A gathering of health care professionals will take place Friday afternoon, in Atlantic. The Rural Health Roundtable, coordinated by the Iowa Primary Care Association, begins at 2-p.m. Friday, at the Cass County Memorial Hospital.

The event provides an opportunity for health care providers to discuss issues facing rural physicians, nurses and health care administrators as well as consumers and local business leaders. The information gathered will be used to help guide the ongoing work of the White House Rural Council.

Speakers at the event will include: Judy Baker, regional director, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Mary K. Wakefield, R.N., administrator, Health Resources and Services Administration; Tom Morris, associate administrator for rural health policy; Patricia Markham, CEO, Cass County Memorial Hospital; Dr. John Bigelow Jr., director, Southwest Iowa Mental Health Center; and Jan Kinnison, local business owner and health care consumer.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – The Red Cross has received a $515,000 grant to help with flood recovery along the Missouri River in Iowa and Nebraska. The grant is from the Iowa West Foundation and is funded by investment earnings and the Iowa West Racing Association, which receives fees from casino operators – Ameristar and Harrah’s. The foundation announced the grant on Wednesday to the Red Cross Loess Hills Chapter in Council Bluffs. Officials say the funds will be used for client services, cleanup kits, support programs and to replenish the chapter’s supply of water and other items provided during sandbagging operations.

The cleanup kits will be distributed in Pottawattamie, Fremont, Harrison, and Mills in Iowa; and Cass, Douglas, Sarpy, and Washington in Nebraska.

Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County report the arrest Wednesday evening, of 49-year old Gary L. Mattson, of rural Villisca. Mattson was taken into custody on a warrant charging him with 5^th degree theft. He was arrested without incident and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where he was released after posting $300 cash bond.

And, the Adams County Sheriff’s Department reports the arrest Wednesday evening, of a Corning man, on an OWI charge. Scott Cornish was taken into custody at around 7:30-p.m.

The Committee tasked with deciding how to fill a vacancy on the Cass County Board of Supervisors created by the death of Supervisor Charles Kinen on September 3rd, will meet this afternoon at three o’clock. The meeting takes place in the Supervisor’s Boardroom in the Cass County courthouse. The precincts composing Cass County Supervisor District 2 are Atlantic Ward 2/Grove Twp 2 (the portion of Grove Twp NW of the Atlantic city limits) and Atlantic Ward 3.

According to the Code of Iowa, a vacancy position may be filled by an appointed committee of county officers, for the period until the next pending election, and within 40 days the vacancy is created. If a petition is filed with the county auditor requesting a special election to fill the vacancy within 14 days of publication of the appointment, the appointment is temporary and a special election will be called for.

If a special election is held to fill the office for the remaining balance of the un-expired term, the committee will have to give 30-days to the public. If a special election were held with the city election in November, the filing period would be the same as the city election.

The state’s top tax official has used her authority to grant a tax extension to businesses and individuals living and working in the Missouri River flood zone. Victoria Daniels, a public information officer in the Iowa Department of Revenue, says it’s unclear how many taxpayers may be late in filing. “We just don’t know,” Daniels says. “But this is an ability that the director has, by law, to grant this extension in the event of a disaster.”

Taxpayers must submit sales and use taxes, plus any withholding for income taxes, on a quarterly basis. But taxpayers living in the six counties that border the Missouri River now have ’til October 31st to file. “Maybe they can’t get to their business location,” Daniels says. “Or their computers are under water and they can’t do what they need to do to acces the eFile & Pay system — something to that effect.”

Taxpayers in Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona, Pottawattamie and Woodbury Counties who’ve been hit by flooding can qualify for extension and file their quarterly tax payments by October 31st without penalty or interest. Daniels says her agency also has gotten a number of inquiries from the Dakota Dunes area, where people have temporarily relocated to Iowa because of the flooding there.

“There was some question about, ‘O.K., if I move to Iowa, am I now an Iowa resident and do I now owe Iowa income tax?’ And the guildeline has always been if you have Iowa-source income of $1000 or more, regardless of where you live, you are going to need to file an Iowa return,” Daniels says. “And we do have some guidelines for what we consider permanent residency.” Daniels says most South Dakotans fleeing flooded homes will be considered temporary, not permanent residents of Iowa because they intend to move back to their South Dakota home. The State of South Dakota, by the way, does not have a personal income tax.

(Radio Iowa)

The Cass County Board of Supervisors Wednesday, approved a redistricting and re-precincting plan proposed by a three-member committee tasked with drafting it, based on the results of the 2010 Census. The committee, comprised of Sherry Toelle, Board Chair Duane McFadden, and Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman, first met on June 22nd, to begin the process. 

Under the new plan, which retains the five supervisor districts, Supervisor District 1 would include Districts 2 and 3 in the City of Atlantic, along with the Brighton, Grove, Pymosa, and Washington Townships. Supervisor District 4 includes the Cass, Bear Grove, Pleasant, Noble, Edna and Victoria Townships. And, Supervisor District 5 would include the Benton, Franklin, Grant, Lincoln, Union and Massena Townships.  It shifts around some townships, but Sunderman said the plan ultimately makes it more convenient for the voters. He says there were two different plans, but one made too many changes that would inconvenience the voters. The other was closest to the current district map. The new plan has District 5 comprised of six townships, instead of 5.

He said the committee had very strict guidelines and tight margins to deal with in creating the plan. They had to try and make sure there were 2, 791 persons in each district. He says they only had less than a one-percent margin to play with, according to the new rules which were established by the legislature. Sunderman says they tried to come up with a plan that would not split any of the precincts, which includes townships, cities, or city ward.

The Supervisors will hold two public hearings on an ordinance adopting the plan they approved Wednesday. The first takes place during their meeting on September 14th. The Board is expected to waive the third reading of the ordinance following a second public hearing and second reading, on September 21st.