(Atlantic, Iowa) –The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday evening (June 5th), set the dates for citizens to use fireworks over the Independence Day Holiday. By a vote of 6-to 1, with Councilman Gerald Brink voting no, the Council set Wednesday, July 3rd through Saturday, July 6th, from Noon until 11-p.m. each day, as the dates and times for fireworks to be allowed within the City Limits.

Brink said he had received comments from people who wanted the fireworks to be reduced to two nights only. Councilperson Emily Kennedy said the Community Protection Committee felt most people will have get together’s over the weekend, because people do celebrate Friday and Saturday. The Council has essentially the same discussion last year at this time. According to City Ordinance (Chapter 41.13):

• A person shall only discharge a fireworks device on real property they own or on property where consent has been given.
  (1) Exceptions: Snakes, sparklers, or caps can be discharged on a public place so long as all trash, wrappers, and wires are properly disposed of.
• Sky lantern open flame devices are not permitted to be released within the city limits, except if tethered by a retrievable rope so long as the person discharging has control over the sky lantern.
• No fireworks of any time shall be discharged within 300 ft. of any Public school building, assisted living facility, or hospital.

Any person who violates the provisions of the fireworks discharging ordinance or without reckless intent causes injury, property damage or a fire shall be guilty of a scheduled municipal infraction punishable by a $250 fine in addition to established court costs. Persons who violates the discharging fireworks ordinance after having been found guilty of a previous municipal infraction involving fireworks shall be cited for a municipal infraction with a fine of $600 plus associated court costs.

In other business, the Atlantic City Council heard from officials with Vision Atlantic with regard to a proposal to utilize Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for the Camblin Hills Development and Child Development project. During their meeting on May 15th, the Council adopted a resolution to sell City-owned property purchased from the Comes Family Trust in 2022, to Vision Atlantic for the sum of One-dollar, in exchange for what City Administrator John Lund says is “A tremendous amount of capital investment into the area”: More than $4.1-million in infrastructure; $48.8-million in housing, and a $10.7-million child development center on the land. Part of the proposal includes a TIF rebate not to exceed $10.5-million over a period of 15-years. Lund says “This would be the largest project, and the largest multi-entity partnership ever seen in Atlantic’s history. The scale of capital investment is enormous.”

Atlantic City Council mtg., 6/5/24

Following discussion, the Council acted on approving on an Order allowing for a Low-to-moderate Income (LMI) Reduction Waiver Request to be filed with the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA), on behalf of Vision Atlantic and the aforementioned development project.

The Council also approved a Professional Services Agreement with Snyder & Associates (at a cost of $25,000), for a Downtown Treescape Improvement Master Plan, which includes options, public engagement and Budget estimates.

The Council set June 19th at 5:30-p.m., as the date and time for a Public Hearing on an Amended FY2024 Budget. The hearing takes place in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall.

(Radio Iowa) – The state Environmental Protection Commission has given grants to six Iowa small towns to help them deal with run-down buildings. The D-N-R’s Reid Bermel overseas the Derelict Building Grant Program which selects communities with five-thousand or fewer residents for the grants.

“We help them either renovate, deconstruct or abate asbestos, essentially, and eliminate that environmental hazard for the community while trying to keep materials out of the landfill,” Bermel says. This year’s grant awardees are Coon Rapids, Glidden, Ida Grove, Rockford, Greene, New Market and Menlo. Several of the projects will redevelop buildings for retail or housing. Bermel says a lot of the material from the buildings can go to new uses.

“The majority of the waste of these buildings are in the masonry, so the brick and concrete. It’s common to with the correct permitting, they can do shore restorations with that; they can also repurpose and grind them up and use them on their roadways,” he says.

The program’s funding is capped at 400-thousand dollars annually. The Derelict Building Grant Program has funded nearly 200 projects since 2012 in more than 100 different communities.

(Denison, Iowa) – One person died and four others were injured during a collision Tuesday night in Crawford County. The Iowa State Patrol reports the crash happened east of Denison at around 9:50-p.m. on Highway 30, west of N Avenue, when a 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix went out of control and collided with a 2016 Chevy Suburban. The accident took place as the car was traveling eastbound on Highway 30 and the Suburban was traveling westbound.

The Patrol says the driver of the car, 23-year-old Brent Robert Dale Stephan, of Yukon, OK, and two passengers suffered serious injuries. One occupant of the car, 35-year-old Cory Robert Beer, of Bayard, died at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt. 23-year-old Heaven Marie Holloway, and 44-year-old Stacy Marie Holloway, both of Lytton, were injured, They were not wearing a seat belt.  Both women and Brent Stephan were flown by LifeFlight to the UNMC in Omaha.

The driver of the Suburban, 19-year-old Morgan Wade Andersen, of Shelby, was transported by Denison EMS to the Crawford County Hospital in Denison, for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. The crash remains under investigation. The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office and Denison EMS.

(Radio Iowa) – A very rainy May set Iowa farmers back on planting, and all that moisture also put crops at risk. Pools of standing water can still be found in low areas of fields throughout the state, leaving nearly a quarter of Iowa’s farmland topsoil holding surplus moisture. Besides keeping farmers from finishing their planting, U-S-D-A Midwest Climate Hub director Dennis Todey says the standing water could hurt already-planted crops down the line, if it dries out.

Todey asks, “Will root development be appropriate so that if we turn drier in the summer that can we still get at moisture that’s in the soil?” Todey says he has several concerns for planted crops in areas where there’s still standing water.

“The concern always at this point is, one: yield, can we get it along enough in the season to get a yield,” he asks, “and then two: will it get to mature in time before the fall freeze?” June is typically Iowa’s wettest month, and current climate projections show more rain is likely, with drier conditions possible by the middle of the month.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Police in Glenwood say a man from Omaha was arrested today (Wednesday), on an OWI charge. 44-year-old Joseph Dueling, III, was arrested for OWI/1st offense, with bond set at $1,000.

(Radio Iowa) – Congressman Randy Feenstra says he’s hopeful a new Farm Bill will get through the House and Senate yet this year.  “I think it might,” Feenstra says. “We’re going to get it marked up in the House in June and then it’s just a matter of working through the Senate.” Feenstra is a member of the House Ag Committee and the so-called “mark up” is the prelude to presenting the bill to the full House for a vote. Last fall, congress had to extend the Farm Bill that passed in 2018 because work on a new five-year plan was stalled. “There’s a lot of ongoing discussion right now of how we can get it done before September 30. I think there’s incentives on both sides and for both parties. We both see how important crop insurance is, our export markets, China buying our farmland,” Feenstra said. “I think there’s key components here that both parties want to get completed and I’m optimistic as to what I’ve heard over the past week.”

Earlier this week Feenstra emerged as the winner of the G-O-P Primary in Iowa’s fourth congressional district. “Fourth district voters sent a clear message that they want a conservative leader who delivers real results for our families and our farmers, businesses and rural communities,” Feenstra says.

Kevin Virgil, a software company owner who served in the Army and was a C-I-A officer, moved back to the O’Brien County farm where he grew up to run against Feenstra. Virgil made opposition to carbon capture pipelines the cornerstone of his campaign. Feenstra won just over 60 percent of the vote in the primary, compared to just under 40 percent for Virgil. “I was endorsed by the National Rifle Association. I was endorsed by the (National) Right to Life. I was endorsed by the Republican Jewish Coalition. I was endorsed by the Iowa Farm Bureau. These are all conservative organizations,” Feenstra says. “I think they know what’s best, along with our voters.”

Feenstra, who had surgery on May 2nd to treat a blood clot in his leg, says he’s doing well and is following his doctor’s recommendations during the recovery period. Feenstra, who is 55, is seeking a third term in the U-S House.

(Radio Iowa) – A southwest Iowan who graduated from high school last month has won a competitive primary for a seat on the Mills County Board of Supervisors. Eighteen year old Jack Sayers is one of three Republicans seeking two at-large positions on the board. Unofficial results in Mills County show he got nearly 37 percent of the vote, finishing ahead of two incumbents.

Sayers grew up on a farm near Malvern, a town of a thousand residents that’s about 20 miles west of Red Oak. Sayers graduated from East Mills High School on May 19th. He worked as a page in the Iowa House during the 2023 and 2024 legislative sessions and did a one month stint as a U-S Senate intern last summer.

Jack Sayers of Malvern won 884 votes in the GOP Primary for two at-large seats on the Mills County Board of Supervisors. (KMA photo)

Sayers says his county’s board of supervisors needs to live-stream its meetings so Mills County residents can find out how their tax dollars are being spent.

Sayers finished more than 100 votes ahead of a Mills County Supervisor who’s been on the board for over 11 years. Another incumbent who was first elected in 2016 was in third place. It’s likely Sayers’ victory in Tuesday’s Primary means he’s secured a seat on the Mills County Board of Supervisors. Nearly 61 percent of registered voters in the county are Republicans and no Democrat ran in the primary for a seat on the board.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports two people were arrested on separate warrants Tuesday. 25-year-old Morgan Christine Hamling (No known address), was arrested at the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, on a Mills County warrant for Failure to Appear (in court). Her bond was set at $300. And, 36-year-old Clayton Shane Geick, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at the Pott. County Sheriff’s Office, on a Mills County warrant for Violation of Probation. His bond was set at $1,000.

Sheriff’s officials report also, 44-year-old Joseph Arthur Dueling, III, of Omaha, was arrested at around 1:25-a.m. Wednesday (June 5th), following a traffic stop on I-29 in Mills County. Dueling was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Unlawful Possession of a Prescription Drug. His bond was set at $2,000.

(Radio Iowa) – Just eight percent of registered Iowa voters cast ballots in Tuesday’s Primary Elections. Secretary of State Paul Pate is Iowa’s top election official. “It’s a quiet election and we’ll be analyzing that for some time to figure out: ‘What was that about?’ Is it voter fatigue? Is it because there wasn’t some big statewide primary?” 2012 was the last time there was no statewide race in Iowa’s Primary Elections and about nine percent of eligible voters participated. For this week’s primaries, nearly 184-thousand Iowans cast ballots — out of more than two-point-two MILLION registered voters. “I’m going to be looking at those numbers personally just to see if the base vote is out there for Republicans and Democrats,” Pate says, “because it’ll translate into what happens this November.”

Pate says primary results give the winning candidates insight into what worked and what didn’t. “How did our yard signs go going out? How did our phone calls go getting the vote out? Did we get the number we thought we were going to get in turnout? That is your rehearsal,” Pate says. “Even if you don’t have anybody running against you in a primary, it is a rehearsal.” There were three competitive congressional primaries on Tuesday’s ballot.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate speaking to a West Des Moines Valley High School class about registering to vote. (RI file photo)

In the first congressional district, incumbent Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks won by 12 points. Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra finished 20 percent ahead of his primary challenger in the fourth congressional district. In the third district, Democrat Lanon Baccam won 84 percent of that primary’s vote and will challenge Republican Congressman Zach Nunn in the General Election — which is 153 days away.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, today (Wednesday), passed a resolution updating the Sheriff’s Schedule of Inmate Fees at the Jail. The new schedule is as follows:

• Inmate Room and Board/Work Release: $60 per day
• Report requests: $10 per request
• Fingerprints: $20 for the 1st request, & $10 for each additional request
• Sheriff’s sale postponements/cancellations/rescheduling requests: $100 fee to cover administrative costs of rescheduling.

Sheriff Jon Spunaugle – who is on the Montgomery County RAGBRAI Committee, discussed RAGBRAI® camping on the Law Enforcement Center property. He said he expects about 30-to 40 tents to be located on the lawn, and there will be some restrictions in-place

Montgomery County Board of Supervisors meeting (6-5-24) via Zoom

The Board gave its blessing to allowing the use of the lawn for camping during the night of July 21st. In other business, the Montgomery County Supervisors received a regular report from County Engineer Karen Albert.

She also reminded the citizens of Montgomery County about current road closures.

And, Karen Albert was thrilled to report the 250th Street bridge road is open after flooding in 2019 caused heavy damage.

The Board also heard from Marielle Anne Alipio, with the U-S Small Business Administration, with regard to Disaster Recovery/Assistance for the May 20-21, 2024 severe storms that hit Montgomery County.

The Board’s next meeting is on Tuesday, June 11th, at 8:30-a.m.