(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors met Tuesday morning and heard from Assured Partners representative Katie Schmit, Account Manager with Assured Partners, who discussed the County’s Partial Self Fund Plan with Tristar, and changing to a new self-funding plan. She recommended a company called Auxiant out of Cedar Rapids.

Currently, 26 out of 27 counties do partial self-funding and 11 of those use Auxiant and Schmidt said they are very pleased. Claims will be paid to the providers instead of how it is currently being paid to the employees. They will still be paid on a weekly basis. Employees will have their own portal and ISAC will provide employee training. The new company will integrate with current software that is used with Tristar.

The annual admin fee is $10.00 per employee. The flex plan portion has an annual fee of $200.00 an $5.00 per employee. There is a one time set up fee of $1000.00. A Motion by Mark O’Brien was seconded by Steve Green to approve a contract with Auxiant carried unanimously. It will take effect January 1, 2023.

Engineer Trent Wolken recommended the end of the probationary period for Garrett Schwanke, hired in May 2022, to be ended and payrate be increased. Motion by Hartkopf and seconded by Pettinger to approve that the end of the probationary period status for Garrett Schwanke end effective August 16, 2022, and payrate be set at $23.00/hour. Carried unanimously.

Wolken reported unforeseen circumstances have arisen since adoption of the approved Secondary Road Five Year Program and previous revisions, requiring changes to the sequence, funding, and timing of the proposed work plan. Cass County Engineer presented Resolution No. 2022-39 that initiates and recommends modification of named projects. The Resolution was adopted as presented.

Resolution no. 2022-040 was presented on behalf of the Cass County Sheriff’s Office to authorize specific employees to be named on an account with First Whitney Bank and Trust to conduct transactions. Spencer Walton, Darby McLaren and John Westering will be named on the account as the only authorized users. The Resolution was adopted as presented.

(Thanks to Auditor’s Deputy Sheri Karns for the meeting minutes)

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports five arrests from over the past week. Today (Tuesday), 44-year-old Angie Frances Bothwell, of Glenwood, was arrested at the Mills County Sheriff’s Office on a warrant for Theft in the 5th Degree. Bond set at $300. Sunday morning, 21-year-old Christian Joevanny Perez Chavez, of Omaha, was arrested for OWI/1st offense ($1,000 bond).

On Saturday, 21-year-old Alan Giovanni Villalobos Madera, and 23-year-old Ariana Rose Dibernardo, both of Omaha, were arrested on separate OWI/1st offense charges. Bond set at $1,000 each. And, on August 4th, 25-year-old Cody Ray Cloyd, of Omaha, was arrested for OWI/1st offense.

An injury accident was reported August 2nd in Mills County. Authorities say 40-year-old Sean Kinsley, of Red Oak, was driving a 1998 Mazda westbound on Highway 34 at around 5:45-a.m., when he apparently fell asleep at the wheel. The vehicle veered off the road near Highway 59 and into a ditch, before continuing down the embankment into a section of trees. The vehicle came to rest after colliding with a tree. Kinsely was transported by helicopter to the hospital. His vehicle sustained severe damage.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Reynolds has awarded the City of Dyersville 12-and-a-half million dollars in federal American Rescue Plan money to support construction of a stadium. The “Field of Dreams” ball field featured in the 1989 movie is a few miles outside of Dyersville. A 50-million dollar “This is Iowa Ballpark nearby would be a permanent stadium for baseball games, concerts and other gatherings year-round. It’s a joint project of Travel Dubuque and a new non-profit. The federal funding, awarded through the state’s Destination Iowa program, provides 25 percent of the financing for the stadium.

This spring, Dubuque County’s Board of Supervisors committed five million from the county’s federal pandemic money for the ballpark. Earlier this year, a group of investors announced plans for a separate development — a sports-tourism complex in Dyersville. It would have nine baseball fields, primarilly to host youth tournaments, as well as a hotel and other amenities.

The Glenwood (Iowa) Police Department reports the arrest on Monday, of 39-year-old Kyle Zeigler, from Glenwood. Zeigler was arrested on a Mills County Warrant for 5th Degree Theft. His cash-only bond was set at $300.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – A man from Pottawattamie County was sentenced on drug charges in Council Bluffs U-S District Court, Friday.  Authorities say 50-year-old Geno Lee Campos was ordered to serve seven-years (84 months) in prison for Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine. Campos must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

On July 4, 2021, Campos was the front seat passenger of a car stopped by the Iowa State Patrol for speeding on Interstate 80 in Council Bluffs. In Campos’ backpack, law enforcement
found approximately 17 grams of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. Campos was also in possession of a loaded revolver that he placed underneath the passenger’s seat. Campos was prohibited from possessing firearms.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Iowa State Patrol, Council Bluffs Police Department, Pottawattamie County
Sheriff Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement investigated the case. This case was prosecuted by the United States
Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Secondary Roads Department is advising residents of the county of a scheduled crane walk at the Rolling Wills Wind Farm from County Roads T-28 to T-27. The scheduled walk will take place today (Tuesday). from about 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm, for crossing of the County Road Cedar Avenue between County Road 250th and County Road 260th.

It should take 15-30 minutes to cross Cedar Avenue. Traffic control will be in place before and during the crossing process. See the attached map for details (click on the map to enlarge). If anyone has any questions or concerns please contact Todd Moseley at (662) 216-0620.

(Radio Iowa) – A lush, green lawn is a source of pride for many Iowans and this prolonged drought is forcing many of us to quit worrying about having the best lawn on the block — and to let the grass go dormant. Adam Thoms, a horticulture professor at Iowa State University and a turfgrass extension specialist, says it’s stressful for grass to shake up the watering schedule, so he’s telling Iowans if their lawns are already turning brown, just let them go. “Putting them in and out of dormancy by watering and stopping and then restarting is really hard on the turf,” Toams says. “It’s okay to go into dormancy. The grass can last for 30 to 60 days with that straw-brown color and it won’t hurt it at all. It’ll come back out in the fall.”

Des Moines Water Works, which serves more than 600-thousand customers in 18 central Iowa communities, is asking residents to voluntarily conserve and cut back on watering. Toams predicts many folks in the metro area -will- cut back, as requested. “There’s some research out there that shows when they ask for those voluntary commitments that people do step up and follow those,” Toams says. “We always suggest that you don’t water every day anyway. It’s better to do a deep and infrequent watering. That forces the turf roots to go deeper to chase that water deep in the soil, so, that’s an okay thing.”

Some people turn on the sprinklers for hours at a time and let them saturate the grass, but Toams says most lawns don’t need more than an inch of water in a week’s time. If you’ve laid sod within the past year or are trying to grow new grass from seeds, you’re in for what could be an expensive, frustrating challenge. “Those are the ones that are going to get hurt by this drought. They’re the ones that need regular watering just because they don’t have a deep root system,” Toams says. “We do need to make sure that those get regular waterings. If you’re thinking about overseeding or adding seed to your yard, just wait. Right now is not the time. It’s too hot and it’s obviously too dry.”

If the dry weather lasts much longer and grass has been dormant up to six weeks, apply an inch or so of water in a single application. The grass won’t green up, but it’ll keep the roots alive. If the drought continues, water in that fashion every two weeks, but not enough to bring it out of dormancy. Toams suggests Iowans give their lawns a good dose of fertilizer this fall to help them recharge and ideally, come back strong next spring.

(Anita, Iowa) – CAM School District Superintendent Paul Croghan says he and his staff are excited for the start of the new school year on August 23rd, and he urges motorists to use extra caution, especially when youngsters are getting used to their buildings and schedule.

He said the District made some changes to the calendar, so if you any questions, please call.

Croghan said his staff aren’t the only ones excited for the beginning of school year.

The CAM School Board met Monday evening, and approved several contracts.

He says they still need a couple of Special Education Teachers to fill the staff completely. Croghan says they will make adjustments as necessary as the year progresses, and if more staff are added. In other business, the CAM School Board reviewed four proposals for the green space used for the Industrial Arts shop and agreed to accept an offer from Wahlert Homes, LLC, in Anita, for $26,500, but that’s not the end of the process.

(Radio Iowa) – An eastern Iowa company is manufacturing and marketing what it calls “micro rooms” that can placed in your back yard or beside the house to be used as a spare bedroom, office or sunroom, and in a host of business applications. Fred Smith, co-owner of FastPacs — based in Davenport, says they have four styles of rooms, all of which are eight-by-12-feet with a 10-and-a-half foot high cathedral ceiling. “They fold flat to about 24 inches, so you can ship them economically, you can store them economically, you can stack them,” Smith says, “and then they just pop up like an Erector set. Two people can finish the assembly in about two hours. They’re about 70% assembled when they show up, or we can ship it fully assembled.”

The price of a micro room starts around 16-thousand dollars, which Smith says is a much more cost-effective solution to solving space needs versus hiring a contractor to build a permanent addition to your home or business. “There’s no building permit required. These are temporary structures. They don’t need a foundation. They’re not taxable and they’re modular,” Smith says. “You can hook them together if you need extra space, plus, if down the road you move, you just fold it down, put it on the flatbed and take it with you.”

While Smith emphasizes the micro rooms are temporary, they’re exceptionally sturdy and are built to last. “They’re made of steel with vinyl or insulated hard side panels,” Smith says. “We ran a structural analysis on it with a local engineering firm and they have it rated for 110 mile an hour winds and eight-to-10 feet of snow, so these things aren’t going anywhere.” FastPaks’ micro rooms are being featured this week at the Home & Garden Show in Austin, Texas, with a series of similar home shows coming up, including the one in Des Moines in February.

https://www.fastpaks.com/