The Atlantic Student Council has reduced the entry fee for the Oct. 11th “Color the Town 5k Run/walk,” otherwise known as the “Color Run.”  Due to confusion having to deal with the registration website (the issues of which have since been resolved), the Council thought it would be fair to reduce the entry fee from 30-to $25. Registration ends Sept. 14th.

To register for the event, go to schoolathon.org. Click on the “Login/Register” link on the top right corner of the page, and the first option offered (“Register as a new participant”), and enter in the Group ID line 110006. The Group “AHS Student Council” should appear.

From there, enter your information… create a password, and then submit. (For Teachers/Section Leaders use Wiederien, and for Grade, enter High School). Read the message provided and click “Continue Registration.”

Enter $1 in the “Donation Amount” (but note that this number WILL NOT be added to your run fee of $25), then submit. Scroll through the message page and click on the “Proceed to Complete Registration” link at the bottom of the page. Read the message, and click “Continue.”

You will then be directed to the Registration site. Click on the “Visit My Site” link and scroll to the bottom of the page, where you will click on the “I want to participate” tool link. From there, you can continue with your registration for the run, and checkout.

If you would like to pay by cash or check, please contact either Pat Wiederien or Steph Freund, at (712)- 249-4251, or 254-2574. You may also contact Jen Hohenberger, at 712-249-5404.

Police in Creston report two recent arrests. On Thursday, 31-year old David Alan Hosfield, of Creston, was arrested on a charge of Harassment in the 3rd degree. Hosfield was being held Friday in the Union County Jail.

And, on Wednesday, 21-year old Devin Lee Heimke, of Corning, was arrested in Creston on a Union County warrant for OWI/1st offense. He was later released on $1,000 bond.

An anti-abortion group in Iowa is issuing a warning about a website that once offered sex education information to parents and schools but which now directs computer users to pornography. Jennifer Bowen, executive director of Iowa Right to Life, says the website “teenwire-dot-com” had been run by Planned Parenthood but now advertises teen escorts, online sex and other X-rated content.

Bowen says, “We are very concerned for students in Iowa as well as nationally, anybody that uses any curriculum that advises from Planned Parenthood or from the Ellen Guttmacher Institute is very likely using curriculum that points teens to that website, teenwire.com.” Any outdated literature distributed to schools in the past few years, she says, still directs people to that website. Bowen says her organization mobilized and contacted every school district in Iowa to give them a heads up about the website’s change.

“Unfortunately, we only heard back from one and they were not inclined to believe that we were telling the truth,” Bowen says. “We are very concerned about the lack of response that we’ve had from the school districts.” Bowen says the website, when run by Planned Parenthood, had used an Etch-A-Sketch in some of its videos months ago, so Iowa Right to Life contacted the makers of the toy in an effort to have the site shut down.

“At that time, teenwire.com came down for a period of time,” Bowen says. “It went back briefly but then, apparently it came back down again at some point in the last year or two. Unbeknownst to us, it went right into the hands of the porn industry.” Bowen says she’s been told the website is operating within the law so it won’t be forced to go dark.

(Radio Iowa)

With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Authorities in southwest Iowa are warning residents to be cautious about phone calls and visits from persons offering home repairs, following the recent storms and heavy rain. The caller or person who comes knocking on your door may claim they represent the insurance company that handles your homeowner’s insurance.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office says if you do not know the caller, and/or question the reputability of the person you speak with, ask for your claim number and call your local insurance agent directly to verify the legitimacy of the call or visit.

Residents are also cautioned to be careful if you are asked to sign a contract to complete the work, and the contractor will file with your insurance company. Insurance companies provide their own insurance adjustors to handle an estimate and will provide you with a copy. Fraudulent operators will often ask for money in advance, then fail to perform as promised.

You’re also asked to report and fraudulent activity to your local law enforcement agency.

Police in Red Oak report the arrest Thursday evening of 23-year old Michael Eugene Sickels. The Red Oak man was taken into custody on a warrant for Trespassing, at around 5:45-p.m.  Following his arrest in the 100 block of west Coolbaugh Street, Sickels was brought to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center and later released on $300 bond.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and Oelwein Police Department are seeking the public’s help in locating Abel Quijas Jr. of 145 7th Street North in Maynard, IA.

Abel Quijas, Jr.

 Quijas is 33 years old and described as 5’8” tall, 185 pounds.  Quijas is wanted for one count of Attempted Murder involving a Peace Officer in Oelwein on the afternoon of September, 11, 2014.  Quijas was last seen on foot in the area of northeast of Oelwein.

Anyone with information regarding Quijas’ location is asked to contact the Oelwein Police Department at (319) 283-4311.

State wildlife officials say hunters in Iowa have sufficiently thinned down the deer herds, so the number of hunting licenses that will be issued is being scaled back to stabilize the population. Iowa Department of Natural Resources director Chuck Gipp says all signs indicate the statewide deer population declined between 2006 and 2013. “Reported harvest is down by 33%. Number of road kills of deer hit by vehicles is down by 39%,” Gipp says. “The number of deer that are observed by bow hunters, which is a good way because they’re up in the tree individually, is down by 22%.”

Some parts of Iowa are still overrun by deer, what are considered “hot spots,” while the animals are very scarce in other areas. Gipp says striking a balance with hunters isn’t easy. “We’re getting shot at from both sides, some people are saying there’s not enough deer and others say there’s too many depending on where you sit on this issue,” Gipp says, “We feel very comfortable where the deer herd is and we still have to work on those hot spots.” He says the D-N-R may expand the number of so-called depredation licenses issued which allow landowners to kill animals that cause property damage.

The D-N-R plans to scale back the number of so-called “antlerless” deer licenses, which were designed to thin herds by targeting female deer.

(Radio Iowa)

The two major party candidates seeking Iowa’s third congressional district seat differed sharply over key fiscal issues during an hour-long televised debate last night (Thursday) on Iowa Public Television. For example, the candidates were asked if they support a balanced budget amendment. Democrat Staci Appel went first. “I think we need to have a balanced budget that carves out for Social Security and Medicare,” Appel said.

Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson, a panelist, asked: “So you would vote, if it had those conditions, to amend the U.S. constitution, requiring a federally balanced budget.” Appel replied: “I do not believe I would.” Republican David Young said he would, under certain conditions. To make sure that in wartime there could be a possibility of busting those caps if there were emergencies and we had to protect our homeland, things like that and we had to make sure that our priority was the mandatory spending, the benefits that folks receive under Social Security and Medicare,” Young said.

Appel interjected: “A balanced budget amendment could be a 20 percent across-the-board cut. That would effect Social Security, Medicare, our education budget. We have to be extremely careful when we do things like that.” Young replied: “That’s why you make sure the mandatory spending is a priority.” As for worries about the solvency of Social Security and Medicare, Appel said Medicare costs could be cut if the government could negotiate the bulk purchase of prescription drugs.

“I would keep my promise to seniors and the 40-year-olds and the 50-year-olds that are paying into the system,” Appel said. “Social Security and Medicare’s not a goal. It’s a promise. The best way to shore up Social Security and Medicare is to create great paying jobs, so there’s more people paying into the system and that’s the best way to do it.” Young said he’d be willing to consider a variety of options to fix the systems for future seniors.

“We need to do what conservative President Ronald Reagan did along with liberal Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill did and they got together and put everything on the table,” Young says, “And then you can take things off the table. I would take raising the retirement age, right away, off the way.” But Young says he’d consider getting rid of the income cap and requiring wealthier Americans to pay Social Security taxes on all their income. Appel suggested Young would vote to “privatize” Social Security, but Young said that won’t be an option under consideration.

“I think seniors need to know where he stands on these issues,” Appel said. Young responded: “Can you quote where I said I wanted to privatize Social Security?” Appel said: “You applauded it and I will make sure that after (the debate) that we will give all the citations.” Young continued: “I’d like to know where I said that.” Kathie Obradovich of The Des Moines Register, a debate panelist, asked: “Is that off the table for you, any sort of private account for Social Security?” Young replied: “It’s become such a political issue, it’s amazing that so many Americans when they want to get a better investment on their dollar, they look to mutual funds or stocks, but it’s been so politicized, it’s going to be taken off the table.”

Both said, if elected, they would vote to raise the federal minimum wage to 10-dollars-and-10-cents an hour, although Young would only vote for a bill to raise the minimum wage if tax cuts for small businesses were included in the legislation. On the gas tax, both expressed concern about the condition of roads and bridges, but Appel said she would oppose any increase in the gas tax. Young said it’s time for a more creative way to finance the nation’s transportation system to take into account electric cars and propane-fueled vehicles that are running on fuel that isn’t subject to the federal gas tax.

The debate was held at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs and Iowa Public Television will rebroadcast the event tonight (Friday) at 7 p.m. The two candidates are seeking the seat currently held by Republican Tom Latham. Latham announced last December that he would not seek reelection in 2014.

(Radio Iowa)