The Griswold School District’s Board of Education will meet Monday evening in the Central Office Board Room at the Middle School/High School Building. On the agenda for the 5:30-p.m. session, is an update on district improvement projects, along with discussion and/or action, on: A Sport Coordinator; Short- and long-term Facilities projects; Various Board policies; the purchase of a wheel chair lift bus; An agreement with the Atlantic School District, with regard to the CCEOC (Cass County Educational Opportunity Center; and a policy pertaining to the publication of student names with school photos.

The Griswold School Board will also hear updates on: Certified Enrollment; the Iowa West grant; and, other Board Policies.

The Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department’s Board of Directors will meet Monday evening in a regular session, in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall. On the agenda for the 5:15-p.m. meeting, is a presentation pertaining to a Tobacco Policy, discussion with regard to the Schildberg Recreation Area campground plan, updates on the Parks and Rec Capital Improvement Plan, and, an update on plans for a dog park at the Schildberg Recreation Area. In addition, Parks and Rec Director Roger Herring will provide his regular, monthly report.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – School administrators in Sioux City say a new state bullying database helped them stop harassment. The Sioux City Journal reports that school officials have used the system to track where instances of bullying have taken place.

The database required by the Iowa Department of Education has been in use for the past month. The system collects detailed reports about where bullying has occurred, who was involved and why the victim was targeted.

Sioux City schools administrator Marilyn Charging says the database has helped administrators identify where bullying has occurred, allowing them to increase staff in problem areas.  The Iowa Department of Education says districts filed nearly 11,000 reports of bullying in the 2011-12 school year.

Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County are asking for your help in identifying the person or persons responsible for the theft of flag posts and flags from a residence in Villisca. Officials said Sunday, that sometime between the hours of 9:45-p.m. Saturday and 11-a.m. Sunday, a person or persons unknown stole a metal flag post and a Stanton Viking flag from the front yard of a residence at 103 West 3rd Street, in Villisca.

Authorities say the theft marked the third time the Stanton flag has been stolen from the same yard, and the second time a metal post has been taken from the property. Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call Montgomery County Crimestoppers at 1-800-432-1001.

Rainfall overnight in Atlantic (at the KJAN studios), as of 7-a.m. Sunday (Oct. 14th), was 1.06″.  That is also our 24-hour total. The rain had pretty much ended by 7-a.m., with just some light drizzle remaining in town. Total rainfall for Atlantic, including the Friday-Saturday precipitation, amounted to 1.93-inches.

The Iowa Department of Education has named Bloomer Elementary School in Council Bluffs, as the best in the State at educating students in learning English. The school is set to receive the IDED’s “Breaking Barriers” award, next month. The institution is one of five schools scheduled to receive the honor.

The IDED says Bloomer Elementary was the only Iowa schools awarded for how its English-learning students did on the state math and reading tests, as compared with the state average for the same group of students. Districts and schools receive the distinction for narrowing the achievement gaps between better-off groups of students, and disadvantaged groups, such as those students learning English or students from low-income families.

The Council Bluffs Police Department reports a passenger in a vehicle that crashed into a house Saturday died, while the driver of the car was injured. The accident happened at around 4:47-p.m. Saturday, near North 16th Street and Avenue F. The names of the victims were released late Sunday night.

Officials say a 1990 Geo Prizm driven by 47-year old Patrick Coover, of Council Bluffs, was traveling north on North 16th Street, when for reasons unknown, the car crossed over the center median heading in a westerly direction across Avenue F. The car then crashed into the side of an unoccupied  residence at 1602 Avenue F. Coover and a transient passenger in the car, 36-year old Rogers Williams Jackson, were transported to the hospital, where Jackson was pronounced dead. Coover was being treated at the Creighton University Medical Center. A report on his condition is not available.

The crash remain under investigation. Authorities say alcohol is believed to have been a contributing factor to the crash, while speed may-or-may not have played a role. Anyone who witnessed the crash is asked to contact the Council Bluffs Police Department’s Special Operations/Traffic Unit. Call 712-328-4948.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Severe thunderstorms were expected throughout the midsection of the country on Saturday, but many in Iowa are likely happy to see the rain after a summer of drought. The National Weather Service says much of the state will get at least some rain, with some areas in south central Iowa getting as much as 2 inches by today (Sunday). Iowa has struggled with record drought this year. As late as Thursday, three-fourths of the state remained in extreme or exceptional drought — the two worst classifications.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press