(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors, today (Tuesday), held their annual organizational meeting, in Greenfield. The Board re-elected Jerry Walker as Chair, and Nathan Baier as Vice-Chair.

In other business, the Board approved the appointments of Supervisors to various/numerous commissions, and Board Alternates. They also approved the appointments of: an ADA Coordinator; Condemnation Board Member(s); Conservation Board Member(s); Medical Examiner and Deputy Medical Examiners; an RC&D Committee Member, and Nathan Jensen as Weed Commissioner.

The Adair County Supervisors approved several matters pertaining to the County Engineer and Secondary Roads Department, including compensation for fences as follows: $55 for rods and $85 for posts. They passed a Bridge Ratings Resolution and Right-of-Way Contracts.

County Engineer Nick Kauffman presented also, his weekly report on Secondary Roads Department Maintenance and Activities.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors, today (Tuesday) re-elected Steve Baier as “Permanent Chair,” and Mark O’Brien as “permanent Vice-Chair.”  And, voted to approve a motion by O’Brien, to change the dates of their regular meetings to bi-weekly (the first and third Tuesday of each month).

The schedule is subject to the discretion of the Board Chair and County Auditor Kathy Somers, and as needed. Previously, the Board held their meetings every Tuesday of the month. Somers said she doesn’t see a problem with changing the meeting schedule.

In other business, the Cass County Supervisors approved the Atlantic News Telegraph, Anita Tribune and Griswold American, as the Official County Newspapers for publishing County meeting agenda, minutes and other business.

(Radio Iowa) – Wide areas of central and southern Iowa have had very little snowfall in recent months, not that many of us are complaining. The Des Moines International Airport reported just two-tenths of an inch of snow on December 26th, along with more than two inches in November, which melted quickly. Meteorologist Marvin Percha, at the National Weather Service in Johnston, admits it’s odd. “It’s certainly not normal,” Percha says, “but it’s certainly not unprecedented by any means in terms of snowfall to start the year.” The first day of winter was December 21st, though meteorological winter begins December 1st. Still, Percha checked the records from October 1st through January 1st and discovered, this is unusual, but not significant over the decades.

“In terms of the winter so far, it’s tied with 1931 for 23rd least amount of snow,” Percha says. “Apparently 1889, going into January 1st of 1890, had 0.3, so that was the lowest.” It’s out of the norm to have so much grass visible as we start the new year, following a Christmas that was not white, especially when compared to how much snowfall we’re used to having by now. “On the other hand, if you want to see, say, the highest amounts, there’s been as much as 33.9 inches in 1984 by this point,” Percha says, “so it’s certainly well below normal but not any sort of record.”

While there’s no precipitation expected for the region for almost a week, the long-range forecast says rain and snow are likely -next- Monday.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors held their 2024 Organizational meeting this (Tuesday) morning, followed by their regular Tuesday session. During the organizational meeting, the Board elected to retain Mike Olson as Board Chair, and Charla Schmid as Vice-Chair. They also decided to continue holding their meetings every Tuesday at 8:30-a.m.  In other action, they designated the Red Oak Express as the Official County Newspaper. The Board opted not to include the Villisca Review as a secondary source for publication of County business. The Supervisors set the 2024 County Employee’s Holiday Schedule, and named Supervisors to serve on numerous committees.

During regular business following the reorganization, the board unanimously approved a new resolution for this year regarding bridge embargoes per Iowa Code. Chair Mike Olson said the move comes primarily to allow for enforcement of the weight limits on the county bridges put in place by the county engineer. Every bridge in Montgomery County is legally embargoed whether it’s 40 tons or below.  Per Iowa law, the embargoed bridge restrictions apply to any implements pulled by farm equipment such as grain carts and wagons, semi-trailers, and manure tanks. The limitations will remain in place until a county engineer certifies that said limitations have been resolved.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports four people were arrested over the past few days on separate warrants. On Dec. 31st:

• 61-year-old John Micheal Hudson, of Hastings, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance, and on a warrant for Assault with Intent-Serious Injury. His bond was set at $3,000.
• 36-year-old Clayton Shane Gieck, of Glenwood, was arrested at the Mills County Sheriff’s Office, on a warrant for Violation of Probation. Bond set at $5,000.
• And, 46-year-old Rebeka Marie Cantu-Sosa, of Council Bluffs, was arrested Dec. 31st, on a warrant for Failure to Appear on an original charges that include Possession of a Controlled Substance and Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia. Her bond was set at $25,000.

On Dec. 28th, 21-year-old Tabitha Marie Rae, of Council Bluffs, was arrested in Mills County on a Pottawattamie County warrant for FTA on charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance-Methamphetamine & Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree. She was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail.

In other activity, Agri-Valley Farm Management, LLC, of Silver City, reported to the Mills County Sheriff’s Office, an incident of Theft in the 2nd Degree. The report was filed Dec. 27th.

Des Moines, Iowa (KCCI) — It’s a new year, and that means new laws are in effect across the country. In Iowa, among the laws that went into effect on January 1st:

House Files:

HF 655 includes miscellaneous changes to the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act. According to the legislature, the “act rewrites almost every section” of the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act. It was a bill for an act providing for business organizations, including limited liability companies, providing penalties, and including effective date provisions. It was formerly known as HSB 207. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds on June 1.

HF 688 concerns “the state rulemaking process and related matters pertaining to agency functions.” It was formerly known as HSB 81. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Reynolds on May 3. Rulemaking procedures and related matters, known as division 1 in the piece of legislation, take effect on Jan. 1, 2024.

Senate Files:

SF 565 will implement changes surrounding taxation, specifically changes in the administration of tax law by the Department of Revenue. It relates to state and local finance and the administration of the tax and related laws by the Department of Revenue. It makes changes to the Iowa Educational Savings Plan and the First-Time Home Buyer Savings Account Program. It also has changes related to tax filing status and tax withholding. Come Jan. 1, taxpayers will be required to use the same filing status for Iowa individual income tax purposes as the taxpayer used for federal individual income tax purposes for tax years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2023. It was formerly known as SSB 1148. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Reynolds on June 1.

SF 496, which bans some books from school libraries and forbids teachers from raising LGBTQ+ issues, was supposed to take effect Jan. 1. But a federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked key parts of the controversial education law. Judge Stephen Locher’s preliminary injunction halts enforcement of the law, which was set to take effect in the new year but already had resulted in the removal of hundreds of books from Iowa schools. The law, which the Republican-led Legislature and GOP Gov. Reynolds approved early in 2023, bans books depicting sex acts from school libraries and classrooms and forbids teachers from raising gender identity and sexual orientation issues with students through the sixth grade. Locher blocked enforcement of those two provisions.

Van Meter, Iowa (KCCI) — Police in Van Meter say a motorist was arrested Monday morning after the vehicle they were driving plowed into the Casey’s General Store in Van Meter. The convenience store is closed until inspectors can confirm the building is safe. Police haven’t confirmed what charges the driver will face. They say no customers were inside when it happened. No one was hurt.

(Radio Iowa & KJAN) – State Climatologist Justin Glisan says the latest outlook from the National Weather Service shows a slightly elevated chance for precipitation in Iowa over the next two weeks. The month of December was the fifth warmest ever recorded in the Midwest. Burlington recorded the second warmest December on record. Sioux City’s snowfall total for the month was six inches below normal.

Weather data for the month of December, 2023 in Atlantic, show the Average High for the month was 45, which was 12-degrees warmer than normal. The Average Low was 25, which was 11 degrees warmer than the norm. Precipitation for the month (rain & melted snow) amounted to 2.03-inches, which was .92″ above normal. The data was compiled at KJAN, the official National Weather Serving reporting site for Atlantic.

(USDA FSIS) – Ground beef patties packaged December 22nd at a plant in Coal Valley, Illinois and sold to restaurants, hospitals and other institutions in Iowa and three other states are being recalled. The concern? Possible e-Coli contamination. The patties from Valley Meats were distributed frozen, in boxes. The recall involves approximately 6,768 pounds of raw ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli. There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products.

The raw ground beef items were produced on December 22, 2023. The following products are subject to recall [view labels]:

• 12-lb. box package containing “ANGUS GROUND BEEF PATTIES” with product code 1208PL, Run No. 3356GRDB, date code 231222, Use By 01/15/2024, and time stamps between 7:36:38AM to 08:00:48AM.
• 16-lb. box packages containing “ANGUS GROUND BEEF PATTIES” with the product code 1253PL, Run No. 3356GRDB, date code 231222, Use By 01/15/2024, and time stamps between 7:25:50 AM to 08:00:36AM.
• 28-lb. box package containing “Ground Beef Patties” with product code 72287, Run No. 3356GRDB, date code 231222, Use By 01/15/2024, and time stamps between 12:44:00PM to 12:54:32PM.
• 28-lb. box packaging containing “Ground Beef Patties” with product code 72287, Run No. 3356GRDB, date code 231222, Use By 01/15/2024, and time stamp 1:02:55PM.
• 24-lb. box packaging containing “Ground Beef Patties” with product code 72284, Run No. 3356GRDB, date code 231222, Use By 01/15/2024, and time stamps between 1:10:09PM to 1:10:17PM.
• 13.5-lb. box packaging containing “GROUND BEEF PATTIES” with product code 1103, Run No. 3356GRDB, date code 231222, Use By 01/15/2024, and time stamps between 1:41:55:55PM to 1:57:53PM.
• 20-lb. box packaging containing “GROUND BEEF” with product code 8515, Run No. 3356GRDB, date code 231222, and time stamps between 1:16:24PM to 1:31:15PM.
• 40-lb. box packaging containing “GROUND BEEF” with product code 8020VP, Run No. 3356GRDB, date code 231222, and time stamps between 1:34:54PM to 2:00:49PM.

The products subject to recall bear establishment number “EST. 5712” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to distributor locations in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Michigan for further distribution to restaurants and other institutional users.

Anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider. E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause dehydration, bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps 2–8 days (3–4 days, on average) after exposure the organism. While most people recover within a week, some develop a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). This condition can occur among persons of any age but is most common in children under 5-years old and older adults. It is marked by easy bruising, pallor, and decreased urine output. Persons who experience these symptoms should seek emergency medical care immediately.

FSIS is concerned that some product may be in institutional or restaurant refrigerators or freezers. Restaurants and institutions are urged not to serve these products. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.

(Radio Iowa) – According to the Iowa D-O-T and the State Patrol, 376 people died in traffic accidents in Iowa last year. That’s a 12 percent increase from 2022. Iowa State Patrol Sergeant Alex Dinkla says nearly half of those fatalities were drivers or passengers who weren’t wearing a seat belt. Dinkla says other leading factors in all accidents this year have been excessive speed and drivers who’re likely distracted by a cell phone or other technology in the vehicle.