(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa Supreme Court has unanimously reversed a $790,000 verdict awarded a state employee in a hostile-work-environment lawsuit.

Tracy White filed the lawsuit in 2019 against her supervisor Mike McInroy at the Department of Human Services. The state appealed saying several so-called “me-too” reports of harassment by others against McInroy should not have been allowed in the case. The Iowa Supreme Court agreed, saying White failed to establish she personally experienced sufficiently severe or pervasive conduct. It says merely having a bad boss does not get creat a hostile-work-environment claim, nor does a personality conflict with a supervisor.

The High Court says affirming the judgment would undermine well-established precedent setting a high bar for proof of objectively severe or pervasive harassment, and it would expose Iowa employers to costly liability for sporadic vulgarities and common personality conflicts.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – On Thursday, April 11th, 2024, the Atlantic Area Chamber Ambassadors were hosted by Atlantic Animal Health Center to celebrate 10 years of business.

Doctors Kate and Pat Hoffmann purchased Atlantic Animal Health Center from Dr. Keith Leonard in 2014, and the practice has continued to grow and change since the beginning. Dr. Kate Hoffmann shared the first upgrade that was made to the practice was purchasing gas anesthesia and the practice has continued to upgrade their diagnostic capabilities such as in-house lab work and digital x-ray. The most recent changes to the clinic include an online pharmacy, user friendly patient portal app, and client communications such as two-way texting.

Looking forward, the Hoffmann’s have purchased property on the west side of Atlantic, with plans to build a new office building. The plans are in the very early stages, but the Hoffmann’s are excited to extend the footprint of the clinic to serve more patients and attract more employees.

Pictured Left to Right (Ambassadors): Graydon Schmidt, Kelsey Beschorner, Tyler McAfee, Colt Doherty, Anne Quist, John Bricker, Alden Harriman, David Kalny, DeeDee Kalny, Dolly Bergmann, Ruth Sears, Jeremy Butler, Krysta Hanson, Sue Liston, Bill Saluk, Lana Westphalen, Megan Sramek, Jim Kickland, Enrique Castillo
Pictured Left to Right (AAHC Staff): Madeline Schmidt, Ashley Updike, Dr. Kate Hoffmann, Gabriel Hoffmann, Logan Bierbaum, Summer Akers

Atlantic Animal Health Center employs four full time support staff and a handful of part time staff. Dr. Hoffmann and her team care for many species of small animals through comprehensive veterinary services focused on the pet’s wellness, health, and care. Atlantic Animal Health Center services include wellness exams, vaccination, dentistry, surgery, lab diagnostics, and boarding.

Atlantic Animal Health Center is located at 1008 W 6th Street in Atlantic. For more information about the clinic visit www.atlanticanimalhealthcenter.com or call 712-243-2121

(via Iowa Capital Dispatch) – Des Moines Area Community College is working to connect workers from the soon-to-close Perry Tyson Foods plant with education and employment resources as the college prepares for the possibility of impacts to its own programming. In the wake of Tyson announcing the closure of its Perry pork processing facility in mid-March, DMACC and other local and state agencies have coordinated with the city to set up resource fairs and partnerships with the goal of giving those impacted by the closure a way forward, hopefully without going too far away, college officials said.

The DMACC board of trustees spoke with Eddie Diaz, director of the DMACC Perry VanKirk Career Academy, and DMACC Business Solutions Consultant Aaron Chittenden Monday about steps taken so far and what the future holds for the community and the college’s programs. The City of Perry is leading efforts to collaborate and offer support where needed, Chittenden said, alongside a local team that includes DMACC staff, the town’s economic development group and Greater Dallas County Development Alliance.

A wider group that meets weekly to discuss the response also includes the Dallas County Hospital, the school board and local utility partners. Diaz said they plan to start running a resource center for people who need help with unemployment proceedings or other tasks. The community has already hosted one job and resource fair, Diaz said, with more planned in mid-May and early June. This first fair, which was attended by 300 people, focused on trying to connect people with local jobs. Future fairs will expand the areas where employers are based to 50 miles, then across the state.

(Photo by Brooklyn Draisey/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Employers from all over the Midwest have flocked to Perry, however, and Diaz said almost 150 companies and organizations tried to attend the fair, representing 5,000 open jobs across the region. DMACC is currently working to match Tyson employees with training programs in welding, CNA certification and English language learning courses. College officials say they hope to provide workers with the skills that local employers are looking for in order to stem the flow of people leaving the area to find jobs.

One program that Tyson employees were able to enroll in for free courtesy of the company was DMACC’s special industrial maintenance training. Denson said Tyson paid its employees’ tuition to the program, but there are other sources of funding that can be found to help keep people enrolling. Chittenden said the college is also tapping into its Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program and venture school to collaborate with local businesses and encourage Tyson employees who may wish to start a small business to get some training through DMACC.

Diaz said about 1,300 jobs will be lost with the plant closure, which Tyson has said is scheduled for June 28 but discussions have caused him and others to expect it to happen closer to the first of the month. Despite Tyson offering incentives for employees to stay until the closure, he said some are already leaving. The Perry Community School District has just under 300 students with a family member employed at the plant, he said, and he expects the district will see a drop in enrollment. This could carry over to the Perry VanKirk Career Academy, Diaz said, as they work with a large number of Perry high school students.

With all of the different employers both based in and visiting Perry trying to recruit workers, Diaz said they’re hoping to offer an array of training opportunities to help people qualify for available jobs.

(Mills County, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports a Glenwood woman was arrested Thursday afternoon, on a warrant for 1st Offense Truancy. 45-year-old Tonya Marie Glather was taken into custody at the Mills County Sheriff’s Office. Her bond was set at $300.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa legislature has unanimously voted to let cities limit the hours of strip clubs that do not serve alcohol if officials determine the club’s a threat to public safety. It’s similar to a law passed last year that lets cities crack down on bars that are the frequent site of fights, assaults and gun fire. Representative Mike Vondran is from Davenport, one of the cities that lobbied for the legislation.

“Bottom line, this comes to us through law enforcement,” Vondran said. “This is something that they’ve asked for and will be of great assistance to them as they continue to make our streets safer.” Senator Tony Bisignano, of Des Moines, backs the bill — and suggests legislators should eventually expand the law to apply to all businesses that are threat to public safety. “We’re seeing people around the country shooting people at music venues,” Bisignaono said. “…If it has repetition to where it has monthly events and in two or three events they have the same situation, the community ought to be able to deal with that as a public nuisance.”

Under the bill, the attorney for a city or county could seek a court order that would force a strip club to close at 10 p.m. Other sanctions would be possible, after a trial.