Contrary to some yard signs you may have seen in Atlantic, a local realtor says he’s NOT running for Mayor of Atlantic. Dale Gross said in a statement from Chicago, where he was attending a meeting, that he’s had contact with several of his Atlantic friends about signs suggesting his name as a Write-In for Mayor of Atlantic.

Gross said he did not authorize the grassroots effort, and furthermore is “NOT running and do not wish to be Mayor. No one has permission (from him) to place [the] yard signs” saying anything to the contrary.

Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones is running for re-election, and is un-opposed in the bid for the Nov. 7th City election.

NEVADA, Iowa (AP) — DowDuPont has announced it’s seeking a buyer for its 30-million gallon, $225 million cellulosic ethanol plant in central Iowa. The Des Moines Register reports that DowDuPont has shuttered operations at the Nevada, Iowa, plant and cut 90 workers.

The move is part of DowDuPont’s announcement Thursday it will cut its global workforce by 5-7 percent and shutter some buildings. The cellulosic ethanol plant, which opened in 2015, is considered the next generation in renewable fuel production. It uses corncobs, husks and stalks to produce the biofuel. A skeleton crew will maintain the plant until a new buyer is found.

DowDuPont says the operation no longer fits its strategic plan. Iowa has two other large cellulosic ethanol plants. One is in Emmetsburg and the other is in Galva.

The Iowa Board of Medicine today (Thursday) issued public orders involving three separate cases to come before the Board. Locally, 42-year old Christopher F. Stubbs, M.D., an  Iowa-licensed physician who practices family medicine in Audubon, entered into a combined Statement of Charges and Settlement Agreement with the Board on October 27, 2017. The Board alleged that Dr. Stubbs engaged in unethical or unprofessional conduct in violation of the laws and rules governing the practice of medicine in Iowa when he provided false information to the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) and the Board concerning his medical school attendance history.

The Board alleged that Dr. Stubbs failed to disclose his attendance at, and termination from, Ross University School of Medicine, Dominica, on applications for the ECFMG Step 2 CK exam, the ECFMG Step 2 CS exam and his Iowa medical license. The Board also alleged that Dr. Stubbs used misleading information on his online employment biography.

Under the terms of the October 27, 2017, combined Statement of Charges and Settlement Agreement, the Board issued Dr. Stubbs a Citation and Warning, suspended his Iowa medical license for ten (10) days beginning October 28, 2017, and ordered him to pay a $5,000 civil penalty. The Board also ordered Dr. Stubbs to complete a professional ethics program and amend his current employment biography to ensure it is not misleading regarding his medical school history and ensure that all such biographies in the future are not misleading. Finally, the Board placed Dr. Stubbs on probation for a period of three years subject to Board monitoring and a practice mentor.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa official says the state will spend an additional $60 million this budget year for private insurance companies to keep running the Medicaid program. Iowa Department of Human Services spokesman Matt Highland said Thursday that additional costs announced this week as part of new state contracts with two companies will total $140.4 million. The state will pay $60.8 million of that. The federal government will pay about $80 million.

The agency announced a 3.3 percent increase in costs at a Tuesday press conference but didn’t specify a dollar amount. It was on the same day that AmeriHealth Caritas, one of three private insurance companies overseeing Medicaid in Iowa since 2016, announced it would pull out after failed negotiations over a new contract.

The nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency says DHS has surplus money from a previous budget year that’s expected to help cover the costs.

The group charged with finding ways to expand the use of computer science in schools has turned its recommendations over to the Iowa Department of Education. Department director, Ryan Wise, says the legislature passed a bill creating the group last year and then Governor Terry Branstad signed it into law. “They set a vision that by July first 2019 every elementary student in Iowa would have access to exploratory computer science coursework. Every middle school student would have a unit in computer science technology, and every high school student would have access to a high-quality computer science course,” Wise says.

Today’s students have been exposed to the use of computers from birth, and Wise says the idea is to expand on that general knowledge and teach them to go beyond. “It’s even more than just coding or programming, it’s really about understanding how computer technology works. And then being able to apply that to the creation of new technology,” according to Wise.”So, this takes our digital natives — our students of today — and really helps them understand computer technology in more detail and then apply it to their lives.”  Wise says many of today’s professions and jobs require a more advanced knowledge of computer science. The legislation also included a fund to boost the training for those who will teach computer science. He says it would create more opportunities for teachers to go back to school to take computer science coursework or to have professional development to enhance their skills.

One of the recommendations from the group is to allow students to use computer science to meet math credit requirements after they’ve taken courses covering required math standards. “They were looking for ways to build upon the existing math standards and to not compromise those,” Wise says. “So, what they’ve recommended is that districts be allowed to innovate and create plans locally that allows for the expansion of both math and computer science.” Now that the Computer Science Education Work Group has submitted its recommendations, Wise says there are a couple of tasks ahead do to implement them.
“The first is convening a group of folks to write computer science standards — laying out what students should be able to know and do when they take computer science courses,” Wise says.

He says the second task is to ensure there is enough funding to train enough computer science teachers to teach all the classes. The legislature already set aside 250-thousand dollars for the training. “I’m hoping that that will actually be funded at 500-thousand dollars. Once those funds are in place, the department will be able to develop a competitive application process that will allow districts to put together a plan for how they intend to expand computer science offerings in their school,” Wise says.

(Radio Iowa)

Sam Clovis, the former Morningside College professor who served as national co-chair of the Trump presidential campaign, has asked the president to withdraw his nomination to serve as the top science officer in the U-S-D-A. Clovis sent President Trump a letter, saying “the political climate in Washington has made it impossible for him to receive balanced and fair consideration” for the U-S-D-A job. Court documents released this week show Clovis was the campaign supervisor of volunteer foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulus. Papadopoulus has pleaded guilty to lying to the F-B-I about his contacts with Russians. Clovis, in his letter to the president, said attacks on Trump and his team are increasing every day and have turned into a “blood sport.” Clovis said didn’t want to be a distraction to Trump’s agenda.

Clovis concluded his letter by saying he remains a devoted and loyal supporter — and will continue to serve as a senior White House advisor in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Clovis was a radio talk show host in Sioux City before running for the U.S. Senate in 2014. He joined the Trump campaign in August of 2015.

(Radio Iowa)

OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP) — A trial is scheduled to begin Dec. 21 for a dog handler accused of leaving four animals in a hot vehicle outside an Iowa dog show, killing three. Police say two were found dead July 8 outside the American Kennel Club All Breeds Dog Show in Ottumwa. A third died at a veterinary clinic.

Court records say Craig Eugene told police his vehicle was running when he put the dogs inside but wasn’t running when he returned. The National Weather Service says the Ottumwa temperature peaked at 89 degrees (32 Celsius) that day. The records say Eugene, who lives in Marengo, Illinois, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of animal cruelty.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A plan to build a park in eastern Iowa has raised concerns because the proposed site is across the street from a correctional center that houses sex offenders and people convicted of other crimes. The Telegraph Herald reports that the First Judicial District Department of Correctional Services’ Dubuque facility houses people on probation or state work release. The state Department of Corrections says the facility can house up to 62 men and 18 women.

Facility Manager Wendy Lyons says having a park near the facility could be problematic because state law prohibits sex offenders whose victims were minors from being within 300 feet of a park, school or child care facility. City officials say they’re still getting public input about how to redevelop the land.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Fewer than one in five polling places were fully accessible to voters with disabilities during the 2016 general election. That’s according to a government study released Thursday that has prompted federal officials to recommend the Justice Department adopt stricter compliance measures. The report from the Government Accountability Office shows just 17 percent of polling places posed no impediments to voters. The report was based on a nationwide sample of 178 voting stations across the country examined in the days leading up to and including Election Day 2016.

The report’s findings come a year before the 2018 congressional midterm elections and underscore an increase in early voting that has occurred in many states since protections for disabled voters have been enacted over the past 30 years.

Page County Sheriff Lyle Palmer says at around 9:30-p.m. Wednesday, Page County Sheriff’s Deputies executed a search warrant at 817 Depot Street in Coin, with regard to an in-house Marijuana Grow Operation. Three people were arrested during the investigation: 49-year old Michael John Blank and 52-year old Yvonne Clione Blank, both of Coin, and 63-year old Edith Eileen Kirkpatrick, of Westboro, MO., were arrested.

Michael John Blank

Yvonne Clione Blank

Edith Eileen Kirkpatrick

All three face felony charges that include: Manufacturing of a controlled substance/marijuana; Tax payment required for Possession/marijuana; and Conspiracy. They also were charged with Gathering where controlled substances unlawfully used (a Serious Misdemeanor). Their bonds were set at $16,000 each.

Numerous items and illegal substances were seized as a result of the search warrant.