Atlantic’s City Administrator delivered some unwanted news for residential and commercial property owners during Wednesday evening’s City Council meeting. John Lund said while figuring the preliminary Fiscal Year 2018 City Budget, which is expected to be ready by the next City Council meeting, the process by the Iowa Legislature of beginning to de-appropriate the backfill the City receives from the State, will impact property taxes significantly.

The Governor says he wants to maintain the backfill, but the Iowa House says it’s how they want to solve their budget problems right now. That means a potential loss to the City of around $120,000-150,000.

Lund says he’s had to adjust the budget. The General Fund he says, will be okay, but the Employee Benefits Fund and Debt Service Funds would both show a loss. He said also, if the City were to do another bond next year for some final street projects, we can’t afford to use Reserve Balances. Therefore, he proposes increase the tax levies 1.48-percent.

That translates to a tax rate of $13.93 per thousand dollars valuation in residential property tax, and $22.50 on Commercial property. The move he said “Would restore everything to where we need to be, and it would keep things solid, long term.”

Lund says that’s especially true with the Debt Service Fund. The employee benefits fund would end up being fine, and accommodate for growth, even though the City has had a couple of years of using the balance. But the Debt Service would actually end up going into the red in FY 2021. “That can’t happen,” he says we would eventually have to raise tax levies then anyway. “As a City, we can’t default on those.”

He said “If there was any other way to do it, that’s what I would recommend. If we didn’t have a lot of other bond projects coming up, I would just say to your we could try and weather through it but we still have some streets left that need to get done. They’re expensive streets and we’re gonna need to bond. We can’t have our latest financial statements showing losses across the board. It’s not gonna look good.”

He said if the City waits to increase property taxes until next year, it would hit your wallet even harder.

Iowans who’d like to forget about ice and frigid temperatures for a moment should think ahead to this weekend’s Iowa Bike Expo, one of the largest bicycling shows in the Midwest. Mark Wyatt, executive director of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition, says the free event in Des Moines should attract some 45-hundred cycling enthusiasts from across the state.

“Saturday is going to be a blast,” Wyatt says. “We have 140 vendor spaces with bikes, gear, events, destinations. We’ll have people shopping for their summer in bicycling.” Whether you’re looking for cycling clothes, a helmet or a complete new two-wheeled ride, he says you’ll be able to find it at the expo.

“We have bike shops from across the state that are going to be there,” Wyatt says. “There’s plenty of things to see and do. We have unique specialty vendors, jewelry and bikes and keepsakes and all kinds of things. It’s a lot of fun.” The Bike Expo runs Saturday from 10 AM to 5:30 PM at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines.

Saturday night, there’s a ticketed event focused around the naming of the RAGBRAI route for this summer’s statewide ride. There will also be educational seminars helping Iowa cyclists get in touch with bike advocacy, find the latest consumer trends and learn about new places to ride.

“We have a conference on fat bikes, we have a conference on kids who walk and bike to school,” Wyatt says. “Thursday night, we’re going to do a program on business, bikes and beer at Peace Tree in Des Moines, and Friday, we have our Bicycle Summit which is an educational conference for planners, engineers and city officials.” That educational conference will cover things like federal highway policies regarding bike trails all the way down to what sort of green paint to use in setting off city bike lanes.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa legislators are considering a crackdown on smart phone use behind the steering wheel. A bill that would let police pull over vehicles if they suspect the driver is texting has cleared a senate subcommittee. Iowa’s law enforcement community, cell phone providers and insurance companies are urging legislators to go farther, however, and make it illegal to use a hand-held device while driving. Susan Cameron, a lobbyist for the Iowa State Sheriffs and Deputies Association, says distracted driving is a top concern.

“We are no longer just dealing with texting,” Cameron says. “Because of smart phones, we’re dealing with all kinds of activities that people can do on their phones.” Governor Branstad supports a “hands free” law. Amber Markham of the Iowa Department of Public Safety is urging legislators to take that step. “We just feel that distracted driving is just far too big of an issue to pass the buck another year and not do something that’s going to make real change,” Markham says.

About 70 percent of fatal accidents in the past three years were caused by a vehicle that drifted out of its lane and Markham says those lane departures were likely caused by a distracted driver. Steve Gent of the Iowa D-O-T says teens today have had a smart phone in their hands long before they ever handled a steering wheel. “The things that my kids and my nieces and nephews do with cell phones is not just texting and email,” he said. “It is Snapchat, Facebook, every other kind of thing that goes on with it and, in fact, most people spend more time on their smart phone than they do with their spouse or their best friend.”

Iowa crash data indicates the number of accidents caused by a driver distracted by a cell phone or other electronic device has “nearly doubled” in the past five years. The lobbyist for Iowa State Sheriffs and Deputies Association says using a cell phone behind the wheel takes the driver’s eyes off the road and at least one hand off the wheel, plus the driver’s mind is focused on the phone, not on driving.

“Driving a vehicle while texting is six times more dangerous than driving while intoxicated,” Cameron said. “Texting and driving is now the leading cause of death among teenagers, surpassing drinking and driving.” Three senators have endorsed a bill that would let law enforcement ticket drivers for texting and driving. Today, texting while driving is a secondary offense for Iowa adults, meaning police may only issue tickets if the driver has violated some other traffic law, like speeding. The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa is the only group registered in opposition to the bill.

“Iowa already has a huge racial disparity in arrest rates and we don’t think doing anything to increase arrest rates in Iowa is a good thing.” That’s Daniel Zeno, policy counsel for the A-C-L-U of Iowa. The next stop for this debate about texting and driving is the Senate Transportation Committee.

(Radio Iowa)

NEOLA, Iowa (AP) — The former city clerk for Neola in southwest Iowa has pleaded guilty to misconduct after state officials found misspending or mishandling of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil reports 56-year-old Deb Schierbrock pleaded guilty Tuesday in Pottawattamie County court to three counts of non-felonious misconduct in office. She was given a suspended one-year jail sentence and three years’ probation.

An audit released in October 2015 showed Schierbrock had misappropriated more than $230,000 in city funds over a five-year period. Schierbrock was fired in August 2013 after a city check written to pay for a firetruck bounced. State auditors found improper overtime payments and numerous checks written to Schierbrock, among other problems.

Audubon Police Chief Matt Starmer, today (Wednesday), reports 20-year old Megan Marie Griffen, of Avoca, was arrested last Friday for Possession of Marijuana and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.  Audubon County Deputy Tibbets and K9 Axel assisted in the arrest.

On Jan. 4th, 36 year old Tanya Lyn Snyder, of Audubon, was arrested by Audubon Police, for Public Intoxication 3rd or more offenses. On Jan. 3rd,  50 year old Timothy Nathan Turner, of Kimballton, was arrested for Public Intoxication/3rd or subsequent offense.

All subjects were transported to the Audubon County Jail to appear before a magistrate.

Police in Council Bluffs this (Wednesday) morning, arrested the mother of a 4-year old male who suffered life threatening injuries due to alleged abuse.  30-year old Jacqueline E. Short, of Council Bluffs, was arrested on warrants for her involvement in the January 12th, 2017 incident. The infant’s father, 28-year old Jack Williams, of Council Bluffs, was initially arrested for his involvement in the incident on January 12th. Both Williams and Short are currently in custody at the Pottawattamie County Jail charged with Child Endangerment resulting in serious injury and Neglect or Abandonment of a Dependent Person. The Child remains in Critical Condition at Children’s Hospital.

Officers were dispatched just before 2-a.m. January 12th to the American Inn Motel on S. 24th Street, to assist rescue personnel. Responding units learned that a 4 month old infant had stopped breathing, but his parents were able to resuscitate him. The child was transported by rescue squad to Jennie Edmundson Hospital. At Jennie Edmundson, emergency medical staff observed injuries on the infant that were consistent with him being physically abused. The child’s condition began to deteriorate and he was transferred to Children’s Hospital in Omaha.

Detectives from the Criminal Investigation Division were notified and took over the investigation. As a result of the investigation it was determined that the infant’s father, Jack Williams was the sole caretaker for the infant when the injuries occurred. Williams was arrested last Thursday afternoon.

Jacqueline Short

Jack Williams

“Veterans Day” events are underway at the state Capitol. Organizers say much progress has been made to provide relief to veterans in their everyday lives, but the groups involved are pressing for legislative action on a few key issues, like DOUBLING the property tax credit for vets.

(That’s Bob Steben, interim director of the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs) who was among more than a dozen speakers at an hour-long event in the statehouse rotunda. The veterans are also asking legislators to waive vehicle registration and license fees for the vehicles disabled veterans drive. State officials say there are 37-thousand disabled veterans living in Iowa today.

(Radio Iowa)

Members of the Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton School Board, Tuesday night held their regular monthly meeting that was delayed by one-day due to the weather. Superintendent Trevor Miller told KJAN News they discussed the hiring of a professional firm to examine the District’s facilities. (Click on the left side of the audio bar to listen)

They also discussed District Building Alignment.

And, Mr. Miller said the District will host a sub-District FFA contest Feb. 8^th, where 13 different schools and some 250 students will be at the district’s buildings during competitions. That means a 2:30-p.m. early dismissal in-time for the 2:45 arrival of the other teams.

The Board also discussed a possible, out-of-country FFA trip by one of the Exira-EHK Students.

Miller said also, they’re moving forward with refinancing their bonds by signing an engagement letter with Piper-Jaffray to determine if there’s any benefit to refinancing, as far as savings is concerned.

The Atlantic Police Department reports a Polk County man was arrested on drug charges, Tuesday. 36-year old Michael Miller, of Clive, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance. Miller was booked into the Cass County Jail. Also arrested Tuesday, was 30-year old Ruben Eram, of Atlantic. He was charged with Public Intoxication. This (Wednesday) morning, 31-year old Narson Narios, of Atlantic, was also arrested for Public Intox. Both men were booked into the Cass County Jail.

Investigators in Nebraska are still looking into last weekend’s hit-and-run crash that killed a young woman from southwest Iowa. Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner says they want to clarify what happened Friday night near Waverly, Nebraska, when 19-year-old Merzedes Hart of Council Bluffs was struck and killed by a car. “The involved vehicle left the scene initially,” Wagner says. “We were able to locate that vehicle and driver. He has been interviewed and released. The investigation is continuing.”

The accident happened near Shakers Gentlemen’s Club northeast of Lincoln. The sheriff says the unidentified motorist hit Hart as she walked to her car on U-S Highway 6, then left the scene.  “The driver didn’t come back. The driver thought he had struck a deer,” Wagner says. “We are working to determine and verify his statements to use. No, he didn’t come back to the scene. We located his vehicle at his residence.”

Hart was a student at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and was a member of U-N-O’s track and field team. There was a track meet in Lincoln that weekend. Hart was a freshman, majoring in business.

(Thanks to Brent Martin, Nebraska Radio Network)