The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled for the first time on whether retirement benefits should be considered when paying workers’ compensation to an injured employee. David Evenson injured his elbow while working at Winnebago Industries in May of 2010. Evenson argued that company contributions to his 401-K plan should be considered when setting the amount of workers’ compensation payments.

The district court upheld an arbiter’s ruling that the 401-K payments were a fringe benefit and not part of his weekly earnings. The Iowa Supreme Court agreed with the lower court. The ruling says the employee chooses the amount of money put into the retirement account and the company then matches that amount.

It says the money is not a part of the employee’s spendable weekly earnings and should not be considered when setting workers’ compensation payments.

(Radio Iowa)

A traffic stop in Hamlin late Thursday night resulted in the arrest of two Carroll County residents on drug and other charges. The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office says 29-year old Ashley Chantelle Nicole Hetterich, and 40-year old Troy Adam Dillavou, both of Carroll, were taken into custody at around 11-p.m.

Hetterich faces charges that include Possession of Methamphetamine with the Intent to Deliver, Possession of Heroin, and three counts of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Dillavou faces Possession of Meth/3rd offense, Possession of Heroin and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, charges. He was also cited for numerous traffic violations.

Hetterich and Dillavou were transported to the Audubon County Jail and later released, after appearing before the magistrate.

The Atlantic Police Department reports the arrest on Thursday of 42-year old John Eichelberger, of Atlantic. He was taken into custody on a Cass County warrant for Violation of a No Contact Order. And, on Wednesday, 41-year old Kaela Holt, of Atlantic, was arrested for Public Intoxication. Both subjects were booked into the Cass County Jail.

Sheriff’s deputies in Montgomery County, Thursday evening, arrested a Stanton woman on a Pottawattamie County warrant for Violation of Probation. 29-year old Samantha Jo Kelly was later released on a $1,000 cash bond.

The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors were hosted by Midwest Medical Transport and MedAir on Thursday, May 26th, to introduce their services and staff to the community. MMT/MedAir has a staff of more than 400. Their dispatch center receives over 60,000 calls a year.

In 2010, Midwest Medical Transport added Med Air services to the Nebraska area because there was a high need for their services. Today, they have three helicopters with a base in Audubon. They are the closest emergency air service in the area, having already treated over 100 patients since the beginning of 2016.

Midwest Medical Transport and MedAir: Base Manager Shannon Odiet and the Midwest Medical
Transport and MedAir crew.
Ambassadors Pictured: Janet Cappel, Ouida Hargens, Carole Schuler, Julie Smith, Dan Mehmen, Renee Hansen, Josh Hansen, Debbie Leistad, Dr. Jim Kickland, Sue Muri, JoAnn Runyan, Casey Symonds, Doreen Ellsbury, Dr. Mitch Peerbolte, Dawn Marnin, Debbie Brown, Russ Joyce, Liz Toft, Kerry Jepsen, Dolly Bergmann, Nick Harris, Lucas Mosier, Tyler Mosier, Michelle Olsen, Melanie Petty, Sara Nelson, Pat McCurdy, Diane Gipple-McCurdy, Brittney Weirich, Amy Coenen, Mandi Ronfeldt and Tayla Kamies

The Iowa Finance Authority, Iowa Association of REALTORS® and the Iowa Mortgage Association today announced the launch of the 2,500 Bucks homeownership month campaign. The campaign encourages Iowans to visit IowaHouseHunt.com throughout the month of June to learn about all aspects of buying a home in Iowa, including $2,500 down payment assistance grants, as well as a chance to win $2,500, no strings attached during the month of June.

The IowaHouseHunt.com web site is a new resource for Iowa home buyers, which provides information on the steps to purchasing a home in Iowa, a free home buyer education course, information about the Iowa Finance Authority’s programs and links to participating lenders and Realtors that can guide them through the process.

To participate in the 2,500 Bucks campaign, all Iowans, eighteen and older should visit IowaHouseHunt.com before July 4 to enter the sweepstakes for $2,500. A second chance to win $2,500 is available by visiting the Iowa Finance Authority facebook page and posting a photo of something that symbolizes “$2,500”. The entry with the most votes will win $2,500.