Officials with the City of Harlan are warning the public about sickly raccoons in the area. Kevin Krohn, Harlan City Parks and Animal Control Manager, said the city has recently had four cases of sick raccoons inside city limits. Normally, he says, the animals would not be seen during the day or approachable. However, Krohn said the animals seem rather tame and residents can walk right up to them.

The City of Harlan had the last raccoon sent to Iowa State University to discover the disease these animals are carrying. Krohn said if you see a raccoon that seems tame or is curled up, do not approach it, and contact the city of Harlan.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

Iowa Congressman Steve King is still not ready to say whether he’ll run for the U-S Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Tom Harkin in 2014. King, a Republican from Kiron, says he wants to do a little more fact-finding before he’ll commit. “When Tom Harkin announced his retirement here a little over a month ago, it was something I’d been looking at anyway so that accelerated the decision-making process somewhat,” King says. “As things have unfolded, we’ll be going out and doing serious polling here within a short period of time.”

Congressman Bruce Braley, a Democrat from Waterloo, has already said he’ll run for the Senate nomination, while Congressman Tom Latham, a Republican from Clive, says he will NOT seek the seat. King says he is actively looking at launching a campaign. “The nomination path looks pretty good and very positive,” he says. “If we can put together a plan and a campaign that has a reasonable chance to win, then I’d be in a position to say yes.” King says he is confident of winning any possible Republican primary and he adds, “political science is not a science, it’s far more art.”

“Every endeavor I’ve tried, they’ve said was impossible,” King says. “That doesn’t mean I’m invincible by any means, but I do trust my head and my gut and my heart more than I do the counsel sometimes of somebody who don’t have the benefit of the information that we will have.” Governor Terry Branstad, a Republican, said he would support Latham in a Senate bid — before Latham dropped out. Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds has also said she’d consider running for the Senate seat.

(Radio Iowa)

A public hearing will be held Monday evening in Atlantic, with regard to the Certified 2013-2014 Budget for the Atlantic Community School District. Business Manager/Board Secretary Mary Beth Fast tells KJAN News the levy for the district under the Budget is up 10-cents from last year, to $14.51 per thousand dollars of assessed property valuation. The total amount of the budget is a little more than $5.94-million. A hearing on the budget will take place during a meeting of the Atlantic Board of Education. Their session begins at 7:30-p.m. Monday, in the High School Media Center. Later on during the meeting, a vote will be held on approving the budget.

In other business, with the recently announced resignation of Middle School Principal Cam Smith, Superintendent Dr. Michael Amstein is expected to recommend the School Board consider and/or act on Administrative Realignment, or how the building administrators are set-up in the district and what their respective responsibilities will be.

The Board will also act on approving the Instructional Support Program, which provides additional funding in the General Fund, and has been in-place for the past 10-years, and is set to expire in June 2014. The Program may be funded by all property tax or a combination of property tax and income surtax. The total Program may not exceed 10% of the district’s regular program district cost.

Mary Beth Fast said most of the school districts in Iowa have an ISP, the funds for which are spent on instruction. That may include books and other educational materials. She says the first time the ISP came into being was the result of a public vote, which put it into effect for 10-years. The district has the option to put the ISP up for a renewal vote, which would keep it in-place for another10-years, or, the Board can opt to vote on the measure, which would keep it in effect for 5-years. Mary Beth says the Board is planning on approving the 5-year option. (For more information on the ISP, surf to: http://educateiowa.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1425&Itemid=2425)

The Atlantic School Board will also discuss and act on: Approving the Early Start Calendar Waiver request for the 2013-2014 school year; School fees (Fast says the only changes are to some reductions in the fees students and/or parents pay); Approval of the change in mascot name for the Atlantic Trojanns to “Trojans,” which was requested by students in the district; and, the make-up of snow days, as required by the district’s contracts.