(Radio Iowa) – Iowans who are 65 or older and own the home they live in have about six weeks to apply for a new property tax exemption.

The tax plan Governor Reynolds signed into law earlier this month includes a new property tax exemption for Iowa seniors. It will reduce the taxable value of a home by $3250 for property taxes due this September and next spring. For the next assessment year, the exemption doubles to $6500.

Iowans who were at least 65 years old by January 1st of this year have until July 1st to file a form with their local county assessor to claim this exemption. Once the exemption’s granted, there’s no need to reapply in future years. The Legislative Services Agency estimates it will be worth $50 million annually to Iowa seniors.

Iowans who are receiving or are eligible for the military service property tax exemption will see it increase to $4000. Veterans who were on active duty during a war or served 18 months during peacetime may claim the exemption on the home they live in.

(Radio Iowa) – Upper Iowa University in Fayette is closing seven of its regional education centers in neighboring states and laying off more than three dozen people.

According to the Cedar Rapids Gazette, 22 people who work on Upper Iowa’s campus in Fayette are losing their jobs. Upper Iowa is closing its only regional center in Illinois along with all six of Upper Iowa’s regional centers in Wisconsin. Fifteen employees who work at those sites will be laid off.

The newspaper reports the university is refocusing on areas with the highest enrollment. That includes its Fayette campus and online courses as well as regional education centers in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Waterloo and the Quad Cities, plus four remote learning sites in Louisiana. Upper Iowa will continue to operate programs at four U.S. military bases, too.

Earlier this month, Upper Iowa’s board of trustees announced leadership changes at the school. Upper Iowa’s president will retire in mid-2024 and will spend the next year fundraising. The university’s VP for finance and enrollment will serve as interim president during the search for a new Upper Iowa president.

Upper Iowa was founded 166 years ago. It was originally affiliated with the Methodist Church, but became independent in 1928. Its first regional education center opened in Madison, Wisconsin in 1981. That center is among the seven that are being closed.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass Health, in Atlantic, will host a health fair in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month. Officials say the fair will be held on Tuesday, May 23 from 1 to 5 pm in Conference Room 2, and the public is encouraged to attend. Everyone in the community is also encouraged to wear green that day; green is the official color for Mental Health Awareness.

Vendors at the fair include Cass Health’s Senior Life Solutions team, Southwest Iowa Mental Health Center, Therapy Place, Family Connections, Cass County Public Health, Veterans Affairs, Cass County Extension, and NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness).

National Mental Health Awareness Month was created by Congress in 1949 as part of an effort to help address the mental health struggles of WWII veterans.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Community School District’s Board of Directors, Wednesday, announced that Lisa Jones will serve as the next School Business Official for Atlantic Community School District effective July 1st, 2023.

Jones, who is from Lamoni, Iowa, has accepted the School Business Official position at the Atlantic Community School District. The current Business Manager at Lamoni Community School District, Jones has served as a School Business Official at Lamoni for 10 years, along with 18 years of working in higher education.

Officials say Lisa is passionate about public school education and considers herself to be a lifelong learner. She is passionate about school finance and being part of a district with a strong vision and positive culture. Lisa will be moving to the Atlantic area and begin her duties July 1, 2023.

Lisa Jones (Lamoni CSD photo)

Lisa has 2 children; Luke Jones who is an electrician for K&W Electric in Cedar Falls, Iowa and Logan Jones a current student at UNI majoring in Education.

Jones will succeed current SBO Sarah Sheeder, who, as we’ve mentioned, submitted her resignation in April, effective at the end of this month. She will take on a similar position with the AC/GC Community School District.

(Radio Iowa) – The city of Mount Pleasant is preparing for Iowa Wesleyan University to close at the end of the month and there are still many questions about what that will mean to business and labor in the community. At the Grange Public House and Brewery, owner Sue Sorensen says her husband Eric is more optimistic about the end of Iowa Wesleyan. “I’m the one who’s super concerned — like what’s going to happen? What’s his town gonna look like? What’s our business gonna look like?,” she says.

The U-S-D-A is taking ownership of the campus, and has been holding meetings in the town to help find a new use and a new owner for the campus. Rachel Lindane works in economic development in Mount Pleasant, she says while she’s gotten a lot of calls and questions about the road ahead, there just aren’t many answers at this point. “We don’t know that. But what we can tell you is those students were staff of many of our local organizations. Yeah, right now I’m hearing more about labor than I am anything else,” Lindane says.

Mount Pleasant was first incorporated as a town in 1842, the same year the University was established. I-S-U Architecture and Design professor, Kimberly Zarcore, is studying how quality of life in a small town can be maintained even as it loses population. She says the town’s future is tied up in what makes Mount Pleasant a good place to live in the first place. “Not everyone in Mount Pleasant worked at the university or had their children there, right? There’s a whole world of Mount Pleasant that didn’t rely on the university,” Zarcore says. “And that part of the community is going to have to step up and express itself and maybe even become bigger, in terms of the community’s identity.”

Iowa Wesleyan Univ. campus

This is what Mount Pleasant residents like Sue Sorensen and her husband will have to figure out with their neighbors. “I have no idea what this is going to look like in two months, because we don’t know what’s gonna look like after all the students are gone. Let’s wait and see. Which is so hard for me,” Sorensen says.

The U-S-D-A says it will work side by side with the community as it moves ahead.

(reporting by Zachary Smith, Iowa Public Radio)

(Harlan, Iowa) – Officials with SWITA (the Southwest Iowa Transit Agency) in Harlan, report in their driver profile, Dwayne Hemminger has Driven for SWITA for the Past 18 Years. He provides taxi rides in Harlan two days per week and provides an average of 40-50 rides per day. He also provides shuttle rides to get disabled individuals from Harlan to Denison for work two days per week. Drivers like Dwayne are vital to rural communities, as they allow people to get around when they otherwise would have no access to transportation on their own.

SWITA serves eight counties in southwest Iowa and has 100 vehicles and 72 drivers. SWITA has special routes for disabled individuals who need to attend day habilitation services or work. The agency has work routes that transport workers to employers such as OSI and Monogram Foods. It also offers medical transportation, student transportation, has a summer fun bus, and provides a range of other transportation services. SWITA buses are ADA accessible, and service is open to everyone.

Dwayne has been proudly driving for SWITA for the past 18 years. He was born and raised in the Harlan area, and he owned a video rental store in town for 25 years with his late wife until online video services phased out his business. “I sort of took this job to supplement my income and it was a blessing in disguise,” Dwayne said. “I really like working for SWITA and it feels good to help people out who couldn’t get where they need to go without this service.”

Dwayne has two daughters who now live in Wayne, Nebraska and Springfield, Missouri, and he enjoys visiting them when he can and spending time with his two grandsons. He also enjoys spending time his free time working on his hobby of restoring old vehicles. He is an avid car collector and takes his 1957 Chevy pickup, which he restored on his own, to car shows for fun. “I think the best part about this job for me, is the people who ride on my bus,” Dwayne said. “I have had people tell me that they are so thankful for the rides I provide. I am 70 years old, and I could retire if I wanted, but I am not ready to stop driving for SWITA yet.”

SWITA operates vehicles early and late, pending vehicle and driver availability. If you find yourself in need of transportation for any reason, you can contact SWITA by calling 712-243-2518 or 1-800-842-8065 or get more information at www.swita.com.