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School Board meetings set for tonight

News

August 20th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

The CAM, Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton, and Griswold School Boards will all hold their regular monthly meetings this evening.The Griswold School Board meeting takes place at 5:30-p.m. in the Central Office at the Middle School/High School Building. On their agenda is an update on construction activities from KPE Architects/Estes Construction, discussion and possible action on the sale of Elementary Facilities, the second reading of Board Policies, and a School Culture update. The Griswold School Board will also act on approving construction change orders, and some administrative matters.

The Exira-EHK Board meeting begins at 6-p.m. in the Conference Room at the Elk Horn Building. On their agenda is: an update and discussion on construction projects; the Appointment of – Tami Jacobsen as Board Secretary, and Marie Larson – Treasurer/SBO; discussion and possible action on: approving the FFA National Convention, Business Personnel sharing and Technology sharing agreements with Tri-Center, approval of Personnel hires, transfers and/or resignations., and, approval of certain Board Policies.

The CAM School Board will meet 6:30-p.m. in the CAM High School Media Center. On their agenda is discussion and possible action on: Handbook changes for 2018-19 student handbooks; Approving a list of fundraisers for the 2018-19 School Year; Approval of an agreement for 2018-19 trainer services; approval of the Middle School/High School Homecoming Run, and other administrative matters, including resignations, contracts and Football/Cross Country Volunteers.

And, the Audubon School Board will meet at 7-p.m. in their Boardroom at the High School, and act on readings of various policies, including: Assistance Animals; Instruction at Post Secondary Institution; Purchasing bidding; Suspension and Debarment of Vendors; Public Participation in Board meetings, and a Public Comment Policy. They will also act on approving Iowa Learning Online for Spanish, Student Handbooks, and possibly take action on Early Retirement. Other discussion will center on the upcoming Sept. 11th PPEL vote, and an update on Summer projects.

 

Posted in News |

Atlantic Parks & Rec Board to meet this evening

News

August 20th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

The Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department’s Board of Directors will meet 5:15-p.m. today (Monday), at City Hall. During their regular monthly meeting, the Board will hear updates from Parks & Rec Director Seth Staashelm, with regard to: the Schildberg Park Development Project; Nishna Park; Sunnyside Park entrance sign; an East Ridge Park washout; Eagle Scout Boat Ramp Project, and a Campground update.

The Board will act on approval of improvements to the West Playground, and will receive reports on the Oct. 6th Healthiest Walk at Schildberg Park, as well as Upcoming Fall Programs.

Posted in News |

Forecasters warn of flood possibilities in Nebraska, Iowa

News, Weather

August 20th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(UPDATE 9:50-a.m.) OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Forecasters have issued flood warnings and watches in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa as heavy rain continues to fall. A National Weather Service flash flood warning covered parts of Harrison, Pottawattamie and Shelby counties in western Iowa and eastern Douglas County in Nebraska. By 9 a.m. Monday radar indicated that more than 5 inches  of rain had fallen in the past 24 hours in some areas. Street flooding was occurring in Council Bluffs, and other communities.

Omaha Public Power District reports that nearly 11,000 customers were without power in the Omaha area. A flood warning was issued for both sides of the Missouri River south from Nebraska City.

Posted in News, Weather |

Iowa volleyball in final week of preparation for season

Sports

August 20th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Learfield Sports) — The University of Iowa volleyball team is in its final week of preparation for the upcoming season. Boyd Shamansky is in his fifth year leading the team. “There’s two things that I know at the start of every season. One is that we are going to be better than the year before, and two is that we have a lot of different parts. It’s been an enjoyable preseason for us and now we are at T-minus in getting our team ready to go out there and compete,” Shamansky says.

He says finding out how all the parts fit together is key before they get to the Big Ten season. “It’s the strongest conference in the country, but this year more than ever it’s very different,”Shamansky says. “You have teams that were toward the top last year that graduated a lot of starters. Probably a case in point — Michigan State graduated their entire starting lineup. That’s pretty rare when that happens.”

Shamansky says his team should be able to take advantage of the changes to improve their standing. He says when he first took over they were constantly at the bottom of the league and the last few years have been holding in the eight or nine spot. “Now we need to make another step forward.”  He expects them to take some momentum from their success that last two years. “Back-to-back winning seasons seep into the way that players think of themselves. How they carry themselves, how they train, the discipline that they have, but also just the belief when they go out there and expect to win when they play,” Shamansky says. “It takes a while to convince them that that is what they are capable of. And my belief is not nearly as important as theirs. And when they believe in themselves and each other they tend to get things done,” Shamansky says.

Iowa opens the season August 25th against S-M-U in Nashville, Tennessee.

Posted in Sports |

USDA Trade Under Secretary discusses timeline for $12 billion ‘trade relief’ package

Ag/Outdoor, News

August 20th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa farmers can expect more details on the federal government’s $12 billion trade relief package by the end of the month. That’s the word from USDA Trade Under Secretary Ted McKinney, who says farmers will need to sign up for the program and compensation will be based on 2018 yield data. “We hope and are intending to make that easy, so they can go online and get the form,” McKinney said. “A lot of it is already stored at the Farm Service Agency location. We’re going to encourage them to get that in very quickly.”

McKinney said while most farmers would prefer markets, relief from retaliatory tariffs is necessary as they continue to face a down farm economy. “The mitigation strategy isn’t something anybody wanted, but when other countries didn’t like our desire to straighten out and fix these inadequacies that get at free, fair, and reciprocal trade, we undertook the program with a lot of support,” McKinney said. ‘

According to McKinney, farmers should be able to apply for the program beginning around September 4. He made his comments in a meeting with reporters at the Indiana State Fair. (NOTE: Indiana *is* correct)

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |

Congressman Boswell’s funeral to be held Saturday in Lamoni

News

August 20th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — The funeral for former Iowa Congressman Leonard Boswell will be held Saturday on the Graceland University Campus in Lamoni. Boswell, a Vietnam veteran who farmed in Davis County after retiring from the military, was a state senator, the Democratic Party’s nominee for lieutenant governor in 1994 and for 16 years he represented Iowa in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Boswell family has established a scholarship fund at Graceland University in the congressman’s honor “for young people interested in studying agriculture.”

Boswell’s funeral will be held Saturday morning at 10:30 in the Shaw Center of the Graceland University campus. A graveside service, along with full military honors, will be held at Rose Hill Cemetery in Lamoni. Following the burial, the Boswell family has announced it will host a party at the family farm — “complete with food, drinks and fireworks” — to celebrate the congressman’s life.

Former Congressman Leonard Boswell (D-IA)

Posted in News |

Peggy Whitson and Ruth Harkin inducted into Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame

News

August 20th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — An astronaut, the first women in Iowa to be elected as a county prosecutor and two retired university professors were inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame this weekend. Beaconsfield native Peggy Whitson has spent 665 days in space — more than any other American. She used her brief speech at Saturday’s ceremony to praise the other women on stage and in the audience. “One of the most important things about women being leaders and being out there and getting out there and doing more is that we make it easier for the next set of women,” Whitson said.

Whitson also honored one of her professors, who was in the audience. “Having mentors is an amazingly powerful experience for me,” Whitson said. “…Those mentors can make the difference in your life and they have for me.” Dolores Wilson, a biology professor, met with Whitson and Whitson’s mother on the Iowa Wesleyan campus in Mount Pleasant in the summer of 1978 and Whitson told the professor she wanted to be an astronaut. “I said: ‘Do it!’ and I said: ‘Don’t be discouraged,'” Wilson said Saturday as she recounted that initial conversation. “And I said: ‘You know, just because they’re not having women astronauts now doesn’t mean they’re not going to do it.'”

Ruth Harkin was elected Story County Attorney in 1972 when she was the only female attorney in Story County. “Early on I was motivated by a couple of guidelines. One — you have to be in the room to make a difference. A second guideline was to do what I wanted to do. Most of the work and jobs I have done people told me I could not do. I never listened to that,” Harkin said and the audience laughed. “It has been liberating, I can assure you.”  Harkin served two terms as Story County Attorney. She moved to Washington in 1979 after her husband, Tom Harkin, won a third term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Harkin says she was told her resume as an Iowa prosecutor wasn’t that impressive and she’d have a hard time finding a job. “Nonetheless, I became deputy general counsel at the Department of Agriculture. The secretary at the time said he didn’t want me. ‘When I look at you I see my wife and she could never do this job,'” Harkin said, drawing gasps from the audience, followed by laughter when she revealed: “I took the job anyway.”

In 1993, Harkin was the first woman appointed president and C-E-O of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. “The statistic I cherish the most, 50 percent of our lawyers were women and 50 percent of our bankers were women,” Harkin said.  In 1997, United Technologies hired Harkin as a senior vice president and, in 2003, she became a director of ConocoPhillips. Earlier this month, Dianne Bystrom retired as director of the Iowa State University Center for Women and Politics and she was inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame this weekend as well. “In my 39 years of work in higher education, I know the importance of developing and supporting and recognizing the contributions of women,” Bystrom said.

Bystrom has done extensive research about ads used in races that feature a female candidate. Under her leadership, I-S-U’s Center for Women and Politics has hosted “Ready to Run” workshops for Iowa women considering a run for public office. Dr. Jean Jew, a researcher and instructor in the University of Iowa College of Medicine, was also inducted in the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame this weekend. In 1985, Jew filed a lawsuit against the University of Iowa for ignoring repeated sexual and racial harassment. She won not only a financial settlement, but also a public apology from the university.

Posted in News |

FLASH FLOOD WARNING UNTIL 11-A.M. FOR HARRISON, Central POTTAWATTAMIE and s.w. SHELBY COUNTIES

Weather

August 20th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Flash Flood Warning
National Weather Service Omaha/Valley Nebraska
Issued by National Weather Service Hastings NE
507 AM CDT MON AUG 20 2018

The National Weather Service in Omaha has issued a

* Flash Flood Warning for…
Harrison County in southwestern Iowa…
Central Pottawattamie County in southwestern Iowa…
Southwestern Shelby County in southwestern Iowa…

* Until 1100 AM CDT.

* At 506 AM CDT, Doppler radar indicated heavy rain across the warned
area. Up to three inches of rain have already fallen. Flash
flooding is expected to begin shortly.

* Some locations that will experience flooding include…
Missouri Valley, Logan, Oakland, Avoca, Carson, Shelby, Minden,
Persia, Woodbine, Neola, Hancock, Portsmouth, Magnolia, Tennant,
Farm Creek Public Wildlife Area, Willow Lake Recreation Area, Botna
Bend Park, Arrowhead Park and Historical Village Welcome Center.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

Turn around, don`t drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood
deaths occur in vehicles.

In hilly terrain there are hundreds of low water crossings which are
potentially dangerous in heavy rain. Do not attempt to cross flooded
roads. Find an alternate route.

Posted in Weather |

PHIL CHINITZ, 86, of Atlantic (Svcs. 8/24/18)

Obituaries

August 20th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

PHIL CHINITZ, 86, of Atlantic, died Sunday, Aug. 19th, at the Heritage House, in Atlantic. A Prayer service for PHIL CHINITZ will be held 1-p.m. Friday, Aug. 24th, at the Roland Funeral Home, in Atlantic.

Visitation with the family is from 5-until 7-p.m. Thursday, at the funeral home.; Online condolences may be left at www.rolandfuneralservice.com

Burial will be in the Atlantic Cemetery, with Military Honors by the Atlantic Color Guard.

PHIL CHINITZ is survived by:

His Wife – Trena Chinitz, of Atlantic.

His Daughter – Anna Burk, of TX.

Posted in Obituaries |

VIOLET I. FISCUS, 96, of Harlan (Svcs. 8/25/18)

Obituaries

August 20th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

VIOLET I. FISCUS, 96, of Harlan, died Sunday, Aug. 19th, at the Elm Crest Retirement Community. Funeral services for VIOLET FISCUS will be held 11-a.m. Saturday, Aug. 25th, at the United Methodist Church in Kirkman. Pauley-Jones Funeral Home in Harlan has the arrangements.

Visitation at the Kirkman UMC is on Saturday, from 9:30-until 11-a.m. (Prior to the service).

Burial will be in the Rose Hill Cemetery at Kirkman.

VIOLET FISCUS is survived by:

Her son – Terry Fiscus, of Kirkman.

Her brother – Donald (Joann) Swensen, of Bellevue, NE.

Her sister – Joy (Tom) Salmon, of Colorado Spring, CO.

Daughter-in-law: Joleen Fiscus of Harlan.

5 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren.

Posted in Obituaries |