(Radio Iowa) – Former Vice President Walter Mondale has died at the age of 93. Mondale’s campaign for the presidency that ended with a loss to President Reagan began with a 49 percent victory in the 1984 Iowa Caucuses. “I wouldn’t change one moment of it,” Mondale said in 1992. “I love public service. I love politics. I love being around people. I love to engage on issues. It is a blessing to be in public life.”

Walter “Fritz” Mondale (1928-2021)

During a debate in Des Moines just before the 1984 Caucuses, Mondale described Iowa politics as “open” and consequential. “On February 20, the Democrats of Iowa will be the most powerful citizens on Earth,” Mondale said. “…If there was ever a time that your country needed you, it’s this time.”

In 2015, Mondale told an Iowa P-B-S reporter that the Iowa Caucus system guarantees the candidates listen to Iowa voters. On Saturday, Mondale sent a note to former staff and campaign alumni, saying his time had come and urging them to continue the good fight. Mondale’s family announced he died Monday in Minneapolis.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration has sent Republican leaders at the state Capitol a letter, warning working conditions may be exposing legislative branch employees to Covid-19 hazards. The OSHA letter says no state law is being broken, but cited concerns about a lack of social distancing and that there is no requirement employees report Covid positive test results to leadership. The late January OSHA inspection of the Capitol did result in a 10-thousand dollar fine.

The inspector said the legislative branch wasn’t keeping records of workplace illnesses or injuries and employees were handling chemical disinfectants without proper training. The most serious citation, though, was about electrical outlets in a Capitol meeting room that posed a shock or burn hazard. A spokeswoman for House Republicans called it a politically-contrived investigation and said G-O-P leaders had taken what she described as extensive efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Senate Republican Leader Jack Whitver says the inspection was the result of a politically motivated complaint from union leaders. He said while the OSHA report noted it’s possible to contract Covid at the Capitol, that’s true of nearly every other activity in the world. So far this year, 10 cases of Covid-19 among people associated with the House and Senate have been publicly announced. One legislator has revealed she still has symptoms. Representative Amy Nielsen tested positive for the virus in late January.

The Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department’s Board of Directors met via Zoom, Monday evening. Parks and Rec Director Bryant Rasmussen said he plans on meeting with a contractor to get the bathroom for the Sunnyside Park Tennis Court opened-up, soon. There were issues with the facilities that required it to be closed, last year.

Rasmussen said some of the dog park equipment that’s been in storage for the Winter, was installed over the past week or so. He said “Everything that’s out there, we were able to [put into place] because of the donations that came in through the donation post” located at the dog park. The only piece of equipment that has yet to arrive, he said, is a hoop that is being built by Curtis Welding. There are numerous tires of various heights and styles that are partially sunk into the ground for dogs to play on. They’ve been painted in a colorful and whimsical way, to make them attractive and fun to look at.

Rasmussen said the response has been phenomenal, and “The donations keep coming, so we’re starting to look at what other things we can continue to add out there.” He said also, he was contacted by the City of Creston late last week. They were looking for advice on putting in a dog park, as well, and wondered how the attractions for the Atlantic Dog Park were obtained. The Park Board members praised the way the Dog Park has turned out. Park Board Member Jolene Smith said “It was really used Sunday,” when the weather was just about perfect.

Rasmussen said he and Foreman Kyle Welter are working on plans for summer programs, including the possibility of incorporating “Jazzercise” into the parks through Jazzercise, Atlantic. “Hopefully this summer we’ll be able to roll [that] out,” and maybe hold the class three or four times over the Summer.  Rasmussen said they’re looking to have the cost of most Summer Programs the same as last year, except for Slow Pitch softball. There is also the possibility of Co-Ed slow pitch, since it wasn’t available last year. The final decision on SP will come later this Spring. Swim Team, Tennis and Pickle-ball would all be the same, and some events will be free.

In other news, the Campground Kiosk at the Schildberg Rec Area has been updated to include the requirement that campers have evidence of having paying for your spot. That must be with you at all times, whether that’s in the window of your camper, or whether Parks Staff knock on the door and ask for proof of payment. Rasmussen said they’re trying to eliminate “The go-between that we get into, running back to City Hall,” to see if a person had actually paid and then running back to see if the camper has evidence for it if they haven’t paid for their spot. Rasmussen said the Campground Hosts are in-place. They will help to make sure spaces are being used by PAID campers.

Rasmussen said there are some questions that have been raised with regard to parking at the Little League/Soccer Complex (across from KJAN), which the City rents from AMU. The question, he said, boils down to “How that area is used. The issues right now is, during Little League days, they don’t have enough parking, so they are wanting to have overflow parking go onto the soccer fields.” He said the Soccer Association obviously doesn’t want that to happen, “Because they’re wanting to make sure their fields aren’t getting torn-up.”

Parks Board member Ashley Hayes said the problem is that people aren’t parking smartly out there. “You should be able to get four rows of parking on the west side, and two rows of parking on the east side.” There really hadn’t been an issue with parking until Soccer began to grow in popularity over the past five-years, the Board said. The complex is owned by AMU (Atlantic Municipal Utilities). Rasmussen will try and coordinate a meeting between the respective parties and AMU, to come to some sort of compromise on the matter of parking.

The Parks and Rec Board voted to return to City Hall for their regular monthly meetings, beginning May 17th at 5:15-p.m. Up until now, their meetings had been held electronically, due to concerns over COVID. Increased vaccinations and a reduction in Cass County cases prompted the decision to return to in-person meetings for the foreseeable future.

(Radio Iowa) – A Central Iowa man will spend 12 years in prison for receiving child pornography. Court information shows the F-B-I got a tip in December of 2017 that 33-year-old Joseph Cerwick of Urbandale received pornography from the internet.

The F-B-I executed a search warrant and found hundreds of images of child pornography and a video of child pornography. Cerwick was ordered to pay nine-thousand dollars in restitution along with his 144-month prison sentence.

A Council Bluffs woman was sentenced Monday (April 19) in Council Bluffs U-S District Court, to serve slightly more than 4-years in prison for Possession with the Intent to Distribute/Methamphetamine. As part of her 50-month sentence, 21-year-old Destiny Marsh was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release to follow her prison term and pay a $100 to the Crime Victims’ Fund. There is no parole in the federal system.

On March 3, 2020, Marsh was found unresponsive in her motel room at the Deluxe Inn in Council Bluffs. The Council Buffs Fire Department was dispatched to the scene and upon arrival saw a large bag containing approximately 800 grams of methamphetamine and cash next to Marsh. She pleaded guilty to the offense on November 6, 2020.

The investigation was conducted by the Southwest Iowa Narcotics Task Force and the Council Bluffs Police Department. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

(Radio Iowa) – The insurance company for the City of Cedar Rapids is planning to pay an eight million dollar settlement to a black man who was shot during a 2016 traffic stop. Jerime Mitchell is paralyzed from the neck down. Mitchell and his wife sued the City of Cedar Rapids and Lucas Jones, the white officer who shot Mitchell. Jones was fired in June of last year for violating Cedar Rapids Police Department policy during a different traffic stop that happened 36 hours before the one at the center of this case. Mitchell was pulled over because the light on his license plate was out. Mitchell and Jones fought and Jones fired three shots into the vehicle.

Mitchell’s lawsuit was set to go to trial tomorrow (Tuesday). The Cedar Rapids City Council must approve the eight-million dollar settlement. In a written statement, city officials said the case has been divisive and they hope to build trust between the community and the Cedar Rapids Police Department. Mitchell’s lawyer says the most significant outcome from the lawsuit was getting an untruthful police officer fired. The officer’s microphone was turned off during Mitchell’s traffic stop and for the one two days before that led to his firing.