(Griswold, Iowa) – Members of the Griswold Board of Education met Monday night and, according to Superintendent Dave Henrichs, approved several resignations and new hires. The resignations will be in effect at the end of the current school year.

Henrichs said a good portion of the meeting was covered contracts and handbooks for the 2023-24 School Year, which came with a bit of a dilemma, with regard to insurance.

He said the District utilized a partial self-funding policy that helps offset out-of-pocket insurance premiums and keeps them low. Each year money is placed into an account, which currently has a balance of about $60,000, which allows for an increase in the salary package.

In other business, the Griswold School Board approved continuing three current sharing agreements: An Elementary Guidance Agreement with the Riverside School District; a Transportation agreement with the Atlantic School District, and a School Business Officials (SBO) agreement with Riverside. A sharing agreement with regard to Girl’s Wrestling was tabled for now.

The Griswold School Board set Driver’s Education Fees for the Summer of 2024 at $385. The cost for students from other districts will be $495.

There were two bids for mowing. The current provider, Bob’s Mowing, was awarded the contract. They also received an informational update from Superintendent Henrichs on the four-day school week, but no action was taken. He says they’re still collecting information.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors, today (Tuesday), voted to pass a resolution vacating the county road right-of-way for Willow Lane, for the former Willow Heights facilty. Board Chair Steve Baier says as long as the County was operating Willow Heights, it needed the driveway to be designated as a road. With the potential sale of the property, the road, he says needs to go back to being a driveway that is a private drive, closed to the public.

Here’s a portion of the Resolution approved by the Board….

In other business, the Board tabled until next week, a presentation by Kate Olson, with a request for ARPA funds to temporarily expand the role of the Cass County Wellness Coordinator to address local public health priorities and assist in long-term pandemic recovery efforts. And, they tabled discussion/action on an investment policy revision.

The Board voted four-to-1, with Wendy Richter opposed, to reduce the Compensation Board salary recommendation for elected County officials by 40-percent to 6.0-percent, and 8.1-percent for the Sheriff. The Compensation Board’s recommendation was for 10-percent increase for elected officials and 13.5-percent for the Sheriff. Richter said she thought the cuts should have been more: 50-to 60-percent.

The Supervisors heard a report from Cass/Guthrie County Environmental Health Director Jotham Arber, and a regular, weekly report from Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report the arrest today (Tuesday), of 40-year-old Joseph Aaron Nelson, from Red Oak. Nelson was taken into custody at around 9:10-a.m. in the 200 block of Oakwood Avenue, and charged with Domestic Abuse Assault causing bodily injury. He was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Mills County Sheriff’s officials report four recent arrests, with one subject being arrested twice. At around 11:30-p.m. Monday, 27-year-old Creighton Paul Catlett, of Council Bluffs, was arrested on 221st Street, on a warrant for Eluding/Speeding over 25 limit. His bond was set at $2,000. At around 9-p.m. Monday, 62-year-old Clyde James Jacobs, of Omaha, was arrested at the Pottawattamie County Jail on a Mills County warrant for Failure to Appear on an OWI/1st offense charge. His bond was set at $3,000.

At around 2:15-a.m., Sunday, Mills County Deputies arrested 27-year-old Creighton Paul Catlett, of Council Bluffs, for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Bond $300. And, Friday afternoon, 33-year-old Elizabeth Rene Lynette Evans, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at the Douglas County, NE jail, for Violation of Probation. She was being held on a $5,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says if there are demonstrations today (Tuesday) related to the anticipated arrest of former President Donald Trump, he hopes things don’t get out of hand like during the U-S Capitol riots on January 6th of 2021. “We want peaceful protests by anybody that wants to use their freedom of association and freedom of speech to say whatever they want to,” Grassley says. “It’s all protected by the Constitution and violence is never acceptable.” The former president has called on his supporters to protest if he’s indicted on charges related to alleged hush money payments to an adult film actress in 2016.

Video is being released by the U-S Department of Justice that reportedly shows Grassley being evacuated from the Capitol on January 6th as shouting demonstrators were just a matter of feet away. “I didn’t know anything about it at the time and so it’s quite an education to me to find out that we were that close,” Grassley says. “I still remember when the police said, ‘We got to get you out of here.’ They knew something I didn’t know.” Justice officials say the video was shot by one of the rioters and it shows Grassley, surrounded by uniformed police officers, as he was rushed through the Capitol building and away to safety.

“So I was quite surprised, yes, I was,” Grassley says, “but I’m glad that everything was was handled correctly for me and my colleagues.” At the time of the riot, Grassley was serving as president pro tem of the Senate, which placed him third in the line of succession to the presidency.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Members of the Atlantic School District’s Board of Education will meet 9-a.m. Wednesday. Their expected brief session takes place in the Central Office at the Achievement Center. On the agenda for action is a Tech Department, Dark Fiber Lease and Services Agreement with United Private Network, LLC.

Immediately following the special session, the board will enter into a closed session “to evaluate the professional competency of an individual whose appointment, hiring, performance or discharge is being considered when necessary, to prevent needless and irreparable injury to that individual’s reputation, and that individual requests a closed session” under Iowa Code.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports one-person was injured in a single-vehicle rollover accident, a little before 9-p.m., Monday. 31-year-old Brandon David Frey, of Shannon City, suffered suspected minor/non-incapacitating injuries, when the 2005 Ford F-350 pickup he was driving south on Pole Road, went into the northbound lane and continued into the east ditch. The pickup went airborne over a fence and into a field before rolling over and coming to rest on its wheels. Frey was partially trapped in the vehicle and was unable to get out on his own.

He was transported by ambulance to the Greater Regional Medical Center in Creston, for treatment of head injuries. Frey was charged with OWI/1st offense, Failure to provide proof of insurance, Failure to Maintain Control, and Driving while license suspended. His pickup was totaled, with the damage estimated at $15,000. The fence, owned by a person from Creston, sustained $100 damage during the crash.

In a separate incident, no injuries were reported following a collision a little after 10-a.m., Monday, at Ohio Avenue and 5th Street, in Union County. The Sheriff’s Office says a 2008 Mercury Mariner SUV driven by 53-year-old Melanie Wolf, of Creston, was turning left from Ohio Avenue and stopped at the stop sign before proceeding forward. She didn’t see a 2022 Peterbilt tractor trailer approaching from the east on 5th Street, and driven by 56-year-old Dennis Headings, of Lorimor. Wolf panicked and stopped in the middle of the road and then attempted to move forward.

She didn’t advance soon enough, and was struck by the truck n the rear driver’s side. The impact caused both curtain airbags to deploy. The SUV spun around and ended-up in the north ditch. Authorities say Headings tried to stop but was unsuccessful. Damage from the collision amounted to $3,500. No citations were issued.