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Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
KJAN News can be heard at five minutes after every hour right after Fox News 24 hours a day!
Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.
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A man and woman from Creston were arrested on separate warrants, Monday. At around 9:25-a.m., 23-year old Amanda Blakely-Luddington was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, on a Union County warrant for Driving While Barred. She was later released on a $2,000 bond. And, at around 1:05-p.m., 44-year old Joel Gross was arrested on two Union County warrants, including Failure to Appear on Possession of Prescription Drugs and Possession of Marijuana/1st offense, and, Failure to Appear on a charge of Theft in the 5th Degree.
Gross was additionally charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana. He was being held in the Union County Jail on a $2,600 bond.
A call to Police from a woman in Creston with regard to someone being in garage, resulted in the arrest of a man on multiple charges. Officers responded at around 12:40-a.m. to the 300 block of N. Jarvis Street, and located 18-year old Chase Parascando, of Creston, who took off on foot. He was apprehended at around 12:47-a.m. in the 400 block of N. Spruce Street. Following an initial investigation, Parascando was charged with:
Parascando was being held in the Union County Jail while awaiting a bond hearing. The investigation is ongoing, with additional charges possible.
The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:07-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.
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The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday evening, is expected to act on adopting the City’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget. Action on a Resolution to that effect follows a Public Hearing on the budget, which says there will be no increase in the tax levy, and despite an increase in property tax and rental property revenue of over $150,000 — will decrease the overall budget by more than 18%. The overall budget is listed at $14,740,571, a decrease of 18.25% ($3,289,610) from the 2021 budget. City officials say the city will receive $147,438 in additional property taxes and $3,600 from rental income. New expenses include: increased labor costs, $58,463.13; Health insurance costs of $40,350; Payroll taxes and IPERS, $1,563, and liability insurance, $23,950.
Atlantic City Administrator John Lund said the budget “accomplishes key priorities of the Mayor and Council in funding for economic development, housing incentives, community beautification and additional amenities for public.” Lund said also, the city is “continuing to budget any excess cash growth beyond required minimums towards inevitable liabilities in specialized funds, moving them away from operating budgets to minimize future debt assumptions or operating reserve deficits,” and there will be no increases to existing fees or utility rates.
In other business, the Council will hold a Public Hearing on adoption of the FY22 10-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), the key elements, Lund says, include: 320 capital improvements in streets, sewers, vehicles, major and minor equipment, costing $23,455,727; 99.49% of the 10-year old has been financed, with all critical infrastructure fully funded (the only unfunded project in the CIP is the Atlantic Municipal Airport’s 8 Unit Nested T-Hangar, scheduled in FY24); and, Lund says only $10,150,000 of the capital improvements are scheduled to be financed by new debt, which is still $1.15-million less than the $11.3-million estimated in the FY21 Budget, and $3.75-million less than estimated in the FY2020 Budget.
The Council will also act on passing a Resolution amending seasonal wages for the Atlantic Parks and Rec Dept. for 2021, as proposed earlier this year, by the City’s Personnel & Finance Committee. They will also act on approving a Resolution “Setting Salaries for Appointed Officers and Employees of the City,” for the Fiscal Year that runs from July 1, 2021 through June 30,2022. The Resolution says all Union positions are scheduled for 2.4% wage growth as a COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment). Exceptions to the wage increases include:
Chief of Police, 2.54% increase; Library Director, 2.9% increase; Adult Services Librarian, 6.38% increase; Youth Services Librarian, 4.19% increase; Parks & Rec Director, 5% increase; Street Superintendent, 5.8% increase; City Clerk, 7.84% increase; City Administrator, 2.4% increase. City Administrator John Lund says those increases will bring those positions closer to the current market average for communities of similar size. When combined with the automatic union compensation, the City’s total labor compensation (Not including health insurance and similar benefits) is scheduled to be $2,551, 431.57 in FY2022, or an increase of 2.35% over the FY 2021 estimated total labor compensation cost.
And, the Atlantic City Council is set to review and act on a recommendation for the purchase of a lot for new home construction, at 211 W. 6th Street. Jeff Pross has proposed purchasing the lot for $1,000, with the intention of building a new house with an estimated $110,00 cost in construction. The bid is more than what current policy requires, in addition to a minimum legal deposit. The Council will also act on an Order to approve a Professional Services Agreement with Snyder & Associates, for the West 22nd Street Sidewalk Project. The Council has previously received a petition with 94 signatures, requesting the installation of a sidewalk from Palm to Chestnut Streets. Their final order of business is to reappoint Jon Martens and Vicki Brown to the Planning & Zoning Commission.
The meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at City Hall.
Two people were arrested following a pursuit early this (Tuesday) morning, into Pottawattamie County. The Council Bluffs Police Department reports at around 1-a.m., Omaha Police advised they were pursuing a vehicle on I-480 into Council Bluffs. The vehicle had been stolen at gun point. Bluffs Police Officers responded to offer assistance. Authorities say Omaha Police had deployed a tire deflation device before coming into Council Bluffs, disabling some of the vehicles tires.
A Council Bluffs officer was also able to deploy a tire deflation device shortly before the pursuit ended at S. 19th St. and 8th Ave. The occupants were then detained without further incident. The driver, Christopher Petri, was arrested for Theft 1st and Felony Eluding. A rear seat passenger, Shaqula Rock, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance.
Atlantic Parks and Recreation Director Bryant Rasmussen, Monday, reported to the Parks and Rec Board, that after talking with Atlantic YMCA Aquatic Program Director Chelsie Huddleson, it was decided to eliminate the membership aspect of Sunnyside pool, due to issues with people sharing memberships and other such issues. Those problems he said resulted in a loss of revenue. Instead, there will simply be a straight, reduced daily fee for now, to see how that works out.
They are also working on using the City’s seamless doc program that would enable users of the pool to pay for admission and concessions with a card instead of just cash and change.
Rasmussen said they are going to move forward with as many summer programs as possible, taking into account safety protocols. He reported also, the Parks and Rec Department will host its 2nd nnual Easter Egg Cruise, in partnership with the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce.
The event takes place Saturday, April 3rd. Details are forthcoming.
Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:20 a.m. CDT
DOW CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Crawford County woman has pleaded not guilty in the shooting death last month of her boyfriend. The Sioux City Journal reports that 44-year-old Beth Guzman, of Dow City, pleaded not guilty Friday to a count of first-degree murder in the shooting death of 46-year-old Jeremy Frank. Crawford County Sheriff’s deputies say they found Frank unresponsive and bleeding after being called Feb. 21 to the home he and Guzman shared. Frank was taken to a hospital in Denison, where he was pronounced dead from a single gunshot wound. Prosecutors say Guzman told investigators she and Frank had argued and that she shot Frank in a bedroom as he tried to leave.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.5% in January as more residents joined the workforce. The state’s Workforce Development department reported Monday the rate was down from a revised 3.7% rate for December and compared to a 2.8% rate a year ago, before the coronavirus pandemic resulted in a severe economic slowdown. Workforce Development says the state added 8,200 workers in January. There were 57,400 unemployed residents. Iowa was tied with Kansas for the nation’s sixth-lowest unemployment rate. South Dakota and Utah had the lowest rate, at 3.1%. The national unemployment rate for January was 6.3%.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Heavy snow blanketed much of northern Iowa, Monday, snarling traffic and closing schools and services, as a late winter storm moved through the region. Online reports issued by the Iowa Department of Transportation show snow and ice covering roads in north-central Iowa and partially covering roads for much of the rest of the northern half of the state. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for three dozen counties in Iowa’s northern half and a winter weather advisory for several more counties in the region. The weather service expects some areas to see up to 8 inches of snow by Monday afternoon.
MAXWELL, Iowa (AP) — Sudden meat shortages last year because of the coronavirus led to millions of dollars in federal grants to help small meat processors expand. The goal was to help the nation lessen its reliance on giant slaughterhouses to supply grocery stores and restaurants. However, the money flowing to small slaughterhouses shows no sign of solving the meat problem. There’s little doubt the grants will help small processors and in turn provide sorely needed rural jobs, but the economics of meat now centers on larger, highly efficient slaughterhouses, not smaller plants whose numbers have been decreasing sharply.
(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says the economic stimulus package will be a campaign issue for Republicans in 2022 even though it means many people are getting checks. Ernst says there are many people who think the relief should have been more targeted. “They come to me. I heard even over the weekend when I was out doing county tours folks saying ‘you know I really don’t need this 14-hundred dollars payment, what do I do with it?,” Ernst says. “So you do have people who have been working and they don’t understand, why I’m getting a payment.”
Ernst says the euphoria of getting the checks will eventually wear off when people realize the long-term cost. “At some point in the future, very near future, we do expect that the Democrats to pay for all of this will end up raising taxes — and that will be extremely unpopular — for all the goodies that were handed out in this package,” according to Ernst. She says she’s also heard from government leaders who don’t like the bailouts in the bill for poorly run states and cities.
“That have said, hey we had to tighten belts during COVID, we did the right thing, we balanced our city’s budget, and now our taxpayers’ dollars are going to go to the city of Chicago or the state of Illinois,” Ernst says. Ernst says the enthusiasm seen as the payments start arriving this week will subside when people realize the real cost of the bill. “When all of that other stuff comes to light — that’s when it becomes extremely unpopular. And we have seen this in previous administrations too, if you go back to times when previous economic stimulus plans were used,” Ernst says.
The relief bill was pushed through by Democrats without any votes from Republicans. Ernst made her comments in a call with Iowa reporters.
(Radio Iowa) – A bill that’s making its way through the legislature could expand the number of people eligible to serve as substitute teachers in Iowa. It would let the Iowa Board of Education Examiners authorize people to be substitute teachers if the person has earned as associates degree or completed at least 60 credit hours as an undergraduate. These AUTHORIZED substitutes would be limited to 10 days per month, while LICENSED substitutes have no such restriction. Representative Garrett Gobble, a social studies teacher in Ankeny, says if this bill had been law when he was a student, he would have had the chance to substitute.
“This bill will allow the next generation of teachers to have the opportunity to experience the classroom and develop into the teacher they want to be in a real world experience,” Gobble says. The bill would make permanent a provision in the governor’s public health emergency proclamation that was designed to help schools find substitute teachers during the pandemic. Margaret Buckton is a lobbyist of the Rural School Advocates of Iowa and the Urban Education Network. She says because of the governor’s emergency order, schools were able to find substitutes who hadn’t considered teaching before.
“So it was great to use that as not just fulfilling that need, but also recruiting new professionals to the classroom,” Buckton says. Senator Tim Goodwin of Burlington is a former teacher, coach and school administrator in southeast Iowa. “(The) teacher sub shortage has been around for quite some time and I can remember where it went from having to have teacher licensure to then a bachelor’s degree and now what’s being proposed now,” he says, “and so any way that we can help bridge that gap, I’m going to be in support of.”
The bill has no registered opposition. It has just cleared a Senate subcommittee and the full House approved it unanimously earlier this month.