Atlantic Police conducted multiple arrests during the month of January. On Jan. 26th, 32-year old James Vanatta, of Atlantic was arrested for shoplifting (Theft in the 5th degree). The day before, 28-year old Cody Christensen, of Atlantic, was arrested for Driving While License Denied or Revoked. And, on Jan. 24th, 32-year old April Medina, of Atlantic, was arrested for Criminal Mischief in the 5th Degree. All three subjects were cited into court and released at the scene.

On January 23rd, 61-year old Joseph Hahn, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Violation of Probation. And, 33-year old Jessica Mayo, of Atlantic, was arrested for OWI. January 15th, 48-year old Dwayne Rollins, of Atlantic, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault. That same day, 19-year old JR Berdon, of Atlantic, was arrested for Public Intoxication. On Jan. 14th, 23-year old TK Narios, of Atlantic, was arrested by Atlantic Police, on a Cass County warrant for Probation Violation. And, 42-year old Arthur Clark, of Atlantic, was cited for Simple Assault.

January 10th, Atlantic Police arrested 40-year old Dustin Vanhorn, of Atlantic, for OWI. A day earlier, 26-year old Nicholas Renner, of Atlantic, was cited for Driving While Barred. On Jan. 8th, Atlantic Police arrested 30-year old Ashley Fuentes, of Atlantic, for Domestic Abuse Assault. On the 5th, 57-year old Marjorie Lengyel, of Atlantic, was arrested for Driving while barred, and driving while license denied or revoked. She was released with a citation to appear in court.

On Jan. 2nd, 19-year old JR Berdon, of Atlantic, was arrested for Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree, Disorderly Conduct and Public Intoxication. And, 21-year old SK Kovac, of Atlantic, was cited for Criminal Mischief in the 3rd Degree. On January 1st, Atlantic Police cited 50-year old Binte Binios, of Atlantic, into court for Driving While License denied or revoked. All of the aforementioned subjects were booked into the Cass County Jail.

Police in Red Oak cited a man following a non-injury accident Saturday evening. Authorities say 30-year old Jerry Lee Lievsay, of Red Oak, was cited for Failure to Provide Proof of Insurance and Failure to Yield. He was also given a warning for fraudulent use of registration.

The accident happened at around 6:05-p.m., as a 2020 Chevy Equinox driven by 60-year old Debra Sue Robertson, of Clarinda, was traveling east on Highway 34. She signaled to turn merge into the far right lane. A 2006 Dodge Durango driven by Lievsay, was northbound on N. 8th Street at the stop sign.

Lievsay continued into the intersection, where his vehicle struck the Equinox in the rear quarter panel. During the impact, airbags in the Chevy deployed. The vehicle came to rest in the middle of Highway 34. The SUV spun around and came to rest facing south on N. 8th Street. Damage from the crash amounted to $6,600, with the Chevy declared a total loss.

Creston Police today (Monday) report two arrests. Sunday night, 35-year old Manuel Richardson, of Creston, was arrested at his residence, on a Union County warrant for Violation of a Protective Order. Richardson was being held in the Union County Jail, while awaiting a bond hearing. And, Friday afternoon, 34-year old Heather Green, of Creston, was arrested at the Union County LEC, for Violation of a Protective Order. She was later released from the Adams County Jail, on a $300 bond.

With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department Director Bryant Rasmussen says “With plenty of snow to go around we have tried to put together a pop-up program getting people outside to enjoy the winter and making some art.  It is a great way to work on the 120 hour challenge and to see just what you can come up with.” Details about the 1st annual Snow Sculpture contest details were posted on Facebook Sunday and already they have had several submissions.

Snow sculpture example

Throughout the month of February, create youR best snow sculpture and submit a photo for your chance to win $25 worth of Chamber Bucks. After the submission deadline, judging will be open virtually to the public, online through the Parks and Rec Facebook page. Photos must be submitted by private message on Facebook, through the atlanticparksandrecreation page, or email to: brasmussen@cityofatlantic.com.

Please be sure to include the title of your sculpture, the name of those who created it, and of course, the picture. By participating in the contest, sculptors agree to have their submission photos on Facebook and other media outlets.

With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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A public hearing will be held during a regular meeting of the Atlantic City Council, Wednesday. The hearing, at 5:30-p.m., is with regard to the sale of City-owned real estate at 403 W. 14th Street. The property was acquired under authority of the Iowa Code, pertaining to abandoned property. The owners of an abutting property have submitted a bid of $10,000 to acquire the property, which exceeded the last recorded assessment value.  The City, in April 2019, adopted a resolution for the disposition of City-owned properties, that outlines how properties may be disposed of. Part of that process involves a public hearing.

In other business, the Atlantic City Council will hold the third and final reading of an Ordinance with regard to the Collection of Solid Waste, and the second reading of an Ordinance amending sections of the Code of Ordinances entitled “City Clerk,”and “City Attorney,” that would eliminate the current two-year reappointment schedule, and make the City Clerk and Attorney permanent employees.

Their final order of business is action on an order to approve a change order in the amount of $3,545.60, for the Atlantic Downtown Revitalization Project. If approved, the additional cost would bring the contract price up to $452,874.60, which is still within the scope of the projected amount. The cost of the change orders are not shouldered by the City itself. City Administrator John Lund points out that for every additional dollar of cost the property owner commits to the project, the City matches that with a dollar, and the federal government’s match is two-dollars.

In this case, the change order pertains to the Brymon’s Home Furnishings building at 412 Chestnut, and will be used for the addition of door hardware, and a hardware revision to bring the building facade in line with the project intentions of renovating the historic downtown area.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa sports gambling market is rapidly expanding as the biggest game in sports is set for this coming weekend. Iowa Racing and Gaming Administrator, Brian Ohorilko, says all of the state’s casinos now have sports gambling operations — and many are adding on. “A number of the casinos that got into the game early with online sports wagering are starting to shop their second individually branded website,” Ohorilko explains.

He says it is a natural progression of the 18-month old industry. “Each casino can have three individually branded websites…they all have one and many of them are now entering into their second agreements,” he says. Ohorilko says other sports gambling businesses are now looking at Iowa as the requirement that you go to a casino to sign upended on January 1st. “This market has been inundated with new applications — companies that are wanting to enter the market,” Ohorilko says.

Ohorilko says sports gambling is a bright spot for the industry hit hard by the pandemic. “We’re seeing really good numbers right now and I think we’ll continue to see market growth in the next few months. We are not seeing obviously as related to the pandemic — we are not seeing any Superbowl parties. That’s something we are missing this year,” according to Ohorilko. He says the loss of those parties is part of an overall impact of the pandemic that has hit the general casino business this year. “Attendance is still off significantly from what it was last year at this time. Revenue is starting to fall a little bit,” Ohorilko says.

Ohorilko says attendance will not improve until people feel better about getting out and doing things in public. He does say that the casinos should have the benefit of operating this year in months where they were shut down last year by the pandemic restrictions.

(Radio Iowa) – A Webster County man died in a weekend snowmobile accident. Thirty-one-year-old Noah Ferguson of Lehigh was pronounced dead at the scene after a snowmobile crash early Sunday morning. The Webster County Sheriff’s Office says they received a report of the accident shortly after 2 AM Sunday. The sheriff’s office says the accident occurred when Ferguson hit a utility pole near the Lehigh fire station. The crash remains under investigation.