(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors held the first public hearing this (Tuesday) morning, on the sale of the County-owned farm on the southwest side of Atlantic. Board Chair Steve Baier said before the building on the land that housed the Willow Heights residential care facility became vacant, the property was appraised by Vanguard Appraisals at more than $1.1-million dollars. Now that the building has been vacant for nearly one-year, the appraised value dropped to $354,400. The Board unanimously passed a motion to move forward with the sale of the farm. The next step is for a request for proposal (RFP) from auction services, realtors and interested parties, and an interview with them. The deadline is October 31^st.

County Engineer Trent Wolken said the Concrete Box Culvert (CBC) on Boston Road was completed last week, and the road is open. The CBC on 610^th/Chestnut concrete was poured last week, but they’re waiting for the concrete to cure. In the mean time, crews are getting read to set back fill in-place.

Wolken said there are two bridges set for bid letting in November. One is Bridge #32 on Victoria Road, west of Highway 71. The other is south of the Anita Sale Barn. In January there will be a letting on Bridge #319 on Highland Road, over Indian Creek. There was a bid-letting for a CBC on Fairview Road, on Monday (Oct. 17).

There were two bids ($329,896.05 from Gus Contruction, and Jensen Construction, for $524,685.25. The engineer’s estimated cost for the project was $358,000. The Cass County Supervisors approved the bid from Gus Construction. Wolken said work on the project is expected to begin next Monday, Oct. 24^th.

(Radio Iowa) – Harvest season is underway in Iowa with drought conditions ranging from severe to extreme — and forecasts show those conditions will likely continue well into winter. Meteorologist Dennis Todey, director of the U-S-D-A’s Midwest Climate Hub in Ames, says there are a few benefits to the dry weather, like how the tractors aren’t getting mired in mud. “People, when they’re ready to harvest, are going to be able to get out and harvest because there’s nothing really slowing them down,” Todey says, “though the thing that may slow them down in some cases is that beans may be too dry or something like that. I was hearing people waiting until the evening when it’s a little more humid to do some harvesting.” Todey says the soil continues to dry out and dry deeper across wide sections of Iowa.

“Soils are very dry at this point,” he says, “so soil moisture recharge is a concern and a very serious concern because of some dryness expanding all the way back into 2021 that we didn’t quite recover from completely.” Todey says there are a number of harvest time hazards for farmers and passing motorists due to the dry conditions. “I was driving through southern Minnesota last night and somebody was doing a bean field that looked like there was a fog over the bean field because there was so much dust kicked up,” he say. “I saw somebody tweet, too, that it was a good thing that they had auto-steer because I’m not sure they could see where they were going because of the dust that’s being kicked up. So, multitude of problems because of very severe drought.”

Many locations in Iowa are now showing six-to-eight-inch precipitation deficits for the year.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Chuck Grassley says not concerned by a new poll that shows his bid for an eighth U.S. Senate term may be his toughest race since 1980. A Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll released this weekend shows nearly two-thirds of voters surveyed about Grassley’s race against Democrat Mike Franken have concerns about Grassley’s age. That includes more than a third of the Republicans who said they’ll vote for the 89 year old, despite their concerns about his age. “If people think I can’t do the job, they ought to follow me around,” Grassley says. “I go to bed at 9. Get up at 4. (Run) two miles in morning. Get to the office before 6. Usually in the office until 6:30, quarter ’til 7. I have a full schedule when I’m in the office — you know committee meetings, caucuses, interviews like this that I do 52 times a year.”

Grassley made his comments this (Tuesday) morning during an interview with Iowa radio reporters. Grassley has been emphasizing his more than four decades of experience in the Senate, but only a third of Iowa Poll respondents said they view Grassley’s tenure as an asset. If he’s elected, Grassley will be the longest serving senator. If Republicans win a majority of seats, he’ll be the president pro tem of the Senate — which makes him fourth in line to the presidency. “I don’t know whether people understand the seniority system but it’s a reality and you have to work within that system,” Grassley says. “Iowa’s going to be number one when I’m number one. Iowa’s always been number one for me. I love the people of Iowa. I love working for them.”

Grassley says if Iowans elect his opponent to the senate, Franken will have little seniority compared to the influence he’d have, perhaps as chairman of the Budget Committee in 2025 if Republicans have a majority in the senate. Grassley’s seniority positions him to return as chairman of the Judiciary Committee for the next two years if Republicans win more seats than Democrats this November.

(Griswold, Iowa) – The Superintendent of the Griswold Community School District reports their Certified Enrollment and BEDS numbers. Dave Henrichs says Certified Enrollment is the number of students who live in the District, regardless of where they attend school. It’s the one the District will submit to the State. BEDS is the Basic Educational Data Survey, which includes the number of students who attend Griswold, regardless of where they live.

Henrichs says a big reason for the decline in students, has to do with Open Enrollment.

In other matters, the Griswold School Board, Monday evening, were informed they do not have to take action on Board of Directors redistricting, because of a formula that districts use to determine how big a district can become, with regard to the ideal district population. In Griswold’s case, the range is 700 to 850.

There remained questions about whether or not that number is based upon the individual district or a total of all the districts added together.

The Griswold School Board approved the replacement of all existing outside facility lights (not including the athletic field), at a cost of $8,707, after rebates and incentives. The move is expected to pay off in terms of energy savings amounting to $5,000 per year, or a 1.66 year payback. The Board also approved a bid of about $17,000 from Larson Painting out of Council Bluffs, the same company who painted the high school gym,

The Griswold School Board decided not to change the current early retirement policy.

The Board approved the hiring of Carla Wilson as Assistant Girls HS basketball coach, and the resignation of Matt Spanaugle as Assistant HS baseball coach.

City of Atlantic officials report that the railroad will be doing work today on the olive street intersection and parts of the road will be closed. 3rd & Olive will be closed as well as Commerce & Olive. Please plan accordingly.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Atlantic Rising will host its 5th Annual Trivia Night Fundraiser, Saturday, November 5th, at The Venue on Walnut Street. The organization continues to hold this event to fundraiser for the annual Christmas Box program. Atlantic Rising Social Chair Kelsey Beschorner says “This event has been very successful in the past. In 2021, we had 8 teams register and were able to raise over $2,500 for the program. We hope to exceed that amount this year due to the number of nominations continuing to increase each year.”

The event will include eight rounds of ten questions each. Categories range from math to music to Saturday Night Live and everything in between. There is a prize awarded to the winning team. Teams are also encouraged to create team themes to add to the fun of the evening. A prize is awarded to the best team theme and is chosen by the staff at The Venue. Freshly popped popcorn, water/coffee station and cash bar will be available all night long.

Beschorner says “Our goal is to have everyone come out to enjoy a fun night while raising money for a project that does so much good for our community.” For more information on Trivia Night or to register a team, contact Kelsey Beschorner at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce at 712-243-3017 or visit www.atlanticiowa.com.

(Radio Iowa) – The deadline is next week for Iowa women who use wheelchairs to apply to compete in the upcoming Ms. Wheelchair Iowa contest. State coordinator Tasha DeGroote says the event focuses -not- on disabilities, but rather on the abilities of contestants. She says you must be at least 21 years old and be willing to make public appearances, either virtually or in person. “You have to be a U.S. citizen for at least six months,” DeGroote says. “You have to be 100% wheelchair-bound for 100% of your daily mobility and must be willing to travel.” That travel includes a trip to the national competition for Ms. Wheelchair America next fall in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

DeGroote says a successful candidate will need to be able to communicate their passion to the public, and she emphasizes, this is -not- like the Miss Iowa pageant. “There’s not a beauty contest as far as you don’t do the night gown, you don’t do the swimsuit competition, nothing like that,” she says. DeGroote, who was Ms. Wheelchair Iowa 2013, says the new titleholder will be selected based on what they’ve accomplished since the onset of the disability, whether it was a recent accident or a lifelong condition. “Your accomplishments as far as what you’ve done in your life,” DeGroote says, “so to promote themselves, to fight for other women who may or may or may not be willing to speak up for themselves and help them out.” 

The deadline to apply is October 24th. To apply, contact DeGroote through the Ms. Wheelchair Iowa Facebook page, at tashaswheels@gmail.com or at (319) 464-7574. This year’s contest will be held October 29th at the Hearst Center for the Arts in Cedar Falls.

(Sioux City) – Officials with the Iowa Department of Corrections, Monday afternoon, said a man convicted of 2^nd Degree Robbery and other crimes in Woodbury County, failed to report back to the Sioux City Residential Treatment Facility Sunday, as required.

21-year-old Nevitt Joseph Taylor is a Native American male. He stands 5-feet 8-inches tall and and weighs 230 pounds. Taylor was admitted to the work release facility on October 10, 2022.

Persons with information on Taylor’s whereabouts should contact local police.

Nevitt Taylor

(Radio Iowa) – A man died and three juveniles were seriously hurt following a car crash early Monday morning near Northwest Community College in Sheldon. The Iowa State Patrol’s accident report indicates that just before 6:30 Monday morning, the teenage driver of a car crossed the center line of Highway 18 west of Sheldon and hit a semi head on. All four occupants of the car were trapped inside the vehicle and had to be freed by emergency crews. A passenger in the back seat, 44-year-old Samuel Garcia-Ruiz of Worthington, Minnesota, was killed. The 17 year old male who was driving has life-threatening injuries according to the State Patrol and two 17 year old females who were passengers were seriously injured. All three teenagers are hospitalized in Sheldon.

The semi driver was not hurt. Both lanes Highway 18 were closed for several hours.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Governor Kim Reynolds and Democratic challenger Deidre DeJear outlined diverging paths on taxes, abortion and carbon pipelines during their debate last night on Iowa P-B-S. Reynolds said eminent domain should be a last resort for pipelines that would ship carbon out of Iowa ethanol plants and she supports current rules for how developers may get authority to seize property along the pipeline routes from unwilling landowners.

“Fifty-five percent of our corn goes to ethanol plants today and if we lose that ethanol industry, that will have a tremendous impact on farmers,” Reynolds said. DeJear said she opposes the use of eminent domain for the pipelines. “I believe that the landowner should have power in this situation because they put their blood, sweat and tears into their land,” DeJear said. DeJear called the individual income tax cuts Reynolds signed into law in March shortsighted.

“The vast majority of Iowans are going to get about $50 to $55 a month…It doesn’t do anything to resolve the issues with our education system today, our mental health care system today and so rather than cutting, I think this is a moment where we should be investing so that we can restore Iowans and they can have sustainability.” Reynolds said: “I’d like to respond to that. Talk to the working families, $55, $25, that matters to them, it makes a difference, especially as they’re seeing grocery prices skyrocket…Everything is increasing across the board, so any time that we can help Iowans keep more of their hard earned money it does matter.”

The two candidates had an extended and sometimes tense discussion about abortion. Reynolds declined to say whether she’d seek new restrictions beyond the 2018 law to ban abortions after about the sixth week of pregnancy, a law that’s in limbo due to a lawsuit. “When it’s going through the courts, I’m not going to weigh in either way,” Reynolds said, “but my goal is to make sure that we make the law that’s on the books law.” DeJear said Roe v Wade had provided reasonable restrictions with exceptions and that policy should become Iowa law.

“I believe that it is undemocratic and irresponsible for us to try to dictate in black and white this situation that has infinite variable as it relates to pregnancy,” DeJear said. DeJear said politicians shouldn’t inject themselves in conversations women have with doctors about a pregnancy. “We cannot put Iowans in those types of situations. My faith teaches me to trust people and I trust women to make that decision,” DeJear said.

Reynolds interjected: “So it’s late term abortion. They believe you can abort a baby right up until the moment it’s born.” DeJear replied: “That’s not what you just heard from me.” Reynolds said: “Yeah, that is what you’re saying. You’re not answering the question. You’re saying it’s up to the woman to decide.”

The hour-long debate was the only face-to-face meeting between Reynolds and DeJear before the November 8th General Election. A debate tonight (Tuesday) between Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson and Liz Mathis, the Democratic challenger in Iowa’s second congressional district, has been cancelled. Hinson was admitted to a Cedar Rapids hospital on Sunday night for treatment of a kidney infection. Last (Monday) night, her chief of staff says Hinson is feeling better, but was still in the hospital undergoing treatment.