An accident in Atlantic Thursday caused about $2,500 damage.

At about 12:45 Thursday afternoon, vehicles driven by Brittany Frazier of Atlantic and Georgenia Chamberlin of Atlantic were legally parked in the Dollar General Store parking lot.  Frazier started to back up and struck Chamberlin’s vehicle in the left rear corner.  Total damage was about $2,500.

Frazier was cited for no proof of insurance.

New rules implemented by the Federal Communications Commission could delay further expansion of broadband services in rural areas — and bring higher bills. The Universal Service Fund, a source of revenue for providing rural areas with investment in telecommunications service, is being replaced with the Connect America Fund. It directs half of the money from the fund toward larger companies like CenturyLink and Verizon that aren’t spending as much on expanding broadband in rural areas. Tom Lovell, general manager of Clear Lake Independent Telephone Company, says local communications providers like C-L-Tel have invested 235-million dollars in expanding broadband services, and now the FCC has cut off a major funding stream to continue expanding.

He says most of that is through loans the companies have made. Lovell says some of the money now has been shifted by the FCC from the smaller carriers to the larger companies. Also, they’re cutting back some of the access fees some of the long-distance carriers would pay the smaller companies to transmit data and voice over their networks and shift that more onto the customer. Lovell says the independent companies have been on the leading edge of building up broadband, especially in rural areas, while the larger companies haven’t because they don’t expect much return on that investment.

He says the independent companies have a different philosophy on what and when they want to invest in while the larger companies just have to keep the stockholders happy. Lovell says the independents have been doing the investment and now the FCC is not telling those companies that they’ve done a great job in expanding broadband but instead is shifting money to the larger companies that don’t want to make that investment. He says it’s creating a problem because now it’s tough maintaining and continuing those upgrades. Lovell hopes the situation can be resolved so rural areas across the country — like in Iowa — can be able to expand broadband services in the future.

He says the new rules are going to have an impact on rural America and people should contact their representatives in Washington D.C. and ask them to make sure whatever rules are passed, that everyone can have access to broadband services in the future. Connect Iowa, a broadband advocacy group, estimates 26-thousand jobs are created or saved with every seven-percent increase in broadband adoption.

Two southwest Iowa school districts will be looking to fill new positions after resignations.

The Panorama School District will be looking for a new transportation director.

The Guthrie Center Times reports Jim and Kelly Hummel resigned from their transportation duty positions on June 27.  Jim Hummel had served as transportation director while Kelly Hummel was transportation secretary.

Interviews are slated begin for a new transportation director.  The Guthrie Center Times reports that Panorama Schools superintendant Kathy Elliott says the transportation secretary position will not be filled.  Instead those duties will be split among other staff members.

In other resignation news, the Harlan School Board will have to replace a school board member.  The Board will meet this Monday to address that matter.

The Harlan School District office confirmed to KJAN news that school board member Jay Christensen is moving out of the district.  The board will have 30 days to fill his term which runs through September 2013.

A special election might have to be held to replace Christensen.

The Meeting of the Harlan School Board is this Monday at 4:30 in the Board Room at Harlan Community Schools.

Residents of Panora could see their water rates increase.

The Guthrie Center Times reports water rates could go up by about three percent.  The minimum charge in Panora for up to 3,000 gallons would increase a little more than a dollar to $32.61.  Officials say the increase is needed for the cost of upgrading the water plant.  Its unknown when the change in water rates might go into effect.

Federal environmental officials say Iowa is not properly regulating manure discharge permits for livestock confinement operations and must fix its procedures.

The Environmental Protection Agency says the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has failed in several cases to take timely enforcement actions against livestock facilities violating the Clean Water Act and it did not assess adequate penalties.

The EPA says Iowa does not have an adequate program to assess whether livestock operations need certain federal waste discharge permits.

The EPA says Iowa has about 7,000 animal feeding operations and must have a process that complies with federal law.

The state has 60 days to respond in writing on how it will correct the problems.

The EPA’s notice is in response to a petition filed by environmental groups.

The Exira Community School District is searching for a new middle school principal.

During Tuesday’s school board meeting, the board accepted the resignation of Lanny Kliefoth, who plans on becoming a high school principal in another western Iowa school district.  Exira Superintendant Dean Schnoes tells KJAN news that Kliefoth reported that the Nodaway Valley school board had their meeting Monday night and offered the position of high school principal to him, which he accepted.

Schnoes says wishes Kleinfoth the best as he continues to move up the ladder.  They had been discussing the move to Nodaway Valley for awhile before the Exira school board meeting Tuesday.  He says the move to the high school in a bigger district was something Kleinfoth was looking for in his career.

Schnoes says the search for a replacement principal at the Exira middle school has begun and the board would like to have something done within the next week.