Natalie Smith (photo courtesy Danish Immigrant Museum)

Officials with the Danish Immigrant Museum in Elk Horn, say Natalie Smith, who graduated in May from the Museum Studies program at New York University in New York City, has begun her one-year position in the museum’s collection department under the supervision of Angela Stanford.  Smith said the internship is a unique opportunity for her to be immersed in artifacts pertaining to one cultural group while gaining additional experience interacting with a historic house collection. 

She says through her engagement with the museum and the community, she hopes to learn how present day Elk Horn and the surrounding area were influenced by the settlement of Danish immigrants.  Smith will be tasked with inventorying and cataloging the entire collection of 1200 artifacts in the Museum’s 1908 Victorian home known as Bedstemor’s House.  By the end of the summer of 2013, the object inventory will be completed.  After that, museum staffers will complete the photos and archival and library materials, giving them a 100% collection inventory.

The Iowa State Patrol has released more information on three-vehicle crash that caused several people to be sent the hospital Monday morning, in Pottawattamie County. The Patrol told the Omaha World-Herald, that 18-year-old Alexandra Peterson of Neola, and 16-year-old Victor Pano-Guijardo of Omaha, were critically injured and flown by  Lifenet Helicopter to Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha. Among those transported by ambulance to hospitals in Council Bluffs, was 38-year-old Cornelio Santos-Bautista, 29-year-old Genaro Ortega and 42-year-old Mario Cardonia-Donis, all of Omaha. Officials say 25-year-old Malory White, of Treynor, was also injured in the crash. She was taken to the hospital by a private vehicle.

Authorities say five vehicles traveling east on Highway 6, just  east of Council Bluffs, were at a standstill when the lead vehicle attempted to make a left turn onto northbound Hunt Avenue, at around 7:25-a.m. Peterson, who was driving a Honda Accord, failed to stop and veered left, but clipped the rear end of a Mazda, driven by White. The Accord then came to rest in in the westbound lane of Highway 6, where it was hit broadside on the driver’s side door by a Honda Odessy van, driven by Santos-Batista.

w/ Ric Hanson

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The Cass County Board of Supervisors have a full agenda for their meeting Wednesday morning, in Atlantic. Their meeting begins with a couple of tuckpointing proposals, followed by action on awarding a tuckpointing contract to either Schooner or Karr Tuckpointing. The Board will also act on an abatement of tax on properties owned by the City of Atlantic, and on an Iowa Negotiation Services contract for an Employee Handbook update, and/or negotiation services/human resources consulting.

In  other business, the Supervisors will act on approving a Resolution calling for a change in the interest rate on a loan for the Valley Business Park property. In addition, the Board will hear a quarterly activity report from Cass County Veterans Affairs, and a Secondary Roads Department update. Afterward, they’re expected to take action on approving the final payment to Murphy Heavy Contracting for the bridge replacement project over Turkey Creek on 620th Street.

The meeting begins at 9-a.m.

Sheriff’s officials in Adams County say a Prescott man was arrested Monday. 47-year old David Adsit was taken into custody after deputies were called to a residence in rural Prescott following a reported domestic altercation. Upon further investigation, Adsit was arrested on a felony charge of Domestic Assault/3rd or subsequent offense, felony assault on a Peace Officer, and Violation of a No Contact Order. Adsit was brought to the Adams County Jail, where he was being held without bond. Officials say additional charges are currently pending.

The City Council in Audubon held a regularly scheduled meeting Monday evening. During the session, the Council passed a resolution setting August 13th at 7-p.m., as the date and time for a Public Hearing to consider the sale of property at 118 East Division Street. They also approved the first consideration of an Ordinance setting sewer rates.

Audubon City Clerk Lora Hansen told KJAN News if approved on the third and final consideration, the minimum rate for the sewer charge would be $32.52 for the first zero-to 5,000 gallons of water usage, and $9.29 for each additional 1,000 gallons over 5,000. The rates would apply to both residential and commercial users.

Hansen said also, that the Council discussed a potential ban on excess use of water. She said the City will put a notice in the local paper, stating residents of Audubon “Need to conserve” water. She says they will be asked to “Be careful about how you’re using water. Try not to wash your car, try not to water your lawn.” Hansen says there is no “Official ban,” on how residents use their water supply, but “It may be coming,” especially in light of the lower water tables in the City’s wells, due to this Summer’s drought.

The bottom line, according to Hansen, is “To conserve as much as possible.”

w/ Ric Hanson

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The Adair County Board of Supervisors will hold their regular weekly this (Tuesday) morning, in Greenfield. During the meeting (Which is normally held Wednesday morning’s), the Board will discuss and possibly act on: a Sheriff’s Step Increase; a premium-only plan adoption agreement and Certificate of Resolution; and, an Emergency Preparedness Grant contract for Fiscal Year 2013. The Supervisors will also hear an annual report from the VA Administrator. The meeting begins at 9-a.m.

The Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) is conducting a statewide housing survey that includes several public hearings, one of which will be held in Atlantic. I-F-A spokesperson, Ashley Jared, says they’ve hired R-D-G Planning & Design firm to help gather as much information as they can on the housing situation statewide.
“Both the current housing stock as well as future needs for Iowans’ housing needs. This will include a lot of different elements, one of those is hearing from the public. A lot of different communities throughout Iowa have really different housing needs, anything from workforce housing to acquisition rehab improvement needs,” Jared says. 

Another part of the plan includes “expert roundtables.” Jared says R-D-G will meet with housing experts and organizations throughout the state to get their opinions on how things can be improved. “And then the last element is the use of data. R-D-G is compiling a lot of data on the current housing situation in Iowa that will be used in conjunction from what we hear from the public,” according to Jared. The I-F-A hopes to gain a better understanding of the things it does through the survey. “The Iowa Finance Authority is really going to take all of the information and help us in our strategic planning. So, if there are things that we can do differently in our current programs or if we can form new programs to best help Iowans housing needs, we will go ahead and take a look at that,” she says.

Jared says you can help by giving your input at the public meetings. “Really we are just hoping that they will be completely honest with us and tell us not only what is happening now in their communities — what needs to be addressed or what they have too much of or need more of — but also in the future, so looking ahead,” Jared says. The survey results should be completed and ready by this fall. The first public meeting on the issue was Monday.. Other meetings will be held in August at yet be determined locations in Mason City, Waterloo, Burlington, Ottumwa, Tama and Atlantic. For more information, go to:www.RDGUSA.com/IowaHousing.

(Radio Iowa)