The Cass County Board of Supervisors have again tabled action on a Resolution pertaining to fireworks sales and discharge. The Board is still waiting for County Attorney Dave Wiederstein to present the final draft of the Resolution. Many counties and cities in the State are waiting until they get better guidance on how they should govern the sale and use of fireworks, a bill for which former Governor Terry Branstad signed into law May 9^th.

The bill approved the sale of fireworks from June 1^st through July 8th. And, while the law does not allow a ban on the sale of fireworks, it does allow local governments the final say on if and/or where fireworks can be used. Fireworks sales for vendors with a permanent structure begin June 1^st. Sales from temporary structures begin June 13^th. A vendor must be licensed and inspected before any sale can take place.

In other business, the Board approved the two-year appointment of Registered Nurse Michelle Woosley, of Atlantic, as an additional County Medical Examiner Investigator. She will join the other two investigators the County has in-place.

And, in his report, Cass County Engineer Charles Becthold said crews have begun to use an asphalt cold patch mix to fix cracks in about 3.4-miles worth of roads located northeast of Anita. He said the good news is that the repairs, once completed, should last about 7-to 10-years. The bad news he says, is that it will cost more than the $40,000 engineer’s estimate for the project.

The Board also heard a presentation from Laurie Cooley, Director of Zion Recovery Services, Incorporated, and Erin Juhl, Clinical Outpatient Treatment Supervisor for Zion, with regard to the State Licensed services Zion provides to counties, and how those services work to reduce the recidivism rate (Repeated arrests), for persons who have been arrested on drug and alcohol charges, and are struggling to overcome their addictions. The program provides one-on-one Recovery Coaches, outpatient care, residential services, prevention and more, all fully confidential.

Atlantic City Administrator John Lund today (Wednesday), released more information with regard to the City-wide Clean-up Days we mentioned in a previous report. The event will take place June 7th, 8th and 9th. Pickup of your items placed by the curb will begin at 7:30-a.m. each day, through Friday.

Anything not accepted will be left on the property and be the owner’s responsibility for timely removal. Persons needing assistance moving things to curb, can contact Ali at City Hall.

Lund says the City will NOT accept the following items:

· Microwaves

· Any materials from Business Addresses

· Electronics

· Household Trash

· Paint

· Chemicals

The City will accept:

· Refrigerators

· Washers/Dryers

· Stoves

· Heaters

· Furniture

· Mattresses

· Tires (Only off of the rim and a maximum of four)

The driver of a vehicle seen swerving all over the roadway in Council Bluffs this (Wednesday) morning, was arrested for OWI/1st offense and cited for Improper Use of Lanes. The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office says a Deputy saw the 1999 Buick Century driven by 24-year old Johnathan Michael Sich, of La Vista, NE., traveling west on Interstate 80 at around 12:10-a.m., after dispatch had advised the car was all over the road.

As the Deputy was in the process of stopping the vehicle after seeing it drive down the middle of both lanes, the car nearly hit some concrete barricades on the shoulder. When the car finally came to a halt, it happened to be in the traveled portion of the left lane. The car then started to roll down the interstate because the driver failed to put it in park. The Deputy was able to alert Sich, who then stopped the rolling car.

Following an investigation Sich was taken into custody and brought to the Pott. County Jail without incident.

A Mason City man is wanted in connection with a stabbing on Tuesday afternoon. The Mason City Police Department says an arrest warrant has been issued for 20-year-old Braedon Bowers on a charge of attempted murder.

Police were called to a home shortly before 3:35 PM where they found a 23-year-old male had been stabbed. The victim, who was not being identified, was taken to Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa for treatment and at last report was in critical condition. Police say Bowers and the victim knew each other prior to the incident.

Mason City police and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation continue to investigate.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds announced today (Wednesday), that she has received Charles (Chuck) Palmer’s retirement as director of the Iowa Department of Human Services effective June 16, 2017.  Former Governor Terry Branstad named Palmer the director of DHS twice, once in 1989 where he served as director of DHS until 1999, and again in 2011. Before serving as director of DHS, Chuck was the Department’s administrator of the Division of Mental Health.

Gov. Reynolds said “Chuck has been a dedicated public servant who has spent his life trying to improve the lives of Iowans. He has been instrumental in modernizing our Medicaid program, implementing our Iowa Health and Wellness Plan, and launching our Mental Health and Disability redesign, while helping individuals and families achieve safe, stable, self-sufficient and healthy lives.”

Interested candidates wishing to apply to be the next director of DHS can find the job posting here: https:///www.governmentjobs.com/careers/iowa/jobs/1755326/director-of-human-services?keywords=director of the department of human services&pagetype=jobOpportunitiesJobs&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company is selling its central Iowa distribution center in Waukee and expanding into a vacant building on the south side of Des Moines. Kirk Tyler is chairman and C-E-O of the company. “We would fit about five of the Waukee facilities inside the building on the south side,” Tyler says.

This expansion comes after the family-owned firm acquired the rights to distribute Coca-Cola products in northern and eastern Iowa last October. Tyler expects to hire about 20 new employees to work in the larger space. “We’ll have about 290,000 square feet of warehousing space and about 80,000 square feet of office space,” Tyler says, “of which we have a tenant for part of that.”

Tyler’s family distributes Coca-Cola products to 90 percent of Iowa as well as parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Missouri. The central Iowa warehouse along Highway 6 in Waukee has become a congested area, with a suburban HyVee store at the same intersection. The company’s new location on the south side of Des Moines has ready access to the Highway 5 bypass which connects to both Interstates 35 and 80.

“Because we go down into the Ottumwa territory and over to the Quad Cities, if we were going to build a new facility or move into a different facility, businesswise it just made sense,” Tyler says.

July 31st is the target date for making the move from company’s Waukee facility to the four-times-as-large building on the south side of Des Moines. The company operates from eight Iowa locations. Company headquarters is in Atlantic.

(Radio Iowa)

(In an update to our report earlier today) The Iowa State Patrol has identified the victim of a fatal head-on crash in Carroll County. Authorities say the driver of a 1996 Toyota Camry, 57-year old Linda Lee Smith, of Coon Rapids, died in the crash that happened at around 1:50-p.m. Tuesday on Highway 71, south of 250th Street.

The Patrol says Smith was traveling south on Highway 71 when, for reasons unknown, her car crossed the centerline of the road and struck a 2004 Toyota RAV4, head-on. Both vehicles came to rest on the east shoulder of the road. Smith died at the scene. The driver of the RAV4, 26-year old Corie Jean Walsh, of Glidden, suffered non-life threatening injuries and transported to St. Anthony Hospital in Carroll, by Carroll County EMS.

The accident remains under investigation.

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

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Sioux City man has been accused of punching and choking his 12-year-old son and assaulting other members of his family. Court records say 35-year-old JT Ring is charged with child endangerment causing serious injury, two counts of assault, one count of domestic abuse assault and with violation of parole. His attorney didn’t immediately return a call Wednesday from The Associated Press.

Ring was arrested Monday evening after getting into an argument with his son and others at a Sioux City home. Police say Ring was angered when his son took away his alcohol, so he punched him and started to choke him. Police say Ring also pushed his mother and punched his 11-year-old niece.  Ring is due in court Tuesday.

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

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