The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Thursday, approved the hiring of a new Geographic Information Systems coordinator. Treasurer Tracey Marshall introduced to the board Mary Steinlicht, who has moved to the area from Bemidji, MN. Mary said she used to work for the NRCS – Natural Resources Conservation Service – in Bemidji. She graduated about a year and a half ago from Bemidji State University. She says she already has several projects lined-up to work on in Cass County.

In August, Cass County Assessor Brenda Nelson asked for and received the Board’s permission to approve the creation of the position, and to proceed with steps necessary to fill the position. At the time, Nelson said she has the money in this year’s budget for the new hire’s salary and benefits.

In subsequent years, other departments within the County that heavily utilize GIS, would chip in to cover the salary and benefits. Nelson, Cass County Engineer Charles Marker and Treasurer Tracey Marshall all agreed that having a GIS specialist in-house, instead of outsourcing the position would be a time-saver for them, and a great benefit to the taxpayers.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Thursday morning, passed a Resolution giving  the City of Anita permission to exercise its Urban Renewal Powers, with regard to the establishment of an Urban Renewal Plan and a Tax Incremental Financing (or, TIF) District within two-miles of the City’s boundaries.

Anita City Clerk Lindsey Jahde presented the Board with a copy of the proposed Urban Renewal Plan as prepared by the City’s bonding attorney. Jahde said the purpose of the plan is to capture revenue off of five wind turbines located within a two-mile radius of the City of Anita. She said there are five Capital Improvement Projects the City would use the funds for.

The first is blighted municipal waterworks system in the City of Anita. The City looks to upgrade its well and water treatment facility. The total project cost is about $2.1-million. Planning and Design is estimated to cost $102-thousand. Another project involves blight remediation of some of the City’s Streets which are currently gravel, and have no curbs and gutters for storm water run-off. That’s expected to cost $1.2-million.

One of the other 5 projects involves the improvement of Main Street, in Anita. Phase 1 Planning and Design for the projects is estimated to cost $150-thousand. Blight alleviation, in support of the Anita Economic Development Group is yet another project that would utilize TIF monies from the turbines.

Jahde said proceeds from the turbines alone won’t pay for all the projects, so the City intends to use other funds as they become available. It’s estimated over a period of 20-years, the five-turbines will bring in about $2.4-million in revenue. Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman said 2010 was the first year percentage add-ons could be captured from TIF revenue, so the City will be able to capture the last 15-percent over the next 20-years. It breaks down to 5-percent the first year, 10-percent the second year, and the third through the 20^th year, 15-percent.

Among the next steps for the City of Anita, is to hold a joint meeting between the Board of Supervisors and the Anita Community School District’s Board, along with a public hearing on the Urban Renewal plan November 26^th, prior to approval of the plan and ordinance. Final approval is necessary prior to December 1^st, because the City has to certify its debt by that date in order to capture the first 5-percent of the TIF revenue by freezing the base year at 2012, so they can begin with the  2013 valuations that will be taxed in 2014.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Department reports the arrest on Wednesday, of a Pacific Junction woman. 30-year old Tara Nicole Isenbart was arrested at around 7:45-p.m. in the vicinity of 5th and Lincoln in Pacific Junction, on a charge of Driving While Barred. Her bond was set at $1,000.

And, Sheriff’s officials took a report from a Malvern man last Saturday, with regard to incidents of burglary and theft. No other details were released.

The Atlantic Police Department reports the arrest on Wednesday, of 34-year old Heather Christensen. Christensen was taken into custody on a charge of Domestic Abuse Assault/Choking. She was booked into the Cass County Jail and held pending a court appearance.

A Shelby County business was the winner of the Southwest Iowa Regional Dream Big Grow Here Contest. The 2nd annual pitch off was held this past Monday at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs. Shane and Maritza McCool with Willow Creek Glass Chapel and Banquet Hall in Shelby won the grand prize of $5,000 and will advance to the state level to compete for a chance to win $10,000.

Dream Big, Grow Here winners.

The runner-up and receiving $1,000 was Katrina Riggs, with Egg Krate Antiques LLC of Elk Horn.

Honorable mentions included: Elaine Hollen, with Pudgy Pumpkin Patch Gift Shop of Red Oak; Andre and Eva Franco, with Innovative Strength and Conditioning in Neola; Sheila Roane, with Kitchen Sisters LLC of Persia, and Linda Grimm, with Valley Drug Store in Missouri Valley.

All honorable mentions received $250. Willow Creek Glass Chapel and Banquet Hall will compete in the state competition at the EntreFest Conference in 2014.

w/ Ric Hanson

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Police in Clarinda are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a man whose body was discovered at around 9:30-a.m., Wednesday. Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers says officers responded to 702 West Tarkio St. to investigate the death of 41-year old Charles O. Grubb, who resided at that location.

The manner and cause of the man’s death will be determined through an autopsy conducted by the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office in Ankeny. The Page County Medical Examiner’s Office, Clarinda Regional Health Center Emergency Medical Services and the Clarinda Fire Department assisted in the investigation.

Officials with the Shelby County Extension Council have announced the addition of Mary Taggs as County Extension Educator at the Shelby County ISU Extension and Outreach office in Harlan. Taggs, an Elk Horn native, began her duties as the Shelby County Extension Educator on October 7th. She replaces former Shelby County Extension Educator Angela Ahrenholtz.

Mary Taggs

Taggs will be responsible for county coordination and facilitation of ISU Extension programs in communities, families, business and industry, agriculture and natural resources, and 4-H youth development. Taggs has a strong background in both youth and adult education,  is a 1991 graduate of Iowa State University with a bachelor’s degree in Family Services, and she is a former Shelby County 4-Her with related experience in community leadership, youth education and 4-H.

Mary and her husband John reside in Harlan. They have three children, April, 20, a student at Luther College, Jacob, 16, a junior at HCHS and Emily, 12, is a student at HCMS.

w/ Ric Hanson

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All over the nation, veterans will be honored on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, for their service to our country. In Iowa, several public transit agencies will be offering free rides to veterans and veterans’ family members Nov. 11th or 12th. To find out if your local transit agency is participating, go to http://www.iowadot.gov/transit/transitveterans.html. Be sure to check back, as the list will be updated daily. Some agencies provide free, year-round rides to veterans with a service-related disability.

Iowa is served by 19 urban transit agencies, 16 regional transit agencies, and 10 mobility managers supporting urban and rural communities in each of Iowa’s 99 counties. All public transit services are open to the public. More than 27.5 million public transit rides were provided in Iowa last year, representing nearly nine rides for each resident and a ridership increase of 14.5 percent over the past six years.