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Montgomery County Board of Supervisors meeting recap

News

July 2nd, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, today (Tuesday) received a regular weekly report from County Engineer Karen Albert. She said Secondary Roads Department crews have been cold patching roads along the RAGBRAI® Route in the County.

The Board heard also, from West Township resident Jan Norris, with regard to the (former) Iowa Utilities Board ruling last week, granting Summit Carbon Solutions unanimous approval of their 682 mile project, and the use of Eminent Domain, allowing the company to seize 853 parcels of land if the property owner does not grant them an easement. The IUB changed its name Monday to the Iowa Utilities Commission (IUC).

Montgomery County BOS mtg 7-2-24

Norris said the Board’s approval affects 18-miles of western Montgomery County, where the pipeline route could run north and south, parallel to the County line. The entire Phase 1 route includes 3,035 parcels.

Norris said the project is a go, but there are still several steps ahead, including the likelihood those opposed to the pipeline will file for reconsideration by the IUC.

Norris said a meeting will be held at the Corning Opera House August 26th at 6-p.m., with regard to Summit’s Phase II project. Another meeting will be held in Red Oak at the Red Coach Inn August 27th, at Noon.

The Supervisors took no action on Norris’ renewed request for an ordinance dealing with the pipeline.

Cass Health Welcomes Weight Loss Surgeon Dr. William Rizk

News

July 2nd, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with Cass Health in Atlantic have announced General and Weight Loss Surgeon, Dr. William Rizk, will be providing care to patients starting this month. Dr. Rizk is a board-certified general and bariatric surgeon who specializes in weight loss surgery, and he has been performing laparoscopic weight loss surgeries since 2002. The Doctor says “People with obesity, particularly severe obesity, face a number of medical concerns that can be improved with weight loss surgery. It’s not an easy decision to make, and it takes commitment and lifestyle change to see long-term success. Weight loss surgery is a great tool, and I’m very excited to offer this surgery to patients in southwest Iowa.”

Iowa ranks 12th in states impacted by obesity, with more than 37% of the state’s adult population being impacted by obesity. According to Iowa Health and Human Services, 42.5% of adults in Cass County have an unhealthy body weight, which is classified as a BMI of 30 or higher. Dr. Rizk will perform sleeve gastrectomies, also known as gastric sleeve surgeries, at Cass Health beginning this fall.

Dr. William Rizek

“Our program will utilize a multidisciplinary approach,” said Dr. Rizk. “This will include several clinic appointments, nutritional counseling and behavior modification classes.  This education will help ensure the most successful outcome for patients.”

Patients interested in learning more are invited to come to a free educational class on the surgery on Tuesday, July 9th at 6:00 at Cass Health. Reservations are required; sign up online at casshealth.org/weightloss. Questions can be directed to our Program Coordinator at 712-243-7535; patients are also encouraged to talk with their primary care provider about the surgery and referrals.

Iowa’s ag secretary comments on Deere’s latest job cuts

Ag/Outdoor, News

July 2nd, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Ag equipment maker John Deere is announcing plans to eliminate some 800 jobs at plants in Iowa and Illinois over the coming weeks. It follows word last month the company would shift production of its skid steer loaders and compact track loaders from Dubuque to Mexico by the end of 2026. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig is reacting to the news. “Anytime that you’re hearing about roll backs, layoffs, moving things outside of the state of Iowa or the United States,” Naig says, “you’re concerned about those things, you want to understand them.”

In a statement, the company cited rising manufacturing costs as a key factor, while lower crop prices have also caused a slowdown in new ag equipment sales. Some forecasters predict a 25-percent drop in farm income this year over last. Naig says the agricultural economy in general is experiencing what he called “softness” due to a number of factors. “The announcements that you’ve heard made of late are indicators of very much some softness in the ag economy,” Naig says. “Given the effects of inflation, high input prices, the cost of capital interest rates remaining where they are, all those things are contributing in the ag space to delaying decisions if you can — let’s just go sideways for a little bit.”

Deere is eliminating more than 200 jobs at its Davenport plant and another 99 in Dubuque at the end of August, and more than 500 in East Moline, Illinois at the end of September. Deere announced earlier this year it’s cutting more than 800 jobs at facilities in Waterloo, Ottumwa and the Des Moines metro. Naig says the souring economic effects aren’t just limited to the ag equipment sector. “That’s also playing out now in some of these announcements that you’re hearing made about even meat processing or manufacturing,” he says. “So, you try to take all that in and look at it holistically, but I do think that it’s certainly sending some signals about a softening in the economy or at least a lack of confidence in the economy, and those are things what we need to be addressing as a country.”

Secretary Naig says it’s imperative for the state to do everything it can to help agriculture and manufacturing continue to thrive, as they are key economic drivers in the state. His comments came Monday as he was in Davis County to tour a local parts fabrication business.

Cass County Supervisors approve ARPA funds for Vision Atlantic; Set RAGBRAI courthouse hours

News

July 2nd, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday morning, unanimously passed a Resolution (2024-21) allocating ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) Funds to a Childcare Facility project in Atlantic.

(That’s Board Vice-Chair Mark O’Brien). The Board also discussed and approved courthouse hours in advance of the RAGBRAI ® event in Atlantic on July 22nd and 23rd. Vice Chair Mark O’Brien summarized the Board’s decision…

Cass County BOS mtg 7-2-24

The Supervisors received a 3rd Quarter report from Cass County Veterans Affairs Director Mitch Holmes.

Among the paperwork issues he helped veterans with, were those associated with federal burial benefits. The Supervisors received a regular report from Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken. Wolken said crews were out checking the roads, following the heavy rain that fell over the area Monday night into Tuesday morning. He said as of Tuesday morning, there were no reports of water over the road.

Wolken also discussed the Safety Action Plan.

Cass County’s Safety Action Plan workshop is scheduled for August 27th in the courthouse basement meeting room. EMS, Police and other County Agency representatives are being invited to attend, including the Board of Supervisors.

Heartbeat Today 7-2-2024

Heartbeat Today, Podcasts

July 2nd, 2024 by Jim Field

Jim Field visits with Greg & Char Bintner, who have been parade announcers for many years and are the grand marshals for the Exira July 4th parade this year.  They help to preview the celebration.

Play

Local 24-Hour Rainfall Totals Reported at 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 2, 2024

Ag/Outdoor, Weather

July 2nd, 2024 by Jim Field

  • KJAN, Atlantic  1.95
  • 7 miles NNE of Atlantic  1.32″
  • Massena  3.25″
  • Elk Horn  .98″
  • 1 mile west of Lewis  3.13″
  • Anita  1.86″
  • Avoca  1.6″
  • Oakland  2.25″
  • Neola  1.85″
  • Earling  .95″
  • Audubon  .66″
  • Corning  .44″
  • Villisca  .61″
  • Bridgewater  3.7″
  • Missouri Valley  1.32″
  • Glenwood  4.5″

Coalition sees future of Iowa agriculture in food diversity, not ethanol and animal feed

Ag/Outdoor, News

July 2nd, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Iowa Food System Coalition representatives, Monday, announced a new plan for Iowa agriculture seeks to increase the state’s production of food rather than ethanol and animal feed. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports he plan, known as Setting the Table for All Iowans, outlines the coalition’s policy goals which include producing more locally grown food, getting more young people to become farmers and providing more financial assistance to farmers. Chris Schwartz, executive director of the coalition, said the plan is an opportunity to positively impact farmers, the economy and the local community.

From left to right, Chris Schwartz, Giselle Bruskewitz, Tommy Hexter and Aaron Lehman speak July 1, 2024 outside the Iowa Capitol about a coalition called Setting the Table for All Iowans. (Photo by Jack O’Connor/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Director of Grinnell Farm to Table food hub Tommy Hexter said many commodity farmers are struggling because most of the profits are going toward the middlemen like seed, equipment and marketing companies. However, Hexter said selling produce locally cuts out most middlemen and leads to more money going into farmers’ pockets. “Setting the Table for All Iowans provides an opportunity to build that system where Iowa’s farmers and small business owners can truly thrive,” Hexter said in the press conference.

The plan also focuses on how to retain and attract farming talent to Iowa through investments in obtaining refrigerated trucks, increasing the number of rural grocery stores and providing needed equipment to small businesses. President of the Iowa Farmers Union Aaron Lehman, a fifth-generation family farmer, said investments like those are vital for the Iowa agriculture industry where there are more farmers above the age of 65 than below the age of 35.

Over the past two years, the Iowa Food System Coalition has organized a Food and Farm Day at the Iowa Capitol and invited legislators and state agencies to a food policy summit. One of the next steps for the coalition is to educate legislators about the plan so it can be used as a guide to create state policies, Schwartz said.

Smithfield Closing Altoona Plant

Ag/Outdoor, News

July 2nd, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Smithfield Foods announced it is closing its Altoona ham boning facility to consolidate production volume at other locations in Illinois, South Dakota and Nebraska to improve the company’s efficiency. The Altoona plant has 314 employees and the company says it will meet with them to provide additional details about the transition plan, severance pay, and potential employment opportunities with Smithfield. Smithfield employs nearly four-thousand people in Iowa at its farms and its food-processing facilities in Carroll, Denison, Des Moines, Mason City, Orange City, Sioux Center and Sioux City.

High School Baseball Scores from Monday

Sports

July 2nd, 2024 by Asa Lucas

Hawkeye Ten 

Denison-Schleswig 3, Harris-Lake Park 2
St. Albert 11, Atlantic 0
St. Albert 18, Atlantic 0
Harlan 4, Sioux City East 3
Kuemper Catholic 7, Tri-Center 4
Shenandoah 10, Lenox 8
Glenwood 8, Lewis Central 2

Western Iowa Conference

Riverside 10, Ar-We-Va 0
Martensdale-St Marys 14, Audubon 4

Rolling Valley Conference

Bishop Garrigan 8, Coon Rapids-Bayard 4
Greene County 3, Glidden-Ralston 1

Corner Conference 

Southwest Valley 10, Sidney 0
West Monona 4, Fremont-Mills 2
Bedford 11, East Mills 7

West Central Activities Conference 

Remsen St. Marys 7, Earlham 2
Remsen St. Marys 10, Earlham 0
#2 Des Moines Christian 19, ACGC 0
#2 Des Moines Christian 12, ACGC 2
Pleasantville 6, Grinnell 3

High School Softball Scores from Monday

Sports

July 2nd, 2024 by Asa Lucas

Hawkeye Ten 

Kuemper Catholic 11, Red Oak 0
Kuemper Catholic 12, Red Oak 2
Denison-Schleswig 9, Greene County 2
Glenwood 9, Council Bluffs Lincoln 0
Shenandoah 3, Lenox 1
Atlantic 13, St. Albert 1
Council Bluffs Jefferson 6, Lewis Central 3

Western Iowa Conference

Fremont-Mills 7, Underwood 6
#1 Martensdale-St Marys 9, #4 Audubon 4
#1 Van Meter 10, #15 Missouri Valley 0

Rolling Valley Conference

Coon Rapids-Bayard 5, East Sac County 1
#7 West Monona 9, Woodbine 2
AHSTW 2, CAM 0

Corner Conference 

Bedford 16, East Mills 0
Southwest Valley 14, Sidney 0

West Central Activities Conference 

South Hardin 5, Madrid 3
Pleasantville 8, North Mahaska 7