Strong storms Saturday night brought large hail and damaging winds to western and southwest Iowa. The storms blew through the area between 8:15-and 11-p.m.

In Stanton, sustained winds tore off a large chunk of the gymnasium roof at the Stanton High School. In Atlantic, thunderstorm winds at around 9:50-p.m., toppled a large tree limb onto a power line, which fell on a truck.

Hail the size of pennies began to fall in Crawford County at around 8:15. Golfball-sized hail was reported in Shelby County at around 8:30-p.m., damaging several vehicle windshields. Within the next half-hour, pea-to quarter-sized hail was reported near the Audubon Airport, and quarter-sized hail near Kimballton, along with winds gusting up to 60-miles per hour. Quarter-sized hail continued to fall near the Audubon Airport for about 10-minutes, after 9-p.m.

At about 9:30, winds gusting up to 60 miles per hour were recorded four-miles northeast of Anita, along Interstate 80. Thunderstorm winds caused 4-to 6-inch diameter tree limbs to fall near Corning, at around 10:10-p.m. Saturday, and winds gusting up to 71-miles per hour were reported northwest of Creston about 20-minutes later, causing tree and roof damage. A tree was also reported to have fallen on a house, in Creston. At about the same time, the American Legion Building in Macksburg sustained wind damage from the storms.

Storms spotters northeast of Orient reported 65-miles per hour winds and torrential rain at around 10:40-p.m., Saturday. About 20-minutes earlier, winds gusting over 60-miles per hour damaged metal sheds and peeled off part of a roof two-miles southeast of Orient. A tree was also reported to have fallen on a trailer east of Orient, and a roof was torn off of a hog house.

Those same storms pushed their way into south central Iowa overnight Saturday, into early Sunday morning. There were no reports of injuries.

The City of Atlantic’s Board of Adjustment will meet this morning at City Hall, beginning at 7:30. On their agenda, is a public hearing on an application by Ed’s Lawn Equipment, for a Conditional Use Permit, that would allow for an addition to a commercial building within the flood plain.

The Board will also hold a public hearing on a variance requested by Robert Abild, that would allow for a heavy industrial use manufacturing of mobile home units in a Highway Commerical Zone. The manufacturing site would be located in a garage at 1713 East 7^th Street.

The Board of Adjustment will also accept input from citizens on the updating of the the current Zoning Ordinance for the City of Atlantic.

A Public Hearing will be held at tonight’s City Council meeting in Audubon. The hearing is with regard to adopting new precinct boundaries, following the 2010 census. The new precinct would include Lincoln, Cameron, Viola, Douglas, Leroy and Melville Townships, and the City of Audubon. The hearing will be followed by votes on authorizing the mayor to sign an agreement with Audubon County, to combine the unincorporated areas with the City of Audubon, as one voting precinct, and the first (and possibly final consideration) of an ordinance adopting the new precinct boundaries.

In other matters, the Audubon City Council will act on adopting a resolution setting the date for a public hearing on the proposed vacation of a portion of Davis Street, for August 22^nd, at 7-p.m.

Tonight’s meeting gets under at 7 o’clock as well, at the Audubon City Hall.

The deadline to file the various school board positions in Cass County has passed. The vote will be held September 13^th.

In the Atlantic Community School District, there are three incumbents running for the three District At Large positions: Dennis Davis, Phillip Hascall and Jon Martens. Rodney Hartwig is also running for one of those three positions. And, Josh E. McLaren is running to fill a vacancy position on the Atlantic School Board, in an At Large position.

Voters in the Atlantic Community School District will also decide whether or not to renew a Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL – say “Peppel’). The 10-year levy will be used to pay for various school repairs, improvements and/or equipment. It cannot be used to pay the interest on bonds. Approval of the levy in September would mean the District could levy up to 85-cents per thousand dollars of assessed valuation for taxable property with the school district, beginning June 30, 2013.

In the newly reorganized CAM School District, there are two board positions open: In the North District, Julie Williamson is unopposed for the seat. And, in the South District, incumbent Todd McKee is also running unopposed.

Voters in the Griswold Community School District have four positions to fill on the school board. In District 2, Scott Peterson is in the running for the one open slot, and incumbent Scott A. Hansen is unopposed for the District 4 Board seat. Douglas Lembke and incumbent Clarion Campbell are running for the District 6 and 7 seats, respectively. Neither candidate is opposed. The Griswold School District will also have on the ballot in September, a Public Measure authorizing the district to adopt a Revenue Purpose Statement, which specifies how sales, services and use tax funds received from the State of Iowa, shall be used.

If approved, the RPS will remain in effect until replaced or amended by the Griswold School District.

There’s a frenetic week of political activity ahead in Iowa. A nationally televised debate among Republican presidential candidates will be held in Iowa on Thursday. At least nine candidates plan to visit the Iowa State Fair on Thursday and Friday. Then, on Saturday, the Iowa Republican Party will hold its Straw Poll. Six candidates have spent campaign cash to participate in the event and, in some cases, literally drive supporters to the Straw Poll voting site in Ames in rented buses. Texas Congressman Ron Paul has said anything less than a third-place finish would be a disappointment. He has suggesting the Straw Poll may be the end of the road for some of his competitors.”Since you get so much attention,” Paul says, “it can make or break some people in campaigning.” Last week, former Godfather’s C-E-O Herman Cain was asked whether he has to win the Straw Poll.

“No, I don’t believe that I have to win the Straw Poll,” Cain said. “But I do believe that I need to finish in the top three.” Other candidates have been downplaying the significance of a top-tier Straw Poll finish. Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has used the term “underdog” to describe her chances.  “Obviously we want to do as well as we possibly can,” Bachmann said Friday during a news conference in Newton. “We’re at a disadvantage in that we’ve only been running and putting our plan in effect for two months here in Iowa. Other candidates have been here two years or more, and so we’ve at a distinct disadvantage from an organizational standpoint, but the response that we’ve had from Iowans has been overwhelming.” Former Minnesota Congressman Tim Pawlenty hasn’t publicly suggested he needs to win the Straw Poll either, but he’s been urging Iowans to select a candidate who does more than give “fiery speeches”, but one who can beat President Obama in 2012.

“Barack Obama is ripe for the picking,” Pawlenty said Friday night in Tiffin. “In fact, I would say, politically, you could just about stick a fork in him because it’s over for him.” Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum has taken swipes at some of his Republican competitors, but his most bitter barbs are targeted at the media. “The national media’s missing the boat,” Santorum said during an appearance at a coffee shop in Ankeny. “They’re missing what is really moving things here on the ground when people are exposed to the candidates, where do they end up migrating as opposed to what the experts when they sit there in their ivory towers, choosing who the profile of the right candidate is to beat Barack Obama.” Santorum, Pawlenty, Bachmann and Cain all are campaigning in Iowa today (Monday).

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney arrives in central Iowa in the middle of the week, his second trip to the state this year. Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, a G-O-P presidential candidate who is employing a “skip Iowa” strategy, is due to make his first and likely only Iowa appearance later this week, at the televised debate co-sponsored by the Iowa G-O-P and the FOX News Channel.

(O.Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)

HAMBURG, Iowa (AP) – Residents of Hamburg who were ordered in June to flee their homes amid Missouri River flooding are now being allowed to return. Local officials have lifted the mandatory evacuation. The river rose to record levels because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers increased releases from upstream reservoirs to make room for heavy rains and melting snowpack. The corps has started reducing the releases but the river is expected to remain high into fall.

Terry Cooper and his family spent Friday cleaning up their house. Cooper says he’s glad to be back but he’s frustrated that the Federal Emergency Management denied financial help for displaced homeowners. The state is appealing.

Cooper says the government caused the flood, so they should help fix the problems it caused.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a Red Oak man was arrested Friday afternoon. 31-year old William Eric Jones was taken into custody on a charge of Simple Domestic Abuse, following an incident which allegedly occurred in the 300 block of West Washington Avenue, in Red Oak.

Jones was being held in the Montgomery County Jail without bond, pending a court appearance.

A Cumberland woman wanted on a warrant for 1st offense OWI (drug related), turned herself in to authorities late last week. 23-year old Rachel Marie Huggins appeared at the Cass County Jail on Friday. Huggins was seen by the magistrate late that same day, and released on her own recognizance.

The warrant for Huggins was issued following an investigation into a traffic accident June 17th, 2011.

w/ Chris Parks

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An official with USDA Rural Development will be on-hand Sunday afternoon in Red Oak, for the dedication of new parking lot at the Montgomery County Historic Center. Hollie Askey will be in attendance for the 1-p.m. ceremony. The Montgomery County History Center received a $70,000 grant from the USDA to assist with the parking lot project.

The Montgomery County Historical Society was organized in 1945, to help preserve and share the area’s history. It continued to grow over the years, and in 2006, moved into a new 14,000 square foot building

The parking lot project marks the conclusion of the final beautification project at the center.