(Atlantic, Iowa) –  The Atlantic Chamber Ambassadors were hosted by Atlantic Motor Supply (NAPA) on Thursday, November 10th, 2022. The Ambassadors welcomed the new owner, Martin Murdock, and viewed the newly redesigned show room.

Marty Murdock is based out of Woodbine, Iowa where he lives with his wife Carrie, and four busy children. Much of his time is spent working between his seven NAPA stores in Missouri Valley, Avoca, Neola, Denison, Ida Grove, Glenwood, and as of June 1st, 2022, the Atlantic location. When asked what his favorite part of owning the auto parts store is, he says “the people.” Marty’s focus has always been customer service. “When your customer can shop anywhere, you have to give them a reason to buy from you.” The NAPA team prides themselves on going the extra mile and finding the parts that can’t be found and taking the time to walk the customer though a question or at-home project.

Photo provided by the Chamber

Atlantic Motor Supply has recently added over $300,000 in inventory and has rearranged the front show room to be easier for the customer to find what they need and get back to their project. Marty shared that the auto part industry, like many other industries, have had to evolve the way they do business and be pro-active to the customer’s needs. One example of enhancing the customer experience would be the addition of NAPA Online, which gives the customer the ability to order the part through the website and pick up the part in store and still take advantage of the knowledgeable staff. Atlantic Motor Supply in Atlantic is open Monday-Friday 7AM- 5:30PM and Saturday 7AM-1PM.

Atlantic Motor Supply (NAPA) is located at 318 Chestnut Street in Atlantic.

For more information, call 712-243-3565 or visit their website at http://www.napaonline.com

(Radio Iowa) – While many Iowa retailers are already offering holiday-themed bargains, the Black Friday shopping blitz is two weeks from today (Friday), followed immediately by Small Business Saturday. Jayne Armstrong, director of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Iowa District Office, says 97-percent of Iowa’s businesses are small businesses and it’s vital for our economic livelihood to support them all year, not just on November 26th.

“It’s always important because it really is a significant sales period for a lot of small businesses, particularly our retailers, as we go into the holiday season,” Armstrong says, “but we still have a lot of small businesses that are struggling.” The worst of the pandemic may be behind us, but it left significant scars for some merchants which continue to need the routine patronage of Iowa consumers. Armstrong says COVID taught many of us a lesson about how much we rely on the neighborhood mom-and-pop businesses.

“I really do think that America woke up,” Armstrong says. “When something’s not there that you’re used to and that a lot of people tend to take for granted, and then when we were shut down or businesses were struggling coming back, I think people kind of woke up to just how local all this is.” She notes, there’s an obvious advantage for consumers to “Be Loyal, Buy Local,” instead of shopping online, since when you find and buy an item at a brick-and-mortar store, there’s no worry about it being delayed or lost during the shipping process.

www.sba.gov

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s largest manufacturing employer is using this Veterans Day to announce a new partnership targeting those who’ve served. Quad Cities-based Deere & Company is signing an agreement with the U.S. Army Reserve Private Public Partnership Office. Deere says it will help service members and their families access career opportunities as they transition to civilian life.

A news release says the agreement enables Deere to provide active-duty soldiers, who are transitioning into the Reserves, meaningful education and skills that will make them top candidates for future potential employment. The new agreement builds upon the Department of Defense’s “SkillBridge” program, which helps to place active-duty military members in civilian jobs during their final six months of military service.

A labor department report says U-S Army Reserve members are facing unemployment rates two to three times the national average.

https://www.deere.com/MilitaryCSP

(Radio Iowa) – The new executive director of the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs gave the keynote speech during a cold, windy Veterans Day ceremony today (Friday) at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery near Van Meter. Todd Jacobus is a veteran, and says service members entered the military in different ways.

He says that the oath was to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

Jacobus says that service makes our world a safer place.

Iowa Veterans Affairs Director Todd Jacobus

Jacobus says without Americans willing to volunteer for service, our diplomatic rulers would not be in a position to engage in the diplomacy required to prevent armed conflict.

Jacobus was appointed by the governor to lead the Veterans Affairs Department, and he is also the commandant of the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown. He is a retired Colonel of the United States Army and Iowa Army National Guard, serving 33 years and taking part in three overseas missions.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – A Judge presiding over the case of an Atlantic man facing multiple felony charges, has approved a continuation of the proceedings until January, 2023. 53-year-old Edward Allen Davenport had been set to go to trial on Nov. 29th. Davenport faces Class-D Felony charges that include Assault while participating in a felony, Willful Injury Causing Bodily Injury, and Going Armed with Intent, and a Class-B Felony charge of Burglary in the 1st Degree. A Pre-trial conference will now take place Jan. 9, 2023, at 9-a.m. in Atlantic, with trial on Jan. 24th at 9:30-a.m.

Authorities say at around 2:20-a.m. on Sept. 5, 2022, Atlantic Police were notified an assault had occurred at a residence in the 800 block of Walnut Street, in Atlantic. During an investigation, officers made contact with the victim, who stated they had been assaulted by being struck multiple times with an object.

The victim said shortly after she arrived home, there was a knock at the door. A man entered the residence and began assaulting the victim. An investigation determined the suspect was Edward Davenport. On Sept. 6th, Officers made contact with Davenport and arrested him in connection with the incident that occurred the previous day. He was being held in the Cass County Jail on a $60,000 cash-only bond.

Davenport was previously arrested August 21st on two felony drug charges, along with one aggravated misdemeanor and a serious misdemeanor drug charge. He plead not guilty to those charges and was released on a $25,000 bond the day he was arrested on the assault charges. In August 2021, as part of a plea agreement, Davenport plead guilty to an aggravated misdemeanor charge of Operating a Vehicle without owners consent. He was facing a felony charge of Theft in the 1st Degree.