DES MOINES, IOWA – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today (Monday) announced that his staff assistant Kevin Condon will hold a meeting in Atlantic on Friday, May 6th to listen to constituents’ views on a wide variety of issues. Residents can express their opinions about current legislative issues or seek assistance if they are having problems with a federal agency.

The meeting will take place from 2:30-3:30 PM Friday, at the Chamber of Commerce Office, which is located at 102 Chestnut Street, in Atlantic.

(Press Release)

Washington, DC – Congressman Steve King and Senators Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin wrote to the United States Postal Service today (Monday), to ask that the Postal Service make public the details of the Area Mail Processing (AMP) Study that is being used by the Postal Service to weigh a move of Sioux City’s mail processing operations to Sioux Falls. The Congressman and Senators also asked that the Postal Service hold an additional public meeting once the AMP is released in order to give Sioux City’s residents and community and business leaders the opportunity to offer informed input about the AMP study, its data, and its conclusions.

The letter from the Congressman and Senators responds to an April 22nd letter to the elected officials from Marie Therese Dominguez, United States Postal Service Vice President of Government Relations and Public Policy. In her letter, Vice President Dominguez offered to meet with the Congressman and Senators to explain the methodology and findings of the Sioux City AMP study rather than release a copy of the study as they had requested.

Statement of Congressman Steve King: “The Siouxland Community cannot be expected to offer constructive input regarding the proposed consolidation of mail processing operations if they are not given any information about the rationale being used by the Postal Service to justify this move. Hundreds of concerned residents showed up at a town hall last week hoping to find out some details about the AMP study, but all they got was a lot of general talk about the Postal Service’s need to cut costs and maximize efficiencies. I am certain that Sioux City’s residents and community and business leaders can help the Postal Service come up with a rational proposal to cut costs and maximize efficiency in mail processing in northwest Iowa. To do so, however, they must have access to the facts, figures, and data.”

Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley: “The public meeting wasn’t much more than window dressing by the Postal Service. If the Postal Service is sincere about wanting public input, it needs to be open and forthcoming about the rationale behind its proposal. Otherwise, there’s nothing specific for the public to comment on and, in the end, the Postal Service won’t have considered public input in a very meaningful way.”

Statement of Senator Tom Harkin: “Absent further details from the Postal Service regarding how it derived its supposed savings from the closure of the AMP, closure of the AMP would be irresponsible, costing Sioux City critical jobs and threatening to delay to delivery of mail to Iowans. Given recent job losses elsewhere in Sioux City, and the resulting economic impact, the Postal Service’s attitude of “trust us” just isn’t good enough. I’m proud of Sioux City’s efforts to maintain the processing facility and to find reasonable ways to bring down costs without threatening the livelihood of dozens of Sioux City residents. At the first public meeting in Sioux City on the possible AMP closure, my office specifically requested a second meeting following the release of the study. This remains the proper course of action and I will continue to press the Postal Service for this public meeting.”

The Atlantic Police Department reports five people were arrested over the past few days. On Sunday, 18-year old Scott Jackson, of Atlantic, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. 27-year old Cody Hanson, of Atlantic, was arrested for Public Intoxication.

And, 25-year old Tony Mayo, Jr., of Atlantic, was arrested on a Cass County Warrant issued April 28th charging him with Possession of Marijuana and Possession of drug paraphernalia. Mayo, Jr. posted a $1,500 bond Monday, and was ordered to appear in court Thursday afternoon.

On Saturday, officers with the A-P.D. arrested 25-year old Zebedee Joiner, of Atlantic, on a charge of 5th degree theft. And, last Thursday, 54-year old Robin Jennings, of Atlantic, was arrested on an assault charge.

With the exception of Tony Mayo, Jr., each of the other individuals were brought to the Cass County Jail and held pending an appearance before the magistrate.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports two men were arrested Monday on unrelated charges. 27-year old Garrett Alan Winther, of Villisca, was taken into custody Monday morning, on a warrant for theft in the 5th degree.

And, 39-year old Jason Ray Cornelison, of Red Oak, was arrested Monday afternoon, on an April 25th bench warrant for violation of his probation. Cornelison was originally charged back in April, with Possession of a Controlled Substance, 3rd offense.

Two, non-injury accidents were reported in Atlantic over the weekend.

According to the Atlantic Police Department, Paul Willenbring, of Lisbon, was cited Friday for failure to obey a stop or yield sign, after his vehicle collided with one driven by Daniel Huey, of Atlantic. The accident happened at the intersection of 10th and Palm Streets, at around 3:25-p.m. Damage from the mishap amounted to $6,500.

And, Brandon Jacobsen, of Atlantic, was cited Saturday, for Failure to obey a traffic control device, after the vehicle he was driving collided with one driven by Stuart Hoegh, of Atlantic, at 8th and Chestnut Streets. The crash, which happened at around 8:45-p.m., caused an estimated $7,500 damage.