The “ReOpen 2nd Floor” Committee will host a Halloween trick or treat and open house on the second and third floors of Atlantic’s City Hall Saturday, October 31st, from 2:30 – until 4:00 p.m., and from 7:30 until – 9:00 p.m.  Children and adults are invited to wear costumes if they choose, pick a treat and tour portions of City Hall that have been closed to the public for nearly 40 years.

City Hall does not yet have an elevator so visitors should be aware that the only access to the second floor is by stairs. Visitors are not required to go to the second floor to receive a treat though. Saturday’s open house will be the last opportunity for voters to visit City Hall prior to the referendum next week that will determine if the classic auditorium on the second floor will be remodeled and used by the public again.

On Tuesday, November third, citizens of Atlantic will vote on the question of using Local Option Sales Tax to remodel the second and third floors of City Hall, making them available for the public to use again. The remodel project will update the electrical system, add heat and air conditioning to the second and third floors, install an elevator, remodel the former fire department apartments into a conference room, refurbish the classic auditorium that seats up to 300, add restrooms, a serving kitchen and a custodial closet.

The question on the ballot will be, “Shall the City of Atlantic, in Cass County, Iowa, issue its bonds, paid with local option sales tax (LOST) revenue in an amount not exceeding the amount of $875,000 for the purpose of paying for the cost of restoring the historic ballroom/theater and creating a multi-purpose facility on the second and third floors of City Hall?”

Local Option Sales Tax (L.O.S.T.) is the 1% tax on sales that take place locally. L.O.S.T. is to be used for capital improvements, community development or parks and recreation. The City’s average income from L.O.S.T. for the past 10 years has been over $750,000 annually. If the issue is approved, $60,000 would be used each year to repay the $875,000 bond over 30 years. Only 8% of the fund would be needed to repay the bond, leaving 92% of the fund to continue being used for the same purposes it has been in the past. Local option sales tax cannot be increased higher than 1% according to state law so taxes will not be raised to pay for the project.

Potential events the facility might be used for include: meeting space for clubs and community groups, concerts, conferences, corporate meetings, City Council meetings when a large crowd will attend, dances, parties, theatrical productions, political gatherings, weddings and receptions, etc.

Answers to frequently asked questions, other information about the project and a photo gallery of the interior of the building can be found at www.reopen2ndfloor.com.

NEVADA, Iowa (AP) – DuPont is announcing the opening of an ethanol plant that will make the fuel additive from corn stalks, leaves and cobs instead of the grain itself. The $225 million refinery in central Iowa is touted as the world’s largest cellulosic ethanol plant, which is designed to make 30 million gallons annually once it’s in full production next year.

Friday’s (Today’s) opening of the plant comes at a challenging time for the ethanol industry, which has been battling the petroleum industry over how much ethanol the government will require to be used in the nation’s automotive gas supply.  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is scheduled to come up with its final recommendations next month after proposing to cut the renewable fuel standard from levels Congress set earlier.

Two people were hurt Thursday afternoon when a truck and combine collided, in Pottawattamie County. The Sheriff’s Office says the accident happened at around 6:10-p.m. on Railroad Highway, near Yellow Pole Road. According to the report, 35-year old Jayson Hickle, of Missouri Valley, was traveling southbound in a truck, when the vehicle collided head-on with a combine driven by 50-year old Larry Larsen, of Crescent. The crash caused Larson to be ejected from the combine.

Both men were transported by ambulance to local area hospitals.  Authorities say Hickle was charged with driving while license under suspension, failure to maintain control, and open container. The accident investigation is on-going and additional charges may be filed.

Three people were injured during a collision Thursday afternoon, in Pottawattamie County. The Sheriff’s Office said Friday (today), the accident happened at around 2:40-p.m. on Highway 6 near the intersection with 300th Street. Officials say a 2011 Toyota Corolla driven by 30-year old John Son, of Omaha, was traveling east on Highway 6 at the same time a 2012 Nissan Altima driven by 53-year old Julie Achenbaugh, of Treynor, was heading west. The vehicles collided head-on on the westbound shoulder of the road.

Authorities say Son was not injured in the crash, but two passengers in his car, 20-year old Htoo Day, and 52-year old Eh Gay, both of Omaha, were hurt and transported by ambulance to area hospitals.  Achenbaugh was also transported to a local area hospital by ambulance.

Deputies charged Son with unsafe passing.

The flu season appears to be off to an early start in Iowa. The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) today (Friday) announced testing by the State Hygienic Laboratory (SHL) has identified cases influenza circulating the state. While influenza activity remains at a low level, the identification of the virus in Iowa should serve as motivation for those who have not yet received their yearly influenza vaccination to do so now.

IDPH Medical Director, Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, says “The most effective way to prevent influenza illness and death is the yearly flu vaccine. Based on CDC estimates, an average of 300,000 Iowans gets the flu every year and together, flu and its complication of pneumonia cause an average of 1,000 deaths yearly in Iowa.”

IDPH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend annual influenza vaccinations for everyone 6 months of age and older. It’s especially important to be vaccinated if you have regular contact with people more vulnerable to the complications of flu, including babies, children with asthma, and the elderly. IDPH also recommends pregnant women be vaccinated to protect themselves, and to pass on some immunity to their baby.

The flu is a serious respiratory illness caused by viruses. The flu comes on suddenly and symptoms may include fever, headache, tiredness, cough, sore throat, nasal congestion, and body aches. Illness typically lasts two to seven days, and often puts healthy people in bed for days. Influenza may cause severe illness or even death in people such as the very young or very old, or those who have underlying health conditions.

Influenza is not a ‘reportable disease’ in Iowa, which means doctors are not required to notify IDPH each time a patient tests positive for influenza; however, IDPH conducts year-round influenza surveillance through the Iowa Influenza Surveillance Network. This surveillance indicates what types of influenza viruses are circulating and how widespread influenza illness is. For more information about where and what kind of influenza is in Iowa, go to https://idph.iowa.gov/influenza/reports.

Contact your health care provider or local health department to find out where the vaccine is available in your community or use the Flu Vaccine Finder at www.flu.gov/.

Authorities in Cass County today (Friday) released additional information about an accident that took place Oct. 20th. The Sheriff’s Office says at around 11-a.m. that day, deputies responded to a report of a car/tractor accident on Highway 71 south of Atlantic. A 2015 Cadillac owned and driven by 81-year old Dale Dean Pauley, of Atlantic, was southbound on Highway 71 when the driver attempted to pass a 2015 Case tractor driven by 24-year old William Garrett Wilson, of Exira.

Pauley’s car hit the driver’s side of the tractor and rolled in the west ditch, landing on its top. Pauley and a passenger, Ila Lucille Pauley, suffered minor injuries, and were transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital by Medivac ambulance.

Damage to Pauley’s Cadillac was estimated at $43,000. The tractor sustained an estimated $5,000 damage. Deputies cited Dale Pauley for Failure to Maintain Control.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office today (Friday) released information about two arrests that took place, Wednesday. 45-year old Curtis Lloyd Rush, of Wiota, was arrested on a District Court warrant for Failure to Appear (Child Support). Rush was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released later that day on $2000 bond.

And, 40-year old Joseph Michael Greathouse, of Massena, was arrested Wednesday on a Dallas County warrant. Greathouse was taken to the Cass County Jail and released to Dallas County authorities the following day.

Ten Republican presidential candidates will visit the Iowa State Fairgrounds Varied Industries Building during the Iowa G-O-P’s day-long “Growth and Opportunity Party” tomorrow (Saturday). It starts in mid-morning and lasts until five o’clock and will feature a fair-like atmosphere, with candidate booths and even TVs to watch college football between the speeches. Many of the candidates are arriving in Iowa today (Friday). Mike Huckabee will be making stops in Missouri Valley, Harlan, Audubon and Carroll — part of his aim to visit each of Iowa’s 99 counties.

Huckabee huddles/Town Hall meetings, are being held today: from 9-to 10:30-a.m. at Penny’s Diner, in Missouri Valley; from Noon until 1:30-p.m. at the Pizza Ranch, in Harlan; in Audubon at Quality Machine of Iowa (1040 4th Ave), beginning at 2:30-p.m.; and at Sam’s Soda and Sandwich shop in Carroll, from 5- to 6:30-p.m.

Huckabee says “Winning Iowa is not a sudden explosion, it’s a slow burn and, you know, I’m not the least bit panicked about where we are and where things are going because every day we’re adding chairmen in counties,” Huckabee says. “We have volunteers. We have people in our structure and organization.” Huckabee won the 2008 Iowa Caucuses and he says it’s because he took the time to meet potential Caucus-goers “person-to-person.”

“You can’t do that behind a rope line,” Huckabee says. “You can’t do that, you know, in a big event where you never go out there and answer questions and touch people. If there’s a better way to do it, I’d love to find out, but having won it before with the most votes anybody ever received in an Iowa Caucus in its history I’d like to think I learned something in that process.”

Here’s the list of the other candidates who’ll be speaking Saturday at the G-O-P’s event in Des Moines: Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Lindsey Graham, Bobby Jindal and Marco Rubio. Each will be given 15 minutes to speak to the crowd. The new Iowa front-runner Ben Carson, will NOT attend. Carson is holding campaign fundraisers in Tennessee tomorrow.

(Radio Iowa)

Authorities in western Iowa are on the lookout for a man who escaped from a Council Bluffs work release facility. According to the Iowa Department of Corrections, 30-year-old Jonathon Mandel Clausell was placed on “escaped” status following an unexcused absence from the facility. Clausell was transferred to work release October 13th.

Jonathon Clausell

Clausell was serving 20 years for 2nd degree robbery in Union County, and 1st degree theft and assault while participating in a felony, in Montgomery County. He’s described as being African American, 5-feet 10-inches tall, and weighing 189 pounds. Clausell has black hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information on the prisoner’s whereabouts should contact Council Bluffs police or the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office.