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Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
The Cass County Board of Supervisors today (Wednesday) approved the renewal of $40,000 per year funding for Fiscal years 2014 through 2018, for the Valley Business Park loan. The funds are payable out of the Local Option Sales Tax fund in Cass County. Audubon County has already agreed to the continuation of their payments. The process to spur economic development in the area began in 2003.
A 28-E agreement was entered into, with the Board of Supervisors in both counties making a formal commitment of $50,000 per year for five-years, to develop the area. The CABEDA (or, Cass-Audubon Business Economic Development Agreement) Board, which is comprised of representatives from both Counties and local economic development officials, agreed to purchase 149 acres of land at a cost of $1-million, in March, 2007. Cass County Supervisor Duane McFadden said in November 2006, the counties agreed to share in paying on a loan for the purchase of the land.
McFadden says the loan was later rewritten, so the interest rate was reduced from 6.25-percent to 3.95-percent, which he says has made a “big difference” on their payments last year. It means an additional $4,000 each year can be made toward the payments. McFadden says at one point they had a serious prospect for the land, but then the economy tanked. Still, he says efforts persist to market the area. Cass-Atlantic Development Corporation (CADCO) Executive Director Russell Joyce echoed McFadden’s statement, and said while they continue to seek businesses for the area, the land is being rented out to local farmers, which is bringing in much needed revenue. He says the amount of rent payments they receive has nearly tripled since it was purchased, and the value of the land itself is nearly double what it was purchased for in 2007.
In other business, the Cass County Board of Supervisors approved a two-percent Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for Child Support Recovery employees, which is covered under the Intergovernmental Cooperative Reimbursement Agreement between the County and Dept. of Human Services. They also approved the hiring of Cory Kirchhoff for the Secondary Roads Department, for an Operator 1 position at the Atlantic office. Engineer Charles Marker said there were 50 applicants for the position. Six of the applicants were interviewed, with Kirchhoff being well qualified and having met all the requirements, according to Marker. The Board also received two bids for sanitation and recycling services at the courthouse. They approved a lower bid of $100 per month from Cook Sanitation of Atlantic, effective April 1st.
City Officials in Harlan have approved the refinancing of their 2007 General Obligation bonds. The City Council Tuesday approved a bid from UMB Bank in Kansas City, MO for $2.845-million in G.O. Refunding Bonds, Series 2013. Jenny Blankenship from PFN in Des Moines, reported to the Council on the three bids the city had received for the bonds. The bonds were originally from 2007 and were set at a 4.25% interest. Blankenship demonstrated to the board that with the new bid from UMB Bank, the interest rate will fall to a true interest of just over 1.88-percent. The annual savings from 2016 to 2027 will amount to a little more than $318,700, with a net savings of just under $280,000.
In addition to approving refinancing of the bonds, the Harlan City Council agreed to spend $13,567 on new Christmas decorations. City Clerk Debra Sawyer said with the money, the city will buy 11 LED Candy Canes and 11 Standing Deer for Chatburn Avenue, along with new garland and 1500-feet of LED lights for the downtown area. The money will come out of the 2011 bond issue. Sawyer said the city will be purchasing more Christmas decorations in the coming years.
And, Harlan Fire Chief Roger Bissen provided the City Council with his regular report. Bissen said the Fire Department held a board meeting Monday, and elected one new firefighter. The addition brings the total number of members in the department to 35. The maximum number of personnel the department is allowed to have is capped at 40.
(Joel McCall/KNOD)
A report published in the Omaha World-Herald says the City of Hamburg will be forced to remove an additional eight-feet of dirt piled on top of a levee designed to protect the City from flooding by the Missouri River. The paper says because the City was unable to raise more than $5.5 million needed to bring the levee within federal regulations, it must remove extra dirt added to the levee. The result will be a levee reduced to its pre-2011 flood height of 11 feet, which City leaders say is not enough to protect the community from flooding.
Despite a $1 million contribution from the Iowa Economic Development Authority, and an extension by the Corps of Engineers that allowed the City to continue raising funds until March 1st, the City of Hamburg was still $4.6 million short of the money necessary to keep the additional dirt on the L-575 levee at the beginning of the year. City officials have said removal of the levee would cost Hamburg about One-million dollars.
The Iowa Senate has passed a bill that would give Iowa companies an advantage in selling goods and services to state government. If an out-of-state company is the lowest bidder, Iowa companies with bids just a bit higher would be given a chance to match the low bid and win the contract. Senator Rick Bertrand, a Republican from Sioux City, says many senators voted for the legislation because they fear the campaign pamphlets that would be circulated if they voted no. “This is a feel good bill…We’re all going to vote for it because if we don’t…they’re going to beat the hell out of us on the campaign trail on this, so let’s just vote it up and be done with it.”
Bertrand says everyone’s for promoting Iowa businesses, but the bill doesn’t ensure Iowa taxpayers won’t get the best deals on state contracts because low bidders from out-of-state will lose. Senator Liz Mathis, a Democrat from Robbins, defends the legislation.”You can feel good about voting for this bill because business people back home will see you standing with them,” Mathis told her fellow senators, “supporting them for building their business in Iowa.”
The bill passed on a 34 to 16 vote. This is the second year the Senate has endorsed the concept. It’s unlikely to win support in the Iowa House.
(Radio Iowa)
Two Atlantic men have entered pleas of guilty to amended charges in connection with a January stabbing incident.
Bryce Baker
According to court records, 18-year-old Bryce Baker plead guilty to one-felony count of Willful Injury, while 23-year old Mykel Thorenentered a plea of guilty to an amended, aggravated misdemeanor charge of being an Accessory After The Fact.
Mykel Thoren
Both men had originally been charged with Willful Injury and Going Armed with Intent. They were set to stand trial next week.
Baker is scheduled to be sentenced April 29th. Thoren waived his rights and requested immediate sentencing. The judge sentenced him him to serve a maximum of two-years in prison but then suspended the sentence and gave Thoren credit for time already served. He was also fined $625, plus related court costs.
In February a third man, 21-year-old Austin Nelson, plead guilty to an amended charge of Accessory after the Fact, and was also given a two-year suspended prison sentence. All three men had been charged in connection with the January 28th stabbing of 43-year-old Robert Leslie, of Atlantic.
Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Senate has approved legislation that would give preference to Iowa businesses when the state is purchasing certain supplies and services. Lawmakers passed the measure 34-16 yesterday with bipartisan support. It would give Iowa-based businesses a second chance to match the lowest bid by an out-of-state business for goods and services that cost the state under $500,000. The measure now heads to the House.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Terry Branstad’s plan to cut commercial property taxes in Iowa has won committee approval in the Republican-controlled House. The bill would gradually reduce taxable assessments for commercial property owners by 20 percent. It goes to the full House for a vote and faces an uncertain future in the Democratic-majority Senate.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Illinois and Iowa could get into a bidding war over a $1.2 billion fertilizer production facility. According to Illinois officials, Iowa is offering Cronus Chemical an estimated $35 million in taxpayer subsidies to build a plant in Mitchell County near the Minnesota border. Illinois lawmakers are considering tax breaks, and a plant there would be built in the east central part of the state.
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Sioux City woman is accused of ripping and burning fake money during a police chase that started in South Dakota and ended in Iowa. Authorities say Alison Daugherty was one of three people in a vehicle speeding down Interstate 29 Monday night as passengers threw counterfeit cash out the window. Daugherty and Shaun Wakefield, of Sioux City, face forgery charges.
A discarded cigarette that blew up under some siding caused a smoldering-type fire this (Tuesday) afternoon, at a motel in Atlantic. The incident at the Super 8 Motel on east 7th Street was reported just before 4:30-p.m. The manager had tried to put the embers out with a couple of fire extinguishers, but was unsuccessful, and notified the fire department. Atlantic Fire Chief Mark McNees told KJAN News the cigarette managed to make its way into a crevasse between the siding and the concrete foundation, that was not much bigger than 1/4 to 1/2-inch wide. It started smoking between two layers of siding, and the smoke began to filter into a suite on the east side of the Motel.
Guests in the room noticed the smoke and notified the manager. No injuries were reported. McNees said there was some damage to the siding and smoke inside the motel room, but the damage was not major. If the fire had gone unnoticed for a great length of time, there could have much more significant damage to the structure. Fire crews were on the scene for less than 30-minutes.
A reminder to area high school seniors and those currently pursuing a career in the field of health: several scholarships are available to area students through Cass County Health System and its affiliate organizations…
Applications are available on the Cass County Memorial Hospital website, www.casshealth.org, and can be turned in to the CCMH Human Resources Office or Cass County High School guidance offices by the respective deadlines listed above. For more information, contact Sara Nelson, Director of Public Relations, 712-243-7408.
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