(Radio Iowa) – Iowa House Democrats say legalizing recreational marijuana is one of their key priorities ahead of the 2022 election. Other priorities are lowering costs for Iowans, protecting abortion access, and investing more in public schools. House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst says these priorities are based on what the majority of Iowans support.  “We have heard from Iowans, that these are the things they want. These are the things that Democrats fight for, too. And so we want to make sure Iowans know where we stand, that we stand for pushing these,” Konforst says.

While Democrats say this is what Iowans want — Republicans have had the majority in both houses of the Iowa Legislature — and even expanded it in the last elections. That means Democrats haven’t been able to get any of their proposals passed. Konfrst says if they win more seats, they can block Republican attempts to further restrict abortion.  “If we can stop a total ban and allow some exemptions, that’s a nice starting place,” she says. “But our goal is to protect and defend reproductive freedom in this state. And we will do that through a constitutional amendment and every way we can before then.”

Democrats would need to make big gains in November — as they currently hold only 40 of the 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives

(By Katarina Sostaric, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa company that’s proposing to pipe carbon dioxide from Midwest ethanol plants and store it underground in North Dakota says it’s secured the rights to more than half of the land it needs for its route through Iowa. Summit Carbon Solutions says it’s partnered with 800 Iowa landowners to sign 14-hundred easement agreements. But Jessica Mazour with the Iowa chapter of the Sierra Club says she’s not convinced Summit has the backing it says it does. “Once they’re done filing their list of exhibit H, which is the properties they think they need eminent domain for, then I think we can consider what numbers they’re presenting,” Mazour says.

Environmentalists and many farmers and landowners worry about the safety of the pipelines and impacts to farmland. Don Johansson farms in Cherokee County and is one of the landowners affected by the summit pipeline. He spoke at Tuesday’s Iowa Utilities Board meeting. “One of the things that strikes me with this is when you talk to people, so many people are just totally unaware of it. And I worked the booth at State Fair this year for a day. And the same was true, people would come up and be totally unaware of what these pipelines are.”

He opposes the pipelines because of what he says is the potential danger with a rupture.
The ethanol industry says pipelines will help them lower their emissions and reach more fuel markets. Summit says it’s on track to start constructing the pipeline in late 2023.

(Kaite Piekes, Iowa Public Radio contributed to this story)

Norwalk, Iowa – Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Safety report, that at around 12:30-a.m. today (Thursday), Police in Norwalk were dispatched to a report of a death in the 600 Block of Knoll Drive. Agents from the DCI were contacted to assist with the investigation. Authorities say there is no danger to the public.

There is no additional information at this time. Further details will be released later today.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with the Atlantic Senior Alumni Scholarship Foundation (SASF) said Wednesday, that the late Gail Morse, a retired Atlantic High School English teacher, left a generous estate gift of over $33,000 to the Senior Alumni Scholarship Foundation. Ms. Morse, who died in Feb. 2022 at the age of 82, came to Atlantic to teach in 1967. She taught many courses, including English, reading and writing. She also was an advisor for the Yearbook, The Javelin and the school newspaper, The Needle. Gail retired in 1996 after 48 years in education.

Linda Robinson and Cathy Baragary, Executive Directors of the Senior Alumni Scholarship Foundation, are deeply grateful of Ms. Morse’ generosity. Her lifetime exemplified a commitment to education and her legacy lives on through the student’s lives she touched.

The late Gail Morse

In a recent meeting, the Scholarship Foundation voted to add an additional scholarship, with a total of four $2,500 scholarships to be given away in the Spring of 2023. Atlantic High School Seniors of the 2023 graduating class are encouraged to apply. The application for the scholarship is on the school’s website under Scholarships.

The Foundation also encourages any alumni of Atlantic High School to contribute and honor the school that gave them their educational start. Visit https://atlanticsasf.org or contact Linda Robinson at alinda@metc.net.

(Pierson, Iowa) – A collision northeast of Pierson in northwest Iowa’s Cherokee County, Wednesday night, left one-person dead and another seriously injured. The Iowa State Patrol reports the accident happened near 280 650th Street (County Road C-66), at around 8:40-p.m., as a2008 GMC Sierra with a flatbed trailer, and driven by 40-year-old Shane Beeson, of Pierson, was in the eastbound lane facing west, and preparing to back into a driveway. A 2010 Chevy HHR driven by 69-year-old Marilyn Ebert, of Washta, was traveling eastbound.

Ebert swerved off the road and struck the left of the pickup, before the HHR entered the south ditch. It continued eastbound over the driveway and rolled over, coming to rest in the south ditch. A passenger in the Chevy, 48-year-old Jerad Ebert, of Washta, who was not wearing a seat belt, died from his injuries. Marilyn Ebert was injured, and transported by helicopter to Mercyone Siouxland. The Patrol says she was wearing her seat belt.

Troopers were assisted at the scene by the Quimby and Washta Fire Departments.

[UPDATED 9/15/22] (Atlantic, Iowa) – Members of the Atlantic School District’s Board of Education, Wednesday evening, met “Charli,” a two-year old female Golden Doodle, who serves as a therapy/comfort animal for students and staff at the Atlantic Middle School. Charli is owned by Middle School Principal Scott Aden and his wife Lori. Mr. Aden is a certified handler for the dog. The dog comes to school with Mr. Aden three-days per week (Mon.-Wed-Fri.).

Aden says “She does a great job, and kids really like her in school. Other than the Mentoring Program I’ve been a part of, having Charli has probably been the most impactful thing I’ve been a part of, seeing how she can impact kids.”

AMS Principal Scott Aden, and his dog “Charli.” (Photo courtesy Josh McLaren)

An eighth-grade girl, he says, “Came running out of the school and she was hollerin’ Mr. Aden! Mr. Aden!” And he thought something had happened. Instead, she was “So excited because she got to love on Charli before she went home.” He told the Board he mentioned to his wife, that “It’s moments like that [which] make all the training worth while.”
He said also, studies have shown having a therapy dog in the building takes away some of the stress students and staff may be experiencing.

Lori Aden said unlike her husband, she’s not a certified handler, but she was there for the training classes. Scott Aden says Lori “Spoils Charli to death, even more than our kids.” It’s the couple’s first dog, but they also have “a rescue kitty,” according to Lori Aden.

[UPDATED 9/15] (Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic School Board, during their meeting Wednesday evening (Sept. 14), heard from representatives of the District’s Transportation staff, with regard to safety concerns and possible solutions to some issues associated with the transportation of students in district vehicles, and bus driver involvement in the annual active shooter training exercise, and bus driver pay. Bus drivers Denise Masker and Dave Wheatley spoke to the Board. Wheatley spoke with KJAN after the meeting, He said one of the concerns drivers have is discipline on the buses.

He said at the beginning of the year, some school districts have a contract drawn-up that spells out what the consequences for bad behavior on a bus will be.

With regard to bus driver pay, Wheatley said a survey indicated the Atlantic District’s drivers are the lowest paid drivers in the area. The danger, he says, is that some the drivers are being lured away to other districts.

Denise Masker he says, brought up the fact that on September 29^th, there are six activities and six bus routes, so it will require 12 buses and 12 drivers, but there aren’t enough drivers. It’s not clear how the District will handle the situation. The Board took no action on the concerns that were brought-up, during their meeting, Wednesday.

In other business, in their Consent Agenda, the Board approved the resignation of school car driver Tracy Purkapile, and contract recommendations for three paraeducators, four bus monitors, two Speech/Date sponsors, two assistant Tennis Coaches, four Homecoming Float Sponsors, a Dance Team Volunteer Coach and a Football Volunteer coach. They also approved Superintendent Barber’s contract recommendation for Dr. Jumar Sadsad, as High School English Teacher (ELA).

Dr. Samsad, he said comes to the District from the Philippines. His H-1B non-immigrant work Visa depended on the Board’s approval of his contract, and be licensed by the Board of Educational Examiners.

(Mr. Barber said High School Principal Heather McKay “Has been working extensively with him in regards to that, and I think we’ve got all the pieces in place to get that process completed.” The process began in mid-July. The H-1B immigration process, he said “takes a little time to happen, so we’re not quite sure of the exact time, but in order for us to complete that process, he has to have a contract offered to him.”)

Dr. Samsad was schooled in the Philippines. A U-S Evaluator examined his credits, and recommended that the work he did overseas was equivalent, based “Upon the high standards that they have.” Samsad has five-years teaching experience. His contract would be pro-rated to the number of days he serves, dependent upon the day he starts. Board member Nick Hunt spoke in favor of extending a contract to Dr. Samsad. He said “I think it’s great that we’re exploring a new avenue, and we’ll all be interested to see how he contributes.” Board member Laura McLean added “We’re being resilient in our hiring environment.”

In the Action part of the agenda, the Atlantic School Board passed a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with regard to the Teacher/Paraeducator Registered Apprentice (TFRA) Program. Recently, Buena Vista University (BVU) was added to the eligible programs for the Southwest Iowa Consortium. The funds for the TFRA Program ($13,000) will come from a grant.

The Board approved also, revisions to the District’s Return-To-Learn Plan for mitigation measures related to those who test positive for COVID. The change (Previously mentioned), treats COVID in students as a communicable childhood illness. Adults who test positive would be required to isolate for five-days, with day zero being the first day of symptoms. Upon return, symptom free, the person affected will be encourage to use a mask for five more days. All illness policies remain in effect. The earlier mitigation policy called for a 10-day quarantine from the time COVID symptoms first appear.

The Atlantic School Board approved: Teacher Lane Advancements for six educators, in the amount of $11,240.64, and a Collective Bargaining Contract with Lynch Dallas, in the amount of $12,000. L-D is the District’s legal representative, and a long-time part of the negotiation team.

September 14, 2022 (Des Moines, Iowa) — The Iowa Tourism Office launched a redesign to traveliowa.com and the latest edition of the Iowa Travel Guide. The new website, the definitive source for Iowa vacation inspiration and planning, utilizes a content-first approach, highlighting unique and inspirational ideas that invite users to explore Iowa using rich photography, featured articles and interactive tools. Streamlined navigation leads users to the best content.

Additional improvements to the site include new travel areas more closely aligned with traveler needs, easier use across devices, improved page speed and enhancements to accessibility. “It’s been almost a decade since we’ve had a major revamp of traveliowa.com,” said Amy Zeigler, manager of the Iowa Tourism Office. “This redesigned site better meets the needs of today’s travelers and allows us to show off the best of Iowa through engaging stories and stunning photography. Paired with the latest Fall/Winter Iowa Travel Guide, we hope to inspire lots of travel across the state.”

The 140-page Fall/Winter Iowa Travel Guide includes listings for hundreds of authentic and unexpected destinations, cabins and campgrounds. Editorial content features museums and mansions, barns and grain bins converted into lodging properties, 99 hidden gems, winter skiing and ways to celebrate the holidays.  The free guide can be ordered online at traveliowa.com, by phone at 800.345.IOWA or picked up at any of Iowa’s 14 Welcome Centers. An online version is also available.

(Radio Iowa) – Forecasters say high temperatures should be back in the 80s and 90s for the rest of week, but soon enough, we’ll have to start thinking about winter coats, shovels and snowmelt. Craig Bargfrede, winter operations manager for the Iowa D-O-T, says he’s thinking ahead, too, and is already starting to fill hundreds of seasonal winter positions. “This coming year, we have been approved for 633 positions statewide,” Bargfrede says. “We’re just in the early stages about putting out the advertising for these positions and starting the process of bringing those folks on board.” Those seasonal workers will be working in a variety of capacities.

“These positions will be augmenting our full-time staff,” Bargfrede says. “So we’re looking for folks with CDLs that can operate our snow plow trucks and other equipment in the garages. They’d be looking at everything from plowing snow to filling trucks, making brine and all the other tasks associated with winter operations.” To say that state highway crews should have plenty of road salt for the season ahead would be an understatement.

“We have more salt actually on the ground than we ever have in the history of the Iowa DOT,” he says. “Last winter, we didn’t use as much material as we had contracted, so we were forced to take more salt and store it than what we typically do, but that’s a good thing.” Find D-O-T jobs in your area by visiting Iowa-D-O-T-dot-gov and clicking on the “Careers” tab. The agency maintains 101 garages across the state.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Senior Alumni Scholarship Foundation Board, in Atlantic, recently held their annual meeting and welcomed new members Tammy Wickman and Billie Hoover. The SASF voted to add an additional  scholarship for next year, and will be awarding up to four $2,500 scholarships, to graduating Atlantic seniors. Information on applying for the scholarships is available through the Atlantic Community School.

Senior Alumni Scholarship Foundation. L to R. Mark McNees, C.J. Heithoff, Cathy Baragary, Ted Robinson, J.C. VanGinkel, Mark Smith, Tammy Wickman, Billie Hoover, Deb Schuler. Not present were Cathy Hansen, Denise Masker, Linda Robinson. (Photo & info. courtesy Mark McNees)

The SASF is funded primarily through donations from Atlantic alumni. Anyone wishing to make a donation to the charitable foundation is encouraged to contact any of the board members.