(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Community School District, in collaboration with the Iowa State Patrol, is holding a Safety Carnival for Junior and Senior High students at the High School, on Tuesday, Oct. 17th from 8:30-a.m. to 3:30-p.m.  According to AHS Principal Heather McKay, the primary goal of the program is to profoundly impact teenagers by illustrating the potentially dire consequences of alcohol consumption and distractions while driving. The Safety Carnival is designed to challenge students to contemplate the dangers of drinking, texting while driving, personal safety, and the importance of making responsible decisions when lives are at stake. The event concludes a week-long curriculum presented to Dan Vargasons Leadership class at AHS.

Nearly 13,000 people lose their lives each year in alcohol-related collisions, with thousands more falling victim to distracted drivers. Our objective is to educate our students so that they can make informed choices and steer clear of risky driving habits.

Activities that will take place during the safety carnival include:

• A Seatbelt Convincer – students are buckled into a seat that travels approximately 10 feet and mimics a slow speed (10 mph) crash.
• Golf Cart Texting Course – Students will drive golf carts through a course designed to illustrate roadway changes (curves, stops, etc.) while composing a text.  An ISP Driving instructor will be riding with each student as they attempt to navigate the course while texting.
• Pedal Car Course – Students will utilize the pedal car (it’s like an adult big wheel) while wearing Drunk goggles to illustrate challenges of navigating the roadway while intoxicated.
• Field Sobriety Testing – Students will complete the Standard Field Sobriety tests while wearing the Drunk goggles to show how impairment affects their ability to perform routine tasks.
• Virtual reality goggles – Our driving simulator that uses VR goggles will give students an opportunity to navigate different challenges presented through the simulator program.
• Crashed Camaro – Vehicle that was traveling over 149mph and crashed at 104 mph in July 2022, killing the three teenage occupants in Dubuque.  Car has not been altered (exception of reconnecting roof) so students can see firsthand the extensive damage related to high speed crashes.   The vehicle still has contents from night of the crash (Shoes, etc.) so students can see reality of choosing to drive excessive speeds.  There is also an accompanying video we will show that interviews the family and friends of the female victims, and law enforcement who covered the crash who remain affected by this tragedy. (The ISP Technical Investigator who conducted the crash reconstruction will be present to talk about the event).

There will be 6 Troopers from the Iowa State Patrol and 1 Sergeant to conduct activities and answer questions.  The public is invited to come and join the ISP and School Administrators for the event on Tuesday.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City Council in Atlantic will act, Wednesday (Oct. 18th), on making appointments to the City’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission. The Council’s meeting begins 5:30-p.m., in their Chambers at City Hall.

You may recall, the Council passed the third and final reading of an Ordinance creating the new Commission, during their meeting on Sept. 29th. The Commission consists of five individuals with a minimum of three representatives living in the City limits, and allowing for two in Cass County. A sixth, non-voting representative from the Atlantic Community School District will also serve on the Commission.

The City of Atlantic’s Personnel and Finance Committee met on October 9th to review letters of interest from prospective Commission members, and has nominated the following persons to serve on the Parks & Rec Commission: Dolly Bergman and Kevin Ferguson (Both two-year terms); Mary Strong, Shirley Jensen and Ali Pieken (One-year terms). The two seats that may be held from those outside of City limits would be occupied by Bergman and Pieken. If the Council approves those nominations, they will become effective January 1, 2024.

In other business, the Atlantic City Council will act on approving an Order to allow the Atlantic Elks Lodge’ request to install a flagpole in the right-of-way in front of their building at 411 Walnut Street. The Personnel & Finance Committee recommends the Council approve the request for a flagpole located at the northeast corner abutting 411 Walnut.

The Council will also act on passing a Resolution “Approving of a Revolving Forgivable Loan with SHIFT ATL and providing for an Appropriation,” relating to housing rehabilitation. SHIFT has applied for a $100,000 revolving loan for the residential rehab of 201 W. 14th Street, which the Personnel and Finance Committee has unanimously endorsed.

And, the Council is expected to act on an Order to “shift future Fireworks budgets from the 4th of July to Labor Day.” The Personnel & Finance Committee met Sept. 9th to review the “Bash at the Ballfields” event that occurred over the Labor Day weekend, and concluded the event was a success. They are recommending the City hold its fireworks show on Labor Day next year, instead of the 4th of July. The Council was in agreement in an earlier meeting that the benefits of holding the event later outweigh any negative aspects, and would likely draw a bigger crowd and more entertainment.

At the end of regular business, Wednesday, the Atlantic City Council is expected to enter into a closed session to discuss legal strategy with Counsel, regarding matters of current or imminent litigation.

(Area News) – At least three area school district boards of education will hold their regular monthly meetings this coming week. First-up, at 5:30-p.m. Monday (Oct. 16th), is the Griswold School Board meeting, which takes place in the Conference Room at the High School.

During their session, the Board will receive information with regard to 2023-24 Certified Enrollment, and discuss Open Enrollment Data, in addition to their Board Goals. The Board is expected to act on approving Veteran’s Day Program Expenses, and consider the activation status of the District’s Early Retirement Policies, and act on the First Reading of some 500- and 700-series Board Polices.

The Audubon School District’s Board of Education is set to meet at 7-p.m. on Monday, in the High School Board Room. Their meeting begins with a Work Session for Policy Review, and the First Reading of a Policy pertaining to the “Discipline of Students who Make Threats of Violence or Cause Incidents of Violence.” The Board will act on approving the first reading of that policy later on in their meeting.

In other business, the Audubon School Board will act to approve: Mid-Term graduates (pending completion of Requirements); Appointing a delegate to the IASB Delegate Assembly; Appointing a member to the County Assessor Conference Board; Setting the date/time for the Audubon School Board’s annual meeting, and other matters, including the Audit Report, and a request to the SBRC (School Budget Review Committee) for Modified Supplemental amount for Asbestos Abatement ($134,066), and the exhibits associated with a Hazardous Material Mitigation request. They’re also expected to approve Early Retirement Plans and Personnel matters.

In his report to the Audubon School Board, Superintendent Eric Trager will provide updates on the District’s Building Project, Schoolhouse Fund Budget, and Certified Enrollment.

The Exira-Elk Horn Kimballton School Board will hold their monthly meeting in Elk Horn on Tuesday (Oct. 17), at 5-p.m., in the Exira-EHK Conference Room. Among their action items is:

A. A Request for Allowable Growth for LEP Allowable Costs in the amount of $2,540.88
B. An Agreement to Establish a Consortium to Jointly Administer an Instructional Program Located in space within the boundaries of the Glenwood Community School District
C. A District Renovations Contract with INVISION Architecture
D. Policy Adoption – First Reading: 503.08 – Discipline of Students Who Make Threats of Violence or Cause Incidents of Violence
E. Personnel Resignations, Hires, & Transfers….
i. Resignations: Stacie Hansen – Associate;
ii. Hires: Cody Parmley – Play Director; Jacki Piva – Associate.

DES MOINES, IOWA — A Polk County jury has found Bravon Tukes not guilty on all five counts he was facing for his alleged role in the shooting inside Starts Right Here educational center in Des Moines on January 23rd. The 20-year-old Tukes was accused of discussing the shooting with gunman 19-year-old Preston Walls beforehand and then giving him a ride minutes after the shooting that killed 18-year-old Giovanni Dameron and 16-year-old Rashad Carr and injured school founder Will Keeps, a former Chicago gang member and rapper who started the program for at-risk teens.

Tukes was charged with two counts of First Degree Murder and individual counts of Criminal Gang Participation, Willful Injury and Attempted Murder.  The jury, Friday, returned unanimous not guilty verdicts on each of the five charges on Friday afternoon.  Tukes has continued to maintain that he didn’t know Walls was about to open fire on classmates inside the school.

Walls was facing the same charges as Tukes in his trial last month.  A jury found Walls guilty of the lesser charges of Second Degree Murder and Voluntary Manslaughter for the deaths of Carr and Dameron.  Walls was found not guilty of the other three charges.  Walls faces up to 50 years in prison with the possibility of parole.

SERGEANT BLUFF, Iowa (KCAU) — A group of Siouxland students exercised their right to protest in support of a former member of staff. Students at Sergeant Bluff Luton Middle School didn’t let the pouring rain stop their walkout on Friday in support of the school’s principal, Bill McKelvey, who resigned from his post earlier this month. Mckelvey tendered his resignation voluntarily, following an internal investigation by the district.

According to a Facebook post by the district, they are not able to say what led to the investigation. However, community members allege that the investigation is related to a fight McKelvey intervened in and that contributed to Friday’s protest.

In a statement to KCAU in Sioux City, school officials said “The district provided a safe environment for students to learn and an appropriate forum to share their voice. Personnel matters are confidential and therefore the district is unable to provide comment.”

DALLAS COUNTY, Iowa (KCCI) — Bicyclists and hikers will no longer need to purchase a permit to use the Raccoon River Valley Trail. The Dallas, Guthrie, and Greene County Conservation Boards hope this will encourage more people to use the trail that runs from Jefferson to Clive.

The permit requirement ends at the start of next year. A special trail event permit will still be required for large trail events.

NEVADA, Iowa (KCCI) — The mother of an infant girl who died in Story County this summer is now in an Iowa jail on a murder charge. Sheyenne Shore was booked into the jail Thursday. She was charged in June but was in custody in California on unrelated charges at that time.

Court documents say, on June 11, she brought the baby to the Story County Medical Center. A hospital employee says the baby was cold, stiff, and her pupils were dilated. They tried saving her life but couldn’t. A search warrant was carried out, which found baby clothes covered in blood.

The medical examiner’s office confirms the baby died of multiple injuries, including many to the head. The baby’s father, Juan Montalvo Jr., is also charged but has not been booked into the Story County Jail yet.

(Radio Iowa) – The president of Northeast Iowa Community College — on administrative leave for undisclosed reasons — says he’s done nothing wrong. Janelle Tucker reports.

Northeast Iowa Community College has campuses in Calmar and Peosta.

(Coralville, Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Corrections, Friday (today), reported a man serving a 15-year sentence for Sexual Abuse in the 3rd Degree and other charges out of Ida County, has died.

62-year-old David Allen Wieling, Sr., was pronounced dead due to natural causes at 4:35 a.m. on Friday, October 13, 2023 while in hospice at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center where he had been housed due to chronic illness.

Weiling began serving his sentence on November 14, 2018.

(Iowa DNR News) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reminds lake property owners to check their boat and trailers, and docks and lifts, for aquatic invasive species before storing them for the winter. Aquatic invasive species, everything from zebra mussels to Eurasian watermilfoil, move from one waterbody to another by hitchhiking on boats, in bait buckets and on other equipment used in the water. They can create serious problems for Iowa waters and negatively impact the quality of outdoor recreation experiences.

Kim Bogenschutz, aquatic invasive species coordinator for the Iowa DNR, says “Fall is a great time for lake property owners to check their boats, docks and lifts for new infestations of aquatic invasive species like zebra mussels. As you bring each item out of the water, visually inspect areas that have been submerged for months. Touch smooth surfaces to check for juvenile zebra mussels that feel like sandpaper when you run your hand over a surface they’ve attached themselves to and are often invisible to the human eye.”

Aquatic invasive species often grow quickly and spread fast when brought to a new lake or stream due to lack of natural controls.

How to Prevent the Spread of Invasive Species

• CLEAN any plants, animals, or mud from your boat and equipment before you leave a waterbody.
• DRAIN water from all equipment (motor, live well, bilge, transom well, bait bucket) before you leave a waterbody.
• DRY anything that comes into contact with water (boats, trailers, equipment, boots, clothing, dogs). Before you move to another waterbody either: Spray your boat and trailer with hot or high-pressure water; or Dry your boat and equipment for at least five days.
• Never release plants, fish or animals into a water body unless they came out of that waterbody and always empty unwanted bait in the trash.
• It is illegal to possess or transport prohibited aquatic invasive species or to transport any aquatic plants on water-related equipment in Iowa.  Signs posted at public accesses remind boaters to stop aquatic hitchhikers and identify infested waters.

Iowa law also requires boaters to drain all water from boats and equipment before they leave a water access and to keep drain plugs removed or opened during transport. It is also illegal to introduce any live fish, except for hooked bait, into public waters.

Learn more about aquatic invasive species, including a list of infested waters in the current Iowa Fishing Regulations or at www.iowadnr.gov/ais.