You’re invited to join The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce and Atlantic Bottling Company to Celebrate Coca-Cola Days 25th Anniversary. Coca-Cola Days, presented by Atlantic Bottling Company, will be held Friday, September 22nd and Saturday, Sept. 23rd, in Downtown Atlantic. The event is the second biggest collector’s show in the United States and includes a tailgate barbecue open to the public, a Show, Swap & Sell, “Bottles on Parade”, “Discover Atlantic Raffle” and many more activities for all ages.

Coca-Cola Days is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year with a special raffle. Bailey Smith, Executive Director at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce said “The committee brainstormed and decided to celebrate the 25th Anniversary with a raffle that includes 25 items donated from area businesses.”  Tickets are available at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce for $5 a ticket. The winner will be announced Saturday, September 23rd at 2 PM at the Show, Swap & Sell meet at the Herring Building.

Coca-Cola Days is also celebrating the 3rd Annual “Bottles on Parade”. Bottles will be on display outside the following businesses: Atlantic Coca-Cola Center & Museum; Atlantic Inn & Suites, Cappel’s Ace Hardware; China Buffet; Nishna Valley YMCA and The Venue. Vote on your favorite bottle now till Friday, September 22nd by stopping in to each business.

T-Shirts for the 2017 Coca-Cola Days Celebration are also available for purchase. The shirts are black and feature the theme, “Coca-Cola Days—Celebrating Our 25thAnniversary”. T-Shirts can be purchased for $16 at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce. For more information on Coca-Cola Days or a full list of activities, please visit www.cocacoladays.com, call the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce at 712-243-3017 or email chamber@atlanticiowa.com.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa governor and the organization that sets workers’ compensation rates are disputing whether a new law influenced a recent rate reduction in premiums for employers. The Des Moines Register reports the National Council on Compensation Insurance announced an 8.7 average premium reduction for Iowa employers that’ll begin January 2018. In a statement last month, Gov. Kim Reynolds said the decrease is a “direct result” of reforms that took effect in July.

The Legislative Services Agency says the legislation cuts benefits for injured workers, makes it more difficult for injured workers to claim lump sum payments and limits attorney legal fees. Council officials say the legislation played no part in the lower rates. They say the reduction was based on data from premium years 2014-15 and a decrease in claims.

Officials with the City of Atlantic say the next “Atlantic 150” Committee meeting, which was scheduled to take place Tuesday, September 19th at 5:30 p.m., in the City Council Chambers, has been rescheduled to Oct. 11th at the same time and place. All interested persons are invited to attend.

During their meeting last month, the Atlantic 150 Committee, which is planning activities for the City’s Sesquicentennial Celebration that will take place in 2018, it was determined the events will kick off on December 2, 2017 at the city’s Lighted Christmas Parade with the Mayor proclaiming 2018 as the City’s Sesquicentennial Year.

Organizers say rather than one large celebration, the city will be celebrating each month in 2018. Each month has been assigned a theme in order to assist individuals/groups/organizations/businesses in creating ideas for activities they may want to sponsor throughout the year. The Calendar of Events will also be made available on the atlanticiowa.com website, as well as found on the Sesquicentennial Facebook Page – Atlantic Sesquicentennial.

(DES MOINES) – Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a proclamation Monday allowing the transportation of overweight loads of corn, soybeans, haw, straw, silage and stover. The proclamation will expire Nov. 17, 2017. Gov. Reynolds said she is “Pleased to sign this proclamation allowing Iowa farmers to move their crops in an effective and efficient manner.Farmers are a critical component of our state’s economy, and this proclamation ensures they’re able to transport their crops ahead of deteriorating weather conditions.”

The proclamation allows vehicles transporting corn, soybeans, hay, straw, silage and stover to be overweight (not exceeding 90,000 pounds gross weight) without a permit, but only for the duration of this proclamation. The action is intended to allow loads transported on all highways within Iowa (excluding the interstate system) and those which do not exceed a maximum of 90,000 pounds gross weight, do not exceed the maximum axle weight limit determined under the non-primary highway maximum gross weight table in Iowa Code § 321.463 (5) (b), by more than 12.5 percent, do not exceed the legal maximum axle weight limit of 20,000 pounds and comply with posted limits on roads and bridges.

The Iowa Department of Transportation is directed to monitor the operation of this proclamation to ensure the public’s safety and facilitate the movement of the trucks involved in our state’s harvest.

Sheriff’s officials in Audubon County report two people were injured in a head-on collision Saturday afternoon, about three-miles west of Audubon. Authorities say a 2009 Chevy Malibu driven by 17-year old Andrea Leigh-Marie Stevens, of Audubon, was traveling east on 200th Street at around 3:30-p.m., at the same time 23-year old Tray D. Anderson, of Audubon, was traveling west in a 2008 Pontiac. The vehicles collided at the crest of a hill and came to rest on the road.

Stevens, along with a passenger in Anderson’s vehicle, 22-year old Ashley Anderson, of Audubon, were transported by Audubon Rescue to the Audubon County Memorial Hospital. Damage from the collision amounted to $9,000. Anderson was cited for Failure to Yield half of the roadway.

The Pottawattamie County (IA) and Sarpy County (NE) Sheriff’s Offices today (Monday) asked on their social media page, for help in finding 21-year old Jennifer K. Palmisano, who has been reported to be in the Pottawattamie County area. More specifically, the Council Bluffs area.

Palmisano has Sarpy County warrants for felony theft by receiving, operating a vehicle to avoid felony arrest, and possession of a controlled substance. She’s described as being 5-feet 6-inches tall, 130 pounds, with brown hair, and blue eyes.

Anyone with information about Palmisano’s whereabouts, please call Sarpy County Crime Stoppers at 402-592-7867. All reports are kept anonymous.

Palmisano 1

Palmisano 2

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports a woman was arrested early Saturday morning for OWI/2nd offense, following a traffic stop. 46-year old Kathleen Rene McMartin, of Carson, was pulled over on Highway 59 just before midnight, Friday, after he vehicle was seen crossing the centerline, twice. She was arrested at around 12:20-a.m., following a brief investigation.

A Nebraska man was arrested Sunday afternoon for Eluding, Assault on a Peace Officer, and reckless driving. 58-year old Keith Douglas Pumala, of Omaha, was driving a Ford Ranger pickup, and refused to yield to the Sheriff’s Deputy. The assault charge is with regard to an incident involving a Deputy Sheriff.

A woman from Honey Creek was arrested at around 8:20-a.m. Sunday for allegedly Contributing Alcohol toward the delinquency of a minor. 36-year old Michelle Renae Pylund was arrested after allegedly providing booze at a residence in Pott. County, to several female minors, two of whom were transported to Jennie Edmundson Hospital for treatment.

And, 33-year old David Michael Graham, of Silver City, was arrested late Sunday morning, for Preventing Apprehension via False Pretenses/swindle/con game. His arrest followed a traffic stop at 240th and Highway 92 in Pottawattamie County.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Some Iowa cities are considering new restrictions and in some cases outright bans on fireworks after a rash of Fourth of July complaints. The Des Moines Register reports that West Des Moines city leaders will consider a fireworks ban today (Monday), while their counterparts in Des Moines discuss whether to tighten restrictions.

Iowa lifted its ban on most consumer fireworks in May, allowing residents to buy and use firecrackers, Roman candles and hundreds of other items around the Fourth of July and before New Year’s Eve.

Many Iowa cities responded by approving limits on when and where fireworks can be used. Des Moines and West Des Moines allowed fireworks during a six-hour window on the Fourth of July. Both cities reported receiving hundreds of noise and smoke complaints.

More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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(Radio Iowa – Des Moines) A change that gives those who failed for one reason or another to get a high school diploma another option to go back and get it is moving close to reality. The State Board of Education signed off on the rule change for the high school equivalency requirements during their meeting last week. Department of Education spokesman, Jeremy Varner, says those who have wanted to get the missed high school diploma had only had one option.

“For a number of decades, the only way a student or adult could attain a high school equivalency diploma if they didn’t earn a high school diploma, was to take a high stakes test. For about 75 years that was the G-E-D,” Varner says. The process was changed a few years ago to require you to take a battery of five tests to prove your worthiness. “One thing that we heard clearly from a number of stakeholders was that the test battery can be very intimidating for many students, it’s not the best fit for many students,” Varner explains. “We had a task force spend a year-and-a-half taking a good hard look at the way students can demonstrate competency equivalent to a high school diploma — and they found some other approaches that have worked in other states.”

The Legislature gave the Board of Education approval to move forward and Varner says they’ve settled on the rules that allow students to use credits they’ve obtained after high school to count toward their high school diploma. “So if a student dropped out of high school only a couple of classes shot of graduation, they could bundle high school and college credits and obtain an equivalency diploma,” Varner says. “Or if they’ve obtained other postsecondary credentials beyond an associate’s degree or have a degree from a foreign country, they could demonstrate competency in those ways.”

Varner, who is the community colleges division administrator for the Education Department, says the new proposal also allows you to use knowledge you’ve gained for your job to obtain the high school degree. “So if they have work experience equivalent to some education they can earn credit for that.So they can combine the education and experience they already have with some additional courses that would round that out so they can obtain a high school diploma,” he says.

Varner says for example, someone that’s taken classes to become a welder and started working in the field could use that experience toward obtaining the high school diploma. The new rules contain a formula for determining how the other experience translates into high school credits for the degree. He says they don’t have an exact count on how many people try to get their high school equivalency each year, but believe it could be hundreds.

“So it could easily be 500 to 700 students a year who could benefit from this opportunity,” Varner says. There will be a public hearing on the rule change October 31st from ten to 11 a-m in the Education Department’s board room at the Grimes State Office Building in Des Moines. Varner says following the hearing the new option could be in place by January. The five-test battery will still be available for those who want to take it to try and earn the high school degree.