The topic of estate planning and evaluation will be an all-day workshop next month in Pottawattamie County. East Pottawattamie County Extension is hosting “Evaluating Your Estate Plan, a Workshop for Farm Families” in southwest Iowa on December 9th, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Community Center in Carson. Topics include the language of estate planning, needed information, setting goals, and gift, estate, and inheritance taxes.

The program gives participants tools and the chance to use those tools to help them prepare or revise an estate plan, and has been highly successful throughout Iowa. According to evaluations within one year 69% of participants had held a family meeting. 64% of participants met with their attorney to review their estate plan within one year of the program.

Presenters are Melissa O’Rourke and Kelvin Leibold, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Farm and Agribusiness Management Specialists. O’Rourke is an attorney who has experience in agricultural law and estate and succession planning. Leibold has been helping farmers with management and business decisions for decades.

The cost is $50 per person, which includes resource materials and lunch. Advance registration by December 6 is required because the program is limited to 40 people. To register, call East Pottawattamie County Extension at 712-482-6449.

The Atlantic City Council is expected to act on a couple of property resolutions during their meeting Wednesday evening, at City Hall. The Council will first act on approving a resolution accepting the property at 203 Locust Street. City Attorney Dave Wiederstein reports the Courts have awarded title to the abandoned property to the City, which he will request the Council accept, during their meeting.

The second resolution pertains to the same property, and is with regard to the sale of that property to Rob and Marlo Stamp, for $100. The Stamps have agreed to demolish the structure and provide a performance guarantee, which entails $2,000 being put into escrow until the building is demolished and removed. The City Attorney feels the guarantee would provide the City with adequate assurance the job would be completed in a timely manner.

In other business, the Council will receive a report from Snyder and Associates Engineer Dave Sturm, with regard to the Street Maintenance Study. The Study, which was commissioned in 2010, indicated street repairs are the highest priority of the community’s citizens, and will show that over the past four-years, efforts have been made to repair and maintain the streets, but ongoing deterioration of existing pavement and some backlogged projects continue to be of concern.

One way to address the problem, according to City Administrator Doug Harris, is to refinance old bond issues and issue new bonds, at current low interest rates. The study, it’s hoped, will give the Council the information it needs to make some difficult choices that result in a sustainable Capital Improvement Program (CIP) that will enable the City of minimize future costs, according to Harris.

The City Council meeting begins at 5:30-p.m.

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Officials in Shelby County are planning to focus harder on private driveways and the snow ordinance this winter. During the Shelby County Supervisor’s meeting today (Tuesday), Shelby County Engineer Dan Ahart told the board the past few years and especially last year, the county has been dealing with certain issues with residents plowing snow onto the road and shoulder of a county roadway.

“Snow removal of your driveway is supposed to remain on your property. It constituents a hazard if and when you push it across the roadway, paved or gravel and remnants remain on the roadway and could cause significant liability to us and the public.”

The Engineer says if a resident has no other choice to take snow off their private driveway to the roadway, you will need to push it all the way off the roadway and shoulder and make sure it goes into the ditch. Shelby County has a snow ordinance which can be read online at www.shco.org under the Engineer’s Department.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

The Shelby County Supervisors auctioned off two different pieces of county land this (Tuesday) morning. The two land auctions were held as part of the Supervisors meeting. The first auction was for 145 acres of farm land. John Wingert had the winning bid of $400 per acre. Wingert farmed the ground last year too. The other auction was the county’s 108 acres of solid wasteland and was auctioned to Brandon Wiese for $340 per acre. In other business, the Shelby County Supervisors approved a resolution on the addition of road and bridge projects to the County Urban Renewal Plan. On the same business, the Supervisors approved a Tax Increment Financing Ordinance adding new taxable property for revenue to the county. Shelby County Auditor Marsha Carter informed the supervisors, on which properties are to be added.

“It specifies that we added the Kirkman Farm, Arkfeld Confinement and the properties Arkfeld owned on the road from new 59 to the Confinement. The Farm Service Coop property is spelled out in here.” Supervisor Steve Kenkel explained the reasoning behind the addition of taxable property and the amendment to the renewal plan was for the county to stay out of debt.

“One of the reasons we are doing this is because one-third of the Counties in Iowa are bonding for road and bridge improvements and we want to stay away from that if at all possible. This is an avenue we want to do that. We have road improvements need to be done around the confinement areas and Coop and wouldn’t be done otherwise. We know there will be more wear and tear on it. Dan’s crew has been good about keeping up on the bridge improvements and we need local cost share to do that. This is a way to do that and stay out of debt. It has been a growing trend that more counties are getting in debt and not stay out of it and that’s what we are hoping to do here.”

Carter said this is another avenue for roads and bridges. “We’re giving secondary road the maximum tax money we can give them. Even if the board wanted to raise taxes to put towards secondary roads, we cannot. They are getting the maximum allowed. This is another revenue source to use on roads and bridges.”

The Shelby County Supervisors approved the resolution and ordinance.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

The Harlan Police Department has released additional information including the name of the suspect who was arrested Monday following a bank robbery. According to the Harlan PD, 49 year old Troy Michael Maynard of Des Moines was apprehended following the bank robbery around 9:40am at Bank of the West in Harlan.

On Monday, Maynard walked into the bank and demanded money. He was given an undetermined amount of cash and then stayed in the lobby area. Officers with the Harlan PD and Shelby County Sheriff’s deputies made entry and arrested Maynard. He was charged with 2nd degree robbery, a Class C Felony and transported to the Shelby County Jail. Maynard told officials he is homeless at this time.

Currently, he is being held in jail on $10,000 bond and the FBI is continuing their investigation of the incident.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Sioux City man has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the killing of a man whose body was found in South Dakota.  Martin Castellanos entered a written plea Monday in Woodbury County District Court. No trial date has been set. The 20-year-old Castellanos is accused of fatally shooting 20-year-old Adrian Rojas-Hernandez in October in Sioux City.

Hernandez’s partially burned body was found later in a ditch alongside a gravel road across the state border in South Dakota. A manhunt followed and Castellanos was arrested a few days later.

Another man, 22-year-old Ricardo Vital, of Sioux City, has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of accessory after the fact. Investigators say he drove a car used to move Hernandez’s body, and helped clean up evidence.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors will receive and act on a request for funding, Wednesday. The request will follow a report from the Cass County Library Association during the Board’s meeting, which begins at 9-a.m. The Board will also take action on a Local Match Resolution for the Hazard Mitigation Grant (HMG) Program. The County’s share of the in-kind match amounts to $7,950. The total grant amount is $53,000. $39,750 will come from the Feds, and $5,300 is from the State of Iowa.

In other business, the Board will hear a report from the Child Abuse Prevention Council, with regard to the “Scary Guy” program planned for all schools in the County, next fall.

Pending approval next month by the Exira-EHK School District’s “Super Board,” voters in the combined districts will head to the polls on Feb. 4^th, 2014, to act on a Public Measure adopting a Revenue Purpose Statement (RPS). Exira-EHK Superintendent Dean Schnoes told KJAN News the election is required by the Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) and Department of Education (DOE).

He says even though both districts say the same thing, it still has to be approved by the voters. The new “Super Board” will meet Dec. 2^nd to approve a resolution to put the measure before the voters, and to continue on with what the RPS says.

The RPS will allow the districts to authorize the expenditure of revenues from the State of Iowa to secure an advanced vision for the education fund received by the Exira-Elk Horn Kimballton Community School District. The RPS specifies how the One-cent Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) can be used, including, but not limited to: Property Tax relief; New buildings or additions to current facilities; the lease or purchase of buildings or equipment, and more.

He says it’s kind of like a combination of the PPEL – Physical Plant and Equipment Levy – and the LOST, but it’s broader in scope as compared to what the PPEL allows, such as technology purchases and upgrades. The RPS is typically in effect for 10-years, which for each district independently is currently in 2020. Schnoes said because it’s a new district, it’s just another one of those things you have to have in-place, like a school starting brand new.” He said “If we’re going to continue on with the education that we have here providing the facilities, the curriculum, the things that we need to provide education…we still need to have [the RPS] in-place.”

If the measure fails to win voter approval on Feb. 4^th, it will not terminate or restrict authority previously granted by the voters to expend receipts from the “secure an advanced vision for education,” fund. If it’s approved, it will remain in effect until replaced or amended by the Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton School District.

You can read details about the Special Election on the Exira-EHK website under “Public Notices,” or click on this link to the PDF: http://swmcdn.com/site_0244/EXIRAEHK_RevenuePurposeStmt_111813.pdf

A Red Oak man was arrested Monday afternoon on a warrant for Revocation of Probation. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says 40-year old Eric Huffstutlear was taken into custody at around 2-p.m.  He appeared before the District Court Judge and is being held in the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center on a $5,000 cash bond.