Officials with Atlantic Municipal Utilities (AMU) say residents in the community may have noticed AMU crews installing Fiber Optic cable around town. Matt Klein, AMU Information Technology Coordinator says the project has been in the works for months and installation began this Spring. The Fiber Optic Project consists of placing Fiber Optic cable from the Power Plant and Control Center, located near the intersection of Pine and 3^rd Street, to AMU’s Main Office on West 3^rd Street. The special cable is also being installed to the substation and water tower located on 22^nd Street, thereby providing a direct data connection to a majority of the utilities’ facilities.

The cable is being installed to allow AMU to control and monitor equipment, which should improve their reliability and increase our responsiveness to AMU’s customers. And, it will allow a high speed data connection to the 22^nd Street Water Tower area. Kelin says in the near future AMU plans to begin installing Smart Meters to certain parts of their service area, as part of a pilot project that is being partially funded by the US Department of Energy.

With the data connection, the Smart Meter program will allow AMU to obtain meter readings remotely from their office, and obtain real-time data from the electric meter Klein says having a fiber connection to these locations will allow us to provide reliable High Speed Internet Service between all of AMU’s facilities. Previously, AMU utilized a private wireless internet network to provide internet connections from the main office to the water plant, power plant and control center. The connection will also allow AMU to back up large data files located in one facility to a server located in another facility. By doing this, Klein says they hope to greatly improve their  ability to recover data from a minor event or a major catastrophe.

Authorities say a traffic stop late Thursday night at 12th and Stuart Streets in Clarinda, resulted in the arrest of 31-year old Adam James Randolph, of Clarinda. Randolph was taken into custody at around 10-p.m., for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, 1^st offense. Randolph was released on a personal recognizance bail and will appear before the Page County Magistrate Court at a later date.

There is still no confirmation from authorities, but it is believed that a body found Tuesday afternoon in west central Iowa’s Crawford County is that of 44-year old Jonathan Elwell. The Shillington, Pennsylvania man went missing on April 17 and his rented car was found abandoned in rural Westside, Iowa three days later. The body, which was badly decomposed, was found by railroad workers about a mile from where the car was located. Crawford County Sheriff Jim Steinkuehler says his office is working with Elwell’s family to obtain his dental records. The records would allow the state medical examiner’s office to confirm if the body is that of Elwell. Steinkuehler says the Elwell family was uncertain if they’d be able to locate his records because they didn’t know his dentist. If the records can’t be found, it could take weeks for the family to learn more. “They’ll do DNA testing…that could take up to four to six weeks,” Steinkuehler said. The medical examiner’s office is also working to determine the cause of death. Elwell’s family said it was “out of character” for him to disappear without telling anyone. Elwell’s brother is a magistrate judge in Pennsylvania.

The Elwell family says they’ve been informed by the Crawford County Sheriff that they are “99% sure” the remains are Jonathan’s, which is why he allowed the family to release the final statement KJAN and other media. The family of Jonathan Elwell said “although we still – and probably always will – have unanswered questions about how he came to this place and this end, we are grateful that we will be able to bring him home to rest.”  They went on to thank members of law enforcement, U-S Representative Charles W. Dent and Iowa Congressman Steve King, along with the many volunteers, who assisted in the search efforts. The family closed by saying “Although this is not the outcome we had hoped for, it is, at any rate, an ending, and we will strive for a new beginning.”

(Radio Iowa/Elwell family statement)