The Board of Supervisors in Shelby County met Tuesday morning, in a regular session. Auditor Mark Maxwell said in the meeting minutes, that Todd Valline presented updates and events sponsored and participated in by his organization, the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce and Industries. During the session, Shelby County Engineer, Brandon Burmeister asked the board for approval of Amendments to Utility permits for Kirkman RNG, LLC. A motion to that effect was passed unanimously.

Current activities and projects by the Secondary roads Department were shared with the Supervisors. Burmeister then asked the Board to consider approving a Resolution for an SS4A (Safe Streets and Roads for All) grant application, that, along with other counties that have passed a similar Resolution, will allow Shelby County to be eligible for part of $1-billion in funding, from the new Federal Transportation Bill, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The Iowa County Engineers Association (ICEA) encourages all 99 counties in the State with an Eligible Action Plan in place, to participate in this grant application. There is no cost to the counties to apply

By agreeing to participate in the program, the Shelby County Board of Supervisors (as well as their counterparts in other, area counties) commits to achieving significant declines in roadway fatalities and serious injuries in Shelby County, while recognizing the Action Plan, and will assist the County Engineer’s department in achieving the goal of a dramatic decrease in roadway fatalities and serious injuries and zero roadway fatalities and serious injuries by the years 2030 and 2050, respectively.The Resolution passed unanimously.

Chairperson Kenkel then presented a letter of engagement from Ahlers and Cooney for advisement and direction in the crafting, enacting and responding to ordinances being considered by the Shelby County Board of Supervisors. A motion was made by Haake to approve the signing and approving the terms of the engagement letter, Parkhurst seconded the motion. The letter of engagement was approved to be signed by a unanimous vote in favor of entering into the engagement terms specified in the letter.

The meeting was then recessed to hold hearings for public comment, with regard to a proposed carbon dioxide (CO²) pipeline. During two of the hearings, rural citizens and the Mayor of a nearby town spoke of concerns of the safety in and around the pipeline once installed. Alex Londo, Shelby County Emergency Management Coordinator spoke and informed the public in attendance of all the preparation and training that has to be given for a newly created public safety possibility. Two letters were received at the auditor’s office, one from the Shelby County Public Health Board and one in opposition from Summit Carbon Solutions. A petition was also received Tuesday in opposition to the pipeline and questioning the safety and permanent farm ground damage that may occur.

The scheduled and publicized hearing dates for the second and third hearing dates for ordinances 2022-2 and 2022-3 are being reconsidered. The third hearing was held to receive any public comment about the proposed budget amendment for Shelby County Fiscal year 2023. Having received or heard any comments, the Board passed the budget amendment, which does NOT increase taxes.

(Radio Iowa) – Des Moines police are asking the public for help in finding a person of interest in a weekend murder case. Police were called to Broadlawns Medical Center Sunday night after 22-year-old Charles Lovelady was brought in with a gunshot wound and died. On Monday, police arrested 21-year-old Darion Hermes on murder and robbery charges, and Wednesday, charged 19-year-old Violet Terry with the same offenses. Investigators say it began as a drug-related robbery orchestrated over social media.

Police say 26-year-old Cedrick Thomas, Junior, has information critical to the case. He’s black, 5-foot-10, 140 pounds with a neck tattoo. He may be in or headed for Cedar Rapids. Submit tips through Crimestoppers of Central Iowa at 515-223-1400, or online at www.crimestoppersofcentraliowa.com. You may remain anonymous.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (August 4, 2022) – The Iowa Health Care Association (IHCA) Foundation has announced the winners of its 2022 health care scholarship programs. This year, the IHCA Foundation awarded 78 scholarships totaling over $105,000 to assist Iowans who want to advance their health care education and work in long-term care.  This is the highest number of scholarships awarded by the IHCA Foundation in a single year. In 2018, the IHCA Foundation offered 15 scholarships totaling $15,000. This year, the IHCA Foundation received more than 190 applications for the 78 available scholarships.

The IHCA Foundation has a long history of offering scholarships for current long-term care employees to advance their skills and for those interested in joining the profession, including high school students and veterans. This year, the IHCA Foundation added two new scholarships, with one for Iowans who live in rural communities interested in joining the health care profession and another for current long-term care employees seeking to advance their leadership skills.  Scholarship applications are evaluated by the IHCA Foundation Board of Directors based upon the applicant’s experience, recommendations and future educational and career goals in long-term care. This year’s IHCA Foundation scholarship winners include (from this area):

John W. & Kimberly D. Grubb Registered Nurse (RN) Scholarship Recipients – This $3,000 scholarship is sponsored by the John R. and Zelda Z. Grubb Charitable Foundation, and it is for employees of IHCA member organizations pursuing an RN degree. Scholarships were awarded to the following recipients:

* Eyon Steffensen, Exira Care Center, Exira
* Saraha LeClair, Maple Heights Nursing Home, Mapleton
* Tara Gaa-Bluml, Regency Park Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center of Carroll

MolinaCares High School Scholarship Recipients – This $2,000 scholarship, made possible by The Molina Healthcare Charitable Foundation (MolinaCares), is for Iowa high school seniors pursuing a certified nursing assistant (CNA), licensed practical nurse (LPN), RN or bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) program. A scholarships was awarded to:

* Miranda Ring, Tri-Center High School, Neola

IHCA Member Employee Scholarship Recipients – This $1,500 scholarship is for employees of IHCA member organizations who are pursuing a nursing, health care administration or physical or occupational therapy training program, and is made possible by IHCA Districts, Iowa Council of Nurse Leaders, Iowa Society of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine, The Vetter Foundation, Brighton Consulting Group, HPSI Purchasing Services, Right Dose, A Guardian Pharmacy and Robert and Shirley V. Dahl Foundation. Scholarships were awarded to the following recipients:

* Marah Larsen, Accura Healthcare of Stanton
* Riley Hunter, Accura Healthcare of Shenandoah

About the Iowa Health Care Association Foundation…
Founded in 1988 by the Iowa Health Care Association (IHCA), the mission of the IHCA Foundation is to foster excellence in long-term care for Iowans by building a stronger workforce. The IHCA Foundation carries out this mission by empowering individuals to reach their career goals in the long-term care profession through scholarships, career education and career access programs. IHCA Foundation programs help support career opportunities available in the long-term care continuum, including nursing facilities, assisted living programs, residential care facilities, senior living communities and home health agencies

(Atlantic & Anita, Iowa) – Mobile pantries will be held in both Atlantic and Anita in August. A mobile pantry is a traveling food pantry that delivers food directly to families in need for a one-day distribution. Mobile food pantries are available free of charge. Anyone in need is welcome, and no documentation is required. People from surrounding towns and communities are welcome. Each car can take food for up to two households. Households without transportation to the Atlantic Mobile Pantries can contact Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh about delivery. Delivery is offered on a limited basis.

Details:

Anita 2022 Mobile Food Pantries
Where: Anita Food Pantry (208 Chestnut Street, Anita IA 50020)
2022 Dates: August 24, October 19
Time: 4:30-6:30 PM

Atlantic 2022 Mobile Food Pantries
Where: Cass County Community Center (805 W. 10th St., Atlantic, IA 50022)
2022 Dates: August 10, September 14, October 29
Time: 4:00-6:00 PM

Mobile pantry dates, times, and locations are subject to change. For the latest information on mobile pantries, local food, farmers markets, and food access, follow the Cass County Local Food Policy Council’s Facebook page @CassCountyLocalFood or contact Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh at bhoegh@iastate.edu or 712-249-5870.
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(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports a man was arrested early this (Thursday) morning. Authorities say 57-year-old Jon Eric Hightshoe, of Creston, was arrested at around 12:30-a.m. at Howard and Grand. He was charged with OWI/1st offense, and Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 1st offense. Hightshoe was being held in the Union County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

Late Wednesday night, 36-year-old Douglas Edward Woodward III, of Creston, was arrested for Driving While Barred. He has since posted a $2,000 cash or surety bond. And, Wednesday afternoon, 36-year-old Heather Layne Green, of Creston, was arrested for Driving While Suspended. She was cited and released from the scene on a promise to appear in court.

(Radio Iowa) – Back-to-school shoppers will get a bit of a break when the annual tax free weekend starts tomorrow. Iowa Department of Revenue spokesman, John Fuller says “It starts Friday at 12:01 a-m and goes through Friday and Saturday.” Fuller says you can purchase clothing and shoes tax-free. “At tax.iowa.gov there’s a list of what is non taxable and what would be taxable,” Fuller says. “For instance, hiking boots, you can wear those pretty much every day. So if there are 100 dollars or less — that’s the key — these are items are 100 dollars or less — you will not have to pay state sales tax which is seven percent. But something like rollerblades you would have to pay sales tax.”

Fuller says he is often asked if the sales tax holiday includes online sales. “And the answer to that is ‘yes’, as long as you order and pay for the items during the two day period,” he says.  He expects a lot of Iowans to take advantage of the event. “So the Department estimates that the Iowans will save about five million dollars on this upcoming tax free weekend,” Fuller says.

Iowa’s tax free weekend ends at 11:59 p-m this Saturday.

(Radio Iowa) – There’s been a slight uptick in the amount of water flowing into reservoirs in the Missouri River Basin over the past two months, but the Army Corps of Engineers says it’s not enough to reverse long-term drought conditions along the Missouri River corridor. Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson reports.

The Army Corps of Engineers is slightly increasing the water flow out of the Gavins Point Dam in South Dakota. That will help barges and other vessels navigate the Missouri River through Sioux City, Omaha, Nebraska City and Kansas City. However, the Army Corps intends to conserve water releases if there is no commercial navigation in a given area.

The National Drought Mitigation Center estimates that 62 percent of the Missouri River basin is abnormally dry or in a drought.

(Radio Iowa) – As we survive the steamy, hot summer, some Iowans may find solace in pondering the cooler weather of the inevitable change in seasons, but the new edition of the Farmers’ Almanac predicts anything but a mild winter ahead. Editor Peter Geiger says the winter forecast map carries just five words floating over Iowa and the Midwest: “Hibernation Zone, Glacial, Snow-Filled.” Geiger says the publication is calling for an exceptionally snowy, extremely cold winter for 2022-’23.

“When we look at the predictions, we talk about some snow in late October, but then we talk about it being heavy snow on Thanksgiving. We talk about significant snow after that. We talk about heavy snow on the 1st, 4th and 7th of December,” Geiger says. “It’s going to be one of those unrelenting kind of winters where you dream about how nice it is when it’s hot in the summer.” While parts of Iowa have seen triple-digit heat indices multiple times this summer, Geiger says the winter before us will prove to be equally extreme.

“What really scares me about the winter is the cold,” Geiger says. “So we talk about this sharp cold, maybe as low as minus-40. I don’t think it’s going to be minus-40 in Iowa, but within the region, you’re going to see some really cold temperatures almost from the middle of January through the early part of February, and then some snow even in March.” The new edition of the almanac is due on store shelves August 15th and Geiger says it will include tips for coping with the predicted high cost to heat our homes during the frigid months.

“For example, you can use bubble wrap. If you spray a window with water and then put bubble wrap on, it insulates the window for the winter,” Geiger says. “I mean, it’s very simple, very inexpensive but it’s very possible.” Founded in 1818, the Lewiston, Maine-based almanac boasts a forecast accuracy rate of 75-to-85-percent which Geiger says is derived from a formula developed more than two centuries ago.

“It’s based upon sunspot activity, planet positions, the effect the moon has on the earth, and we actually have a page in this year’s almanac that talks a little bit about how we go about doing it,” Geiger says. “When we say it’s going to be minus-40 degrees, I think it’s an indication of how potentially cold it could be, as opposed to the fact that you can count on minus-40.”

In addition to weather predictions, the Farmers’ Almanac contains all sorts of information on gardening, cooking, home remedies, folklore, managing your household, living in harmony with nature, and more.

(Radio Iowa) – A national parental rights group has filed a lawsuit challenging an eastern Iowa school district’s policy for transgender students. The lawsuit accuses the Linn-Mar School District of allowing children to make decisions about their gender identity without any parental involvement. Linn-Mar students in 7th through 12th grades may use different names or pronouns at school and use the restroom that matches their gender identity — and choose whether their parents are notified.

Linn-Mar School Board members who adopted the policy in April said the plan follows federal guidelines for supporting transgender youth in school. Parents Defending Education, the group that filed the lawsuit, is also alleging the district is violating the First Amendment by threatening to discipline classmates or school staff who refuse to call a student by their preferred pronouns or new name.

(Sheldon, Iowa) [Updated 8:19 PM, 8/3/22) – A teenager who suffered life-threatening injuries when his scooter was struck by a car in northwest Iowa, Wednesday, has succumbed to those injuries. The accident happened in O’Brien County. The Iowa State Patrol says a 15-year male was riding a 2018 Honda NPS-50 scooter north of Sheldon. The scooter was traveling westbound on 280th Street at around 12:32-p.m. when it entered he intersection with Highway 60, and was struck by a 2016 Hyundai Elantra, traveling southbound on Highway 60. The driver of the car was identified as 71-year-old Bonnie Jean Allison, of Spencer. She was not hurt.

Following the collision, the car came to rest 300-feet south of the intersection, and the scooter came to rest in the middle of the intersection. The unidentified operator of the Honda was transported by Sheldon EMS to the hospital in Sheldon, where he later died. The accident remains under investigation.