SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Woodbury County officials agreed to spend more money to restore a levee along the Little Sioux River in western Iowa.  The Sioux City Journal reports the county board Tuesday approved a $128,000 bid for work on the levee near Smithland.  Landowners will be billed for the work, which includes placing 3,600 tons of concrete and quartzite along 1,800 feet of riverbank.

The project follows a $232,000-taxpayer funded effort to add a berm and boulders to retain soil. Those fixes didn’t work and the riverbank continued to wash away.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the original flood-control device in 1964.

Board member Larry Clausen voted against the winning bid because he favored a different contractor, but he says the county has no choice but to repair the levee.

The head Librarians from each of the libraries in Cass County appeared before the Board of Supervisors Wednesday morning to present their annual report and request for Fiscal Year 2014 funding. Vicki Christensen, Librarian/Director at the Anita Public Library, represented the Cass County Library Association (CCLA).

She said “Changing times call for flexibility and adaptability….”and the directors feel that’s what their facilities practice on a daily basis, with the goal of “Enriching everyone’s daily lives and enhance their personal and intellectual life-long development.” Christensen said “Without the financial support of the cities, county, state and local entities, none of [their] endeavors would be possible.” To that end, the CCLA requested Fiscal Year 2014 funding as follows…the Anita Public Library, $10,900; Atlantic, $13,000; Cumberland, $8,700; Griswold, $10,400; Lewis, $8,700, and Massena, $8,900. That is the same amount they requested for FY 2013. The Board will consider the request when it comes time to prepare for the budgeting process.

Christensen said also, libraries in the County are providing more and more free databases for the general public to access anytime, anywhere, by mobile device or personal computer. Information provided during the meeting indicates a total of 426 programs were provided by libraries in the County to patrons, including those related to wellness.

Kristen Templeton

In other business, the Board of Supervisors heard from Kristen Templeton with Unity Point at Home &Cass County Public Health, with regard to an effort by the Cass County Child Abuse Prevention Council, to bring the “Scary Guy” program to each school district in the County, next fall. She says the Council is ready to declare the 2014-2015 school year as “Violence Prevention.” Templeton says The Scary Guy (his legal name), is from the U-K, but he is originally from Minnesota. He would be in the County for about 10 days. His mission is “The total elimination of Hate, Violence and Prejudice Worldwide.” That includes bullying.

He began his effort in 1998 and since then, has worked with over 10-million people around the world, promoting peace through the teaching of his core theories on “Awareness, Understanding, Acceptance and Love” of all people. He will travel to the U-S along with his wife, once there is enough money to retain his services. The total cost of his visit is $26,300. Templeton says they’ve received several donations so far this year to help bring The Scary Guy to Cass County. That includes funds from the Lion’s Club. The Rotary also donated funds from its auction/raffle. The Crisis Support Network/Salvation Army, Zion Recovery and the Schools have also pledged their support.

$12,000 has been raised so far. The Council needs $13, 150 as a retainer by the end of December, in order to bring The Scary Guy to the area. Templeton didn’t make a request for funding from the Board during her presentation. Instead, it was intended to be informational only at this point.

City officials in Harlan have discussed the possibility of conducting housing survey study in the city limits. In a city council meeting Tuesday, City Administrator Terry Cox reported he has been in contact with Foutch Brothers about the need for additional rental property in the city of Harlan. The study would be conducted by the Southwest Iowa Planning Council or SWIPCO.

Cox says the council has options the length and depth of the study. “If we did what the Foutch Brothers request, that would be a shorter one. If you want to take a whole city and more intensive that could take a few months. A SWIPCO representative needs to prepare it and will be hear on December 3rd or at an earlier meeting to explain it. We will have an option voting on one and doing the other.”

The cost of the study was not discussed. The item was tabled during the Harlan City Council Tuesday and will be brought back at the next meeting in December. In other business, the council approved to sell a portion of city owned property at 1901 Hawkeye Avenue to Iowa Western Community College. The segment of area is close to 2,200 square feet and was sold to the college for $238,260. The property will allow for additional expansion to the Harlan campus.

And, the Harlan City Council approved a couple of resolutions during their meeting. The first was to order bids for the 2014 Sewer Rehab project. The council will hold a public hearing and open bids at their second council meeting in December. The second resolution was to approve a temporary transfer of funds from the Harlan Municipal Electric Utility to the Harlan Communications Utility. Councilmember Kate Kohorst explained the transfer is a loan and electric utility rate payers will be receiving interest on the money. The transfer is not to exceed $422,548.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

A K-9 team from the Cass County Sheriff’s Department has won an award from a regional K-9 group. The Sheriff’s Office says the K9 team of Kyle Quist and his partner “Vader,” was voted top patrol case of 2013. In the case presented for a vote, Vader located a weapon which had been used in an attempted murder incident, making prosecution of a defendant possible. The award honoring the duo was presented in October, 2013, at the “Heart of America Police K9 Association” certification and competition in Des Moines. Deputy Corey Larsen and his partner Mufasa also attended the event.

The Heart of America Police K9 Association is an accredited organization comprised of K9 teams from Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri. Teams are certified yearly in patrol work, narcotics detection, and/or search and rescue. K9 handlers may submit their top patrol and narcotics cases for the year, and all handlers vote for the winners, which are announced at the organization banquet.

Cass County Sheriff’s Office says it’s proud of their K9 teams and the hard work they do.

Authorities in Iowa have positively identify the body that was discovered Saturday evening, November 16th, approximately 4 miles southwest of Mondamin in Harrison County, as that of a Nebraska man. The Iowa Department of Public Safety says fingerprints submitted to a FBI database were able to confirm that the body is that of 52 year-old Michael E. Gnirk of Hoskins, NE.

Michael Gnirk

 
Investigators are still seeking the public’s help in retracing that last few days and weeks of Mr. Gnirk’s life.  If anyone has any information, or had contact with Mr. Gnirk over the last 3 to 6 months, they are urged to contact the Iowa DCI at (712)322-1585.