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Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
Police in Creston say a teenager was referred to Juvenile authorities, Monday, following an alleged assault. 13-year old Chandler Parker faces a Simple Assault charge. After being processed at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, Parker was released to the custody of his father.
On Tuesday, Creston Police arrested 28-year old Robert Branan, of Lenox. Branan faces a Domestic Abuse/Simple Assault charge. He was released from the Union County Jail on $300 bond. That same day, 26-year old Samantha Henry, of Creston, was arrested on a charge of Driving While Revoked. She was later released on a $1,000 bond.
Public hearings are set to take place this (Wednesday) evening in Atlantic, on several bond resolutions that amount nearly $2-million, and the proposed plans for construction of 2015 Street Improvements. The hearings are part of a regular meeting of the Atlantic City Council, which begins at 5:30-p.m.
The first hearing covers the street improvement plans & specifications. The Council passed a resolution calling for a hearing on the estimated $1.175-million project during their meeting on March 4th, as required by Iowa law. The second hearing, also required by Iowa Code, is with regard to the issuance (purchase) of bonds amounting to $1.45-million to pay the costs of street, water system, storm water management system, sanitary sewer system and sidewalk improvements, plus $100,000 for the purchase of a fire truck, for a total indebtedness of $1.55-million. Those bonds are being bundled, with the intent to save taxpayers $4,000.
The third public hearing is with regard to a bond purchase agreement in the amount of $100,000 for improvements to the City Hall Auditorium, while the final hearing pertains to the purchase of bonds amounting to $415,000, for an Urban Renewal Project in the Southeast Urban Renewal Area, that would benefit local developer Don Sonntag, by funding an economic development grant in connection with the 2015 Southern View Estates Project.
The Economic Development agreement between the City and Sonntag stipulates financial incentives amounting to $360,000 will be granted in return for the creation of new jobs and affordable housing. The City will pay the funds in three increments, as sections of the project are completed. Sonntag agrees to enter into an Assessment Agreement that specifies an increasing valuation of about $1-million per year through Jan., 2018.
In other business, the Atlantic Council will act on the appointment of citizens to several boards and commissions, and the closing of Chestnut Street from 2nd north to the Depot on May 9th, for the purpose of an E-Recycling event scheduled to take place from 8-a.m. to 4-p.m. on that date.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says a Cass County man was arrested Tuesday night on a valid Montgomery County court order. 46-year old Kenneth Dale Schooling, of Griswold, was arrested at around 8:20-p.m. about one-quarter of a mile north of the Cass/Montgomery County line on 590th Street. Schooling was brought to the Montgomery County jail, where is required to serve two-days on an original, Possession of a Controlled Substance, charge.
Only two school districts from southwest Iowa, the Riverside Community School District in Oakland and the Tri-Center Community School District in Neola, sought a waiver from the Iowa Department of Education to start school early next year. The Daily NonPareil reports a total of 52 districts applied for a waiver. The Riverside Community School District asked to start Aug. 25th, while the Tri-Center Community School District asked for Aug. 18th.
Last year, the state granted 326 school districts waivers, and only two districts started after Labor Day. But officials are cracking down on the waivers this year, no longer offering near automatic acceptance. Both the Council Bluffs and Lewis Central community school districts have approved 2015-16 calendars that did not require a waiver, with both local districts choosing an Aug. 31st start date for next year.
Some area school districts are waiting to see what happens in the Iowa Legislature before deciding. Glenwood, for example, adopted a calendar beginning Aug. 24 with a back-up calendar beginning Aug. 31 should lawmakers fail to reach a compromise. Atlantic and Audubon Community Schools have chosen not to file, with each district having back-up calendars similar to Glenwood.
The Iowa Senate has advanced a bill to allow schools to select their own start date, while the Iowa House supported a plan to set the earliest start date at Aug. 23, the last day of the Iowa State Fair.
After reaching an impasse on what to name a reorganized school district representing AHST and Walnut, school board members decided to stick to their original compromise: AHSTW, a five-letter acronym for Avoca, Hancock, Shelby, Tennant and Walnut that already adorns the Avoca-based district’s secondary school, which educates middle and high school students from Walnut through a grade sharing agreement.
School officials say board members from both districts unanimously accepted AHSTW as the name for a proposed reorganized school district, during a brief, joint session of the AHST and Walnut School District Boards of Education, Tuesday evening, at the Walnut Community School. The vote means the process of collecting signatures for a petition to reorganize the districts into one, can begin.
At least 400 signatures from AHST and 178 signatures from Walnut district patrons are required, in order to advance the petition to the Green Hills Area Education Agency, which would hold a public hearing and approve an election to determine whether the districts will merge.
Jesse Ulrich, the shared superintendent for both AHST and Walnut, said he expects signatures to be collected by April 1st, which would put the district on track to hold an election in September, 2015, along with the regular school board elections. If voters approve the merger, the districts would reorganize effective July 1st, 2016.
A reorganized AHSTW district would be governed by a seven-member board made up of four members from the existing AHST district, one from the existing Walnut district and two at-large seats, which would initially be split between AHST and Walnut representatives. The school boards would choose among their own members to fill the initial seats, according to the petition.
School officials say all assets and liabilities will be shared as a part of the new district, with AHSTW having a centralized campus, located in Avoca. The goal of reorganization, according to the schools, “Is to create a financially sustainable district to be able to provide a world-class education for the students they serve.”
Questions regarding reorganization, or patrons wishing to sign the petition, may contact Jesse Ulrich, Superintendent of both AHST and Walnut, at 712-343-6364.
Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Senate has passed a bill that would ban mental health providers in Iowa from practicing therapy aimed at converting the sexual orientation of a minor. The bill would prohibit a licensed mental health provider from offering therapy that attempts to change the sexual orientation of a person under 18 years old. It now heads to the House, where it’s unclear what kind of support it will get.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Des Moines Water Works lawsuit against three counties over high nitrate levels in rivers is symbolic of intensifying efforts by environmental groups to treat agriculture like other industries long held accountable for environmental pollution. The Water Works board filed its lawsuit against three counties which oversee drainage systems that remove water from farm fields. The water utility says drainage water often carries nitrates that must be removed to keep drinking water safe. County supervisors in Buena Vista, Calhoun and Sac are named because they manage 10 drainage districts which the lawsuit says should be required to obtain federal water pollution discharge permits.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Senate committee has approved a bill that would offer additional preschool funding for 4-year-olds in Iowa who have limited proficiency in English. The legislation would provide additional funding for students with limited proficiency in English who are enrolled in the statewide preschool program. Sen. Liz Mathis, a Democrat from Robins leading the bill, says it would cost the state about $800,000 in the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2016.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.2 percent in January from 4.3 percent in December. State officials say Iowa added 3,100 nonfarm jobs from December to January, with the state’s trade, transportation and utilities sector alone gaining 2,200.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Senate has passed a bill that would allow law enforcement officials to more easily regulate Iowa’s ban on texting while driving. The Senate voted 44-6 Tuesday to make texting while driving a primary offense instead of a secondary one. It now heads to the House for consideration.
Iowa law prohibits a person from reading, writing and sending messages on an electronic device while driving. The bill would remove a stipulation that a law enforcement official must stop a person for a different offense to enforce it.
Sen. Tod Bowman, a Democrat from Maquoketa, says distracted driving kills people. Most lawmakers voted for the bill, which has Gov. Terry Branstad’s support. But some Republicans questioned whether the legislation was needed.
A Page County man was arrested early this (Tuesday) morning on a drug charge. Clarinda Police say 24-year old Quentin Russell Horter, of Clarinda, was taken into custody in a parking lot at 1107 S. 16th Street, at around 12:30-a.m.
Horter faces a misdemeanor Possession of drug paraphernalia charge. He was subsequently released on his own recognizance pending an appearance before a Page County Magistrate.
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