WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg today (Monday), announced $68 million for funding in Iowa as part of more than $4.2 billion in funding from the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda through two major discretionary grant programs, the National Infrastructure Project Assistance (Mega) grant program and the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant program, both of which have historic levels of funding thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

As a resultof today’s (Monday’s) round of selections, Iowa will be receiving $68,662,000 for the Southwest Mixmaster Interchange Reconstruction through the INFRA program. This project will improve the Interstates 80, 35, and 235 interchange. Officials say the reconstruction effort will increase capacity and improve interchange geometry to meet current standards, allowing for reliable speeds and reduced weaving, reducing crashes.

A total of 44 projects were selected nationwide in this round of funding, including projects that improve safety, mobility, and economic competitiveness, constructing major bridges, expanding port capacity, redesigning interchanges, and more.

To date, nearly $12.8 billion in funding through the INFRA and Mega programs has been announced for 140 projects across 42 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico, including approximately:

• 35 large bridge projects
• 18 large port projects
• 20 rail projects
• 85 highway improvement projects

Approximately 53% of projects that have received funding to date are in rural communities, and about 42% of projects are located in disadvantaged communities.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County Auditor Kathy Somers reminds residents that today, Monday, October 21, 2024, is the last day to request an absentee ballot to vote by mail in the November 5, 2024 General Election. To request an absentee ballot, voters must submit the official request form to the Cass County Auditor’s office by 5:00 PM this evening. The request form is available at the Auditor’s office, or at the Iowa Secretary of State’s website, sos.iowa.gov/elections. Those who have requested an absentee ballot may also confirm their ballot’s status on the Secretary of State’s website.

The post office has informed county auditors that election-related mail may take up to seven days to be delivered. Voters are strongly encouraged to return their ballots to the Auditor’s office as early as possible to ensure their ballot will arrive by 8:00 PM on election night.

In-person absentee voting is currently taking place at the Cass County Auditor’s office from 8:00 – 4:30, Monday – Friday, until the day before the election. The office will also be open on the Saturday before the election from 8:00 – 5:00.

For more information regarding the November 5, 2024 General Election, including polling locations and ballot content, view the Public Notice of General Election on the Cass County website at https://www.casscountyia.gov/.

(Radio Iowa) – The military has identified the remains of an Iowan who was reported missing in action during World War II. Nineteen-year-old Melvin Huff of Iowa Falls was a corporal in the U-S Army Air Force and was deployed to what is now New Guinea. He was the machine gunner in a bomber attacking Japanese positions that made two successful runs on January 20th, 1945, but the plane did not return to the air base and search missions could not find it. Sixty-six years later, an Australian military officer and a local guide reported seeing an aircraft crash site in a swamp.

Cpl. Melvin Huff (dpaa.mil photo)

In late 2022, an underwater team from the U-S military recovered possible human remains from the site that have recently been confirmed to be Huff’s. A rosette will be placed next to Huff’s name at the Walls of the Missing at the American Cemetery and Memorial in Manila to indicate his remains were found.

A news release from the U-S military indicates Huff will be buried in Iowa Falls, but no date has been set for the service.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors have a brief session scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 22nd. During their 9-a.m. session at the courthouse in Atlantic, the Board will act on approving a Class-B Retail Alcohol License for the 21st Century Cooperative, in Massena. They will also present their Supervisors and Committee reports.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Two public hearings will take place Tuesday morning, during the regular weekly meeting of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, in Red Oak. The first hearing at 8:45-a.m., is with regard to upgrading 210th Street from a Level B (dirt) to a Level A (gravel) road. The second hearing at 9-a.m., is for the same type of upgrade, to 150th Street. Action will follow each hearing on passage of a resolution to approve the upgrades as presented. Public comments will be limited to two-minutes, and persons wishing to speak must state their name and address when addressing the Board.

In other business, the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors are expected to reschedule the Tuesday, Nov. 5th Board meeting to Wednesday, Nov. 6th, due to the General Election. And, Schedule a canvass of the election votes for November 12th at 8:30-a.m., with their regular meeting to follow.

The Board’s Oct. 22nd meeting begins at 8:30-a.m. in the Supervisor’s Board Room inside the Montgomery County Courthouse.

(Radio Iowa) – As October 31st approaches, Iowans are preparing to deck themselves out for costume parties and trick-or-treating as everything from presidential candidates to Wednesday Addams. Juanita Cameron, at the Theatrical Shop in West Des Moines, says many popular Halloween disguises this fall are based on movies that were big earlier in the year, especially Beetlejuice, the bride of Beetlejuice, and Deadpool.

With Election Day looming, Cameron says they’ve already sold out of Donald Trump masks, while they have more Kamala Harris masks on order. She says Joe Biden masks also remain a hot commodity, and while she’s not sure why, Cameron says Bonnie and Clyde is a popular “couples” costume this year.

(Radio Iowa) – The director of the Iowa Department of Public Safety says the staff and students at Perry High School responded appropriately and heroically during the shooting in January as they found secure locked locations. In his first in-depth discussion of the fatal shooting investigation, Stephan Bayens pointed out other important actions from that day. “Assistant Principal Brad Snowgren is a hero. Assistant Principal Snowgren was the one who activated the school safety radio within that first ten seconds,” Bayens says. “I can tell you that he was actively avoiding gunfire and trying to make his way to the principal’s office to act, to hit the hit the button.” He says that allowed a quick response from police. Bayens also detailed the actions Principal Dan Marburger took to try and stop the shooter Dylan Butler.

He says Marburger said Butler’s names several times to try and get through to him. “And in part why that’s important is it’s not so much the empathy that Marburger showed towards the shooter, but every time he called that name out, the shooter heard his name, he looked and turned towards the sound,” he says, “and when he did that, it diverted his attention from who he was intending to shoot.” Bayens says that action saved lives. “And each time principal Marburger called that name out and diverted that attention, it bought those students another two seconds, another three seconds, another five seconds. And when we’re talking about school shootings, those sorts of seconds matter, and in this case, they did matter, and it made sure that those kids got out of that commons area around the corner and off to safety,” Bayens says.

Stephan Bayens. (RI photo)

Marburger was shot and died ten days later. Bayens says Perry police officer Micaela Zager was inside the school two minutes and 59 seconds after the emergency radio was activated. “Micaela Zager is a lion. She got out of her squad car with just a handgun, went through those doors. She did not wait for backup. She did not wait for a supervisor. She was through those doors and she was there to protect the kids inside,” he says. Bayens says that is exactly what law enforcement officers are expected to do, and the community of Perry should be extremely proud of Micaela Zager. Bayens says he watched body cam footage of what happened inside the high school when officers arrived. He says he could see in their eyes that they were fierce protectors looking to protect the kids.

“And when they finally determined that threat no longer existed, that the shooter take took his own life, the switch in those officers was immediate. They went from fierce protector to caretaker in a snap of a finger,” Bayens says. He says we should be incredibly proud of the police officers for their ability to do that and the compassion that they showed in the midst of horrible circumstances.

Bayens made his comments at a new conference Friday.

(Radio Iowa) – A University of Iowa study finds package delivery companies would save bundles of time and money if their delivery truck drivers spent more time on foot and less time looking for parking spots. Ann Campbell, a U-I professor of business analytics, says she and her team have been researching ways delivery routes could be optimized, especially in urban settings. “The current mode is a lot of park one spot, walk to just the one address, go back to the vehicle and drive again, or go just maybe next door before driving again,” Campbell says, “where this would recommend walking to more, because the speed of walking is fast enough that it makes up for the time it takes to park when you’re in a very busy, congested environment.”

In many smaller Iowa towns, parking isn’t a big deal for delivery vehicles, but Campbell says parking is a premium even in Iowa City, which isn’t a metropolis. “But have you tried parking from eight to five or on a football weekend?” Campbell says. “A truck is a large size vehicle and often doesn’t work for regular spots. There’s only a few spots to park in and finding a place that is legal and safe is quite a challenge.” The study found delivery times could be cut by about 50-percent if companies designed routes built around walking, allowing drivers to make twice as many deliveries each day. Technology continues to emerge that promises to speed up deliveries, too, like having flying drones deliver packages, though Campbell says drones have drawbacks.

“They’ve been proven to not be the greatest technology in all kinds of weather,” she says. “They tend to work better when it’s dry, not raining and snowing, because that’s kind of not-so-great on the flying power of the drone. We’ve learned that they work better in certain conditions than others.” In recent years, at least one national chain has touted the development of heated, rolling robots that can cruise a hot pepperoni pizza right to your door. “The robots do exist in certain places to deliver your pizza, but it needs to be very smooth sidewalks,” Campbell says. “They can’t really handle construction and lots of pedestrians and crossing highly trafficked roads. So where you tend to see robots a lot is on college campuses.”‘ Those haven’t made it to Iowa City, at least not yet.

The paper Campbell co-authored was published in the journal Transportation and Logistics Review.