instance, between Pittsburgh and Washington D.C., you’ve got 350 already connected miles and we’re working on making long-distance trips possible before this is completed.”

In recent weeks, a new pedestrian and cycling trail opened on the Interstate 74 bridge connecting Bettendorf, Iowa and Moline, Illinois. It includes an observation deck and a giant glass “oculus” window at the bridge’s midpoint over the Mississippi River. That new addition would provide Great American Rail-Trail users another option for crossing the waterway.  “So right now, as you enter into Iowa from Illinois, you’re crossing at the Quad Cities there and we have mapped out on the Government or Arsenal Bridge that people can travel over,” Belanger says. “It’s an amazingly interesting bridge from a railroad perspective. So people can still cross that or if they’re looking to see the new shiny, exciting object on I-74, people can travel across that bridge, too.”

Here’s a full list of the Iowa trails that would be incorporated into the effort:
• Government/Arsenal Bridge
• Mississippi River Trail/Riverfront Trail
• Running River Trail System
• Kent Stein to Deep Lakes Park Trail
• Hoover Nature Trail
• Cedar Valley Nature Trail
• Gilbert Drive Trail
• Evansdale Nature Trail
• River Forest Road Trail/Cedar River Levee Trail
• Cedar Valley Lakes Trail
• South Riverside Trail
• Cedar Prairie Trail
• Sergeant Road Trail
• Pioneer Trail
• Iowa River Trail
• Linn Creek Recreational Trail
• Iowa 330/US 30 Trail
• Heart of Iowa Nature Trail
• High Trestle Trail
• Raccoon River Valley Trail
• T-Bone Trail
• Railroad Highway Trail
• Valley View Trail
• Lake Manawa Trail
• Veterans Memorial Trail
• Western Historic Trails Center Link
• Iowa Riverfront Trail
• Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge

https://www.railstotrails.org/greatamericanrailtrail/

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A woman from Red Oak was arrested at around 7:15-p.m. Wednesday, for Public Intoxication. Red Oak Police say 58-year-old Rhonda Joann Sperber was taken into custody in the 1300 block of N. Broadway Street, and transported to the Montgomery County Jail. Her bond was set at $300.

(Elliott, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says a man was arrested Wednesday a little after 7:30-p.m., after authorities received a call about an allegedly intoxicated man who, while driving erratically in Elliott, nearly hit two children and a woman. While en route to the scene, Deputies were informed two men were fighting after an altercation. Upon arrival, Deputies made contact with multiple individuals, and upon further investigation found probable cause to arrest 29-year-old Caleb L. Walter, on charges of OWI/1st offense, and Disorderly Conduct. The man was booked into the Montgomery County Jail and held on $1,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Senate Republicans have revived a plan to have the governor appoint the majority of those who serve on commissions that nominate candidates to be district court judges. Senator Todd Taylor, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, says it gives the governor too much influence. “The deck is going to be stacked in favor of the governor picking judges,” Taylor says, “so it’ll probably be done on ideological balances instead of on, you know, their record.”

The proposal was one vote short of clearing a HOUSE committee this spring, so Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee have attached it to a budget bill. Republican Senator Julian Garrett of Indianola says for nearly three years, the governor has appointed a majority of members on the STATE commission that nominates candidates for vacancies on the Iowa Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.

“I really haven’t heard complaints that we’re not getting good quality judges at the state supreme court level and the appellate court level,” Garrett says. “This very same formula seems to have worked out fine there.” Iowa governors appoint judges, but must choose from a slate of candidates submitted by nominating commissions. The commissions for district court vacancies have 11 members. Five are elected by local lawyers and five are currently appointed by the governor, with the chief judge in each district serving as chair.

This proposal also removes judges as leaders of the commissions — since the governor would appoint six of the 11 members. Last fall, a judge in Humboldt chairing a nominating commission was accused of coaching one candidate and lying about another withdrawing from consideration for a district court opening in the Carroll area.

(Radio Iowa) – Senators are scrapping a moratorium that would have prevented developers from seeking eminent domain authority to seize property for carbon pipelines before next February. The Iowa House attached the plan to a budget bill in March. Late yesterday (Wednesday), Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee passed a similar budget bill, but there was no reference to the carbon pipelines in the bill and lawmakers on the committee didn’t mention it.

“Senate Study Bill 3163 is an agreement between the House and the Senate on our path to adjournment. This is not one that will likely be amended from this point on.” That’s Republican Senator Dennis Guth of Klemme. In early April, Guth called the temporary moratorium meaningless. Guth says he’s been assured by the Iowa Utilities Board that it’s be after February when the process of seeking eminent domain to seize land along pipeline routes can start.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City Council in Atlantic, Wednesday, passed an Ordinance (#1018), amending the City Code of Ordinances to change how tall the grass must be by certain dates each month. City Clerk Barb Barrick explains the change was with regard to current Ordinance # 1016.

Barrick said Ordinance 1016 stated the height of the grass was to be changed (Cut) on the 1st and the 15th of the month. Ordinance 1018 simply states “the height of the grass.” The Council opted to let a motion for the Third and final Reading of Ordinance 1016 die, for lack of a second. They next voted to pass the third and final reading of Ordinance #1017, which amends the height of the grass to no more than 9-inches before it must be mowed.

Atlantic City Council mtg. 5/18/22 (Ric Hanson/photo)

Previously, the maximum height was 12-inches. They then proceeded to hold the first Reading of Ordinance #1018, entitled “Mowing of Properties,” and went on to waive the second and third readings to ultimately approve the Ordinance as written.

In her report to the Council and Community, Atlantic Mayor Grace Garrett spoke with regard to the grass mowing ordinance, and clarified a comment she made in the local newspaper, with regard to the timing of lawn mowing.

“With that,” she said “I want to reiterate to our City, that we are seeing some common violations, over-and-over again.”

The Mayor warned against mowing your lawn clippings onto the streets and sidewalks, as it a Code Violation. She also reminded people it is a violation to park your vehicle or vehicles in your yard., and she addressed signs in the City Right-of-Way

Another issue the City will be cracking down on, is household trash and garbage removal.

She said “We as a Council..as a City…want to give you, the residents, the opportunity to make your own corrections.”

(Lenox, Iowa) – A traffic stop just outside of Lenox Wednesday afternoon, resulted in the arrest of a Montgomery County man. The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports the traffic stop took place at around 2:15-p.m.  Upon further investigation, 64-year-old John Richard Mullenix, of Red Oak, was arrested for Eluding, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Public Urination. Mullenix was being held in the Adams County Jail on a $1,600 cash bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Senate Republicans are scaling back the amount of money they’re willing to set aside to hire four new judges and provide pay raises to judges and other employees in the Iowa court system. Republican Senator Julian Garrett of Indianola says it appears some of those expenses can be covered with money no longer needed for the pension system for judges for those expenses.

“Their pension fund is in very good shape, so that will free up an extra $4.9 million, so in essence we’ve got roughly $5 million of new money for the judicial branch,” Garrett says. “…My understanding is the Department of Management’s opinion is that money can be used by the judicial branch.” Caitlin Jarzen, an administrator in the court system, says state law prohibits this kind of transfer.

“This leaves us with a considerable shortfall to cover the required new items in the budget,” Jarzen said. “We’re 97% employees, so if this happens, that’s where we’re going to be forced to make cuts.” Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee have approved an overall spending plan for the state’s court system that includes the five million dollars originally destined for pensions. Senator Todd Taylor, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, says that budget gimmick won’t work and their plan will lead to layoffs in courthouses that have the lowest volume of criminal cases.

“I think, honestly, it’s going to hurt rural Iowa more than in the bigger counties,” Taylor says. The Senate G-O-P’s budget bill also calls for ending the practice of having the Iowa Supreme Court’s chief justice present lawmakers with a spending plan for the courts. That authority would be transferred to the governor. House Republicans have passed a separate budget bill for the state court system. It does not include the money transfer or ending the court’s direct input on budget matters.