In a statement released Tuesday the Director of RAGBRAI, TJ Juskiewicz, announced his resignation from the position. Juskiewicz said he and his organizing staff will be starting a new ride called “Iowa’s Ride” that is scheduled for the week of July 19-25, 2020, which is the same week as RAGBRAI.

In the statement Juskiewicz described his frustration with not being able to speak openly to RAGBRAI patrons after the fallout from the Register’s coverage of Carson King, the Iowa State fan who turned a sign for beer money into a multi-million dollar fundraiser for the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. Juskiewicz said he was told by Register Editors to refer any questions to the paper’s official statement regarding their editing decisions, and to run any statements he wanted to put out through a PR firm that was hired during the fallout from the coverage.

Juskiewicz stated “I can no longer be an effective leader when my principles are compromised by the leadership of Gannett/Des Moines Register. If we balked this time, I couldn’t imag(in)e any future thoughts of making decisions in the best interest of YOU the riders and the great state of Iowa.”

The new ride will have a Northern Iowa route this year with the official route being announced in November. The new ride will directly benefit Iowa based charities. You can find out more about the new ride and sign up at www.iowasride.com.  Officials at Gannett, the parent company of the Register, said late Tuesday, that RAGBRAI will continue in 2020, and that they are committed to donating $50,000 to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. A Gannett spokeperson said the company is exploring legal all legal options, but none had been taken against Iowa Ride organizers, as of last report.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police in Des Moines have announced the arrests of two men in the fatal shooting of another man on the city’s north side earlier this month. Police Sgt. Paul Parizek said in a written statement Tuesday that Gregory Samuel Hampton Jr. and Adam Ahmad Ismail — both 18 and Des Moines residents — were being booked into the Polk County Jail. Each is charged with first-degree murder and robbery in the Oct. 10 shooting death of 23-year-old Rashid Mohamed Ibrahim.

Ibrahim was found by officers sent to investigate reports of a shooting. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

(Radio Iowa) — Federal officials today announced an ear, nose and throat doctor in Carroll with clinics in eight other Iowa cities has agreed to pay one-MILLION dollars to resolve allegations of Medicaid fraud. The doctor says the settlement is not an admission of wrong doing. According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Cedar Rapids, Dr. Tracey Wellendorf was accused of performing sinus surgeries that did not meet Medicaid’s “medically necessary” standards or were incorrectly coded on bills submitted to Medicaid.

Officials indicate the doctor’s one-MILLION dollar payment to the government relates to as many as 115 procedures performed from the fall of 2014 through the fall of 2015. Dr. Wellendorf released a written statement, saying reasonable people can disagree about the best medical treatment options and neither he nor the clinic are admitting doing anything wrong.

Wellendorf said “there were no adverse patient outcomes” and he’s” happy and relieved” to have what he described as an “expensive, time-consuming and distracting” matter resolved. A special agent in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says Wellendorf has agreed to “intensive quarterly monitoring by an independent review organization” over the next three years.

Wellendorf says that additional scrutiny will show “complete compliance” with Medicaid regulations and professional standards. The website for Wellendorf’s Carroll clinic shows the doctor operates satellite clinics in Atlantic, Corning, Denison, Ida Grove, Jefferson, Lake City, Red Oak and Storm Lake.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police have identified the person whose remains were found last week in a homeless camp near downtown Des Moines. Police said Tuesday in a news release that the remains are those of 23-year-old Marshal Aaron Terrell Johnson, of Des Moines. Police say the identification was made through “an extensive forensic examination.”

Detectives are investigating Johnson’s death as a homicide. His remains were found Oct. 8 after police received a tip that led investigators to a wooded area behind an abandoned manufacturing plant. Police Sgt. Paul Parizek said at the time that the body had been “cleverly concealed.”

Police have not yet shared other details of how Johnson died and say the body was likely in the area for a few months.

ANKENY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says she is forming a working group chaired by the lieutenant governor to make recommendations for removing racial bias from the criminal justice system and to help offenders re-enter communities in a way that reduces repeat offenses. Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg is a former state public defender.

Reynolds, a Republican, also says she plans to continue to push for a constitutional amendment to restore voting rights for felons after they complete their sentences. The measure passed the House with bipartisan support in April but died after members of her own party in the Senate refused to push for it.

Reynolds says she will continue to make redemption and second changes a priority of her administration. She announced the formation of the working group at an annual NAACP meeting focused on criminal justice reform.

DES MOINES  – The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) today (Tuesday) announced that $10 million in Workforce Housing tax credits (WHTC) are now available for qualified housing projects in the 10 Iowa counties under Presidential Disaster declaration. The funding is part of the Empower Rural Iowa Act, approved during the 2019 Iowa legislative session, and is designed to encourage housing rehabilitation and development in communities that have lost housing or can demonstrate a housing need as a result of a disaster.

To be eligible for the program, projects must be in counties that received a Presidential Disaster declaration on or after March 12, 2019 and where individuals are eligible for Individual Assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). 10 counties meet the criteria mentioned.: Locally, they include:

Fremont; Harrison; Mills; Monona; Pottawattamie; Shelby and Woodbury.

Eligible projects include single-family or multi-family new construction or rehabilitation, as well as upper story housing development. The project must be completed within three years from the date it is awarded credits and include:

•  at least four single-family homes; or
• at least one multi-family building containing three or more units; or
• at least two upper story housing units.
• The project budget must include local matching funds in an amount equal to at least $1,000 per housing unit in the project. Local matching funds may include tax abatement, grants, reimbursements or other cash or cash equivalents.

Housing developers may receive tax credits of up to 20 percent of the investment related to the construction/ rehabilitation. The tax credit is based on the first $150,000 in new investment for each housing unit. The state tax credits are transferable and may be used for equity in the project. The maximum tax credit award for a project is $1 million. The actual amount of credits issued are based on final, documented project costs.

Applications are being accepted now via www.iowagrants.gov.  IEDA will accept and review applications on a first-come, first-serve basis until available tax credits are fully allocated. IEDA will issue the tax credits upon project completion.  For additional program parameters and information, please contact Nichole Hansen at nichole.hansen@iowaeda.com.

Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman, reports absentee voting is available for the November 5 CITY / SCHOOL ELECTION.  Voters may vote an absentee ballot in the Cass County Auditor’s office during regular business hours (8:00 A.M. thru 4:30 P.M.) now thru Monday, November 4, 2019.

Any eligible voter who so chooses may vote a ballot before November 5 (called ABSENTEE BALLOT).  The ballot may be applied for by mail or may be voted at the office of the County Auditor on any day the office is open up through November 4.

IF VOTING AT THE COUNTY AUDITOR’S OFFICE: beginning now, the absentee voter may come to the CASS COUNTY COURTHOUSE during the regular office hours of 8 AM and 4:30 PM, Monday thru Friday, up through the day before the election and cast a ballot.  In addition to regular office hours, the office of Cass County Auditor will be open until 5 P.M. on Friday, October 25; Friday, November 1; and Monday, November 4.

IF VOTING BY MAIL: A written request may be mailed or hand delivered to the County Auditor’s office.  (Absentee request forms are available at the auditor’s office and on the Secretary of State’s web site: sos.iowa.gov).  A ballot along with instructions on how to complete the ballot will be mailed to the requester.  For the ballot to be counted the completed ballot then must be returned either by personal carrier to the office of County Auditor before close of polls on November 5 or returned by mail postmarked no later than November 4.  Deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail is 5 PM on Friday, October 25.  All BALLOTS ARE TO BE RETURNED whether they are voted or not voted.  A postage paid return envelope is provided with each absentee ballot mailed out.

VOTER REGISTRATION: In order to vote in Iowa a person must be registered in the person’s current county of residence, under the person’s current name, and at the person’s current address.  Registration forms are available at the county auditor’s office, many State of Iowa service offices and on the Secretary of State’s web site: sos.iowa.gov

The county election commissioner recommends that persons not currently registered or who have moved since last registering and are planning to vote in the November CITY / SCHOOL ELECTION, pre-register in the office of the County Auditor as soon as possible.  You may register or re-register and vote absentee on the same day.  Last day to pre-register in the office of the County Auditor is Friday, October 25, 2019.  Auditor’s office is open until 5:00 P.M. on October 25.

Reminder: You may also update your registration when you update your address for your driver’s license.  Since your Iowa driver’s license is often used as official identification, it is important that the data shown is accurate. Iowa law requires residents to notify the Department of Transportation within 30 days of an address change.  An easy method for changing your address is to visit an Iowa driver’s license station – in Cass County that station is in the Cass County Treasurer’s office, Courthouse, Atlantic, Iowa.

The address for the Cass County Auditor / Election Commissioner is: CASS COUNTY AUDITOR, COURTHOUSE, 5 W 7TH ST, ATLANTIC, IOWA 50022  (Phone:712-243-4570;   Email: auditor@casscoia.us)

*** GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT ELECTION DAY VOTING AT THE VOTING CENTERS:

1) Voter must be pre-registered in the county of the voter’s residence at least eleven days prior to CITY / SCHOOL election day.  Or voter may register on election day and vote after proving identity and residence.

2) Voter must vote at the voting center for the precinct in which the voter resides.

3) If a voter is registered in the county but has moved within the county (and/or changed name) since last registering, the potential voter must still go to the correct voting center {see ‘1)’ above} and may vote on election day.  HOWEVER, BEFORE CASTING A BALLOT:

A: Voter must re-register (at the voting center for the precinct in which the voter resides).

B: Voter must present proof of identity and residence:

The ID card must be valid; must display a color photograph of the potential voter; and the ID must have the signature of the prospective voter.

(If proof of ID cannot be furnished, voter may vote but must cast a ‘PROVISIONAL ballot’.  PROVISIONAL ballots will be reviewed on the 2nd day after the election.)

4) ID is required for any person voting at the polls on election day.

NOTE ON VOTING PROCEDURE ON NOVEMBER 5 and POLLS:

In Cass County all voters will mark and cast a paper ballot.  The voter will feed the marked ballot through an optical scan unit which will immediately tabulate the information.  In addition each precinct will have available a ballot marking device for use by those blind or those with other handicaps which cause them to be unable to directly mark a paper ballot without assistance.  This equipment will generate a ballot after the voter makes his selections.  The ballot marked by the equipment’s ‘printer’ will be fed through the optical scan unit in a manner similar to those ballots directly marked by a voter.  The handicapped voter may, in lieu of using this machine, request assistance from the poll workers or from a person of his/her own choice.

To comply with law all polling centers used for this election must be disabled accessible.  To provide disabled accessible polling centers and to help limit equipment and other election costs, the Cass County Board of Supervisors set the number of voting centers/polls at 13 by county ordinance.  For the 2019 CITY / SCHOOL election there will be 12 voting centers.

For the candidates and public measures to be voted on in your respective CITY and/or SCHOOL DISTRICT see the SCHOOL CANDIDATES and CITY CANDIDATES listing. NOTE: This is a COUNTY-WIDE election.  Every eligible voter in Cass County is eligible to vote in this election.  City residents will vote for both city and school candidates; and rural residents will vote for school candidates only.

THE VOTING CENTERS FOR THIS ELECTION WILL BE AS FOLLOWS:

Atlantic 1st Ward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Zion Lutheran Church (811 Oak St)

Atlantic 2nd Ward. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Atlantic Public Library (507 Poplar)

Atlantic 3rd Ward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Cass County Community Center (805 W 10th)

Atlantic 4th Ward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  United Church of Christ (1607 Hazel)

Atlantic 5th Ward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Heritage House (1200 Brookridge Circle)

City of Anita/ Grant, Lincoln Twp  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   Anita Community Center (805 Main St)

City of Cumberland/ Union Twp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   Cumberland Community Bldg. (200 W 2nd)

City of Griswold/ Noble, Pleasant Twp  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    Griswold Community Bldg. (601 2nd St)

City of Lewis/ Bear Grove, Cass Twp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   Lewis Public Library (412 W. Main St, Lewis)

City of Marne/ Brighton, Grove, Pymosa, Washington Twp. .      Cass County Community Center (805 W 10th)

City of Massena/ Massena, Edna and Victoria Twp  . . . . . . . .    Massena Public Library (122 Main St, Massena)

City of Wiota/ Benton, Franklin Twp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   Wiota City Hall (311 Center St)

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports that at around 2:25-a.m. today (Tuesday), deputies were dispatched to the 100 block of Heesch Avenue in Treynor for a home invasion with shots being fired. The reporting party advised that four subjects had broken into the house. The also said two of the subjects had been shot, and that the reporting party started a fire to keep the other two away. When Deputies arrived less than 10-minutes later, they observed smoke coming from a garage attached to a residence. Deputies were able to open the overhead door and allow the caller to exit. The caller was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.

Authorities determined three family members were at the residence with the caller, when the 911 call was placed. Those family members said they did not hear or see anyone else in the house or garage. The investigation indicates that the caller had a mental health episode. After the fire was under control, nothing was located in the garage to support the caller’s statement that two subjects were shot. Currently, deputies are not looking for suspects. The incident is currently under investigation, but officials say there is no on-going threat to the public.

MARION, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say one person was hospitalized after a fire broke out in a Marion apartment. Firefighters dispatched to the building around 4:50 a.m. Tuesday found smoke coming from one unit. They managed to keep the flames to just that apartment. The name of the injured person hasn’t been released. The fire cause is being investigated.