An Open House will take place this weekend for the recently renovated and expanded library, in Fontanelle. The project was completed thanks in-part, to grant funds from USDA Rural Development, which were awarded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Kathy Pfiffner, a representative with USDA Rural Development will be on-hand for the event, which begins at 2-p.m., Sunday.

Part of the newly completed renovation of the Fontanelle Library at 303 Washington Street, includes an additional 23-hundred square feet of space for the library’s growing collections, and use of the facility by an increasing number of young adults and elementary-age persons. The building also now has improved electrical and mechanical systems, to increase energy efficiency, and is fully handicap accessible.

The last time the Fontanelle Library received an expansion and renovation treatment, was more than 30-years ago.

Iowa transportation officials want to get traffic moving again on Interstates 29 and 680 in the southwest corner of the state. Wide sections of the road were reduced to rubble in this summer’s Missouri River flooding. Bob Younie, a maintenance engineer at the Iowa Department of Transportation, says he’d like to see both highways reopen within a couple of months. Younie says, “We’re going to do everything we can, everything that’s reasonable within our power, to make sure that happens and I’d like to think we could make that happen this year but that’s not a promise.” Iowa D-O-T spokeswoman Dena Gray-Fisher says I-680 is being given a priority due to the amount of damage. “This will be a very accelerated plan,” Gray-Fisher says. “The goal is to try to get the roadway open as quickly as possible. That may even be yet this year.” She says crews will reconstruct the road using the original blueprints and no changes will be made. Gray-Fisher says, “It will be as built and that means contractors will get a hold of the original contract design and will rebuild it the same way.” She says this isn’t going to be an easy task as the damaged concrete will have to be removed and then they’ll start from scratch. “It’s very aggressive in the fact that the roadway is totally destroyed and is going to have to be completely rebuilt,” Gray-Fisher says.

An emergency bid letting is set for September 21st. Also, the last segment of pavement on Interstate-29 north of Council Bluffs emerged from the flood water on Tuesday. Crews continue to remove debris from I-29 and now will be able to get a good look at repairs that need to be made. Gray-Fisher says while repairs are needed, I-29 withstood the flood fairly well.

(Radio Iowa)

w/ Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (10.0MB)

Subscribe: RSS

The U.S. Department of Education has named 305 schools as 2011 National Blue Ribbon Schools based on their overall academic excellence or for their success in closing achievement gaps. Included among them is the Anita Elementary School, now known as the CAM North Elementary School. Principal Larry Hunt told KJAN News they received word of the award at around 9-a.m., Thursday. He says “It’s a nice honor. It’s a real group honor. It takes a large number of people to make something like this happen, with the community, with the teachers that we have now and in the past, the students, the parents…it’s an honor that should be bestowed on everybody that we have.”

Only seven Iowa schools, including four elementary schools, were named 2011 Blue Ribbon Schools. Hunt, who has served in the role of Principal at the school for the past two-years, says the CAM North Elementary school was nominated last year, and had also received the award in 2010. The Department will honor the entire 256 public and 49 private schools with their National Blue Ribbon School awards at a conference and awards ceremony November 14^th and15^th, in Washington, D.C.  Hunt says he will travel to Washington to receive the award, along with Superintendent Steve Pelzer, Reading Instructor Kay Stork, and their spouses. He says they will receive a plaque and a flag at the ceremony in November.

Hunt say’s they are excited about the trip. The National Blue Ribbon School award honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools where students achieve at high levels or where the achievement gap is narrowing. Since 1982, more than 6,500 of America’s schools have received the coveted award. Larry Hunt modestly says he’s only a “Very small part,” of the reason the school received the award. He says much of it can be attributed to the great teachers, faculty and students, for all the hard work they’ve done.

The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program, honors public and private schools based on one of two criteria having to deal with performances on state assessment tests or national tests of achievement. The Anita Elementary/CAM North Elementary was chosen based on achievement scores that met or exceeded both of the criteria. CAM Superintendent Steve Pelzer says the District administration and board members would like to commend all of the former and current staff, students, parents and community for their efforts that enabled the Anita Elementary/CAM North Elementary to qualify as a No Child Left Behind “Blue Ribbon School”.

A complete list of the 2011 National Blue Ribbon Schools can be found at www.ed.gov/nationalblueribbonschools.

w/ Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.7MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Presidential candidate Rick Perry is suggesting Republican rival Mitt Romney would not provide a stark enough contrast with President Obama in the 2012 election because of “RomneyCare.” As governor of Massachusetts, Romney signed a law which requires Massachusetts residents to get health insurance or pay a penalty. “Government-mandated, government-run health care — it is part of what he put in place as the governor of Massachusetts,” Perry says. “…I think it’s very important that we put someone as our nominee that does not blur the lines between President Obama and the Republican Party.” According to Perry, a Beacon Hill Institute study shows Massachusetts lost thousands of jobs because of the state health care mandate.

“If it cost Massachusetts 18,000 jobs, think about what ObamaCare is going to do to this country,” Perry said. “RomneyCare has driven private insurance costs up by $4.3 billion in Massachusetts.” Perry touts his own record as governor of Texas as the “blueprint” for turning the economy around. During this past Monday’s televised debate among the G-O-P candidates, Romney suggested the economy in Texas was booming for a variety of reasons other than Perry’s stewardship as governor. Perry brought that up during a speech last night (Thursday) in Jefferson, Iowa.

“Governor Romney the other night, he said that about, you know, he said, well, it’s pretty easy to be governor when you get four aces in your hand and you think you’re good at poker,” Perry said. “You know, there’s some folks back in Texas that were a little offended by that. We worked hard in Texas. We put good, hard, practical principles into play.” Perry also seemed to criticize Romney’s background. Romney’s the son of a former Michigan governor, and George Romney earned his wealth in the car industry.

“As the son of tenant farmers, I can promise you I wasn’t born with four aces in my hand,” Perry said near the beginning of his speech, and the crowd laughed as many recognized the phrase from Monday’s debate. “But like many of you the American dream was available to us because this country that we live in is not a class society. This country is based on hard-work and vision and anyone who does that can achieve anything that they desire.” Governor Perry’s appearance at the Greene County G-O-P fundraiser in Jefferson was arranged this past Tuesday and about 200 people showed up last night to hear the Texan. He’s scheduled to be in Atlantic this afternoon at 2:15, for a tour of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company, and to give some prepared remarks.

(Radio Iowa)

The bleeding of red ink at the U-S Postal Service could affect the life-blood of more than just small town post offices across Iowa and around the country. Officials with the USPS says larger facilities in medium-sized towns could close as well.

Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said in a press conference yesterday, the USPS is forced to face a new reality, and as a result, four Processing Centers in Iowa, five in Nebraska and two in Missouri, are on a list of 252 centers nationwide targeted for possible consolidation or closure as the post office searches for ways to save money. The Processing centers in Creston, Carroll, Waterloo and Cedar Rapids are all candidates for closure. That’s in addition to the 178 proposed post office closings across Iowa which were previously announced. Closing the mail processing centers could cost as many as 35,000 jobs.

The mail processing network was designed to process and deliver First-Class mail within a 1-3 day window. If the change is implement, Donahoe says the new service standard would become 2-3 days. It would also save the agency as much as $3-billion. Donahoe said First-Class mail is the backbone of the Postal Service, but with a dramatic decline in mail volume and a resulting excess capacity, maintaining a vast national infrastructure is “….No longer realistic.

The Post Office faces competition with the Internet. With a struggling economy, less advertising mail is flowing through the system. The agency lost $8.5-billion last year, and is facing an even larger deficit this year. It’s not clear when the proposed changes to the Postal Service’s system will take place.

GREENFIELD, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa couple have discovered an eerie presence in their pear tree, just in time for the approaching Halloween season. Phil and JaNelle Lovely, of Greenfield, recently discovered a pumpkin growing in the tree. The couple say they have no idea how the pumpkin ended up in their tree, but it appears to be the work of Mother Nature. A nearby garden vine climbed the tree, giving the now-green pumpkin the appearance of having sprouted from one the tree’s branches. JaNelle says people have been stopping by to see the suspended pumpkin since it was discovered on Labor Day. She’s hoping it remains in the tree until it turns orange.

Three people face charges in connection with a party held last weekend, in Harlan. According to Harlan Police, 18-year old’s Cody Schwery and Brandon Allen, and 17-year old Dylan Hansen, all of Harlan, were charged with supplying alcohol to persons under the legal age. Officials say on September 10^th, the police department was notified of an underage party taking place in the 700 block of 5^th Street, in Harlan. Upon further investigation, several persons were charged or cited.

17-year old James Schwarte, of Harlan, along with Dylan Hansen, and 18-year old Trent Wendt, of Portsmouth, were charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance. Schwarte and Hansen were also charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.  16-year old’s Jena Rasmussen and Austin Hess, both from Harlan, along with Schwarte, Schwery and 17-year old Jordan Fiztmaurice, of Panama, were each charged with Possession of alcohol under the legal age.

Each of the individuals under the age of 18 were cited and released. Cody Schwery and Trent Wendt were brought to the Shelby County Jail, and charges were filed at a later date on Brandon Allen, with a warrant having been issued by the court.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A new monthly survey of bankers suggests the economy in rural areas of 10 Midwest and Plains states continues to slow, but the region is helped by  strong farm income. The overall Rural Mainstreet index for the region improved to 52.2 in September from last month’s 49.3, suggesting weak economic growth. Anytime that index, which ranges from 0 to 100, is above 50, it suggests the economy will grow. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the survey, says this month’s results don’t suggest a recession but the numbers have deteriorated. Bankers in rural parts of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming are surveyed.