The Iowa DOT’s 511 system reports (as of 6:18-a.m.) the right shoulder of Interstate 80 eastbound, one-mile east of the Highway 71/Atlantic-Brayton exit, is blocked due to a crash. Additional information was not immediately available.

A regular meeting of the Atlantic School Board will take place 6-p.m. Wednesday (July 14), in the High School Media Center (and streamed live on YouTube). Discussion items on their agenda will include an update on the District’s Facility Project, and a review of Board Policies, Series 300 and 900. Action items include:

• 2021-22 Student Fees (Superintendent Steve Barber says the current fee structure has remained unchanged for the past three-years, and he sees “No reason to make any change for the upcoming school year.” Adult lunch prices have not yet officially been posted. Mr. Barber says “If these lunches need to be different than $3.95, we [the Board] will need to revisit next month.”
• The Atlantic School Board will act on awarding a 2021-22 Fuel Contract, and
• Spring 2022 Coaching Contracts as follows:
  • Head Boys Track – Abby Becker
  • 8th Grade Boys Track – Trace Petersen
  • Head Girls Track – Matt Mullenix
  • Asst. Girls Track – Derek Hall
  • 7th Grade Girls Track – Casey Pelzer
  • 8th Grade Girls Track – Taylor Williams
  • Head Tennis – Michael McDermott
  • Asst. Tennis – Cole Renken
  • Head Girls Soccer – Dan Vargason
  • Head Boys Soccer – Matt Smith
  • Asst. Girls Soccer – Alyssa Dovenspike
  • Asst. Boys Soccer – Mark Anderson
  • Head Boys Golf – Ed Den Beste
  • Head Girls Golf – Kathy Hobson.

The School Board will also act on approving the resignations of Amber Caudle – MS Paraprofessional, and Rob Hansen – HS Asst. Baseball Coach. The are expected to approve also, Contract Recommendations for: Tori Dolch – Freshman Volleyball Coach; Adam Smith – Volunteer Football Coach; Katy Christensen, Vol. Volleyball Coach; Bruce Henderson – Vol. Cross Country Coach; Clair Acker, Jim Mullenix and Roger Warne – Substitute/Activity Bus Drivers.

KCCI in Des Moines reports attorneys for Cristhian Bahena Rivera announced Monday that they will request a new trial after someone admitted to killing Mollie Tibbetts. Bahena Rivera’s sentencing for first-degree murder is scheduled for Thursday. According to court documents, a state prison inmate came forward after Bahena Rivera’s guilty verdict in May. The documents say an inmate housed in a county jail heard from another inmate that he killed Mollie Tibbetts.

That inmate allegedly said Tibbetts was kidnapped for sex trafficking and bound and gagged in a trap house but that he was directed to kill Tibbetts once the search for her got too close. The man allegedly told the inmate that he was directed by the sex trafficker in charge to stab Tibbetts and dump her body near a Hispanic male to make it look like the Hispanic male committed the crime. The reporting inmate said he did not share the confession until he heard Bahena Rivera testify that two other men killed Tibbetts.

Records show another person came forward to law enforcement, stating the same person admitted to them that they had killed Tibbetts. State prosecutors said they learned about the alleged confession during the trial and do not believe it is credible. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said the confession is not credible and they firmly believe Bahena Rivera is solely responsible for Tibbetts’ death.

Bahena Rivera’s attorneys have requested this state inmate to testify. On Monday, a judge ruled that a Mount Pleasant inmate Arne Maki can be transported to Poweshiek County court on Thursday when the sentencing is taking place. It is unclear if Maki is the inmate who came forward. The judge did not rule on the request for a new trial.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says 29 Iowa State Troopers are in southwest Texas, in the city of Del Rio which is on the U-S-Mexico border. Reynolds sent the troopers after the governor of Texas asked for assistance in providing border security and the Iowa Department of Public Safety confirmed it could handle their troopers’ absences. “I’ll get a nightly update from the commissioner on what they’ve faced during the day,” Reynolds says. The state troopers arrived in Texas a couple of days ago and the governor says they’ll be there a total of 16 days.

Reynolds says the State of Iowa is covering the costs of the deployment. “We sat down with the commissioner before we sent them down to make sure that they felt they could not only handle the safety of citizens in the State of Iowa, but had the resources to go down there,” Reynolds says, “and they assured us that they did.”

South Dakota’s governor is using money from a private donor to pay the expense of sending South Dakota National Guard soldiers to the same city of Del Rio.

(Radio Iowa) – The Republican governors of Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota say they’re taking steps to address the region’s workforce shortage. The governors met in the Sioux City metro yesterday (Monday) for the 17th Tri-State Governors’ Conference and spoke to more than 200 business leaders. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds says businesses are adjusting to address the workforce shortage and government must, too.

“We want to be a partner in that,” Reynolds says. “We want to help Iowans retrain, reskill, match them up with the opportunities that exist across the state.” South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem says she, Reynolds and Nebraska’s governor were criticized for the way they dealt with the pandemic, but Noem says their approach should be a selling point to get potential workers to move into the region.

“The recruitment of workers is important outside the state to fill the needs that we have,” Noem says. “In South Dakota, tourism is our second largest industry and we’re being creative in how we fill that workforce need.” Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts says ending the extra federal money in unemployment checks will get more Nebraskans back in the workforce.

“Wages are driven by the market and I think employers should pay what the market is demanding to be able to employ people,” Rickett says, “but I also don’t believe that the government should be competing with employers on that.” The Tri-State Governors’ Conference which is held every two years in the Sioux City area. One business leader told the three governors that states must act because there just aren’t enough workers, not because of the pandemic, but because older workers are retiring and there aren’t enough younger workers to fill those jobs.