DES MOINES, Iowa – Governor Reynolds has announced a schedule of informational webinars to assist parents and guardians who plan to apply for the state’s new Students First Education Savings Accounts (ESAs). The live webinars will be hosted by Odyssey, the program administrator selected by the state. Webinars begin Tuesday, May 23, and a total of six sessions will be offered through June 7. The complete schedule and registration links for each session are posted on the Department of Education’s ESA webpage. A recording of the webinar will also be available for parents and guardians who cannot attend a live session.

The ESA application period for the 2023-2024 school year will open on Wednesday, May 31, at 8 a.m.  A link to the online application will be provided on the Department of Education’s ESA webpage. Applications will be accepted through Friday, June 30, 2023.

The Students First Act was signed into law earlier this year and will provide state funding for eligible students who attend accredited nonpublic schools starting in the upcoming school year.

All incoming kindergarteners and all K-12 students currently enrolled in a public school district are eligible for the ESA program.

Families whose children currently attend an accredited nonpublic school are also eligible for ESAs based on their annual income during the first two years of the program. For the 2023-2024 school year, income eligibility is 300 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL); and 400 percent FPL for the 2024-2025 school year.

Beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, all K-12 students in Iowa who choose to attend an accredited nonpublic school will be eligible for an ESA regardless of income.

Answers to frequently asked questions about the ESA application process, eligibility, and more are posted on the Department of Education’s ESA webpage

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic School District’s Board of Education will hold a Special Meeting beginning 5:30-p.m. Wednesday, May 24th, in the High School Media Center. During their meeting, the Board will act on Contract Recommendations for Bodie Johnson – Summer Grounds, and Maria Pearson – 6-through 12th Grade Teacher Librarian. The Board will also consider and act on the resignations of Dalton Franken – JV Boys Basketball, and Savannah Belt – Schuler Title 1 Teacher.

They will then proceed to consider the purchase of 1014/1016 E. 3rd Street Place, from the City of Atlantic (for the Building & Trades Program), and discuss/act on a District Developed Special Education Service Delivery Plan. Their final order of business, Wednesday evening, is action on a Pay Application, with regard to the High School Air Quality Project.

The Board will move into a closed session once the Special Session is Adjourned. The Closed Session – allowed under the Iowa Code – is being held to conduct the Superintendent’s Annual Evaluation. The next REGULAR meeting of the Atlantic School Board takes place June 14th, at 5:30-p.m.

(Radio Iowa) – A non-profit organization that works to bring locally grown food to people in need is getting more money from the U-S-D-A. Giselle Bruskewitz is the director of the Iowa Valley Resource Conservation and Development program that works with food hubs, food banks, and Meskwaki nation. “It’s going out to under-served communities and a lot of different ways. It’s not a one size fits all program. So the food hub and food banks especially are working with folks all across the state,” she says.

She says there are a lot of people in Iowa right now who need food and they work to get high-quality produce, meat, and other products out to them. “In different areas, the need is different. So you talked to one pantry, and they’ll say that the need for fresh produce is really, really dire and it’s hard to find those really high-quality produce items,” Brusckewitz says. “And then sometimes you’ll talk to another community access site and they’re more interested in finding those local high-quality meat products.”

Brusckewitz says setting up distribution systems so the food can be delivered fresh is part of the project. “The food hub managers working group has been working with the Department of Ag for several years to try to develop this hub-to-hub network. So, through this program and even before the program, but definitely thanks to the program, we’ve expanded a lot of those routes from the food hubs,” she says. “And the majority of the producer relationships are through a food hub. And so they’re getting really creative about how to help better distribute that food to food banks and other sites.”

Brusckewitz says they have a range of prices that the producers tell them are fair prices that meet their cost of production to sell their products to sustain their businesses. “And so, there’s opportunity for producers that are smaller scale, or maybe beginning farmers to be able to get into this new market and be able to build those relationships to help build their businesses. And so that’s a really big deal to be able to have that flexibility in pricing range so we can get more people sustaining their business and growing food in our state,” Brusckewitz says.

The latest award is two-point-nine million dollars, bringing the total to over five-point-six million dollars for the three-year program. To learn more about the program or how to participate, visit: www.iowalfpa.org.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Sheriff’s Department reports two people were arrested on separate charges last week, while two others were cited. On May 14th, 20-year-old Ashton Reece Turner, of Fontanelle, was arrested in Fontanelle, on two Adams County warrants for Failure to Appear in court on May 4th. Turner was handed-over to the custody of Adams County Sheriff’s Deputies.

On May 19th, Adair County Deputies arrested 31-year-old Kayla Dawn Herring, of Bridgewater, for Public Intoxication and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. She was taken into custody on Main Street in Bridgewater at around 10:10-a.m., in front of a bank, where she was seen yelling and making pointing gestures to an employee, through the window. After questioning Herring, a Deputy searched her for safety reasons, and found a smoking device used to inhale burnt marijuana. The pipe was found in one of the pockets in her shorts. Herring denied the pipe was hers. Her Breath Alcohol Content (BAC) measured .128%. Herring was released on a $300 bond later in the evening.

And, the Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports 38-year-old Lora Jean Day, of Charleston, West Virginia, & 20-year-old Tyler Lee Glenn, of Bellevue, NE., were arrested by Deputies Saturday afternoon in Bridgewater, following a disturbance at a residence. Day reported to a Deputy that her nephew, Tyler, allegedly threatened her, and had “gotten in her face,” so she grabbed him by the throat and neck area, which left a red mark on the left side of his neck. She was charged with Assault with Bodily Injury. Tyler Glen was charged with Simple Assault, after he allegedly “Chest bumped” Day into her own car.

Both subjects were cited at the scene, and released.

(Shenandoah, Iowa/KETV-Omaha) – A southwest Iowa family wants a safe taken off the market until the manufacturer can better protect it from being opened by children. KETV in Omaha reports a six-year-old boy in Shenandoah was able to open the safe without a combination, and take a handgun stored inside, to school. The family specifically bought the safe, with a registered fingerprint lock mechanism, to store the gun away from their son. Only a registered fingerprint can unlock it. At least that’s what the family thought.

In early March, the 6-year-old was on the school playground at recess, when teachers found a gun in his backpack. After school officials confiscated the weapon and notified police, Shenandoah Police Chief Josh Gray contacted the boy’s parents, who insisted the gun was in a locked safe. As it turns out, the child’s thumbprint was enough to unlock the safe and he was able to open it.

An officer went to the home and was even able to use HIS fingerprint to open the safe. The family quickly discovered ANY fingerprint, even a toe print, would unlock the safe, which is sold by a Chinese company named “BBRKIN.” The boy’s father bought the safe on Amazon.Com in November, for $229. Other Amazon purchasers of the safe reported similar concerns about the safe, with one user saying theirs opened with any of their finger or toe prints.

The company has since updated a chip in the lock, but the father of the six-year-old says there are older safe chips that can fail, and those should be recalled.

No one was injured during the incident in Shenandoah, and the Page County Attorney has declined to press any charges. Under Shenandoah school district policy, however, the 6-year-old was expelled from kindergarten.

(Radio Iowa) – A northwest Iowa teenager will be part of the “Taps Across America” tradition NEXT Monday, May 29th. Seventeen-year-old Creighton Urban is from Callendar, a town of about 375 people in Webster County. “It’s just impactful to hear it, especially on Memorial Day,” Urban says. The “Taps Across America” tradition began four years ago when Memorial Day events were cancelled due to the pandemic. Thousands of musicians played Taps at 3 p.m. — wherever they might be — to honor those who’ve died while serving in the U.S. military. This will be the fourth year Urban has joined this Memorial Day tradition. “I just go out in my front yard and play it,” Urban says. “I live in a small town, so everyone in town can hear.”

Twenty-four notes make up the familiar, somber melody of Taps. It’s been played at military funerals for more than 140 years.  “I think the first time I heard Taps was when I was practicing it in middle school band room with my director,” Urban says.

Urban’s band director is the person who encouraged the trumpet player to participate in Taps Across America. Urban is finishing up his junior year at Southeast Valley High School in Gowrie. He’s not sure what he’ll do after high school, but becoming a music instructor is on his list. Urban is among about a dozen Iowans who’ve registered on the Taps Across America website, commuting to play Taps at 3 p.m. on Memorial Day. The time coincides with the annual National Moment of Remembrance that was established 23 years ago by congress. It’s to last a minute — about the time it takes to play Taps.

The country’s first Memorial Day ceremony was held in Waterloo, New York on May 5th, 1866. In 1971, the federal Uniform Holiday Act established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors will meet Tuesday, one day earlier than their normal weekly session. The Board will gather for a 9-a.m. meeting in the Adair County Courthouse Boardroom.  (See the full agenda below). Among the action items on their agenda is a Public Hearing on a Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Amendment, followed by a Resolution to approve the Budget as amended, and appropriations.

The Board will also act on the appointment of a Medical Examiner, Homestead & Military Disallowances, and a Stuart Urban Renewal Amendment. In his report to the Board Adair County Engineer Nick Kauffman will discuss vacating 110th Street (west of Jordan Avenue). The Board will then act on approving a bid and awarding the contract for the W13 Jefferson (Township) Bridge, and, authorize the Board Chair to sign three Right-Of-Way Contracts for Culvert Projects at N29 Prussia, W14 Jefferson, and W11 Union.

Adair County Auditor Mandy Berg will talk about a Transfer Resolution and an Auditor Clerk wage increase.

AGENDA

The conference phone will still be used for those who cannot attend in person and can be accessed by using the following dial in information:

Dial in Number: (605) 313-6157 Access Code: 526272#

9:00 a.m. Minutes

Claims

Taxable Meal

Monthly Reports

Medical Examiner Appointment

Homestead & Military Disallowances

Stuart Urban Renewal Area Amendment

Mandy Berg, County Auditor

Transfer Resolution

Auditor Clerk Wage Increase

9:15 a.m. Public Hearing – FY23 Budget Amendment

Resolution to Approve Budget Amendment

Appropriations

Nick Kauffman, County Engineer

• Discuss vacating 110th St. (west of Jordan Ave.)
• Approve bid and award Contract for L-LBRW13J—73-01 W13 Jefferson Bridge
• Sign Right of Way Contracts for N29 Prussia Culvert Project L-LRCBN29P—73-01
• Sign Right of Way Contracts for W14 Jefferson Culvert Project L-LRCBW14J—73-01
• Sign Right of Way Contracts for W11 Union Culvert Project L-LRCBW11U—73-01
• Report of Maintenance & Activities

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors will hold their regular weekly meeting beginning at 9-a.m. Tuesday, May 23rd, in their courthouse Board Room. (The full agenda is shown below). Among the action items on their agenda is discussion, followed by approval of a Resolution approving a Cass County Investment Policy, approval of a Resolution to Receive and Earmark Funds Received from the Sale of the County-owned Farm, and, approval of a Resolution amending the FY 2023 Secondary Roads Budget, for Submission to the Iowa Dept. of Transportation (As discussed during the Board’s meeting on May 16th).

Following the Board’s regular session, they will hold a Work Session to discuss the County Wellness Program.

With May being Military Appreciation Month and Memorial Day approaching, the personal-finance website WalletHub today (Monday) released its report on 2023’s Best & Worst States for Military Retirees.

To help our troops plan their years after service, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 28 key indicators of retirement-friendliness toward veterans. The data set ranges from job opportunities for veterans to housing affordability to quality of VA hospitals.

In the Midwest, South Dakota placed 8th, Missouri place 17th on the Best States list, and Kansas came in at #21. Iowa ranked 36th on the list, just barely avoiding the Worst States list. Wisconsin was next with a ranking of 37th, and Nebraska scraping-by the worst list, coming in at number 40.

The top ranked States (1st through 5th place) were Florida, South Carolina, Virginia, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. Making the worst States list for Military Retirees, was Georgia (#42), followed by Tennessee, California, New Mexico and Washington State.

(Creston, Iowa) – Three people were arrested over the weekend on separate charges, in Creston. According to the Police Department, 26-year-old Mackenzie Breanna Giltner, of Ottumwa, was taken into custody at 1:40-a.m. Saturday (May 20), near the intersection of Sumner and Taylor. Giltner was charged with Driving While Barred, cited and then released from the scene.

Saturday night, 29-year-old Matthew Ray Garcia, of Creston, was arrested at Green Valley Road and 130th Street. He was wanted on two Union County Warrants for Harassment in the 2nd Degreem and Assault. Garcia was transported to the Union County Jail and later released on a $1,300 cash or surety bond.

And, early Sunday afternoon, Creston Police arrested 56-year-old William Robert Atteberry, of Lenox. He was arrested at the Creston Wal-Mart on a charge of Harassment in the 3rd Degree-Personal Contact. Atteberry was subsequently cited, and released from the scene.