Atlantic Police, Monday, arrested a Council Bluffs man, for Driving While License suspended, and Violation of a No Contact Order. 36-year old Bret Hauptman was brought to the Cass County Jail, and booked-in.

WAUKEE, Iowa (AP) — School officials in central Iowa have reached a nearly $1 million settlement with a former employee who alleged he was wrongfully fired after reporting improper conduct by a high-ranking district officer. The Des Moines Register reports that the Waukee Board of Education unanimously approved the settlement with former Human Resources Director Terry Welker on Monday.

Welker’s position was eliminated by the school board in July amid budget cuts. Welker alleged he was terminated after he reported the district’s Chief Operating Officer Eric Rose to administrators. A district investigation found that Rose mismanaged money, abused authority and violated policies. Welker served as a key source for investigators and provided details of Rose’s misconduct.

The district doesn’t admit wrongdoing in the settlement. Two other similar lawsuits against the district are ongoing.

DES MOINES – Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 2.8 percent for December. The state’s jobless rate was 3.5 percent one year ago. The U.S. unemployment rate remained at 4.1 percent in December for the third straight month. Beth Townsend, Iowa Workforce Development Director, says “Iowa businesses finished 2017 strong, bolstering payrolls by 7,100 jobs in December. Iowa factories have added 11,700 jobs in 2017. With an unemployment rate at 2.8%, Iowa must address the shortage in skilled workers. It will take all hands on deck to sustain this economic growth including support from our partners in K-12, community colleges, universities, business and industry, economic developers and non-profits – all of whom participated in writing the Future Ready Iowa strategic plan. The plan will put Iowa in a position to create and sustain the skilled workforce we need now and in the future.”

The number of unemployed Iowans decreased to 47,000 in December. The current estimate is 12,000 lower than the year ago level of 59,000. The total number of working Iowans increased to 1,637,800 in December. This figure was 200 higher than November and 3,200 higher than one year ago.

Seasonally Adjusted Non-farm Employment:

In December, Iowa establishments added 7,100 jobs and lifted the total number of jobs to 1,600,100. This month’s increase marks the eighth monthly increase in 2017 versus just four months of losses. Growth was fueled by several sectors of the economy, particularly manufacturing, healthcare, and transportation. Additionally, the December gain follows another sizable increase in November. In total, private sectors advanced by 5,800 jobs this month. On the other hand, government added 1,300 jobs this month due to gains in local government and now stands 1,000 jobs higher than last year.

Manufacturing added the most jobs in December (+3,300) with the largest gains being in durable goods factories (+2,400). Non-durable goods factories added 900 jobs due in part to hiring in food production. This gain marks the fourth-consecutive for manufacturing to end the year. Healthcare and social assistance added 1,600 jobs to fuel all of the growth in the education and healthcare super sector. Healthcare and social assistance also had a sizable gain in November (+1,200). Trade and transportation fared well due to larger-than-expected gains in transportation and warehousing this month and was up 1,400 jobs. Much of this spike was due to a surge in parcel delivery related to holiday shopping. Like years past, retail was somewhat sluggish to end the year and was down 300 jobs in December. This trend in decreasing retail employment may be partially attributable to a shift toward online shopping and decreased reliance on brick-and-mortar stores during the holidays. Smaller sector gains this month included leisure and hospitality (+1,000) and financial activities (+700). Private sector losses were limited to construction (-1,300), professional and business services (-500), and other services (-400).

Annually, the state of Iowa has gained 28,300 jobs. Manufacturing leads the way in jobs added with 11,700 over the last twelve months. Growth for this sector began in May with 12,400 jobs being added over the past eight months. Education and healthcare has gained 6,900 jobs annually, followed by leisure and hospitality, up 6,600 jobs. Sector losses have been strongest in construction (-7,500) in the wake of a booming 2016. Smaller losses occurred in other services (-1,600) and information (-700).

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office reports a man from Dallas County was arrested over the past weekend. 46-year old Donald Eugene Conroy, Jr., of Dexter, was arrested just after 5-a.m. Saturday, and charged with Driving While Suspended. Conroy later posted bond and was released.

The Primary Election in Iowa takes place June 5th, 2018. Area Auditors have provided a list of County Offices in their respective counties, that will be on the ballot.

In Adair County, the following county offices will be on the ballot: 2NE Board of Supervisor; 4NE Board of Supervisor; County Treasurer; County Recorder and County Attorney. If you are interested in running for office, pick-up a candidate packet at the Adair County Auditor’s Office at the Courthouse, in Greenfield.

In Audubon County, offices appearing on the Primary Election ballot include: Supervisor (Incumbent is Gary VanAernam); Recorder (Incumbent is Miranda Bills),;Treasurer (Incumbent is Deb Campbell), and Attorney (Incumbent is Sarah Jennings).

In Montgomery County, offices include: Supervisor/District 1 (Incumbent is Steve Ratcliff; Supervisor District 2 (Incumbent is Mike Olson); Supervisor District 4 (Incumbent is Mark Peterson); Recorder (incumbent: Carleen Bruning); Treasurer (Incumbent: Carol Strovers); and, Attorney (Incumbent: Bruce Swanson).

In Shelby County, the offices of County Treasurer, County Recorder, and County Attorney will be on the Primary ballot, along with: One seat on the Board of Supervisors; Two positions for Soil & Water Conservation Commission Board; 5 Agricultural Extension Council Members, and three County Hospital Trustees. In addition, there is one Township Trustee per Township slated for election in each of the following Shelby County Townships: Center; Clay; Cass; Douglas; Fairview; Greeley; Grove; Jackson; Jefferson; Lincoln; Monroe; Polk; Shelby; Union; Washington and Westphalia Townships.

The first day for candidates to file nomination papers in your respective County Auditor’s Office, is Monday, March 5th. The last day to file is Wednesday, March 28. Nomination papers are available at the office of the County Auditor in your county, and from the Secretary of State at www.sos.iowa.gov.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A trial has been delayed for an Iowa City man accused of fatally beating his father. Court records say attorneys for 30-year-old Flannery Kennedy-Meier had sought the delay, which a judge ordered in a document filed Saturday. The new trial start is scheduled for July 24. The old date was March 13.

Kennedy-Meier was arrested Nov. 13 after police were called to a residence and found 63-year-old Mark Meier injured. Officers say Kennedy-Meier had hit his father in the head with a weapon, causing a skull fracture and brain bleed. Meier died of his injuries on Dec. 4, and an autopsy blamed the November beating.

The Cass and Adair County Boards of Supervisors will hold their regular, separate meetings Wednesday morning, in Atlantic and Greenfield, respectively. In Atlantic, the Cass County Board meeting begins at 8:30-a.m..  At 8:35, they will hold the first of three public hearings on an Ordinance pertaining to the operating of ATV’s and UTV’s on county roads and trails. Following the first hearing and discussion, the Board will act on whether or not to move forward on holding the next hearing as scheduled. They’ll also hear regular reports, as available, from the County Attorney, Engineer and Mental Health/General Assistance Dept. heads.

In Greenfield, the Adair County Board of Supervisors’ meeting begins at 9-a.m., and includes a Manure Management Plan (MMP) update, discussion and/or action on: Taxable meals; An Actuarial Services Agreement; Board of Health appointment; Child Prevention Grant drawdown and 28-E Sanitarian agreement. They’ll also be shown an elevator video from Jane Woodside, with Nodaway Valley School Media, pertaining to a courthouse elevator, and they’ll hear from Sheriff Jeff Vandewater, with regard to a new hire and Wage Step increases. The County Engineer will present a bid for approval from Henningsen Construction for a TIF resurfacing project on County Road N-72 and other matters.

The Adair County Supervisors will enter into a Budget Work Session at the conclusion of regular business.

AMES, Iowa – Jan. 23, 2018 – The Iowa Department of Transportation has canceled the public information meeting scheduled for today (Tuesday, Jan. 23rd), to discuss two Missouri Valley bypass corridor study areas. The meeting was to be held between 4 and 6 p.m. at the Rand Community Center, 100 S. Fourth St., in Missouri Valley. The Iowa DOT will reschedule the public information meeting and provide date and location details as soon as they are available.

If you have questions regarding the proposed improvements or future public meeting, contact Scott Suhr, transportation planner, Iowa DOT District 4 Office in Atlantic, at 712-243-3355 or 800-289-4368.

More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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State Representative Pat Grassley — the grandson of U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley — has announced he plans to seek reelection to the Iowa House. The move ends speculation the younger Grassley is hoping the governor named him state ag secretary whenever current Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey leaves for a job in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Texas Senator Ted Cruz has for months been blocking a confirmation vote for Northey in the U.S. Senate. Two OTHER Republicans have already announced they plan to run for state ag secretary in 2018. Ray Gaesser, a farmer from Corning who’s a former president of the American Soybean Association, launched his bid last week. “Strong family farms build a strong, healthy community and grow a strong, healthy Iowa,” Gaesser says. “And I will work with farmers, with legislators, with citizens to share that message that we’re all in this together and we all have responsibilities that we can share.”

Gaesser says the goal should be a “responsible, but profitable” agricultural sector. Gaesser Farms has been nearly 100 percent no-till since 1991 and Gaesser says his family plants cover crops on about half of their corn and soybean ground. “Our goal on our farm is to have 100 percent,” Gaesser says. “We just see real value in conserving the soil, giving that blanket of protection for Mother Nature in our soil that is needed and building organic matter, sequestering nutrients, all those things of being a benefit from the practice.”

In late October, former Iowa Farm Bureau president Craig Lang announced he’s running for the Republican Party’s 2018 nomination for state ag secretary. Lang is a farmer from Brooklyn who also has served as president of the Iowa Board of Regents. No Democrat has stepped forward to announce plans to seek the elected post of state ag secretary.

(Radio Iowa)