Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press …

A ceremony was held at the State Capitol Thursday as Governor Branstad announced three communities that have been selected to join the Main Street Iowa program. They are Avoca, Guthrie Center, and Newton. The Main Street Iowa initiative was launched 27 years ago as part of a national effort to revitalize downtowns. Cities that are chosen for the program receive expert training and technical support in efforts to preserve historic buildings and improve their local economies.

Guthrie Center officials join Gov. Branstad for the Main Street IA announcement.

Ken Laughery, president of the Guthrie Center Revitalization Corporation, is also hoping the Main Street designation will eventually encourage more people to move to the town of just over 15-hundred (1,500) residents. “That’s one of the struggles we’ve faced over the years is our shrinking population,” Laughery said. “I think (Main Street) will give us guidance and show us some of the things that have been successful in other communities in the past.” Avoca’s population is similar to Guthrie Center.

City officials from Avoca also joined the Gov., Thursday for the event.

Avoca’s City Manager Clint Fichter said the Main Street program will help improve the Pottawattamie County town in a number of ways. “The first step for us is we’ve lacked a downtown business organization, so getting the organization up and running, working together better, the joint marketing, and all those things that come with this…and then, planning for the renovation of an historic theater and some other large preservation projects,” Fichter said. The addition of Avoca, Guthrie Center, and Newton brings the total number of Main Street communities in Iowa to 52.
(Radio Iowa)
(for more info. go to www.iowaeconomicdevelopment.com/MainStreetIowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Bullying victims, school superintendents and other officials have testified before Iowa lawmakers to advocate for anti-bullying and anti-harassment legislation in the state. Education subcommittees in the House and Senate debated bills Thursday to address bullying situations in Iowa schools. Both will go before their respective education committees.

The bills require that parents receive notification on instances of bullying. It would allow school officials to respond to cases of cyberbullying as they affect students within schools, and ensure training for officials to handle the situations.

Republican Rep. Quentin Stanerson, of Center Point, says legislation won’t completely solve the bullying problem across the state but it will definitely be helpful. Gov. Terry Branstad has made cracking down on school bullying a priority this year.

An accident Thursday morning northeast of Villisca in Montgomery County, resulted in minor injuries. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a 2004 Chevy Silverado pickup driven by  42-year-old Nichole King, of Villisca, was traveling west on 210th Street at around 10-a.m.,when a smaller, eastbound gold-colored Chevrolet crossed the center line of the road about one-quarter of a mile east of Vine Avenue.

The other drivers’ actions caused King to swerve to the right and onto the shoulder in order to avoid an accident. Officials say the snow and icy conditions caused the truck to slide up the ditch embankment and roll, coming to rest on the passenger’s side. Authorities say the other vehicle continued eastbound. It’s driver may not have been aware of the accident.

Villisca Fire and Rescue responded to the scene, but King refused treatment. The damage to her vehicle was estimated at $8,000.

Harlan Municipal Utilities (HMU) has announced their CEO has accepted a new position in Waverly, Iowa. In a press release, HMU said CEO Darrel Wenzel was offered and accepted the General Manager’s position at Waverly Light and Power. Wenzel said, “HMU is positioned to succeed thanks to the dedication of former and current employees and board members. I anticipate HMU will be recognized in 2014 for its outstanding electric reliability statistics by the municipal utility national organization known as American Public Power Association.”

Wenzel became CEO of HMU on May 21st, 2012 coming to HMU from Independence Light and Power in Independence, IA. HMU Board Chairman David Tyrrel said, “We appreciate what Darrel brought to HMU, what has been accomplished under his tenure and wish him well in his future.” Wenzel’s final day at HMU will be February 14th.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Thursday morning, approved an application by Bernard Vais with the Anita Livestock Auction, for an Industrial Property Tax Exemption for the construction of full frame cattle and veterinary sheds. Board Chair Frank Waters and Auditor Dale Sunderman discussed how the 5-year tax exemption would play out. Because it’s new construction, it would be 75% exempt the first year, 60% the second year, 45% the third year, 30% and 15% the last two-years.

The Board also approved the regulations passed by the County Board of Health, for “Radon Control Methods.” Supervisor Duane McFadden said he spoke with Sanitarian Steve Patterson about the regulations, which serve to mitigate radon. Patterson serves Guthrie, Adair and Cass Counties. Patterson said the regulations would apply primarily to new construction or additions.

And the Board spent an hour discussing with representatives of Solutions, Inc., the County’s computer server needs and services. The County is rapidly running out of storage space for its technology needs, so the Board wanted to explore the options for expanding the current server and related technology.

Solutions’ Zach Ramsey told the Board they have two options when it comes to the new data center located across the street from the courthouse. He said Option 1, A Storage Area Network (SAN) would cost about $39,000 and is the “Cadillac” or high-end version of their servers, which will also serve to aid in the transition to paperless information. He said it would have huge data storage, would be efficient, powerful and very fast.

Ramsey said it has a 10-years life expectancy with regular maintenance. A three-year maintenance agreement would cost $6,000. He said a second, and more logical option, which he called the “Chevy” version, would cost $15,096, and it would better serve the County’s needs now and in the future, without going overboard at the onset. It would include a bigger server, with three virtualized servers and one specifically for the GIS Department. It would have 6 terabytes of storage instead of 8, and the option to add as many as six extra bays for more data storage.

It has a five-year warranty and is more readily adaptable to changing technology. The The Supervisors passed a motion accepting the second option, which, with everything figured-in, will run about 20-to $25,000. It should be up and running by no later than April 1^st.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reports a northwest Iowa teenager was fatally injured late Wednesday afternoon while operating a snowmobile on a creek southwest of Fonda in Pocahontas County. 13-year old Raymond Gatzemeyer, of Fonda, was operating a snowmobile when he struck a rope that was suspended between two pillars of a bridge shortly before 5 p.m. He was in a group that included two other snowmobiles and an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) when the incident occurred. No one else was injured.

Gatzemeyer, who was wearing a helmet at the time of the incident, was transported to Loring Hospital in Sac City where he was pronounced dead. The incident remains under investigation by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

The Atlantic Police Department reports two recent arrests. On Wednesday (February 5th), Atlantic Police arrested 27-year-0ld Levi Olsen of Atlantic on a Cass County Warrant for Probation Violation.  He was taken to the Cass County Jail and booked in.

And today (Thursday, February 6th) 36-year-old Eric Ostrander of Atlantic was arrested on a Cass County Warrant for Possession of Controlled Substance.  He was also transported to the Cass County Jail and booked in.

w/ Chris Parks

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