Aysia Leibert
Jeremy McIntosh
Aysia Leibert
Jeremy McIntosh
BEVERLY GUNDERSON, 84, of Atlantic, died Tuesday, May 7, 2024 at her home. Memorial services for BEVERLY GUNDERSON will be held 10:30-a.m. May 25, 2024, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Atlantic. Schmidt Family Funeral Home of Atlantic has the arrangements.
Visitation with the family will be from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. prior to the service at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Atlantic.
Memorial contributions may be directed to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church or the Atlantic Food Pantry in Beverly’s name, and may be sent in care of the Schmidt Family Funeral Home, P.O. box 523, Atlantic, IA 50022.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – On May 7, 2024, The Cass County Board of Supervisors signed the proclamation stating that May is Mental Health Awareness Month in Cass County. As the number one area of concern in the 2022 Health Improvement Plan, Cass County has continuously worked to spread awareness of Mental Health. Members of the Cass County Coalition for Mental Wellness attended to show their support those members included representatives from Cass County Extension, Public Health, Zion Integrated Behavioral Health, Healthy Cass, Senior Life Solutions, Southwest Iowa Region Mental Health & Disability Services, VA Nebraska-Western Iowa, and Family Crisis & Intervention.
To help promote Mental Health, the Cass County Coalition for Mental Wellness will host a Mental Wellness Panel on Thursday, May 9, 2024, at the Griswold Community Building (601 2nd Street, Griswold, Iowa 51535). A free meal will be provided at 5:30 pm. The presentation will begin at 6:00 pm. Community members of all ages are welcome to join as we discuss resiliency strategies, emotional support for our youth, and local resources for therapy and crisis situations. No pre-registration is required. This event is sponsored generously by the Healthy Cass County Coalition with funding from the Healthiest State Initiative Grant and Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company. If you have any further questions, please contact Grace McAfee at (712) 250-8170 or mcage@casshealth.org.
To find out more about Mental Wellness Events happening across Cass County in May be sure to follow the Healthy Cass Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/HealthyCassCounty.
(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Board of Supervisors in Montgomery County, Tuesday morning, passed a Resolution to “Dissolve payroll deductions for non-county approved benefits program.” Their action followed an update from Marcus Taylor with Milestone Financial Group, who recommended terminating the deductions with the end goal to stop “policy deferral.” Supervisor Donna Robinson read the Resolution, which said in-part:
Auditor Jill Ozuna….
The Board then held a public hearing on the proposed vacating of an alley in the unincorporated Town of Stennett. Having hear received no comments, written or spoken objecting to the move, the Board closed the hearing and voted to approve an amended resolution vacating the alley, located between East Depot and Wayne Streets, in Stennett. Auditor Jill Ozuna explained the reason for the “Amended” resolution.
Marcus Taylor speaks w/the Montgomery County Supervisors, 5-7-24
And, the Board heard a weekly updated on Montgomery County Secondary Roads Department maintenance and activities, from Engineer Karen Albert.
The Montgomery County Board of Supervisor’s next meeting is on May 14th at 8:30-a.m.
(Pottawattamie County, Iowa) – Officials in Pottawattamie County, today (Tuesday) confirmed “Ten days after tornado activity devastated several areas of Pottawattamie County, another tornado touched down east of Minden in the late-night hours of May 6th.” Early assessments indicate seven properties, and a hog confinement were impacted by the latest storm. No injuries were reported.
Officials say there was no major damage to homes in the area, but several outbuildings and trees were destroyed. Power poles were snapped in the storm as well. The area experienced temporary power disruptions. Power was restored in Neola before midnight and restored in Minden as of 3:00AM on May 7th. The National Weather Service has deployed a field assessment team to survey the damage and to estimate the tornado’s rating, peak winds, length, width, and track.
May 6, 2024 tornado path
Federal Disaster Declaration Request
Teams comprised of local and state emergency management personnel, FEMA, and the Small Business Administration (SBA) will fan out and conduct a Joint Preliminary Damage Assessment (JPDA). The assessment, according to officials, is the formal validation assessment of data submitted by local officials and impacted residents and business owners to support the governor’s request for federal assistance. After the JPDA is completed across the several impacted areas of the state, FEMA will make its recommendation to the President. Local officials are hopeful to be informed of a positive determination in the coming days.
How to Help
Currently, all communities in the county have received sufficient donations of household items. If you would like to volunteer, Emergency Management has partnered with Samaritans Purse, who is continuing to organize volunteers to assist in impacted areas throughout the county. To sign up to volunteer call 531-242-2206. On-site safety meetings are required before volunteering.
How to Request Help
If you are still in need of assistance around your house and property you can call 833-747-1234 to speak to a Samaritans Purse representative. Disaster survivors can also access food items, hygiene products, and household resources from multiple locations.
• Crescent City Hall, 102 W Florence Street, Crescent, Iowa
• Neola Area Community Center, 110 4th Street, Neola, Iowa
• Charles E. Lakin Foundation, 705 N 16th Street, Council Bluffs, Iowa
• Treynor City Hall, 11 West Main Street, Treynor Iowa
Additional Multi-agency Resource Centers (MARCs) are being planned. Locations, dates, and times will be announced in the coming days.
(Radio Iowa) – Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg is urging Iowans to vote for a proposed amendment to Iowa’s Constitution. “You might remember, back when Governor Reynolds ascended, there was a dispute about whether she could appoint a new lieutenant governor,” Gregg said. “There’s a constitutional amendment that’s going to be on the ballot in November that’s going to clarify that.” Reynolds was sworn in as governor in mid-2017 after long-time Governor Terry Branstad resigned to become U.S. Ambassador to China.
Tom Miller, who was Iowa’s attorney general at the time, issued an opinion saying Reynolds — who was lieutenant governor — did not have the authority under the state’s constitution to pick a successor in mid-2017. Reynolds said she disagreed with the attorney general’s assessment and picked Gregg to take the role of lieutenant governor. The proposed amendment makes it clear governors have that authority.
“I think it’s important for good government that we have absolute clarity on the line of succession here in Iowa,” Gregg said. Gregg is Iowa’s 47th lieutenant governor. The state’s lieutenant governors used to be elected independently, but after the passage of a constitutional amendment in 1988, candidates for governor AND lieutenant governor have been running together as a team, just like presidents and vice presidents.
(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Glenwood Police Department reports two arrests took place Monday (May 6th):
The Guthrie Center School Board today (Tuesday), announced the appointment of Mr. Brian Sauser as the new 9-12 Principal for AC/GC High School. Mr. Sauser currently serves as a Special
Education Teacher and Head Football Coach at Ames High School. He brings with him over 25 years of teaching and leadership experience. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Special Education
from Loras College, and a Master’s degree in Education Administration from Grand Canyon University. Mr. Sauser is excited to use his experiences and background to lead our high
school.
In his personal life, Mr. Sauser is supported by his wonderful family: his wife Mandy, who works as a special education consultant for Heartland AEA, his daughter Emma (24) who is a CPA in Dallas, TX, his son Dodge (21) who attends Kennesaw State in Atlanta, GA on a football scholarship, and his son Dallas (19) who attends Iowa Central and plays football there. They also share their home with two beloved dogs, English Bulldog “Frankie” and French Bulldog “Chico”.
GC CSD new 9-12 Principal Brian Sauser & his family. (Photo supplied)
Mr. Sauser states, “When we’re not traveling the country to see our kids we absolutely love country music and attending concerts when we can! Football has been and continues to be a huge part of our lives, but personally I also really enjoy Powerlifting, officiating high school and college basketball, umpiring high school baseball, and decked out pickup trucks! 🙂 I am incredibly excited to be a part of an amazing, high achieving, very successful school district. The amount of pride the community has for all activities and events at the high school is amazing. It is an honor to be chosen to lead and work to continue to advance ACGC High School to new heights, while being a part of this great community!”
Mr. Sauser replaces current principal, Mr. Ethan Lensch, who recently accepted the principal position at Western Dubuque High School.
(Des Moines, Iowa)- Fieldwork activities were limited as rain across the State held Iowa farmers to just 1.4 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending May 5, 2024, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Rains the past two weeks have resulted in reports of some counties moving out of the extreme to severe drought stages. Topsoil moisture condition rated 4 percent very short, 12 percent short, 65 percent adequate and 19 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture condition rated 7 percent very short, 20 percent short, 64 percent adequate and 9 percent surplus.
Just 8 percent of Iowa’s expected corn crop was planted during the week ending May 5, 2024, for a total of 47 percent planted. This meant progress went from ahead of average to lagging 2 days behind both last year and the 5-year average. Seven percent of the corn crop has emerged, 3 days ahead of last year and 1 day ahead of the average. Soybean planting progress fell behind the previous year with 5 percent of Iowa’s expected soybean crop planted during the week ending May 5, 2024, for a total of 30 percent of the expected soybean crop planted, 2 days behind last year. Four percent of the soybean crop has emerged. Ninety-six percent of the expected oat crop has been planted, 2 days ahead of last year and 10 days ahead of normal. Oat emergence reached 68 percent, 5 days ahead of last year and 1 week ahead of the 5-year average. The first oat condition rating of the season was 1 percent very poor, 2 percent poor, 29 percent fair, 59 percent good and 9 percent excellent.
The first hay condition rating of the season was 1 percent very poor, 3 percent poor, 21 percent fair, 64 percent good and 11 percent excellent. Pasture condition rated 57 percent good to excellent. There were many reports of cattle being turned out to pasture. Unseasonably wet conditions continued through the reporting period with several disturbances crossing the state. Rain on already saturated ground produced flooding in pockets of northern and southeastern Iowa. Temperatures varied from cooler than average in northwestern Iowa to unseasonably warm southeast; the statewide average temperature was near normal at 55.0 degrees.
Showers remained in eastern Iowa with additional redevelopment in western Iowa ahead of a low pressure center through Sunday (28th) afternoon. Daytime temperatures reached into the upper 60s where cloud cover was sparse with light southerly winds. As the low pressure center propagated towards the Great Lakes, winds shifted westerly with Monday (29th) morning lows ranging from the low 40s northwest to upper 50s southeast. Widespread rain totals were reported at 7:00 am with the highest amounts in pockets of northwest and northeast Iowa; Dyersville (Dubuque County) measured 1.01 inches while Storm Lake (Buena Vista County) collected 1.21 inches with a statewide average of 0.35 inches. Overcast skies persisted north through the day with highs in the 50s, while southern Iowa was 10-15 degrees warmer under mostly sunny conditions. Winds became variable after midnight as starry skies reigned ahead of another approaching strong low pressure system.
Initial Tuesday (30th) morning showers fizzled in eastern Iowa as a warm front lifted across southern Iowa, pumping in moisture and increasing atmospheric instability. Discrete supercells fired rapidly along the cold front near the Iowa-Nebraska line around 3:00 pm; these storms tracked east-northeast and became severe-warned almost immediately. Reports of large hail and isolated straight-line winds followed the consolidating line east with 2.00-inch hail in Massena (Cass County) and a weak tornado near Millerton (Wayne County). The cold front exited eastern Iowa overnight into Wednesday (1st) as skies cleared ahead of another weather disturbance to the west. Event rain totals across western Iowa were in the 0.50-0.75-inch range at many stations with lesser amounts farther east. Showers with some rumbles of thunder increased through the late afternoon and evening hours with temperatures in the upper 50s northwest to upper 60s southeast.
Showers and thunderstorms overspread the state into Thursday (2nd) bringing widespread, moderate rainfall to much of Iowa. Rain continued across eastern Iowa through the afternoon hours with stubborn showers holding over the southeast corner where flood warnings were issued. Northwesterly winds ushered in cooler temperatures behind the system as dense fog developed from southwest to north-central Iowa. Rain totals reported on Friday (3rd) morning for the last 36 hours showed almost 200 stations receiving at least the weekly climatological average, which was just shy of an inch. Nearly 30 stations had 2.00 inches or more with 2.10 inches in Sigourney (Keokuk County) to 4.10 inches in Centerville (Appanoose County); the statewide average was 0.98 inches.
Daytime conditions were pleasant with winds gradually shifting southerly and upper 60s and low 70s. Yet another low pressure center entered western Iowa early Saturday (4th) morning with thunderstorms forming a narrow line along the attendant cold front. Rain totals were highest across west-central to north-central Iowa where amounts were in the 0.75-1.00-inch range; many of the state’s remaining stations collected 0.20-0.50 inches. Skies gradually cleared west to east through the afternoon and evening as highs held in the upper 50s. Variable winds developed into Sunday (5th) with lows generally in the upper 30s and low 40s.
Weekly precipitation totals ranged from 0.31 inches at Muscatine (Muscatine County) to 4.53 inches in Forest City (Winnebago County). The statewide weekly average precipitation was 2.23 inches, more than double the normal of 0.93 inches. Shenandoah (Page County) reported the week’s high temperature of 83 degrees on the 30th, 15 degrees above average. Forest City and Storm Lake reported the week’s low temperature of 32 degrees on the 5th, on average 12 degrees below normal. Four-inch soil temperatures ranged from the mid 50s northwest to low 60s southeast as of Sunday.
Temperature and Precipitation Maps, courtesy of the Midwestern Regional Climate Center, are available at: https:/mrcc.purdue.edu/CLIMATE/
(Griswold, Iowa) – The Griswold School Board, Monday afternoon, approved the hiring of Middle School Science Teacher Seth Lembke, as the new Middle School/High School Principle for the upcoming school year. Superintendent Dave Henrichs, said with that having taken place, the Board accepted Mr. Lembke’s resignation as MS Science Teacher, in the following areas:
The Board approved also, the following additional new hires…
The remaining portion of the Griswold School Board meeting, Henrichs said, dealt with contract renewal for district employees.
Staff other than teachers received a One-dollar per hour raise.
The Lenox CSD holds and contract for the position of superintendent. The contract was renewed by Lenox on April 29. The renewal contained a 3.75% increase to the salary ($161,200 to $167,245). The amount of FICA / IPERS paid by the district increased $1,055.09. No increases to any other benefits, including insurance. Thus, the total package increase is 3.56%. Therefore, the total increase per district is $3,550.05.
*****
Details (as mentioned):
New Hires and Resignations (D.R.) – Resignations: Seth Lembke – MS Science Teacher, Quiz Bowl Sponsor, and MS Boys Track. Blair Rush – School Nurse. (All resignations are effective at the end of the 2023-24 school year.)
New Hires: Seth Lembke – MS/HS Principal – $88,000 Base Pay, $8,000 cash in lieu of insurance, 5% TSA. Randy Wells – MS Science Teacher. Brenda Houser – “Summer” Custodian (retroactive to April 29) – up to 30 hours per week @ $14.80 per hour. Nigel Horton and Tara Littler-Scholl – Co-Home School Assistance Teachers – Nigel will serve Elementary students and Tara will serve MS/HS students. Cole Cooper – Athletic Director, Kara Victor – Business Professional Of America Advisor (10 day extended contract) and Esports Sponsor, Chad Rogers – Assistant Girls Basketball and Assistant Cross-Country.
The effective dates are July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2024. Movement was applied (advancement in steps and lanes as applicable), but no increase to the base. Additionally, the district will continue to pay for a full, single health insurance plan. (Health insurance premiums increased 10%). All of these items create a 4.69% total package increase. Finally, TSS funds, as well as some district funds were used to ensure that all certified staff members receive the State mandated minimum salary or at least a $2,000 increase. See attachment for the full list of teacher salaries.
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