Roger C. Underwood, Co-Founder Becker-Underwood

An Atlantic High School Graduate and co-founder of the world’s leading supplier of non-pesticide specialty chemical and biological products has been appointed to a State panel tasked with helping to steer Iowa’s economic development strategy. Roger Underwood, was among the 18 names announced today (Monday) by Governor Terry Branstad. Underwood will serve on the Iowa Partnership for Economic Progress (IPEP)Board, which Branstad says will be central to his approach to economic development, which gives businesses a strengthened hand.

The governor last week signed an executive order creating the Iowa Partnership for Economic Progress board of directors. Branstad also named the members of the Iowa Innovation Corporation board, which will head a nonprofit corporation funded by the private sector and federal grants that will seek to develop new technologies.

Both panels have been told to shape new approaches to economic development.

Police in Council Bluffs say two persons got away with an undetermined amount of cash following a robbery late Sunday night at a convenience store. Officials say two white men entered the Kum and Go store at 154 Bennett Avenue in Council Bluffs just after 11-p.m., and demanded money from the clerk. The men, armed with a baseball bat and a mechanic’s hammer, were said to have been in their 20’s. The clerk was not injured.

One of the suspects wore a black coat, blue jeans, white tennis shoes and a black ski mask. He’s about 5-feet 11-inches tall, and weighed about 200-pounds. The second suspect was also wearing a black coat, and blue jeans. He wore black shoes, and had a  black bandana covering his face.  He was said to be about 5-feet 11-inches tall, and about 170-pounds.

Officials say the case remains under investigation. Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to call Council Bluffs Police at 712-328-4728.