COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Grants will enable a community group to plant trees along a three-mile stretch of a busy Council Bluffs street.  The North Broadway Alliance says it’s received $55,000 from various organizations to complete the project. Volunteers will help with the plantings, which will take place when the weather is better.

The Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil reports the trees will be planted three-deep, with ornamentals nearest the street and larger trees behind. Organizers say the project will bring residents together.  The North Broadway Alliance is a grassroots group comprised of neighborhood associations.

The Atlantic Police Department reports two recent arrests. On Tuesday, 25-year old Andrew Nickum, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Violation of his Probation. And, 43-year old Carl Kemp, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Violation of a No Contact Order. Both men were booked into the Cass County Jail.

The P-D says there were also two accidents in Atlantic, Tuesday. The first happened at around 8-a.m. at the intersection of 6th and Oak Streets. Officials say a vehicle driven by Julie Steffens, of Atlantic, was traveling south on Oak Street at the same time a vehicle driven by Mark Ruthfusz, of Atlantic, was traveling east on 6th. Officials say Ruthfusz failed to yield from the stop sign, and the vehicles collided in the middle of the intersection, causing a total of $4,000 damage. There were no injuries reported.Ruthfusz was cited for Failure to Yield.

The second accident happened at around 4:30-p.m., Tuesday, in the 300 block of Chestnut Street. The P-D says a parked vehicle occupied by James Murray, of Atlantic, was beginning to back out of the stall. Murray didn’t see a vehicle owned by Meagan Campbell, of Atlantic. When he was backing out, his vehicle struck the right front corner of the Campbell vehicle, causing $2,000 damage altogether. There were no injuries, and no citations issued.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors approved the vacating of two roads during their meeting today (Wednesday), in Atlantic. Action on another road closure was tabled until the Board’s next meeting, during which a public hearing will be held on five additional road closures, as well.

The roads the Board approved for vacating include 842-feet of 644^th Street in Section 14 of Grove Township, and 1,287-feet of Galt Lane, in Section 5 of Lincoln Township. No objections were made during the public forum held prior to the vote to vacate.

A representative from the Guthrie County REC voiced concerns however, with regard to the vacating of 2,400-feet of 700^th Street lying between the northern right-of-way limits of Boston Road and the southern right-of-way limits of Interstate 80. The representative said they have a power line along that road that crosses the interstate. He was worried they would be “land-locked” and the property owner, who intends to farm the land, would not allow them access to their lines, or that they would be held responsible for crop damage.

The Board tabled action on vacating that section of road until the County can make arrangements to talk with the property owner and come to an agreement about an easement and the crop concerns.

In other business, the Supervisors set 8:45-a.m. March 5^th, as the time and date for a public hearing on the Fiscal year 2014-2015 budget.

A woman who has served Cass County as the Mental Health/General Assistance Coordinator for nearly 19-years was fired today (Wednesday). The Cass County Board of Supervisors acted on the termination of Teresa Kanning during their meeting in Atlantic. Before the motion was made, Board Chair Frank Waters  announced the agenda item without recognizing Kanning and her husband Rich, who were in attendance, and refused her request for a closed session.

Supervisor Mark Wedemeyer then made the motion to fire Kanning. Wedemeyer’s motion said her termination, which is retroactive to Feb.5^th, 2014, was “Due to work related items.” The motion was unanimously approved. Afterward, Kanning and her husband left without comment. She had earlier indicated there would be no comment on the Board’s action. Near the end of the meeting, the media asked the Supervisors to explain their action.

Board Chair Frank Waters said “No Comment.” KJAN News Director Ric Hanson asked if the  Board had spoken with Kanning prior to the surprise announcement in the agenda on Monday. Waters said the only thing they had done was to hold an annual performance evaluation, but he would not comment on whether there were issues with her performance that had not been resolved since then.

Supervisor Chuck Rieken said the Board was advised by legal counsel not to comment on the matter. Deb Schuler, who works with Kanning, will step-in in the interim to handle the office duties. Rieken said a decision on whether or not to replace Kanning full-time depends on the State’s decision on mental health regionalization and design, and other matters.

w/ Ric Hanson

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The Sheriff in Crawford County says he’s confident arrests will be made soon in connection with a string of motor vehicle thefts which took place last week. Sheriff James Steinkuehler told the Omaha World-Herald Tuesday, six vehicles were stolen, five of them were full-sized pickup trucks.

Three Ford F-250 pickups were taken Thursday from a farm supply business in Dow City. Two other pickups, a Dodge Ram and a Chevy, were stolen from a residence in Arion. On Friday, a car was reported stolen from Denison.  Four of the pickups have been recovered. All three F-250s were recovered Friday, while another was recovered early Saturday.

The truck taken from Arion occurred after thieves rammed an overhead door. Surveillance cameras across the street from the storage building where the car was stolen, recorded a pickup truck backing through a roll-up door of one business, and the coupe being driven through another door. Steinkuehler said the surveillance cameras showed two of the stolen pickups near the storage building.

Anyone who has information about the thefts is asked to contact the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office at 712-263-2146. A $500 reward is being offered.

Iowa’s new Travel Guide is due out this month. It contains 175 pages of destinations, maps, and ideas for things to do and see across the state. Iowa Tourism office spokesperson Jessica O’Riley says a new section this year attempts to inspire travel with categories like outdoor adventures, wineries and breweries, restaurants, or, living like a local.

Although many vacationers have gone digital, printed copies of the travel guide are still available. “Pre-Internet days, we were printing probably 500,000 travel guides,” O’Riley said. “Now, with the use of our website increasing, were down to 125,000 (printed copies). That’s probably about where we’ll stay because we still see a demand for those from people who want a hard copy in their hands as they’re traveling the state.”

Travelers across Iowa determined the cover design of the 2014 Iowa Travel Guide, as sightseers provided the pictures and Facebook fans voted on the final photo montage. The new Travel Guide will be available next week at Iowa’s Welcome Centers or you can order one online at traveliowa.com.

(Radio Iowa)

The Cass, Crawford, and Shelby/Audubon County Conservation Boards has CANCELLED the guided tour out to Kearney, Nebraska March 20-21ST, due to lack of signups. The corresponding informational program on February 15th 1-PM at the Atlantic Public Library is also cancelled.

If you have any questions please call 712-769-2372.

Authorities in Montgomery County report the arrest Tuesday afternoon, of a Villisca man. 36-year old Roger Eugene Straw was taken into custody at around 4:45-p.m., on a valid Fremont County warrant for Violation of a No Contact Order. Straw was being held without bond, in the Montgomery County Jail.