(Radio Iowa) – A federal judge has temporarily blocked enforcement of Iowa’s immigration law to make illegal reentry a state crime. The law is designed to give state officials authority to arrest and deport immigrants who’d previously been deported or denied legal entry into the U.S. It was scheduled to go into effect July 1st.

In his ruling, U-S District Court Judge Stephen Locher said as a matter of politics, the new legislation might be defensible, but he said as a matter of constitutional law, it is not. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird will appeal the ruling. Governor Kim Reynolds says President Biden is failing to enforce federal immigration law and the state law she signed is designed to protect Iowans from the border crisis.

Last month the U.S. Department of Justice and Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice filed lawsuits seeking to block the law from being enforced. An attorney from the American Immigration Council says the Iowa law is blatantly unconstitutional and could have led to prosecution of some immigrants who’d previously been deported, but now have current legal status to live in the U-S.

DES MOINES, Iowa — FEMA is opening Disaster Recovery Centers in Clarke, Polk and Pottawattamie counties to provide one-on-one help to people affected by severe storms, tornadoes and flooding this spring.

Recovery specialists from FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration will provide information on available services, explain assistance programs and help survivors complete or check the status of their applications.

CLARKE COUNTY
Clarke County Annex Building 109 South Main Street Osceola, IA 50213
Open 1-7 p.m. June 17
8 a.m.-7 p.m. June 18-20

POLK COUNTY
Riley Resource Group 4400 E. University Ave. Pleasant Hill, IA 50327 1-7 p.m. June 18
8 a.m.-7 p.m. June 19-21

POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY
Charles E. Lakin Human Services Campus
North Parking Lot 815 North 16th Street
Council Bluffs, IA 51501 Open 1-7 p.m. June 18
8 a.m.-7 p.m. June 19-21

FEMA funding is available to homeowners and renters for severe storms, tornadoes and flooding that happened May 20-31 in the counties of Adair, Montgomery, Polk and Story. FEMA funding is also available for homeowners and renters in Clarke, Harrison, Mills, Polk, Pottawattamie, Ringgold, Shelby and Union counties for the April 26-27 tornadoes and storms.
To save time, apply online or by phone before visiting a Disaster Recovery Center by:

• Visiting DisasterAssistance.gov
  Calling FEMA directly at 800-621-FEMA (3362)
  Using the FEMA app

All centers are accessible to people with disabilities or with access and functional needs. They are equipped with assistive and adaptive technology such as amplified phones, caption phones, video phones, wheelchair ramps and other resources to help ensure all applicants can access resources.

Anyone using a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, can give FEMA the number for that service. For an accessible video on three ways to apply for FEMA assistance, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU7wzRjByhI.

(Radio Iowa)- The State Transportation Commission has approved the five-year transportation improvement plan. D-O-T systems planner Stuart Anderson says the plan is updated every year, and last year was a difficult one due to inflation.

That meant they had to delay 12 projects in the plan last year. Anderson says the outlook was much different as they updated the plan this year.

There is approximately four-point-five billion dollars of state and federal funding forecast to be available over the next five years for road and bridge improvements in the plan. Anderson says bridges and interchanges get a lot of focus.

The program includes:

• I-80 Middle Road Interchange reconstruction in Bettendorf
• I-80 Mississippi River bridge replacement
• I-35/80/235 Southwest Mixmaster modernization in Polk County
• I-35 bridge replacement and widening at the U-S 30 interchange in Ames
• I-35 widening between Ankeny and Iowa 210
• I-29 interchange construction in Woodbury County
• and adding more than 50 truck parking spots.

You can find the complete five-year plan on the D-O-Ts website. https://www.news.iowadot.gov

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City Council in Atlantic, Wednesday, will act on approving the appointments of three individuals to the City’s Library Board of Trustees. Their meeting at City Hall begins at 5:30-p.m.

Those nominated include: Kat (Katrina) Niemann; Dianna Blake, and David Schwab.  The Atlantic Public Library Board meets the second Monday of each month at 5:30-p.m.  Trustees are appointed to a six-year term by the Mayor. Terms end June 30th of the year listed by each member. Once the appointments are approved, each nominated member will be administered the Oath of Office by the Mayor.

Afterward, the Council will hold a public hearing on Amending the Fiscal Year 2024 City of Atlantic Budget, followed by action on passing a Resolution amending the same. The amendment was prepared by the City’s financial consultant from the Iowa League of Cities, Teresa Rotschafer. A copy of the budget amendment as proposed, was previously posted in a separate story on the KJAN.com News page.

In other business, the Council will act on passing a Resolution in “Support of a Partnership between the Atlantic School District and the City of Atlantic, for a School Resource Officer (SRO) Position.” The City’s Personnel and Finance Committee have unanimously recommended the Council move forward with the partnership, with the understanding that a 28E information sharing agreement with the School District must still be reached. City Administrator John Lund notes grants are currently being applied for by both entities, to help get the program up and running, with the intention being to open the position for hire later this Fall, and having someone in place when students return from the Christmas break.

And, the Council’s final order of business, Wednesday, is to act on approving an Order authorizing the closure of selected streets, No Parking requests, and Special Vehicle Permits (to be administered by Police Chief Devin Hogue) for the July 22nd-23rd overnight RAGBRAI® event in Atlantic. The affected streets would be closed from 6-a.m. to 2-a.m. Monday, July 22nd and Tuesday, July 23rd, or when vendor areas are cleared. The streets include:

• Chestnut: from the Courthouse Driveway access in the 700 block to 2nd Street (Used for stage/entertainment area, and vendors)
• 6th Street: from Locust to Walnut (Used for entry to the entertainment area, bike parking, and vendors).
• Poplar Street: from 7th to 5th (used for bike parking & portable bathrooms).
• 7th Street (Already approved by the Iowa DOT): from Poplar to Walnut Streets (used for entertainment area and crowd area while the bands are playing).
• 10th Street: At the intersection with 7th, for eastbound traffic (Only during peak times of riders getting to-and-from town).
• 14th Street: From Olive to Plum Street (On July 23rd, while the riders are leaving town.)

Temporary No Parking zones (Signs will be put in-place July 21st and removed after the riders leave town on the 23rd), will include the following:

• 10th Street, from 7th to Oliver (North side of the road)
• 6th Street, from Sunnyside Lane to Poplar St. (North side)
• Roosevelt Drive: from Olive to 14th St. (Both sides of the road)
• Palm Street: from 9th to 10 (west side)
• E. Mahogany at 9th Street (North & West sides)
• W. Mahogany at 10th Street (west side)
• Ed Podolak Drive: from Linn to Olive Streets (north side)
• Linn Street (from 10th to Ed Podolak Drive (west & east sides)
• 14th Street by the Heritage House (South side of the street)
• Olive Street/Roosevelt Drive: 100-feet north, on the east side, and,
• 10th/Olive: One-half block in all directions.

The City will be asking vendors, committees, and groups that feel the need to use a four-wheeler, ATV or golf cart (for used July 22nd or 23rd so as to have easier access to their working areas), to fill-out an application to do so. Those applications (approved by the Chief of Police or his designee, will be given a permit allowing those machines to be used, and must be posted on the “Special Event Vehicle” while in use.

The full City Council agenda is viewable here: City Council Agenda Packet 06-19-2024-compressed

DES MOINES – Gov. Kim Reynolds today (Monday) announced her appointment of Donna Bothwell as a district judge in Judicial District 4.   

Bothwell, of Logan, Iowa, is a district associate judge in Judicial District 4. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado and law degree from Drake University.  
 
Bothwell fills a vacancy created following the retirement of the Hon. Jeffrey L. Larson. Judicial District 4 includes Audubon, Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie, and Shelby counties.