The Cass County Board of Supervisors, today (Wednesday), held a public hearing on on designating a 2017 Cass County Agribusiness Urban Renewal Area and on proposed Urban Renewal Plan and Projects related to the proposed Elite Octane ethanol plant project. During the brief hearing, there were no written or oral objections.

Board Secretary/Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman explained all the proper procedures had been followed prior to the Public Hearing that would allow the URA plan approval.

The Board then closed the hearing and approved a Resolution to Declare Necessity and Establish and Urban Renewal Area. They also held the first and second readings of Ordinance #35, which provided for the Division of Taxes levied on taxable property in the 2017 Cass County Agribusiness Urban Renewal Area, and approved the Ordinance on the 3^rd and final reading. And, the Board set their meeting on Jan. 31^st as the date for approval of a Development Agreement with Elite Octane, LLC, including Tax Increment Payments in an amount not to exceed $8.5-million dollars.

In other business, the Cass County Supervisors approved a 28-E Cooperative Law Enforcement Agreement between the Cass County Sheriff’s Office and the City of Griswold. The current, 4-year agreement was set to expire at the end of June. Dale Sunderman explained the agreement calls for the City to pay the County $65,565 per year plus 3% per annum for the service.

The agreement is effective July 1^st, 2017, through June 30, 2021. And, Cass County Conservation Department Director Micah Lee presented the Board with his Quarterly Report. Lee said  they had a lot of problems with illegal dumping along the T-Bone Trail off the Dunbar Road access to the trail, this past fall. He said they took three or four pickup loads of furniture and trash bags to the Cass County Landfill. Native high weeds, he said, provide the opportunity for people to try and hide their trash.

Lee said in the past, they have gone through the trash to try and find evidence of where it came from, but the recent junk left behind hasn’t provided much of a clue. He says they Sheriff pays a visit to those who are identified as illegal dumpers.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports a traffic stop early this (Wednesday) morning, in Oakland, resulted in a woman being cited on drug charges and other charges. 18-year old Hailey Nicole Carson, of Council Bluffs, was stopped at around 2:45-a.m. at Highway 59 and Frank Kearney Road. She was cited for Driving Under Suspension and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (pipes commonly used to smoke illegal narcotics).

At around 2:10-a.m. today (Wednesday), 28-year old Dillon James Martens, of Neola, was arrested for OWI/1st offense, following a traffic stop on Railroad Highway at Magnolia Road.

And, 39-year old Anthony Paul-Joseph Loparco, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at around 9:45-p.m., Tuesday, for Domestic Abuse Assault with intent, and Criminal Mischief in the 3rd Degree. Loparco was taken into custody after deputies were dispatched to a residence in the 14-thousand block of Meadowbrook Lane, for a domestic disturbance.

A neighbor heard a loud bang followed by yelling. Dispatch later reported a man (identified as Loparco), was attempting to break a car window. The 2003 Toyota Camry sustained about $1,000 damage. Loparco’s 39-year old girlfriend suffered apparent minor injuries and was bleeding from her head.

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

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Two education initiatives created to improve Iowa schools could be at risk of delay or even disposal due to budget shortfalls. The Des Moines Register reports that the state Department of Education has not requested money from Iowa to implement a crucial summer reading program as part of the state’s third-grade retention law. Starting in the spring of next year, third-graders reading below grade level will be required to either repeat the grade or go to an intensive summer reading program to move on to the next year.

The second initiative would switch schools from the current statewide exams to computer-based tests, which adjust the difficulty level of math or reading questions based on the students’ answers. Iowa lawmakers are struggling with a $110 million budget shortfall, and are unsure if enough funding is available for the initiatives.

Following several rounds of severe winter weather in many parts of the country, the American Red Cross urges eligible blood and platelet donors to help restock its shelves to overcome a shortage. Since Dec. 1st, about 300 blood drives across 27 states have been forced to cancel due to inclement winter weather, resulting in more than 10,500 blood and platelet donations going uncollected. This week, icy roads forced blood drives to cancel in southwest Iowa. Despite the weather, hospital patients still rely on transfusions.

To make an appointment to give blood, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Donors are encouraged to make appointments and complete the RapidPass online health history questionnaire at redcrossblood.org/rapidpass to save time when donating.

Upcoming blood donation opportunities (County/City/time & place):

Adair: Greenfield, 2/15/2017: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Nodaway Valley High School, 410 NW 2nd Street.

Cass: Anita, 2/14/2017: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m., Community Center, 805 Main Street; Lewis, 1/25/2017: 12 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., Lewis Community Center, 400 West Main Street.

Montgomery: Red Oak, 1/30/2017: 11:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 1101 East Summit, & 2/7/2017: 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., Red Oak High School, 2011 N 8th St.

Pottawattamie: Council Bluffs, 1/23/2017: 12:30 p.m. – 6:15 p.m., Loess Hills Chapter Donation Center, 705 North 16 Street….1/24/2017: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Loess Hills Chapter Donation Center, 705 North 16 Street….1/27/2017: 8 a.m. – 2 p.m., Lewis Central High School, 3504 Harry Langdon Blvd…1/27/2017: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., ConAgra Foods, 1023 S. 4th Street…1/30/2017: 12:30 p.m. – 6:15 p.m., Loess Hills Chapter Donation Center, 705 North 16 Street….1/31/2017: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Loess Hills Chapter Donation Center, 705 North 16 Street….2/6/2017: 12:30 p.m. – 6:15 p.m., Loess Hills Chapter Donation Center, 705 North 16 Street….2/7/2017: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Loess Hills Chapter Donation Center, 705 North 16 Street….2/9/2017: 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Mercy Hospital, 800 Mercy Drive…. 2/13/2017: 12:30 p.m. – 6:15 p.m., Loess Hills Chapter Donation Center, 705 North 16 Street….2/14/2017: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Loess Hills Chapter Donation Center, 705 North 16 Street

Shelby: Defiance, 2/10/2017: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m., St. Peter’s Hall, 402 5th Street; Harlan, 2/9/2017: 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Harlan High School, 2102 Durant Street…2/14/2017: 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., CDS, 3107 Shelby Street…2/14/2017: 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., CDS, 3107 Shelby Street; Panama, 2/15/2017: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m., St. Mary’s Parish Center, 204 St. Mary Avenue.

How to help

Simply download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age in most states (16 with parental consent where allowed by state law), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.

Blood donors can now save time at their next donation by using RapidPass to complete their pre-donation reading and health history questionnaire online, on the day of their donation, prior to arriving at the blood drive. To get started and learn more, visit redcrossblood.org/RapidPass and follow the instructions on the site.

Police in Creston say a woman residing in the 800 block of N. Lincoln Street reported Tuesday, that sometime between 2-p.m. Monday and 6:30-a.m. Tuesday, someone broke out the back window of her vehicle. The damage amounted to $250. The incident remains under investigation.

(7-a.m. News)

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

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Sheriff’s Deputies in Montgomery County early this (Wednesday) morning, arrested 23-year old Zachary Nathan Gogert, of Red Oak. Gogert was taken into custody at around 4:15-a.m. on a valid warrant for Theft in the 4th Degree. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 cash bond.

Police in Red Oak, Tuesday night, briefly arrested and then released, 25-year old Anthony Michael Harris, of Bedford, following a traffic stop on Highway 34 at Eastern Avenue, in Red Oak. Harris was cited at around 8:30-p.m. for Driving While Suspended, a simple misdemeanor.

West Des Moines is the first city in Iowa to sign on to a national program to train and equip people for a potential emergency situation that includes serious bleeding. West Des Moines E-M-S Assistant Chief David Edgar says the Stop the Bleed program involves bleeding control kits — which could be used in a number of situations, ranging from a mass shooting to someone being injured while trimming a tree with a chainsaw.

“The fact is, in a lot of those cases when it’s severe bleeding, it can mean the difference between death and living by having immediate help before EMS arrives,” Edgar says. “It can take several minutes for EMS to get there and you can lose a lot of blood in that time period.”

The White House launched the Stop the Bleed program in October 2015. Around 75 organizations across the U.S. are officially approved for the program. “The Homeland Security Stop the Bleed program…we’re the first location in the state of Iowa, along with the hospitals here, that have been approved for that,” Edgar says.

Initially, employees at six of West Des Moines’ largest employers will be trained and equipped to become first responders. Edgar says the bleed kits will include a number of items. “A pair of gloves, a set of scissors to be able to cut clothing, some bandages and wraps to provide direct pressure and bleeding control, and then a commercial-type of tourniquet that can be used in severe bleeding,” Edgar says.

Staff at the participating businesses in West Des Moines will take a 20 to 30 minute class on stopping bleeding.

(Radio Iowa)