Last week, the Griswold School Board unanimously approved a Superintendent Sharing Agreement with the Lenox School District, contingent upon the details being hashed out. Monday, the Lenox School Board followed suit. The vote was 5-to nothing.

Talks will now continue on refining the terms and definitions of a contract for Lenox Superintendent David Henrichs.

The City of Atlantic’s Parks and Recreation Department Board of Directors, Monday, reluctantly accepted the resignation of Parks Director Roger Herring. Board President Stuart Dusenberry even tried to (tongue-in-cheek) skip over the part of the agenda mentioning Herring’s resignation. Herring thanked the Board for its support over the past 5-years, and said he would love to be available as a consultant, if needed.

Asst. Parks Director Seth Staashelm (Left) & Parks Director Roger Herring (right).

Herring said because he’s retiring, though, and because he has benefits coming at the end of his retirement, it brings into question whether he would still receive those benefits if he were to work part-time. It would also require the City Council’s approval. The bottom line is, according to Herring, that he cannot work for the City for at least 30-days following his last day of full-time employment, which is June 30^th.

He said regardless of what his status is, he wants to “stay connected” and continue to serve the City, especially with regard to seeing projects that are on the table, through. Herring says he’ll be available to support current Parks Director Seth Staashelm, but not interfere with the way he runs the department. He said also, he’s willing to volunteer, but not “totally give away my time.”

Herring said that’s because he wants to spend time with his wife and family, watch his grandchildren grow-up and doing some fishing and golfing, but he still wants to do something that “Helps make a difference in Atlantic.” Board Chair Stuart Dusenberry thanked Roger Herring for his years of service to the community, prior to the Board officially accepting Herring’s letter of resignation.

Atlantic Police Chief Steve Green issued a press release this (Tuesday) morning, saying Cass County Health System CEO Todd Hudspeth was formally charged with felony Forgery, in connection to an incident where he allegedly deposited a check for his son’s education into his personal account at a bank in Atlantic. The check had the name of Hudspeth’s ex-wife allegedly signed by Hudspeth without her permission.

Green says the charges are the result of evidence gathered in a Forgery case previously filed by the Storm Lake Police Department.On May 4th, Hudspeth issued a written plea of Not Guilty to the charge in Buena Vista County. A pre-trial conference is set for June 2nd in that county, with a jury trial scheduled for July 12th.

Hudspeth was issued a citation by Atlantic Police, ordering him to appear in court locally, at a later date. In April, Hudspeth released a statement saying he had received an investment disbursement from a fund early this year and was in a hurry to put money into an account to pay his son’s college expenses. He admitted “In my haste I made a poor decision and endorsed the check with both my ex-wife’s name and my own to deposit the funds into a checking account,” he said, calling his actions “a foolish shortcut.”

Red Oak Police say a juvenile was arrested Monday evening on a serious misdemeanor charge of Indecent Exposure. 12-year old Joseph Evinder Daniel, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 6-p.m. in the 2400 block of N. 8th Street. He was cited into Juvenile Court and then released to his parents.

A new report from the Iowa Policy Project (IPP) outlines the impacts a hike in the minimum wage would have in the state’s most populous county. IPP research director Peter Fisher says boosting the minimum wage in Polk County to 12 or 15 dollars an hour would benefit between 60,000 to 88,000 workers. Fisher argues a significant increase in the minimum wage is long overdue.

“The value that workers produce has nearly doubled in the last 50 years and over that same time period, real wages have grown only about 20-percent and the minimum wage, when corrected for inflation, has actually fallen by a quarter,” Fisher said. Iowa’s minimum wage stands at $7.25, the same as the federal minimum.

Twenty-nine states, including five surrounding Iowa, have a minimum wage higher than the federal level. Fisher says his report counters what opponents of hiking the minimum wage argue — that it primarily impacts young people or those working part-time. Fisher says, of all the people who’d benefit from an increase in the minimum wage, just 13-percent would be under the age of 20.

“A much bigger chunk is over the age of 40, 38-percent, almost three-times as many,” Fisher said. “And they’re not just part-time workers, around two-thirds of the people who would benefit are working full-time.” Raising the minimum wage in Polk County, according to Fisher, would increase total income in the local economy by up to $444 million. That’s because the affected workers would likely spend their extra money on basic needs.

“Most of which, you have to purchase locally,” Fisher said. “So, it’s an economic boost to the local economy. Which, in fact, increases sales for precisely the kinds of businesses most affected by the minimum wage — retail, food service, et cetera. A lot of those low-wage jobs can expect some increase in sales.” Both Polk and Linn County officials are studying plans to hike minimum wages above the state law. Johnson County’s minimum is already two-dollars an hour above the state and will increase to $10.10/hour in January.

(Radio Iowa)

Governor Terry Branstad says the federal government has no business telling school officials how to make accommodations for transgender students. “I think it’s really a decision of local schools,” Branstad says. An Iowa law signed in 2007 by former Iowa Governor Chet Culver to address bullying in schools prohibits discrimination based on gender identity. This past week the Obama Administration put ALL U.S. schools on notice that they must let students use restrooms and locker rooms associated with their gender identity.

“Now you have the federal government stepping in and saying: ‘If you don’t do it our way, we’re going to withhold your federal money.’ I think that’s wrong,” Branstad says. “I mean, we want to treat everybody with respect and dignity, but we don’t think the federal govenrment ought to be coming in and threatening to withhold education money to local school districts in Iowa.” Branstad calls that “overreach.”

“I think there are bigger and more important issues that the president should be addressing, such as protecting the security of Americans,” Branstad says. Branstad says he’s troubled by reports indicating ISIS has released “kill lists” with the names of average American civilians. Branstad says he gets monthly security briefings on threats that are specific to Iowa, but cannot talk publicly about them.

Last week the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice notified school officials that they should ensure transgender students “enjoy a supportive and nondiscriminatory school environment.” The directive came in response to North Carolina’s law that requires individuals to use public restrooms that correspond with the sex listed on their birth certificate.

(Radio Iowa)