The Massena City Council is set to meet this evening during a special session. During the meeting, which begins at 6-p.m., the Council will discuss, and possibly act on, making a payment to the local Red Sox baseball team, to assist with field repairs on the City Ball Field.

The Council will also discuss nuisance properties and receive Mayor Mike Cormack’s report, before they adjourn for the evening.

Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County say a man from Grant was arrested Wednesday night on a district court warrant. 48-year old Scott Timothy Brown was taken into custody at around 8:30-p.m., on a warrant for Failure to Appear or pay child support.

Brown was being held in the Montgomery County jail on $1,000 cash bond.

Wednesday was the first day of school for many students in western Iowa, while today marks the start of classes in AHST, Riverside and Shenandoah. Some districts in the southwest corner of the state are adjusting to changes in enrollment after local families were forced to relocate because of flooding. Jay Lutt is superintendent for the Farragut and Hamburg school districts. He says some parents who lived in Hamburg, but worked across the river in Nebraska City have relocated their families in Nebraska, at least temporarily.

“I know there’s some people that are trying to move back in,” he says. “The mandatory evacuation has been lifted and so we have families that are moving back (to southwest Iowa) and some that it’s still going to take a month or so to get moved back or into housing, so it is very fluctuating.”

Officials are still gathering data, but the superintendent estimates about 15 students have been lost to flood-related moves. Mike Eldridge is the junior-senior high school principal for the Sidney Community Schools. Several families in the town of Percival, which is in the district, were forced to relocate. Eldridge says some moved to another town within the district, but others have gone across the river to Nebraska. Eldridge estimates five or 10 students have left, but he says those numbers aren’t having major impact for now.

“We’ve had a lot of new students move into the district, not necessarily because of the flooding,” Eldridge says. “But we look like we may kind of stay level in regards to enrollment where we’re not going to show a huge decrease and we’re not going to show a big increase.”

School also started Wednesday in Council Bluffs. A spokeswoman for the district says she wasn’t not aware of any families leaving the district because of the floods, but at least 35 students have reported a different home address because of flood-related moves. The district is helping to transport 13 of those students to school in Council Bluffs from their temporary housing locations.

(Radio Iowa)

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Some residents of Mills County who were evacuated because of flooding on the Missouri River are being told it’s OK to return, but just be careful. The county’s emergency management agency on Tuesday reopened some areas that had been under a mandatory evacuation order. About 50 residents and businesses are affected. County spokeswoman Sheri Bowen says there’s still a risk because the flooding isn’t over.

All residents in the re-entry areas need to contact building and zoning and public health offices to determine if a free property inspection and damage assessment is needed. Bowen says residents need to make sure their homes and businesses are safe. She says the inspection is required prior to electricity being restored to the property.

Atlantic Police report the arrest Tuesday, of an Audubon County woman for illegal driving. Officials say 23-year old Cara Larson, of Audubon, was taken into custody for Driving Under Suspension. Larson was brought to the Cass County Jail and held, pending a court appearance.

Stephenson shows a laminated copy of the 1934 US Constitution lithograph

Gary Stephenson shows the Cass Co. Supervisors matted & framed lithograph

The Cass County Board of Supervisors have approved a request from Gary Stephenson, of Ft. Dodge, to display a 1934 lithograph of the U-S Constitution inside the courthouse. Stephenson is traveling through each of Iowa’s 99 Counties in hopes of local officials express an interest in having the lithographs displayed in the various 100 county courthouses in the state. Stephenson says the rare lithographs will be framed and matted. He says the father of a man in Chicago worked for a lithographer who created the original product with gold inlay. Currently only three machines in the country, one of which is owned by the U-S Government, is capable of producing the images.

With the Supervisor’s approval, Stephenson will seek out 10 sponsors for the prints, such as local veteran’s organizations, to pay $70 each to cover the costs. Stephenson says he’ll make the same presentation next week, in Corning. The Adair County Board of Supervisors have already purchased their copy of the lithograph, which is set to be unveiled next week.

In Union County, most of the sponsors for the lithograph are already lined-up, while other counties in the area are in-line to receive Stephenson’s presentation and decide on whether or not there is interest in displaying the print.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday (today), approved a Resolution calling for the issuance of $520,000 in bonds, to pay for the northwest water & sewer extension project. The project, in the Amaizing Energy Urban Renewal Area, is nearly finished, with the exception of final inspections and seeding of the grassy areas.

Funds for the bonds will come from the 1^st Whitney Bank and Trust in Atlantic, at an interest rate of 3.35%. The County will pay the principal on the bonds in 20 annual installments of $26,000 each, but they have the option to pay the total amount off without penalty. There is also an option to refinance the bonds after 10-years, if necessary.

Cass-Atlantic Development Corporation Executive Director Russell Joyce commended the Board for approving the bond issuance, because of the economic development opportunities the project could spur in the area, in terms of industry.

In other business, the Supervisors approved a bid from Vogel Traffic Services, for conducting pavement markings countywide. Vogel, who performed the same task last year, bid $24, 336 for the project. Rich Hansen, Assistant to County Engineer Charles Marker, said the company will repaint the yellow and white lines on about one-half of the county’s roads. The County alternates painting approximately one-half of its roads every year, because the markings are usually good for nearly two-years. County crews will handle some of the other, necessary pavement markings.