(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic School Board, Wednesday evening, discussed the District’s Attendance Policy. Superintendent Dr. Beth Johnsen said school officials in Atlantic and across Iowa are trying to work through the new rules established by the Iowa legislature, to make sure they are in compliance, but is still a lot of confusion on, and misinterpretation of the law, as Johnson found out earlier in the day, Wednesday.

Johnsen said the administration understood that chronic absenteeism meant for 10-percent of the school year, or 18 school days. That, as it turns out, is not the case.

Kathy Hanafan, Green Hills AEA School-based Interventionist, told Dr. Johnsen she would look more into the matter, including what other school district’s are doing across the State, but it’s clear – and the board agreed – that no one district is following the law entirely, based on its interpretation.

Right now, Dr. Johnsen says, the Atlantic School District may-or-may not be in compliance with the law.

She says she thinks the District will be held accountable by the County Attorney. Board member Josh McLaren said he doubts Cass County Attorney Vanessa Strazdas will act quickly to act on a case or cases of chronic absenteeism.

Other board members said it’s not something the public should get “worked-up about” right now, because there are still so many legal unknowns and the need for further clarification, but the policy currently in-place, stands. Board member Laura McLean said the main thing for parents to know, is that the Atlantic School District wants to your children to be in school as much as possible, and to communicate the effect chronic absenteeism has on a students’ ability to learn and keep-up with their classmates.

Work Session Minutes 08282024

(Atlantic, Iowa) – An official with Vision Atlantic reports local business, Camblin Mechanical, Inc., has pledged a generous donation of $250,000 to Vision Atlantic’s transformative project, which officials say will bring a housing development, new childcare center, and YMCA expansion to Atlantic. Christina Bateman, Vision Atlantic President says “Camblin Mechanical has been serving our community for decades. Bob Camblin worked tirelessly to create positive economic changes for Atlantic throughout his lifetime. Randy Watts and Andy Elings have continued on and grown Camblin Mechanical’s forward-thinking vision and mission to better Atlantic and the surrounding areas. Vision Atlantic appreciates their generous support of our once in a lifetime project. Camblin Mechanical’s gift will positively impact our community for generations to come.”

Bateman notes Camblin Mechanical has been instrumental in getting Vision Atlantic’s project off the ground, volunteering a substantial amount of time and expertise to make this once-in-a-lifetime project a reality. Randy Watts, owner & President of Camblin Mechanical, said “For years, Bob Camblin, Andy Elings and I have been working on the housing, jobs and childcare crisis in Atlantic. The creation of Vision Atlantic was the result of all of Bob’s hard work. Camblin Mechanical is proud to get behind this comprehensive project that addresses all three issues. We encourage all to join us in this exciting adventure”

Vision Atlantic, through extensive research and surveying of the community and surrounding region, identified three areas that will help increase Atlantic’s population: expanded childcare, quality housing and quality of life amenities. Bid letting for land infrastructure will begin this fall, with construction of all three projects slated to begin late spring of 2025. With substantial monetary support from the Charles E. Lakin Foundation and local donors, $17.4 million has been raised in the past 10 months, over 57% of a $30 million goal.

Photo courtesy Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce.

Atlantic’s Project Committee is actively working to secure the remaining $13 million needed to meet the fundraising goal. If you are interested in helping transform Atlantic, whether it’s through monetary donations or acts of volunteerism, please contact Vision Atlantic at visionatlanticiowa@gmail.com. Follow Vision Atlantic on Facebook for behind-the-scenes access to project updates, or visit www.visionatlantic.org.

Vision Atlantic is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose mission is to empower growth, enhance lives, and build a thriving community together through the economic development of Atlantic, Iowa

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation for Des Moines County in response to severe storms that occurred on August 27 and continuing. The governor’s proclamation allows state resources to be utilized to respond to and recover from the effects of this severe weather and activates the Iowa Individual Assistance Grant Program and Disaster Case Advocacy Program.

The Governor also announced the approval of Scott County for Individual Assistance, and Dubuque and Jackson Counties for Public Assistance for the previously approved Major Disaster Declaration from severe storms, flooding, straight-line winds, and tornadoes that first hit on June 16th

(Radio Iowa) – In an unusual twist, a former Republican congressional candidate from western Iowa is endorsing a Democrat in the November election. Kevin Virgil lost the June primary to incumbent Randy Feenstra in the 4th District. Now, Virgil says voters should consider splitting their tickets to support former President Donald Trump for the White House -and- Democrat Ryan Melton for Congress.

“I’d rather have somebody who’s intellectually honest about what they stand for,” Virgil says, “rather than somebody like Feenstra who doesn’t really meet with the public and then just votes the way his corporate donors tell him to.” Even though they disagree on issues like abortion and government spending, Virgil says he and Melton have the same viewpoint on fighting carbon capture pipelines, lowering high cancer rates, and improving rural Iowa.

Virgil says, “I think it’s time for people to start deprioritizing party loyalty and think about electing the leaders that actually want to solve the problems.” Melton says it’s unprecedented that Virgil would back him over Feenstra. He’s surprised, but Melton says he understands, based on what he says voters tell him on the campaign trail. “There’s a lot of anger right now among Republicans against their party leadership,” Melton says, “and that anger is justified because their party leadership continues to sell them out to their donors.”

Virgil, who moved to rural Sutherland in O’Brien County last year, says blind party loyalty has not helped Iowa in terms of education, poverty, mental health, and support for family farms. Feenstra released a statement calling Virgil an “East Coast liberal” who chooses to endorse a Democrat who will block Trump’s agenda.

(Radio Iowa) – State Auditor Rob Sand, the only Iowa Democrat who holds a statewide office, says the state-funded Education Savings Accounts for private school students is a big worry for Iowans. During a town hall meeting in Delaware County this week, Sand told residents he’s carefully following the program’s progress, what Republican Governor Kim Reynolds calls one of her greatest achievements. “The vouchers program really is a very consistent concern for people, and that makes sense. We are sending all of this money, hundreds of millions of dollars, to these private schools with no audit obligation, no rules, really, for how they spend it,” Sand says. “There’s only one thing they can’t do. They can’t give a rebate to parents, but anything else on God’s green earth that they want to do with that money, they can do with it.”

As he travels the state on his 100 Town Hall Tour, Sand says this is a topic he’s hearing about frequently, related to his role in serving Iowans as the “taxpayers’ watchdog.”  “I think that most Iowans expect rules for how their tax dollars are handled. We have lots of rules for what public schools can do and can’t do with tax dollars,” Sand says. “It doesn’t make any sense to me nor to most people that we don’t have those same rules apply to private schools who are taking tax dollars through the vouchers program.”

State Auditor Rob Sand, (RI file photo)

Over 30-thousand private school students in Iowa have qualified for E-S-As this year. When fully implemented, Iowa will be among eight states where all private school students are eligible for state funding to cover tuition and other expenses. Sand says if any Iowans notice something suspicious or have concerns about financial irregularities in their local governments and entities, they can submit a confidential tip to his office online.

“Auditor.iowa.gov is our website. We have a button on there that says, ‘Send us a confidential tip.’ We always want to learn if people think that something’s going wrong, right?” Sand says. “If you see something, say something, and learning about a possible issue is the first step in getting on the road to addressing it.” Sand made his comments Tuesday in Manchester.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report a woman was taken into custody today (Thursday), at around 12:36-a.m., on a Taylor County warrant. 44-year-old Heidi Suesan DeJongh, of Red Oak, was arrested in the 400 block of S. 2nd Street in Red Oak, on warrants for Accessory After the Fact, and Interference with Official Acts. DeJongh was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 cash-only bond, while awaiting transfer to Taylor County.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a woman from Carroll County was arrested Wednesday night on active Montgomery County warrants. 48-year-old Mandy Perry, of Carroll, was arrested at around 8:35-p.m. and transported from the Carroll County Jail to the jail in Montgomery County, where she was charged with two-counts of a Controlled substance violation – Possession of Methamphetamine, a Class-C felony.

Perry’s bond was set at $10,000.

(Red Oak, Iowa) — Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County report a Shelby County man was arrested Wednesday evening on multiple warrants. Authorities say 57-year-old Rex Dean McDermott, of Elk Horn, was arrested at around 6:15-p.m., on warrants for failure to appear on an original charge of 2nd degree theft, failure to appear on an original charge of 2nd degree criminal mischief, and for three counts of assault while displaying a dangerous weapon.

His arrest occurred after McDermott was extradited from the Cass County Jail to the Montgomery County Jail, where his bond was set at $2,000.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports two, weekend arrests. Sunday evening, 38-year-old Thomas Allen Doherty, of Casey, was arrested by Police in Stuart, for Possession of a Controlled Substance (PCS)/3rd or subsequent offense, and Driving While Barred.

His arrest occurred after a Stuart Police Officer saw a vehicle known to be drive by Doherty, in the McDonald’s drive-thru. The officer knew from past experience, the Doherty was barred from driving. He spoke with Doherty inside the restaurant and placed him into custody. A Stuart K9 Officer and his partner was requested to search Doherty’s vehicle. After the K9 alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle, a search resulted in the recovery of  a wooden box that contained residue of a green, leafy substance. A small, plastic box was also found, that had a glass pipe inside of it, along with a small plastic baggie with a substance that the Officer believed to be methamphetamine.

Doherty had been previously convicted on PCS charges in Guthrie County. He was transported to the Adair County Jail and released a short-time later on a $7,000 cash or surety bond.

Sheriff Vandewater reports also, 18-year-old Treiton Sickolm Lee, of Stuart, was arrested by Stuart Police at around 4-a.m. on Saturday. He was charged with Domestic Abuse Assault-Injury/1st offense, following an incident involving Lee, his younger brother, and mother. Lee was transported to the Adair County Jail and is being held on a $2,000 cash-only bond.

[Updated 8/29] (Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Community School District’s Board of Education held a Work Session this (Wednesday) evening to discuss a few matters that may be acted upon during their next, REGULAR meeting. They discussed options with regard to the search for a permanent Superintendent. The Board hired current Superintendent, Dr. Beth Johnsen last year, to fill the void left by the resignation of former Superintendent Steve Barber, who took a position with the Grinnell School District. He served the Atlantic district for a little more than six-years.

Dr. Johnsen took over the post as Interim Superintendent July 1, 2023. Her position was set to expire after the end of her two-year contract, which culminates with the end of the 2024-25 School Year.  Atlantic School Board President Kristy Pellett said “We need to contract with another superintendent.”

Board member Laura McLean clarified…

Pellet added…

After a considerable amount of discussion, it was decided the Board will receive proposals and/or presentations from various “Headhunter” (professional search firm) agencies, and possibly meet with their representatives during upcoming the September 11th meeting, and/or the Sept. 25th work session (if necessary), with the goal of having a firm hired to conduct a search, in October.

Kristy Pellett said a proposal has already been received from one of the firms.

One of the firms, she said included a timeline of dates, which would allow for applicants to apply for the position over the Christmas and January break. Other districts, Pellet said, have posted their superintendent vacancies on professional websites, and Atlantic is jumping on the bandwagon, hoping to get a head-start on other districts that may be in a similar position to search for their top leadership.

Work Session Minutes 08282024