DAVENPORT, Iowa – An Iowa City woman was sentenced on November 20, 2023, to three years in federal prison for International Parental Kidnapping. According to public court documents, Kira K. Zielinski, 49, filed for divorce from her husband in 2020. During the divorce proceedings, the Iowa District Court of Johnson County issued orders granting joint legal custody of a shared child to Zielinski and her husband and establishing a joint custody schedule.

In February 2022, Zielinski took the child and drove from Iowa to California and across the Mexican border. Zielinski remained in Mexico with the child until November 2022 when she was taken into custody while attempting to reenter the United States. In July 2023, Zielinski was found guilty by a United States District Judge following a stipulated trial. After completing her term of imprisonment, Zielinski will be required to serve one year of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Iowa City Police Department.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reports more than $415,000 in 50 percent cost-share grants were recently awarded to 131 Iowa rural fire departments to help their efforts to protect Iowan’s and their property from wildfires. The grants offer valuable funding assistance for wildfire suppression, personal protective and communications equipment.

Among the (AREA) fire departments will receive 2023 Volunteer Fire Assistance grants, are those in: Anita; Atlantic; Audubon; Avoca; Clarinda; College Springs; Creston; Elliott; Glenwood; Harlan; Irwin; Logan; Manilla; Onawa; Prescott; Shenandoah; Sidney; Stuart; Villisca; Woodbine and Yale. The grants are made possible through Iowa DNR Forestry, in cooperation with US Forest Service – State and Private Forestry.

Gail Kantak, fire supervisor with DNR Forestry, reminds all fire departments of the importance of submitting Wildland Fire Reports whenever they respond to a wildland fire or provide assistance to a prescribed or controlled wildland fire. Wildland fire reporting forms are available at www.iowadnr.gov/fire.

Departments returning these reports receive priority points when the Fire Assistance grant applications are scored. These wildland fire reports are compiled locally and nationally and are reported to Congress.

DES MOINES, Iowa, Nov. 22, 2023 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development State Director in Iowa Theresa Greenfield, today (Wednesday) announced that the Agency is investing more than $12.15-million in loans and $508,000 in grant to nine rural Iowa projects, to spur economic development and catalyze rural prosperity through rural cooperatives. USDA is making the investments through the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program.

The announcement is part of a larger national announcement detailing $1.2 billion in support for projects in rural America. A full list of projects from that announcement is available online.

Among the USDA Funded Cooperative projects in Iowa (locally), are those for the:

–Raccoon Valley Electric Cooperative, which received a $1.52-million loan to help fund a pass-through loan to Wernimont Welding, LLC for expansion in Carroll. The project will construct a new welding shop and purchase additional equipment. This project will create three new jobs and promote economic development in rural Carroll County.

-The Raccoon Valley Electric Cooperative also received a $ 830,700 loan, to help fund a pass-through loan to Matt Meister Trucking Inc., an interstate freight hauling carrier. The project will construct a facility for the business in Breda. The project will create six new jobs and promote economic development in this rural Carroll County community.

USDA Rural Development has 11 offices across the state to serve the 1.3 million Iowans living in rural communities and areas. Office locations include a state office in Des Moines, along with an area office (locally), in Atlantic.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Mills County say a man from Tabor was arrested early Wednesday afternoon, following a traffic stop at Kale Lane/Levi Road. 61-year-old Timothy Neal Griggs was charged with OWI/1st offense. His bond was set at $1,000.

(Elk Horn, Iowa) – The Exira-Elk Horn/Kimballton Board of Education met Tuesday evening. The Board held its Annual Meeting prior to their regular meeting. Business Manager/Board Secretary Mallory Meyer reports the Exira-EHK School Board accepted the Abstract of Election before adjourning their Annual Meeting and calling to Order their Organizational Meeting. During that portion of the meeting, the Oath of Office was administered to Jodee Dixson, Matt Jorgensen and Marie Nelson. The Oath of Office will be given to Terri Harris at a later date, due to illness.

Mallory Meyer reports the new board nominated Kevin Petersen for Board President. Petersen then administered the rest of the meeting, which included the nomination of Tamie Fahn as Vice-President. They established their regular, monthly meetings as being on the third Tuesday of the month at 6-p.m., with the exception of the December and January meetings, which will start at 5-p.m.

In other business, the Exira-EHK School Board designated Ahlers and Cooney as the District’s Legal Counsel. They established banking institutions and limits, approved SIAC (School Advisory Committee) members, and a request for A Modified Supplemental Amount for Open Enrollment-Out ($135,211.92). The Board approved a Letter of Understanding with the Atlantic Community School District, with regard to the Achievement Center, in Atlantic, and a Superintendent Sharing Agreement with the Audubon CSD (Pending contract approval). Other action included the approval of Early Graduation Requests, a Modified Graduation Request, a Construction Management Contract with Boyd-Jones, and an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with William Penn University, for the Teacher/Paraeducator Registered Apprenticeship Program.

Snow removal bids were approved as presented, along with the First Reading of certain polices pertaining to: Equal Employment Opportunity; Student Conduct; Student Suspension; Expulsion, and, the Reconsideration of Instructional and Library Materials Regulation. The Exira-EHK School Board approved the following employment contracts:

1. Nikki Bricker – Associate
2. Kevin Brown – Head Boys Track
3. Paige Halbur – Assistant Girls Basketball
4. Diana Hill-Borger – Associate
5. Nolan Himmelberg – Assistant Boys Basketball
6. Trent Megchelsen – JH Boys Basketball
7. Cassidy Nerland – Assistant Girls Track
8. Doug Newton – JH Boys Track
9. Tom Petersen – Head Girls Basketball, Boys Golf
10. Derek Reischauer – JH Girls Basketball
11. Megan Wilkerson – JH Girls Track

The Board’s next meeting takes place in the Conference Room at the Exira-EHK High School in Elk Horn, on Dec. 19th, at 5-p.m.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken updated the County Board of Supervisors during their meeting Tuesday morning, on Secondary Roads Department maintenance and activities. Wolken mentioned Bridge #380 near the Anita sale barn had opened to traffic, as of November 21st.  He reported also, that crews should be finishing the decking on bridge #319 on G30 west of Atlantic this week.

He said a concrete box culvert project on 730th Street is complete.

He said the project went very quickly and smoothly.

And, the Secondary Roads Department, Wolken said, will be working on some driveway extensions through the end of the year.

(Radio Iowa) – Three southeast Iowa police officers are being credited with rescuing a person from a house fire in Ottumwa early Tuesday morning. According to the City of Ottumwa, Officers Robert Schaffner, Carson Story and Devin Yeager of the Ottumwa Police Department arrived at the home and made their way to the bedroom window of the house’s sole occupant. The officers were able to gain entry into the home and pull out the individual who was taken to the paramedics and transported to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

The cause of the fire is unknown. Officials say the State Fire Marshall was contacted and will assist in the fire investigation.

(Fremont County, IA) – Officials with SWIPCO (The Southwest Iowa Planning Council), based in Atlantic, report the Iowa Department of Management Division of Information Technology recently awarded $148,960,000 as part of the Empower Rural Iowa Broadband Grant Program. SWIPCO helped Fremont County obtain two of the project awards out of 91 completed applications. The funding will help build out broadband infrastructure in newly established Broadband Intervention Zones (BIZ). 96 zones were created across the state through feedback from 55 public meetings in Iowa communities. These BIZ were deemed to be in the most need for broadband infrastructure expansion.

One project award was for $892,891 that will cover 74 locations in northern Fremont County between Tabor and Thurman. The project will be completed by AMG Technology Investment Group. The other project receiving award funds is for $3,526,433 that will provide 513 connections in southern Fremont County covering locations in and around Sidney, Hamburg, and Riverton. The project will be executed by Midwest Data Center.

Those broadband projects must meet or exceed data speed rates of 100mbps download and 20mbps upload. All projects must be scalable to 100mbps download/100mbps upload within three years of the completion date, with many projects hitting that mark immediately.

Prior to this round of funding, offerings allowed broadband providers to select where they wanted to build based on mapping data that identified areas lacking broadband. This did spur significant infrastructure buildout in the state, but some areas continued to be unserved due to a variety of reasons. This current round of funding placed a priority on some of those underserved areas that show motivation to attract broadband providers to the area.

More funding is expected to be released as the effort to cover the entire state with quality broadband access continues. Counties and cities that have identified areas of need and are still searching for funding should stay in contact with SWIPCO to be ready for future opportunities. You can call SWIPCO at 712-243-4196 or email swipco@swipco.org for more information.

SWIPCO is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce say they are pleased to announce Atlantic has been recognized as a Neighborhood Champion for the 10th year in a row by American Express. Atlantic will participate in the 13th Annual Small Business Saturday to support small businesses. Bailey Smith, Executive Director at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce says “We’re excited to partner with local businesses to create shopping incentives and activities to celebrate Small Business Saturday.”

Founded by American Express in 2010, Small Business Saturday® is a day to celebrate the small businesses that help support our community. American Express created the Neighborhood Champion Program to help rally communities around Small Business Saturday and is working alongside numerous business organizations to support local Small Business Saturday celebrations throughout the country. American Express recognizes communities that have strong participation. The on-going Shop Local Initiative, presented by First Whitney Bank & Trust, and overall community support has helped Atlantic achieve this national recognition.

Smith says “It’s a great opportunity for Atlantic to receive positive, national exposure. Atlantic is very fortunate to have the business community that we do, and this day is an added bonus for residents to remember how important their support and participation in shopping local is to keeping Atlantic a vibrant place to live.”

November 25th marks Small Business Saturday, a day dedicated to supporting the local businesses that create jobs, boost the economy and preserve neighborhoods around the country. New this year, the Chamber has partnered with retailers to launch the ‘Holiday Punch Card’. Now – December 18th, when you spend $20 at a participating business, you’ll receive a custom punch on your card. Once it’s filled, turn it into the Atlantic Area Chamber for your chance to win $50 in AtlantiCash, which will be drawn every Friday. A grand prize drawing, valued at over $1,000, will be drawn December 18th. For a list of participating businesses, visit www.atlanticiowa.com.

Small business owners can learn more about taking part in Small Business Saturday and download free marketing materials on www.shopsmall.com. Consumers can visit www.atlanticiowa.com to find deals and merchants to shop at on Small Business Saturday. Small Business Saturday is presented by First Whitney Bank & Trust.

DES MOINES, Iowa [KCCI] – Nearly five dozen more Iowa United Methodist Churches are leaving the denomination. Fifty-nine Iowa churches disagreed and will no longer be a part of the UMC. Earlier this year, 83 other Iowa churches disaffiliated themselves. The change comes amid a disagreement over the role of LGBTQ members in the church. The United Methodist Church continues to ban the marriage or ordination of “self-avowed, practicing homosexuals.” However, according to the United Methodist Church, it will discuss the issue when its next General Conference convenes next year. It’s not clear what comes next for the disaffiliating Iowa churches.

Among the Churches in this area that leaving the denomination this month, is:

*Blanchard United Methodist Church
*Braddyville United Methodist Church
*Carbon United Methodist Church
*Clearfield United Methodist Church
*Macedonia United Methodist Church
*Maple Grove Church — Villisca
*Stratton United Methodist Church of Red Oak

Area churches that left the denomination last May, include:

*Clarinda First United Methodist Church
*Fifth Avenue United Methodist Church — Council Bluffs
*Elliott United Methodist Church
*Hillsdale United Methodist Church
*Harlan First United Methodist Church
*Lenox United Methodist Church
*Monroe Chapel — Harlan
* Silver City United Methodist Church