(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports two drug and burglary-related arrests took place Tuesday morning. 48-year-old Jack Gregory Milledge, of Carter Lake, and 49-year-old Lawrence Anthony Cipolla, of Council Bluffs, were each arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance, 3rd Degree Attempted Burglary, Possession of Burglary Tools, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Their bonds were set at $9,300 and $6,300 respectively.

Early Wednesday morning, 19-year-old Hassan Saleh Mohamed, of Omaha, was arrested in Mills County for Eluding, Interference with Official Acts, Reckless Driving and Theft in the 5th. Bond was set at $6,000. And, 20-year-old Nuak Kauier Pal, of Omaha, was arrested for Interference with Official Acts ($300 bond). Thursday morning (May 19), Seth David Travis, of Omaha, was arrested at the Pottawattamie County Jail on a Mills County warrant for Failure to Appear on a Theft in the 5th Degree charge ($300 bond).

(Moravia, Iowa) – Cass County (IA) Treasurer Tracey J Marshall reports she was last week in Moravia, she was sworn-in as President of the Iowa State County Treasurers Association, an affiliate of (ISAC) Iowa State Association of Counties. During the event, Treasurers from across the State were updated on Iowa legislation with the (DOT) Department of Transportation, (DOR) Department of Revenue, (IADA) Iowa Dealers Association, and the (ISCTA) Iowa State County Treasurers Association. Marshall says “There are many entities who partner with the county treasurer’s office so there is ongoing training needed. At this meeting classes were held on legislation updates to tax sales, cash and investments, and requirements for the Department of Revenue.”

Marshall, who is running for re-election, says she has been involved in improving the services of her office since 2003, when she was first elected as the Cass County Treasurer. Her campaign says “She believes in being active to increase her knowledge so she can improve the functions of her office. She continues her education by continuing the ISCTA Certified Treasurers Program which is designed to provide educational training to improve and enhance management skills, knowledge, and professionalism of all ISCTA through a structured series of courses thus enabling Iowa county treasurers to fulfill their elected duties and to better serve their community.”

Cass County Treasurer Tracey J. Marshall is sworn-in by Kris Rowley, past President of the association, last week. (Photo courtesy TJM)

She began her leadership role early on, by serving on several district, state, and national committees. Marshall was elected as District IV President in 2016, and provided training for the treasurer’s offices with-in her district. In 2018, she was elected president of the National Association of County Collectors, Treasurers and Financial Officers, and overseen training for treasurers on the national level. She said she is now “Proud to represent Cass County as the Iowa State County Treasurers Association President.”

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, today (Thursday), said two inmates at the Pott. County Jail were served with warrants, Wednesday, and one person turned themselves-in. Authorities say 31-year-old inmate Dyllan Roger McClelland, of Council Bluffs, was presented with a warrant charging him with a pre-trial release violation on his original charges of Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree, and Willful Injury resulting in bodily injury. He remains held in the jail on a $503 bond.

And, 29-year-old Pott. County Jail inmate Jess Willard Pfarr, of Council Bluffs, was presented with a warrant for Theft in the 2nd Degree. His bond on that and other charges, was set at $1,300. The Sheriff’s Office said 63-year-old David Kendall Owens turned himself-in on a warrant for Distribution to a person under age 18; Distribution of a Schedule I or II Controlled Substance to a person under 18; and Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor. Owens was transported to the Pottawattamie County Jail, and later posted bond.

(Harlan, Iowa) – The Shelby County Board of Supervisors held their regular weekly meeting Tuesday, May 17th, in the Harlan City Hall Council Chambers.  During the session a Public Hearing was held for the 2022 Budget Amendment. Having received no written or spoken comments from the public, the Board approved the amendment, as proposed.  There will be no increase in taxes. The budget was amended to include revenue from bond proceeds, as well as ARPA proceeds and expenditures and Secondary Roads Department spending.

Auditor Mark Maxwell, in his meeting minutes, said Lonnie Maguire, Director of Community Services, was on hand to tell the Board about the transition of her department from Shelby County Employees to Pottawattamie County Employees. Local property tax funding has been eliminated and the State of Iowa will now reimburse Pottawattamie County for the Southwest Iowa Mental Health costs. Services have not changed and the employees will keep the same offices in Shelby County, with rent being paid to Shelby County for the occupation. A lease was presented and approved by the Supervisors, minor wording changes were proposed by County Attorney Marcus Gross. The Supervisors then approved the changes and permit the Chairperson to sign the document once the changes are made.

A department report was given by Carolyn Blum , Shelby County Treasurer, Blum explained the many activities and changes that have been taking place in her office. And, the Supervisors unanimously approved a yearly Weed Destruction Resolution, which states ‘Each owner and each person in possession or control of any lands in Shelby County, shall cut, burn or otherwise destroy all noxious weeds thereon, as defined in the chapter, at such time in each year and in such manner as shall prevent such weeds from blooming or coming to maturity, and shall keep said lands free from such growth as shall render the streets or highways adjoining said lands unsafe for public travel. Noxious weeds shall be cut or otherwise destroyed as published in the official newspapers of Shelby County.” And, “If owners or persons in possession or control of any lands in Shelby County fail to comply with the foregoing orders, the weed commissioner shall cause this to be done and the expenses of said work including cost of serving notice and other costs, if any, to be assessed against real estate.

American Recovery Act funding was considered during the Shelby County Supervisor’s meeting. Grant applications discussed at the last Supervisors meeting were then presented to be acted upon by the Shelby County Board of Supervisors. The following grants and amounts were presented for consideration.

Defiance water tower-Regional backup for water supply–$43,000

Shelby County Trails-Engineering—————————-$50,000

Shelby County Conservation-Playground Equipment——$20,000

Kountry Kids Care-Child care expansion——————–$100,000

Harlan Airport-Service improvements————————$20,000

Shelby County Golf Water Conservation———————$27,500

Petersen Family Wellness-Upgrades————————–$52,500

Shelby County Fair-Tourism Improvements—————–$20,000

Environmental Health Well Plugging————————-$15,397

Mark Maxwell says “This will exhaust all funds available from Shelby County through the ARPA program.”  The dollars will be spent in accordance with ARPA spending guidelines.

(Ankeny, Iowa) – An investigation being conducted into the death of a 4-year-old girl from Ankeny, shows the girl somehow got a-hold of a handgun and accidentally shot herself in the face. The girl was pronounced deceased at a local hospital. According to court documents, the incident happened when Savannah Holmes‘ father – who has currently not been charged – went to answer the door. The incident happened in a home on Northeast 5th Street near Delaware Avenue in Ankeny, at around 11:26-a.m., Monday. A caller to 9-1-1 said the father was performing CPR on the child, until police and Ankeny Medics arrived.

According to Police, the father of Savannah said she and her brother were in highchairs when two men came to the residence and were pounding at the door. The father grabbed the gun and set it down near a couch, saying he feared conflict with the men, and went to the door to speak to them. He said that while he was at the door, Savannah and her brother had gotten out of their highchairs. He said he saw his son climbing up the stairs and went inside to get him. According to the search warrant, the father said he believed Savannah grabbed his gun and shot herself in the entryway.

One of the men told police that he heard the gunshot while talking to the child’s father, according to the search warrant. Police noted in the document that “it is reasonable to believe a crime occurred resulting in the death of a person.”

(Radio Iowa) – A senate committee has voted to spend a million dollars to replace security cameras and enhance security in the Iowa Capitol Complex. Senator Janet Petersen of Des Moines says she’s grateful.  “As many of you know, we have had a number of threats on this building,” Petersen says.A 23-year-old man was charged with vandalism in early 2020 after breaking into the Capitol on a Sunday morning. Surveillance camera footage showed he made it all he way onto the floor of the Iowa Senate.

Petersen says the added security for the Capitol as well as the state office buildings that surround it is warranted. “Those that work in state government on the complex deserve to know that they should be safe,” Petersen says.

Iowa is among the 30 state capitol buildings with metal detectors at the doors where visitors enter. The screening devices and security guards have been deployed at the state Capitol for more than 20 years. Last year, a security fence was installed around Terrace Hill, the governor’s mansion in Des Moines.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Farm Credit Administration (FCA) finished-up a two-day Midwest Farm Tour swing though Minnesota and Iowa, Wednesday, with a stop at Lindeman Tractor, in Atlantic. FCA Board Chairman and CEO Glen Smith, from Atlantic, said the tour was meant to get the two busloads of several dozen FCA employees, out to meet the people they serve.

Bob Lindeman talked about the history of the family business, which his father started in 1914, and shared stories about the rural hardships of the 1930’s and the 1980’s. Glen Smith said it’s critical for his staff to understand how important local businesses like Lindeman Tractor are, to the economy.

Smith is using the trip to help promote the Young, Beginning and Small Farmers and Ranchers lending program through the Farm Credit System.

(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/