The Cass County Board of Supervisors today (Wednesday), appointed Kenny Harrison, to the Cass County Commission of Veterans Affairs. The Board had been set to appoint Steve Livengood, of Atlantic, to the post, but Supervisor Frank Waters mentioned Harrison’s interest in serving on the Commission. Livengood said he considered serving on the post to be “A duty,” but if someone else is willing to step forward to serve and “Get the duty done,” he wouldn’t object. The Supervisors appointed Harrison in an attempt to better balance persons in the County serving on Boards. Supervisor Chuck Rieken said a balance in representing other areas of the County is important, as is meeting the mandatory Gender Balancing as set forth by the State of Iowa. Rieken said Livengood is more than qualified to serve on the Commission, and he thanked him for his past service to our veterans. 

In other business, the Cass County Board of Supervisors approved a Resolution to approve the appointment of Audubon County Attorney Francine Andersen, as Deputy County Attorney for Cass County, during times when Attorney Dan Feistner is absent, or when a case presents a conflict of interest. Feistner said he and Andersen have a good working relationship, as these types of arrangements are not unusual between County Attorneys.

A local organization has been busy distributing funds to non-profit groups and organizations.

Chris Jimerson of the Atlantic Little League is receiving $500.00 (Photo courtesy Melanie Petty)

Melanie Petty, with the Trevor Frederickson Memorial Fund, says they recently gave $200 to the Friends of Lake Anita group, for the annual fishing clinic held each week in June, $500 to the Atlantic Little League organization, to assist with coaching fees related to the Trevor Frederickson Baseball/Softball Clinics which are held each Spring, and $250 to the Cass County Fair Board, to help sponsor the Bull Ride at this year’s Cass County Fair. 

Josh Peach, representing the Friends of Lake Anita, is shown receiving $200.00

The Trevor Frederickson Memorial Fund has donated over $35,000 back into the community in the past three-years.  The fund’s only fundraiser is the annual TFred Memorial Golf Tournament held each August.  This year’s tournament will be held on August 11^th at the Nishna Hills Golf Club.  Petty says they are still actively looking for hole sponsorships and silent auction items.

Shane Smith of the Cass County Fair Board is shown receiving $250.00

Contact Melanie Petty at 249-3696 if you are interested in help out.  Trevor, a 2006 graduate of Atlantic High School lost his life in an apartment fire in 2009.

w/ Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (8.8MB)

Subscribe: RSS

w/ Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.9MB)

Subscribe: RSS

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Nine people, including a woman from Carroll, have been named to Iowa’s new Public Information Board.  The board will oversee enforcement of Iowa’s open meetings and records laws, investigate alleged violations and take claims to court if necessary.  Gov. Terry Branstand’s office says the nine he’s selected are Robert Andeweg, of Urbandale; Tony Gaugan, of West Des Moines; Jo Martin, of Spirit Lake; Andy McKean, of Anamosa; Gary Mohr, of Bettendorf; Bill Monroe, of Johnston; Kathleen Richardson, of Des Moines; Suzan Stewart, of Sioux City; and Peggy Weitl, of Carroll.  The board member’s terms begin Sunday.

A southwest Iowa man has died while serving with the Army in Afghanistan. The Omaha World Herald says according to family members, 25-year old Sgt. James Skalberg, a native of Emerson, in Mills County, died recently. The circumstances of his death were not revealed, and the Department of Defense has not yet confirmed his death, but their policy is wait 24-hours after the family has been notified. Sgt. Skalberg was a 2005 graduate of Nishna Valley High School. He  leaves behind his wife Jessica, and an 11-month-old son. More than 145 military members with ties to Nebraska and western Iowa have died in the Afghan and Iraq wars.

The Iowa State Patrol says an Audubon County man suffered non-life threatening injuries, when the motorcycle he was riding locked up on him Thursday evening on Interstate 80 in Adair County. 50-year old Dennis Kommes, of Exira, was traveling west on I-80 in the right lane, about three-miles west of Adair, when the back wheel on his 2008 Boss motorcycle locked-up and stopped turning. Kommes was unable to maintain control of the cycle, which turned onto its right side and then flipped onto its left,before coming to rest on the right shoulder of the road. Kommes, who was standing, alert and talking when authorities arrived on the scene, was transported by Anita Rescue to the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic. The accident happened at around 5-p.m.

The latest Drought Monitor Report from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources indicates most of Iowa continues to be very dry, but far western Iowa is less affected than the rest of State. Officials say although 78 percent of Iowa remains in some form of dry conditions, a significant increase in areas rated as moderately dry, from 13 percent to 37 percent, has occurred up and down central Iowa.

Rainfall averaged 2.02 inches compared to normal precipitation of the period at 2.36 inches; however, precipitation varied widely across the state, with above normal rainfall over much of west central and southwest Iowa and well below normal over northeast and extreme northwest Iowa. An area stretching from the eastern half of Crawford County southeast through Audubon, the northeast half of Cass and Adams Counties, and continuing southeast to Ringgold and Decatur Counties, shows abnormally dry conditions, despite the recent, but spotty rains. The far southwest corner of Fremont County is also abnormally dry, while the remaining western third of the state shows normal soil moisture.

For a more thorough review of Iowa’s water resource trends June 14 through June 27, go to http://www.iowadnr.gov/watersummaryupdate. The report is prepared by the technical staff from the Iowa DNR, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, and the USGS, in collaboration with the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division.

Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt, with tThe United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa has announced a settlement agreement, and the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services has entered into a corporate integrity agreement, with Bethany Lutheran Homes, Inc., a skilled nursing facility in Council Bluffs. The settlements resolves allegations of billing Medicare for medically unnecessary physical, occupational and speech therapy service.

Bethany Lutheran Homes has paid the United States the sum of $675,000 to settle the allegations, and entered into a corporate integrity agreement to ensure future compliance with federal health care program requirements. Klinefeldt says “This settlement
and corporate integrity agreement are the culmination of a two-year investigation and review of Bethany Lutheran Homes’s billing practices to Medicare.” He says his office “Is committed to ensuring the compliance with Medicare requirements and preventing fraud against the United States, and that Klinefedlt believes the settlement will reimburse the United States for past practices committed by Bethany Lutheran, and that The corporate integrity agreement will ensure their future compliance.”

Gerald T. Roy, Special Agent in Charge for the Kansas City Regional Office, added “The collaborative efforts of the agencies involved help ensure the solvency of the Medicare program and protect the beneficiaries that depend on the health care it provides.” The case was investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.