(Atlantic, Iowa) – Atlantic Firefighters, Police and Cass EMS were dispatched to a report of smoke coming from the back of residence this (Tuesday) morning. The call about the incident at 304 Hazel Street went out at 10:54-a.m.  A resident the home was able to escape without injury. Fire crews remained on the scene until 11:45-a.m. Atlantic Police and Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies were conducting interviews with a couple of women when KJAN News arrived.

Photo submitted to KJAN

According to Fire Chief Tom Cappel, when crews arrived they found the back window had been knocked out, and a grill was at the base of the area where the fire appeared to have started.

Ric Hanson/KJAN News (photos)

An earlier reported indicated Cass County Sheriff Darby McLaren handcuffed a man at the scene, but it’s not clear if he was being detained in connection with the incident. No further information is available at this time. The fire remains under investigation.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, this (Tuesday) morning, approved cutting back the hours and days for the shredding of outdated and/or other County documents, by Nishna Productions, Inc., employees. The hours will be reduced effective this Friday, Sept. 9th, from two days/two hours per day, to one day per week, for two hours. Nishna Productions, Inc. provides a variety of vocational, residential and social support activities to persons with disabilities. Board member Donna Richardson explained the hours should be decreased due to a lack of work for the client.

Montgomery County Engineer Karen Albert mentioned to the Board, that there are some bridges closed for inspection, yet people are ignoring the danger and circumventing the safety measures in-place to keep traffic off those bridges until they are inspected and/or made safe for the posted limit.

Albert said there are snow fence-type barricades in place, and other forms of barricades are being considered to prevent their removal. She asked for patience in getting the bridges inspected and made ready for traffic.

In other business, Montgomery County Sheriff Jon Spunaugle requested the Board approve a front office employment position for his department. He says the current situation has resulted in his office being shut-down some business days after 2-p.m., due to scheduling conflicts between the Police and Sheriff’s Departments.

He says there is enough work, and the Sheriff can create enough work, to make the position viable.

The Supervisors approved his request to begin the process of filling the position, which he said would likely take 30-to 60-days. The position would cost $70,000 including benefits. The addition of an employee, Spunaugle said, would mean a change in hours, making front office staff available longer each day, staggered lunch hours, and at a minimum, match the courthouse hours.

Money for the position will come from a budget amendment which will be covered by increased bed and meal fees and other provisions.

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S Senate returns to work today (Tuesday) with two months until the midterm elections, and Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he has just two legislative priorities between now and then. One is passage of a bipartisan measure called the American Innovation and Choice Online Act. Grassley says it aims to restore competition online by stopping giant digital platforms from giving unfair preferences to their own products and services. Grassley says, “This would do away with what we call economic discrimination.” Grassley, a Republican, is co-sponsoring the bill with Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar.

“We’re dealing with the practices of the big platforms like Amazon and Google prioritizing their own products,” Grassley says, “and then your small businesses using their platforms, you’re second or third or fourth or 50th to everything that Amazon or Google wants first.” Grassley says those internet Goliaths have deep pockets and they’ve been waging a expensive, extensive campaign against the legislation.

“I saw on television another one of these commercials that’s probably added up to about $36-million that some of these platforms are saying how godawful the Klobuchar-Grassley bill is,” Grassley says. “I’m not sure they named her and me, but there’s a lot of money being spent to kill this bill.” Grassley says his second priority over the coming weeks is passage of his Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act. It would force the nation’s largest beef packers to buy a percentage of their cattle through negotiated-type trades in order to level the playing field for more smaller producers.

(Harlan, Iowa) – The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office has issued a report on arrests from over the past month. Most recently, on August 30th, 34-year-old Sergio Ordonez, of Defiance, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault. On the 27th, 35-year-old Craig Steven Mumm, of Harlan, was arrested for Driving While Barred, and 31-year-old Samuel Allen Hays, of Harlan, was arrested August 23rd, also for Driving While Barred.

Other arrests include:

On August 21st: 22-year-old Cassandra Nathly Diaz, and 23-year-old Alberto Diaz, both of Omaha, were arrested in Shelby County following a traffic stop on Highway 59. Both were charged with a Controlled Substance Violation and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Cassandra Diaz was additionally charged with Keeping a premises or vehicle for a controlled substance violation, speeding, and failure to provide proof of automobile insurance (Financial liability).

On Aug. 19th, 31-year-old Uriah Simeon Joiner, of Tabor, was arrested after a traffic stop on Highway 37, in Shelby County. Joiner was charged with Driving While Revoked, and Speeding. On the 10th, 39-year-old Randi Lyn Riessen, of Shelby, was arrested in Shelby for Driving While License Denied or Revoked, and passing contrary to a highway sign or marking. On the 7th of August, Shelby County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 35-year-old Craig Steven Mumm, of Harlan, for Driving While Barred., And, on August 4th, 39-year-old Brett Michael Thompson, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Theft in the 5th Degree.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports two arrests and two break-ins. Monday night, 18-year-old James Landon Aberkalns, of Creston, was arrested at his home for Domestic Abuse Assault. He was being held without bond in the Union County Jail, until seen by a magistrate. And, Saturday afternoon, 30-year-old Steven Douglas Brinker, of Creston, was arrested for Driving While Suspended. He was cited and released at the scene.

Creston Police say a home and a business were broken into on August 25th. A woman residing in the 500 block of W. Spencer Street reported someone forced their way into her home and rifled through her purse. A wallet turned-up missing. A dollar amount of loss was not given. And, the Smoke Shop, in Creston, reported someone gained entry into the business by breaking the front window. Multiple vape cartridges were taken. The loss was estimated at around $100.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Members of the Atlantic City Council will meet in a regular session 5:30-p.m. Wednesday, in their Chambers at City Hall. On their agenda is a Public Hearing on a proposed amendment to the plan for the Atlantic Urban Revitalization Area. City Administrator John Lund says Iowa Code requires the hearing as part of the steps in updating an Urban Revitalization Plan (URP) Area. The Council passed a Resolution providing notice of the hearing on August 17th. The hearing will be followed by action on a Resolution to Adopt the URP as amended. Lund said the City’s Finance Attorney, John Danos, has prepared the proceedings so that the Council may readopt the policy, which has expired. The only change would be to remove the expiration date, as the Council has not shown an interest in ending it, and “The sunsets are proving to be a bureaucratic burden,” according to Lund.

In other business, the Council will act to pass a Resolution “Setting the date for a public hearing on [a] proposal to enter into a General Obligation Land Acquisition Loan Agreement, and to Borrow Money thereunder in a principal amount not to exceed $700,000.” The hearing is expected to occur during the Council’s regular meeting on Sept. 17th.  As part of an effort to tackle the lack of housing in Atlantic, an option to secure land from the Comes Family Trust in the area northeast of 22nd and Olive Streets, was approved, thanks to the work of Bob Camblin, who also put down $10,000 of his own funds to lock down the option. The cost of the land is $830,000. The purchase will be financed through general obligation debt, according to Lund, who said also, the actual borrowing will be much lower than the $820,000 required. The principal borrowed would be $500,000, with the remainder coming from the City’s share of ARPA (Covid) relief funds, and supplemented with excess funding provided to the CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) Downtown Facade Project, and LOST (Local Option Sales Tax) Progress funds.

The Atlantic City Council will also hold the second reading of an amended panhandling ordinance, the first reading of: an amending mowing of properties ordinance; an amended ordinance pertaining to removal of solid waste; and, an amended ordinance with regard to the removal of snow and ice accumulations. In his report to the Council, Wednesday evening, John Lund will follow-up on Beautification Committee, and Personnel and Finance Committee, meetings. He’ll also discuss the possible renewal of an agreement with “The Retail Coach.”

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission is planning a study of the state’s horse racing industry. Racing and Gaming Administrator, Brian Ohorilko says the idea came after the Commission had discussions with administrators in the thoroughbred industry, quarter horse industry, and Prairie Meadows Racetrack.

Ohorilko says the Commission members felt it was best to get some help in dealing with some of those differences of opinion.

Ohorilko says the long-term goal is to consider what is needed to promote the long-term viability of the industry. The next step is to work with the Administrative Services Agency to get someone to do the study.

Ohorilko says it will take some time to get the study completed.

The Racing and Gaming Commission approved the plan to do the study at its recent meeting.

(Radio Iowa) – When someone in Iowa calls 9-1-1, the type of response they get depends on exactly where they are in the state — and that response can be widely varied. Rebecca Neusteter, principal investigator of the Transform 9-1-1 Initiative, says the emergency telephone system is not always reliable, prompting an urgent need for financial support of 9-1-1 in Iowa — and at the national level.

There’s a perception that 9-1-1 is a unified system, but in Iowa alone, there are 113 separate 9-1-1 call centers in the 99 counties.

As in many industries, there are shortages of qualified people to work this type of job and experienced dispatchers are in high demand. Neusteter says calling the emergency number shouldn’t be a roll of the dice.

Nationwide, at least 240-million calls are made to 9-1-1 each year, but she says 75-percent of the calls don’t relate to a crime in progress and often are not responded to by a properly-trained professional.

(Radio Iowa) – The City of Ottumwa is now the owner of the train depot in downtown Ottumwa. Officials held a ribbon cutting last month to mark the purchase.

Amtrak leases the depot and in 2019 more than 10-thousand passengers either boarded or got off a train at Ottumwa’s depot. Ottumwa Mayor Rick Johnson says the site is part of a development plan for the riverfront in Ottumwa.

The historic Railroad Retirees Clubhouse has been acquired by the city, too. Tom Linehouser is president of the Wapello County Historical Society, which restored the clubhouse and opened it for tours in 2014. He says negotiations to have the city buy the depot and clubhouse lasted about a year.

The City of Ottumwa bought the depot and clubhouse for less than half a million dollars. Officials say Amtrak will be spending five million dollars to update the platform at the tracks and the depot’s waiting lobby. Ottumwa passengers board with tickets on the California Zephyr, which runs from Chicago to San Francisco. The first train station in Ottumwa was established by the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad in 1859. The current depot building opened in 1951.

ATLANTIC, IA – Coming off a highly successful 3-year run across all 99 Iowa counties, the State Historical Society of Iowa’s mobile museum is back on the road with a brand-new exhibit. The museum will visit Produce in the Park on Thursday, September 8 from 4:30-6:30 in the Atlantic City Park (10 W. 7th St. Atlantic, IA 50022).

Housed in a custom-built Winnebago, “Iowa History 101: Iowa’s People & Places” is a 300-square-foot museum exhibit on wheels packed with 56 artifacts and videos that explore 13,000 years of Iowa history, from its earliest residents to those who call it home today. The mobile museum offers free, selfguided tours and is handicap accessible.

The History on the Move mobile museum will visit Produce in the Park on September 8. The public is invited to take free self-guided tours of the 300-square-foot exhibition

The new exhibition unpacks some of the stories of Iowa’s past with an eclectic array of artifacts. Some of the highlights on display include:

• An Election ticket from 1860.
• Knitting needles Iowa first lady Jane Kirkwood of Iowa City used to knit clothing for soldiers during the Civil War and World War I.
• A birchbark lunchbox a Cerro Gordo County boy used in the 1870s.
• A Meskwaki cradleboard from the late 1800s.
• A University of Iowa pennant from Edward Carter of Monroe County, the first African American to get a medical degree from the University of Iowa, in 1907.
• A Paper fan promoting women’s suffrage, from about 1916.
• A Menu from Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev’s visit to Des Moines in 1959.
• A Women’s track uniform from Iowa State University from 1972, the year Title IX passed.
• Boots worn by the Des Moines Water Works director during the flood of 1993.
• and a Flight suit worn by astronaut Peggy Whitson of Beaconsfield.

In addition to the mobile museum, this week’s Produce in the Park offers live music, games, nearly 20 vendors selling local food and crafts, a guest chef sharing recipes and free samples of gazpacho (a cold vegetable soup popular in Spain), and food trucks serving BBQ, Tropical Sno, and Tex-Mex.

Details for Produce in the Park September 8…
Date: Thursday, Sept. 8
Time: 4:30-6:30 PM
Location: Atlantic City Park (10 W. 7th St. Atlantic, IA 50022)
Food Trucks: Little Green Trailer (Tropical Sno, BBQ, & more!), Zemog’s Cocina Taco Truck
Activities: Mobile Museum Iowa History 101; Atlantic Parks & Rec: Board games and yard games; Senior Life Solutions of Cass Health: Activities and information
Live Music: Sarah Selders
Local Products: Fresh produce: Peppers, Green Beans, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Onions, Zucchini, Shallots, Eggplant, Garlic, Potatoes and more!; Protein: Beef, Pork, Chicken, & farm-fresh eggs; Sweets and Snacks: Cupcakes, cookies, honey, Kringle, more desserts, fresh-squeezed lemonade, and popcorn
Crafts & More: Fall-scented candles, soaps, car fresheners, hair products, more bath and body products, embroidered towels and clothing, art prints, jewelry, fall plants, & more
Guest Chef: Cass County Master Gardener Marla Anstey will be sharing recipes and taste tests of Gazpacho (Gazpacho is a delicious cold soup made of raw, blended vegetables often eaten in Spain and Portugal during hot summers.)

Free drawings for Mums (from Sue’s Country Garden) and a dozen farm-fresh eggs (sponsored by the Cass County Local Food Policy Council). Anyone age 18+ can enter for free. Winner will be drawn after the market ends and pick up at the market the following week.

Payment methods accepted: All vendors accept cash. Many accept credit cards, Venmo, and Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) Senior and WIC checks. All qualifying food vendors accept SNAP/EBT (also known as food stamps). All fresh produce vendors both accept and distribute Double Up Food Bucks (coupons given for SNAP/EBT purchases of fresh produce).

Produce in the Park September 2022 farmers markets are sponsored by the Atlantic Community Promotion Commission, Cass Health, Cass County Tourism, First Whitney Bank and Trust, the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, and Deter Motor Co. For updates on Produce in the Park, follow Produce in the Park on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ProduceInThePark) or Instagram (www.instagram.com/produceintheparkatlanticia/), or visit the Produce in the Park website to sign up for the e-newsletter at www.produceintheparkatlanticiowa.com. For information on vending at the park, contact Market Manager Brigham Hoegh at produceintheparkatlanticiowa@gmail.com or 712-249-5870.