(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors today (Tuesday) held their annual organizational meeting, with the election of officers. The Board voted to appoint Mike Olson as Board Chair, and Charla Schmid as Vice-Chair, for 2023. They also moved to appoint board members and alternates to numerous committees or boards. In other business, they voted to keep the schedule for their regular Board meetings the same in 2023 and in the past year, that being at 8:30-a.m. on Tuesday’s.

The Board also acted to approved the Montgomery County Employee’s Holiday Schedule for 2023, and designated the three, Official County Newspapers, which are unchanged from the past year.

The Board then adjourned the Organizational Meeting and opened their regular session, at 8:45-a.m. During the meeting, they acted on administrative resolutions. Elected officials administered the Oath of Office to their respective office deputies and assistants, and the Board approved a Hungry Canyons Alliance annual membership fee of $5,000. They’re next regular session will take place 8:30-a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023.

(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Creston Police Department today (Tuesday), said there were four arrests over the holiday weekend.

Friday night, 21-year-old Antoinette Clement, of Creston, was arrested at her residence on a charge of Domestic Abuse Assault/1st Offense. Clement was taken to the Union County Jail where she was released after seeing the Magistrate.

At around 2:26-a.m. Saturday, 53-year-old Catherine Ann Scadden, of Creston, was arrested at the Creston Union County Law Enforcement Center for OWI 2nd Offense. Scadden was taken to the Union County Jail where she was later released on $2000 cash or surety bond. And, at around 10:45-p.m., Saturday, 21-year-old Malachi Shon Elms, of Orient, was arrested in Creston for Public Intoxication and Disorderly Conduct-Fighting/Violent Behaviior. Elms was taken to the Union County Jail where he was released after seeing the Magistrate.

Monday night, 20-year-old Zoe Paulette Marie Parmenter, of Creston, was arrested at her residence for Harassment/3rd Degree. Parmenter was transported to the Union County Jail where she was released on $300 cash or surety bond.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City Council in Atlantic has a short agenda for their 5:30-p.m. meeting Wednesday, at City Hall. Mostly, their business consists of action on administrative matters, such as:

• An Order to Approve First Whitney Bank & Trust as the City’s Official Bank for the City Checking Account for 2023.
• An Order to Approve the Atlantic News Telegraph as the City’s Official Newspaper for Legal Publications in 2023.
• A Resolution (#01-23) “Amending the City of Atlantic Personnel Policy, by repealing and replacing Series 200 Code 203 “Drug Free Workplace,” with New Code numbered as the same.”  The language in the final line of the Resolution changes from “Failure to do so will result in immediate dismissal from your position,” to “…immediate termination of employment.”

In his report to the Council, City Administrator John Lund will discuss a Legislative Briefing, a FY 2024 Budget Update, and a January 18th Council Work Session and Budget Workshop, meeting. There will also be a report from Mayor Grace Garrett, and regular Council Committee reports, prior to a Public Forum.

(Shenandoah, Iowa) – Police in Shenandoah report three arrests to kick-off the New Year. On Sunday, at around 9:19-p.m., Officers with the Shenandoah P-D conducted a traffic stop in the 700 block of S. Center Street, on a vehicle with an expired registration tag. Upon further investigation, 31-year-old Cody Michael Allbee, of Shenandoah, was arrested for Possession of a controlled substance (Marijuana) – 2nd offense. He posted a $1,000 bond and was released, with additional charges pending.

Monday night, 22-year-old Andrew Douglas Holmes, of Shenandoah, was arrested on a Pottawattamie County warrant stemming from an original charge of Theft in the 2nd Degree. Holmes was also charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance (Marijuana) – 1st offense, and Poss. of Paraphernalia. He was unable to post a $6,300 bond, and was transported to the Page County Jail.

And, later that same night, Shenandoah Police were dispatched to the 200 block of University Avenue, for an unknown male who had entered an occupied residence. While Officers were enroute, the suspect fled on foot. He was located at the intersection of South Avenue and Center Street, after the reporting party providing a physical description of the suspect. 39-year-old David Llewllyn Warkentien, II, of Shenandoah, was arrested for Burglary in the 2nd Degree and Public Intoxication. He was unable to post a $10,300 bond, and was transported to the Page County Jail.

(Radio Iowa) – As soon as spring arrives, an eastern Iowa community will launch an ambitious home-building effort with plans to construct ten houses using 3-D printers. Charla Schafer, president of the Community Foundation of Greater Muscatine, says they’re eager to get started as the Mississippi River town needs more homes — and residents — but there simply aren’t enough contractors and supplies to make it happen. Schafer says the ten houses will be modest in size. “The first one we print will be probably around 1,300-square-foot on slab, with attached or detached garage, depending on the lot,” Schafer says. “As we get into infill lots within neighborhoods where maybe something’s been torn down, based on the sizing, we may need to go to a two-bedroom, but the intent for most part is to do three bedrooms.”

The foundation and both the exterior and interior walls can be 3-D printed. And once they get started, the ten houses should go up rapidly, especially when compared to traditional construction, which often takes a month. “3-D printing is much quicker to create the home. You can have a home printed in as short as 28 hours,” Schafer says. “We also know that the cost, right now, they’re looking could be about 15% less and they believe over time, they’ll be able to hold that down even a little bit more, which will allow homeowners to maybe get into a home a little quicker than they could in the past.”

That lower cost is key, she says, since real estate prices have been bounding the past several years. Schafer says 3-D printing is far more economical than the traditional route. “Typically, you can drive down labor to about three to four people on site to do the home printing, because the machine is printing it in just layers of cement as it goes around, so you have some cost there,” Schafer says. “And then you also have some savings by using a crete mix versus a typical construction stick build.” Another potential price cutter will be the ingredients the 3-D printers use, including a time-tested all-natural product that’s being grown on plots at Muscatine Community College. “They have the only hemp program in the state and hemp is the leading additive that’s being researched to add into the crete mix,” Schafer says. “They’ll be doing a research component alongside of this as well to see how hemp may fit in and what that does is, it makes it more environmentally friendly as you print.”

Due to the housing shortage, she says about 11-thousand people drive to Muscatine County to work daily, including a quarter of the school district’s teachers.