(Radio Iowa) – Thirty-one Republicans in the Iowa Senate have given final legislative approval to a bill that provides new liability protection to the trucking industry.The bill does NOT impact coverage of medical bills after someone is killed or severely injured in Iowa by a semi or commercial vehicle, but five million dollars would be the limit in NON-economic pain and suffering damages.

Earlier this year a lower two million dollar limit cleared the Senate, but last month 58 House members voted to set five million dollars as the cap. Republican Senator Michael Bousselot of Ankeny says the changes made by the House aren’t ideal, but the bill is a step in the right direction.

“This is a bill that is intended to lower costs for Iowans,” Bousselot said. “…Predictability and stability for critical, critical components of our supply chain.” Three Republican Senators joined all Democrats in voting against the bill. Senator Nate Boulton, a Democrat from Des Moines, says juries should still be allowed to decide how much a victim is owed without any limits.

“While I still have objections to the bill’s overall impact,” Boulton said, “I do want to take this moment to acknowledge the work done by so many to get us to a much better piece of legislation here.” Governor Reynolds first proposed a new liability shield for the trucking industry last year and she put the issue on her list of legislative priorities for this year.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill to let residents in rural areas capture or kill skunks, opossum or raccoons that are a nuisance is on its way to the governor, but not before one last laugh about how clever — and destructive — raccoons can be. Senator William Dotzler of Waterloo says a raccoon got into an old school bus he uses once a year to haul riders to RAGBRAI  — the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa.

“He ate all kinds of stuff but the worst part of aggravation is I had a RAGBRAI hat…and that raccoon defecated in my hat on the way out of the bus!” Dotzler said, as gales of laughter rolled through the Senate. Under current law, Iowans have to call a state-licensed wildlife control business to trap a raccoon if it’s causing a nuisance. The bill says people who live in rural areas outside of city limits would have permission to shoot to kill a raccoon — or a skunk or opossum — that’s ripping into things or chowing on food that’s not for them.

Senator Tom Shipley of Nodaway says the raccoon population has exploded in Iowa, partly because there’s no market for raccoon pelts. “Consequently they have become a tremendous nuisance, destroying agricultural crops, but also damaging houses — property in all aspects,” Shipley says, “and this is just going to hopefully get that population under control.” Shipley ended his comments on the bill by suggesting there may be someone in Glenwood with a replacement for the commemorative cap ruined by the raccoon on Dotzler’s RAGBRAI bus.

The bill passed the House March 7th on an 87-to-11 vote and cleared the Senate last (Monday) night 47-to-two.

Sidney, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Public Safety reported late Monday (this) evening, that at approximately 11:46-a.m., Monday, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office along with the Sidney, Hamburg and Tabor ambulances were dispatched to 508 Main St in Sidney, for a report of a stabbing that had just occurred.

Upon arrival, first responders located two males who had been stabbed.  One subject was transported to Grape Community Hospital in Hamburg, where they were later pronounced deceased.  The second subject was life flighted to the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha, Nebraska with life threatening injuries. No names were released.

Law Enforcement wants the public to know there is no current threat to the community.  Anyone with information about the stabbing is requested to call either the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office at 712-374-2424 or the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) at 712-322-1585.

This is an on-going criminal investigation, and no further details are being released at this time.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department’s Board of Directors met Monday evening, at City Hall. Parks Director Wyatt Adderton updated the Board on several matters. Adderton said he recently passed his training and certification for the Lifeguard class.

He said also, the date for the Park Party has changed.

In his Sunnyside Pool update, Adderton said he’s in consultation with a company working to finalize a design for the slide at the pool.

He said the hope is to have to slide installed before the pool opens. The opening date for the pool, by the way, is tentatively set for May 29th (Memorial Day). Wyatt said also, he selected Jenna Brownlee to paint a mural on the back of the pump house building for the Sunnyside Pool. She’s scheduled to complete the work May 1st through the 5th. Tom Berry was selected to paint the pool building in several different, main colors representative of what Board Member Jeremy Butler said would look “Very aquatic.”

Atlantic Parks & Rec Board meeting, 4-17-2023

He say’s in talks with Cappel’s Ace Hardware, they they should get a bit of a discount on the paint, so that will help with the costs. That project will also begin May 1st. And, with regard to the Splash Pad project, Adderton said City Hall is able to accept cash, physical checks, debit and credit cards from persons willing to donate. Board member & Fundraising Committee member Jeremy Butler reported he had received on Monday (Today), an anonymous donation of $50,000 for the project, which brings the current fundraising total at more than $100,000 toward the $600,000 goal.

Wyatt Adderton said some of the new, raised garden beds were installed today (Monday) and the old ones removed at Mollett Park (located at the end of East 3rd Street Place, off of Mulberry St.), in preparation for the leasing period that begins May 1st. Three of the beds have already been spoken for. Leasing applications are available on the Parks and Rec Facebook page and City’s Website. The raised beds cost just $40 per season, and what’s grown in them, are for private use and not public consumption.

However, there will be arioniaberry, cranberry, raspberry and blackberry plants available for the public to pluck the flavorful fruits. And finally, Adderton said new playground equipment will be installed at Harl-Holt Park, in Atlantic. The old playground set was removed and donated to a local apartment complex.

The equipment will span a pad of about 41-by-50-feet, and will include two towers. Assistant Parks Director Jeff Christensen reported to the Parks Board, that the bathrooms in the downtown City Park had been vandalized. The soap dispensers were broken. He said they are exploring whether or not a Wi-Fi monitored security camera system will work, considering the number of trees which may interfere with the signal.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Southwest Iowa Planning Council (SWIPCO) has over $500,000 available to lend in its Business Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) program and is looking for qualified applicants. These RLF dollars may be used in conjunction with local lenders, to provide gap financing, or to serve businesses that have otherwise been turned down from a financial institution.

RLF funds may be used by a new or an existing business with loans available up to $125,000. These loans can be used for a variety of business related expenses including equipment purchases, working capital, and purchasing inventory but not for buildings or building renovations. As loans are repaid into the pool, the fund revolves back out to other businesses for the program.

SWIPCO established the business revolving loan fund in 2009 with grants from the US Economic Development Administration and the US Department of Agriculture to help businesses in Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Montgomery, Page, and Shelby counties create and retain jobs. In the past 14 years the fund has made 28 loans to businesses and loaned $1,637,950 to businesses regionally. Over 150 jobs have been created or retained by the fund.

The minimum loan is $10,000 and the goal is to create or retain one job per $10,000 loaned. Currently the interest rate is a very competitive 4%. With interest rates on the rise, this is a major benefit for businesses needing gap financing.

“This program is a great resource for new or existing businesses to get additional financing at a competitive interest rate that they aren’t able to get without the program. With a low interest rate and a loan closing fee of 1% of the loan award, businesses can get the gap financing they need and be able to pay back the loan in a reasonable timeframe,” stated John McCurdy, SWIPCO Executive Director.

To apply, businesses must complete and return an application to SWIPCO. Applications are reviewed by SWIPCO staff, and the final decision is made by a loan committee, which meets monthly. Application materials and guidelines can be found at www.swipco.org under the Business RLF tab. For additional questions contact Erin Hudson at 712-243-4196 or erin.hudson@swipco.org. SWIPCO is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

(Radio Iowa) – Two men from northwest Iowa have been charged with stealing an A-T-M in western Minnesota. The Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office indicates three men broke through the front door of a general store in Clear Lake, Minnesota and stole the A-T-M inside at about 4 a.m. Friday.

An image of the get away vehicle was captured by security cameras. Minnesota deputies soon located the vehicle in the area and arrested the three men inside after a chase. A 51-year-old from Minneapolis, along with 40-year-old Daniel Johnson of Spencer and 36-year-old Robert McKevitt of Spirit Lake have been charged with third degree burglary. Johnson, the man from Spencer, has also been charged with fleeing a peace officer since he was driving the vehicle.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Southwest Iowa Planning Council (SWIPCO) recently completed 3 owner-occupied housing rehabilitation Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) projects in Dexter, Fontanelle, and Leon. These grants addressed updates to HVAC, electrical, plumbing, windows, doors, siding, roofing, handicap accessibility, and lead based paint, bringing the homes up to Iowa’s minimum housing standards. The grants assisted 14 low to moderate income households, with a total of $530,837 spent in grant funded repairs.

Unusually, these projects are outside the normal SWIPCO service area of the counties of Harrison, Shelby, Pottawattamie, Cass, Mills, Montgomery, Fremont, and Page. But, in this case SWIPCO had previously contracted with Southern Iowa Council of Governments (SICOG), based in Creston, to provide the inspections portion of their housing CDBG repair projects while SICOG continued to provide overall project administration. In February 2022 due to SICOG being unable to administer CDBG projects due to staffing issues, SWIPCO contracted with the cities to provide administration services for the CDBG rehab projects in nine communities that were currently underway. The three communities of Dexter, Fontanelle, and Leon were the first of these projects to be completed and the remaining are well on their way to completion.

“It is important for us to stand beside our fellow COGs and assist where we can,” said John McCurdy, Executive Director at SWIPCO. “The value of what these grants bring to communities is that they not only help the individual homeowners by improving the safety and energy efficiency of their homes, but they also help improve the value of all the homes in the community over time.”

CDBG is a program funded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development managed in Iowa by the Iowa Economic Development Authority. SWIPCO is a council of governments serving the eight counties of southwest Iowa with public transportation, community development, and housing. SWIPCO is an equal opportunity employer, provider, and lender. To learn more about what current programs are available, visit www.swipco.org or call 712-243-4196.