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$250,000 ‘first installment’ to fix ADA issues in state parks

News

April 9th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A House panel has voted to set aside a quarter of a million dollars for projects that make Iowa’s state  parks more accessible to visitors with disabilities. Republican Representative Norlin Mommsen of  DeWitt says it’s a first installment for needed improvements.) “The DNR’s been running a survey, evaluating their parks and stuff,” Mommsen says. “I’m hoping they have a list and I would think they’d prioritize most important and start there.”

The proposed funding boost is included in a budget plan for the Department of Natural Resources that is supported by Republicans and Democrats on a House subcommittee. Representative Sami Scheetz is a Democrat from Cedar Rapids. “State parks need to be accessible to everybody in our state, so this is a good start,” Scheetz said.

Most historic structures in Iowa’s 69 state parks are not required to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, however any park facility built or updated in the past 12 years must comply with the A-D-A’s accessibility standards.

Pott. County Supervisors approve Avoca Main Street funding request

News

April 9th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – The Board of Supervisors in Pottawattamie County, today (Tuesday), approved a funding request from Main Street Avoca, in the amount of $3,000. The funds will be used for general operations of the non-profit, volunteer-driven organization, which is focused on community engagement, historic preservation and economic development.

Avoca Main Street spokesperson Amber Mohr was asked about the organization’s economic impact on the community. She said their efforts to date have produced over $4.2-million dollars worth of investment in downtown projects and acquisitions.

Avoca Main Street has been in operation for 10-years. In other business, the Pott. County Supervisors held public hearings on, and passed resolutions for:

Pottawattamie County BOS meeting, 4-9-2024

  • The reallocation of certain unspent proceeds of the General Obligation Capital Loan Notes, Series 2020A, in the amount of $4.610-million.
  • The reallocation of certain unspent proceeds of the General Obligation Capital Loan Notes, Series 2021A, in the amount of $1.905-million.
  • And, a resolution for the reallocation of certain unspent proceeds of the General Obligation Capital Loan Notes, Series 2022, in the amount of $1.745-million.

They also approved an amendment to the FY 2023/24 Pott. County Budget, and the appropriation of funds from the amendment for FY 2023/24.

PAM MATHIEWS, 76, of Orient (Svcs. 4/15/24)

Obituaries

April 9th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

PAM MATHIEWS, 76, of Orient, died Tuesday, April 9, 2024, at her home.  Funeral services for PAM MATHIEWS will be held 10:30-a.m. Monday, April 15, 2024, at the First Baptist Church in Creston. Lamb Funeral Home in Greenfield has the arrangements.

Open Visitation:  Will be held on Sunday, April 14, 2024, at the Lamb Funeral Home in Greenfield from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.; Family Visitation:  The family will greet friends on Sunday, April 14, 2024, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Lamb Funeral Home in Greenfield.

Burial is in the Greenfield Cemetery. A luncheon will be held at the church following the burial.

Memorials:  May be made to the Pam Mathiews Memorial Fund to be established by the family at a later date.

PAM MATHIEWS is survived by:

Her husband – Earl Mathiews, of Orient.

Her sons – Leonard (Connie) Mathiews, of New Port, NC; Lee (Brandi) Mathiews, of Atlantic; Larry (Jessica) Mathiews, and Lance (Sarah) Mathiews, all of Orient.

Her sister – Shirley Curry of San Bernardino, CA.

10 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren, other relatives and friends.

Online condolences may be left to the family at www.lambfuneralhomes.com.

JAMES MICHAEL HOWARD, 34, (formerly of Atlantic) – Celebration of Life 4/12/24

Obituaries

April 9th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

JAMES MICHAEL HOWARD, 34, of Phoenix, AZ (formerly of Atlantic), died February 22, 2024, as the result of an automobile accident in Arizona. A Celebration of Life Memorial service for JAMES MICHAEL HOWARD will be held at Pioneers Pub & Grub in Casey, Iowa, on Friday, April 12th at 10-a.m. Roland Funeral Service in Atlantic has the arrangements.

The service will be livestreamed, and a link will be available closer to the time of service, on James’ tribute page on the funeral home’s website. The service will be recorded and made available for viewing by Noon, on Monday, April 15th.

Burial will be held at Dalmanutha Cemetery north of Casey following the memorial service and light luncheon.

Memorials may be made to the family for later designation.

JAMES HOWARD is survived by:

His son – Xayne Michael Howard.

His mother – Jennifer (Mick) Allen.

His father – Mike (Juli) Howard.

His maternal grandmother: Karla Caltrider; paternal grandparents: George and Sharon Howard.

other relatives and friends.

Condolences may be left at www.rolandfuneralservice.com.

Grassley says national security at risk due to agencies being ‘asleep at the switch’

News

April 9th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is accusing seven key federal agencies of “dragging their feet” on upgrading their systems against cyber attacks. Grassley, a Republican, says it may be putting our national security at risk, along with the personal data of an untold number of Iowans. “We’ve had studies made on what agencies ought to be doing,” Grassley says, “and then we find out after years, they haven’t followed up and protected the American people the way they should.”

Keeping Americans safe is “job one” for the federal government, and Grassley says Congress needs to know how those agencies are working to bolster critical infrastructure defense, or “whether they’re asleep at the switch.” “It’s a matter of accountability,” Grassley says, “the extent to which cyber attacks might affect our national security, steal our military secrets, even stealing our most advanced war materiel.”

Grassley is singling out the E-P-A as well as the U-S Departments of: Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Treasury and Transportation. On a related matter, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell called Monday for action on legislation that would restrict TikTok. Grassley says it’s clear that social media platform needs to be more closely regulated. Grassley says, “I’m committed to making sure that the privacy of our teenagers, well, there may be people older than teenagers, but I think most of the people I hear from are teenagers about this issue, that it’d be protected and not this privacy information being sold to some company in China.”

Sen. Grassley

Grassley says he would support the House bill that passed last month which would force ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, to sell the app or face being banned across the U.S. He says changes to that legislation may be pending in another Senate version of the bill.

Montgomery County Supervisor’s approve additional tuckpoint work; E-recycling set for Wednesday

News

April 9th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisor’s, today (Tuesday), reminded citizens of the County about electronic recycling, which takes place Wednesday (April 10th), from 4-until 6-p.m., at the Fairgrounds, in Red Oak. Supervisor Donna Robinson said it’s a regular event, with some new features this year.

New this year, residents may bring old vehicle their tires in for recycling. Two high school seniors are in charge of that aspect of the event.

Montgomery County Engineer Karen Albert updated the Board on Secondary Roads Department activities.

In other business, the Board approved additional square footage for the tuckpointing project, with regard to the West elevation of the courthouse. Maintenance Director Dan Wright…

The additional work is estimated at $40,948, for a total project cost of $423,217. The Board approved the added work, and a quote to spray the Law Enforcement Center lawn to keep down the dandelions and other weeds. Auditor Jill Ozuna presented to the Board results of the FY 2022 Montgomery County Audit.

Ozuna said Auditor of State Rob Sand’s office found five findings related to receipt and expenditure of taxpayer funds. She said those are items that counties tend to get “dinged” for every year.

Supervisor Donna Robinson said with regard to the Board’s “Fiduciary responsibility to provide oversight to the County’s operations and financial transactions,” she feels, they have and are continuing to conduct due diligence in that aspect of their duties.

A copy of the Audit Report is available in the Montgomery County Auditor’s Office, or on the Auditor of State’s website. The next meeting of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, is April 16th at 8:30-a.m.

Nebraska man arrested on a warrant in Mills County

News

April 9th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports a Nebraska man was arrested Monday evening on an Out-of-County/Out-0f-State warrant. Authorities say 29-year-old Kody Allen Gregg, of Nehawka, NE, was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail.

Iowa Transportation Commission approves statewide Transportation Alternatives Set-aside Program funding

News

April 9th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – April 9, 2024 – Today, the Iowa Transportation Commission approved $9,869,044 in total funding for ten statewide Transportation Alternatives Set-aside Program projects.

This program supports projects that will have a statewide or multi-regional impact, expand the state’s multi-modal transportation system, enhance tourism, and provides safe routes to school. The majority of Transportation Alternatives Set-aside program funding is distributed to Iowa’s metropolitan planning organizations and regional planning affiliations for the selection of local projects. The Commission awards Transportation Alternatives Set-aside projects annually. Approximately 20 percent of funding is targeted to safe routes to school projects. Funding is available to cities, counties, school districts, or other eligible organizations through an annual application-based program.

The projects and approved funding amounts are listed below.

Safe routes to school project awards:

  • Iowa Safe Routes Partnership (Iowa Northland Regional Council of Governments) – $258,108
  • Safe Routes to School & Recreational Trails Phase I (Logan) – $652,212
  • 3rd Street Sidewalk Extension Project (Anamosa) – $650,000
  • Washington Avenue Safe Routes to School (Grinnell) – $581,891

All other project awards:

  • Bentonsport Pedestrian Bridge Rehabilitation (Van Buren County Conservation Board) – $1,612,000
  • Clear Creek Trail (Johnson County Conservation Board) – $1,800,000
  • Grant Street South Realignment (Bondurant) – $500,000
  • Hickman Interchange Bicycle/Pedestrian Facilities (Clive) – $800,000
  • Iowa River’s Edge Trail Surfacing and South Fork Bridge Replacement (Hardin County Conservation Board) – $2,000,000
  • Mississippi River Trail Eagle Ridge Road to May Street (LeClaire) – $1,014,833

Heartbeat Today 4-9-2024

Heartbeat Today, Podcasts

April 9th, 2024 by Jim Field

Jim Field visits with Ken Moorman of the Friends of the Atlantic Library and Rob Terrell of the Local Boy Scout Troop #54 about the Community Shred Day this Saturday, April 13, 2024 from 9:00 am – 11:00 am.  Bring your paper items from home to be shredded and help the scouts with donations to the Atlantic Food Pantry.

Play

Teens lead law enforcement on a chase in the Des Moines metro area Sunday night following an alleged theft

News

April 9th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — [KCCI] Police say two teenagers stole expensive bottles of cologne and then triggered a high-speed police chase. That chase ended on a busy Des Moines freeway exit ramp. It started Sunday night at Jordan Creek Town Center Von Maur department store. And it didn’t stop until West Des Moines police, Des Moines police, and the Iowa State Patrol chased and arrested the teens.

The call came into West Des Moines police at about 5:20 p.m. Sunday. Two 17-year-olds ran off with two bottles of Versace and Coach cologne worth about $200. But police say the report of a fight with Von Maur security staff put them on alert. A short time later, an off-duty police officer spotted the suspects’ car near the Mid-American Rec Plex, and the chase began.

It ran through West Des Moines and then headed to the freeway and into Des Moines at speeds as high as 95 mph. Eventually, the Iowa State Patrol boxed the car in on the 42nd Street off-ramp. It was closed for several hours Sunday night. Police say they later learned the teens did not fight with the Van Maur security staff. And they can’t understand why the suspects would run.

Police say the two 17-year-olds were charged with theft and were taken to juvenile detention.