(8/28 – Clarifies rates on burials and inurnments. Previous information was not correct)

The City of Atlantic’s Personnel and Finance Committee will discuss matters pertaining to the solvency of the Atlantic Cemetery, Monday. The meeting takes place in the City Council’s Chambers at City Hall, beginning at 5:30-p.m.

In his report to the Committee and Council, City Administrator John Lund stated “The Atlantic Cemetery Association is rapidly approaching financial insolvency…due to a seven-year trend of revenues not meeting expectations.” In order to resolve the immediate cash flow issue, Lund says a letter must be written to the Iowa Insurance Commissioner requesting he use his authority under Iowa Code (5231.811A), to allow for the release of funds from the Perpetual Care Trust (as determined by the Board and Treasurer), reflecting long-term planning goals.

The Atlantic Cemetery Association has previously taken the recommendation to raise casket interment and burial rates and put them into effect on April 1^st.  The casket interment rate was raised to $825 and the burial rate was raised to $1,250 effective April 1^st by the cemetery association.

The only other options for increasing revenue, he says, are taking out a loan and decreasing expenditures. Lund says a loan would not solve the long-term problem, and a quick infusion of cash from the Perpetual Trust Fund will only buy the Cemetery Association a little more time to continue honoring its obligations.

Lund says expenditures have exceeded revenue for the past three years, with the largest loss ($26,774) coming in 2016. The majority of expenditures are in the form of: Payroll; Capital Equipment purchases; Supplies and Repair for the equipment, all of which are necessary for maintaining the cemetery grounds, and arranging for burials. Methods of offsetting those costs could include reducing payroll as much as possible, and contracting with local businesses to manage all burials, openings and closures.

In other business, the Personnel & Finance Committee will discuss: The disposition of a structure at 204 E. 6th Street; A policy on replacing certain signage within  the City Limits; A request from the Street Dept. to purchase additional equipment with available funds; and Construction Fees and Easements with regard to the Ash Street Development Project. The Committee will also hear about a major donation to the Animal Shelter, and receive an update on the purchase of land from a revocable trust.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The State Historical Museum of Iowa in Des Moines has seen thousands of people pass through its “Iowa and the Civil War” exhibit. What those visitors haven’t seen are the 34 Confederate battle flags tucked away in the museum’s underground vault.

Michael Morain, of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, tells The Des Moines Register the flags are not on display because they are not central to the history of Iowans on display in the exhibit. Iowa fought for the Union in the war, and more than 76,000 Iowans were in the Union Army.

Other Confederate-related items, such as a spy’s pistol, a bugle, cannon supplies, spurs and a sword, are on display in the exhibit. The dozens of Confederate battle flags typically are only displayed during vault tours.

(Dubuque) – Officials with the Iowa Dept. of Corrections said Sunday morning, that 38-year old Melvin Frank Bogus, who was convicted of robbery 2nd degree in Dubuque County, failed to report back to Dubuque Residential Facility as required.

Bogus is a Black male, height 5’6 and weighing 236 pounds.  He was admitted to the work release facility on July 12, 2017. Persons with information on Bogus’s whereabout should contact the local police.    

Republican Congressman Steve King says President Trump’s recent remarks about the North American Free Trade Agreement may be a negotiating tactic. Trump said this past Tuesday that he doubts negotiations with Mexico and Canada will succeed and he will “probably” terminate NAFTA.

“I think the president’s got a negotiating maneuver here when he said he may just cancel it,” King says. “But, in the end, I think that may just be a piece of leverage that gets us a little better deal.” During the 2016 campaign, Trump routinely called NAFTA the worst trade deal in American history. This past Tuesday, Trump said he didn’t think the U.S. can strike a deal with Canada and Mexico “because we have been so badly taken advantage of.” King says it’s remarkable the two countries agreed to re-negotiate terms of the deal.

“I thought that Mexico and Canada would say: ‘We have a treaty. Let’s keep it. We don’t want to talk,'” King says. “I was surprised they would agree to begin those negotiations, but they did and that tells you something about the power of the United States not only in this continent, but in the hemisphere and in the world.” Officials from Canada and Mexico met with U.S. officials in Washington, D.C. last week. The next round of negotiations are scheduled to start in September 1st in Mexico City. King says the “door is open” to a “reasonable renegotiation” of NAFTA.

“My counsel to the president is: ‘If you can help agriculture, help agriculture. Don’t hurt it. If you can help our manufacturing, help us. Don’t hurt us,'” King says. “But on balance, NAFTA has been good for the state of Iowa. It’s been good for agriculture. It’s been good for our manufacturing industries that we have here and much of the manufacturing industry in the country.” But King says some segments of the economy have been hit by the trade deal, particularly in southern states. NAFTA has been in place since 1994.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa is having trouble hiring enough registered nurses at state prisons, so it’s turning to workers with fewer credentials to fill the gap. The Iowa Department of Corrections says a shortage of registered nurses at some clinics within its nine prisons has led the agency to seek more licensed practical nurses. Known as LPNs, they need less health care education and can be paid less. They can do similar tasks as registered nurses, but they carry restrictions in their interactions with patients and require more oversight.

Kathy Weiss, administrator of nursing for corrections, says it’s difficult to compete with nearby hospital jobs that offer better benefits. Some unions representing Iowa nurses argue the staffing shortage will only worsen as the effects of recent changes to the state’s collective bargaining law begin to set in, though state officials say it’s too early to know its impact on hiring.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 5:20 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Department of Veterans Affairs is paying an Iowa veteran $550,000 to settle his allegation that he suffered life-shortening heart damage because of a three-year delay in treatment. John Porter, of Greenfield, sued last year in federal court after he says VA staff overlooked a 2011 test result showing his heart was failing. The 68-year-old Porter told the Des Moines Register on Friday he was glad he lived long enough to see the case settled.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Law enforcement officials are warning motorists to use caution on rural roads in northeastern Iowa following a series of sex assaults on women. The Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office says in a news release that several women have reported being assaulted on rural roads in Black Hawk, Linn and Tama Counties. The Linn County Sheriff’s Office says the latest case is a woman who reported being attacked early Friday morning by a man who flagged her down on a rural road near Bertram.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A U.S. Marine Corps official has confirmed the motorcycle crash death of a 22-year-old Marine from Iowa in California. Marine First Sgt. Sodergren tells the Des Moines Register that Cpl. Andrew West died last Sunday when the motorcycle he was driving veered across the center line of a highway and hit a car in Riverside, California. West, of Van Horne, was in training at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton at the time of his death.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A former Council Bluffs, Iowa, assistant city attorney has been indicted on drug charges in Nebraska. The Omaha World-Herald reports that 44-year-old Don Bauermeister, of Omaha, was charged by a federal grand jury with possessing with intent to distribute about 13 pounds of marijuana. Bauermeister had been city employee since February 2003, but resigned in mid-June. At the time, Council Bluffs City Attorney Dick Wade said Bauermeister gave no reason for his resignation.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Department of Veterans Affairs has paid an Iowa veteran $550,000 to settle his allegation that he suffered life-shortening heart damage because of a three-year delay in treatment. John Porter, of Greenfield, sued last year in federal court after he says VA staff overlooked a 2011 test result showing his heart was failing. The 68-year-old Porter told the Des Moines Register on Friday he was glad he lived long enough to see the case settled.

Porter’s lawsuit says no VA doctors told Porter of the findings of the 2011 test that showed his heart was failing. Only three years later did doctors at an Arizona VA hospital, where he had gone for shortness of breath, find the 2011 test results and inform Porter.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A U.S. Marine Corps official has confirmed the motorcycle crash death of a 22-year-old Marine from Iowa in California. Marine First Sgt. Michael Sodergren tells the Des Moines Register that Cpl. Andrew West died last Sunday when the motorcycle he was driving veered across the center line of a highway and hit a car in Riverside, California.

West, of Van Horne, was in training at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton at the time of his death. He was off base on personal time when the crash happened. West graduated from Marion High School in Iowa in 2014. He joined the Marines on Nov. 26, 2013. His body was to be flown back to Iowa this weekend.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – After nearly two years of construction, the first hogs have been slaughtered at a giant Sioux City pork plant that is eventually expected to employ 2,000 people and process 21,000 hogs a day. Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott told the Sioux City Journal that Seaboard Triumph Foods processed about 100 hogs Wednesday as crews test equipment ahead of a Sept. 5 opening.

The company plans to start a single shift with up to 900 production workers in the 925,000-square foot plant. Initially, the plant will have a capacity of slaughtering 10,500 hogs daily. The $300 million plant was announced in May 2015.

Seaboard Triumph plans to hire a second shift by next summer, bringing total employment to about 2,000 workers who could slaughter about 6 million hogs annually.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A former Council Bluffs, Iowa, assistant city attorney has been indicted on drug charges in Nebraska. The Omaha World-Herald reports that 44-year-old Don Bauermeister, of Omaha, was charged by a federal grand jury with possessing with intent to distribute about 13 pounds of marijuana.

Bauermeister had been city employee since February 2003, but resigned in mid-June. At the time, Council Bluffs City Attorney Dick Wade said Bauermeister gave no reason for his resignation. The indictment was handed down Thursday. The allegation covers a period from November 2016 to Jan. 9, 2017.

If convicted, Bauermeister faces up to five years in prison.