(Atlantic, Iowa) – Members of the Atlantic School District’s Board of Education held a work session Wednesday evening. Before they discussed an update to their Strategic Plan, the Board toured the Middle School, to check on progress made in the renovation process that has taken place, following a fire at the school last July. Most of the damage was from water used to keep the flames that began on the roof, from spreading, as well as a copious amount of smoke.

Superintendent Steve Barber sent KJAN News some pictures of the progress that’s been made to date. (Updated w/additional pics on 1/28/22)

spiral ductwork replaced in the band room

new insulation installed around the ductwork

new walls in the MS office area. This office was really damaged from the water

Is the subfloor for classroom being carpeted. All subfloors have been installed.

Media Center on main floor. This is new hardwood in our Media Center. You can not really see, but the far side will be carpeted later on in the construction phase.

Partial layout and installation of MS Stage in the Auditorium.

Top level science wing. Please note the difference in color as new boards were dovetailed into existing hardwood.

(Radio Iowa) – A woman who’s a top administrator at the prestigious Cleveland Clinic will become interim C-E-O of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Current University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics C-E-O Suresh Gunasekaran is leaving at the end of February, to become chief the University of California San Fransisco Health. Kimberly Hunter will take over at the Iowa City health system March 1st. She’s currently serving as a chief nursing executive at the Cleveland Clinic. Hunter has previous experience at Mayo Clinic as well.

Kimberly Hunter (2021 photo via UIHC

Nearly eight-thousand people are employed at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, putting it among the state’s 15 largest employers. The outgoing University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics was featured in a video, along with Governor Kim Reynolds, that was released in November of 2020 that encouraged Iowans to get vaccinated against Covid.

(Radio Iowa) – There’s another effort in the legislature to make it illegal for motorists to use HAND-HELD smart phones for any purpose while driving. A law passed in 2017 made TEXTING while driving illegal, but drivers are still allowed to hold their phone to make calls or check navigation apps. Police say it’s hard to tell exactly what a driver with a cell phone in their hand is doing and Sarah Jennings of the Iowa Department of Public Safety says the current law is unenforceable. “We have to get phones out of the hands of drivers. It’s become a scourge on our roads and it’s a lethal one,” she says.

Matthew McKinney, a lobbyist for Nationwide Mutual Insurance, notes 25 other states have laws requiring motorists to use hands-free technology while driving. “When these sorts of laws are passed, they result in an immediate decrease in fatalities,” McKinney says. “We’ve seen an average of a 15% reduction, other states higher than that, in terms of fatalities for states that have enacted this sort of legislation.” Major Mark Stein of the Iowa State Patrol says last year there were 373 crashes in Iowa where the driver was distracted by an electronic device.”It’s probably an under-reported issue,” Stine says, “because it’s very hard in these investigations to come in there and you ask people: ‘Were you using a phone?’ and they say: ‘No.'”

A House committee and a Senate subcommittee have approved bills to ban handheld cell phone use while driving in Iowa. A third bill that’s cleared another panel would declare school zones and road construction zones as areas where motorists are not allowed to handle a phone while driving. That bill is described as plan B, in case the legislature again balks at passing a statewide ban on driving with a cell phone in hand.

(Radio Iowa) – Republicans in the Iowa House are considering a bill that would let 16-year-olds work in child care facilities on their own, without having an adult supervisor in the room. Wade Riedinger is executive director for the Iowa Alliance of Y-M-C-As, which supports the bill. He says 16 and 17 year olds already serve as lifeguards and youth sports officials. “Our families are facing waiting lists to get into our child care centers and we feel that this bill will give our child care directors the opportunity of having a bigger pool of candidates,” he says.

Janee Harvey with the Department of Human Services says Iowa would be the only state to let 16 and 17 year olds work, unsupervised, in child care centers or homes that provide child care, and it could jeopardize federal funding.  “I want to make clear, especially like a child development home — so it’s not a child care center where you have other adults around — with this current change, you could have a 16-year-old alone with up to 12 kids,” Harvey says. “That raises some significant concerns.”

Harvey says her agency is proposing that 15-year-olds be allowed to work at child care centers, but keeping adult supervision for all minors. Key lawmakers working on the issue say they’re considering changes to the bill before it’s debated in a House committee.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Board of Supervisors in Adair County will conduct an in-person meeting in their Boardroom at the Courthouse in Greenfield, Friday, beginning at 9-a.m. (The meeting will be accessible by dial-in, as well**). On their agenda, is a 5th Judicial District Annual report, a Manure Management Plan (MMP) update, and a Resolution to extend the City of Stuart Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) TIF (Tax Increment Financing) Ordinance.

The Board will hear from County Treasurer Brenda Wallace, and her Semi-Annual report, along with a Longevity Increase. Adair County Auditor Mandy Berg will present an Agreement for the Combination of a Rural Township & City Precinct, along with a Legislative Services Agency (LSA) Redistricting Plan. Afterward, the Board will act on setting the date for a public hearing on the Redistricting Ordinance.

Adair County Engineer Nick Kauffman has numerous road projects to report on, during his segment of the meeting. He’ll also discuss budget matters and the FY 23 Construction Program. The Supervisors will conclude the meeting with a FY 2023 Budget Work Session.

(**Dial-In number: (605)-313-6157, Access Code: 526272#)

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports the arrest on a warrant, of a man from Texas. Authorities say 19-year-old Samien Phillip Flores, of San Juan, TX., was arrested at around 2:30-p.m. Wednesday, on a Texas warrant for Aggravated Assault with a deadly weapon. US Marshals apprehended Flores with the assistance of Creston Police Department and Union County Sheriff Department. Flores was transported to Union County Jail.