(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday (Today), adopted a Resolution “Allocating [ARPA] funds to the Cass County Emergency Management Agency (EMA), for the Rural EMS Pilot Grant, in the amount of $25,000.” The grant comes out of the Lieutenant Governor’s Office. The State funds are contingent upon approval of a grant application. Cass County EMA Coordinator Mike Kennon explained how the grant funds would be used.

A part of the funds will be used to work with County Dispatch to geo-locate current trained EMS/Fire volunteers’ cell phones.

Supervisor Wendy Richter asked who will monitor the program. Kennon said a committee will be established, including Atlantic Mayor Grace Garrett, who said the grant application is due this week.

Seven cities are applying for the grant. Grantees will be notified in June, if the application is approved. Garrett said the State has already purchased 30 AED’s, which will be divided among the grantees. The County – if approved – would have a chance to get additional Automatic External Defibrillators (AED), through certain, State-approved providers, if necessary. Supervisor Mark O’Brien said “No money has to go in with this application,” because it is contingent upon the County being accepted for the grant funds. Garret said adopting the Resolution and attaching it to a application is a “good faith” move.

In other business, the Supervisors received a quarterly update from Cass/Guthrie Environmental Health Director Jotham Arber, who such much of his department’s time over the past month was devoted to entering Well and Septic system data into their computer database. He said also, Perk tests are set to begin in May.

Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken updated the Board on Secondary Roads Department maintenance and activities.

He said also, they’re hauling (road) rock in the Massena District, for driveway extensions, and so on. The Board held a Public Hearing on the proposed FY 2023-24 Cass County Budget, and, having received no comments, passed a Resolution to Adopt the Budget as presented and published the week prior in the assigned newspapers, along with the Certification of Taxes. They also approved by a vote of 4-to 1, a waiver of a $14 tax penalty for Valley Business Park property taxes, following an update from Supervisor Bernard Pettinger.

Mark O’Brien was the lone “nay” vote. And, the Supervisors acted to approve the appointment of Tabetha Smith, RN, as an additional medical examiner’s office investigator, at the request of Dr. Elaine Berry, and, Stephanie Witzman as a Civil Process Server. Supervisor Wendy Richter explained Sheriff Darby McLaren mentioned Witzman had served in the role before, and that it’s only fitting she step into the role once again.

The Board also approved the hiring of Hannah Richter as Accounts Payable/Elections Administrator, at a rate of $18/hour.

Des Moines, Iowa/KCCI — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is being featured on a beverage cooler touting “real women of politics.” The Koozies are an apparent parody of the partnership between Bud Light and a transgender influencer. In response, Reynolds tweeted quote “Woke Corporations are trying to change who WE are!”

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is selling the koozies. They’re $15 for a set of two.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports the arrest Monday morning, of 45-year-old Corey Matthew Brown, from Creston. Brown was arrested at McKinley Park on a charge of  Driving while Barred. He was taken to the Union County Jail and later released on bond. Early today (Tuesday), Creston Police arrested 58-year-old Brian Andrew Levee, of Creston, on a Possession of a Controlled Substance/ Marijuana – 1st Offense, charge. Levee was cited and released from the scene.

Authorities said also, a man from Kansas reporting Monday evening, that his storage unit at 116 E Union was broken into sometime between 4-17-2023 and 4-22-2023. A dollar amount of the loss was unknown. And, Monday afternoon, a Creston man reported someone stole his 2001 Chevrolet Suburban from outside of his residence in the 100 block of Manor Drive. The theft occurred sometime between April 21st and this (Tuesday) morning. No dollar estimate of the loss was listed.

DES MOINES, IA – The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office for Victims of Crime and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa join federal, state, and local communities nationwide in observing National Crime Victims’ Rights Week and celebrating victims’ rights, protections, and services. This year’s observance takes place April 23-29, 2023 and features the theme, “Survivor Voices: Elevate. Engage. Effect Change,” which emphases the importance of engaging with victims of crime, learning from their lived experiences, amplifying their voices, and fostering an environment where they are heard, believed, and supported.

As part of this observance, the Southern District of Iowa recognizes the courage and bravery of victims, and the outstanding work of law enforcement, victim advocates, and community service partners throughout Iowa. Seven individuals are recognized for outstanding service to victims:

Award for Excellence in Victim Services
• United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Iowa, Victim Witness Specialist Charlotte Kovacs
• Family Resources/Braking Traffik Survivor Advocate Gretchen McCall

Law Enforcement Victim Service Award
• Des Moines Police Department Detective Ben Carter
• Council Bluffs Police Department Sergeant John Focht
• Altoona Police Department Detective David Lowe
• FBI Special Agent Amber Mann
• Ottumwa Police Department Investigator Jeremy Tosh

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – April 24, 2023 – Continuing construction work on U.S. 20 east of Sioux City may impact your travel beginning at 8 a.m. on Monday, May 1 until Thursday, Dec. 14, weather permitting. Starting May 1, the eastbound lanes of U.S. 20 east of Sioux City will be closed. Travelers on eastbound U.S. 20 will begin using one of the westbound lanes. Westbound traffic will use the other lane.

Other changes include:

• A 13-foot lane-width restriction will be in place in the work area.
• No left turns will be allowed east of Glen Ellen Road.
• Temporary traffic signals will be used to help traffic move safely through the U.S. 20/U.S. 75/Iowa 12/ Gordon Drive interchange.
• Traffic on the northbound U.S. 75 ramp to eastbound U.S. 20 will be detoured to the northbound U.S. 75 to westbound U.S. 20 loop ramp.

Help keep everyone on the road safer. Drive with caution, obey the posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, you should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – Officials with the Council Bluffs Police Department said Monday, that the Historical Society of Pottawattamie County had reported three brass historical markers were stolen within the last week. (The photos shown below are of two markers stolen in the 400 block of E Pierce) Anyone with information is asked to contact 712-890-5206.

(Radio Iowa) – A fire has caused catastrophic damage to the historic Kirk Apartments in downtown Mason City. The Kirk opened in 1903 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Firefighters were called to the building at 1:30 Monday afternoon for a fire in a first-floor apartment and brought it under control about an hour later, but smoke and flames erupted from the building once again at about five o’clock. Mason City Fire Chief Erik Bullinger says he and other investigators were inside the building when they noticed the fire was spreading through the structure. “It actually kind of flamed up as it got kind of a breath of fresh air, some fresh oxygen to it, and actually got between floors, so it was actually traveling throughout the building we assume, and it got to a point where it was actually getting into several other apartment units at the same time,” he says. “At that time, we had to back crews out and start attacking the fire from the exterior doing a defensive fire attack.” At about 9:30 Monday night, fire crews were setting up lights and treating the building as a potential collapse zone.

“It’s hard to determine if it’s going to stand on its own,” he says. “We’re keeping most of the crews out of the collapse zone as far as we can, and at this point, we’ll call it almost out, but we’re going to continue pouring water in there just to try to get all the hot spots out.” Bullinger says while the first started in a single apartment, it may be tough to quickly determine a cause since the first spread and caused so much damage.  “We were just getting into that apartment to check things out, and we went in with the fire marshal just to make a preliminary investigation, and we weren’t in there very long, just to get an idea of the origin of the fire, but we weren’t able to do any straightforward investigation of the material. We like to keep it all intact and come back in with our equipment and sift through the debris and usually get a determination, but of course now that’s burned up quite a bit.”

KLGO photo

Bullinger says with the condition of the building, he questions whether a cause of the fire will ever be determined. “Sometimes you can piece things together, but with that amount of collapse in there, it may be to a point where we can’t get back into the building at all, then it will be pretty tough, unless we have maybe some witnesses that were able to piece things together that saw what happened and we can put that puzzle together later, but even then, it can be pretty tough to determine.”

The Kirk was the city’s first luxury apartment building, originally supplying heat, light and water for the apartments with its own steam generating plant before being hooked into the city’s utility system. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and is part of the downtown historic district in Mason City.

(Radio Iowa) – The University of Northern Iowa campus was in danger of losing all its heat this past winter after problems were discovered with a steam boiler. U-N-I senior vice president, Michael Hager, says they discovered an issue with the brackets in the primary steam tunnel during a routine inspection in December. “It could have been very catastrophic,” Hager says, “these are the two ,lines the redundant lines by design from the power plant to the main campus. And when we have temperatures below zero, we could have frozen the campus if we’d lost those. So we did bring in a temporary boiler.” Hager explained the issue during last week’s Board of Regents meeting as they approved the five-point-four million dollar emergency repair contract. He says they have a steam tunnel that’s close to 100 years old, but the one that raised the concern was not nearly as ancient.

“Our engineer tells us this particular steam tunnel is a toddler in terms of age — we wouldn’t have expected to see this kind of thing — but through routine maintenance, we found the brackets that were bad,” he says. Hager says they believe an installation issue led to the problems with the steam tunnel. “It would appear and I’m gonna be careful how I say that it would appear that perhaps they weren’t designed properly, and we won’t know till we get back in the tunnel to see if they were even installed properly”, he says. ” In visiting with legal counsel, including the board’s legal counsel, we think we’re well past the statute of limitations and are unable to go to any other source to try to get it remediated.”

They installed a temporary boiler and steam line after finding the problem and emergency repair work is underway on a permanent fix.

Des Moines, Iowa — Gov. Kim Reynolds, Monday, issued a disaster proclamation for 10 counties in response to flooding along the Mississippi River. The governor’s proclamation allows state resources to be utilized to respond to and recover from the effects of flooding in Allamakee, Clayton, Clinton, Des Moines, Dubuque, Jackson, Lee, Louisa, Muscatine, and Scott counties. 

Reynolds also instructed the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEMD) to activate the State Emergency Operations Center in Johnston in order to coordinate the state’s response activities. HSEMD is working with county emergency management, state, and federal partners to monitor conditions and provide resources to those areas impacted by flooding. 

Iowans who live along the Mississippi River are urged to prepare for possible flooding by having a plan to evacuate if necessary, packing an emergency kit with supplies for several days, staying informed about flood forecasts for their communities, and following information and guidance issued by local officials. 

For more information about flood safety and preparedness, visit ready.iowa.gov/floods. 

(Radio Iowa) – A bill has emerged in the state legislature that would regulate traffic enforcement cameras that catch vehicles speeding and running red lights. For the past 12 years, attempts to ban the cameras have failed, but Republican Senator Mike Klimesh, of Spillville, says it appears the House may accept a state permitting process for operating traffic cameras.

“It has a pretty good chance of getting done this year,” Klimesh says, “and, if not this year…it’s going to be a live round next year and we’ll take it back up again and try to finish it off next year.” Cities would have to prove a traffic camera’s location is related to improving safety in the area to get a permit from the Iowa D-O-T. Klimesh says the bill will establish what fines may be charged on traffic cam tickets.

The bill outlines a way for vehicle owners to make someone else pay the fine. “We’ve made a provision in the bill that allows people to acctually go down a path to show: ‘Hey, yes it was my vehicle but no, I was not driving. Here’s an affidavit to prove that. Send the bill on to this gentleman,'” Klimesh says. Senator Adrian Dickey, a Republican from Packwood, is a reluctant supporter of the developing compromise. He’d like to ban traffic cameras in Iowa.”These are revenue generators locally and that’s exactly what these damned things are,” Dickey says.

Senator Cindy Winckler, a Democrat from Davenport, is a reluctant supporter of the bill. She’s concerned about restricting the use of mobile traffic cameras in Iowa’s smaller communities. “One of the things that I think we have to be very careful of is that continual intrusion into local control,” Winckler says.

The bill has cleared a Senate subcommittee, but lawmakers are discussing some changes to the plan before it would be debated by the full Senate. The first attempt to ban traffic cameras stalled in a senate subcommittee in 2011. In 2015, the Iowa D-O-T ordered several Iowa cities to turn off traffic cameras along primary highways and interstates, but in 2018 the Iowa Supreme Court ruled the legislature had not given the agency authority to regulate traffic cameras.