Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds will be among the graduates at Iowa State University’s commencement tomorrow (Saturday). Reynolds will receive a bachelor of liberal studies degree from Iowa State. Her concentrations or “majors” are political science, business management and communications. Reynolds, who is 57, is a southwest Iowa native. She attended Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville in the late 1970s.

Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds (during her visit to Atlantic 12/16/16)

In the 1980s, while she lived in Mount Pleasant, she took classes at Southeastern Community College. In the mid-1990s, she took accounting classes at Southwestern Community College in Creston. Reynolds became a part-time student at Iowa State shortly after being elected lieutenant governor in 2010.

Reynolds was Clarke County Treasurer and a state senator for two years before Governor Branstad invited her to be his running mate and governing partner. Over the past few years Reynolds has taken a lead role in encouraging Iowa students to pursue degrees in science, math, engineering and science. She will soon become Iowa’s first female governor.

Reynolds will take over as the chief executive of state government after current Governor Terry Branstad is confirmed as the next U.S. Ambassador to China.

(Radio Iowa)

A 9-1-1 call early this (Friday) morning in Pottawattamie County resulted in a man being arrested for Aggravated Domestic Abuse Assault by impeding air flow, and child endangerment. The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office says a Deputy was dispatched to a residence in the 100 block of E. Crocker Street in Avoca, at around 4:40-a.m. following a reported domestic incident.

Upon arrival, the Deputy made contact with a woman who told him her boyfriend was located in the upstairs bedroom. The boyfriend, identified as 33-year old Brent Michael Swisher, of Avoca, was questioned about the events that unfolded. Based on physical evidence at the scene and a separate interview conducted with the 45-year old female complainant who suffered apparent minor injuries, Swisher was placed under arrest at around 5:17-a.m.. Prior to being transported to the Pottawattamie County Jail, Swisher was taken to a Council Bluffs hospital for evaluation and treatment for anxiety.

The two-year old male child in the home was not injured during the incident.

A traffic stop early this (Friday) morning in Audubon County resulted in three people being arrested on drug charges. According to the Audubon County Sheriff’s Office, a vehicle was pulled over at around 3:18-a.m. on Highway 71, near 270th Street. The K0 “Axel” alerted to the presence of narcotics, and a subsequent search resulted in the discovery of more than 4-pounds of marijuana inside the vehicle.

Taken into custody for Possession with the Intent to Deliver and Failure to Affix a Drug Tax Stamp, was 53-year old George David Lloyd, of Des Moines, 20-year old Casey Eric Neal, and 34-year old David Neal Gilbert, both of Audubon. Neal was also charged with Open Container Passenger, while Gilbert faces additional charges of Speeding and Driving while Suspended.

Audubon County Sheriff’s Deputy Nathan Tibbets and his K9 partner “Axel” and the seized marijuana (From the Aud. Co. S/O Facebook page

All three men were brought to the Audubon county Jail and held on $5,000 bond, while awaiting an appearance before the magistrate. Officers with the Audubon Police Department assisted in the traffic stop.

Iowa Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds paid a visit to Atlantic today (Friday). The next Governor of Iowa stopped at the Ann W. Wickman Child Development Center to speak with local officials and State Representatives Tom Moore, and Tom Shipley. Afterward, Reynolds went on a walking tour of the facility.

IA Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds w/ Representatives Tom Moore and Tom Shipley (to her left); Kelsey Smith &; Christina Bateman (to her right; back row: Pat McCurdy with CADCO, Atlantic City Administrator John Lund and Hal Gronewold with SWIFS, along with Center Director Dianna Williams.

The facility, which opened in June, 2010, is certified for 101 children, but has a total registration of 110, although they’re not all there at the same time. The Wickman Child Development Center is operated by the Nishna Valley YMCA.

Christina Bateman is on the YMCA Board and a member of the Y’s Ann Wickman Committee. She said  the Center operates on a separate budget than the Y, and is a 501-c 3 non-profit organization. As such, one of the struggles they face is having the facility “break-even” on the costs of operation. She said they increased rates slightly for parents to send their kids to daycare, but still try to keep it as affordable as possible.

Republican Representative Tom Moore, of Griswold, asked if they find it difficult to maintain their staff of 32. Center Director Dianna Williams said it is hard to maintain teachers because they struggle to keep the required ratio of teachers in the classroom, and keep up the quality of training. She said “Because we provide all this training, [our] pay can’t be very much because we’re a non-profit facility. We still want to try and keep our prices affordable to our families but yet maintain those staff and provide them with all the training they need, so it’s kind of a ‘touchy balance.’”

Christina Bateman said the Affordable Care Act (ACA) also impacts the number of people on their staff who can work 30 hours or more per week. The Lt. Governor told Bateman and the others, that the ACA issue is likely to be discussed at the Federal level, “Sooner rather than later.”

She said she completely understands how hard it is for parents to pay for early childcare. When incomes are cut and insurance costs rise, child care is one of the first things to get “Whacked” on their budget.

DES MOINES, IOWA – Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent in November. The state’s jobless rate was 3.5 percent one year ago. The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 4.6 percent in November. “The unemployment rate in Iowa is the lowest since March, which in part is due to holiday hiring and the great fall weather we have had this year,” said Beth Townsend, Director of Iowa Workforce Development. “The economy remains soft as we transition to seasonal unemployment during the winter months.”

The number of unemployed Iowans decreased to 65,000 in November from 70,400 in October. The current estimate is 5,300 higher than the year ago level of 59,700. The total number of working Iowans decreased to 1,655,000 in November. This figure was 200 lower than October and 10,600 higher than one year ago.

Seasonally Adjusted Nonfarm Employment
Iowa establishments shed 4,700 jobs in November and lowered employment down to 1,580,100 jobs. This drop marked the third straight month for job losses for the state. Private sector losses totaled 3,900 jobs and government pared 800 jobs. Public sector drops were primarily within local government (-600), although the federal sector shed jobs also (-200). Government trails last year’s level by 1,300 jobs. Private sectors remain up (+11,300), but the magnitude of the annual increase has been waning as the year comes to an end.

In November, the largest movement occurred in trade, transportation, and utilities which experienced a decline of 2,300 jobs. The majority of the loss was incurred in retail (-1,400), although transportation, utilities, and wholesale shed jobs this month as well. Iowa’s retail sector has not fared well through 2016 and is down compared to last November (-1,400). Iowa’s manufacturers lost 1,400 jobs with losses distributed evenly between durable and nondurable goods factories. This marks the second straight decline following a brief upsurge in the summer. Other notable losses included other services (-1,200), leisure and hospitality (-500), and information (-200). On the other hand, job gains were realized in three private industries and led by professional and business services (+1,400) and heavily fueled by hiring in administrative support and waste management services. All other gains this month were small and included education and health care (+300) and financial activities (+100).

Annually, total nonfarm employment is up just 10,000 jobs. Monthly declines over the past few months have reduced the annual growth rate considerably. Construction continues to sustain employment and leads all sectors with 8,300 jobs added. Education and health care is second in terms of growth (+4,200) followed by financial activities (+3,900). Manufacturing continues to trend down and lags behind last year’s mark by 7,300 jobs. The only other sectors down annually are professional and business services (-2,200) and information (-1,300).

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Omaha’s Eppley Airfield has installed two official cellphone waiting lots at a combined cost of $200,000, but word about the new lots has been slow to get out to the public. A cellphone lot is a space where people wait to receive texts or calls from arriving passengers who are ready to be picked up along the airport terminal’s front drive.

Airport police Chief Tim Conahan tells the Omaha World-Herald many people are still using old, nearby parking lots. Conahan says the name of the new lot may be part of the issue.

The new lots were announced in September along with other parking initiatives, including a new app that has a feature to help you find your vehicle if you return home and forget where you parked.