(Atlantic, Iowa) – This weekend will mark the 30th annual National Association of Letter Carriers “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive in Iowa. Mark McNees is a supervisor with the Atlantic Post Office. He say non-perishable goods collected Saturday will benefit the Atlantic Food Pantry. It’s especially important because of the effect COVID had on collection efforts the past two-years. He says in the past the community was always supportive of the food drive.

Bags of food may be placed beside your mailbox — either by the house or at the curb on Saturday morning. McNees says this year, their focus is not so much on getting as many non-perishable goods they can gather, it’s about how much money they can get, in order to secure a grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA). The Pantry needs $25,000 to qualify for the federal COVID-19 dollars.

Mark says if you wish to donate cash, please hand it to the carrier directly, or bring it down to the Post Office, which will be open on Saturday. For every $1 raised by the pantry, an additional $4 becomes available from the grant for food purchases by the pantry.

Since 2019, the local number of families served annually, in Atlantic, has tripled and the cost has increased by an even larger amount. The Atlantic Food Pantry has been serving the community since 1982. Donations to the Food Pantry are tax deductible. During its previous 29 years, the USPS food drive has brought in more than one-point-eight billion pounds of food nationwide.

(Johnston, Iowa) – The National Weather Service Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) was formed in the late 1800s and has continued across much of Iowa to this day. Officials with the Weather Service in Central Iowa said the volunteer program is currently struggling however, with numerous vacancies leading to gaps in the climate record in many locations.

KJAN photo from Jan. 6, 2014.

The official records, officials says, are invaluable to learning more about floods, droughts, heat and cold waves, agricultural planning and assessment, engineering, and litigation. Observations can also play a critical part in deciding whether local communities receive state and federal disaster declarations and benefits. If observations are not available for your location, officials may determine these declarations, with hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars on the line, based on surrounding observations, which may or may not be representative of your community.

CoOp Observer taking rain gauge measurement. (NWS)

The NWS in Johnston is asking for persons to help with record keeping, especially persons who are able to record data at the same time every day. Co-op observers are volunteers who use equipment (digital thermometers, an official rain gauge and other tools) provided by the National Weather Service, and routinely record daily high and low temperatures, as well as precipitation and snowfall amounts, at a particular time, often 7am (a 24-hour cycle). You will receive instructions on how and where to measure snow. The observations should only take you a few minutes per day.

In southwest Iowa, a Co-Op observer is needed in Bedford, which began keeping the official records in 1898, and in Beaconsfield, where records have been kept since 1951. If you, or another weather enthusiast you know, would be interested in being a part of this long standing network or would like more information, please contact either Cory Martin or Allan Curtis by emailing the office at dmx.coop@noaa.gov or calling (515) 270-4501.

Here is the list of communities where Observers are needed the most (and the year the records were first recorded)

Albia (1894); Ankeny (1950); Beaconsfield (1951); Bedford (1898); Britt (1897); Clarion (1944); Conrad (1977); Gilman (1899); Harcourt (1963); Hubbard (1973); Jewell (1949); Lorimor (1950); Ottumwa (1894); Parkersburg (1951); Tripoli (1946); Winterset (1893).

(Corning, Iowa) – The Adams County Sheriff’s Office today (Thursday), reports two people were arrested April 30th on drug charges, following a traffic stop at Highway 34 and Mulberry Avenue, in Adams County. Upon further investigation, 21-year-old Braxton Sydness, of Texas, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 1st offense, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. And 19-year-old Javon Wozny, of Urbandale, was arrested for PCS/Marijuana – 1st offense. Both were transported to the Adams County Jail.

On May 2nd, 38-year-old Alicia Ellen Lovell, of Creston, was arrested in Corning for Public Intoxication. She was also transported to the Adams County Jail.

(Radio Iowa) – A small business owner in the central Iowa town of Nevada is marking her tenth year in business and she gives a large part of the credit to a program at nearby Iowa State University. Jennifer Knox runs Saltlickers out of her home kitchen, a company that offers more than two dozen types of cooking spices, including flavors like Cy Salt, Herky Perky and Iowa Nice Spice.

“We have a very unique product,” Knox says. “It is something that you can add to cooking to make your cooking, no matter what it is, taste good. It’s like our product helps them be the cooks that they want to be.” Knox says she’s always enjoyed cooking foods from different places around the world and once she purchased a dehydrator, she was hooked on homemade spices.

“I dried the heck out of everything,” Knox says. “I ended up making Christmas gifts, then I did a little market in Brooklyn, a holiday market and I made $3,000 that weekend and nothing like that had ever happened to me before. I thought, ‘This is paydirt. I have to keep doing it. People like it.'” When she first launched the business, she was living in a small apartment in Brooklyn, New York, and says she never could have succeeded in such a crowded metropolis.

“This would not exist if I was still trying to do this in New York,” Knox says. “We grow every year to the point that we can handle it.” Knox decided to move to central Iowa where she’s now also an English professor at I-S-U. She says she’s consulted the Small Business Development Center and the Center for Industrial Research and Service at I-S-U on a host of challenges.

“At every step that we come to that seems insurmountable, there has been somebody there from Iowa State to help us out,” Knox says. “They helped us streamline the process and do it for a price that we can stay in business.” Officials with the centers say they’ve helped thousands of other businesses across the state, creating an economic impact measured in the billions of dollars.

(Radio Iowa) – Both of Iowa’s U.S. Senators, as expected, joined with their Republican colleagues in defeating the bill Democrats sponsored to guarantee access to abortion nationwide. Senator Chuck Grassley spoke during debate of the bill.

“This legislation is being discussed for political purposes,” Grassley said, “and we’re wasting time on this issue because we could be spending time on things that people want.” Senator Joni Ernst did not speak during debate. The Washington Post has reported Ernst will introduce a bill in the Senate to ban abortions after the sixth week of a pregnancy. Grassley has said in interviews with Iowa reporters he will not comment on a nationwide ban until after the U.S. Supreme Court issues its final ruling.

During remarks on the Senate floor, this is how Grassley described his approach to the issue. “Let me be clear: abortion should not be promoted as a default contraception and family planning tool. Let’s have a productive discussion on what can be done to support women and support ,” Grassley said. “It’s important to be open with our colleagues and peers, but we must unit to protect life because every single life is precious.” Grassley said the bill Democrats were offering would invalidate current state laws that regulate abortions.

“It would allow health care workers to determine when a life is viable which will lead, then, to inconsistent practices across the country,” Grassley said, “and endanger the lives of mothers everywhere.” The U.S. Senate is evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats and the outcome of yesterday’s (Wednesday’s) vote was expected, since there weren’t 60 senators willing to allow a vote on the bill.

Abby Finkenauer, one of the Democrats running for a chance to face Grassley in the November election, says yesterday’s (Wednesday’s) vote shows why Democrats need to win more seats in the U.S. Senate. Mike Franken, who is also competing for the Iowa Democratic Party’s U.S. Senate nomination, says Grassley has consistently voted to take rights away from women.

(Updated 5/12/22) – (Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic School Board gathered for their regular monthly meeting Wednesday evening, in the Schuler Elementary School Media Center. During the session, Superintendent Barber handed out certificates to the Board Members, in honor of May being “School Board Recognition Month.” He recapped some of the Board highlights from over the past year. One of the highlights was the district’s response to COVID.

Another highlight was the efforts put forth to return to school following the devastating July 27, 2021 Middle School fire.

In his Superintendent’s Report, Mr. Barber mentioned the District has several teaching positions to fill for the next school year, and that administratively, they “we’re gonna continue to work towards fulfilling these positions with quality teachers.”

He also discussed plans to move forwards with school therapy, and the concept of a Therapeutic Classroom. The goal, he said, is to have a third mental health professional to provide additional Tier II intervention support for 4^th through 8^th graders. On another note, Barber acknowledged the district continues to be challenged when it comes to finding drivers for transportation to various events, thanks in-part to federal regulations.

He said some relief on the demands placed on the Transportation Department will be going away once students can transition back to the Middle School this fall. Mr. Barber also provided an update with regard to the Atlantic Middle School Reconstruction Project (Middle School Reconstruction Update_). He mentioned meetings are scheduled to create a “punch-list” for the subcontractors, with the goal being to get that list completed by June 1^st. New furniture is set to arrived June 20^th, with installation soon afterward.

The Board, Wednesday, approved resignations and contract recommendations from Superintendent Steve Barber. The resignations included those for:

• Molly O’Hara, Middle School Building Secretary; Jennifer Renz, Washington Paraeducator; Regina Honke, Ticket Manager; Dan Vargason, AHS Fuel Sponsor, &Mallory Kirchhof, Junior Class & Prom Sponsor.

The contract recommendations included:

• Derek Handel, Alternative Education Teacher; Angela Behrens, Lori Namanny, and Melissa Balch: Summer Food Service.; Gentri Meier, Mental Health Professional (revised); Sarah Rose & Katie Hedegaard, HS Cheerleading Co-Sponsors; Jazlyn Visek, Substitute Bus Paraprofessional.

The Atlantic School Board, Wednesday, acted on approving several matters, including:

• 2022-23 Substitute Employee Pay Rates: Superintendent Barber had proposed an increase of 50-cents per hour for some classes and a Five-dollar raise for substitute teachers.
• Student Fees for the 22-23 School Year were left unchanged. Additional information on the lunch program was requested prior to approval.
• Renewed sharing agreements with area school districts, with regard to: Girls and Boys swimming; Girls Soccer and Girls Wrestling.

(Council Bluffs, IA) – Officials with the Pottawattamie Community Foundation, today (Wednesday), announced a name change and expansion of its mission. Established in 2008, the Pottawattamie County Community Foundation is becoming the Community Foundation for Western Iowa, to better reflects the Foundation’s mission to build community through giving while being a leader in donor-centric philanthropy.

“The growth of the Community Foundation reflects the awesome and inspiring support of our community,” said Tony Tauke, Community Foundation for Western Iowa Board Chair. “We have seen a substantial increase in the size of gifts and in the number of donors. Individual donor-advised and special needs funds have mushroomed beyond Pottawattamie County borders. This expansion is reflected in the new addition to our once little office which was completed due to the generous contribution and strong support of the Lakin Foundation. This seedling organization started nearly fifteen years ago and has grown into a fruitful tree of philanthropy with many branches, relationships, and donors that encompass more than just Pottawattamie County. We as a Board see the potential for growing larger and creating more impact over the coming years.” (Additional information can be found HERE)

In its most recent annual report published in April, the Community Foundation shared the incredible growth and impact that donors and fund holders have created in southwest Iowa. Last year, investors awarded 269 grants totaling an astounding $1.9 million dollars to a variety of nonprofit organizations in focus areas such as community betterment, education, human services, and arts & culture. This is an 18.79% increase in grant awards from 2020 ($532,504). The investor granting, coupled with the Foundation’s grant awards, was $2.2 Million.

Additionally, the annual impact report revealed that the Community Foundation significantly increased its total assets to $52,363,015 by the end of December, a 15.8% increase from 2021 ($44,078,011), and nearly $40 million more from its total assets in 2017 ($12,722,156).

In late November, the Community Foundation moved back into a newly renovated and expanded building at 536 E Broadway due to generous funding support from the Charles E. Lakin Foundation. A gift of $556,000 helped the Community Foundation add a total of 1,110 square feet – complete with four additional office spaces for future staff capacity needs, new ADA compliant restrooms, a staff kitchenette, and a large conference room to host board and committee meetings.

The Community Foundation invites you to attend its ribbon cutting and building dedication on Monday, May 16, from 8:00-am to 10:00-am at 536 E Broadway in Council Bluffs. The event will celebrate the new name announcement, as well as the beautiful building renovation and addition generously funded by the Charles E. Lakin Foundation. The Community Foundation will officially dedicate the building as the Florence M. and Charles E. Lakin Center for Community Giving.

(Radio Iowa) – A district court judge has ruled one of the Fairfield teens accused of killing a high school Spanish teacher will not have his case moved to juvenile court. Seventeen-year-old Jeremy Goodale is charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the death of 66-year-old Nohema Graber and will stand accused in an adult courtroom starting August 23rd. Willard Miller faces the same charges. Both were 16 at the time of the November 2nd murder.

Goodale and Willard Miller both sought waivers of their case to juvenile court. Judge Shawn Showers states in his ruling that there are no reasonable prospects for rehabilitating Goodale in juvenile court given the magnitude of the crime described in the charging documents.

A ruling on Miller’s request to be tried in juvenile court could come later this week.

(Radio Iowa) – One of the companies proposing to build a carbon pipeline through Iowa has announced it has raised more than a billion dollars for its project. According to a news release from Summit Carbon Solutions, the company has secured 300 million dollars from a private equity firm called T-P-G Rise Climate and that completes the fundraising for its pipeline. In a written statement, the executive chairman of the investment group said the global fight against climate change requires an all-of-the-above approach to decarbonization.

Summit plans to build a pipeline to ship carbon captured at Midwest ethanol plants to underground storage in North Dakota.