When voters head to the polls Tuesday to take part in local school board elections, in addition to casting their vote for local candidates, some ballots will have Public Measures asking you to renew two property-tax levies that pertain to Iowa Western Community College. The levies – the Physical Plant Levy and the Instructional Equipment Levy – are placed before the voters every 10-years, and are designed to raise money to build or improve buildings on campus and to buy classroom equipment for the community college. The levies have been in place for at least five decades.

Specifically, the Physical Plant Levy, which sits at 20.25 cents per $1,000 of taxable property value, pays for utilities and for building maintenance and renovation. The Instructional Equipment Levy, which is 6 cents per $1,000 of taxable valuation, is only used to purchase instructional equipment. College officials say the Physical Plant Levy generates approximately $1,725,000 per year, while the Equipment Levy generates approximately $780,000 per year.

If approved by voters Tuesday, both levies would be in place from July 2016 through June 2026.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports one person was flown to the hospital following a motorcycle accident early Saturday morning. Robert Fatica, of Fremont, NE, was taken by Mercy One helicopter to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, after the 1995 Harley Davidson he was driving left the road and entered a ditch at around 12:20-a.m.

The accident happened as Fatica, and a passenger on the motorcycle were traveling north on 190th Street, near a business drive at 58233 190th Street. Both the driver and an unnamed passenger were ejected from the cycle during the crash, but only Fatica was transported to the hospital, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

And, officials in Mills County report the arrest on Sunday, of 42-year old Gary Michael Martin the 3rd, of Glenwood. He was taken into custody at around 7:40-p.m. on a warrant for Assault and Trespassing. Martin’s bond was set at $2,000.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports two arrests over the past week. On Tuesday, September 3, 2013, deputies arrested 27-year old Prudence Penelope Gwendolyn Page, of Atlantic, on a District Court warrant for Probation Violation. Page was taken to the Cass County Jail where she was being held on $10,000 bond.

And on Friday, Sept. 6th, 36-year old Shawn Joseph Williamson, of Anita, was arrested on an Atlantic Police Department warrant for Theft 5^th Degree. Williamson was taken to the Cass County Jail where he pled guilty and was released the following day.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports no one was injured following an accident that took place last Thursday afternoon (Sept. 5th). The accident involving a 2003 Ford Ranger and a 2008 Dodge Avenger, took place  at 2:25 p.m. on Highway 92. Officials say the Ford Ranger owned and driven by 52-year old Brent Behnken, of Atlantic,  was eastbound on Highway 92 when it was struck in the rear by the Dodge, owned and driven by 18-year old Haley Marie McVay, of Bridgewater. The accident happened while Behnken was waiting at a construction site. McVay was cited for Failure to reduce speed. Damage from the crash amounted to $700.

One person was injured during an accident that took place on August 30, in Cass County. The Sheriff’s Office says the incident happened  at around 5:41 p.m. on Highway 83, near Anita. A 2007 Suzuki motorcycle driven by 19-year old Tayler Michael Murphy, of Anita,  was traveling eastbound when the bike began to skid. Murphy was ejected into a ditch after he lost control of the cycle, which continued to slide unoccupied down the highway. The cycle hit the rear bumper of an eastbound 2004 Dodge Durango  driven by 27-year old Amber Ellen Schlake, of Atlantic, before coming to rest on the south side of the roadway. Murphy was transported to Cass County Memorial Hospital by Anita Rescue.He was later cited for Reckless Driving and Failure to Maintain Control. Damage from the crash amounted to $4,400.

w/ Ric Hanson

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After a slight cool-off over the weekend, triple-digit temperatures are back in today’s (Monday) forecast for a wide section of Iowa. Miles Schumacher, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, says we can expect steamy highs this afternoon that are some 20-degrees hotter than normal. “It looks like the entire state will make the 90s,” Schumacher says. “The only cool spots, if you want to call it cool, we have some low 90s over the far, far northeast and northwest, but 95 to 100 will be pretty common across the whole state.”

Schumacher says the heat wave should roll out by Wednesday night into Thursday as cooler weather arrives. Some lower temperatures may appear in northwest Iowa as soon as tomorrow but the rest of the state will still be very hot, he says, with the “real cooling” in the latter part of the week.

Highs by Thursday may only be in the 70s and 80s. Fall arrives in just under two weeks, September 22nd.

(Radio Iowa)

Many Iowans have allergies or hearing problems but farmers may be more susceptible to both. Dr. Dwight Jones, an ear, nose and throat specialist in Omaha/Council Bluffs, says some of the most common ailments among rural residents, particularly farmers, are chronic sinus disease and late summer and fall allergies. “People can have chronic runny noses and chronic stuffy noses from chronic sinus disease,” Dr. Jones says. “Chronic sinus disease often times plagues farmers and ranchers and people in the rural community heavily from nasal allergies. If you clear the allergies up, often times the sinus disease will clear up.”

If it doesn’t clear up, he says it can be treated in the office through sinus therapy. During dry seasons, dust from multiple sources is common on farms, whether it’s stirred up by tractors working in the fields or from the gravel road in front of the farmhouse. “All of those kinds of dust lead to increasing problems with asthma and chronic respiratory diseases in the farming and ranching population,” Jones says. “It’s really imperative that they avoid that kind of dust exposure on a chronic, long-term basis, or do something to protect themselves from that type of exposure.”

Years of being around big tractors, trucks and combines can also take a toll on one’s hearing. Jones says that’s another occupational hazard. “Farmers and ranchers work around a lot of heavy equipment, they work around a lot of noisy equipment and they’re especially vulnerable to have damage to their hearing,” Jones says. “They should take care and either wear some kind of hearing protection if possible or avoid long-term exposure to those kind of noises which can lead to sensory neuro hearing loss and tinnitus.”

For farmers and anyone else who suffers from ragweed allergies, he says a relatively new treatment is available. Drops can be taken under the tongue which can eliminate allergy shots and over-the-counter medications.

(Radio Iowa)

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – State prosecutors have given way to federal prosecution of a Sioux City man accused of assault and robbery.  Court documents show robbery, burglary, theft and assault charges against Levon Dean have been dropped.  Woodbury County Attorney Patrick “PJ” Jennings says dropping the local case will save the state money and could lead to heavier federal punishment for Dean.

Authorities say Levon Dean and his brother, Jamal Dean, broke into a Sioux City home and beat and robbed a resident at gunpoint in April. A few days later Jamal Dean shot Sioux City Police Officer Kevin McCormick, who survived. Jamal Dean was given 25 years in prison for attempted murder.

Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County report the arrest of a Stanton man on an assault charge, Sunday morning. 38-year-old Marshall Adams was arrested early Sunday morning on an Assault causing serious injury charge. Adams was taken into custody at around 1-a.m. Sunday in the 200 block of North 2nd Street shortly after the incident allegedlyt took place.

Adams was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,000 bond.