The Iowa Association of Realtors® (IAR) this week reported that at its annual convention held in West Des Moines this fall,  Dale Gross of Atlantic was installed as President of the organization. Don Marple of Davenport was installed as President-Elect and Kathy Miller of Sioux City was installed as Treasurer.

Gross has been a licensed Realtor® in Iowa for more than 34 years, and has been the broker and owner of Meyer & Gross Real Estate Company in Atlantic since 1978. He has been an active member of the IAR since 1978, serving on numerous leadership committees, and as past chair of the communications and education committees. He served as IAR’s 2011 president-elect and received the IAR Realtor® of the Year Award in 2008.

The IAR says Gross has also served in various leadership roles on his local board, the West Central Iowa Board of Realtors, and he contributes a great deal of time and energy to his local community. He is active in the Rotary, Za-Ga-Zig Shriners and the Atlantic Chamber Ambassadors. Gross supports numerous local organizations, including the Boy Scouts, YMCA Partnership for Youth, Food Pantry and the Family Crisis Center.

Officials with the Iowa DNR Wednesday said they had received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) finalized determination that a 3.4 square mile area of central Council Bluffs violated the national air quality standard for lead in 2010 and is designated in nonattainment. The only known source of lead emissions in this area is Griffin Pipe Products Company.

The DNR began working with Griffin Pipe in 2010 to implement changes to reduce lead emissions. Griffin Pipe completed facility modifications and installed controls to reduce lead air emissions in early 2011. As of Nov. 15, 2011, the DNR’s Council Bluffs lead monitor has not registered any violations. In 2010 the Council Bluffs lead monitor measured six violations of the national standard.

The lead nonattainment area in Council Bluffs consists of industrial, commercial and residential areas. It is bounded by Avenue G on the north, North 16th/South 16th Street on the east, 23rd Avenue on the south, and North 35th/South 35th Street on the west. The EPA allows areas in nonattainment 18 months from the effective date of designation ― in this case Nov. 22, 2011 ― to develop and implement plans to reduce the exceeding air pollutant within five years.

The DNR will continue to monitor the area to determine whether additional measures may be needed to remain at or below the national air quality standard for lead. The standard is 0.15 micrograms per cubic meter of air, measured as a consecutive three-month rolling average.

Lead emitted into the air can be inhaled or ingested after it settles. Depending on the level of exposure, lead can affect the nervous system, kidney function, immune system, reproductive and developmental systems, and the cardiovascular system. There is no known safe level of lead in the body.

JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — Republican U.S. Rep. Steve King of Iowa said Wednesday that the congressional supercommittee’s failure to reach a deficit reduction compromise this week is only the latest sign that Congress is hopelessly deadlocked. King said he doubted significant proposals would emerge from Congress until after the next election. “We want to hear from the American people,” King said.

The Republican congressman, who spoke during a taping of Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press” program airing over the weekend, said he believed all the deficit reduction proposals discussed by the supercommittee called for too much spending, something he said he would oppose. “I never believed it would produce a proposal that would pass the House and the Senate,” King said of the committee. “In my opinion, they didn’t address the problem. I have yet to see a proposal that takes us to a balanced budget in a reasonable time. ”

King noted the last election swept 87 new Republicans into office and shifted the debate in Washington. Republicans gained control of the House, while Democrats retained the Senate. “This is a split government, so it does bring about inaction,” King said. King currently represents northwest Iowa’s 5th Congressional District. But this year’s reapportionment cost the state a seat in Congress and he’ll be seeking another term in office from the 4th Congressional District, where he’s being challenged by Democratic former Iowa first lady Christie Vilsack. The district is the most heavily Republican in the state and King starts out the race as the favorite.

King has taken a sharply tough position on immigration issues and said he was disappointed to hear former House Speaker Newt Gingrich outline a position this week that would allow a path to citizenship for those who come to the country illegally. He called it a form of amnesty and would make it tougher for him to support Gingrich. King has not endorsed a Republican presidential candidate and said he hasn’t decided if he will take that step.

In Congress, King has often been allied with Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, but has not endorsed her bid for the Republican presidential nomination.