(Atlantic, Iowa) – Atlantic Police Chief Devin Hogue, Wednesday night, announced to the Atlantic City Council, that the department applied for and was awarded a maximum $200,000 flow-through grant from the U-S Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services Act as part of the law enforcement for mental health and wellness, with a sub-category for program implementation, to facilitate an Officer Mental Health and Resiliency program.

A similar, free three-day program was held last year in Atlantic, for area law enforcement and some from throughout the State. The success of that program spurred the concept of offering the class for law enforcement from all across the State. Chief Hogue and Officer Tony Snyder poured over the 61-page of instructions and requirements to apply for the grant.

There are two phases to the program, including End-user training, and adding facilitators from across the State so the program can grow. Chief Hogue said there was $9-million dollars awarded total to 60 agencies throughout the nation. Only one other city in Iowa, Muscatine, was awarded a grant for southeast Iowa.

Chief Hogue said Officer Snyder was instrumental in securing the Federal Grant, thanks to his diligence in looking to fine details of the application.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass-Atlantic Development Corporation (CADCO) Executive Director Jennifer McEntaffer, Wednesday evening, said despite the news late last month the MAHLE was laying-off a good percentage of their workforce by 2025, the news isn’t all bad. Speaking before the Atlantic City Council, Jennifer said she met with MAHLE employees, who explained the company is offering “Some very good retention bonuses if they’ll stay on.” There are also severance packages being offered to those who are close to retirement.

McEntaffer said “Many many organizations in  Cass County and Atlantic specifically are hiring, I don’t feel like were going to lose any population…”   She said also, she discussed with Iowa Western Community College in Atlantic, which is phasing out its Industrial Design program, and are moving ahead with offering a CDL program, which will benefit large manufacturers looking to locate in Atlantic and the area.

McEntaffer mentioned CADCO has a solid prospect in the form of a large manufacturing business that’s looking to expand into southwest Iowa, and that they love the idea Cass County being a hub for their business. The only issue is they need an 18,000-square foot building, which is currently not available. Along that note, she said, CADCO is looking partnerships with a local investment group, to construct a “spec” building to offer prospective businesses.

Other, local businesses, are looking to expand their footprint in the community, and two individuals are looking at downtown locations. And, Zeigler in Atlantic, she said, offers a paid apprenticeship program for persons looking to enter the trade industry, which  would benefit what the company does for its customers once those persons are trained and retained.

McEntaffer said the biggest struggle CADCO faces, is finding a place to put new business, especially commercial operations.

CRESTON, Iowa – Oct. 18, 2023 – Work is now complete on the project to replace the bridge on Iowa 92 between Lyman and Griswold. You may now travel over the new bridge.

Help keep everyone on the road safer. Drive with caution, obey the posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, you should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.

(Radio Iowa) – A stubborn retail environment is blamed for a dip in revenue at Winnebago Industries. The outdoor lifestyle products manufacturer, with Iowa recreational vehicle factory locations in Forest City, Lake Mills, Charles City and Waverly, reports revenue for the fourth quarter was 771-million dollars. That’s down nearly 35-percent compared to the same period a year ago. Winnebago C-E-O Michael Happe says the recreational consumer market continues to be challenging.

Happe says, “The tumultuous consumer outdoor market which characterized Fiscal Year 2023 for our company continued as expected into the fourth quarter, as lower dealer deliveries and modest retail demands persisted across the RV and marine industries.” Fiscal 2023 revenues of three-point-five billion dollars dropped almost 30-percent compared to Fiscal 2022, primarily due to lower unit sales related to retail market conditions and higher discounts and allowances compared to the prior year. Happe says the company continues to see the benefits of a diversified portfolio.

“Our results reflect a resilient profitability of our diversified business model in a challenging demand environment,” Happy says. “Despite a softening in unit sales, the towable RV and marine segments in particular continued their track record of profitability and margin performance.” Happe says the addition of the Newmar and Grand Design recreational vehicle brands, as well as the Chris-Craft and Barletta boat companies during his tenure as CEO, have been positive for the company, despite the drop in revenue for the fiscal year.

“I am incredibly pleased that the foundation of the transformed company we have built over the last seven years can produce the results we just completed in a difficult market environment,” Happe says. “We’ve remained committed to the continuous improvement of our bottom line, with a focus on operational excellence, further work on productivity, cost containment, and fix overhead rationalization.” Happe says R-V retail market share performance declined slightly in the fourth quarter but there were some positive signs toward the end of the quarter.

“This trend has been anticipated, and we were recently pleased to see August RV market share results be much steadier than in past months, a good sign of things to come,” he says. “Grand Design, Winnebago towables and Newmar all gained share in the standalone August month.” Fourth quarter profit for the company was nearly 44-million dollars, with profit for the fiscal year of almost 216 million.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks has joined the group of House Republicans opposing Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan’s bid for House Speaker. In the second round of voting for House speaker, Miller-Meeks cast her vote for Texas Congresswoman Kay Granger. Granger is chair of the House Appropriations Committee. Miller-Meeks voted for Jordan yesterday (Tuesday) in the first round of voting on his nomination for House speaker, but afterwards Miller-Meeks told reporters in the U-S Capitol she would not vote for Jordan again.

Miller-Meeks will be seeking a third term in the U-S House next November and will likely face a rematch with Democrat Christina Bohannan. In 2020, Miller-Meeks won her seat in the U-S House by just six votes and then finished nearly seven points ahead of Bohannan last year. This month’s voter registration report shows there are about seven-thousand more Republicans than Democrats in the first congressional district.

The other Iowa Republicans serving in the U-S House — Ashley Hinson of Marion, Zach Nunn of Bondurant and Randy Feenstra of Hull — all voted for Jordan on today’s second round of voting for House speaker.