There’s still time to register! Food, Family and Fun kicks off tomorrow night- but we have some open spaces in the kitchen! Bring the family and join us for this 6 week, hands-on family cooking class. Each week we will make a basic meal to eat as a family, and another to take home and freeze. Food, Family and Fun is open to anyone interested in cooking healthy, family-friendly meals on a budget!

Food, Family and Fun is a six session course, held once a week, where families will come together to have a little fun while learning how to cook and eat good food! Cass County ISU Extension and the Kiwanis Club of Atlantic are excited to offer this program in Cass County. The class meets at the Atlantic Middle School for 6 weeks in February and March, and will utilize the Family and Consumer Science classroom so participants can get hands-on practice in a kitchen environment. Open to any family interested in improving their skills in family meal-planning and preparation, this program is geared towards families with children aged 5-18.

At each weekly session, families meet with class mentors from 6-8 PM to prepare healthy meals through hands-on cooking experience. Families will make TWO meals at each session- one to enjoy during the class, and a second meal to take home and freeze or eat later in the week. Families will also participate in activities on communication, meal-planning, and health and nutrition.

A small fee of $5 per session will be charged per family to help cover grocery costs. For a family of 5 this costs $1 for two full meals! In addition, families completing at least 5 of the 6 classes will receive a kitchen “supply kit” full of kitchen essentials to put those new skills to use at home, and a new programmable crockpot to make healthy winter meal prep a snap.

Spaces are still available in the class, starting Thursday February 2^nd, but pre-registrations are required to allow planning for food and materials. To register, or for more information on class content, dates, etc.- find a brochure and registration form on the Cass County Extension website at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass, call the Cass County Extension office at 712-243-1132 or email keolson@iastate.edu.

(Press Release from ISU Extension/Cass County)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nearly 200 people turned out at a southeast Omaha intersection to remember a Council Bluffs woman killed a year ago in a crash police say was caused by a drunken driver in the country illegally. Friends and family of 21-year-old Sarah Root release balloons Tuesday night in her memory.

Investigators say 20-year-old Eswin Mejia was in the country illegally when he was driving drunk last February and crashed into Root’s car, killing her. Authorities haven’t seen Mejia since he posted $5,000 bond and was released from jail.

Iowa and Nebraska lawmakers have introduced legislation to require federal immigration officials to keep any person in the country illegally in custody when charged with a crime involving serious injury or death. President Donald Trump mentioned the Omaha case during his campaign rallies to bolster support for a crackdown on illegal immigration.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Terry Branstad has signed into law the Iowa Legislature’s plan to eliminate a shortfall in the state’s current $7.2 billion budget. Branstad signed a bill Wednesday that cuts about $117 million in spending from the budget that began last July. Various Iowa agencies will collectively cut about $88 million. An additional $25 million will be taken from other funds used for programs ranging from economic development to the arts. About $4 million was saved from unused tax credits.

Some affected Iowa departments — including corrections, higher education and public safety — will determine where those cuts will be made. Branstad says he is pleased the GOP-controlled Legislature exempted K-12 education, Medicaid and certain property taxes cuts from the reductions. Democrats have said the cuts will hurt state government.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa lawmaker has asked the state’s top lawyer to review the legislative procedures surrounding Gov. Terry Branstad’s plans to resign and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynold’s expected ascension to governor. Sen. David Johnson, an independent from Ocheyedan, sent a letter Wednesday to Attorney General Tom Miller seeking an opinion on language in the Iowa Constitution that explains what happens when a governor steps down.

Johnson’s letter asks several questions, including whether the Iowa Legislature must approve a change in executive office. Branstad has said he will resign from his job pending a U.S. Senate confirmation to become the next ambassador to China.

Ben Hammes, a spokesman for the governor’s office, says Miller has already stated that Reynolds will become governor and has the power to appoint a new lieutenant governor.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Hundreds of volunteer fire departments in nearly every pocket of Iowa have members who were improperly awarded nationally-recognized certifications by the state fire academy. The Fire Service Training Bureau has sent letters to 560 mostly volunteer agencies notifying them that “one or more firefighters on your department may have been” improperly granted one or more certificates, despite failing their exams.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety announced last week that 1,706 firefighters and emergency responders were improperly granted 2,278 certifications between 2012 and 2016. Those individuals will be required to retake the tests before June 30 or be faced with starting the certification process from scratch. The bureau is offering free refresher courses and retests across the state starting Feb. 11.

The bureau’s former accreditation manager, John McPhee, was arrested last week and charged with misconduct and tampering with records. A complaint accuses McPhee of failing to grade tests and simply assigning random scores. He pleaded not guilty last week.

Bureau officials identified the improper certifications after rescoring tests for which the exams and answer keys were still available. An undetermined number of other tests could not be rescored.

Firefighters from Atlantic were called to a gas-line incident this (Wednesday) morning in the vicinity of Redwood Drive and Aspen Drive. Officials say they were dispatched just before nine-a.m., after a company’s boring machine accidentally clipped the Alliant Energy gas line. Alliant also responded and was in the process late this morning of repairing the leak. Fire crews remained on stand-by at the scene for about 45-minutes. No evacuations were needed and no injuries were reported.