The Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department will hold an official Grand Opening for the Buck Creek Dog Park, later this week. It’s a project that’s been three-years in the making. The all-day event will be held Friday morning at the park, located on the northwest side of the Schildberg Recreation Area, in Atlantic. Atlantic Parks and Rec Director Roger Herring says a ribbon cutting ceremony set to take place at 10-a.m., with doggie treats available for man’s best friend, and veterinary services available  twice during the day.

Small dog exercise area

Local veterinarians will be offering discounts on dog vaccination clinics from Noon until 1pm and again from 4-until 6-p.m. Dogs must be vaccinated and have current tags in order for them to use the park. A table will also be set up for people to license their dogs. Herring says if you live outside of Atlantic and want to license your dog, you can do so at no charge, because it’s not a requirement for those living outside the City limits. Licensing your pet will give some peace mind, he says, because if your animal is lost, it can be returned to you faster when it is found.

Large dog exercise area

The dog park is surrounded by fencing and is divided into sections for big and small dogs, with plenty of space for them to run, and, agility/exercise equipment created as part of an Eagle Scout project. The pet must be on a leash until it enters the proper exercise area. Dog owners must also supervise their animals while they are in the exercise area. And, no one under the age of 12 can be with their animal in the park, without adult supervision. Other rules for the dog park are posted on signs located at the entrance to the area.

The exercise equipment includes a tunnel on both sides (of the small and large dog areas) with scrap plastic by Plastics Professionals in Atlantic, and mulch, to prevent the growth of weeds. There’s weaving poles, an A-ramp for dogs to climb, hurdles for small and large dogs, among other things. Herring says within the next couple of months, there will be a parking area installed between the fence and Buck Creek Road. Until then, vehicles may park alongside the grassy shoulder of the road or on a portion of the road itself, if the conditions are too wet or muddy on the shoulder.

Herring reminds dog owners that their animals’ feces must be picked up by owners, even if the droppings are on the grass. The exception would be in tall grass areas. Bag stations are provided around the area for that purpose.

The Museum of Danish America, in Elk Horn, has passed the American Alliance of Museums’ Core Documents Verification, an important milestone in its ongoing efforts to demonstrate excellence and meet standards and best practices. Earning Core Documents Verification means the national professional organization for the museum industry has verified – through a thorough expert review- that the Museum of Danish America has policies in place that reflect standard practices of professional museums.

Museum of Danish America in Elk Horn, IA.

Of the nation’s roughly 35,000 museums, only about 1,100 have passed the Core Documents Verification. Museum of Danish America is one of 19 museums in Iowa to have done so. Core Documents Verification is a launching pad for accreditation, the museum field’s mark of distinction and “gold standard” of museum excellence.

Dr. John Mark Nielsen, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Museum of Danish America, said “One reason we undertook this external review was to show that the museum has in place the policies and plans that are essential to good museum management and which provide our staff and board the structure, ethical grounding, and accountability needed to make informed and consistent decisions for the good of our public and for the sustainability of our institution.”

The Museum of Danish America was founded as The Danish Immigrant Museum in 1983. It is the only national institution of its kind with a professionally-trained curatorial staff and is located in the heart of the largest rural settlement of Danes. The Museum of Danish America includes the main museum, the Jens Jensen Prairie Landscape Park, a separate Genealogy Center, a homesteader’s cabin, and Bedstemor’s House, a house museum listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

More information can be found at www.danishmuseum.org.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Undergraduate students at Iowa’s three public universities may have to pay $100 more for tuition next spring. The Iowa Board of Regents released a proposal Tuesday for a 3 percent tuition increase to go into effect for the spring 2016 semester. The board will discuss the increase next week and is expected to vote in September.

The increase would mean that full-time undergraduate resident students at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa would pay $100 more. The proposal says that lawmakers only gave the schools a $6.5 million base budget increase, far less than the regents requested.  Earlier this month, Gov. Terry Branstad vetoed an additional $6.2 million in one-time funding for the schools that had been approved by lawmakers.

Federal dollars for road work in Iowa and all other states will hit a dead end later this week without fast action in Congress. While the U-S House has approved a five-month extension of the current funding, the Senate is leaning toward a six-year plan for the transportation bill. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican, favors the long-term version and won’t try to predict what’s going to happen in either chamber.

“We don’t know what the House will do until we pass a bill,” Grassley says. “This is what we can pass now and we’d better take advantage of bipartisan cooperation that we can get in the Senate, which you seldom get.”

The Senate held a rare Sunday session to pass its version of the transportation bill, which included an amendment to revive the Export-Import Bank, an issue that’s drawing opposition in the House. The Ex-Im, as it’s called, is a little-known federal agency that helps foreign customers buy things from U-S businesses. Grassley hopes all sides will reach agreement on the transportation bill — and soon.

“The long-term bill is the best for the economy,” Grassley says. “It’s the best for highway construction, best for creating jobs, not only in construction but in the manufacture of this heavy equipment. People are more apt to buy it if they know there is a long-term commitment to funding the highway program.” The current transportation funding bill expires on Friday. The proposed six-year measure is worth 350-billion dollars.

(Radio Iowa)

STONINGTON, Conn. (AP) – Authorities say a man and his young son from Iowa have been killed in a tractor-trailer crash on Interstate 95 in Stonington, Connecticut.
Connecticut State Police say 31-year-old Sergio Amilear Castellon, of Council Bluffs, and his 7-year-old son, Sergio Giovanny Castellon, were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash Monday night.

Police say the truck struck a guardrail and bridge abutment. The wreck scattered debris across the highway, and witnesses reported seeing smoke and hearing explosions.  The accident remains under investigation.

Iowa DOT District 4 Transportation Coordinator Scott Suhr, in Atlantic, reports weather continues to slow progress on US Hwy 6/7th Street, in Atlantic, but crews were able to pave up to Cherry Street, last week. Suhr says they continued to dry the grade from Cherry to Plum Streets last week, as well. This week, they plan on working on hand pours for driveways and intersections and sidewalks near Spruce, and Pine to Mulberry Streets.