(Radio Iowa) – State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald says it’s time to do some personal reflection, and for the Democratic Party to do the same after he lost his re-election bid. Fitzgerald talked with Radio Iowa about the loss almost one week ago. “Well, I guess I was surprised after 40 years…I guess you’re surprised you think you can keep winning. But that’s politics. And sometimes the other team just gets more votes, and that’s what happened. So my career comes to an end the state treasurer,” Fitzgerald says. He says this was the one time he couldn’t overcome a Republican surge.

“There haven’t been any embezzlement’s and all our audits are clean. And the finances were handled well, you know, triple-A rating for the state and I-PERS is solid, and all those kinds of things. But anyway, this was a red wave in Iowa,” he says. The entire Congressional delegation is now Republicans and only one Democrat state officeholder hung on. Fitzgerald says that should lead to some examination by the Democrat party.

“Well, I think they need to do some reflecting and the party needs to know — I think — what are the mechanics they need to do to help develop a message and coordinate campaigns and help candidates all across the state whether it’s the legislature, running for city council, or governor,” he says. Fitzgerald says they also need to examine their party message. “And Democrats themselves need to talk to Iowans, and what do Iowans want to be done that will help make their lives better, and then try to provide it,” he says. Fitzgerald says he believes he served Iowans well in the position.

“I’m very proud of this since 2008, right in the financial crisis, from then on, the State of Iowa has had a triple-A rating. I’ve worked on that. And I’m proud of that,” Fitzgerald says. “But also, I’m proud that I-PERs the big pension plan as well as the others for the judges and peace offices, they’re solid as a rock. They’re not 100 percent — but they’re 90 percent funded, they are solid. Where other states are scrambling, not in Iowa, they’re solid.” He is particularly proud of programs he instituted, including the Great Iowa Treasure Hunt.

“Over 625-thousand Iowans have gotten money back that they thought was lost, we’ve returned it. And College savings Iowa — 280-thousand families have College Savings Iowa accounts. It works, it’s been a great benefit to Iowa families. And so those are the things I’ve developed and presented to the people of Iowa, and I know they’ve been a success. And I’m happy about that,” according to Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald says he will take some time to decide what is next.

“I’ll just do some reflecting myself as to what I can do. I’ve been very fortunate to enjoy good health and maybe there’s some things I can do and I’ll be given that some thought and besides just riding off into the sunset,” he says. But I’d like to stay involved some way and that I got plenty of time to think about it and figure that out.” Fitzgerald says between now and the end of the year he will work with his successor to provide all the information needed to make sure there’s a successful hand-off done in a professional way.

ATLANTIC, IA (November 14, 2022) – Harvest Market 2022 is now accepting preorders. For information and to preorder for Harvest Market 2022, visit www.ProduceInTheParkAtlanticIowa.com. Shoppers will pick up preorders and have the chance
to shop Harvest Market in-person at the Cass County Community Center on Monday, November 21 from 3-7 pm.

Market Manager Brigham Hoege says while almost all vendors will offer in-person shopping, two favorite baked goods vendors are only selling preordered products: Miss NiNi’s Fine Desserts and Claire’s Cinnamon Rolls. Miss NiNi is selling gourmet cheesecakes, pies, flourless chocolate tortes, and Raspberry Danish Butter Cookies. Claire is selling frosted cinnamon rolls and caramel pecan rolls.

Claire Pellett is selling her customer-favorite frosted cinnamon rolls at Harvest Market 2022 by preorder only

Most Harvest Market vendors offer both in-person shopping and preordering. However, preordering is recommended for customers who want to plan on a particular food item or gift, as some products may sell out.

Harvest Market is held the Monday before Thanksgiving, so shoppers can pick up premium local produce, meats, baked goods, and other local foods to enjoy at holiday celebrations. The market also offers handmade craft products, including seasonal candles and soaps, beauty products, holiday decorations, and gifts.

Harvest Market 2022 vendors include: Bridgewater Farm, Brun Ko Farm, Sue’s Country Garden, Miss NiNi’s Fine Desserts, Claire’s Cinnamon Rolls, Noble Provisions, The Kringle Man, Hygge Cottage, DezaRae Farm Soaps, Midwest Candles by Brit, Johnna Joy Designs, Piper’s Brae Farm, Wud Bi Tek, JD Crafters, Matilda Dawn Creations, Atlantic Atlas Cinema,
Frosting Inc., Spirits of the Faire, Sweet Sisters Vegan, Harrisdale Farmstead, Donna’s Jewelry, Rolling Acres Farm, Corn 4 a Cause, Holaday Baking, Unicorn Clouds, and Smudge. Pim’s Thai Food Truck will be parked outside the Community Center selling dinner to go.

Harvest Market is sponsored by the Atlantic Community Promotion Commission, Cass County Tourism, Deter Motor Co., First Whitney Bank and Trust, Cass Health, Cass County Farm Bureau, and the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce. For the latest information on Harvest Market, follow Produce in the Park on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ProduceInThePark) or
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/produceintheparkatlanticia/) or sign up for the Produce in the Park newsletter at www.produceintheparkatlanticiowa.com.

Produce in the Park continues to accept vendor applications to Harvest Market and other holiday farmers markets (Christmas Market Dec. 22, Sweetheart Market Feb. 11, and Spring Celebration Market April 6). For more information visit produceintheparkatlanticiowa.com or contact Market Manager Brigham Hoegh at  produceintheparkatlanticiowa@gmail.com or 712-249-5870.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa is part of a multi-million-dollar settlement with Google on the way it tracks your personal information. Attorney General spokesperson, Ashlee Kieler says Iowa and 39 other states brought the claims. “This group of attorneys general alleges that Google violated state consumer protection laws by misleading consumers about its tracking practices,” she says. Kieler says the goal is to make it easier for users to understand what’s happening.

“Google has a couple of different ways that track you. There’s location history, but then there’s also this other setting within its web and app activity,” Kieler says. “And so it was a little confusing to confuse consumers, because location history is something that you turn off, it’s off automatically, but then this other piece — the web and app activity — you have to go in and manually take that off. So it was tracking consumers when they thought they weren’t being tracked.” Kieler says the company has agreed to make changes.

“Google is going to revamp some of its tracking practices, so it will show consumers additional information when they sign in. And so they’ll know more about what location tracking is on and off and how to do that,” Kieler says. She says they’ll also give more information on the type of tracking data they’re collecting and what they’re doing with that information. The states involved will receive nearly 392 million dollars from Google as part of the settlement. Iowa’s portion is nearly six-point-two million dollars, but Google users won’t see any of that money directly.

“That will go to our consumer education and litigation fund. Monies from many different supplements go to that fund, and it works to support investigations that our office does in education efforts, through our Consumer Protection Division,” she says. Kieler says this settlement makes a key statement about the public’s privacy. “It’s a very big settlement it is the largest privacy settlement the attorney general has been involved in. This is a really important matter, privacy is very important to consumers and our office. So we’re, we’re happy we’re able to, you know, make a pathway into this,” Kieler says.

Iowa is joined in the final settlement by Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Atlantic, IA – Cass County Auditor Kathy Somers today (Monday, 11/14), conducted a successful post-election audit of two races in the General Election.  Somers said ballots in the Grant/Anita/Lincoln/Benton/Franklin/Wiota precinct were hand counted by election workers to ensure they matched the totals reported by the ballot tabulator. The precinct was randomly selected by the Secretary of State following election day. The gubernatorial race and constitutional amendment ballot measure were audited. The results matched 100%. Post-election audits are mandatory in all 99 counties following each election.

The Cass County Auditor’s office thanks each of the poll workers and audit board members who willingly served their community by assisting with election day and the audit. Anyone interested in being a poll worker for future elections, please contact the auditor’s office at 712-243-4570.

For more information about election security in Iowa, visit the Secretary of State’s website at sos.iowa.gov. Information about casting your ballot is available at VoterReady.Iowa.gov.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports three arrests. Most recently, last Friday afternoon, 42-year-old Thomas Jefferson Pearcy, of Portland, OR., was arrested by Stuart Police near a car dealership in Stuart. Pearcy was arrested on two counts of Harassment in the 1st Degree, after he allegedly yelled at a man and woman in a vehicle whom he did not know, and threatened to harm them. When confronted by Police, Pearcy gave them a false name. His identity was determined after he was fingerprinted. Bond was set at $2,000.

On Nov. 8th at around 6-p.m., Police in Adair arrested 60-year-old Judith Ann Schmidt, of Adair, for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 3rd offense, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Her arrest was the result of a traffic stop. During an investigation, the Officer found in Schmidt’s vehicle, a small container in her purse, as well as two tools that had marijuana residue. She also admitted to having a pipe on her that contained marijuana. Schmidt was released a few hours later on a $2,300 cash or surety bond.

And, on Nov. 7th, at around 11:40-p.m., 32-year-old Victor Tyleak-Dommick Walker, of Brooklyn, NY, was arrested for Simple Eluding. A Trooper with the Iowa State Patrol attempted to stop a dark colored sedan on eastbound I-80 near mile marker 89, for speeding 86 in a 70 mph zone. As he approached the vehicle in his patrol cruiser, the car increased speed and began to pull away.

The Trooper activated his emergency lights and siren. The suspect vehicle exited the interstate and proceeded south on Adair-Madison Avenue for one-mile, before the car went out of control and into the east ditch. There, it entered a shallow creek and came to rest. Walker was released from the Adair County Jail the following afternoon, on his Own Recognizance.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – Officials with the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office report that during the first weekend of November, there were several burglaries that occurred in Neola and in the Virginia Hills area, just outside of Council Bluffs. As we’ve previously reported, on the Nov. 7th, Mills County attempted to stop a vehicle on Highway 34. A pursuit that ensued ended just inside of Council Bluffs after successful stop stick deployments. Both occupants were located and arrested.

Pott. Co. S/O Facebook page photo

Upon further investigation stolen items linked to burglaries in Neola, Virginia Hills, and Sarpy County were found inside of the suspect’s vehicle. Most of the property has been returned to the owners and the two suspects will be receiving further charges. Authorities say this is a prime example of how teamwork between agencies and different divisions pays off. They commended their colleagues by saying “Great work was done by the Mills County Sheriff’s Office and the Pottawattamie County Road Patrol and Investigations Divisions.”

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Glenwood Police Department reports two arrests took place, Sunday: 26-year-old Codie Exley, of Council Bluffs, was arrested on a Mills County warrant. He later posted a $1,000 cash or surety bond. And, 43-year-old Jeffrey Hartley, of Glenwood, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault. He was being held without bond, until seen by a magistrate judge.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – An event that’s taken place for more than 30-years in downtown Atlantic, returns Thursday evening to kick-off the holiday season. Bailey Smith, Executive Director of the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, says the Grand Lighting Ceremony wouldn’t be possible without the hard work and dedication of the City’s Street Department crew.

The LED lights are wired into the power grid operated by Atlantic Municipal Utilities.

They were able to get everything up and tested before the beginning of the week. The “Jolly Old Elf” (Santa), will flip the ceremonial switch to turn the lights in the downtown corridor “on,” but there are other activities planned leading up to the flip of the switch.

Santa will arrive by firetruck at around 5:30-p.m.

In years past, Santa has occasionally arrived by helicopter, but Smith says the conditions are often not conducive to flight, so they decided the safest option was having him delivered by Atlantic Volunteer Fireman, on a fire truck. The kids will be able to visit with him in Santa’s Cabin located in the downtown Atlantic City Park. Read more about what’s in-store for the holiday’s in Atlantic, at www.atlanticiowa.com.

Pick up your Christmas brochure from area retail businesses, like the Chamber on Facebook or follow on Instagram to find dates and details to celebrate Christmas in Atlantic. You can find a complete list of activities at www.atlanticiowa.com. Capture the Christmas magic with #MyAtlanticIA and post to the Atlantic Area Chamber’s Facebook page or Instagram (AtlanticIowaFan). Contact the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce with any questions at chamber@atlanticiowa.com or call 712.243.3017.

(Radio Iowa) – A Webster County Detective is on administrative leave and is being investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations. According to a letter issued to defense attorneys by the Webster County Attorney’s Office, the D-C-I is investigating Webster County Detective Tom Steck. According to the letter, search warrants related to an investigation on Detective Tom Steck were conducted on Wednesday, November 9th and he was placed on administrative leave from the Webster County Sheriff’s Office.

The letter was mandatory — it states that Detective Steck is currently the subject of a criminal investigation.

The Board’s of Supervisors in Adair, Cass, Montgomery and Shelby Counties will hold their separate, regular weekly meetings, Tuesday morning.

The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors get things rolling at 8:30-a.m., with a Canvass of the General Election votes. During their regular meeting, the Board will act on several matters, including:

• Setting the date for a public hearing for a Petition for Rezoning filed for a property at 2663 U Avenue, in Villisca, otherwise known as Lots 15 & 16 in south Villisca, and to change the zoning designation from Residential to Commercial.
• Setting the date for an upgrade of 222nd Street from a “Level B”- to a “Level A”- grade road.
• and, action on ISAC Soil Compaction, as necessary.

The Adair County Board meets at 9-a.m. at the courthouse in Greenfield. On their agenda, is: a Canvass of the 2022 General Election, and a report on the FY21 & FY22 Adair County Memorial Hospital Audits. Jeff Labarge with the Lions Club/Greenfield Main Street organizations, with regard to Holiday Decorations and a Courtyard Use Permit. Veteran’s Affairs Commissioner John Schildberg will discuss VA matters with the Board, and Adair County Engineer Nick Kauffman will present an Engineering Agreement pertaining to the SW Townline Road Improvements. Kauffman will also discuss adding the N33 Orient bridge replacement project to the current budget, and a repair proposal for the W31 Harrison bridge.

In Cass County, the Supervisor’s meeting begins at 9-a.m. at the courthouse in Atlantic. On their agenda is a canvass of the 2022 General Election results, and reports from Cass/Guthrie County Environmental Health Director Jotham Arber, as well as Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken. The Cass County Supervisors will act on passing a Resolution amending the County Five-year (Bridge/road) Construction Program, and on a approving a request to extend the Crooked Creek 5C pipe-replacement project contract’s specified completion date of Nov. 15, between Jorgensen Dirtworks LLC and the County.

And, the Shelby County Board of Supervisors will meet 9-a.m. Tuesday, at the courthouse in Harlan. On their agenda is:

• A report from the Wellness Coordinator on the Wellness participation program.
• Action on a Utility Permit: 2022-11-12 NIPCO.
• Safety Coordinator Jake Holloway will discuss and the Board is expected to take action on a County Employee seat belt policy and return to work policy.
• Shelby County EMA Coordinator Alex Londo, who will discuss a report on radios.
• Action on a 28-E agreement with the Iowa DOT.
• Action on a matter pertaining to West Central Development.
• and approval of a Resolution in support of a County-wide EMS system.
• The final order of business in the Shelby County Supervisor’s meeting, is a Canvass of the Nov. 8th, General Election.