WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Kim Reynolds says her administration will try to convince federal auditors to allow its plan to spend $21 million in coronavirus relief funds on a long-planned information technology system. Reynolds said that the state believes spending federal virus aid to purchase and implement a new accounting and human resources system for the executive branch is “an allowable expense.” She said that if auditors disagree, the state will change course.

State Auditor Rob Sand concluded Monday that the use of funds for the Workday project was inappropriate. He warned that Iowa will be on the hook to repay the federal government $21 million later if it’s not diverted to an allowable use

Two Cass County employees were injured during a collision in dense fog this (Wednesday) morning. Iowa State Patrol Trooper Shelby McCreedy reports the crash happened west of Wiota at around 7:48-a.m. on Highway 83 (Whitepole Road) near 656th.

(McCreedy said 38-year-old Lora Kanning and 61-year-old Mitch Holmes, both of Anita, were traveling westbound. Kanning was driving a 2011 GMC Acadia. Holmes was driving a 2007 Jeep Wrangler. When Holmes stopped for a vehicle that was turning south off onto a gravel road, Kanning was unable to stop in time. Her vehicle struck the Jeep from behind, causing the Jeep to enter the north ditch where it rolled multiple times.)

Kanning and Holmes suffered non-life threatening injuries and were transported to Cass County Memorial Hospital by Cass County EMS and Anita Rescue. Trooper McCreedy said Kanning told investigators she could not see Holmes’ vehicle due to the fog, but the accident remained under investigation. Kanning was cited for Failure to Stop in Assured Clear Distance and Holmes was cited for Failure to Wear a Seat Belt.

Kanning is the Naturalist for Cass County Conservation, while Holmes is the Cass County Veterans Affairs Director. No County vehicles were involved in the accident.

A Burn Ban which had been in effect for Guthrie and Adair Counties, is being rescinded at Noon today (Wednesday). That’s according to Adair-Guthrie County Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Kempf. The ban had been in effect since last week, and is being cancelled because conditions are such that having a controlled/open burn is no longer dangerous to life or property. The decision comes after Kempf consulted with the fire chiefs in each respective county.

The Atlantic Community School District’s Board of Education will hold a Special Meeting 11:30-a.m. Thursday (Oct. 22nd), for the purpose of acting on “District Guidelines for Use of Face Masks” (Board Policy #908.R1).  The meeting takes place in the High School Media Center.

During their meeting last week, the Board continued with discussion on making the use of face masks/shields mandatory, with two members in favor of a mandatory policy. The district’s current policy says anyone in grades 6-thru-12 are expected to wear masks, when social distancing was not possible. The standard for the PK-5 building is to encourage the use of masks when social distancing cannot occur.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa-based electric utility says it has idled nearly four dozen power-generating wind turbines after huge blades broke off of two turbines in recent weeks. The Des Moines Register reports that MidAmerican Energy has paused the use of 46 turbines it has identified as having similar blades, which are about 177 feet long and weigh 18,000 pounds. The company acknowledged that one blade on a turbine near Paton fell Thursday into an empty field.

In mid-September, another blade on a turbine near Adel crashed into a corn field. Similar incidents were reported in April and in October 2019 at Adair County wind farms. No one was hurt. MidAmerican says it has isolated the issue to blades made by Danish manufacturer Vestas and is working with Vestas.

Students in the Audubon Community School District can expect to continue with the four-day, in-person Return-to-Learn instructional plan. Superintendent Eric Trager said students will continue to attend classes in the District Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Wednesday is a remote learning and deep-cleaning day.

He says hopefully by January there will be a vaccine against COVID that will allow everyone to begin getting their lives and learning back to near normal. In related news, Trager said the Audubon School Board, Monday, approved Virtual Snow Days.

Trager said also, the District’s final enrollment numbers are down about 20, putting them at levels seen about two-years ago, but he says other districts have also experienced a decline, typically the result of the COVID pandemic. He hopes it’s just a blip, and not a more long-term trend.

Trager said also, the Board approved refinancing of a bonds, to take advantage of historically low interest rates, and to bond up to $1.5-million for the building renovation project.

Building project plan specs will be presented to the Board for approval Nov. 4^th during a public hearing, with the project going out for bids on Nov. 8^th. A public hearing on SAVE bond refinancing will be held 7-p.m., Nov. 16^th. In other business, the Audubon School Board Monday, approved a Counsel agreement with Ahlers Cooney out of Des Moines. The District’s current attorney is retiring from school law.

(Radio Iowa) – The Marshalltown City Council has approved a proposal to embed social services workers with police officers. Police Chief Mike Tupper came up with the idea after calls to revamp police services and find better ways to deal with calls to police seeking help for noncriminal but potentially violent situations. Tupper approached Youth and Shelter Services (YSS) of Marshall County to find out how to get specialists in social services embedded with police.

“And going out into the community and helping us solve and deal with some really complicated issues. Sometimes we’re asking our cops to do too much and they have to be a jack-of-all-trades,” Tupper says. He says the program would give officers more support. “We think if we can partner with some social services, we can do a better job of providing resources in our community of addressing problems and maybe preventing some problems,” according to Tupper.

Tupper and YSS Of Marshall County director David Hicks went to the City Council to request $25,000 to develop the program. After mentioning it would probably take $150,000 to fund such a program for a year — the city council approve the $150,000. The program will be called Marshalltown Partnership and Community Action Team or MPACT. Hicks is confident the program can make a difference. “It’s any social service involvement — maybe it’s behavioral issues with a child, police tell me they get calls from 911 from parents angry at their 13-year old for not wanting to do the dishes or doesn’t want to do his homework. So that’s getting a 911 call and a police visit. That is not law enforcement’s job,” Hicks says.

Hicks says MPACT can help in those situations. “We certainly want to reduce the frequency of police contact for non-cop duties. We want to make sure that there’s adequate support for people’s homes, so they’re not calling the police all the time, because if you keep calling the cops, someone’s gonna get arrested,” according to Hicks. A hiring process for two social workers to be on call with the Marshalltown Police 24/7 is underway. The plan is to begin the program in January.

(Radio Iowa) – A Teacher in Webster County has resigned after being accused of sexual misconduct. Brandon Louis has resigned from his post as music teacher at Southeast Valley High School in Gowrie after being accused of sexual misconduct. A former student spoke at the school board meeting Tuesday alleging that while she was a student there, Louis sent her text messages of a sexual nature. Reportedly over 20 current and former female students are claiming that Louis sent them similar messages.

The District said in a statement Tuesday Night they are cooperating with law enforcement as they investigate the allegations.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Anita Rescue and Wiota Fire were dispatched this morning to a two-vehicle collision with rollover accident west of Wiota, at 655th and Whitepole Road. The call went out at 7:48-a.m.  According to the report, one vehicle was on the road while the other rolled into the ditch. Additional details are currently not available.

Another crash was reported in the Omaha area on eastbound I-80 near the I-480 split. That crash was reported around 7:30 a.m. The Nebraska Department of Transportation reports that the center two lanes are closed. Avoid the area and use an alternate route if possible.