COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – A mother and her 2-year-old child have been wounded in a shooting at an apartment complex on the east side of Council Bluffs. Authorities say the woman was putting her child into a car just before 6 a.m. Tuesday when the gunfire erupted. The woman was hit several times, and her child was hit in an arm.  It’s unclear whether the woman knew the shooter. No arrest has been reported. The woman, whose name hasn’t been released, was taken to an Omaha, Neb., hospital for treatment.

Advocates of expanding passenger rail service from Iowa to Chicago say there could be a side-benefit for trains that haul freight. Jeff Kurtz is with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. “If we do the infrastructure improvements necessary where passenger trains and freight can go-exist, we won’t have to worry about clearing slow-moving trains,” Kurtz says. “Delays cost money…Hopefully as a state we will move in that direction as we move to invest in rail.” Kurtz is among seven people who testified before the Senate Transportation Committee late Monday afternoon to tout the idea of expanding passenger rail service from Chicago to the Quad Cities, Iowa City, Des Moines and Council Bluffs.

Grinnell Mayor Gordon Canfield is also president of the Iowa Association of Railroad Passengers. “As our interstate highway system becomes increasingly clogged with heavy traffic or when the roadways are slick with snow and ice, many people would prefer the safety and convenience of trains to go to Chicago or Omaha and beyond,” Canfield said. Geoff Fruin, the assistant city manager of Iowa City, used to work in Normal, Illinois, a city where he said passenger rail service had been an “economic game-changer.”

“If you study the Amtrak ridership numbers, they’ve set records in nine of the past 10 years. If you dig down further and you look at the university communities in the Midwest, their ridership has grown even three or four times faster than the national level,” Fruin said. “Now, that tells me one thing, it’s that the younger generation really values passenger rail and the productivity of time and the access that it provides.”

In October of 2010, Iowa and Illinois won a 230-million dollar federal grant to expand passenger rail service, with the ultimate goal of a 110-mile-per-hour train running between Chicago and Omaha, the route for which could pass through Atlantic. However, when Republican Governor Terry Branstad took office in 2011, he raised concerns the state would have to sink too much money into the rail line. Iowa Department of Transportation staff are in the process of drafting a cost-benefit analysis. Republican legislators have also raised cost concerns, suggesting a private railroad company would already be running passenger trains through central Iowa if it were profitable.

Local governments and schools are continuing to work on their budgets, despite a lack of direction from the State on how much funding or a lack thereof, will impact those budgets. Atlantic School District Superintendent Dr. Michael Amstein said during Monday night’s meeting at the High School, there’s been no action by the Iowa House on a proposal by the Senate for 4-percent allowable growth for school districts across the State, and it doesn’t appear there will be action anytime soon. Because the lack of movement in the legislature Amstein said he’s asked District Business Manager Mary Beth Fast, to budget for the worst-case scenario, which is zero-percent allowable growth.

In other business, Amstein said he will be coming to the Board in March, with a recommendation pertaining to the make-up of three days students missed this school year due to inclement weather.  He says right now, those dates look to be May 22^nd-through the 24^th. Currently, the last day of school is May 21^st. The dates would still allow the district to end the school year before the Memorial Day weekend. He said if there are any more days missed because of bad weather, they would have to look at cutting time from Spring Break.

Amstein said also, discussions continue with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office for the use of a deputy as a School Resource Officer (SRO). Amstein says looking at the current budget, it appears to be likely the district would continue to contract with the County for the services of an SRO.

Amstein announced also, that Atlantic Senior Tom Stinn has been nominated for the Presidential Scholars Program. He said only a handful of students in each state are selected for the opportunity. They’re selected on the basis of accomplishments, school and community activities and excellence in education. Stinn is also a candidate for a National Merit Scholarship. And, AHS Senior Dalton Franken, as you may have heard, was nominated to the McDonald’s All-American Basketball Team.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports a former Anita resident faces charges in connection with four burglaries and theft that took place in Anita and Atlantic, during a period spanning August 28th, 2012 through Sept. 25th, 2012. 30-year old Riley Dale Metheny, of Newton, faces three counts of Burglary 3^rd Degree and one count of Theft 2^nd Degree.  A court date in his case has not yet been set.