(Radio Iowa) – Iowans who made a donation to charity on Giving Tuesday in order to get a tax deduction are fortunate this year as far as their federal returns. I-R-S spokesman Christopher Miller says changes to tax laws mean you can still file a simple return and deduct at least some of those donations.  Miller says, “It certainly opens up avenues for taxpayers who still want to make a donation and take a deduction for those donations but find it more advantageous to take the standard deduction.” That means you can deduct 300 dollars in donations on the standard 10-40 or 10-40 E-Z form without filing more paperwork.

“You’re still able to take that standard deduction,” Miller says, “and give to a qualified charitable organization and take a deduction on your tax return this year.” If you’re still looking to make a donation before year’s end, make sure you’re giving to a legitimate group. Miller says it’s vital to use a credit card or a check when donating and to get a receipt.  “Don’t fall for or be pressured into donating by a gift card, like an iTunes gift card or a wire transfer,” Miller says. “That should be a big red flag to people that the charity is not for real.”

Also, he says to make sure the charity you’re singling out qualifies for donations under federal tax laws. Find a list of qualifying charities at irs.gov.

(Shenandoah, Iowa) – Police in Shenandoah say a man was arrested on a drug charge early this (Thursday) morning, following a traffic stop on a vehicle with an equipment violation. Authorities say Officers pulled the vehicle over in the 200 block of N. Center Street in Shenandoah, at around 1:40-a.m. Following an investigation, the driver, 21-year-old Noah William Flowers, of Essex, was arrested for Possession of Paraphernalia. He was also cited for Driving While Suspended.

Flowers was released with the citation and a court date.

(Radio Iowa) – Employers of all sorts across Iowa are looking to hire on seasonal help for the final month of the year and package delivery companies are seeking small armies of workers. Marc Shannon, talent acquisition director at U-P-S, says they’re trying to fill hundreds of full- and part-time positions in Iowa, from tractor-trailer and van drivers to driver helpers and warehouse workers. “We’re preparing for another record peak season,” Shannon says. “The COVID-19 pandemic continues to make our services more important than ever. We’re in the midst of hiring over 100,000 people for seasonal jobs, many of whom will have a job offer within 30 minutes of applying.”

The delivery giant’s peak season is already underway and will run through mid-January, as returns are a big part of the business after Christmas. With warehouses in Des Moines and Omaha-Council Bluffs, U-P-S opened a ten-million dollar cargo facility in June at the Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids — all of which are hiring. “UPS offers competitive wages across multiple shifts throughout the country,” Shannon says. “UPS has a track record of turning seasonal jobs into careers, and over the last three years, nearly one-third of the company’s seasonal package handlers were later hired in a permanent position after the holidays.”

The company has seasonal openings in cities across Iowa, including in: Cedar Falls, Creston, Davenport, Iowa Falls, Jesup, Marshalltown, Mason City, Oskaloosa, Ottumwa and Waterloo.

For more information and to apply, visit www.UPSjobs.com.

(Radio Iowa) -Two of the five nationwide finalists for a one million dollar New Year’s Powerball prize drawing are from Iowa. Iowa Lottery spokesperson Mary Neubauer says it’s the third year for this promotion. “It’s called the ‘Powerball First Millionaire of the Year’ promotion,” according to Neubauer. “And each year there have been five finalists for the prize. Iowa has never had a finalist before — and no state has ever had more than one finalist in the drawing.” One finalist is Rob Long of Waterloo who buys tickets for a pool of his co-workers, friends, and family who call the group Lotto 22.  “I work with a majority of them. We have a couple of retirees that stay with it and they keep telling me we are going to win. So, once every so often they give me a bunch of money to keep track of, and I have a nice spreadsheet,” Long says.

Shari Beenken from the small Kossuth County town of Titonka is the other finalist. Beenken and Long had to keep the news from others until today — and she says that was tough to do during the Thanksgiving holiday with her sister. She says they went to a Christmas tree farm and her sister asked her about the First Millionaire drawing and she says she told her sister she didn’t know yet. Players had to enter non-winning tickets to get a chance at the New Year’s drawing. Long says his group didn’t know he had entered. “When I got to tell them all, I think that was probably the best part of this. Some of them got anxiety, some were shaking, some didn’t know what to think, and a couple didn’t believe me,” Long says.

They each have already won ten-thousand dollars in cash and a ten-thousand-dollar home entertainment package for being finalists. Long’s group will each get around 45-thousand dollars if they win the million-dollar prize. Beenken will get the keep the entire one million dollars if she wins. She and her husband want to get a vacation home, and she’d like some new appliances. “Oh yeah, a new dishwasher and a new stove,” she says. Beenken says it was hard waiting to tell everyone about being a finalist, and now there is a whole month to wait before she knows if she won. “It’s going to take forever,” she says. Long has the same feeling. “It took forever just to get to this point, a lot of thinking about it,” Long says. “We have a month to go,” Neubauer says. “Now we’ve got another month to get through this,” Long says.

They will get to find out before midnight as the announcement on A-B-C’s broadcast of “Dick Clark’s Rockin’ Eve” in Times Square, New York will come in the eastern time zone — which means 11 p-m Iowa time.

The members of the Lotto 22 are:
From Clarksville: Scott Herrmann and Victor Herrmann
From Denver: Bruce Gonnerman
From Dunkerton: Michael Nicolaus and Nancy Smock
From Independence: Bryan Cain and Kristen Kayser
From Jesup: Ronald Kester
From La Porte City: Bruce Long
From Oelwein: Ellyn Perkins
From Plainfield: Valeria Marks
From Raymond: Randy Ruehs
From Shell Rock: Grant Clark
From Waterloo: Trish Bandfield, Mark Burke, Steven Foster, Kelvin Holmes, Rob Long, Nesffy Molina, Mike O’Connor, Martin Van Horn, Eric Woodward.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – Police in Council Bluffs, said Wednesday, that a Council Bluffs Public School District employee was arrested Dec. 1st on a warrant charging her with Threats of Terrorism. Capt. Todd Weddum said 37-year-old Katrina Phelan, of Council Bluffs, was taken into custody after she turned herself in to the Pottawattamie County Jail. Phelan faces three Class-D Felony counts of Threats of Terrorism. Each count is punishable by up to 5 years of prison.

Council Bluffs police detectives conducted an investigation into a series of anonymous handwritten notes found inside the school, all making reference to committing gun violence upon school property. Each of the notes were reportedly either found in Phelan’s classroom or found by Phelan herself, in various locations within the school. While the  investigation was taking place, the school district worked with the Council Bluffs Police Department to increase the  security presence inside the building.

When interviewed, Phelan admitted to writing the notes. It was determined that she had no intentions or means of carrying out these threats. In at least one of the notes, Phelan, posing as an unnamed student, wrote that she was tired  of being made fun of.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City Council in Atlantic had a light agenda and a short session, Wednesday night. Early on, the Council tabled until their next meeting, an Order to approve an agreement with Snyder and Associates Engineers, for a Nutrient Reduction Strategy Report, based on a request from the Wastewater Treatment Plant Supervisor Tim Snyder.  The Council heard from Atlantic Municipal Utilities General Manager Steve Tjepkes, prior to approving (as a formality) AMU’s Calendar Year 2022 Budget.

His report to the Council stated:  “The 2022 Budget has been reviewed and adopted by the AMU Board of Trustees, after a Public Hearing held this past Monday night.” Here is a breakdown of his report:
Electric Operations:
• No rate increases budgeted for 2022
• Nationally, wholesale electric prices increased in 2021, as the U.S. economy recovered from 2020 COVID slow-down, allowing AMU to generate more electricity from our coal plant in Council Bluffs and sell into wholesale market at higher profit margins.
• 2022 Capital projects include replacing a set of switch gear in our main substation at a cost of S 1.3 million. We already replaced the other set of switch gear this year for
about S 1.2 million.
• With the low interest rates being earned on our reserve funds, we will be paying off $2,525,000 of our remaining electric debt in 2022. After this payment, both the Electric and Water Departments will be debt-free.
• Recent electric rate survey of all 181 electric companies in the state showed only one utility company in state of Iowa (Muscatine) with lower overall average rates than AMU.
Water Operations:
• No rate increases budgeted for 2022
• A year ago, AMU was awarded a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for almost $500,000 to pay a portion of 2 large water capital improvement projects:
1. In 2021 , completed installation of water main underneath Nishnabotna River along 2nd street near wastewater treatment plant to provide loop feed to customers west of the Nishnabotna river
2. In 2022, plan to refurbish 6 large filters in the water treatment plant at a cost of $725,000, with the CDBG covering $390,000 of the cost.
• Tjepkes said “We plan to apply for another CDBG grant to help with the cost of replacing an underground water storage tank with an above ground tank at an estimated cost of $1-million.”

(Left to right) Atlantic Knights of Columbus members Todd Roecker, Gary Richter (Mayor Dave Jones), Dr. Keith Leonard (DVM) and Phil Hascall. (Ric Hanson, photo)

Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones then issued a Proclamation with regard to the Knights of Columbus:

“Whereas, the Knights of Columbus is the world’s largest Roman Catholic fraternal organization having 1.9 Million members in more than 15.000 councils in a total of 1 7 countries across the
globe, including 242 councils and 31.000 members in Iowa, and 152 members in the Monsignor Kane Atlantic Council,

Whereas the Knights of Columbus annual fraternal activities include more that 76 Million hours of volunteer service, and over 176 Million dollars in charitable contributions,

Whereas the Knights of Columbus was founded in 1882 by Blessed Father Michael J. McGivney at St. Mary ‘s parish church in New Haven, CT,

and, Whereas the Monsignor Kane Atlantic Knights of Columbus council was chartered on December 9th, 1906. and has been in continual service to the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church and local charities in the Atlantic area for the past 115 years…

I hereby proclaim December 9th, 2021 to be knights of Columbus day. and I congratulate the Monsignor Kane Atlantic Knights of Columbus council on achieving 115 years of continual service to the Atlantic area.” Signed David Jones, Mayor City of Atlantic, Iowa.

The Council then proceeded to approve the closure of the following streets this Saturday, Dec. 4th, for the 2021 Lighted Parade that begins at 4:30-p.m.:

• 6th & Chestnut to 6th & Walnut Streets
• 6th & Chestnut in front of Wells Fargo Bank
• 6th & Chestnut to 6th and Poplar Street.

In the Council Committee reports, Councilperson Kathy Somers said the Personnel and Finance Committee met Monday night. She said they talked about a City right-of-way that is under consideration to be vacated, and a possible donation of $5,000 to the Anne W. Wickman Center. Somers said also, there will be a new sound system installed in the Council Chambers at a cost of $9,000. Once the installation is complete, it should make it much easier for people in the audience to hear what’s being said during the meetings.

In other business, Councilman Dick Casady mentioned his wife had suffered a heart attack and had some stents put-in. She is recovering from the surgery. And, a recount was requested following the outcome of Tuesday’s Mayoral run-off race, in Atlantic. As you may recall, Grace Garrett was the unofficial winner by four votes over Tim Teig, 588-to 584. Atlantic City Clerk Barb Barrick said during the Council’s meeting, that County Auditor Dale Sunderman has informed that Teig took out papers to file for a recount.

Grace Garrett and Tim Teig will each appoint an individual to serve on the recount board. And the two together will appoint a third person.