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Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday evening, is expected to receive an update from Housing Committee Chair Kathy Somers, with regard to progress that’s being made in addressing the critical shortage of single-family residential homes in the community. Along those lines, the Council – later on in their meeting – will act on passing the second reading of an Ordinance amending the City Code, with regard to changing the Zoning Classification of certain real property (the Redwood Subdivision) from R-4 (Multi-family use) to R-2 (Low Density/Single Family use), and changing the official Zoning Map to reflect the change.
They will also hold the second reading of an Ordinance that also amends the Code, with regard to changing the area at 705 W. 8th Street from R-3 (High Density/Single Family Residential District) to C-1 (Highway Commercial District), and making the change to the Zoning Map. In other business, the Council will act on an Order to approve the City’s application to the Iowa Economic Development Authority, for a Destination Iowa Grant associated with the Prairie Hill Development project in the area of 22nd and Olive Streets. The City of Atlantic’s Housing Committee hopes to receive up to 25% of the project cost through IEDA, or about $710,000. The total project price tag is expected to be around $2.8-million, and would help to create 34 lots for the development of single-family homes, the necessary infrastructure, and a trail.
In other business, the Atlantic City Council will act on a Resolution establishing an updated Credit Card Policy, replacing authorized users, new credit limits, and improved controls over use of the credit card. Mayor Grace Garrett is expected to announce a proclamation recognizing the week of May 1st through the 7th as the 53rd Professional Municipal Clerk’s Week, in Atlantic. Among their final items of business, is to set the date for a Public Hearing on Amending the FY 2022 Budget, as May 18, 2022. A full explanation of changes made to the FY22 Budget will be included in the Agenda notes for the 18th.
The Council’s meeting takes place in their Chambers at City Hall, beginning at 5:30-p.m. Wednesday (May 4th).
(Radio Iowa) – Senator Chuck Grassley says it’s no secret he has hoped Roe v Wade would be overturned. as a draft U.S. Supreme Court opinion seems to indicate is imminent. “I’ve let people know for 40 years where I stand on Roe,” Grassley said this morning. “I’ve had the same position for decades.” But during his weekly conference call with radio reporters from Iowa, Grassley said there’s no way to predict any of the Supreme Court nominees he’s supported recently would vote to overturn the 1973 ruling that legalized abortion. “It is possible that they would and that’s it,” Grassley said, “but there’s no way members of congress can control what people do once they get on the bench.”
Grassley led the Senate Judiciary Committee as it refused to consider President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court and then confirmed two of President Trump’s nominees. “You don’t aim for any outcome in choosing anybody to be on the Supreme Court,” Grassley said this morning. “I look for strict constructionists. People who are going to interpret law, not make law.” Last night, Politico published the leaked draft of an opinion indicating five justices had voted to overturn Roe v Wade. “The leak was surely a monumental breach of trust within our judicial system and hasn’t happened within my years in the Senate,” Grassley said.
Grassley would not “speculate” on what abortion-related restrictions Republican-led congress might pass if the leaked document matches up with the opinion the court releases. Grassley drew cheers a month ago in a speech to the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition when he discussed his influence in shaping the Supreme Court. “You know we might have an opportunity here before the end of June for the Supreme Court either by a 6-3 vote or a 5-4 vote to overturn Roe v Wade,” Grassley said April 9. “You probably my remember my role in not moving ahead with the Garland nomination, not holding a hearing on it because we were hoping we’d get a Republican president and we did get a Republican president…and overturning Roe v Wade is a real possibility now.”
Two of the Democrats who hope to run against Grassley in the General Election say the future of women’s rights is at stake. Mike Franken said the “pending” decision is not a “partial rollback,” but “one of the most disastrous decisions the court has ever made.” Abby Finkenauer said like “millions of women across the country,” the news Roe is likely to be overturned “makes me scared and sick” and “ready to defend reproductive rights.”
(Radio Iowa) – A doctoral student at Iowa State University is gathering signatures to challenge budget cuts that would cause the history department to end its graduate program. Michael Belding says the program has a unique focus on rural history as well as agriculture, technology and the environment. Belding says ending it would mean lost expertise on topics that are central to Iowa’s culture and economy. Belding says, “Based on the facts and based on the facts at other institutions, we know that ISU’s department becomes a lot more generic, a lot less focused on stuff that Iowans need.”
Kevin Mason, an I-S-U history alum and a professor at Waldorf University in Forest City, is one of more than 60 alumni who have signed the petition. Mason says cutting the program would be shortsighted because Iowa State is one of the top universities training experts in rural and agricultural history. “And a lot of that work has to do with being at one of the premier agricultural universities in the world,” Mason says, “and I think that’s an important piece of it that’s different than anywhere else.”
Iowa State is looking to make up for lower enrollment and increased costs by cutting 15-million dollars overall from the budget of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences by 2026. The cuts range from around 70-thousand dollars in computer science to nearly one-million in history.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday, passed an ARPA Daycare Funding Resolution, using a portion of the more than $1.2-million the County received from the Federal Government, for COVID Relief. Board Chair Steve Baier read from the Resolution which listed daycare’s in the County and how much each would receive.
Funding for the Anita Daycare Center and a request for playground equipment funding, was tabled until the Board receives additional, necessary information. The Supervisors then discussed possibly providing funding for the Head Start school north of Atlantic, for hard surfacing so the children have space to ride bicycles and develop motor skills.
The Supervisors also signed a letter of support (with no financial commitment required), for the Land Committee, which is a subdivision of the City of Atlantic’s Housing Committee. Committee representative Christina Bateman the City has agreed to exercise its option to purchase land from Jim Comes family off of Olive and 22nd Street. The agreement will close on or before Oct. 3rd.
The letter of support she requested is so that it many be included with an application for a Destination Iowa Grant from IEDA for the Prairie Hill Development Project, which is estimated to cost over $2.8-million. That includes the cost of land acquisition ($830,000), infrastructure needs in the area ($1.8-million), and $200,000 for a trail. The application seeks to obtain up to 25% of the project cost from IEDA (The Iowa Economic Development Authority).
Bateman says they look to submit their grant application online, on May 9th. The Board also heard from Cass County Veteran’s Affairs Coordinator Mitch Holmes, with regard to funds flowing into the County from the Veterans Administration to assist local Veterans.
Holmes said also, there are other benefits, such as Veteran’s burial, that are one-time pay outs.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and Healthy Cass County is celebrating by promoting mental health events scheduled for May 2022. All events below are free and open to the public. Following the list of events is information on the partner organizations that make these events possible, including the National Alliance on Mental Illness Southwest Iowa (NAMI Southwest Iowa), Southwest Iowa Mental Health and Disability Services Region, Senior Life Solutions, and Angels Care Home Health.
May 2022 Cass County Mental Health Events (Free and Open to All)
All month: NAMI’s “Meet Little Monster” a mental health activity and coloring book will be available as take-home packets for youth at all Cass County libraries. Provided by NAMI Southwest Iowa.
These programs are made possible by Health Cass County partners:
Healthy Cass County is sharing a series of press releases for Mental Health Awareness Month. The next update will highlight free mental health programs and training available to businesses
and organizations in Cass County on request. To see that information and access additional mental health resources now, visit https://www.extension.iastate.edu/cass/ or call the Cass
County ISU Extension Office at 712-243-1132.
Police in Creston report a man from Ottumwa was arrested Monday night in the 400 block of N. Oak Street. Authorities say 24-year-old Tyler Jay McElroy was charged with Burglary in the 2nd Degree. His cash or surety bond was set at $10,000. And, at around 1:36-a.m. today (Tuesday), 18-year-old Tina Sue Joann Richards, of Creston, was arrest for Trespass/1st offense. She was cited and released
(Radio Iowa) – Cold, windy spring days have left Iowa’s morel mushroom harvest delayed. By this date, mushrooms hunters are typically thick in forested areas collecting the delicacies that only appear for a short time every spring. Matt Moles is park manager for the Iowa DNR’s Waubonsie State Park in Fremont County. He says his office has been receiving numerous calls from people asking if morels have been popping up yet in the park. “Don’t get disheartened yet with the weather patterns,” Moles says. “I’ve picked mushrooms anywhere between the very tail-end of March through two or three weeks into May in this part of the state. What we need right now is a little bit more ground moisture and probably a few more warmer days.”
While a few hunters have started reporting success in parts of southern Iowa and southeast Nebraska, Moles says a good rain followed by some warm days could lead to a jump-start in the season. “Usually what I notice in a year like the one we’re having now in a Spring that shapes like the climate we’re having now, is that the mushroom growth is really kind of fast and furious,” Moles says. “They pop-up, they produce their spores and then they get picked or they go away. I would not look for a prolonged season this year. Once you start getting reports of people picking them, you probably should get out there fast and do your thing.”
A Morel mushroom (ISU Extension photo)
Morel mushrooms need soil temperatures between 50 and 54 degrees to thrive. Moles says there are plenty of good hunting spots in southwest Iowa. “There’s a lot of pseudo-science with mushroom hunting, which kind of makes it fun,” Moles says. “It really is a good idea to target dead or dying elm trees, ash trees or cottonwood trees. We’re really fortunate here in the southwest part of the state that we have a lot of public land to choose from. I think Fremont County might have — per size of the counties — more public land than most other counties do in the state. There are a lot of great wildlife management areas and park areas for us to pick from.”
Other tips from the Iowa DNR include searching the base of slopes and areas with mossy ground or creek beds where moisture is present.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County Republicans hosted the the second of two “Know your candidates” forums Monday evening, in Atlantic, at the Cass County Community Center. Among the candidates in attendance were two candidates for State Auditor: Mary Ann Hanusa, from Council Bluffs, and Todd Halbur, from Clive. He’s a native of Carroll.
Todd Halbur
Mary Ann Hanusa
Hanusa is a former staffer to U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley and White House aide in both Bush administrations. She said the State Auditor is a watchdog for your tax dollars. Incumbent Democrat Auditor Rob Sand, she said, has used his office to launch baseless investigations into the Governor’s Office.
Hanusa pointed to her record of “accountability in state government” as a reason she should win the election.
Todd Halbur says he’s a life-long Republican and involved in politics, but this is his first time as a candidate. His wife Diane is a native of Griswold. He says he’s running because there’s been a lack of CPA’s in office for too many years.
He said he’s running for the office State Auditor because for a year, not one candidate stood up as a CPA or a even a banker.
Halbur is a former banker, a small business owner and former CFO for the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division.
Other Candidates in attendance in advance of the June 7th Primary, included: Senator Jim Carlin – candidate for the U-S House of Representatives; Gary Leffler – candidate for U-S House/3rd District; and Candidates for State Auditor, Todd Halbur and Mary Ann Hanusa.
Representatives were also on-hand for Senator Charles Grassley, who is running for re-election to the U-S Senate, and Nicole Hasso, Candidate for U-S House in the 3rd District. State Senator Zach Nunn was unable to attend to a family matter.
A traffic stop at around 11:18-p.m. Monday, in Red Oak, resulted in the arrest of a man from Clarinda. Red Oak Police report 59-year-old Robert Charles Harvey, III, was arrested for Driving While Barred. Harvey was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 bond.
(Radio Iowa) – The governor has signed a bill into law that will increase the penalties for those convicted of making, possessing or selling heroin to be the same as for similar crimes involving meth. Representative Ross Paustian is a Republican from Walcott. “Heroin addition and overdoses are a growing problem across Iowa that must be addressed in multiple ways,” Paulstian said. “Treatment alone won’t stop the spread of this dangerous. Heroin dealers must face meaningful penalties to keep them off the streets.”
Representative Kristin Sunde, a Democrat from West Des Moines, says heroin is particularly problematic right now, especially when it’s laced with fentanyl. “There are going to be higher consequences if they’re caught dealing,” Sunde says. “I think that’s fair enough and I think it’s one way to try to make some difference here.”
The bill would make those caught with 100 grams or more of heroin eligible for a 50 year prison sentence. Under current law, someone would have to be caught with a ten times that much — at least a kilogram of heroin — to get that stiff a sentence. Twenty-five Democrats in the legislature opposed the bill. Representative Ras Smith of Waterloo says more work must be done to reduce heroin use. “Our goal should be to not only make sure that we punish those who are flooding our streets with heroin, but also work to save lives,” Smith says.
Representative Ako Abdul-Samad, a Democrat from Des Moines, says putting a serious dent in the heroin trade requires treatment for addicts. “We want to get heroin off the street. We want to get the heroin dealers off the street without a doubt, but we also need to do it comprehensively,” Abdul-Samad said. “We need to address is so we’re also dealing with the addict. The key is the dealers will be in business as long as there’s a customer.”
The bill passed the House and Senate in March and will go into effect on July 1st. It was among 26 bills Governor Kim Reynolds approved yesterday (Monday).
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