(Glenwood, Iowa) – Police in Glenwood report the arrest today (Tuesday), of a Pacific Junction man. 27-year-old Michael Combs was arrested for OWI/1st offense. His bond was set at $1,000 cash or surety, which he posted before being released.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday morning, acted on three resolutions to come before them. The first was to approve a Cass County Investment Policy, which passed unanimously. The Board also passed a Resolution to receive and Earmark Funds from the Sale of the County Owned Farm. Board Chair Steve Baier said the sale of land brought the County $1,711, 957.

He said he appreciates the work of those involved in making the sale successful and setting the stage for the funds.

The Cass Supervisors also passed a Resolution amending the FY23 Secondary Roads Budget, necessary for submission to the Iowa Department of Transportation. County Engineer Trent Wolken…

He said essentially, the budget amendment is for two projects.

Cass County BOS 5-23-23

The DOT, he said will reimburse the County promptly, for the $600,000 each project costs in this year and next. The costs will not be passed on to taxpayers in the County.The revised construction budget, instead of being $1.085-million, is $1.96-million for the second phase.  In his regular, weekly report to the Board, Wolken said they continue to haul contract rock in the Atlantic District, and more in the Massena District, in the vicinity of the Wind Turbine Project. He also spoke about current and upcoming bridge projects.

He said also, a lot of new equipment typically comes in toward the end of May or first part of June, including two new motor graders set to arrive any day now. In other business, the Cass County Supervisors heard a report from Cass/Guthrie/Adair County Environmental Health Director Jotham Arber, who said they have been conducting several percolation (Perc) tests over the past few weeks. He said also, they are using a new system for septic system inspections, using a digital inspection sheet.

He said the information is much more detailed then previously available to a home seller and buyer.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Board of Supervisors in Montgomery County held a brief, regular weekly session today (Tuesday, May 23). The Board approved a request for the use of the courthouse lawn for a Bible reading event to be held on July 13, 2023, from 8-a.m. to 8-p.m. The Board has approved a similar request for at least the past couple of years. The event is generally held state-wide, and has drawn up to 80 or more participants at some sites.

The Board also approving claims payable for Wed., May 24, 2023, in the amount of $495,604.49. In her report to the Montgomery County Supervisors, County Engineer Karen Albert said they continue to haul road rock throughout the County.

She was asked to update the Board about H-34 project, east of Red Oak, and if it will be worked on during this next fiscal year.

She said they’re hoping material prices will be lower by the time bid-letting rolls around.

Montgomery County Engineer Karen Albert addresses the County Supervisors (3/23/23)

The next meeting of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors takes place 8:30-a.m. Tuesday, May 30, 2023.

(Johnston, Iowa) – Hy-Vee stores in Johnston, Ames and Perry were evacuated Monday evening, following anonymous calls about a bomb threat. A sweep of the stores determined the threats were not credible. Similar threats were also received at Hy-Vee stores in Illinois. Police said Hy-Vee Security personnel are aware of the threat.

On May 7th, a fake bomb threat was called into a Council Bluffs supermarket. According to the Council Bluffs Police Department, an unknown man called the Hy-Vee at Madison Avenue in  Council Bluffs, claiming a bomb was in the back of the store. Officers responded and searched the entire building. A secondary search was also conducted, with no bomb or device was found. Detectives were investigating the origins of the phone call.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – Connections Area Agency on Aging is looking for new members to join the organization’s Advisory Council. The Council meets bimonthly on the second Thursday from 10:00a.m.-12:00p.m at our regional offices in Council Bluffs, Creston, or Sioux City, or by zoom.  Officials say the advisory council helps to manage and guide Connections Area Agency on Aging’s work in the twenty-county region including Adair, Adams, Cass, Clarke, Cherokee, Decatur, Fremont, Harrison, Ida, Mills, Monona, Montgomery, Page, Plymouth, Pottawattamie, Ringgold, Shelby, Taylor, Union, and Woodbury counties.

Currently there are vacancies in most counties. If you are interested in learning more contact Aubury Krueger-Kutchara at 800-432-9209 ext 8132 or akrueger@connectionsaaa.org

Connections Area Agency is one of six Area Agencies on Aging in Iowa, and part of a nationwide network. With a mission of enhancing the quality of life for elders in 20 counties through education, planning and coordination of services, Connections Area Agency on Aging is the premier agency for assisting elders, caregivers, and their families to access the information and services needed for independence and life transitions. Offices are in Council Bluffs, Creston and Sioux City.

For more information, contact Connections AAA at 800-432-9209 or at www.connectionsaaa.org

Coralville, Iowa – Officials with the Iowa Department of Corrections, Monday, said 75-year-old Jeffrey Lynn Hannah was pronounced dead due to natural causes at 6:47 a.m. on Friday, May 19, 2023 at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center.

Hannah had been serving a 25-year maximum term for the crime of Sex Abuse – 2nd Degree from Kossuth County. His sentence began on June 3, 2015.

(Radio Iowa) – State Auditor Rob Sand says a bill sent to the governor that would limit the auditor’s access to some confidential information could lead to a lot of extra time in court. “If the governor signs the bill then we’re going to have to see how it’s applied and what it is that they do to prevent our access to records — and at that point and every point thereafter we’ll be trying to figure out whether or not there’s a challenge on a constitutional basis that’s worth bringing,” Sand says.

Sand, who is the only Democrat holding a statewide office, spoke to the Sioux City Rotary Club and later held a town hall in Onawa. He says the bill has been a hot topic. “I think there’s actually a pretty surprising level of knowledge but a surprising level of concern about it and I’m gonna keep talking about it until every Iowan in the state knows exactly what it is and what it does,” he says.

Sand says if the governor signs the bill the state auditor would need to get approval from a three-member panel to take a state agency to court. The auditor, the department being audited and the governor would each appoint someone to the panel. Sand says they would let everyone know which agency is trying to “hide” information. “That’s again one of the things where I think that I’m not sure that the people who are advocating this bill have really thought through it,” Sand says. “Because if they deny us access to records we have a legal and ethical obligation to disclose that and then everyone is going to be left wondering what it is that they’re hiding.”

Rob-Sand.-(KSCJ-photo)

He says taxpayers should be concerned about the potential information the panel could allow to stay hidden. “Corruption and waste at the government level is your tax dollars. This is our government. And the idea that people in trust and power in those positions would use that power to reduce oversight of themselves and make it so they could sweep things under the rug is, I think an affront to our Constitution the idea of self governance but also to your pocketbook,” Sand says.

Governor Kim Reynolds has not commented on the bill.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Two men were arrested on separate warrants Monday, in Red Oak. According to Red Oak Police, 45-year-old Chad Michael Hill, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 10:50-p.m., on an active Mills County warrant for Driving While Barred. Hill was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 cash-only bond.

And, a little after 7-p.m. Monday, 52-year-old Richard Bryan Jenkins, of Red Oak, was arrested on an active Montgomery County warrant for Failure to Appear on an Unlawful Possession of Prescription Drug, charge. Jenkins was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – An official who’s in charge of state boating safety courses says the first step to a safe boating weekend is checking the equipment that will be transporting a vessel on land. Susan Stocker has been the boating law administrator for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources since 2009. “Memorial weekend is coming up and, of course, it’s the start of the Iowa boating season,” Stocker says. “People, before they even head out to the lake, make sure that their trailer, wheelbearings and their lights are all in working condition so you’ll be able to get yourself to the body of water you want to go on.”

Once on the water, Stocker says boat operators and passengers need to be on the look out for floating debris. “We’ve got some higher water throughout Iowa, so you want to make sure that you see if there are any logs that are just under the surface of the water and you want to make sure that you, though surrounded by water…drink plenty of water and have sunscreen.” Stocker says, “and make sure that you save the alcohol when you’re back on shore.” Stocker says drunk boating can be as dangerous as drunk driving on the roads because the affects of the wind and glare of the sun can enhance the effects of alcohol.

“It can slow a person’s reaction and cause some hazardous conditions when trying to operate a boat,” she says. A wearable life jacket is required safety equipment for every person aboard a boat. Vessels that are 16 feet or longer need a floating device, like a ring buoy on a rope, that can be thrown to someone who may be in trouble in the water.

(Radio Iowa) – Historic buildings that used to be part of Maytag’s campus in Newton will be renovated into a hotel and an apartment building. The former Maytag campus was donated to Des Moines Area Community College in 2016 — nine years after Maytag closed. The college has sold nearly four acres to a Des Moines developer who plans to repurpose four buildings and open the hotel and apartments next year.

Kim Didier , the executive director of business resources for DMACC, says the two buildings that will become a boutique hotel have “The Maytag Company” written in large letters along the rooftops.  “Very iconic for the community and for Maytag over the years,” she says. The two buildings were built in the early 1900s. Another building nearby, completed in 1914, will be converted into 70 apartments.

“A brick building, exposed rafters, wooden floors — just very historic,” Didier says. “Kind of a warehouse, factory feel to it.” A smaller building next door will have some amenities for the apartment dwellers. According to a DMACC news release, the hotel and apartment building project will cost about 35 million dollars. DMACC will continue to have an academic center nearby.

“DMACC on the Newton campus has a baking program,” Didier says, “and we’re very hopeful we’ll be able to have that kind of collaboration and synergy where the baked goods that would be offered in the hotel restaurant or just as a cafe would be coming from our culinary program, our baking program.” Didier, who used to work at Maytag, has lived in Newton for 24 years. She says there’s been a lot of collaboration in the community to get this latest project going.

“It’s monumental and transformational,” Didier says, “and we think will continue to propel the redevelopment of the rest of the buildings that were part of the Maytag headquarters.”A couple of other former Maytag buildings already have been turned into commercial space. A brewery and a pub are among the 18 tenants. “We’ve had this vision of really creating this mixed use neighborhood that would have the residential component,” Didier says, “that would have the retail.”

Maytag was founded in 1893 and by the 1920s one of every five washing machines in America was made in Newton. The company was sold to Whirlpool in 2006 and a year later operations in Newton were shut down. There were three previous owners of the emptied out Maytag campus until DMACC took over. The State of Iowa is providing a 14 million dollar “reinvestment district award” that will support the development of the apartments and hotel as well as several other related projects in Newton.