The Primary Election is less than one-week away. Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman reminds residents you  can vote early (cast an ABSENTEE ballot) at the Cass County Auditor’s office during office hours up through 5-p.m. on June 6th.  The Cass County Auditor’s office is also open until 5 p.m. on Friday, June 3rd and from 8 p.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 4th.

On Tuesday, June 7th, between 7:00 A.M. and 9:00 P.M. a PRIMARY ELECTION will be held for all qualified electors of Cass County to select certain candidates to appear on the General Election ballot, November 8, 2016.

Iowa Law states that in order to vote in a PRIMARY ELECTION you must choose either a REPUBLICAN or a DEMOCRATIC PARTY Ballot. (Sec. 43.38, Code of Iowa)  A voter may change party affiliation at the polls on the day of the election.  Persons must be registered in Cass County and at their current residence address to be eligible to vote.

Iowa permits Election Day Registration.  Residents of Cass County who are not currently registered in Cass County may register at the polls and vote on the day they vote (absentee or at the polls).  The voter must present proof of identity and proof of residence address.

Residents of Cass County who have changed their name/address since registering in Cass County will be required to re-register at the voting site before being permitted to vote.  The voter must present proof of identity and proof of residence address.

THE VOTING CENTERS ON JUNE 7 FOR THIS ELECTION WILL BE AS FOLLOWS:

Atlantic 1st Ward :   Zion Lutheran Church (811 Oak St)

Atlantic 2nd Ward:  Atlantic Public Library (507 Poplar)

Atlantic 3rd Ward: Cass County Community Center (805 W 10th)

Atlantic 4th Ward: United Church of Christ (1607 Hazel)

Atlantic 5th Ward:  Heritage House (1200 Brookridge Circle)

Due to construction in progress, voting will be take place in the Lobby on Second Floor

Bear Grove, Cass Twp/Lewis: Lewis Public Library (412 W Main St, Lewis)

Benton, Franklin Twp/Wiota: Wiota City Hall (311 Center St)

Brighton, Grove, Pymosa, Washington Twp/Marne: Cass County Community Center (805 W 10th)

Edna, Victoria Twp: Massena Public Library (122 Main St, Massena)

Grant, Lincoln Twp /Anita: Anita Community Center (805 Main St)

Noble, Pleasant Twp/Griswold: Griswold Community Bldg. (601 2nd St)

Massena Twp/City of Massena: Massena Public Library (122 Main St, Massena)

Union Twp/City of Cumberland: Cumberland Community Bldg. (200 W 2nd)

A U-S District Court Judge in Pottawattamie County, Wednesday, sentenced 27-year old Nicholas M. Malone, of Onawa, to 5-years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearms andpossession of stolen firearms. The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa, says  Judge John A. Jarvey also sentenced Malone to three years of supervised release, following completion of his sentence.

Malone entered his guilty pleas on February 23, 2016, to illegally possessing stolen
firearms, based on his arrest on June 5, 2015, by the Council Bluffs Police Department. At the time of his arrest, Malone was operating a stolen pick-up truck and was found to be in possession of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, a loaded .40 caliber hand-gun, a Tikka .204 Rifle, and assorted ammunition. The firearms and ammunition had been reported stolen from Oakland, Iowa prior to Malone’s arrest.

The matter was investigated by the Council Bluffs Police Department, with support from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

A call about a “Suspicious person” at a rest area off Interstate 80 in western Iowa resulted in the arrest of a Washington State man, Wednesday. Trooper Mike Miller with the Iowa State Patrol in Council Bluffs, told KJAN News the call came in at around 11-a.m. A Trooper who responded to the scene encountered the suspicious person and ultimately placed him under arrest for disorderly conduct and interference with official acts. The man’s vehicle was towed. During an inventory of the vehicle, authorities located items that appeared to be of an explosive nature.

Officials contacted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives [ATF], State Fire Marshal’s Office and FBI. Other agencies responding to the scene include the Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, Underwood Fire and Rescue, Department of Transportation.

The items in the vehicle were examined, and determined to be an explosive device. The device was detonated in a controlled environment at the rest area. The vehicle was removed from the scene and the subject was subsequently charged with possession of explosive devices. He was booked into the Pottawattamie County Jail.

The suspect identified himself as Christopher T. Peak, of Seattle, Washington. Trooper Miller said Peak has not been cooperating with investigators. Miller said the interstate was shut down in both direction for several hours while the explosives were being removed and safely detonated.

Miller said the incident remains under investigation, while authorities work to confirm the suspects’ identity, track down where the explosive devices came from, and how Peak came into possession of those devices. They also hope to determine his motive for possessing the explosives.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.9MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Police in Creston say a resident in the 600 block of W. Adams Street reported Wednesday night, that someone had stolen a red, BMX bike from the porch of her residence. The theft occurred sometime between May 31^st and June 1^st.  The loss was estimated at $130.

A man from Washington State was arrested Wednesday afternoon after authorities investigated a suspicious object inside his vehicle parked at a rest area off Interstate 80, near Underwood. According to Omaha television station WOWT, Christopher Peak was arrested on charges that include Interference with Official Acts, Disorderly Conduct, and Possession of Explosive Device.

His arrest followed the search of his vehicle, during which a commercial explosive device was found and safely detonated. Authorities said Peak was charged with disorderly conduct after he allegedly became combative with law enforcement.

The incident began at around 11-a.m., Wednesday, and resulted in the westbound rest stop being evacuated and closed for several hours.

The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, approved a Resolution “Authorizing bids for the 2016 Street and Alley Improvements.” Snyder and Associates Engineer Dave Sturm said bid-letting for the projects will begin later this month. Sturm said their intention is to have the work completed late this summer or early fall. The projects were finalized for the Fiscal Year 2016 Capital Improvement plan. Slightly more than 1-million dollars for the projects will be financed by the 2016 bond. One-half-million dollars will be used from the Local Option Sales Tax Capital Improvement Streets fund to pay for the remaining projects.

The Council also approved, by a vote of 5-to 1, with Councilman Dana Halder opposed,   a change order pertaining to storm water improvements for the Nishna Hills Golf Course. Sturm explained this was the second change order for the project. The change amounted to an additional $3,293.95. He said that includes 46-square yards of cart path, excavation and grading and miscellaneous removal work. 20-cubic yards of dirt had to be brought in to close the project out.

The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, also approved a Resolution in support of Home Base Iowa, a public/private partnership initiative. Cass-Atlantic Development Corporation (CADCO) President Pat McCurdy, explained Home Base Iowa serves to assist veterans and transitioning service members, back into the community and work force, and give them a place to call “home.”

He says their talents are especially needed here in Cass County, where employers are looking for mid-level workers (Such as electricians, welders and other, skilled labor), whose with skills that can be put to use right away. He said veterans are used to a structured environment and are perfect for those types of positions.

Dan Mehman, a local financial advisor, is spear-heading the local Home Base Iowa initiative. He said to date, 38 communities in Iowa have passed a similar resolution in support of the initiative. The Cass County Board of Supervisors last month passed a resolution of support for the program. Each community in the County must do the same in order for Cass County to be designated a Home Base Iowa County.

And, Mayor Dave Jones signed an order Proclaiming June 13th through the 17th as SWITA’s Ride Transit Week. The Southwest Iowa Transportation Association (SWITA) provides reasonably-priced rides for persons in need (55-thousand rides were provided last year alone, in Atlantic). Daurine Petersen, Outreach Specialist for the SWITA, says as a kick-off celebration of the designation, there will be a mobile unit serving cupcakes from a specialty baker in Des Moines, from 1-to 4-p.m. (or until they last) on Tuesday, June 7th in the SWIPCO parking lot on the west side of Atlantic.

An investigation into a property damage accident that occurred Wednesday evening in Montgomery County, resulted in an arrest. 33-year old David Allan Minard, of Red Oak, was taken into custody on two Montgomery County warrants for Contempt of Court/Resistance to an Order or Process. He was also cited for driving without a valid license, passing contrary to road markings, open container, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Minard was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $2,000 bond.

Officials say Minard was driving westbound on 200th Street at around 6:35-p.m., Wednesday, and had attempted to pass a vehicle. In the process, his car tires dropped off onto the eastbound lane shoulder, causing him to lose control. The 1999 Pontiac Grand Am he was driving entered the south ditch, where it sustained about $3,500 damage.

Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County report a man wanted on a Cass County warrant for Driving While Suspended, was arrested early this (Thursday) morning, in Elliott. 25-year old Timothy Alan Brown, of Elliott, was arrested a little after midnight, and turned over to Cass County deputies. Brown was being held in the Cass County Jail on $300 bond.

Montgomery County Deputies report also, the arrest of 23-year old Dylan Keith Thessen, of Bellevue, NE.  Thessen was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,000 bond.

The leaders of Iowa’s largest businesses are optimistic about the state’s economy in the coming six months. That’s according to Elliott Smith, executive director of the Iowa Business Council, which conducts a quarterly survey of its members. “I think we’re seeing a nice, little bit of optimism expressed by business leaders,” Smith said. “All of our metrics moved forward in a positive way. Sales, capital spending, and employment all improved.”

The survey for the second quarter of 2016 shows 90-percent of the business CEOs expect steady or increased sales over the next six months and 95-percent anticipate steady or increased capital spending levels. All of the numbers improved compared to the I-B-C’s first quarter survey. “We’re glad after last quarter, when numbers dropped a little bit…that was an aberration instead of trend,” Smith said.

Eighty-five-percent of the business leaders expect hiring levels to remain steady or rise over the next six months. Smith says the next survey, three months from now, could be even better if things improve for businesses tied to agriculture. “The one sector that remains challenged, and it’s been that way for a number of quarters now, is the ag sector. We are seeing commodity prices starting to rise ever so slightly and hopefully that trend accelerates a little bit,” Smith said.

The IBC’s Overall Economic Outlook Survey Index for the second quarter rose to 62 — five points ahead of the first quarter (57) but five points behind this time last year (670). The Iowa Business Council is comprised of the top executives of over 20 of the largest businesses in the state, the three Regent university presidents, and the president and CEO of Iowa’s largest banking association.

(Radio Iowa)