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With the new year, new mask policies are being put in place in some Iowa schools and several districts are dropping their mask mandates as of today (Monday). The C-D-C says all 99 Iowa counties are seeing high transmission of COVID-19, and Nola Aigner Davis at the Polk County Health Department says vaccines and masks remain the best ways to bring down the number of infections and hospitalizations. “COVID-19 is not slowing down anytime soon,” she says, “and it’s especially not going to slow down after the holidays when individuals gathered with family and friends and traveled.”

In many cases, school boards decided to make masks optional because COVID-19 vaccines are available for school-aged children, but Aigner Davis says the change in policy is ahead of the numbers.  “This would be a reasonable step to take if we saw a high rate of individuals under the age of 18 getting the vaccine,” she says. “We are still not seeing high vaccination rates for children under 18.”

Masks are no longer required in several Iowa school districts, including Decorah, Linn-Mar and Southeast Polk. Masks will become optional for West Des Moines students later in the month. Some school districts may require masks if there is a spike in coronavirus infections. In Mount Vernon and College Community schools, a mask mandate will be reinstated if the COVID-19 positivity rate is higher than 2 percent in a school and the absence rate is over 8 percent.

(by Grant Gerlock, Iowa Public Radio)

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department says there were two arrests over the holiday weekend. Friday afternoon, 34-year-old Jessica Renee Swietek, of Mt. Ayr, was arrested for Driving While Barred. She was later released on a $2,000 bond. And, on Saturday, 26-year-old Jimmy Wayne King, of Texas, was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, on charges of OWI/1st offense, and Carrying Weapons while intoxicated. He was also later released on a $2,000 bond.

With Ric Hanson.

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(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa chapter of the American Red Cross is starting out 2022 much as it always does, with a critical need for blood donors as blood supplies are dangerously low. Agency spokeswoman Sue Thesenga says she’s hoping the blood shortage in the new year makes people stop and think about what they can do to help year-round. “We really encourage people to resolve to do something good this year and blood donation is a very easy way to make a resolution to help people in need,” Thesenga says. “It only takes an hour of someone’s time and it doesn’t cost a dime.”

The Red Cross is in need of all blood types, especially those with type O, which is considered a universal type for transfusions. You can safely donate blood every 56 days,” she says. “So a lot of times donors donate once or twice during the year, and that is fabulous, but if they donated more regularly and more often, that would probably help us avoid situations like we’re in right now.”

To find a place to donate, visit redcrossblood.org.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – A pursuit in northern Cass County that began with a traffic stop on Highway 71, just south of Lorah Road, just south of the Valley, ended in the southern part of the County early this (Monday) morning. According to Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy Josh McLaren, the incident started at around 12:20-a.m., when he attempted to stop a Ford F250 pickup with no license plate, for a speed violation.

The suspect pickup attempted to elude law enforcement westbound on Boston Road, southbound on Dunbar Road. to Olive Street at speeds near 80 MPH.  The vehicle then proceeded southbound on Olive Street and entered the City of Atlantic where it continued southbound through town at speeds in area the area 70 MPH.  The pickup left the city limits southbound on Olive Street, continuing at speeds near 80 MPH for approximately 9 miles to Richland Road, before turning westbound on Richland to 590th Street.

The vehicle then turned southbound on 590th Street and continued to Yankton Road, where it turned westbound on Yankton and was found at around 12:44-a.m. unoccupied, at a residence west of 590th and Yankton Road.  Deputy McLaren said at the time of this report, no arrests had been made, the incident remains under investigation. He said they’re pretty sure they know the driver was, and that charges will likely be filed within a few days.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Atlantic Police Department, Iowa State Patrol, Audubon, Montgomery and Shelby County Sheriff’s Offices.

(Radio Iowa) – The 2022 Iowa legislative session starts next Monday and Governor Kim Reynolds and her fellow Republicans in the House and Senate are putting tax cuts the top of their agenda. Majority Leader Jack Whitver of Ankeny is the top Republican in the Senate. “We’re shooting to make another big reduction in the taxes that Iowans pay,” Whitver says, “and we want to continue to make us one of the most competitive states in the country.” Whitver and Governor Reynolds say their goal is generational tax change, with their ultimate goal being the elimination of the Iowa income tax.

“Iowa is really in a strong position and that’s after record investments in foundational priorities, tax cuts,” Reynolds says. “We still have a significant, healthy balance that we’ve over-collected and it’s time to turn that money back to the taxpayers.” That’s a reference to the more than one BILLION dollars in the state’s Taxpayer Relief Fund. It’s the accumulation of tax payments that were way above official estimates over the past couple of years. House Speaker Pat Grassley says that money should be returned to Iowans as quickly as possible, and the plan should not pick winners and losers.

“I don’t think we need some huge, complex tax conversation,” Grassley says. “I think we can do this in a way that we give significant relief and do it so we all understand it and Iowans understand it.” House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst) of Windsor Heights says she and her fellow Democrats will release their own tax plan. “To make sure that any kind of a tax cut helps middle class families the most,” Konfrst says.

Zach Wahlsof Coralville, the Democratic leader in the Iowa Senate, says Republicans wouldn’t have been able to cut taxes if the federal government hadn’t provided Iowa with a sizable amount of pandemic relief. “The idea that we’re going to spend these one time dollars on a permanent elimination of the income tax — it’s like drilling a hole in a sinking boat,” Wahls says. “It doesn’t make sense.”

The official estimate for the current fiscal year indicates just over half of all the taxes paid to the State of Iowa will come from personal income taxes.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Members of the City of Atlantic’s Parks and Recreation Department Board of Directors will hold a special meeting at 5:15-p.m. on Monday, Jan. 3rd. The meeting takes place at the Parks and Rec Office located in Sunnyside Park.

On their agenda, is a review and update on the project scope of a Facility Program/Services Plan agreement with the Nishna Valley YMCA, in Atlantic. The Board’s next regular meeting will be held Jan. 17th, in the Atlantic City Hall’s Council Chambers.

(Atlantic & Greenfield, Iowa) – The Cass and Adair County Boards of Supervisors will hold separate meetings beginning at 9-a.m., Monday, Jan. 3rd. Both Boards will handle their annual administrative/re-organizational sessions, which includes action on:

• Electing (or re-elect) a Board Chair and Vice Chair
• Approving a Master Matrix Resolution (with regard to livestock confinement building construction)
• Approve appointments to various boards, commissions and committees.
• Approve officials newspapers for publication of notices/ordinances, etc.
• and other administrative matters.

Both Boards will also hear reports/updates from their County Engineer (Trent Wolken, in Cass Co., & Nick Kauffman, in Adair Co.). The Cass County Board of Supervisors will meet in their Boardroom at the Cass County Courthouse, in Atlantic. The Adair County Supervisors will meet in the Courtroom at the Adair County Courthouse, in Greenfield.

One-person was injured during a rollover accident on Highway 25 in Union County, Saturday. According to the Union County Sheriff’s Office, a 2014 Dodge RAM pickup driven by 24-year-old George Wesley Eaglen, of Greenfield, was traveling east on the highway near Creston at around 1:34-p.m., when the pickup went out of control because it was traveling too fast for road conditions.

The vehicle entered the north ditch and slid into a culvert before it rolled once and came to rest on its wheels, with the front wheels in a pond near the Creston Golf Course. A passenger in the pickup, 18-year-old Peyton Sue Braman, of Knoxville, complained of pain and possible injury, but was not transported to the hospital. She was not wearing a seat belt.

Authorities say Eaglen was not hurt. Damage to the pickup was estimated at $5,500. No citations were issued.