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KJAN News can be heard at five minutes after every hour right after Fox News 24 hours a day!
Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
(Radio Iowa/kjan) – As we reported last week on KJAN, the City Council in Atlantic gave its initial approval to an ordinance to make aggressive panhandling illegal within city limits. It’s modeled after a new ordinance in Manchester, where city officials have moved to prohibit what they define as aggressive panhandling at gas stations as well as on sidewalks, streets, parking lots and other places open to the general public. Police in Sioux City say they are fielding more complaints about aggressive panhandling at busy intersections. Sioux City Police Sergeant Jeremy McClure says the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled panhandling is protected speech under the First Amendment.
In 2020, Sioux City officials passed an ordinance that bars anyone from standing or sitting in the middle of a street unless they’re on a median that’s at least six feet wide. That’s been the rule in Iowa’s largest city since April of 2019. Des Moines Police Sergeant Paul Parizek says the focus is on safety.
Parizek says complaints about panhandlers in Des Moines are fairly steady and, during the summer months, many of the 9-1-1 calls about Des Moines street beggars are about a pet or a child who is with the panhandler.
Same goes for pets if the panhandler is providing food and water and the pet appears healthy. Sergeant McClure of the Sioux City Police Department says anyone who feels threatened or harassed by an aggressive panhandler should call 9-1-1.
In April, the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa sent letters to four eastern Iowa cities, urging repeal of ordinances that generally prohibited aggressive solicitations in public areas. Dubuque’s city council repealed its ordinance this spring. Similar ordinances in Bettendorf, Davenport and Coralville were repealed in July. All were replaced with rules focused on the pedestrian safety.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – The shorter days and more moderate temperatures make this fall a great time for gardening projects. The Cass County Master Gardeners invite you to their annual Fall Plant Sale, set for Saturday morning, September 10, at the Cass County Community Center, 805 W 10th Street. The sale will be open to the public to purchase divided perennials suitable for fall planting. Plants expected to be on the sale include iris (bearded and Siberian), peonies, daylilies, spring-flowering bulbs, hostas, perennial geranium, bachelor button, baptista, salvia, sedum, garden mum, rudbeckia, clematis, oregano and other herbs, lily of the valley, yarrow, cactus, houseplants and more. There will also be a large collection of gently used garden decor, pots, books, and tools for shoppers to explore.
The sale begins at 8 AM, and will be held in the front parking lot of the Cass County Community Center on the fairgrounds in Atlantic. Interested gardeners are encouraged to arrive early for best plant selection, as the annual spring and fall sales occasionally sell out before 10 AM, especially high-demand plants.
Bulbs bring spring color! The Master Gardeners are again selling bulbs for fall planting as well. Tulip and daffodil bulbs, high quality and shipped directly from the gardens of Van Engelsen in Connecticut, are expected to arrive in Atlantic in early October for timely planting. You can place your pre-order now; pay just $5 for a variety assortment of 5 colorful bulbs for your garden. Order forms with additional details are available at the Cass County Extension office, or online at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass. Orders will also be taken at the plant sale on the 10th, if not already sold out.
Many perennials work well for fall dividing and transplanting, including daylilies, peonies, garden phlox, bleeding heart, coneflowers, speedwell, and more. Irises and hostas can also be transplanted successfully in early fall. By dividing the plant when it is not flowering, all the energy it produces can be directed to root and foliage growth, so plants overwinter in place and come back strong in the spring. Additionally, the cooler weather is easier on the plants (and the gardener!), and the plants generally do not use as much water as in spring and summer. Plants should be placed in the ground as early in fall as possible, but most can be successfully planted up until the ground freezes. The plants should also be adequately watered until the ground freezes, which is particularly important in dry years.
The Master Gardeners will bring perennials dug and divided from their own gardens to the fall plant sale. Community residents are also welcome to donate plants, and members may even help you dig! Please call in advance and make arrangements to drop off donated plants before the date of the plant sale. All funds raised from the sale support local Master Gardener projects such as community garden spaces, educational activities, grants and scholarships.
To donate items, to order bulbs, or for more information about these events and other Master Gardener activities in Cass County, please call the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132, email Cass County Extension Director and Master Gardener Coordinator Kate Olson at keolson@iastate.edu or visit www.extension.iastate.edu/cass. You are also invited to follow the Cass County Master Gardeners Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CassCoMG to keep up with local events and tips for gardening!
Here are links to the various Open Class livestock shows at the 2022 Iowa State Fair.
English Pleasure/Equitation/Walk-Trot
Here are links to see the results from the various FFA livestock shows at the 2022 Iowa State Fair.
(Johnston, Iowa) – Iowa National Guard leaders wrapped up a weeklong visit to Kosovo to foster and strengthen the state partnership with the Kosovo Security Force this week. Maj. Gen. Ben Corell, the Adjutant General of the Iowa National Guard, and Command Sgt. Maj. Joseph Hjelmstad, the Command Senior Enlisted Leader, joined the Kosovo Minister of Defense, U.S. Embassy personnel and KSF members in touring several cities to learn more about Kosovo history, traditions and culture.
Maj. General Ben Corell, Adjutant General of the Iowa National Guard, visits Iowa troops and Kosovo Security Force members during a state partnership visit to Kosovo in August 2022. (Photos courtesy Capt. Kevin Waldron, Iowa National Guard Deputy Public Affairs Officer)
The Iowa Air National Guard’s 132d Wing, based out of Des Moines, Iowa, also conducted a large joint medical exercise with the KSF. The exercise was the culmination of a five-year training cycle that included multiple bilateral training events. Corell, Hjelmstad and senior KSF leaders observed as the Airmen and KSF troops worked side by side to focus on point of injury care, moving patients to a ROLE I hospital and then transporting the critically wounded to a higher level of care.
The trip comes after a recent visit from KSF leadership to the U.S., during which the Iowa National Guard and KSF renewed their dedication to continue strengthening the partnership through training and cultural understanding. They had the opportunity to tour Camp Dodge facilities, observe a joint cyber competition at Iowa State University and recognize Iowa Army National Guard and KSF troops for their efforts during joint maneuver training at Camp Atterbury, Indiana.
Airmen with the 132d Air Wing, based in Des Moines, IA conduct joint medical training with Kosovo Security Force members in Pristina, Kosovo in August 2022.
The Iowa National Guard is planning several more joint training events with the KSF in 2023. To stay informed regarding all Iowa National Guard activities and events, visit the Iowa National Guard website, iowanationalguard.com.
(Radio Iowa) – A police chase last (Wednesday) night in Des Moines ended in a crash and multiple injuries. A Des Moines police officer saw a car run a stop sign on the city’s east side and tried to make a traffic stop, but the car sped off. A few blocks later, the suspect’s car hit another vehicle, then crashed into a utility pole. Five people jumped out and ran. Four of them were captured. Police say they found a firearm, illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia inside the suspect’s car.
Two people in the vehicle that was hit were hurt as were several of the suspects, though none of the injuries were life-threatening. Police say several felony charges are pending. No names were released.
(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak, Wednesday, arrested a man wanted on two Montgomery County warrants for Violation of Probation. Authorities say 50-year-old Floyd Raymond Henry II, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 6:48-p.m. in the 1100 block of W. Prospect Street. The first warrant was for OWI/1st offense, the other for Possession with the Intent to Deliver – A Class C Felony.
Floyd was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $5,000 bond.
(Radio Iowa) – After several fender-benders involving Iowa school buses this week, including some with injuries, authorities are reminding drivers about the importance of using caution whenever they spot the slow-moving, yellow vehicles. Trooper Paul Gardner, a public resource officer with the Iowa State Patrol based in Fort Dodge, says many schools started classes this week and thousands of buses are navigating the state’s roads, carrying their cargo of kids.
“When they’re on the road and they see a school bus, please keep that in the back of their mind,” Gardner says. “That school bus may be coming up to a stop. When you see the yellow-amber lights flashing, that means the bus is preparing to stop, and once the red stop lights come on and the stop arm’s extended, it’s illegal to pass at that point.” 
Motorists may get impatient and try to zip around the bus before it comes to a halt, but the patrolman says that could be both a life-threatening — and an expensive — mistake. “It’s illegal to pass a school bus when it’s stopped, red lights and stop arm are activated,” Gardner says. “So when a driver is caught in violation of that, they could face a minimum fine of $345 and a suspended driver’s license. It’s definitely a dangerous violation.”
State lawmakers adopted Kadyn’s Law in 2012 after the death of seven-year-old Kadyn Halverson of Kensett, who was fatally hit by a pickup in 2011 while trying to cross the road to board a school bus. The law raised criminal penalties for passing a stopped school bus.
(Radio Iowa) – President Biden’s move to provide student loan debt relief for Americans with an annual income below 125-thousand dollars is getting some strong reactions from Iowa politicians.
Republican Governor Kim Reynolds says Biden isn’t cancelling student debt, he’s shifting the costs to the taxpayer and to those who worked to pay off their loans. Deidre DeJear, the Democrat who’s running against Reynolds, says the president took a historic step that will begin to address income inequality and open pathways for financial wellness.
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley says he doesn’t think the president has the authority to make this move and Grassley says cancelling student debt discourages people from keeping their word that they’ll repay loans. Mike Franken is the Democrat who’s running against Grassley. Franken says the president’s plan is a welcome step, including the new sliding scale for repaying student loans that’s based on income, but Franken says there’s still a need for meaningful legislation to help lower the cost of attending college and trade schools.
About half a million Iowans have unpaid student loans. They still owe, in total, over 13 BILLION dollars as a group on their student loans. The average unpaid balance is nearly 30-thousand dollars.
Both major party candidates in Iowa’s second congressional district are critical of the president’s move to forgive some student loan debate. Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson of Marion says those who didn’t go to college or have paid off their loans shouldn’t be on the hook for someone else’s debt. Liz Mathis of Hiawatha, the Democrat who’s running against Hinson, says the president’s plan falls short in addressing the root problems of college affordability.
The major party candidates in Iowa’s first, third and fourth congressional districts have not issued statements on Biden’s decision. Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican, says the president’s plan is unfair to those who didn’t go to college or who have already paid off their student loans.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – Members of the Atlantic School Board, Wednesday evening, approved contract recommendations for a Middle School Paraeducator (Daniel Towne), a Preschool Bus Driver (Loretta Barringer), and a Substitute car/van driver (Gerald Luddington). They also approved an SBO (School Business Official) Sharing Agreement for the 2022-23 School Year, with the Adair-Casey School District.
Adair-Casey’s long-time SBO Theresa Elgin, is retiring at the end of September. Atlantic Community School District SBO/Board Secretary Sarah Sheeder was asked by A-C Superintendent Josh Rasmussen if she would be interested in filling the position on part-time basis, with 75-percent of her time dedicated to Atlantic and 25-percent to Adair-Casey. The 25-percent refers to Sheeder being on-hand for the A-C School Board meetings once per month to record the minutes of the meeting, and they will provide 25-percent of the cost for her services.
According to Atlantic Superintendent Steve Barber, Sarah “feels a personal obligation to trying to help them [A-C] as well as [being] committed to the quality of work she does here for us her in Atlantic.” Mr. Barber pointed out that “We tried sharing Sarah with [the] CAM [School District], it didn’t work out very well. I think the variables that exist within this sharing agreement versus CAM is significantly different, and its something that Sarah and I spoke about, and obviously she feels a commitment to her resident District as much as she is committed to our District.”
Next year, there will also be Operational Sharing of about five students, because when positions are shared, each position has a shared amount of students the District receives credit for, or approximately $36,000 the following year, in revenue for sharing with Adair-Casey. A-C would also receive the same credit. Currently the Atlantic CSD has an Operational Sharing Agreement with the Griswold CSD for Transportation Director. Sheeder said she and Superintendent Rasmussen know each other well, and what their expectations/goals are for her.
In other business, the Atlantic School Board approved a change order in the amount of $7,830 additional cost, for repairs to the sidewalk on the south side of High School. When the parking lot was removed for resurfacing, the contractor discovered the portions of the sidewalk was connected to the driveway. Since replace of the sidewalks was not an original part of the scope of the project, and there was no reason to believe it would have to be redone. Mr. Barber said “There’s a section along/next to the concession stand along the driveway, and there’s a couple of spots [in another area].” The damage was not part of a contractor error, according to Snyder and Associates…it was something that no one was aware of going into the project.
Following adjournment, the Atlantic School Board moved into a closed session for the annual evaluation of Superintendent Barber.
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