(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Auditor’s Office has updated the list names, of candidates who have filed their nomination papers for the November 7, 2023, City/School Elections. Current City Councilman Jim Behrens today (Wednesday), filed nomination papers for Atlantic City Council, Ward 2. And, as previously mentioned:

On Tuesday, incumbent Elaine Otte filed papers to run for one At Large seat on the Atlantic City Council. Three candidates filed on Monday (8/28):

Incumbent Pat McCurdy for Atlantic City Council – Ward 3

Incumbent Linda Hartkopf, Atlantic City Council – Ward 4

Incumbent Mary Strong, Parks and Recreation Board. (2 seats open on the Board).

The filing period for the November 7^th City and School Elections continues through September 21^st.

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is calling for an investigation of the Internal Revenue Service after a watchdog report found the agency lost the backup data from millions of taxpayers’ returns. Grassley says a fortune has been spent to upgrade I-R-S technology in recent years, money which he says evidently wasn’t a good investment.

Grassley, the senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, says I-R-S bungling has led to pallets full of tax records either going missing or being left in insecure locations. In one case, the agency sent dozens of cartridges containing some 200-thousand photos of tax records to an outside contractor for reformatting. That contractor went out of business in 2018 and the records vanished.

The American people deserve better, Grassley says, and they deserve an I-R-S that prioritizes protecting their confidential information.

Grassley says the information contained in the lost records can be used by “nefarious actors” to commit tax fraud and identity theft. He says there must be accountability to prevent this type of misconduct from happening again.

The sale of the Iowa-based Kum & Go convenience store chain is now complete.

The Salt Lake City-based Maverik convenience store chain announced that it has completed the acquisition of approximately 400 Kum & Go stores. The sale also includes the Solar Transport trucking company. Bill Krause and his father-in-law T.S.

Gentle started Kum & Go in Hampton in 1959 and it has been run by the family until the sale. The purchase price was not disclosed, and Maverik says this will expand their company to more than 800 stores in 20 states.

Former Vice President Mike Pence says extending the Trump era tax cuts will be a priority if he’s elected president.

Pence, who has started a three day campaign swing through Iowa, says he’d like to lower the income tax rate for individuals and families — and make a strong move on the corporate tax rate.

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act cut the corporate tax rate from 35 down to 21 percent. The plan also doubled the standard deduction and cut individual income tax rates. Pence is critical of a tax idea floated by another G-O-P candidate.

Ramaswamy — in his book “Nation of Victims” — has suggested the inheritance tax could be used to save the country’s meritocracy from sinking into autocracy — and would be a way of redistributing duty. Pence says he’ll oppose any effort by Ramaswamy or anyone else to raise inheritance taxes.

Ramaswamy has recently said he supports a 12 percent flat tax on income. On his campaign website, Ramaswamy says he mentioned the inheritance tax in the book he released last year as part of a calculation for fully eliminating the federal income tax.

(Radio Iowa) – Thousands of Iowans will soon be taking short walks to remember the long lives of their loved ones who’ve been impacted by Alzheimer’s disease. Lauren Livingston, spokeswoman for the Iowa Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, says there are Walks to End Alzheimer’s planned in 19 Iowa communities over the next several weeks.

It’s estimated there are 66-thousand Iowans living with Alzheimer’s or another dementia, and another 98-thousand Iowans are their caregivers. The walks are a time for all parties to come together, support each other, and to raise awareness — and funds.

Medical advances in recent months have offered much encouragement for people in the early stages of dementia. The treatments are proving effective at slowing the progress of Alzheimer’s, but a cure is still elusive.

The first walk in Iowa this fall is scheduled for Mason City on September 10th, with more to follow in: Ottumwa, Panora, Decorah, Harlan, Cedar Falls, Clinton, Council Bluffs, Iowa City, Spencer, Muscatine, Des Moines, Sioux City, Dubuque, Fort Dodge, the Quad Cities, Ames, Burlington and Cedar Rapids.

Learn more and register for an event near you at: alz.org/iowawalks.

(Radio Iowa) – A motorcyclist was killed in a collision with a truck on Tuesday afternoon near Fort Dodge. The victim is identified as 74-year-old Daniel Brown of Webster City. Reportedly, an eastbound 2018 Indian motorcycle operated by Brown collided with a 2010 International straight truck driven by 57-year-old Daniel Lundberg of Lehigh.

The Lundberg truck was traveling southbound on Johnson Avenue and was crossing Highway 20 when he reportedly failed to yield the right of way to the Brown motorcycle.

Brown was pronounced dead at the accident scene by the Webster County Medical Examiner. His body was taken to the state medical examiner’s office in Ankeny for an autopsy.

AMES, Iowa –Aug. 30, 2023 – You are invited to join the Iowa Department of Transportation for a virtual public information meeting to share your input on a proposed bridge replacement on Iowa 92 over Indian Creek, 0.7 miles west of Pottawattamie County Rd M-47.

Virtual presentation:

When: Anytime between Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023 (around Noon) –Friday, Sept. 15, 2023.

How to Attend: Navigate to https://bit.ly/Iowadotreg5506

Description: The website will help you get information about the project and allow you to give us feedback.  If you would like to receive future emails about this project or submit a comment or question for this project, you can go directly to: https://bit.ly/Iowadotcom5506 Comments are due by Friday, Sept. 15, 2023

For general information regarding the public meeting, Scott Suhr, Field Services Coordinator, Iowa DOT District 4 Office, 2210 E 7^th St., Atlantic, Iowa 50022, phone 712-388-6883 or 800-289-4368, email Scott.Suhr@iowadot.us

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Auditor of State Rob Sand today (Wednesday), released an agreed-upon procedures report on the City of Griswold, Iowa, for the period July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021. The agreed-upon procedures engagement was performed pursuant to Chapter 11.6 of the Code of Iowa.

Sand reported fifteen findings related to the receipt and disbursement of taxpayer funds. They are found on pages 9 through 13 of this report. The findings address issues such as a lack of segregation of duties, disbursements exceeding budgeted amount, deficit fund balances and money provided to a nonprofit corporation in violation of Article III Section 31 of the Constitution of Iowa. Sand provided the City with recommendations to address each of the findings.

Three of the fifteen findings discussed above are repeated from the prior year. The City Council has a fiduciary responsibility to provide oversight of the City’s operations and financial transactions. Oversight is typically defined as the “watchful and responsible care” a governing body exercises in its fiduciary capacity.

A copy of the agreed-upon procedures report is available for review on the Auditor of State’s website at Audit Reports – Auditor of State.

The results from the D-N-R’s annual roadside survey show a 15 percent increase in the number of pheasants counted this year. Wildlife research biologist, Todd Bogenschutz (Boyg-en-shuts) says they counted 23 birds for each route.

Iowa’s weather has a big impact on pheasant numbers, and Bogenschutz says a mild winter coupled with a good spring weather for the hatch are paying off.

Bogenschutz says we’re probably looking at a harvest of around 300 to 400-thousand roosters this year, which would be one of the better seasons.

The hunter numbers this year will be around 60-thousand.

The youth pheasant season is October 21st and 22nd. The regular season opens on October 28th and runs through January 10th, 2024.

The Biden administration announced plans Tuesday to negotiate Medicare drug prices for ten medications, including treatments for diabetes. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley has worked on legislation to fight escalating drug prices, and says the government should not dictate payments.

The Republican says says taking decision making away from pharmaceutical companies will result in less money going into the research to develop new drugs.

The plan faces legal action from pharmaceutical companies. The negotiated prices are expected to start in 2026.