Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon reports in response to the area being under an Excessive Heat Warning Wednesday through Friday, several facilities will be open in the County to serve as cooling stations for Cass County residents needing to find relief from high heat and humidity. The locations include:

• The Nishna Valley YMCA, 1100 Maple Street, Atlantic, open from 4:30am to 8:30pm this Wednesday and Thursday and 4:30am to 6:00pm on Friday.
• Atlantic Public Library, 507 Poplar Street, open 9:00am to 6:00pm Wednesday thru Friday.
• Griswold City Library is open 10:00am to 12:30pm and 1:30pm to 6:00pm Wed. and Thurs., 10:00am to 4:00pm Fri.
• Anita Public Library is open 10:00am – 6:30pm Wed. and 2:00pm – 6:30pm Thurs. and Fri.

Kennon says the National Weather Service predicts very hot and humid conditions will build into the region by Wednesday and last through the end of the week. Heat index values of 100 to 115 degrees are likely Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday afternoons. The hottest period will be Thursday and Friday.

Residents are advised to keep cool and stay hydrated during the prolonged period of excessive heat. The hot temperatures and high humidity will combine to create a dangerous situation in which heat illnesses are possible. Drink plenty of fluids, avoid strenuous outdoor activity during the heat of the day, stay out of the sun and check up on relatives and neighbors. Do Not leave pet and/or children in unattended vehicles.
Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency…call 9-1-1.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A thunderstorm carrying strong lightning and heavy rain has caused flash flooding in some areas of north and central Iowa including Des Moines. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning Tuesday for portions of four central Iowa counties until early evening. More than a dozen others were placed in a flash flood watch, where conditions are possible for additional evening flooding to develop.

Rainfall estimates ranged between three and five inches across a wide area of central Iowa. Localized street flooding was reported on the east side of Des Moines near the Iowa State Fairgrounds. State softball games and Iowa Cubs games scheduled for Tuesday were also called off.

MidAmerican Energy reported power outages for more than 2,000 Des Moines area customers and about 200 in Council Bluffs.

Republican Congressman Steve King isn’t backing down from statements he made during an appearance on a cable T-V talk show panel Monday. “It’s about time that somebody spoke up,” King says. “Charlie (Pierce of Esquire), who was on MSNBC, going off against ‘old white people.’ And if you would Google ‘old white people’ or ‘old white men,’ now that’s something that continually flows out of mouths of the left and they’re disparaging a group of people who have contributed a tremendous amount to our civilization.”

King says “no other subgroup” has contributed more to the advance of western civilization than Christians of European ancestry. Democrats are calling King’s comments “outrageous” and Republican Governor Terry Branstad is dismissing them as well. “I just think they were inappropriate,” Branstad said. “…People know Steve King.” King says “the truth is provocative” to people like Branstad who are in “the establishment.”

“They see culture as evolving…They want to accept it as quickly as possible so it’s not a liability to be ‘on the wrong side of history,’…That’s what they will say,” King says. “…I say instead that these fundamental principles are timeless. Whatever was a sin 2000 years ago is a sin today.” King says if Republicans don’t make a stand, the party will “have no ground left to stand on” pretty soon.

“I don’t think the establishment wing of the party stands up against the multiculturalists, the political correct crowd. They back up from them. They kowtow to them and I say instead: ‘Let’s confront them.'” King faces Democrat Kim Weaver this fall as he seeks reelection to an eighth term in the U.S. House.

(Radio Iowa)

Griswold Community School District Superintendent Dave Henrichs reports members of the Facilities Committee of the Griswold School District will hold a work session on Tuesday, July 26th at 6:30-p.m. at the Griswold Community School District’s Middle School /High School Library. The purpose of the meeting is to assess the current educational facilities. No action will be taken at that time.