(Radio Iowa) – The two-day annual Iowa Mission of Mercy (IMOM) free dental clinic will get underway in eastern Iowa Friday. Iowa Dental Foundation Executive Director, Laurie Traetow (tray-tow), says the offer all sorts of dental services from cleanings up to some partial dentures during the clinic in Waterloo. The services are all on a first-come, first-served basis, and they usually have people lined up when the doors open at 6 a-m.

More information can be found at IowaMOM.org.

(Radio Iowa) – The Food Bank of Iowa is expected to release its latest demand figures this week for the 55 counties it serves statewide. Michelle Book, the non-profit’s C-E-O, says she expects another big boost in those needing a hand, based on several factors which are putting more pressure on families with already-tight budgets. The crisis in the Middle East is pushing up fuel prices, while Book says food prices are still high due to inflation.

A federal government shutdown was avoided a few weeks ago, but Book fears the continuing resolution only delayed the inevitable, with another shutdown looming now shortly before Thanksgiving. Programs that are vital to Iowans putting food on their tables — like WIC and SNAP — will face disruption or shutdowns themselves if the federal government closes down next month.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report the arrest of a man and a woman Wednesday afternoon. 41-year-old Bill Joe Gillsepie, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 2:27-p.m. on multiple active Red Oak Police Department warrants, including Theft in the 3rd Degree, Eluding, Felony Ongoing Criminal Conduct and Felony Theft in the 2nd Degree . He was taken into custody in the 700 block of Highland Avenue. In addition to the warrants, Gillespie was charged with Felony Possession of Contraband in a Correctional Facility. His bond was set at $35,000.

At the same time Gillespie was arrested, Red Oak Police arrested 47-year-old Alisa Lynette Alexander, of Shambaugh, for being an Accessory after the fact. Her bond was set at $2,000.

Red Oak Police were assisted by Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies in conducting the arrests.

Atlantic Iowa –  Nishna Valley Family YMCA Director Dan Haynes, Wednesday night, said in a press release, that “The YMCA will decrease its overall childcare capacity from 131 to 108 children after they move kids from the infant room in the Early Learning Center. The YMCA will vacate the school’s room, as asked by December 22, 2023.

“The Wickman operation has not been taking any new children since April of 2023 in order to downsize and fit back into the original building. We have added 46 new kids to our waiting list for childcare spots since April. In order to support families and employers we will all need to come together to address the long term need for childcare in our community.

“The YMCA Board,” Haynes said, “has researched many options which include relocating a classroom to another community location. We have a very giving community and many churches have offered up their classrooms for use by the Wickman center. After working with the churches, the fire Marshall, Department of Human Services, Childcare Resource and Referral and many hours of deliberation, the YMCA Board has made the difficult choice to continue to not take any new children.

“We will hold this policy until we can fit all children into the original Wickman building with the addition of the 4 years olds who will stay at the renovated racquetball room space at the YMCA. We anticipate that this, along with natural attrition, will help us fit by the end of December 2023.

“The cost, regulations, and logistics of opening another classroom location is not something the YMCA Board is able to take on at this time. The Nishna Valley Family YMCA Board of Directors and the Atlantic Community Schools have agreed to continue to share the ELC gym and the Wickman playground through the end of the current school year.”

Haynes said “The other issue the YMCA Board is struggling with is the lack of staff. The YMCA board is looking for ways to increase wages and to be able to offer some type of benefit package to employees in order to attract and retain a stable workforce. Currently the starting wage is $12 an hour and no health insurance benefit. The board anticipates that our starting wage will need to increase to at least $15 per hour in the future and provide some type of health insurance coverage for qualified employees. This will require the generation of an additional $320,000 in revenue annually.

“This will require a significant weekly rate increase to families OR some type of subsidy by the local community, businesses and donors OR a combination of the two. We look forward to having a community discussion about how childcare in our community can move forward and stay affordable to families.”

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

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Board of Education in the Atlantic Community School District met this (Wednesday) evening in a regular monthly session. The Board heard from Booster Club President Brian Wagner, who spoke about the success of the “Buy the yard” on the football field initiative. He said the premise, basically, is that “You buy a yard line on the [Trojan home games only] football field, for $100. You own that yard line for the entire year. At the end of the first quarter, wherever the ball landed, whoever owns that yard line….” gets $100.

Brian Wagner

The process is repeated for the second- and third-quarters of the game. “If no one wins in the second quarter,” Wagner said, “The ball landed on the 11-yard line [for instance and] nobody owned that 11-yard line, that money rolls over to the third-quarter, you then win $200.” Wagner said they currently have 21 open yard lines available, so it’s almost sold out. He said “It’s kind of fun, so we are going to do it again next year. It’ll be out on Facebook platform, coaches go out and talk to people about it…it’s been a lot of fun, it really has.” The money is used to buy football backs for the football team. They’re embroidered so they all match. The extra funds goes to the Booster Club for other sports-related activities and supplies. Their next big project is “The second highest-Def (Definition) board in all of the State of Iowa in the gym. There will be a 10-foot by eight-foot video board installed before basketball (before the season begins).”

The Board also heard from Aviation Program Instructor Bryce Smith, community member Garry Pellett, Lori & Barry Reid, Managers of the Atlantic Municipal Airport, who spoke about an extension of the Iowa Western Community College/Council Bluffs Aviation program in the form of an aviation maintenance program. Smith said that’s due to the increased demand for aircraft maintenance operators. Right now talks are underway with IWCC to have the program housed at the Atlantic Airport. Pellett said they have a verbal commitment of support from the Atlantic Airport Commission, and Lori Reid said even though their hangars are full, they can juggle some aircraft so some space becomes available.

Bryce Smith

Garry Pellett

Lori & Barry Reid

Iowa Western is offering dual credits toward Aircraft Power (A/P) certification, and would send qualified adjunct facility to Atlantic to teach coursework so students can earn power-plant mechanic certification. The idea is based on the AOPA (Aviation Owners and Pilots Association) STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) curriculum. Bryce Smith said there are 37 students in grades 9-through 12, who currently enrolled in the aviation program through the Atlantic High School, with five set to graduate in 2024. Atlantic is only one of four schools in the State to offer the AOPA program.  College graduates with a two-year  degree in an aircraft power/mechanic program, Smith said, can earn $52,000 right off the bat.

The district would need to garner financial support, in order to buy tools for the program. No action was taken at this time, as the presentation was for information only.

In other business, the Atlantic school Board acted to approve contract recommendations for: Lily Renfro – Elementary Paraeducator; Rick Boysen – Substitute Bus Driver. At the request of Board Member Josh McLaren, action on approving the previously mentioned Spring 2024 Sports Coaching position recommendations was tabled until the November Board meeting, because it’s expected additional names will be added to the list.

(Radio Iowa) – UnityPoint, one of Iowa’s largest health care providers, is no longer planning a merger with a New Mexico-based health care system. West Des Moines-based UnityPoint operates 32 hospitals and 280 clinics in Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois. Earlier this year, UnityPoint announced it was negotiating a merger with New Mexico-based Presbyterian Healthcare Services, which operates nine hospitals.

UnityPoint’s president and C-E-O has departed, according to a news release. He’d been a V-P at the New Mexico system. The new president of UnityPoint has been the system’s chief legal officer for the past two years. This is the second round of merger talks UnityPoint has started, but then tabled.

In 2019, negotiations with South Dakota based Sanford Health stalled. That merger would have created one of the largest health care systems in the country.