(Radio Iowa) – The Dickinson County board of adjustment voted last night (Thursday) to deny a permit to Invenergy for a wind farm just a few miles from East Lake Okoboji. That vote came after three nights of public hearings.
Kris Van Kleet helped start the group Dickinson County Concerned Citizens to protest the project, and had tears streaming down the face after the vote.

“God is good, that’s all I can say,” she says. Van Kleet Dozens showed up in full force to say why they didn’t want turbines near their homes. Supporters of the wind energy farm say they were stunned by the 3-1 vote against the project. Terril City Council member Austin Fairchild says the wind farm would bring benefits to the county.

“Our poverty rate is over 20 percent. This project would have come with economic development, money, and more jobs to the area that would have been needed. I think we missed an opportunity here. I hope we appeal and win,” Fairchild says. County officials say Invenergy has 30 days to appeal the decision in court. Van Kleet says the focus will now be on repairing relationships since many property owners signed up for the project, which included up to 80 turbines.

“I pray that our community would heal, that people would forgive, and remember that we’re still neighbors and we’re still people,” she says. Two other wind energy projects have been proposed for the Iowa Great Lakes region, and Van Kleet says she will continue to fight against turbines there.

(By Sheila Brummer, Iowa Public Radio)

(Atlantic & Audubon, Iowa) – The Community is invited to attend the Cass and Audubon County Community Foundation’s Gathering for Good events set to take place next month. The FREE Cass County Gathering for Good event is hosted by the Cass County Community Foundation. It will be held November 13th from 5-until 6:30-p.m., at the Cass County Community Center. The Audubon County Community Foundation’s Gathering for Good event will be held November 10th, from 8-until 9:30-a.m., at the Exira Event Center.

At both locations, guests will be able to learn about the Community Foundation and its work supporting community initiatives; meet the Foundation’s staff, local board members and nonprofit partners; and learn how they can engage with the foundation to make an impact in Cass and Audubon Counties. Food and refreshments will be served.

Sunni Kamp, Director of the Community Foundations of Southwest Iowa, says “Community is the heart of everything we do at the Cass [and Audubon] County Community Foundation, so we are excited to share our work with our neighbors at our Gathering for Good event. We encourage anyone interested in philanthropy or learning about ways to give back to the community to join us.” Guests are asked to register for either event at: swiowafoundations.org

Community Foundations of SW IA (Logo)

About the Cass County Community Foundation
Established in 1998, the Cass County Community Foundation’s mission is to improve the quality of life in Cass County by supporting community needs in the areas of civic engagement, culture, health, education, and social services.

About the Audubon County Community Foundation
Established in 1997, the Audubon County Community Foundation’s mission is to improve the quality of life in Audubon County by supporting community needs in the areas of civic engagement, culture, health, education, and social services.

About the Community Foundations of Southwest Iowa
The Community Foundations of Southwest Iowa serve to benefit the communities and residents of nine counties in Southwest Iowa: Audubon, Cass, Crawford, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Page and Shelby Counties. With generous donations from fundholders, they support organizations working to improve the quality of life in each county.

The Community Foundations of Southwest Iowa receive funds each year from the State of Iowa County Endowment Fund Program. These funds are distributed via grants to support the needs and opportunities in the areas of arts and culture, education, environment, health, human services, and historic preservation.

(Audubon, Iowa) – The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office reports two Cass County residents were arrested Tuesday. 31-year-old Stephen Ross and 22-year-old Mikayla Tye, both of Atlantic, were arrested on charges of Theft 2nd, Possession of Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. The charges stem from the recovery of a stolen pickup in the 3000 block of Falcon Ave. Both appeared before the magistrate and are being held on $10,000 cash or surety bonds. The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Cass and Shelby County Sheriff’s Offices.

Two people from Exira were arrested on drug charges Oct.  19th.  60-year-old Kenneth Cook and 47-year-old Michaela Cook, each faces a charge of Possession with Intent to Distribute to Persons under 18. The charges stem from a search warrant in the 200 block of N Jefferson in Exira. Both appeared before the magistrate and are being held on $50,000 cash or surety bonds. The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Cass County Sheriff’s Office.

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office says 30-year-old Robert Joens, of Exira, was arrested on October 18th on an outstanding warrant for Possession of Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. The charges stem from a traffic stop in the area of Highway 71 and Highway 44 on October 1st. He appeared before the magistrate and was held until he later posted bond.

On the 13th, 50-year-old Billy Simon, of Exira, was arrested on charges of Driving while Barred and Driving while Revoked. The charges stem from a traffic stop in the 300 block of Church Street in Exira. He was released on his own recognizance the next morning.

On Oct. 4th, 30-year-old Jacob Sweeney, of Audubon, was arrested on an outstanding Violation of Probation warrant on October 4th. He appeared before the magistrate and was held until he posted cash bond on October 16th.

And, deputies in Audubon County arrested 18-year-old Nathan Keiser, of Lewis, on an outstanding warrant for Assault. He appeared before the Magistrate and posted a cash bond. The charge stems from an incident on June 24th in the 200 block of N Kilworth in Exira.

Note: Criminal Charges are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.

Atlantic Iowa – The Nishna Valley Family YMCA and the Iowa Women’s Foundation invite all area businesses, employers, community agencies, individuals, municipalities, families and anyone else interested in the state of childcare in the Atlantic area, to a discussion on the future of childcare in our communities. The FREE luncheon will be Wednesday November 1, 2023 from Noon to 1:30pm at the Cass County Community Building using the West side of the building.

Nishna Valley Family YMCA Executive Director Dan Haynes says “With the downsizing capacity of the Wickman Center and potential significant rate increases looming large for the new year, we welcome all employers, people, and agencies that are willing to work together to discuss and generate viable solutions to the childcare needs of our families.”  Haynes said they “Would also like to talk about a potential employer grant that the community can apply for, in which all businesses that have children in the center could be a part of. If your business has families that have children in the Wickman Center we would highly encourage you to attend or send a representative. We have the potential opportunity to help families with increasing costs of childcare for the coming year.

Sheri Penny of the Iowa Women’s Foundation will also be on hand to speak about the unique ways that other communities across Iowa are tackling the childcare crisis in their communities. She says “It is tough work, but communities that come together to work on the issue as a collective are having success in stabilizing childcare for their families and employers.”

Organizers hope anyone who has interest in this topic will attend, and be part of the community solution. Please RSVP to kboucher@nishnavalleyymca.com or call 712-243-3934 so that they can plan for the appropriate number of meals and seating. If you have specific questions or comments please don’t hesitate to reach out to Dan Haynes at 712-243-3934 or at dhaynes@nishnavalleyymca.com.

For more information you can call the YMCA at 712-243-3934 or stop by the YMCA at 1100 Maple Street, Atlantic Iowa.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says she is happy to see a new House Speaker elected to end what she calls “the chaos and dysfunction over the past few weeks.”  “It was inexcusable. And it was embarrassing. And the eight chaos agents in our conference who teamed up with every single Democrats to paralyze the House should be ashamed of the damage they did to the American people by shutting down the floor. But it is time to move forward,” Hinson says.

Hinson says new House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana has a plan in place to address the key issues like getting the budget done to avoid a government shutdown. “The schedule has already changed. We are moving forward with our single subject appropriations bills. And, again, my outlook on that hasn’t changed either,” Hinson says. “We have to pass the most conservative appropriations bills possible. And I don’t want to see a government shutdown. I don’t want to get into hypotheticals until we’ve had a chance to have a conversation as a conference. ”

The Republican from Marion represents Iowa’s Second District, and says her party had a lot of conversations in the last couple of weeks about the path forward and what that looks like. I am hopeful. And I believe in our newly elected speaker, Speaker Johnson, that he’ll be able to unify our conference around an agenda that will hopefully keep the government open and funded and give us the leverage we need to be able to negotiate to get conservative wins with the Senate,” she says.

Hinson says she hopes to get an updated timeline for the Farm bill soon. The other three members of the Iowa House delegation voted with Hinson for the new speaker and issued statements after the vote.

First District Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks says Johnson “is a humble servant leader that I trust to carefully guide our Republican Conference.” Third district Representative Zach Nunn says with the speaker vote over it’s time to double down on the necessary work to address the most pressing needs facing our country: reining in government spending, protecting Medicare and Social Security, passing a Farm Bill. Fourth District Representative Randy Feenstra says he has “full confidence that, under Speaker Johnson, we will continue to uphold our Commitment to America and deliver for our families, farmers, main street businesses, and rural communities.”

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Police in Atlantic report five recent arrests, including the arrest of three people on separate Assault charges. Officials say:

• 32-year-old Cody Pleis, of Atlantic, was arrested Oct. 21st,  Domestic Abuse Assault and Violation of a No Contact Order.
• 17-year-old Xavier Anaya, of Atlantic, was arrested Oct. 23rd, for Simple Assault, Harassment 2nd Degree, Public Intoxication, and Interference with Official Acts.
• and, on Oct. 25th, 30-year-old Nathan Frazier, of Atlantic, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Asault.

Other arrests by the Atlantic P.D. include:

• 34-year-old Jennifer Larson, of Atlantic, who was arrested Oct. 24th, for Operating a Vehicle without the Owner’s Consent, and
• 49-year-old Joseph Vesta, of Atlantic, who was arrested Oct. 20th for Theft in the 5th Degree (shoplifting). Vesta was cited into court and released from the scene.

CARROLL, Iowa – Several school children suffered minor injuries during a school bus rollover accident, Wednesday morning. Carroll Community School District (CCSD) Superintendent Dr. Casey Berlau said first responders were dispatched at approximately 7:18 a.m. to the scene on Granite Avenue just north of Breda. Officials say nine students were on the bus when the crash occurred, and two reported minor injuries.

Initial reports indicate the bus entered the ditch and then rolled onto its side. Berlau says a secondary bus picked up the uninjured students to transport them to class. The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, Breda Fire Department, and Carroll County Emergency Medical Services also assisted at the scene.