(Radio Iowa) – The C-E-O of the Ankeny-based Casey’s convenience store chain talked today (Wednesday) about gas prices during the quarterly conference call for investors. Darren Rebelez says it is constantly changing. “This is an extremely volatile environment right now. When I was in the military, we would call this a VUCA environment, which is an acronym for volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous,” Rebelez says. “I think all of those words describe what we’re experiencing in fuel right now.”

The company reported that the number of gallons of gas sold in the fourth quarter was up one-point-five percent and the margin was 36-point-two cents a gallon despite the volatility of the gas pricing. Rebelez was asked if we might see gas prices at or above six dollars a gallon. “You know, it’s really hard to put predict where we’re going to see those prices ultimately peak out. And I would say it’s very geography specific — we have a pretty wide range from the most expensive areas in our geography to the least expensive,” he says. 

He says their stores in the Greater Chicago suburbs have prices well north of five dollars a gallon, while at the other end of the spectrum there are some that are just slightly above four dollars a gallon. Triple-A Iowa reports the average cost of a gallon of gas here is four dollars, 68 cents a gallon. Rebelez says people are backing off on purchases in the areas where the gas price is the highest. “We are starting to see some erosion in volume in the low single digits. In the middle two quartiles, we’re kind of flatish to maybe slightly down. And then in the bottom quartile, we’re still seeing gallon growth,” according to Rebellez. He says overall customers haven’t cut back on their visits.

“The average fill up is down about a gallon versus where it was the same time last year. So people are purchasing just a little bit less fuel than they had historically per visit,” he says. “But they’ll end up having to make more visits to the store over time, which we believe gives us a better opportunity to get people inside the store to buy more stuff.” He says customers are also shifting over to higher blends of ethanol. “The ethanol economics are actually working out pretty favorably right now from a consumer perspective. So they’ll shift over to an E-15 type of product versus what most of the fuel is blended at E-ten,” Rebellez says.

Rebelez says six dollars a gallon is uncharted water for everybody and he imagines people might cut back on their purchases at that point. The overall financial report for the quarter showed the company generated a record 340 million dollars in net income and gross profits were up 14 percent.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – This week brings a slow return to normal where the Atlantic Middle School is concerned. The school sustained heavy interior smoke and water damage during a fire that began on the roof of the building July, 27, 2021. Middle School students were re-located to the Achievement Center and the High School this past school year.

In his report to the Atlantic School Board Wednesday evening, Superintendent Steve Barber said a moving company began packing up the contents of the classrooms in preparation for the move on Thursday (June 8th). Barber said instructions were provided to the teachers that boxes needed to include room numbers to ensure the material and equipment are placed in the appropriate room. Some of the custodial staff will be onsite to help the movers put the contents in the appropriate room.

Mr. Barber said also, this week the carpet at the Achievement Center will be shampooed and they will be moving out of the temporary locations (IWCC, Catholic Church, and Early Learning Center). Boxes that have been stored in the Middle School will be taken back to the rooms written on the boxes. He said “Each week Mr. Peck and I will talk about what part of moving back and dealing with furniture will be accomplished each week. This will help us by breaking up the task into smaller pieces, so that we can assure that we are ready for the new school year.

“Another task that needs to be done is to see if additional furniture is available for other buildings. The Principals started a furniture list and once we know what is available we will start completing this portion of the move. If we replace old furniture with some used Middle School furniture, that old furniture will be discarded. Once we have met these demands, we will take inventory of what is available and develop a recommendation for the Board to discard school property.”

The Superintendent mentioned also, given the school tragedy in Texas and other mass casualty incidents, he thinks it is important to review the Atlantic School District’s procedures and look at appropriate actions that can be taken to focus on school safety. One of those actions is adding another SRO (School Resource Officer), as an element of operational sharing, which was approved by the legislature this past session.

“Next Monday,” he sad, “I am meeting with both the Sheriff and Chief to see if it would be possible to add a SRO that
could serve as a positive role model for our district and be a law presence. I feel adding this position to our team of other at risk positions is just another resource we would have available to help serve our students. To make this happen, it will need to fit as a partnership with one of our local law enforcement agencies.” There are other measures the District has taken in the past, as well, including adding secure entrances and active shooter exercises, to name a few.

In other business, the Atlantic School Board approved the resignation of Taylor Williams, Middle School Cross County Coach.

ATLANTIC, Iowa – June 8, 2022 – A bridge replacement project on Pottawattamie County Road G-12 over Interstate 29 near Loveland requires closing I-29 to traffic to allow crews to remove the existing bridge beginning on Friday night, June 17 at 8 p.m., until Monday, June 20 at 6 a.m., weather permitting, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s District 4 Office in Atlantic.

Portable message signs will direct traffic onto a detour route using U.S. 30, U.S. 75, I-29, and I-680.

The Iowa DOT reminds motorists to drive with caution, obey the posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, drivers should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.

(Radio Iowa) – Joel Miller, Linn County’s top election official, has easily won the Iowa Democratic Party’s nomination to face Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate in the General Election. “I plan to continue to give voters reasons why they should fire incumbent Paul Pate and hire me,” Miller says. “…The reasons are the negligence and incompetence and the things that he has done as secretary of state.”

Miller cites the failure of Pate’s office to file required paperwork, which delaying voter review of two proposed constitutional amendments and Miller says Pate should have stood with county auditors from both parties who opposed changes in Iowa’s absentee balloting process. Miller supports a return to 40 days of early voting — twice as long as allowed under the law passed by the Republican-led legislature.

Miller was involved in a high-profile stand-off with Pate in 2020. Miller’s office sent absentee ballot request forms to every eligible Linn County voters, with the voter’s name and other information filled out on the forms. Pate said the forms should have been blank and Republicans successfully sued, invalidating 50-thousand absentee ballot requests.

Pate, the former mayor of Cedar Rapids, is seeking a fourth term as secretary of state. Miller is the former mayor of Robins, which is also in Linn County.

(UPDATED 3:46-p.m.) The Cass and Montgomery County Board of Supervisors will hold separate special meetings Thursday. Both have to deal with Administrative Recounts of Tuesday’s Primary Election votes. The Iowa Secretary of State’s Office reported issues with the Unisyn voting equipment. Those issues included multiple instances of paper jams when voters inserted their ballots into the tabulator.

Montgomery County Auditor Stephanie Burke told KJAN News the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors will discuss ordering an Administrative Recount and possible action, when their meeting convenes at 8:15-a.m. in the Courthouse Boardroom in Red Oak. Burke said in her county, there were four precincts that were off by one vote, and one precinct that was off by three votes.

The Administrative recount is separate from the canvass of votes that will take place next week. Burke said several counties have experienced the same issue with their tabulation machines, including Cass.

In Cass County, the Board will gather in their courthouse Boardroom in Atlantic, at 3-pm. for the Administrative Recount.

DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate announces more than 356,000 Iowans participated in the June 7 primary election, according to unofficial numbers released by Pate’s office. More than 73,000 Iowans voted absentee, which is the second highest total for a primary election in state history. The unofficial turnout by political party was 195,355 Republicans and 156,589 Democrats. Secretary Pate extends his thanks to Iowa voters, poll workers and county election officials for ensuring a clean, smooth primary election process.

“I think it went fantastic,” Secretary Pate said. “I’ve got to compliment all the voters and our unsung heroes, those poll workers. They came through with flying colors. We saw thousands of Iowans coming out to have their voice heard and democracy in action.” This (Wednesday) morning, Secretary Pate’s office selected a random precinct in all 99 counties for conducting a post-election audit. County officials will hand count every ballot in that precinct to ensure the totals match the number compiled by the vote tabulators.

You can view the unofficial results for every county at this link.

(Radio Iowa) – Cindy Axne of West Des Moines — the only Democrat in Iowa’s congressional delegation — will face Republican Primary winner Zach Nunn in the General Election. The new third congressional district includes Des Moines and covers 21 counties. It has been considered one of the G-O-P’s pick-up opportunities as Republicans campaign to gain majority control of the U.S. House. “It’s been the most watched race since early last year, so I’m going to keep approaching it the way I have been approaching it, which is to just bring home the goods for the State of Iowa,” Axne says, “and do a great job on the official side and also get out and meet all the folks.”

The new district covers nine counties not included in the area Axne currently represents. Axne says in-person campaigning has been and will be critical.  “And make sure everybody out there knows the truth, differentiate myself from the narrative that they’ll see on TV and make it really local,” Axne says. “That’s how I’ve won in the past.” Axne was first elected in 2018, defeating Republican Congressman David Young and she won a 2020 rematch with Young. The 2022 election is shaping up as a referendum on President Biden. Axne says she intends to defend the administration’s record on the pandemic and a host of other issues. “I will not let anybody just smack down, no matter who it is, with wrong information,” Axne says. “…He came to Iowa to announce to our farmers and our rural communities massive growth through E15 year-round.”

Nunn says people in Iowa and across the country are ready for change from Democratic control of congress and the White House. Axne was unopposed in Tuesday’s Primary. Axne points out she received 14-hundred more votes than the three Republicans who were competing for the chance to run against her in the General Election.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – A Johnston man was sentenced late last week to five years in federal prison for building and detonating several explosive devices in Ankeny. Prosecutors with the U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa said 47-year-old Chad Allen Williams admitted to making and exploding two homemade bombs in May and June of 2021. A third unexploded bomb was found in an Ankeny neighborhood. Williams pled guilty to the charges on January 20, 2022. He was ordered to undergo three years of supervised release after he serves his prison term.

With the assistance of neighbors and other community members, law enforcement worked together to trace the devices to Williams, and executed a search warrant at his Johnston residence on June 18, 2021. As a result of the search warrant, Agents located controlled substances and items consistent with the manufacture of explosive devices, including the specific explosive devices located in Ankeny. Agents also seized a loaded Ruger, Model P89, nine-millimeter pistol in Williams’ vehicle. Subsequent to execution of the search warrant, Williams admitted to manufacturing and placing the explosive devices on the Ankeny street. Williams also admitted to being a user of methamphetamine, which disqualified him from the right to possess a firearm.

The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Ankeny Police Department, the Iowa Department of Public Safety Intelligence Division, the Iowa State Fire Marshall, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Offices for the Southern District of Iowa.

(Radio Iowa) – A Hollywood actor who is a native of Uvalde, Texas — and a gun owner — made a passionate pitch for gun safety legislation in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday and one of his stops was in Senator Chuck Grassley’s office. “You won’t believe it but the movie star Matthew McConaughey was in my office and he had his wife with us, and she’s as famous as he is,” Grassley says, “and we discussed a lot of things dealing with guns.”

McConaughey’s hometown was the site of the murders of 19 elementary school children and two teachers last month. The actor’s wife, Camila Alves McConaughey, is a Brazilian model and clothing designer. She held the shoes of one of the students who was killed in the Texas school as her husband delivered a speech at the White House. McConaughey says responsible gun owners are fed up with the Second Amendment being abused and hijacked — and support measures like enhanced background checks and raising the age to buy an A-R-15-style rifle from 18 to 21. Grassley says the actor is also familiar with a bill that Grassley’s been promoting.

“He brought up about my Eagles Act and wanted to know how it would work,” Grassley says. “He took a real interest in my saying that Senator Booker was the one senator holding it up. He was going to have a conversation with Senator Booker about it, so maybe that will help get my legislation passed.”

Grassley’s bill would have the Secret Service Threat Assessment Center advise schools on how to recognize the warning signs of student behavior that might turn deadly. Grassley has opposed universal background checks for all gun purchases. And Grassley suggested during a recent town hall meeting that a ban on A-R-15 style rifles would be ineffective since Americans already own 15 million of them.