(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City of Atlantic’s Board of Adjustment will meet 5:30-p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15th, in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall. City Administrator John Lund says “The agenda is set up to facilitate a very orderly and structured meeting that is fair to the applicant, abutting & opposite property owners, and the general public.

The Chair of the Board will have the right to limit individual comments to a set length of time, or limit the time in which the public hearing portion of the meeting will end. Those rules will need to be established prior to the opening of the public hearing. It is the Board’s decision, but given the level of interest and ensuring all are heard, a 2-minute limit per speaker may be appropriate. A general time cutoff of the public hearing is the Board’s call.

The Council chamber can contain a total of 59 people, that is the fire limit.” Lund says “We will have seats for around 55, allowing for overflow individuals to come in and address the Board. We will be doing what we can to work with the press to broadcast the meeting to those that wish to hear it live, but prefer to stay at home. We will be opening the doors to the public at 5:10 P.M. there will be reserved seating for the Board, City staff, New Life Church, the owners of the building, the abutting & opposite property owners, the press, elected officials.”

Lund added “I expect around 20 seats or so will be available to the general public, which will be offered on a first-come-first-serve basis. I have faith in Atlantic that even if things become heated, the public will all keep things civilized, it is the Iowa way. That said, officers will be present if needed to help keep things in order. We will require sign-in sheets to help facilitate speaking and ensure correct spelling of names in the minutes.”

The agenda is as follows:

1. Call to Order.
2. Approval of Agenda.
3. Nominations for Chair.
4. Order to Appoint New Board of Adjustment Chair.
5. Nominations for Vice-Chair.
6. Order to Appoint New Board of Adjustment Vice- Chair.
7. Approval of the May 11, 2020, Minutes.
8. Overview of the Board of Adjustment’s Role as a Quasi-Judicial Body and The Legal Framework for Decision-Making.
9. Rules and Procedure Regarding the Public Hearing.
10. Public Hearing to Consider a Conditional Use Permit Application by New Life Church for the Properties located at 28 W. 5^th and 410 Poplar Streets that would allow for the operation of a Church in the C-3 “Central Business” District as allowed by Section 12.30(10) of the Zoning Ordinances of the City of Atlantic, Iowa.
    1. Opening Statement by New Life Church.
    2. Statement from Property Owners of 28 W. 5^th and 410 Poplar.
    3. Statements from Abutting and Opposite Property Owners.
    4. Statements from the General Public.
11. Question & Answer Period Between the Board and New Life Church.
12. Order Regarding the Conditional Use Permit Application by New Life Church for the Properties located at 28 W. 5th and 410 Poplar Streets that would allow for the operation of a Church in the C-3 “Central Business” District.
13. Next Regular Meeting: Not Scheduled.
14. Adjournment.

(Fontanelle, Iowa) –  Citizens in Fontanelle went to the polls, Tuesday (Dec. 13), to determine which of five candidates would fill three vacancy seats on the City Council, in a Special Election. Auditor Mandy Berg reports the candidates with the most votes were:

• Dianna Goetz, with 52
• Dawn Brown, 44
• Carol M. Barrett, 40.

Candidates Lane A. Ellis and Jeffrey Ivan Thompson, received 33 and 26 votes, respectively. James Campbell received zero votes.

There were also nine write-in votes cast. The results are unofficial until the Board of Supervisors canvasses them on December 20, 2022. The write-in results could also potentially change the outcome. Those results will not be available until later today (Wednesday).

DES MOINES — Today (Tuesday), Governor Kim Reynolds issued a directive to the Iowa Department of Management’s Office of the Chief Information Officer to ban TikTok on all state-owned devices and prohibit state agencies from subscribing to or owning a TikTok account.

“It is clear that TikTok represents a national security risk to our country and I refuse to subject the citizens of Iowa to that risk,” said Gov. Reynolds. “They trust us with their personal and confidential information and we will take every step possible to protect it, including from the Chinese government. The safety of Iowans is my number one priority and that includes their cybersecurity.”

Governor Reynolds’ directive joins several other governors across the United States that have also banned the use of TikTok on any state-owned devices due to security concerns with the Chinese-owned social media platform.

The Governor’s directive goes into effect immediately.

(Radio Iowa) – Anyone who’s ever entertained a cat with a laser pointer will understand the premise behind the latest research at Iowa State University involving lasers and young chickens. I-S-U animal science professor Liz Bobeck found a way to motivate chickens to move around using specially-designed lasers. They project a red dot onto the floor of the pens to stimulate the birds’ predatory instincts, encouraging them to be more active.

“It gives them something else to do in their day-to-day tasks,” Bobeck says. “It gives them a choice to have an option to play, which I think is something that is kind of neat. From a performance and welfare benefit, they are up and moving. They are able to grow faster, better, stronger bones. They have better feed conversion.” That’s especially important because as the chickens approach market weight, they often become more sedentary, but the lasers keep them hopping.

“Our initial work was for four minutes, four times a day,” Bobeck says, “and we move the lasers in kind of a random pattern so the birds feel like they’re chasing something that would be moving at the speed of a bug or an insect that they might like to chase anyway.” An initial concern was that if the birds exercised more, they’d lose weight, but Bobeck says they’re finding the opposite, that the broilers saw improved weight gain and bone density.

“When the birds get up and play with the laser, they actually go to the feeder and to the water, so they spend more time eating and drinking and walking, and then actually growing,” Bobeck says, “and this is translating to really cool benefits as far as meat quality goes.” Laser pointers always carry warnings about how dangerous it can be to gaze into the high-intensity light, but Bobeck says none of the test chickens have wound up visually impaired.

“We haven’t found yet that the birds can figure out where the lasers are coming from since they’re moving,” Bobeck says. “But we also have not seen any issues with birds looking into the laser and becoming blind, and it’s also the safest wavelength for humans. So, our goal is to also not harm any person that will be working in the barn.” I-S-U is working with a livestock lighting company to eventually take this concept to market.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – A woman from Nebraska was arrested following a report of an attempted bank robbery today (Tuesday), in Council Bluffs. According to Bluffs Police, Officers were called at around 12:03-p.m. to the First National Bank at 2421 West Broadway, for a possible robbery in progress.

While enroute officers received information that a female suspect had pulled into the business drive thru lane outside of the bank and passed a note to the teller demanding cash. As officers arrived on scene the suspect attempted to leave the area. She was stopped and taken into custody as she drove onto West Broadway.

Lisa M. Stenberg

After being interviewed, the suspect, 51-year-old Lisa M. Stenberg, of Omaha, was transported to Pottawattamie County Corrections and charged with Robbery 2nd and Theft 2nd. No weapons were found and there were no injuries reported during this incident.

(Radio Iowa) – The annual Iowa State University survey released today (Tuesday) finds the average price of an acre of farmland set a record again at 11-thousand-411 dollars. I-S-U’s Wendong Zhang oversees the survey. “This represents a 17 percent growth over the past year, and this is really phenomenal because that when you’re thinking about over the past few years — last year 2021 Iowa will farmland values rose 29 percent — and so this is a ramp up that is that we haven’t seen since the 1980s, essentially,” Zhang says.

Zhang says the inflation adjusted farmland value was a nearly nine percent increase — which is also a record. He says it is the first time since they since they started collecting information in the 1940s that both the regular and inflation adjust values have set records. He says overall medium quality ground rose the most at 17-point-seven percent, the high quality ground rose about 17 percent, and the low quality ground rose 15 percent. Each county saw an increase. “All 99 counties rose 10 percent or more — so it all rose between 10 percent to about 22 percent,” he says.

Zhang says landowners are happy to see an increase in their land value — but do wonder how long it will last. “There are more growing concerns about the sustainability of the land market growth, and also the elevated entry barriers for beginning farmers and less resource to farmers to enter the market because of the higher prices,” he says. Zhang says commodity prices are the number one reason those in the survey say prices have increased — as everyone was thinking four-dollar a bushel corn would be good — and nobody was expecting corn to get to six and seven dollars. He says there are several reasons for that rise — including the conflict in Ukraine.

Wendong Zhang

“The Russia Ukraine war, the geopolitical uncertainty essentially further pushed up the commodity prices,” he says. “And the strengths and the stability in the U-S market, and the consistency and the quantity of the U-S agricultural markets sort of benefited from that.” He says corn and beans aren’t the only commodities seeing the impact. “This is happening for soybeans and for hay as well. But also this time, we are also seeing tremendous growth in terms of the livestock prices as well. And when you are thinking about especially cattle prices,” Zhang says.

He says this has shown up in the increased growth in land values in the northwest part of the state as there’s a significant presence of cattle producers, and to a lesser extent hogs. He says producers need to have land to spread manure on for nutrient management purposes, so they are more aggressive in bidding nearby grounds.

(Radio Iowa) – Dickinson County Attorney Amy Zenor has resigned after being charged with public intoxication last month. The Dickinson County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously today (Tuesday) to accept her resignation and board chairman Bill Leupold wished her well. “Somewhat sad to do this, but it’s understandable and I wish Miss Zeno just the best in the world from now on,” Leupold said. “Hope her future’s bright.”

Zenor, who is 39, was re-elected as Dickinson County Attorney on November 8th. On November 10th, the county sheriff’s office was notified that someone in the courthouse in Spirit Lake was drunk and Zenor was arrested. She is pleading not guilty to a simple misdemeanor charge and is scheduled for a non-jury trial early next year. It’s now up to the board of supervisors to decide how to fill the vacancy. “To my knowledge, we will now have a choice whether to have an election or whether to appoint a county attorney and I believe we will be doing that in the coming weeks,” Leupold says.

The board has put Assistant County Attorney Steve Goodelow in charge of the office until the decision is made. Zenor had been appointed Dickinson County Attorney since January of 2020. She was appointed to the post when the previous county attorney retired after nearly 39 years in office.

Blakesburg, Iowa – Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Safety have identified the State Trooper involved in the shooting of a man he was taking into custody. Iowa State Patrol Trooper Jeremy Cole, is a three-year veteran of the Patrol. Per DPS Policy, the Trooper was placed on critical incident leave, following the incident that occurred on December 7th.

On that date, Wapello County law enforcement officers attempted to apprehend 35-year-old Charles Hall, of Ottumwa, who was wanted on a warrant for robbery. Hall fled from officers on multiple occasions and across multiple jurisdictions.

Trooper Cole located Hall near the intersection of 118th Street and Dewberry Avenue in rural Blakesburg. While attempting to arrest Hall, he brandished a weapon. Trooper Cole discharged his duty weapon striking Hall. Law enforcement provided Hall on-scene medical care. He was airlifted to a Des Moines hospital, where he remains in serious condition. Trooper Cole was treated for minor injuries at a local hospital and released.

The Division of Criminal Investigation will forward their investigative findings to the Davis County Attorney for review.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday, approved the re-appointment of several members serving on the Cass County Local Food Policy Council (LFPC). They received a request for the funding for two-years, of a Cass County Tourism Director’s position. Spokesperson Brigham Hoegh said they’re requesting $130,000 from the County’s share of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), split between two full-years.

Hoege said they originally were going to propose a part-time position, but a full-time position would attract a more qualified candidate.

She explained what some of the responsibilities and duties the candidate selected would handle.

Also in attendance at the Supervisor’s meeting advocating for the same topic, was Kenner Baxter, Jennifer McEntaffer and Baily Smith. Hoegh said the group wants first to establish a 501 (c) 6 non-profit, tax exempt organization.

The Board’s consensus was that there aren’t enough steps that have been taken and information gathered, to proceed with the use of ARPA funds at this time. They were also leaning toward favoring the establishment of the position as part-time. At the end of an hour’s long discussion, the Board asked Hoege to put together the specifics needed to make the position happen. Supervisor Steve Green…

In other business, the Supervisors approved appointments to the Cass County Local Food Policy Council Board, and accepted the resignations of: Jennifer Saathoff, from the Compensation Board – effective immediately; Donald D. Edwards, as Trustee of Victoria Township and Linda K. Edwards, Clerk of Victoria Township, both effective Feb. 28. 2023.