Atlantic, IA – Southwest Iowa Planning Council (SWIPCO) is celebrating the completion of an addition to their main office in Atlantic. SWIPCO and Southwest Iowa Transit Agency continue to grow, providing more services and working on more projects than ever that benefit the residents of Southwest Iowa. Officials say the growth caused SWIPCO to outgrow the previous office space. An area designed for seven employees was housing 17 workers. To remedy that problem a 60’x30’ addition was planned onto the east side of the building and has now been completed.

The space is an open office area that now houses planning and housing team members along with communications and safety coordinators. During construction many of these individuals were working out of a temporary, rented office space nearby.

SWIPCO Executive Director John McCurdy described the value of the new space, “We’ve needed to expand our office space in Atlantic for a long time and had the first concept plans actually drawn up in 2017. Pre-Covid we had already turned our conference room into workspace for several employees. Covid taught us a lot about how we function, both that we could be more flexible with remote work options but also that we need in person, onsite capacity to serve our clients. This addition enables us to make the best use of the space we have here and will be flexible for future changes and keep our operations on one site in Atlantic. We also added an additional women’s restroom, which may not sound like a big thing but with 22 female employees at this location was very much a priority!”

Reorganization of office space will also allow for more functionality of previous spaces. The conference room will once again be able to be utilized for Policy Council and other meetings after being used for office space for over five years.

Construction was completed by Building Crafts Inc. of Red Oak and began in early 2023. The much- anticipated completion will help SWIPCO continue to support the whole region for the long term. In total SWIPCO employs over 100 people, with about 30 in the office in Atlantic.

SWIPCO celebrated the new space with the SWIPCO Policy Council at their meeting on March 28 th

(Massena, Iowa) – A new Massena Daycare, “CAM Cubs,” expected to open later this  Spring. Massena daycare is currently working with Snyder &Associates engineering in Atlantic, Iowa to submit floor plans to the state. Once approval is received, the Fire Marshall will be able to conduct a walk through and the center will be able to apply for a license with DHS.  Anita daycare also plans to relocate within their current building in Anita. Rooms near the newly built gym on the north side of the old elementary are currently under construction to be used as daycare rooms.

A new director, Katie Biehn, has been hired to oversee both locations. Brittni Richards has been hired as an assistant director. Biehn, hired in February, says about the quality of childcare currently being offered in Anita, “The standard has been set high in Anita. The teachers are amazing with the kids and far exceed making sure basic needs are being met. Children partake in age-appropriate activities daily that include crafts, stories, themed lessons, and plenty of time to play among friends! Children are also served a healthy and balanced breakfast, lunch, and snack- at no extra cost to parents!”

The two locations are merging to operate under one non-profit 501(3) c. Biehn says margins are tight. “To be able to offer families affordable childcare with competitive tuition rates, we will always be appreciative of any donations that come our way and fundraising will always be necessary. We are fortunate to live in such a great community that has always been very supportive of our existing and upcoming centers. We are currently seeking sponsors to financially support our centers. If an individual or business would like to help, please reach out to our Board of directors at anitachildcare@gmail.com.”

Anita currently offers childcare for children 6 weeks to 4 years of age, a before and after school program, and summer care for school- aged children. Both locations are excited to bring back a part-time 3-year-old preschool program within the CAM district this fall.

Massena is hiring teachers and is pre-enrolling children for when the center opens. Anita has a few vacancies for children in both their infant and toddler rooms. If interested in employment or seeking childcare, please reach out to Katie at 712-762-3232.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa State University dedicated the first phase of the new Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (VDL) and celebrated the start of construction on the second phase in a ceremony Thursday. The Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, Dan Grooms, talked about the importance of the diagnostic lab which first opened in 1947. “Hands down the Iowa State University’s diagnostic lab is recognized globally as a leader in veterinary diagnostic medicine, especially in support of animal agriculture, but also in the support of companion animal health, wildlife health, as well as public health,” Grooms says.

He says examples of that work are diagnosing COVID-19 during the pandemic, and helping the poultry industry when highly pathogenic avian influenza re-emerged this past year “More importantly their work allowed operations to demonstrate that they were free of the disease so that they could continue to move their products,” he says.  Grooms says they’ve responded to the latest outbreak impact cattle. “Highly pathogenic avian influenza has emerged as a potential pathogen in the dairy cattle industry, and I am proud to say that is the people in this laboratory in this College of Veterinary Medicine are at the tip of the spear. Where did we hear that? At the tip of the spear in identifying and understanding this emerging disease threat to animal agriculture,” Grooms says.

He says the lab is also the hub of innovation in animal diagnostic medicine. “Whether it’s developing new diagnostic tests or diagnostic strategy, providing real time surveillance data to monitor disease spread across the state or across the country, or discovering novel pathogens, what separates this diagnostic lab from the most for most others, is the discovery that occurs in parallel to the day to day work,” Groom says.

The construction of the first phase started in March 2021 and it began operating last month. Phase Two construction is scheduled to begin this spring with a projected completion date of 2026. The 141 million dollar project includes state and federal funding along with funding from donors and Iowa State University.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Auditor’s Office, today (Friday), updated the list of candidates for Federal, State and County Offices, ahead of the June 4th Primary Election.

The Primary Election will be Tuesday, June 4, 2024. Voter pre-registration deadline is 5:00 p.m. Monday, May 20, 2024. Pre-registered voters are required to provide an approved form of identification at the polling place before receiving and casting a regular ballot. Voters who are not pre-registered – such as voters registering to vote on election day – and voters changing precincts must also provide proof of residence.

A voter who is unable to provide an approved form of identification (or prove residence if required) 1) may have the voter’s identity/residence attested to by another registered voter in the precinct, 2) prove identity and residence using Election Day Registration documents, or 3) cast a provisional ballot and provide proof of identity/residence at the Auditor’s Office by 12:00 p.m. (noon), June 10, 2024.

Election Day Registrant attesters must provide an approved form of identification. For additional information about providing proof of identity and/or residence visit: https://sos.iowa.gov/voterid or phone (641) 743-2546. Voters may request an absentee ballot from the Auditor’s Office.

Voters may vote in the office between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, beginning May 15, 2024 and Saturday, June 1, 2024 or they may request a ballot be mailed to them. The deadline to request an absentee ballot be mailed is 5:00 p.m. Monday, May 20, 2024. The last day to vote absentee in the Auditor’s Office is Monday, June 3, 2024 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Polls will open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Election Day June 4, 2024.

JOHNSTON, Iowa [WOI-TV] — Since January, Iowa Bird Rehabilitation (IBR) says dozens of trumpeter swans have died from lead poisoning. IBR, a nonprofit organization that steps in to rescue, rehabilitate and release wild birds back into the wild, takes in around 2,000 birds yearly. On average, only one or two are trumpeter swans. But over the past few months, the nonprofit has admitted 11 swans into their care. Iowans send tips to IBR of birds they notice may be ill or injured, so the nonprofit can monitor, rescue and bring the birds into their care.

There’s not a clear answer where the lead poisoning these trumpeter swans — and other bird species — has come from, but IBR said some causes could be fishing tackle or leftover fragments of lead shot from waterfowl hunting (before using lead was banned in the late ’80s).

And with the drought that a majority of the state of Iowa is facing right now, receding water levels mean trumpeter swans, with those long necks of theirs, can accidentally consume lead fragments at the bottom of lakes and rivers more easily.

To help omit lead introduction to bodies of water, IBR suggests using lead-free tackle when fishing and lead-free ammunition while hunting. The nonprofit also recommends anyone who sees a bird needing help or exhibiting abnormal behavior to contact them.

(Radio Iowa) – A northwest Iowa company has launched an expansion that will more than double its manufacturing capacity and bring 60 more employees into the company once the project’s done. Maintainer Corporation has a small plant in Rock Rapids and two facilities in Sheldon. Company president Shelley Morris says they’re adding nearly 31-thousand square feet of production space at one of those Sheldon plants, as well as an 11-thousand square foot showroom and training center.

Morris says they hope to begin hiring people this summer and start production in the new space this fall.

After the expansion, Morris projects the company will have about 300 people on its payroll.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s turkey hunting season opens this weekend and it’s estimated up to 35-thousand hunters will participate this year. Nate Carr, an Iowa D-N-R conservation officer for Hardin and Hamilton counties, says the agency’s surveys are showing a healthy population of wild turkeys. “It’s looking like a fairly promising year,” Carr says. “We’ve had three straight years of good hatches, pretty good spring weather, so that’s led to stronger numbers. I think we’re looking at comparable harvests to last year, hopefully, a little bit of an uptick is always good to see.”

The first turkey season runs today (Friday) through Sunday and is for Iowa youth only. The first of the four regular seasons opens Monday and they’ll run through May 12th. “Some things hunters want to make sure they’ve got in their pocket before they go, there’s of course their hunting license, and habitat fee,” Carr says. “So, hunting license if you’re 16 and older is required, habitat for you if you’re ages 16 to 64, and then a valid tag for the season that you’re hunting.”

Carr reminds you, there is a bag limit. “Each hunter can get up to two tags with at least one being for season four,” Carr says. “Shooting hours for turkey is a half hour before sunrise to sunset, so traditionally, hunters get out there well before sunrise to get in with the turkeys before they start gobbling.”

There was a free-for-all on Iowa turkeys in the early 1900s, and between hunting and drastic reductions in habitat, the big birds eventually disappeared from Iowa’s woodlands and forests. Wild turkeys were reintroduced in 1966 and have since expanded their numbers across the entire state. Learn more at www.iowadnr.gov.

(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Creston Police Department report the arrest Thursday evening, of 28-year-old Andres Martinez, of Creston. Martinez was charged with Violation of No Contact Protective Order. He was taken to Union County Jail and held without bond until seen by a Judge.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Workforce Development executive director Beth Townsend says they are continuing to meet with workers at the Tyson plant in Perry as the June closing date approaches. “We have been working with the local economic developers with the mayor, with the community with Tyson, with D-Mack, with other nonprofit entities. We’ve had our mobile unit on site twice, ” she says.

She says they have now also opened a transitional office. “So that people can come in between, before, or after shifts,” Townsend says. “We will be there…two or three days a week from now until you know there’s no longer in need to help people.” Tyson says it has offered workers a chance to take jobs at other facilities. Townsend says the may or may not be an option for employees. “It always comes down to individual factors, right. And so our focus is going to be on helping the everyone who wants to stay in Perry find jobs in the local area. And we’re lucky because you know, they’re very close to Polk in Dallas County,” Townsend says.

She says there are many job openings in those areas. “That’s where we’re going to be spending a lot of our focuses on helping individuals find jobs that would not require them to move around the state,” she says.

There are approximately 13-hundred Tyson workers that will be impacted when the plant closes at the end of June. There are other ancillary businesses that are also expected to layoff workers in connection with the closing.