(Atlantic) – The American Legion Memorial Building – otherwise known as “The Armory” – here in Atlantic, has served as the home for National Guard soldiers, and in its later years, as a museum for military memorabilia, a military library, Atlantic History Center, Memorial Hall, and as a meeting and programs center. The nearly 100-year old building is owned by ARISE – The non-profit Atlantic Rock Island Society Enterprise. All those years of service have taken a toll on the building, despite remodeling and upgrades. ARISE has helped to pay for repairs and upgrades, including parking lot improvements, but the old girl is showing her age.

ARISE President Steve Livengood, says the unique roof is leaking, and in dire need of repair.

The roof used to be hot asphalt, with hot tar commonly used for repairs. At one point foam was installed over the asphalt, complicating matters.

A local company has agreed to take-on the task of replacing the roof, but it won’t come cheap.

It’s expected to cost around $65,000. Other work is required for maintenance of the building, as well. Livengood says various organizations are working to fundraiser for the repairs.

(If you want to help, make your check out to ARISE, and mail to ARISE. P.O. Box 1, Atlantic, 50022.)

Work on the project is expected to start soon. If you haven’t been to the Armory before, or want to see what’s new, you can take a virtual tour this Sunday, March 21st, beginning at 1 pm. Steve Livengood will lead the video tour beginning with history of the Building. Stay home, put your feet up, get comfortable and link to Zoom. Find the Zoom link on ariseAtlantic.org or Facebook: Atlantic Rock Island Society Enterprise. After Sunday, the tour program will be available to view on the web and/or Facebook pages.

The American Legion Memorial Building as well as the Rock Island Depot are owned by Atlantic Rock Island Society Enterprise (ARISE). It is a non-profit organization with a mission to serve the southwest Iowa community.

The Trevor Frederickson Memorial Fund has answered the call again this year. Fund spokesperson (and Trevor’s mom) Melanie Petty, says $1,000.00 was donated to the Nishna Valley Family YMCA Partnership with Youth Campaign.  She said “We feel strongly about the importance of the YMCA in our community and hope that others will too.  The YMCA is a safe environment for our children and offers plenty of programs to keep them active throughout the year.  Scholarships are available for all ages to enjoy the facilities along with a free membership for all 5th graders!”

All funds donated by the Trevor Frederickson Memorial Fund are raised at the organization’s annual golf tournament.  The 13th Annual TFred Memorial Golf Tournament will be held on Saturday, August 14th.  Plans are already in the works and we encourage everyone to stop out to Nishna Hills Golf Course that day to visit and check out the amazing silent auction.

The Trevor Frederickson Memorial Fund is a 501©3 Non Profit Organization and all monies raised are given back to things Trev loved in his community. Stay tuned to KJAN on-air and online, for additional updates on what the fund is doing.

The 7:06-a.m. Newscast from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Three women were arrested on separate charges Thursday, in Creston. According to Creston Police, 47-year old Angela Sue Wimber, of Creston, was arrested at around 9:17-a.m., for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 1st offense. She was later released from the Union County Jail on a $1,000 cash bond. And, at around 7:20-p.m., Thursday, 20-year old Kaylynn Elizabeth Marie Tucker, of Omaha, was arrested at the Creston Wal-Mart, for Theft in the 5th Degree. She was cited and released from the scene, on a Promise to Appear in court.

And, 31-year-old Chelsey Kile, of Creston was arrested at around 4:45-p.m. Thursday, on a Union County Warrant for Theft 5^th Degree.  Kile was released on a $300 cash bond.

(7:06-a.m. News, updated 9-a.m.)

(Radio Iowa) – A state panel meets today(Friday) to set official estimates of state tax revenue for the next 15 months. Robust projections could lead House Republicans to accept the Iowa Senate’s plan to accelerate state income tax cuts. But House Speaker Pat Grassley says a 2018 law includes a benchmark that state tax collections grow by at least four percent before the tax cuts are triggered to kick in. On Thursday he said “We might sit here tomorrow and revenue has grown to a point where it’s not an issue, but if that’s not the case, we’re going to take a cautions approach to looking at the triggers.”

Governor Kim Reynolds supports removing that tax revenue measurement, so a series of promised income tax cuts automatically take effect in 2023. “We recognize that’s been a priority of the governor’s so we’ll engage in those conversations,” Grassley says. Another factor in the tax debate has been federal pandemic relief money, which is not to be used by states to cut taxes. The U.S. Treasury Department has issued a statement, saying states may cut taxes — so long as an accounting shows the extra federal funds aren’t the reason a state is in a position to cut taxes. Grassley says he hasn’t seen that statement, but lawmakers will look at potential tax changes if it doesn’t jeopardize the federal aid.

“We obviously want to get money back in the pockets of hardworking Iowans, but we also want to do that in a responsible way that we don’t end up upside down like some of our neighbors,” Grassley says. Last month, the governor of Illinois proposed corporate tax changes that would raise 932 million more in taxes. The State of Illinois faces a budget deficit. Iowa has nearly a billion in cash reserves and the state’s economic emergency fund.

(Radio Iowa) – If you are still working to get all your 2020 tax information together — you now have more time. I-R-S spokesman Christopher Miller explains ;”The federal income tax filing due date for individuals for the 2020 tax year will now be automatically extended from April 15th to May 17th,” Miller says. “This postponement applies to individual taxpayers — including individuals who pay self-employment tax. People don’t need to do anything, they don’t need to file any forms, or call the I-R-S to qualify for this automatic tax filing and payment relief,” according to Miller.

The tax deadline was moved last year from April to July because of the issues surrounding the pandemic. Miller says some of those same issues led to the second straight movement of deadline day. He says the includes the latest economic impact or stimulus payments that the I-R-S is working to send out. Miller says if you are on track to file your taxes now — you should go ahead and file. “Even with the new deadline the I-R-S is urging people to first of all, electronic file, and do it as soon as you can,” Miler says. “For people who are entitled to refunds or additional stimulus payments — we encourage them to go ahead and file and not wait until May 17th.”

And he says if you still can’t get your taxes done by May 17th, you can file for an extension. “Remember that an extension of time to file your tax return is not an extension of time to pay your taxes. So, we remind taxpayers that they should pay their federal income tax due by May 17th to avoid interest and penalties,” Miller says.

You can find out more information at I-R-S.gov.

(Radio Iowa) A bill under consideration in the Iowa Senate calls for a 10-fold increase in the state income tax credit for volunteer firefighters, E-M-Ts and reserve law enforcement. Cyndi Peterson is a lobbyist for the Iowa Firefighters Association, which represents volunteer firefighters. “While people may think this is a huge jump in one year, I think we’re catching up,” Peterson says.

The tax credit for volunteers who serve as firefighters, emergency medical personnel or reserve police officers was increased from 50 to 100 dollars in 2014. The bill would increase it to a thousand dollars. Peterson says there’s little — if any — type of reimbursement for the volunteers who respond to fires and medical emergencies in their communities, particularly in rural areas.

“There are some volunteer firefighters that get, like, $1 per call or they get some very minute amount of money,” she says. Senator Adrian Dickey of Packwood, who is a volunteer firefighter, is the bill’s sponsor. “It gives the fire chief or the supervisor a tool to try and incentivize their members or their volunteers to attend their training sessions,” dickey says, “to train on some of the things they need to do, that they’re required to do.”

The bill won approval in a Senate subcommittee Thursday. By one estimate, up to 20-thousand Iowans are currently serving as volunteer firefighters. The one-hundred-dollar per year state tax credit for volunteer E-M-Ts and firefighters was expanded in 2014 to include reserve officers who work as volunteers in Iowa police and sheriff’s departments.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republicans in the Iowa Legislature are again rewriting the state’s gun laws with a bill that would allow people to buy guns and carry a concealed handgun without first obtaining a state permit. The bill that passed the House Wednesday with all Republican votes and one Democrat would eliminate current state permit requirements which carry with them background checks to ensure the person obtaining or carrying a gun isn’t disqualified from ownership due to past felonies or abuses. Supporters says it improves Iowans’ basic right of self defense outlined in the Second Amendment but opponents say it will make Iowa much more dangerous for police and citizens and will make it much more difficult to stop gun violence before it happens.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A decommissioned eastern Iowa nuclear plant could become the site of a new massive solar energy project. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that NextEra Energy of Florida this week laid out plans with nearby landowners to build a solar farm near the now-idle Duane Arnold Energy Center. The company said the project, planned for 2023, could bring in a $700 million capital investment and about 300 construction jobs. The solar farm would stretch across 3,500 acres near the plant in Palo and would produce up to 690 megawatts of solar energy — even more than the nuclear plant had generated.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new monthly survey of bankers points to a quickly recovering economy in rural parts of 10 Plains and Western states as the survey’s individual indicators soared and the overall index rocketed to its highest reading since it began in 2006. The overall index of the Rural Mainstreet Survey shot up more than 18 points to 71.9 in March from February’s 53.8. Any score above 50 suggests a growing economy. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss credits in part sharp gains in grain prices, federal farm support and the Federal Reserve’s record-low interest rates. Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.

Sheriff’s deputies in Page County arrested a man from Coin, Thursday, following a traffic stop. 48-year old Gary Lynn Runyon, Jr., was arrested for Driving while license is barred, an Aggravated Misdemeanor.

Runyon was transported to the Page County Jail where he was booked into the jail later posted bond before being released, pending future court proceedings.

(Radio Iowa) – A state panel meets tomorrow (Friday) to set official estimates of state tax revenue for the next 15 months. Robust projections could lead House Republicans to accept the Iowa Senate’s plan to accelerate state income tax cuts. But House Speaker Pat Grassley says a 2018 law includes a benchmark that state tax collections grow by at least four percent before the tax cuts are triggered to kick in.

“We might sit here tomorrow and revenue has grown to a point where it’s not an issue, but if that’s not the case, we’re going to take a cautions approach to looking at the triggers,” Grassley says. Governor Kim Reynolds supports removing that tax revenue measurement, so a series of promised income tax cuts automatically take effect in 2023.

“We recognize that’s been a priority of the governor’s so we’ll engage in those conversations,” Grassley says. Another factor in the tax debate has been federal pandemic relief money, which is not to be used by states to cut taxes. The U.S. Treasury Department has issued a statement, saying states may cut taxes — so long as an accounting shows the extra federal funds aren’t the reason a state is in a position to cut taxes. Grassley says he hasn’t seen that statement, but lawmakers will look at potential tax changes if it doesn’t jeopardize the federal aid.

“We obviously want to get money back in the pockets of hardworking Iowans, but we also want to do that in a responsible way that we don’t end up upside down like some of our neighbors,” Grassley says. Last month, the governor of Illinois proposed corporate tax changes that would raise 932 million more in taxes. The State of Illinois faces a budget deficit. Iowa has nearly a billion in cash reserves and the state’s economic emergency fund.