A collision early Friday afternoon in Atlantic caused a total of $3,000 damage, but no one was injured. The Atlantic Police Department says vehicles driven by Jeremy Brix, of Elk Horn, and Jessica Aupperle, of Wiota, collided at around 12:15-p.m. at the intersection of 7th and Chestnut, when Brix slowed to turn south onto Chestnut Street from 7th, and was rear-ended by the Aupperle vehicle.

No citations were issued.

Two Cass County men were arrested on weapons charges Friday evening in Lewis, after authorities responded to a report of a man waving a gun at another man. Deputies were called to the scene in the 400 block of Oregon Street at around 7:46-p.m., Friday. Following an investigation, 44-year old Craig Allen Griffen, of Atlantic, and 43-year old Stanley Oral Rossell, of Lewis, were taken into custody in front of 311 Oregon Street. Both faces charges of Going Armed with Intent. Griffen faces an additional charge of Carrying a Concealed Weapon. Both men were brought to the Cass County Jail, in Atlantic.

Rossell was released later that evening on $5,000 bond. Griffen was released Saturday, on $7,000 bond.

Educators in Iowa say another round school district consolidation is likely in the years ahead due to dwindling rural populations and the expiration of a state provision that allows districts with declining enrollment to recoup some budget losses. The Des Moines Register reports 14 districts will merge to become seven in July. Iowa will start the 2014-15 academic year with 338 school districts. The state had 367 districts a decade ago. In 1990, there were 430.

Merging two or more neighboring school districts brings both benefits and challenges. Larger districts can offer more courses and extracurricular activities. But consolidation also can result in long bus rides for students, lost jobs at shuttered schools and weakened hometown ties. Education officials predict Iowa will see an uptick in consolidations in coming years, reigniting conversations about how to best serve rural students in a state that’s seen significant urban migration in the past decade.

Budget troubles play a big role in the reason for consolidation. In Iowa, it is illegal for a school district to operate in the red. State officials sent notices to roughly 65 districts last year that were in danger of deficit spending. Twelve of those districts — all in rural areas — recorded negative balances in the 2013 fiscal year.

Districts receive state money on a per-pupil basis. More than half of all Iowa districts reported a decrease in student enrollment last fall. Financial incentives from the state encourage small districts to share resources. Extra money is given to school systems that enter whole-grade sharing agreements, a partnership where students from two or more districts attend all or most of their classes together.

Districts that share superintendents or other key personnel are also eligible for additional state money, helping small districts stay afloat. A fiscal tool called the budget guarantee passed by lawmakers in 2001, expired this year, putting further pressure on rural schools. The budget guarantee had allowed some districts to use local property tax revenue to boost their spending authority despite declining enrollment.

Data from a 2010 report by the Iowa Policy Research Organization suggests that districts operate best with at least 500 students. Districts with 500 or more students benefit from operational cost-savings, increased course offerings and an increase in property values, the report said. The East Mills district, formed in 2011 when the Malvern and Nishna Valley districts merged, educated 494 students in preschool through 12th grade this year. The western Iowa districts had participated in whole-grade sharing for four years before the reorganization.

State officials don’t have a threshold for how small is too small, but Iowa code requires newly formed districts to enroll at least 300 students.