A campaign official has released additional information about President Barack Obama’s visit to Council Bluffs on Monday, August 13th. The campaign reports  the president will be in Bayliss Park in downtown Council Bluffs, with entry to the park allowed beginning at 9:15 a.m. The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required for entrance.

One ticket per person will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets for the event will be available beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Organizing for America Council Bluffs office at 1851 Madison Ave., Suite 200, or the Organizing for America Omaha office at 347 N. 76th St. in Omaha.

Obama’s stop in Council Bluffs is part of a three-day campaign trip in Iowa, making his longest visit to a single state yet as he works to reach deeper into battleground states. It will be Obama’s fifth trip to Iowa this year and is similar to that of his 2008 Iowa caucus campaign. His Republican challenger in the November election, Mitt Romney was in Iowa this week.  Romney held a private fundraiser Tuesday night and a public event Wednesday morning at a Des Moines high school. It was Romney’s fourth visit to Iowa since clinching the GOP nomination.

Obama’s visit will begin Monday, and he’ll wend his way across the state with stops in smaller cities less often visited by presidents seeking re-election, campaign aides said. After Council Bluffs, he’ll go to Boone, then stop Tuesday in Marshalltown, Oskaloosa and Waterloo before closing the trip with events in Dubuque and Davenport on Wednesday. First lady Michelle Obama is expected to join the president for the Wednesday events.

Although a stop at the iconic Iowa State Fair in Des Moines is not on Obama’s preliminary schedule, the president often makes unannounced stops – and the fair will be entering its fifth day as Obama arrives.

A company clearing dead trees from a roadside ditch in Pottawattamie County is offering a $7,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person of persons responsible for the theft of two Caterpillar Skid Steer loaders, and the recovery of the machines.

A similar model Caterpillar Skid Steer machine to those stolen from Pottawattamie County.

Next Phase Environmental had been contracted by the State of Iowa to clear the dead trees from the roadside ditch along Interstate 29, north of Council Bluffs.

The Pott. County Sheriff’s Department says during the last week, two Caterpillar Skid Steers belonging to the company were stolen. They’re valued at about $150,000. Anyone with information is asked to call the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office at (712) 890-2200 or Crime Stoppers at (712) 328-7867.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports three people were arrested Wednesday on unrelated charges. 18-year old Kameron Nicholas Burg, of Atlantic,  turned himself in on a Sheriff’s Office on a warrant for Interference with Official Acts. Burg was booked in to the Cass County Jail where he awaits hearing before the Magistrate.

Officers with the Atlantic Police Department arrested 32-year old John Oliver Knight,  of Atlantic, Wednesday, on Cass County Sheriff’s Office warrants for Driving While Barred, Driving Under Suspension, and No SR22 Insurance. Knight was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released later that day on $2,650 bond.

And 20-year old Michael Andrew McConnell,  of Atlantic,  turned himself in to authorities, Wednesday. McConnell was wanted on a Sheriff’s Office warrant for Interference with Official Acts. He  was taken to the Cass County Jail where he is being held until hearing before the Magistrate.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office says deputies with the Adair County Sheriff’s Office Tuesday, arrested two men wanted for the 2011 theft of motorcycles from Cass County. 27-year old Jason Kyle Bruns, of Menlo, and 31-year old Daniel Joseph Bruns, of Fontanelle, were taken into custody on Cass County Sheriff’s Office warrants. The warrants  were issued in connection with the theft of two motorcycles from a rural address in Cass County on November 30, 2011.

Jason Bruns was charged with Burglary 3^rd Degree, Theft 2^nd Degree, and Altering a Vehicle ID Number, all “D” Felonies. Daniel Bruns was charged with Burglary 3^rd Degree and Theft 2^nd Degree, both “D” Felonies. Both were taken to the Cass County Jail where Jason Bruns was released on $15,000 bond and Daniel Bruns was released on $10,000 bond the following day.

Cass County Sheriff Darby McLaren has released additional information about a fatal accident that occurred early this (Thursday) morning. South of Wiota. McLaren says 23-year old Nicholas Herman Baier, of Atlantic, was pronounced deceased at the scene of the crash. An investigation revealed the vehicle Baier was driving had been traveling west on Lansing Road, when it drove onto the shoulder/ditch area east of 680th Street. The vehicle came back onto the roadway at 680th Street, slid across into the south ditch off of Lansing Road, and rolled three times before coming to rest on its top. Baier suffered fatal injuries when was ejected from the vehicle. The accident was reported at 6:50-a.m.

Officials with the Iowa Council of Foundations today (Thursday) announced Dennis Nissen, Director of the Community Foundations of Southwest Iowa, based in Omaha, is joining the ICOF’s Board of Directors for the 2012-2013 calendar year. Nissen was one of two new members named to the Board. He joins Jerry Mathiasen, Senior Vice President of the Iowa West Foundation in Council Bluffs, on the eight-member Board.

The ICOF was founded in 1998. It promotes philanthropy and effective grantmaking in Iowa, and serves as the state’s leading philanthropic entity. To learn more, go to www.iowacounciloffoundations.org.

Officials with the Shelby County Emergency Management Agency say the recent rains which fell over the County were very much appreciated, but they didn’t result in a reduced fire risk. As a result the Fire Danger Index will remain in HIGH Category.  Most of the rain fell in the central and northeast parts of the County, and rain is in the forecast for Saturday or more likely on Sunday, which will certainly help.  Regardless, and while Shelby County is not in an official burn ban, EMA officials remind citizens and businesses who need to burn, to call the Emergency Management office at 755-2124.

Officials say there were some unannounced burns held over the last few weeks, to which Fire personnel responded. Those volunteers all have regular jobs, and reducing these types of calls is essential to good employee-employer relations. Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Seivert says “Those employers who support their personnel, by allowing them take time to fight fires are going the “extra mile” and should be commended.” Seivert say also, volunteer firefighters shouldn’t have to take time from work attending to unnecessary and unannounced controlled burns.

The Atlantic Police Department says only minor injuries were reported following a car versus bicycle accident Wednesday evening, at 7th and Walnut Streets. Official say a vehicle driven by Aaron Page, of Urbandale, was traveling west on 7th Street at around 7:25-p.m., when his vehicle was hit on the side by a bicycle, as Page was in the middle of the intersection. The rider of the bike, Arthur Davis, of Atlantic, refused medical treatment. Davis was cited for Failure to Obey a Traffic Control Device. Damage from the collision amounted to $600.

The Atlantic P-D reports also, 32-year old John Knight, of Atlantic, was arrested Wednesday on Cass County warrants for Driving While Barred, Driving While Suspended, and Failure to have S-R 22 Insurance on File. Knight was brought to the Cass County Jail and held pending an appearance before the magistrate.

U-S Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today (Thursday), announced that rural electric utilities in 18 states will receive loan guarantees to make improvements to electric lines, transmission facilities and to reduce peak electric loads by deploying smart grid technologies. Vilsack said “Maintaining and upgrading rural electric systems improves system reliability, creates jobs and supports economic development. With these loans, we are continuing to help cooperatives provide reliable service to rural residents. A significant portion of this funding will go to smart grid technologies, helping consumers lower their electric bills and reducing peak demand for producers.”

Today’s announcement includes support for nearly $29 million in smart grid projects. In all, USDA is investing more than $420 million in rural electric infrastructure. Included among the utilities slated to receive USDA funding, is the Sioux City-based Southwestern Electric Cooperative, Inc, which will receive just over $39-million.  The funds will be used to serve over 1,400 consumers, build and improve 618 miles of distribution line, and make other system improvements. The loan amount includes $3,585,806 in smart grid projects.

The funding is contingent upon the recipient meeting the terms of the loan agreement. The money is being provided by USDA Rural Development’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS). The loans help electric utilities upgrade, expand, maintain and replace rural America’s electric infrastructure.

Information released by the Center for Rural Strategies says Cass County has experienced a “brain gain” in the last 40 years, joining the rest of the country in what has been a massive increase in the number of adults who have earned college degrees. In 1970, 8.4 percent of those over 25 years of age had college degrees in Cass County. By 2010, 14.5 percent of adults here had completed college. The percentage of adults with college degrees in Cass County was less than the national average of 27.9 percent in 2010. The college-educated rate was less than the Iowa average of 24.5 percent.

The number of adults in the United States with college degrees has nearly tripled since 1970, when only 10.7 percent of adults had graduated from college. But the percentage of adults with degrees in rural counties, such as Cass County, while increasing, has generally fallen behind the proportion of college-educated residents in urban counties.

In 1970, 7.8 percent of adults in rural counties had some education after high school, but less than a college degree. By 2010, 27.4 percent of rural adults had attained some post high school education without earning a college diploma. That level of education was close to the national average of 28.1 percent. In Cass County, 10.6 percent of adults had some college in 1970, rising to 31.8 percent in 2010. The Iowa average in 2010 was 31.0 percent. Cass County had 10,357 adults (those over 25 years of age) in 1970 and 9,805 adults in 2010.

Only 8.9 percent of the adult population in Cass County had failed to graduate from high school in 2010. Nationally 15 percent of adults had not completed high school; in Iowa, the rate was 10.1 percent. The report was compiled by Bill Bishop, editor of the news site DailyYonder.com, and Robert Gallardo, an associate professor at Mississippi State’s Southern Rural Development Center.

The source data, charts, and a map may be downloaded at http://www.dailyyonder.com/education-and-rural-america-data-page/2012/07/06/4165.