(Radio Iowa) – Iowans who are 65 or older and own the home they live in have about six weeks to apply for a new property tax exemption.

The tax plan Governor Reynolds signed into law earlier this month includes a new property tax exemption for Iowa seniors. It will reduce the taxable value of a home by $3250 for property taxes due this September and next spring. For the next assessment year, the exemption doubles to $6500.

Iowans who were at least 65 years old by January 1st of this year have until July 1st to file a form with their local county assessor to claim this exemption. Once the exemption’s granted, there’s no need to reapply in future years. The Legislative Services Agency estimates it will be worth $50 million annually to Iowa seniors.

Iowans who are receiving or are eligible for the military service property tax exemption will see it increase to $4000. Veterans who were on active duty during a war or served 18 months during peacetime may claim the exemption on the home they live in.

(Radio Iowa) – Upper Iowa University in Fayette is closing seven of its regional education centers in neighboring states and laying off more than three dozen people.

According to the Cedar Rapids Gazette, 22 people who work on Upper Iowa’s campus in Fayette are losing their jobs. Upper Iowa is closing its only regional center in Illinois along with all six of Upper Iowa’s regional centers in Wisconsin. Fifteen employees who work at those sites will be laid off.

The newspaper reports the university is refocusing on areas with the highest enrollment. That includes its Fayette campus and online courses as well as regional education centers in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Waterloo and the Quad Cities, plus four remote learning sites in Louisiana. Upper Iowa will continue to operate programs at four U.S. military bases, too.

Earlier this month, Upper Iowa’s board of trustees announced leadership changes at the school. Upper Iowa’s president will retire in mid-2024 and will spend the next year fundraising. The university’s VP for finance and enrollment will serve as interim president during the search for a new Upper Iowa president.

Upper Iowa was founded 166 years ago. It was originally affiliated with the Methodist Church, but became independent in 1928. Its first regional education center opened in Madison, Wisconsin in 1981. That center is among the seven that are being closed.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass Health, in Atlantic, will host a health fair in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month. Officials say the fair will be held on Tuesday, May 23 from 1 to 5 pm in Conference Room 2, and the public is encouraged to attend. Everyone in the community is also encouraged to wear green that day; green is the official color for Mental Health Awareness.

Vendors at the fair include Cass Health’s Senior Life Solutions team, Southwest Iowa Mental Health Center, Therapy Place, Family Connections, Cass County Public Health, Veterans Affairs, Cass County Extension, and NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness).

National Mental Health Awareness Month was created by Congress in 1949 as part of an effort to help address the mental health struggles of WWII veterans.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Bureau has announced they will host four public meetings, to present results from the DNR’s comprehensive evaluation of administrative rules and regulations. The comprehensive review is required by Gov. Reynold’s Executive Order Ten.

The public meetings are scheduled for

• May 30, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Waverly Public Library, 1500 Bremer Ave, Waverly
• May 31, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Ventura Wildlife Office, 15300 Balsam Ave, Ventura
• June 1, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Atlantic DNR Field Office 4, 1401 Sunnyside Ln, Atlantic
• June 2, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Story County Conservation Center, 56461 180^th St, Ames

The Iowa DNR Wildlife Bureau will present the proposed edited chapters during the meetings. These meetings are not seeking input on future hunting seasons or proposed hunting regulations.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Community School District’s Board of Directors, Wednesday, announced that Lisa Jones will serve as the next School Business Official for Atlantic Community School District effective July 1st, 2023.

Jones, who is from Lamoni, Iowa, has accepted the School Business Official position at the Atlantic Community School District. The current Business Manager at Lamoni Community School District, Jones has served as a School Business Official at Lamoni for 10 years, along with 18 years of working in higher education.

Officials say Lisa is passionate about public school education and considers herself to be a lifelong learner. She is passionate about school finance and being part of a district with a strong vision and positive culture. Lisa will be moving to the Atlantic area and begin her duties July 1, 2023.

Lisa Jones (Lamoni CSD photo)

Lisa has 2 children; Luke Jones who is an electrician for K&W Electric in Cedar Falls, Iowa and Logan Jones a current student at UNI majoring in Education.

Jones will succeed current SBO Sarah Sheeder, who, as we’ve mentioned, submitted her resignation in April, effective at the end of this month. She will take on a similar position with the AC/GC Community School District.

(Radio Iowa) – The city of Mount Pleasant is preparing for Iowa Wesleyan University to close at the end of the month and there are still many questions about what that will mean to business and labor in the community. At the Grange Public House and Brewery, owner Sue Sorensen says her husband Eric is more optimistic about the end of Iowa Wesleyan. “I’m the one who’s super concerned — like what’s going to happen? What’s his town gonna look like? What’s our business gonna look like?,” she says.

The U-S-D-A is taking ownership of the campus, and has been holding meetings in the town to help find a new use and a new owner for the campus. Rachel Lindane works in economic development in Mount Pleasant, she says while she’s gotten a lot of calls and questions about the road ahead, there just aren’t many answers at this point. “We don’t know that. But what we can tell you is those students were staff of many of our local organizations. Yeah, right now I’m hearing more about labor than I am anything else,” Lindane says.

Mount Pleasant was first incorporated as a town in 1842, the same year the University was established. I-S-U Architecture and Design professor, Kimberly Zarcore, is studying how quality of life in a small town can be maintained even as it loses population. She says the town’s future is tied up in what makes Mount Pleasant a good place to live in the first place. “Not everyone in Mount Pleasant worked at the university or had their children there, right? There’s a whole world of Mount Pleasant that didn’t rely on the university,” Zarcore says. “And that part of the community is going to have to step up and express itself and maybe even become bigger, in terms of the community’s identity.”

Iowa Wesleyan Univ. campus

This is what Mount Pleasant residents like Sue Sorensen and her husband will have to figure out with their neighbors. “I have no idea what this is going to look like in two months, because we don’t know what’s gonna look like after all the students are gone. Let’s wait and see. Which is so hard for me,” Sorensen says.

The U-S-D-A says it will work side by side with the community as it moves ahead.

(reporting by Zachary Smith, Iowa Public Radio)

(Harlan, Iowa) – Officials with SWITA (the Southwest Iowa Transit Agency) in Harlan, report in their driver profile, Dwayne Hemminger has Driven for SWITA for the Past 18 Years. He provides taxi rides in Harlan two days per week and provides an average of 40-50 rides per day. He also provides shuttle rides to get disabled individuals from Harlan to Denison for work two days per week. Drivers like Dwayne are vital to rural communities, as they allow people to get around when they otherwise would have no access to transportation on their own.

SWITA serves eight counties in southwest Iowa and has 100 vehicles and 72 drivers. SWITA has special routes for disabled individuals who need to attend day habilitation services or work. The agency has work routes that transport workers to employers such as OSI and Monogram Foods. It also offers medical transportation, student transportation, has a summer fun bus, and provides a range of other transportation services. SWITA buses are ADA accessible, and service is open to everyone.

Dwayne has been proudly driving for SWITA for the past 18 years. He was born and raised in the Harlan area, and he owned a video rental store in town for 25 years with his late wife until online video services phased out his business. “I sort of took this job to supplement my income and it was a blessing in disguise,” Dwayne said. “I really like working for SWITA and it feels good to help people out who couldn’t get where they need to go without this service.”

Dwayne has two daughters who now live in Wayne, Nebraska and Springfield, Missouri, and he enjoys visiting them when he can and spending time with his two grandsons. He also enjoys spending time his free time working on his hobby of restoring old vehicles. He is an avid car collector and takes his 1957 Chevy pickup, which he restored on his own, to car shows for fun. “I think the best part about this job for me, is the people who ride on my bus,” Dwayne said. “I have had people tell me that they are so thankful for the rides I provide. I am 70 years old, and I could retire if I wanted, but I am not ready to stop driving for SWITA yet.”

SWITA operates vehicles early and late, pending vehicle and driver availability. If you find yourself in need of transportation for any reason, you can contact SWITA by calling 712-243-2518 or 1-800-842-8065 or get more information at www.swita.com.

(Radio Iowa) – The Des Moines School Board has chosen a new leader for Iowa’s largest school district. Ian Roberts will take over as superintendent of Des Moines public schools on July 1st. The 52-year-old educator has been superintendent of Millcreek Township schools in Erie, Pennsylvania since 2020. He also has experience leading public schools in St. Louis and Baltimore and charter schools in California and Tennessee. Roberts told reporters his focus will be on the district’s goal to improve outcomes for students. “Every single child who knocks on our doors, families rest assured they will receive a quality education that changes their trajectory for success,” Roberts said.

Roberts is the first black superintendent in Des Moines. About 30 percent of the 30-thousand students in Des Moines schools are Latino and 20 percent are black. Eight of Iowa’s 10 largest school districts have hired new superintendents in the past two years. This past January, the acting superintendent of Sioux City schools was selected for the job permanently and the superintendent for Cedar Rapids, the state’s second largest school district, starts her job July 1st as well. The superintendents of Dubuque, Waterloo and West Des Moines schools started their jobs nearly a year ago.

Davenport, Iowa City and Ankeny hired new superintendents in 2021.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Board of Supervisors in Adair County, Wednesday morning (May 17, 2023), approved a few matters on their agenda before receiving a Quarterly Environmental Health update from Jotham Arber, Cass/Adair/Guthrie County Director. The Board approved a liquor license renewal for the Wallace Center of Iowa, a Child Abuse Prevention Grant drawdown, and the appointment of Skylar Rawlings, from Greenfield, as Grand River Township Trustee. They also acknowledged receipt of an Engineer New Field Entrance letter, with regard to a rural driveway in Harrison Township 27.

In his report to the Adair County Supervisors, Jotham Arber said Perc (Percolation) Tests resumed last month. A percolation test is a soil test designed to evaluate the soil’s capacity to accept a subsurface sewage disposal system (septic system). The test has two parts, the soil evaluation and the site evaluation.

The tests take about six-hours to complete. He said also they developed a “Well Book,” for homeowners guide to taking care of their well, for current and new owners, who have wells on their property.

The books will be available free of charge at the Auditor’s Office, well drillers and eventually, realtor’s offices. Jotham Arber said there are 29 well water tests scheduled for this month, in Adair County. The free tests are for arsenic, lead and five other, possible contaminant levels.

And, Jotham said also, there are a lot of septic systems that are coming to the end of their lives in Adair and the three counties covered by the Environmental Health Department. Many systems, he said, are 40-or 50-years old, well past their expected performance use.

And, Adair County Engineer Nick Kauffman presented for Board Chair Jerry Walker’s signature, following Board approval, Right-of-Way Contracts for the following culvert projects:

• N29 in Prussia Township
• W14 in Jefferson Township
• and W11 in Union Township

Kauffman then went on to provide the Board with his weekly report on Adair County Secondary Roads Department Maintenance and Activities. He mentioned they received a letter from a rural resident complimenting road crews on their ditch cleaning efforts. And, he said they received bids for road salt, which were down from last year’s prices, which Kauffman said is unusual.

In construction news, Nick Kauffman reported work on a bridge is expected to begin, Thursday.

The next Adair County Board of Supervisor’s is on Tuesday, May 23^rd at 9-a.m.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans who happened to be up for sunrise today (Wednesday) got a rare treat. Smoke from wildfires in Alberta, Canada, is filtering high over Iowa and it’s making the sun appear as a golden-reddish-orange ball. Meteorologist Brooke Hagenhoff, at the National Weather Service, says the phenomenon should be visible at sunset tonight, too, and for that matter, the sun and sky may look unusual all day, perhaps longer. “It’s really making kind of that reddish look to the sky. It’s gonna look pretty hazy most of the day,” Hagenhoff says. “Right now, it looks like that hazy sky’s going to hang on at least through tomorrow. We do have a cold front coming through on Thursday with some thunderstorms that may help to push some of it out as we get into the end of the week.”

Iowans who have certain health issues and difficulty breathing should -not- feel any ill affects from the smoke, as it’s far up in the atmosphere, perhaps 20-thousand feet up. Plus, she says, it doesn’t even smell like smoke outside. “In the afternoon, sometimes this time of year, whenever it’s warm, you can get some deeper mixing as the ground kind of warms up. That could start to pull some of it down, but again, just how much is kind of an unknown,” Hagenhoff says. “So just something to use caution. Of course, there are air quality products out there so anyone with concerns would want to check to see what those levels may be.”

Image from NASA Earth Observatory

There are at least 90 wildfires now burning in Canada with more than 20 of them out of control. More than 20-thousand Canadians have been evacuated from their homes because of the fires, and cities like Calgary are under alerts due to poor air quality. Hagenhoff doesn’t anticipate anything similar here and the smoke is so high aloft, it doesn’t even appear on radar over Iowa. The odd-looking sky could persist, though. “Because it’s such a small-scale thing with the fires in Canada, and how that’s going to interact with our systems, and how it gets drug down,” she says, “it’s a little tough to kind of figure out exactly where we’ll be with any kind of length into the future past a couple days.”

The federal government runs a website called simply, AirNow, and it’s focused on fires and smoke. The site includes a color-coded map through which you can zoom in on individual Iowa counties to check on air quality.

More at https://fire.airnow.gov/