(Radio Iowa) – A stubborn retail environment is blamed for a dip in revenue at Winnebago Industries. The outdoor lifestyle products manufacturer, with Iowa recreational vehicle factory locations in Forest City, Lake Mills, Charles City and Waverly, reports revenue for the fourth quarter was 771-million dollars. That’s down nearly 35-percent compared to the same period a year ago. Winnebago C-E-O Michael Happe says the recreational consumer market continues to be challenging.

Happe says, “The tumultuous consumer outdoor market which characterized Fiscal Year 2023 for our company continued as expected into the fourth quarter, as lower dealer deliveries and modest retail demands persisted across the RV and marine industries.” Fiscal 2023 revenues of three-point-five billion dollars dropped almost 30-percent compared to Fiscal 2022, primarily due to lower unit sales related to retail market conditions and higher discounts and allowances compared to the prior year. Happe says the company continues to see the benefits of a diversified portfolio.

“Our results reflect a resilient profitability of our diversified business model in a challenging demand environment,” Happy says. “Despite a softening in unit sales, the towable RV and marine segments in particular continued their track record of profitability and margin performance.” Happe says the addition of the Newmar and Grand Design recreational vehicle brands, as well as the Chris-Craft and Barletta boat companies during his tenure as CEO, have been positive for the company, despite the drop in revenue for the fiscal year.

“I am incredibly pleased that the foundation of the transformed company we have built over the last seven years can produce the results we just completed in a difficult market environment,” Happe says. “We’ve remained committed to the continuous improvement of our bottom line, with a focus on operational excellence, further work on productivity, cost containment, and fix overhead rationalization.” Happe says R-V retail market share performance declined slightly in the fourth quarter but there were some positive signs toward the end of the quarter.

“This trend has been anticipated, and we were recently pleased to see August RV market share results be much steadier than in past months, a good sign of things to come,” he says. “Grand Design, Winnebago towables and Newmar all gained share in the standalone August month.” Fourth quarter profit for the company was nearly 44-million dollars, with profit for the fiscal year of almost 216 million.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks has joined the group of House Republicans opposing Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan’s bid for House Speaker. In the second round of voting for House speaker, Miller-Meeks cast her vote for Texas Congresswoman Kay Granger. Granger is chair of the House Appropriations Committee. Miller-Meeks voted for Jordan yesterday (Tuesday) in the first round of voting on his nomination for House speaker, but afterwards Miller-Meeks told reporters in the U-S Capitol she would not vote for Jordan again.

Miller-Meeks will be seeking a third term in the U-S House next November and will likely face a rematch with Democrat Christina Bohannan. In 2020, Miller-Meeks won her seat in the U-S House by just six votes and then finished nearly seven points ahead of Bohannan last year. This month’s voter registration report shows there are about seven-thousand more Republicans than Democrats in the first congressional district.

The other Iowa Republicans serving in the U-S House — Ashley Hinson of Marion, Zach Nunn of Bondurant and Randy Feenstra of Hull — all voted for Jordan on today’s second round of voting for House speaker.

(Radio Iowa) – Early voting is now underway for the November 7th city and school board elections.  Any registered voter can request an absentee ballot by mail until next Monday. County auditors can now send out absentee ballots to those who have already requested them.

If you are voting with an absentee ballot, you must mail it so it gets to the county auditor’s office by 8 p-m on Election Day to be valid and counted. You can also vote early in person by going to your county auditor’s office.

For more information on voting, go to the Iowa Secretary of State’s website.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors heard from a representative of the Family Crisis Center, with regard to services provided. Angela Moerke (More’key) from the Council Bluffs Office, said they serve families and individuals of violent crimes or homicide in 12 Counties they cover.

Family Crisis also provides emotional support to families of violence, 24/7.

Their goal is to reach more people, and offer their services, because “Clearly there are more victims out there,” according to Moerke.

To help in providing those services, she asked the Adair County board for an additional funding request of $250 (19% of what the services cost last year), to help secure a State of Iowa grant that essentially benefits the western half of Iowa. They also conduct fundraising activities like raffles, and receive donations.The Board unanimously agreed to fund the request as presented.

In other business, the Adair County Supervisors heard from County Engineer Nick Kauffman, who discussed a RAISE Grant application. RAISE stands for Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity. The joint Federal Grant application is available for each of Iowa’s 99 Counties.

The money from the grant, Kauffman said, goes for consultants on bridge projects, not the bridges themselves. The Board agreed that since that’s the case, it’s not worth pursuing. Kauffman also presented his weekly report on Secondary Roads Department Maintenance and Activities.

Atlantic, Iowa ─ The Nishna Valley Family YMCA has announced its upcoming extravaganza, ‘Kids Explore the Circus,’ a thrilling event that promises to be a day filled with laughter, magic, and endless family entertainment. Scheduled to take place on October 21st from 9 am to noon, this event is set to captivate the hearts of children and adults alike.

The Nishna Valley Family YMCA is inviting families to immerse themselves in the enchanting world of the circus, right in the heart of Atlantic, Iowa. Attendees will have the opportunity to experience the magic of the big top with a lineup of exciting activities that are sure to create lasting memories. From captivating magic shows to the delightful antics of the Za Ga Zig Shrine Clowns, there will be no shortage of entertainment for all.

The event will feature a variety of engaging attractions, including a balloon artist, face painting, and an assortment of midway games, ensuring there’s something for every child to enjoy. Additionally, the special sensory play area for little ones is designed to provide a safe and inclusive space for children of all abilities to join in the fun.

Admission to this not-to-be-missed event is only $5 per person or $15 per family for members of the Nishna Valley Family YMCA, and just $10 per person or $30 per family for non-members. All proceeds from the event will go directly towards supporting the YMCA’s mission to promote youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility within the community.

“We are excited to bring the magic of the circus to the Y, and we can’t wait to see families come together to create unforgettable memories.”

Event Details:
Date: October 21st, 2023
Time: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Location: Nishna Valley Family YMCA, 1100 Maple Street, Atlantic, IA

For more information, please visit Facebook.com/NishnaValleyFamilyYmca or call 712-243-3934.

(Radio Iowa) – An after-school program in the Cedar Valley plans to help the rural workforce by remodeling an old elementary school. The former Elk Run Preschool is a 10-to-20-minute drive from Waterloo and Cedar Falls. Bailey Moore, director of operations for the Boys and Girls Club, says they need the space in order to best serve families that work in the city and those who live farther out. “We talked to Tyson Foods about having us out here and trying to help support their workers more, same with John Deere,” Moore says. “Really, the support has been unanimous that yes, it would be very beneficial to have out here.”

The club has been using parts of the school for some time but has recently reached an agreement with the Waterloo Board of Education to acquire the building for one dollar. The club won the building over bids for a housing development and Tyson Foods.  “Between having some community impact programs versus tearing the building down, it’s always going to be better to have things that are positive impacts for the community,” Moore says. “That’s really what I think the consensus of the Elk Run community was, let’s keep this building and let’s see some good things happen out of it.”

Moore says the five-to-ten-year plan will be a near-total overhaul of the old school, starting with a 200-thousand dollar furnace project.

(Grant Winterer, Iowa Public Radio)

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Auditor of State Rob Sand today (Wednesday) released a report on a special investigation of the City of Hazleton Fire Department (Department) for the period July 1, 2017 through March 31, 2022. The special investigation was requested by City officials as a result of concerns regarding how the Department’s financial transactions were handled. In addition, City officials were concerned with how the Hazleton Fire Department nonprofit corporation (Corporation) was operating as the Corporation had been dissolved on July 1, 1997.

Sand reported because the Corporation had been dissolved the financial records and bank account should have been administered by the City of Hazleton in accordance with Chapter 384.220(2) of the Code of Iowa. Because of the dissolution, the financial transactions of the Association would have to comply with the same standards as all other City disbursements.
Auditor Sand reported, the Corporation disbursed $274,973.82 during the period of the investigation. Of the $274,832.82, $11,868.71 of the disbursements lacked supporting documentation, and $1,600.00 in CRP Burns had been billed to individuals but the payment had not been received or deposited with the Corporation or the City. Had the disbursements been processed by the City, which has a higher threshold to demonstrate disbursements are in the best interest of the public, $1,634.25 of disbursements from the Corporation bank account would have been considered improper disbursements.

In addition, Sand reported it was not possible to determine if any additional improper disbursements or if all collections were properly deposited during the period of the investigation because adequate records were not available.

The report includes recommendations for the new Association established in March 2022, to strengthen internal controls, such as improvements to segregation of duties, improving the determination and documentation of the public purpose of transaction, maintaining supporting documentation for all expenditures, improving controls over amounts billed but not collected.
Copies of the report have been filed with the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office, the Division of Criminal Investigation, the Buchanan County Attorney’s Office, and the Attorney General’s Office. A copy of the report is available for review on the Auditor of State’s website at Special Interest Reports.

(Radio Iowa) – A Democrat from Cedar Falls has launched a campaign in Iowa’s second congressional district for the chance to challenge Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson in 2024.
Sarah Corkery is a small business owner and two-time breast cancer survivor. In a statement provided to the Cedar Rapids Gazette, Corkery said she looks forward to holding Hinson accountable for her partisan voting record. Corkery cited Hinson’s support of abortion restrictions as well as Hinson’s no vote on the first bipartisan infrastructure bill in decades. Hinson’s campaign manager says Corkery would be a rubber stamp for President Biden’s radical agenda.

(Audubon, Iowa) – Shared Audubon and Coon Rapids-Bayard Community School District Superintendent Eric Trager has announced that after nearly four decades in education – most of which was in the Audubon School District, he will be retiring at the end of the current school year. His decision was announced during Monday’s regular meeting of the Audubon School Board.

Eric Trager has been involved in education for 38-year, with 36 of those years serving the Audubon School District.

He says he’s looking forward to “Whatever comes next.”

Eric Trager

In other business the Audubon School Board, Monday, passed the first reading of a Discipline Policy for students who make threats of violence or cause incidents of violence.

He said “At the end of the day, it’s pretty redundant policy [the policy coming down from the legislature]. Everything that’s in there we already had in our policy. We’ve dealt with these situations.”

The Audubon School Board approved the district’s Early Retirement plan during their meeting, Monday night.

And, Superintendent Trager updated the Board on the District’s Certified Enrollment numbers.

He said also, they’re wrapping things-up in terms of the building project. They’re just down to waiting for the arrival of flooring and ceiling materials, and there’s still quite a bit of work to do on the auditorium, but it’s moving along.

Then they’ll start with the project “punch list,” which at last check was 55-pages long. The goal is to have an open house sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so district patrons can come in and see what their tax dollars have paid for.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Atlantic Police Chief Devin Hogue reports seven arrests took place between Oct. 9th and the 17th.

On Oct. 9th, 35-year-old April Medina, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Child Endangerment.

On the 11th, 34-year-old Tyler Crawley, of Atlantic, was arrested for Burglary in the 2nd Degree, and Harassment in the 3rd Degree. And, 34-year-old Junior Michael, of Atlantic, was arrested for Disorderly Conduct, Public Intoxication, and Criminal Mischief in the 5th Degree.

On Oct. 14th, Atlantic Police arrested 43-year-old Shaela Caballero, of Atlantic, for OWI/1st offense.

On the 16th, 41-year-old Jennifer Claussen, of Atlantic, was arrested for Driving While Barred.

And, on Oct. 17th, 25-year-old Sanjay Paul, of Atlantic, was arrested for Disorderly Conduct. 28-year-old Taify Amumu, of Atlantic, was arrested for Public Intoxication.

All of those individuals were booked into the Cass County Jail. As of today (Oct. 18th), Tyler Crawley, Sanjay Paul and Taify Amumu remained in custody.