Efforts to bring a concert featuring renowned singer Simon Estes to Atlantic, have resulted in a donation from an area realtor to make his presence possible. Melissa Ihnen, owner of Meyer and Gross Real Estate, in Atlantic, recently presented a check for $500 to Cass County Memorial Hospital (CCMH) Foundation Director, Dawn Marnin. Meyer and Gross is a “Silver” partner in the Foundation’s fundraising efforts.Simon Estes’ “Roots to Wings” concert is scheduled for 3:00 pm on Sunday, October 27th. Ihnen says she believes in giving back to the communities that support her, and one way to do that, is by being a partner in bringing Simon Estes, to Cass County.Estes will not only perform for the public, but will also share his inspirational message with Cass County High School Students the following day.

Meyer and Gross Real Estate is one of several locations with tickets available for the Simon Estes Concert. Stop in today at 621 Poplar Street to purchase yours! Tickets are $20 each and the concert will be held at the Atlantic High School Auditorium. For more information, contact Marnin at 712-243-7409.

Extension education officials and more than 6-million young people from across the country are celebrating National 4-H week, which runs October 6^th through the 12^th. Beth Irlbeck, Cass County Extension Youth Coordinator says the week will be marked with of a lot of different activities.

The Iowa 4-H Foundation has dedicated each day to one of the four “H’s” of 4-H (Head, Heart, Health and Hands), with the final day celebrating the 4-H color, green.  Irlbeck says area businesses are showing their support of the organization, through window displays created by several community clubs.

There are 15 4-H Clubs in Cass County, with more than 300 members and 30 volunteers. Cass County Extension will be hosting a coloring contest for all kindergarten through third grade youth. You can visit the extension’s website, download the coloring sheet and return it to the Extension Office. On Saturday, Oct. 12^th, during Atlantic’s HarvestFest, there will be additional activities for youth, and opportunities to learn more about 4-H. Extension personnel will be available during the event, from 10-a.m. until 4-p.m. She says there’s also a petting zoo in the parking lot of the Orschelen’s Store on 7^th Street in Atlantic this Saturday.

Irlbeck says one area 4-H has been focusing on recently, pertains to STEM. She says for the upcoming year, they plan on offering many great opportunities for youth in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math – STEM. They’re also activities designed to expand on communication, citizenship, healthy lifestyles, leadership, and other important skills.

To find out more about the 4-H program in Cass County, contact the Cass County Extension and Outreach Office at 712-243-1132.

After being closed only nine days, Iowa 92 near Massena is open to traffic with a brand new bridge. The Iowa Department of Transportation’s District 4 Office in Atlantic reports that the unique project went very well from the Iowa DOT’s perspective, but they want to know what you think.

Artists rendition of the new Hwy 92 bridge prior to its construction. (IA DOT photo)

Road users in the area are encouraged to complete the customer satisfaction survey on the project website http://www.iowadot.gov/MassenaBridge/index.html

w/ Ric Hanson

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ROCK BRANCH, Iowa (AP) – Friends and students of a retired teacher have begun helping him recover from tornado damage at his home in northwest Iowa. Nine tornadoes struck northeast Nebraska and northwest Iowa on Friday, injuring at least 15 people.

The Sioux City Journal says that on Sunday, two buses carried about 50 students, staff members and parents from Hinton High School to the rural Rock Branch home of Wayne Stadler and his wife, Debbie. One of the twisters had ripped off the roof of their home and destroyed their barn and several sheds. The Stadlers weren’t injured.

Wayne Stadler had taught at the high school for 32 years. The damage was almost overwhelming, but the hard work by his friends and former students gave him a good start on the cleanup.

One person was arrested early this (Monday) morning after he crossed a barricade at a fire scene and refused to leave. Authorities say 29-year old Matthew Daniel Sloan, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 2-a.m. on a charge of interference with official acts. After he was transported to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center, Sloan was allegedly found to be in possession of a controlled substance. He was subsequently charged with introducing a controlled substance/marijuana, into a secure facility. Sloan was being held in the jail on $5,000 cash bond.

Firefighters from the Red Oak Fire Dept and surrounding communities are at a working structure fire in Red Oak this morning at 5th and Reed Streets, the site of the old Pit Stop Bar.

Photo courtesy Montgomery County EMA.

Montgomery County Emergency Management Director Brian Hamman reports the call came in at roughly 12:30am. Mutual aid was immediately requested from Stanton Fire, Elliott Fire & First Responders, Essex Fire & Rescue, and Shenandoah Fire and Clarinda Fire depts provided aerial support.

Crews are still operating at the fire scene and will be for several hours. Hamman asks residents to please avoid the area. The investigation is on going and the State Fire Marshals office has been notified.

Power is out in the area and Mid American Energy is working to restore those that were cut due to the fire.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

One of the key components of the state education reform plan is moving closer to being implemented. Ryan Wise, the director of strategic initiatives at the Iowa Department of Education, says districts are in the planning phase of creating teacher leadership positions. The idea is to take the best teachers and use them as mentors for other teachers to raise the quality of education overall. Wise says a lot of the early discussion centered on how to define the roles of the experienced teachers who will lead others.

“I think there are certainly questions out there, and as a department we’re working hard to answer them and to really help facilitate conversations locally where they can answer the questions and develop a model of teacher leadership that works for them,” Wise says. There are some state requirements for the teacher leadership positions, including a minimum salary of 33-thousand-500 dollars, the district is required to “improve entry into the profession for all new teachers.” He says they also have to create multiple leadership roles, have a rigorous selection process for the leadership roles, and finally that they align their professional development plan to the new leadership positions.

The state has three-point-five million dollars to give to districts to help them in the planning process. Wise says the Education Department will send out an application to districts to apply to take part in the leadership program. He says they will also include a scoring system so district know how their application will be scored and they will have until January 31st of 2014 to submit their actual plan. The state will then phase in the leadership plans across the state.

“District serving one-third of the students in Iowa will come in each year — because that’s an important distinction because it may not equal exactly a third of the districts — but it’s a third of the students will come in in each of the first three years of the program,” Wise says. The legislature appropriated 50-million dollars for the implementation of the new plan.

(Radio Iowa)