Today (Thursday) is the first day fireworks may legally be sold in Iowa, but many retailers are waiting until later in the month to start selling bottle rockets, Roman candles, and other “consumer-grade” fireworks. A fireworks business based in Nebraska plans to open 55 temporary locations in Iowa to sell fireworks three weeks from now. Vince Bellino, of Bellino Enterprises, says his company already operates 130 fireworks stands in South Dakota, Kansas and Missouri as well as Nebraska.

“We are based out of Omaha, so we will have a good mixture in the western part of Iowa, but we will have locations in the Des Moines area, Ames, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Dubuque, Keokuk, Mason City,” Bellino says, “so we’ll be all over the state.”

Bellino’s business has “partnered” with HyVee and Fareway and some of their temporary fireworks sales locations will be near grocery stores. “It’s easily a good fit for us to move into because they’re drawing plenty of traffic,” Bellino says, “and we, typically, draw plenty of traffic in for them as well.”

The new Iowa law allows fireworks sales from now through July 8th at PERMANENT structures. Sales from TEMPORARY structures, like tents, may begin June 13th. Bellino says his company’s stands may open as late as June 25th. In his home state of Nebraska, fireworks may be sold from tents over just a 10-day period compared to Iowa’s new 38-day period for summertime fireworks sales. There’s another sales period in Iowa later in the year from December 10th through January 3rd, but fireworks sales may only be made from permanent structures then.

(Radio Iowa)

Wednesday was the final day of classes in the 56-year history of the Charter-Oak Ute High School in Crawford County. Next year, most 9th through 12th graders will attend classes in the neighboring district of Maple Valley-Anthon Oto. Charter Oak-Ute Superintendent Rollie Wiebers says the move is due to the district receiving less state funding because of declining enrollment.

“Your numbers are just down so low that you just can’t offer a variety enough of programs to put them in situations that’s going to make them successful,” Wiebers says. “When that looks like that trend is going to continue and that’s going to be what the future is, you got to make the difficult decision to shut down your high school and then move kids into a district where those opportunities are available for them.”

Kindergarten through 8th grades will remain in the Charter Oak-Ute district.
Charter Oak-Ute formed in 1961 due to a consolidation between the districts in the neighboring cities of Ute and Charter Oak. Wiebers says this new decision was made due to dropping student numbers. “With declining enrollment comes a lack of financial resources to provide the proper education that you need to,” he says. “That really was the overriding decision.”

Wiebers says in the 1970s, the district’s enrollment was more than 800 pupils. The Iowa Department of Education certified Charter Oak-Ute’s enrollment at 271 this past school year. Over the decades, Iowa’s school numbers have seen drastic changes. Back in the late 1930s, Iowa boasted more than 900 school districts. Now, there are 332 districts statewide.

(Radio Iowa, w/Thanks to Sarah Boden, Iowa Public Radio)

AMES, Iowa – June 1, 2017 – A public auction of state-owned vehicles and equipment will be held by the Iowa Department of Transportation on its grounds in Ames, Saturday, June 17, beginning at 9 a.m. The sale will be held in the auction building south of the Iowa DOT’s sign shop on South Fourth Street in Ames.

Heavy-duty trucks to be sold include several International 4700s and 4900s and some Ford models. Light-duty trucks and passenger vehicles include Ford and Chevy pickup trucks and vans; Chevy and Dodge minivans; and Buick, Ford, Chevrolet, and Dodge sedans and station wagons.

Office equipment in the sale includes several laptop computers and projectors. Shop equipment items includes mowers, loaders, pickup boxes, sprayers, signal arrows, tractors, and a welder. There will also be two Bobcat 3200, two excavators, and a 1991 Eldorado bus for sale.

Items for sale may be inspected at the sale site from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, June 16, and from 7 to 9 a.m. Saturday, June 17.

Please bring a driver’s license or state-issued identification card with you to the sale. The information from your driver’s license will be scanned into the system and a bid number will be printed for you to use at the auction. For those without a driver’s license, information will be entered manually.

Final payment for all items is due the day of the sale. Payment for the items must be made in cash, cashier’s check, or certified check. Personal or company checks will be accepted, if accompanied by satisfactory identification. Sales tax will be collected. Dealers must provide tax-exemption numbers to be exempted from the tax. All items must be removed from Iowa DOT property within five business days of the sale.

Lynch Auction Co. of Boone will conduct the auction. Coffee, sandwiches, and cold drinks will be available for purchase at the auction site. A listing of auction items is also available on the Iowa DOT’s website at www.iowadot.gov/auction/auctlist.htm.

More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Results from a monthly survey of business supply managers suggest a slight decline in the economic conditions for nine Midwest and Plains states.
The Mid-America Business Conditions Index report released Thursday says the overall regional economic index dropped to 55.5 in May from 61.4 in April.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says the index figures over the past six months point to healthy growth for regional manufacturing and non-manufacturing through the third quarter of this year.

The survey results are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth in that factor. A score below that suggests decline. The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

Sheriff’s Deputies in Montgomery County arrested two people early this (Thursday) morning on weapons charges. 18-year old Wyatt Dean Baldwin, of Villisca, and a 17-year old male were arrested at around 1:43-a.m. on felony charges of Trafficking in Stolen Weapons. Their arrests followed an incident in the 100 block of E. 4th Street in Villisca. Baldwin was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $5,000 bond. The 17-year old was transported to the Juvenile Detention Center in Council Bluffs.

Sheriff’s officials said also, that at around 8-p.m. Wednesday, 27-year old Jimmie Fred Hockett II, of Red Oak, was arrested for Driving While Suspended, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. His arrest followed a traffic stop in the 1300 block of Highway 34. Hockett was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $525 bond.

A second review by the State Auditor of the automated system for titles and registration used by county treasurers and the D-O-T finds continued issues. State Auditor Mary Mosiman says this second review was prompted by a special investigation of the systems in Mills and Cerro Gordo counties. “In those reports, lack of internal controls allowed staff to circumvent controls and divert collections. And those three reports had identified undeposited collections as well as uncollected fees,” Mosiman explains.

This new review investigated the systems used in 10 random counties that varied in size. “We interviewed officials within the treasurer offices and we observed and evaluated their internal control systems,” Mosiman says. “And we’re recommending that the D-O-T implement on site monitoring of county treasurer offices so that they can verify that county treasurer staff members are operating in accordance with D-O-t policies and procedures.”

Mosiman says the procedures were not being followed for voided transactions, leaving open the possibility that the money from the transaction could be taken. “In this particular review we didn’t note that voids were allowing collections to be undeposited — but we did find that controls were not being followed,” Mosiman says.

Mosiman says the D-O-T did respond to the recommendations in the report. “The D-O-T was not opposed to reinforcing their training program. They do want to make sure that resources are in place and that they have the appropriate legal capacity to do what might need to be done,” according to Mosiman. “..the ten county treasurer offices responded positively, but again, it is a matter of individual implementation.”

Many of the smaller counties don’t have as many employees and that creates issues with having more than one person oversee transactions. Mosiman says they’ve heard of that from multiple counties — not just in this report but in regular audit work. She says that’s why it is important to put the controls in place so the necessary oversight can take place, even if there is an office with just one or two people.

Mosiman says they will continue checking to be sure the counties are following proper procedures as the move through their regular audits.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:45 a.m. CDT

PERRY, Iowa (AP) — Police say three more relatives have been charged in connection with the death of a 16-year-old central Iowa girl who weighed only 56 pounds at her death. Sabrina Ray’s body was found May 12 in the Perry home she shared with her adoptive parents. Police said Wednesday that the girl was unable to walk, talk or eat after being “drop-kicked” by her 21-year-old adoptive brother down basement stairs weeks before her death.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The adoptive parents of a West Des Moines teenager who officials say was starved to death will have separate trials. The Des Moines Register reports that a judge issued the ruling Wednesday for separate trials from 42-year-old Nicole Finn and 46-year-old Joseph Finn in the October death of 16-year-old Natalie Finn.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will be the headliner at an unofficial inaugural event this week that raises money for the Republican Party. The strategic move highlights the GOP’s focus on the upcoming midterm election and Reynold’s anticipated gubernatorial run. The Republican Party of Iowa is footing the bill for what it’s calling an “Inaugural Celebration” for Reynolds, who was sworn in May 24. Republicans next year will try to keep congressional seats and maintain majorities in the statehouse.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — A man has been pulled to safety after falling into the Cedar River in northeastern Iowa near a spot where another man fell in April and later died. Officials say 31-year-old Chris Cory Sadler had stopped Wednesday morning with a friend to look at the river at a dam near the Ice House Museum in Cedar Falls when he fell in. Rescue workers later found him conscious but exhausted about 500 feet downstream near a railroad bridge.

(Updated) – There were no injuries reported after a car struck the Casey’s west store (911 s.w. 7th Street) in Atlantic this (Wednesday) evening. The accident happened at around 8:15-p.m., when when 62-year old Claudia Eoff, of Atlantic, who was described as being a regular customer at the store, was pulling up in front of the building to park. Her Nissan Altima jumped the curb and hit the two double doors on the front of the store.

On-duty Manager Sonya Schuler told KJAN News she was sitting behind the register, when all of the sudden a car came through the front doors.

The store is closed until repairs to the entrance can be made. Atlantic Fire and Rescue, Medivac Ambulance, and the Cass County Sheriff’s Department assisted Atlantic Police at the scene.