(Atlantic, Iowa) –  The City of Atlantic will begin seasonal weekly testing of outdoor warning sirens this Friday, at noon. Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon says sirens serve to alert residents to take shelter indoors and seek more information. While the outdoor warning system can be an effective method of notifying those that are outdoors, to seek shelter indoors, it is only one part of a comprehensive emergency warning system. To receive emergency information during severe weather or other hazardous event you should get a NOAA weather radio, sign up for local emergency notifications, and tune in to local media reports, from radio, television or social media.

To report a faulty siren please call 254-1500 or email mkennon@casscoia.us. In your message please include location of the siren and a description of the issues you believe are occurring.

To register for the Cass County Emergency Notification System, go to links located on the Cass County homepage (http://www.casscountyiowa.us/) or the Cass County EMA Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/CassCoEMA). If you need assistance, please contact Mike Kennon, Cass County Emergency Management Agency Coordinator at 712-254-1500.

(Radio Iowa) – Legislators are considering changes in Iowa’s landlord-tenant law. Landlords are currently required to notify renters three BUSINESS days before eviction proceedings begin. A bill that’s cleared initial review in the House and Senate would let holidays and weekends be counted if those days fall in the three-day notice period. Lisa Davis-Cook, a lobbyist for the Iowa Association for Justice, says that’s a concern.

“Someone could go out of town for a long weekend and all of a sudden they get home and here’s this notice and they’re being evicted,” Davis-Cook said, “and they haven’t had the time to react to the notice and respond.” Keith Denner owns rental properties in Polk and Dallas Counties and he says the bill provides clarity as well as liability protection to landlords. Denner says there have been inconsistent rulings on that notice period from Iowa magistrates who oversee evictions, plus some rulings have declared sections of rental agreements illegal. The bill says landlords could not be sued if the illegal sections of a lease were never enforced.

“All we’re saying is if there’s something that turns out to be illegal there isn’t an adverse consequence to us, unless we try to enforce it,” Denner said. Representative Keenan Judge, a Democrat from Waukee, says the bill has major flaws. “This is completely one-sided and out of balance and needs to be corrected,” Judge said. Representative Phil Thompson, a Republican from Boone, says the legislature needs to ensure eviction proceedings are consistent throughout the state. “We need some uniformity here and we need to clearly define some of this,” Thompson says.

The bill is likely to be considered in the House Ways and Means Committee next week.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Management of the Sunnyside Pool in Atlantic may fall under the auspices of the Nishna Valley Family YMCA, this summer. According to reports, the City is holding discussions with YMCA Executive Director Dan Haynes, with regard to manage of the pool. During a meeting earlier this week of the City’s Parks Advisory Commission, Haynes said he was working on an MOU (memorandum of understanding) with the City and community members. He also proposes forming a committee to develop a structure to support Aquatics in Atlantic.

If the City agrees, the Nishna Valley Family YMCA would hire and manage the pool staff under their payroll and the City would reimburse the Y at the end of the season.

Parks Advisory Commission member Ali Pieken has proposed a pay incentive for veteran lifeguards, ranging from $15-to $20-per hour. Haynes says he’s sent notices to colleges advertising for a Pool Manager, lifeguards, and other staff positions.

The Parks Advisory Commission elected officers during their meeting, Monday. Kevin Ferguson was elected Chairman of the Commission. Mary Strong was named Vice-Chair.

As previously mentioned the Commission include Ferguson, Strong, Ali Pieken, Dolly Bergmann, and Shirley Jensen. City Council Liaisons to the Commission include Mike McDermott and Emily Kennedy.

DES MOINES, Iowa [KCCI] — A former Dowling Catholic teacher accused of having sexual contact with a student on school property will spend two years in prison. Kristen Gantt was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to sexual exploitation by a school employee. Gantt admitted to inappropriate contact with a student at least five times in her classroom while she was teaching English at Dowling Catholic in West Des Moines.

In the criminal complaint, investigators said evidence of “clear and concise grooming activity,” including some with “direct sexual overtones,” were found in conversations between Gantt and the student. Police say they found evidence of “clear and concise grooming activity” in conversations between Gantt and the student, including some with “direct sexual overtones.”

Gantt was also fined $855 and will be on the Iowa Sex Offender Registry for 10 years.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County (IA) Democrats are hosting Iowa 3rd District Democrat Congressional Candidate Melissa Vine, on Tuesday, March 12th. The event is being held at the Heritage House lower level meeting room (1200 Brookridge Circle) in Atlantic, and will start with a potluck and social from 6:00-6:30 PM. The meeting with Vine will begin at 6:30 PM. While the event is being hosted by the Cass County Democrats, all people are welcome, regardless of party affiliation.

Vine is running for Congress in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional district currently held by Republican Zach Nunn. Vine is businesswoman and single mother of four. She currently works as the Executive Director of The Beacon, a Central Iowa non-profit organization that support women recovering from trauma and empowers them to achieve positive long-term change. More information on Vine and her campaign can be found at melissavine.com.

Melissa Vine

The Cass County Democrats are hosting Vine at their March monthly meeting, which is open to the public. For more information on the Cass County Democrats, monthly gatherings, or to join the Cass County Democrats email newsletter, contact casscountyiadems@gmail.com or follow the Cass County Democrats on Facebook @CassCountyIADems or on Instagram @CassCountyDemocrats.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – A collision between a car and a motorcycle Sunday afternoon, resulted in the death of a passenger on the cycle. The Council Bluffs Police Department released details about the crash, today (Thursday). Authorities say the accident happened shortly after Noon, Sunday, at the intersection of E. Kanesville Blvd. & N. Broadway Avenue. 51-year-old Rosina Delanty, of Underwood, was a passenger on a 2014 Harley Davidson motorcycle that was traveling east on E. Kanesville and approaching N. Broadway, when it collided with a 2014 Ford Edge that made a left turn in front of the cycle, causing the crash. The driver of the SUV was identified as 86-year-old Nancy Casson, of McClelland.

Rosina Delanty was transported to an area trauma center, where she died from her injuries on Wednesday (Feb. 28th). The operator of the motorcycle suffered non-life threatening injuries. Authorities say neither speed nor alcohol were believed to be factors in the crash.

Charges are pending against Nancy Casson.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A traffic stop at around 12:30 this (Thursday) morning north of Villisca, resulted in a pursuit with speeds exceeding 122-mph, and ended with the arrest of a man from Pottawattamie County. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says Deputies initiated the traffic stop at the intersection of Highways 71 and 34. During the stop, the driver, Robert Christopher Greenwood, of Council Bluffs, fled, with deputies pursuing him north on Highway 71. Greenwood’s vehicle ran out of gas and came to a stop in Lyman.

Greenwood was arrested with assistance from the Montgomery County K-9 Unit, Cass County Sheriff’s Office and the Adams County Sheriff’s Office. He was treated at the scene by Griswold Rescue. Greenwood faces charges that include Felony Eluding (a Class-C felony), Driving While Barred, and Interference with official acts.

He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $10,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – The Board of Regents approved a request from the University of Northern Iowa Wednesday to proceed with planning for a practice facility for the volleyball and men’s and women’s basketball teams. U-N-I’s Michael Hager says the project is estimated to cost between eight and ten million dollars.

Hager says having the facility in one location will make it easier on the teams.

The project will be funded by gifts and some athletic department funds.

(Radio Iowa) – Some 23-hundred students from nearly 150 Iowa schools will be in Des Moines this weekend to take aim in the state archery tournament. Zach Benttine, the Iowa D-N-R’s archery coordinator, says there are two types of competition for the students in grades four through 12.

This program didn’t exist 20 years ago, but archery has become extremely popular in Iowa’s schools, with more than 46-hundred children taking part this past year.

About 250 Iowa schools teach the course, with about 150 of them running the after-school program. Top Iowa finishers this weekend will go on to the National Archery in the Schools Program Tournament. The shooting starts tomorrow (Friday) afternoon.

Prizes include more than 20-thousand dollars in college scholarships based on performance at the state tournament, while another 10-thousand dollars will be awarded outside of the competition to archers based on academics, essays, and other criteria. Teams are also aiming for some 18-thousand dollars in archery equipment for their schools. The state tournament will be held in the Richard O. Jacobson Exhibition Center and the 4-H Building at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

online at www.iowadnr.gov/nasp

(Radio Iowa) – The University of Iowa received approval Wednesday to make improvements to two key buildings. U-I Vice President Rod Lenhertz asked the Board of Regents to approve the design to build out the seventh floor of the Stead Family Children’s Hospital to expand the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. “It would add an additional 28 NICU patient rooms and all support spaces that are also present on the sixth floor,” he says. The seventh floor was left as a shell when the hospital was built in anticipation of future expansion. Lenhertz says the project is projected to cost 41 million dollars and will be funded by University Hospitals building usage funds. Lenhertz also requested permission to approve the design plans to restore the third floor ballroom to the Iowa Memorial Union. He says the ballroom space was needed for the art department after the 2008 flood.

“That ballroom was reconfigured and redesigned after 2008 as a temporary museum space. All with the understanding that upon our completing our Stanley Museum of Art, which is complete and has been active obviously, we would return that space for use for our student life and I-M-U folks,” he says. Lehnertz says the ballroom was a popular place for student events and to rent out for other events before the flood.

” It’s 51-hundred square feet serves as many as 300 visitors and we will return that space back to its pre-flood state. It’s a two-point-four million dollars project and we would start construction on that this spring,” Lehnertz says. The work on the ballroom restoration is expected to be completed in the fall. The University of Iowa also received approval to plan a new parking ramp west of the College of Dentistry. The ramp would hold between one-thousand and 12-hundred parking stalls with an estimated project budget of 55 to 60 million dollars.