Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones, Wednesday evening, presented retiring Police Chief Steve Green with an award for 30-years of service to the community. Green and his wife Donna were present to receive the award. Green said of his wife “If it wasn’t for her I couldn’t have done it. That’s why.”

Steve Green (Center) Donna Green (Left) Mayor Dave Jones (right)

The plaque  read “With profound gratitude, the residents of Atlantic thank our Police Chief for his 30-years of public service and making our community one of the safest in the State of Iowa.” Jones wished Green all the best in his retirement , but added Green isn’t really retiring, because he was elected to the Cass County Board of Supervisors, so “He’ll find out what work really is,” Jones said jokingly.

Green starts his term on Board of Supervisors representing District 1, in January.

In other business, the Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, officially approved the appointment of Barb Barrick as City Clerk, effective Feb. 25th, 2017. Barrick succeeds Deb Wheatley Field, who is retiring as City Clerk after more than 35-years of service to the community. Barrick said “It’s a real honor to be chosen to succeed Deb, and I am very much looking forward to working with the City staff, Mayor Jones and Council Members and serving the citizens of Atlantic.” Barrick currently serves the Community Development Specialist for SWIPCO, and has had previous experience in the Cities of Marengo and Ft. Dodge.

She will be job shadowing Wheatley Field and absorbing her years of experience and knowledge before assuming the official title of City Clerk.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office has taken a pledge to keep tobacco, alternative nicotine and vapor products out of the hands of Cass County youth. Known as I-PLEDGE, the program is a partnership with the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division (ABD) to educate local retailers and to enforce Iowa’s tobacco, alternative nicotine and vapor product laws. Since the program’s inception in 2000, the statewide tobacco compliance rate has grown to 91%. By participating in the program, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office has committed to do its part to increase the compliance rate even more this year.

I-PLEDGE places emphasis on retailer training. Clerks who successfully complete an online training course and then pass an exam will become I-PLEDGE certified. This allows a retail establishment to use an affirmative defense against a civil penalty if the certified clerk makes an illegal sale.

“I-PLEDGE’s retailer training is a great way for clerks to prepare themselves to refuse illegal tobacco, alternative nicotine and vapor product sales,” Sheriff Darby McLaren said. “The training also assists retailers to ensure they maintain a compliant and responsible establishment.

Deputies will also be conducting compliance checks on local establishments as part of the I-PLEDGE program. Underage customers, under the supervision of law enforcement officials, will enter establishments and attempt to buy tobacco, alternative nicotine and vapor products. Clerks who make the illegal sale will be cited on the spot.

Criminal penalties for selling tobacco, alternative nicotine and vapor products to a minor include a $100 fine for a first offense, a $250 fine for a second offense and a $500 fine for third and subsequent offenses. However, handing out citations is not the intent of the I-PLEDGE program. “By partnering with the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division, we hope to educate clerks and maintain a compliant retail environment in our community,” Sheriff McLaren said. “Moreover, we pledge to help keep tobacco, alternative nicotine and vapor products out of the hands of Iowa’s youth.”

To take the I-PLEDGE training or search certification records, go to https://abd.iowa.gov.

The Red Oak Police Department is asking area residents to keep an eye out for a stolen pickup.  At around 3:15pm Wednesday a red 1997 Dodge Ram 1500 extended cab truck was stolen from downtown Red Oak. The truck has Iowa license plates 247YFA out of Montgomery County.  It also has a trailer hitch on it and some rust on the wheel wells.  If seen please call 911 and report it.

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reports officers responded Tuesday evening to a complaint of a white male in a white van driving by the area of the Clarinda Lied Recreation Center, allegedly taking photographs of children playing outside the Lied Recreation Center. Officers locate both the subject and van, and upon further investigation determined the man was an independent contractor performing renovation work at the Parkview Apartment Complex, which is located to the west of the Clarinda Lied Recreation Center, and City of Clarinda Park.

Officers learned that the 35-year old male is listed on the State of Missouri Sex Offender Registry. Officers spoke with the subject, who cooperated with them, and allowed inspection of devices capable of taking video or still photographs. No pictures of children were located on any devices.

The owners of Parkview Apartments were contacted and advised the contractor is a registered sex offender in the State of Missouri, which the apartment complex owners were unaware of. The individual’s name was not released, as he was not charged with any crime.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Court of Appeals says three members of the Harrison County Board of Supervisors must pay thousands of dollars in court costs and a fine for failure to hold meetings open to the public. The case centers on two November 2013 meetings the supervisors held after they had been sued by local farmers upset that a failed levee hadn’t been repaired.

In the ruling Wednesday, the court says supervisors Robert Smith, Walter Utman and Gaylord Pitt had no legal basis to close the meetings and therefore must be responsible for paying $200 in fines and attorney fees of about $25,000.

Only Utman remains on the board. Pitt died in May and Smith lost in the 2014 primary election.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa state trooper say persistent staffing shortages is draining for officers and creating difficulties for the public, but an influx of additional staff appears unlikely amid a tight state budget. The Des Moines Register reports the Iowa State Patrol has 358 sworn personnel. That’s down from about 450 troopers in 2000, before budget cuts led to staff reductions.

The staffing shortages have sparked complaints about long waits for troopers to arrive at crash scenes and concerns about large areas of rural Iowa not having trooper coverage at night. State Police Officers Council president Trooper Jason Bardsley says one officer had to drive 115 miles from near the Iowa-Missouri state line to assist with a fatal crash.

Bardsley says he hopes the Iowa Legislature can begin taking steps during its 2017 session to address the shortage.

Iowa Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds unveiled a new energy plan for the state this (Wednesday) morning.  “This plan is comprehensive, looking at all of Iowa and considering all of the opportunities in front of us,” she says. The report spans more than 100 pages. A top priority is continuing to promote a “diversity” of energy sources, including wind power and plant materials which can be an ingredient for biofuels.

“Our companies and citizens have access to energy affordability and reliability with some of the lowest energy costs in the nation and that reality is something that state leaders and stakeholders absolutely can’t take for granted,” Reynolds says. “It’s why this energy plan is so important because it will help us ensure Iowa will continue to lead well into the future.”

The plan also calls for promoting new energy technology, like cells that can store the power generated by wind turbines. Developing a more modern power grid is also mentioned in the plan. The report does not outline state spending plans for these initiatives. It doesn’t call for legislative action either. “In other words, we didn’t want to create a plan that had a bunch of governmental mandates,” Reynolds says.

The report outlines 15 objectives. Iowa Economic Development Authority director Debi Durham says shoring up the workforce pipeline is part one of them. “We must ensure that Iowa is able to attract and train the professionals we need to meet the state’s future energy needs,” Durham says.

Mark Lowe, the interim director of the Iowa Department of Transportation, says the report also focuses on the need to “move” energy. “As energy infrastructure continues to age, capacity is exceeded and new technology emerges, it’s critical to establish a vision for what a modernized grid should look like for Iowa,” Lowe says.

State officials have been working on this plan and holding meetings around the state for months.

(Radio Iowa)

Audubon Police Chief Matt Starmer reports a man arrested a little over a year ago on child pornography charges, was sentenced last month to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to the charges. Philip Eugene Mathis, formerly of Audubon, was sentenced in the United States Federal Court on November 3rd on Possession of Child Pornography charges.

Once he’s released from prison, Mathis will be on supervised release for another 8 years and will be listed as a registered sex offender. He will also be required to complete a Sex Offender Treatment program. Mathis was arrested on December 15, 2015 after an investigation was conducted by the Audubon Police Department and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Audubon Police executed search warrants that resulted in the discovery of hundreds of images and videos of underage children and minors in the nude or engaged in sex acts.  The findings were turned over to federal authorities who then took over the case for the filing of  federal charges.

With winter just getting underway today (Wednesday), we’re a long way from the spring run-off season, but forecasters are trying to look ahead and give Iowa farmers a chance to plan. Doug Kluck, the central region climate service director at the National Weather Service, says the first indications show run-off into the Missouri River basin should -not- be an issue next spring.

Kluck says, “If the forecasts hold true in terms of greater-than-normal precipitation and below-normal temperatures in the upper basin, if those come true — and they’re only slight probabilities pointing in that direction — I would say the run-off season should be relatively good.”

He notes that upper basin is the far upper basin, meaning, Montana and Wyoming. Kluck says mountain snowpack is currently behind normal. “As of right now, we’re a little bit behind the curve in the upper portions of the Missouri and the Platte River basin,” Kluck says. “It’s really tough to say. We’re not very far into the snow accumulation season, especially in the mountains. That can last into May in some places, so there’s a lot of season to go at this point.”

The U-S Army Corps of Engineers says the six main stem reservoirs of the Missouri River basin are expected to have the full 16-point-three million acre feet of flood storage available by spring.

(Radio Iowa)

The Cass County Board of Supervisors agreed to take under advisement during their budgetary process in January, a request for funding to the Cass County Agricultural and Education Association and Fair Board. Cass County ISU/Extension Director Kate Olsen and others spoke before the Board during their meeting in November and requested level funding for Grounds Committee, with an increase for the Fair Board and Extension. The Extension also asked for the option to look at the County’s insurance program for their three, full-time employees. Olsen provided the Board more specifics on their request during their meeting this (Wednesday) morning.

(She said joining the County insurance program would be at no cost to the County, because the Extension would pay the County monthly for the full cost. They also request a $10,000 increase through the Grounds Committee Budget to support the Youth Programming position. Olsen said they’ve already received $10,000 from the Grounds Committee Budget, which is an amount that hasn’t changed since 1978. Olsen said staff costs have gone up since 1978.)

A portion of the $10,000 they currently receive are used for staff benefits. The additional $10,000, if approved, would offset the $27,000 annual cost to participate in the County’s insurance plan. The Extension Director, Youth Coordinator and Office Assistant positions currently are not covered by an insurance plan. Olsen said their three office employees has been 100-percent County paid since 1978 Directly through the County Extension Council. The latest full-time Extension employee to be funded by the State was former Extension Director Steve Olsen, in 2009.

Mitch Kleen, a member of the Fair Board said their costs have gone up also, and that they too have not had an increase since 1978.

(He said they get $10,000 in State funding from the Association of Iowa Fairs, and they’d like the County to match that, so that the Cass County Fair remains free and yet allows the kids to profit from the sale of their animals.)

Board Chair Gaylord Schelling said he and Auditor/Board Secretary Dale Sunderman will look into the County’s ISAC insurance policy and compare information with other counties. In other business, the Cass County Supervisors approved the first of what is likely to be several amendments to the Amaizing Energy Urban Renewal Area plan by adding Elite Octane property to the area. And, while giving the go-ahead for Snyder and Associates Engineers to begin the engineering processes needed in advance of the Elite Octane Gray Water transmission and Buck Creek, Glacier and Echo Road Paving Projects, the Board tabled action on approving a Professional Services Agreement with Snyder’s until their meeting Dec. 30^th, when Engineer Tim Teig is expected to provide a better cost break down and analysis of the engineering costs of the projects.