Atlantic Police Chief Dave Erickson reports nine arrests took place over the last week. Four people were arrested Monday on drug charges, in Atlantic. 48-year old Ronald Bacon, of Altoona, 43-year old Virginia Keasey, of Stuart, 27-year old Callyn Pollock, of Anita, and 20-year old Nathaniel Riesberg, of Atlantic, were taken into custody. Bacon was arrested for Possession with the Intent to Deliver, Keasey and Riesberg were arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance/2nd offense, each. Pollack was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance. All four were also charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. They were booked into the Cass County Jail.

Last Saturday, Atlantic Police arrested 46-year old Gregory Jennings, of Atlantic, for Assault, and Public Intoxication. And, 27-year old Brittany Wood, of Iowa City, was arrested for Assault on Persons in certain occupations, Disorderly conduct, and Interference with Official Acts. Both were booked into the Cass County Jail.

On March 9th, 27-year old Alicia Dellaca, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Violation of Probation. And, on March 6th, 53-year old Mitchell Thompson, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Violation of Probation. That same day, 31-year old Ruben Eram, of Atlantic, was arrested for Domestic Abuse/2nd offense. All three subjects were booked into the Cass County Jail.

A new leadership team is now in place in the Iowa Senate, changes prompted by a G-O-P senator’s dramatic exit Monday. Senator Bill Dix had been the top Republican leader in the senate, but he resigned after images posted online showed him kissing a lobbyist. The 28 Republicans who remain in the senate met this (Wednesday) morning and elected Jack Whitver, of Ankeny, to be the Senate Majority Leader. “I believe it is a new day in the state of Iowa and in the Iowa Senate,” Whitver told reporters shortly after the private meeting, “and we look forward to moving forward.”

Whitver had been the number two Republican in the senate, serving as Senate President. Senator Charles Schneider, an attorney from West Des Moines, was chosen by his fellow Republicans to replace Whitver as president. Senator Amy Sinclair, a Republican from Allerton, is the newly-elected G-O-P whip in the senate.

(Radio Iowa)

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — An economic development nonprofit wants to enhance lighting in portions of Sioux City’s downtown to make it safer for pedestrians. The Sioux City Journal reports that Downtown Partners outlined plans at a Tuesday meeting with City Council for a multi-phase project to brighten two major streets and the Missouri riverfront area. The organization’s board members say they’ve worked with city staff and several electric utility companies to identify dim or dark areas along downtown sidewalks as well as lighting solutions.

The first phase would include installing festooned lighting on one of the streets as early as this summer. Downtown Partners Executive Director Ragen Cote says the board estimates initial costs may be around $20,000. Cote says she hopes to have some lighting up as early as June.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors today (Wednesday), adopted the Fiscal Year 2019 County Budget, Secondary Roads Budget, and acted upon a recommendation from the County Compensation Board, for elected officers’ salaries. The adopted budget calls for a decrease in the levy of around 15.5-cents per thousand dollars assessed property valuation. Auditor Dale Sunderman said a majority of the decrease was attributable to the County MH/DS (Mental Health) Fund, which went from$305, 371 in the current FY, to $276,297 in FY 2018-19. The reason, he said, is to reduce the cash balance for the reserve that’s fairly large, trying to bring that down to a lower level.

The Capital Projects budget is fairly large, Sunderman said, because of the ethanol plant. The budget for that line item is over $3.4-million. The FY 2018-19 budget calls for $3.95-million.

As far as the County Compensation Board’s recommendations for elected officers, the Board of Supervisors cut 25-percent from the recommendation across the Board, to increase the salaries one-percent over last year. The annual salaries include:

• County Attorney $100,000 (New, full-time position)
• County Auditor, Recorder and Treasurer $59,339 each (last year $57,354)
• County Sheriff $77,831 (Last year $74,324)
• Supervisors $29,808 (Last year $29,232)
• Supervisor Chair $30,808. (Last year $30,232)

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports one arrest took place, Tuesday. 26-year old Shialea Kay Cozad, of Pacific Junction, was arrested at around 12:35-p.m., for Interference with Official Acts. Her bond was set at $300.