(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors will hold their regular meeting 9-a.m. Tuesday (June 13), in their Cass County Courthouse Board Room. There are two public hearings on the agenda. The first is with regard to a proposed amendment to the Cass County Zoning Ordinance (see details below). The second is with regard to a proposed amendment to the FY2023 Cass County Budget.

The Board will also act on approving an annual Wellness Coordinator Agreement between the County Ag Extension District, Cass Health, Nishna Valley Family YMCA, and Cass County, effective July 1, 2023 to July 1, 2025. In FY 24, the County’s contribution will be $7,000, from the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) Fund, and $25,000 from ARPA (Covid recovery) funds. In FY ’25, the County’s share will increase to $8,000 from LOST and $35,000 from ARPA, funds. The funds will be used to pay for a Full-time Wellness Coordinator to serve Cass County residents.  The meeting will be available by Zoom and over-the-phone:

The order of agenda items may change based on when personnel are available and when time allows.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak say no injuries were reported following two recent, separate accidents. At around 10:45-a.m. Friday (June 9), Officers were called to the area of N. 2nd and E. Maple Streets, for an accident. During their investigation, officers learned an electric, two-wheel scooter operated by 22-year-old Makayla Kirsch, of Villisca, was traveling north on N. 2nd, and approaching the intersection with E. Maple. She attempted to brake and stop for a 2020 Chevy Trax, which was approaching on her right, but the scooter’s brakes failed to operate correctly.

The scooter collided with the driver’s side of the westbound SUV, driven by 23-year-old Cameron Hilligoss, of Atlantic. Red Oak EMS personnel checked Kirsch for injuries, but none were reported. Damage to the Chevy was estimated at $1,500. The scooter sustained about $200 damage. Kirsch was issued a warning for failing to yield the right-of-way.

The second accident in Red Oak happened at around 3-p.m. Saturday. Police say 19-year-old Madison Sickels, of West Des Moines, failed to yield the right-of-way (ROW) as her 2005 Ford Mustang was leaving an alley in the area of 4th Street, between Corning and Joy Streets. The Mustang struck the driver’s side of a 2012 Chevy Traverse SUV, driven by 34-year-old Marissa Ramos-Saldana, of Red Oak, as she was traveling northbound on 4th Street. No injuries were reported.

Both vehicles sustained approximately $3,000 damage. Sickels was cited for Failure to yield the ROW, and failure to show proof of insurance.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Late last month, the Atlantic Community School District announced the hiring of Casey Pelzer as the new ACSD Middle School Principal. During their meeting Wednesday evening, the Atlantic School Board is expected to officially approve Pelzer for the post.

Casey Pelzer is the current ACSD Elementary PE Teacher. He had applied for the Middle School Principal’s position and met with representatives including a parent group, ACSD Administration, the ACSD School Board, the incoming superintendent, students, and AMS staff as part of the interview and hiring process. Pelzer was then offered the position and has accepted the role of Middle School Principal, effective July 1, 2023, assuming the School Board approves.

Casey Pelzer ( via the Atlantic Community School District staff info. website)

Pelzer would assume the role of Middle School Principal in Atlantic, following the announcement earlier this Spring current Principal Scot Aden had submitted his resignation, effective at the end of this month.

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston report a camper trailer got hung-up on one of the protective bars near a convenience store gas pump, Friday afternoon. The incident happened at the Casey’s Store on Townline Road, at around 4:17-p.m. No injuries were reported. Authorities say a 2018 RAM pickup driven by 54-year-old Michael Steenhagen, of Roland (IA), was pulling the large camper trailer when Steenhagen attempted to make too sharp of a turn, due to a vehicle parked next to him.

The rear, driver’s side bumper became hung-up on a safety pole by the pump. A display sign that was on the pole was damaged by the camper. Damages amounted to $500 for the store property, and approximately $8,000 to $10,000 to the camper. A tow truck and forklift were used to pull the camper away from the pole and gas pump.

(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Creston Police Department say five people were arrested over the weekend. Sunday evening, 53-year-old Kevin Lee Campbell was arrested at intersection of Highway 34, one-quarter of a mile east of Osage. Campbell was charged with OWI 1^st Offense. He was transported to the Union County Jail and later released on bond.

Two people were arrested Saturday at a residence in the 400 block of E. Townline Road, in Creston. 37-year-old Douglas Edward Woodward, III, and 33-year-old Rachel Marie Colburn, both of Creston, were arrested for Violation of a No Contact/Protective Order. Both were transported to the Union County Jail. Woodward was later released on bond. Colburn remained held in the jail on bond, as of the latest report.

Also arrested Saturday, was 67-year-old Julie Ann Madore, of Creston, for OWI/1st offense. She was taken into custody at around 12:08-a.m. and was transported to the Union County Jail and later released on $1,000 bond. And, 38-year-old Charles Wayne Fry, of Creston, was arrested at about 3:50-a.m. Saturday, also for OWI 1^st Offense. Fry was transported to the Union County Jail and later released on $1,000 bond.

Creston Police said also, a man residing in the 200 block of S. Sumner Street reported at around 12:20-p.m., Friday, that a heavy set man in shorts entered his garage, took a cash box and left during a garage sale. The loss was estimated at $175.

(Radio Iowa) – A treasure hunt of sorts gets underway today (Monday) in a park in Pella. Glass orbs made by students at Central College will be hidden in Pella’s Big Rock Park for people to find. The president of the park’s board, George Clark, says he got the idea from an artist who hid his work in Rhode Island. “He actually was kind of inspired during the pandemic because there were so few people coming into his shop, his gallery I should say — and so that’s kind of where these were born out of making an effort to get more folks into his shop,” Clark says. There will be 23 brightly colored glass orbs to match the year 2023.

“We’re gonna spread it out, we’re gonna hide like five a month,” Clark says, “so June, July, August, September, and then probably end up with you know those last few in October.” Clark says the orbs will be hidden in the 83-acre park, but won’t be too hard to find because the idea is to get people involved. “We want folks to find your orbs, take pictures with your orbs, post them on our Facebook page. And you know and that’s supposed to be kind of part of that fun outing that families and you know citizens and visitors can take part in,” he says. Those who find the glass orbs can keep them.

“In the process of finding the orbs in the park we hope they discover the natural beauty of Big Rock Park,” Clark says. Clark turned to his fellow Central graduate and current art professor, Brian Roberts, to create the orbs. Roberts says students in his second year glass blowing glass took on the project. “It takes one person to shape the glass, and another person to put air into the blowpipe to expand the glass to make these circular spherical forms. And then another person eventually is gathering some collecting some hot glass to make the stamps,” Roberts says. The stamps are a symbol representing the park.

“Each of the orbs have a face of a barred owl stamped into ’em,” he says. The orbs are also numbered.

(Radio Iowa) – The University of Iowa is expanding its wilderness education program to reach 45-hundred elementary school children this year, and it should bring the outdoor learning experience to more than six-thousand next year. Jay Gorsh, director of U-I School of the Wild, says the program is typically a five-day field trip that takes fourth, fifth and sixth graders out of the classroom and into the woods. Gorsh says it helps kids to develop a sense of awareness and appreciation for nature. “Most often we use the three habitats in Iowa: prairie, wetlands and woodlands,” Gorsh says. “Then regularly we have a day of outdoor skills. Sometimes there’s an Archaeology Day in there. Sometimes you might have an entire day dedicated to wildlife or a specific type of wildlife. Here in Iowa City, we have an entire day dedicated to birds, so we have an Ornithology Day.”

Part of the thrill, he says, is getting kids to try things they’ve never had the opportunity to do before, like kayaking, or having what he calls a wildlife experience. “We can use some long-handled nets along the shore of a lake or in a creek and catch some frogs or tadpoles, and they can hold those frogs and tadpoles in their hand and be able to study them,” Gorsh says. “From there we can get into some biology by having them try to determine what specific type of frog is that that they’re holding. Is it male? Is it female? How do we know?” Kids today are being increasingly pushed indoors, he says, and too many of them know too little about the natural, wonderful world around us.

“What we would like to do is kind of disconnect, unplug the kids, get them out into nature, get them away from their electronics a little bit,” Gorsh says. “Also, there’s just a lot to be said about spending a day in the woods as far as how it makes you feel. For most people, that’s a pretty relaxing experience.” The U-I’s Wildlife Camps program started in 1991 and over time, morphed into becoming the School of the Wild. For many years, it was limited to the Iowa City-Cedar Rapids area, but just before the pandemic, they experimented with taking the program on the road so students elsewhere in Iowa could learn about nature in their own areas.

“It went really well. The feedback was very positive from families, from kids, from teachers, so we decided to go ahead and launch this thing across the state and see if it took off,” Gorsh says. “So now, there are programs that are running in county, state, even federal parks all across the state at different times in the year.” The School of the Wild is working with 83 schools in 50 Iowa districts in 36 counties this year, and Gorsh says it’s been expanding by about 15-hundred students every year.

https://wild.education.uiowa.edu/school-wild

(Radio Iowa) – State Treasurer Roby Smith sees room for expansion of the I-ABLE program his office manages for Iowans with disabilities. The money deposited in a tax-free I-ABLE account may be used to cover expenses related to a disability and the spending does NOT affect the person’s eligibility for government assistance programs like Medicaid or Social Security.

“There’s just a little over 2000 accounts,” Smith says. “I believe we can have a lot of growth there.” U-S Census data indicates nearly 400-thousand Iowans have some sort of a disability. I-ABLE accounts can accrue interest and help Iowans living with a disability cover expenses like housing, transportation and job training as well as in-home support services.

“It’s an important tool and we’ve got to do more reaching out,” Smith says. “Part of my job is to travel the state to talk about I-ABLE.” Smith recently made a presentation about I-ABLE in Pella and the treasurer’s office hosted a webinar with the Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council this spring.

“We know that there’s a number of other agencies that deal with that population that could use it and help their lives,” Smith says, “and so we’re going to look to team up and sign up more people.” An Iowan with a disability may open their own account — or accounts may be opened by relatives, legal guardians or conservators who act on behalf of an Iowan with a disability.

The yearly contribution limit is 17-thousand dollars. Forty-nine states now offer the program after congress established the tax-free benefit for an Achieving a Better Life Experience or ABLE accounts in 2014. Iowa lawmakers created the I-ABLE program here the following year.

(Cass County, Iowa) – An accident on eastbound Interstate 80 late Sunday morning, in Cass County, had traffic backed-up for miles before authorities could detour motorists around the wreck. The crash involving a semi tractor trailer happened at around 10:54-a.m., near mile marker 66.

Authorities closed the westbound lanes so that emergency vehicles could get to the scene. Traffic was rerouted to Wiota and then through Anita before vehicles re-entered the Interstate near Adair.The Intestate re-opened to traffic about two-hours later.

There were no serious injuries, but one person was being checked-out as a precaution. Additional details were not immediately available from the State Patrol.

photo submitted to KJAN News

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa State Patrol says there was one fatal, and one injury accident Saturday in the State. A three-vehicle crash in eastern Iowa’s Benton County resulted in a death. The Patrol says a 2012 Ford Focus was traveling west on 77th Street at around 2-p.m., and pulling a 1997 motorcycle with a rope. Both vehicles were traveling very slow. A 2015 VW Passat was also westbound on 77th Street and unable to stop before striking the motorcycle.

The cycle was pushed into the back of the Ford Focus, causing the motorcyclist to be ejected from their machine. The Ford rotated 180-degrees and faced east on the north shoulder of the road. The motorcycle ended-up in the north ditch, and the VW stopped on the north shoulder of the road. The operator of the motorcycle died from their injuries at St. Lukes Hospital. Their name and those of the others involved in the crash, were not released.

The other accident happened in Floyd County at around 7:22-p.m., Saturday. The Patrol says 39-year-old Joshua W. Duitscher, of Nora Springs, was traveling east on 115th Street when the 2004 Dodge he was driving went out of control and into the south ditch before rolling multiple times into a field. Duitscher was not wearing a seat belt. He was ejected from the vehicle and transported to the hospital by Mason City Ambulance. The crash remains under investigation.