(Radio Iowa) – Iowans are now able to open enroll under the Affordable Care Act Marketplace. Federal data shows more than 72-thousand Iowans enrolled in health care plans through the marketplace last year. Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen says enrollment in marketplace plans has risen in recent years as more options became available. Ommen says Iowans who haven’t done this before should talk to marketplace navigators or contact the Iowa Insurance Division for help.

Ommen says, “We would encourage all Iowans, if they’re new into the market, that they need to make some effort to talk to somebody that can provide some help to them.” He says Iowans who are interested in enrolling in a plan shouldn’t wait. “We encourage people to don’t delay on their decision,” Ommen says. “Get the decision made and get things sort of locked in. That will impact the coverage in those early months, so it’s really important to get things settled, in my view, before the end of the year.”

Iowans who are interested in signing up for a plan or need help doing so can go to healthcare-dot-gov. Open enrollment opened Tuesday and runs through January 15th.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday morning, approved a Courtyard use permit for Mainstreet Greenfield, for events taking place on November 22nd. Board Chair Matt Wedemeyer…

On a separate note, Mainstreet Greenfield representative Lyne Don Carlos, discussed courtyard flower pots and a bit of rearranging of the benches.

The Board approved the request, which will be accomplished with help of city crews. The Board discussed, and then agreed to send to Adair County Attorney Melissa Larson, an amendment to the Draft version of the county’s hazardous pipeline ordinance. Matt Wedemeyer said the draft they received last week, is pretty basic. Supervisor Joadie Hoadley initially set she would like to see language added to indicate the pipeline set-back is 250-feet from existing, operational private wells, and leave issue of soil compaction off, for now. The ordinance will go back to Larsen, and eventually onto a public hearing.

In other business, Kerry Aistrope with the County Ag Extension, discussed Extension Summer Programming, some of the funding for which came through a grant from the County.

Aistrope said there are funds left over from the grant, and she asked for the Board’s permission to use $800 for supplies used during the Clover Kids Summer Camps. The Supervisors gave their blessing to continue with the funds. And Terri Raasch talked about the Master Conservation Program and coursework available beginning at the end of April, working in conjunction with the Conservation Board.

And, Adair County Engineer Nick Kauffman discussed with the Board, the sale of used equipment, as well as the use of ARPA funds for the fuel system as mentioned in our previous reports. The Board approved the sale of four single-axle dump trucks, and an updated list of Safety Committee Members. But they voted 3-2 against using some of the remaining ARPA funds for the fuel storage/delivery system they previously discussed and we’re reported on. The Board opted instead to hold onto them for emergencies. The matter will be re-evaluated at budget time.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans will have to carefully plan ahead for their Thanksgiving meals this year, as the state’s largest grocery chain won’t be available for last-minute shopping trips. If you forgot the cranberry sauce, need more sweet potatoes or don’t have time to bake a pumpkin pie, get it the day before, because you won’t be able to buy it on Thanksgiving Day at Hy-Vee. The West Des Moines-based chain is announcing that all 285-plus retail locations will be closed on November 24th.

A news release says it will give the company’s 80,000-some employees across eight states the holiday off to spend with friends and family. This is a first in Hy-Vee’s 92-year history.

(Radio Iowa) – Substitute teachers aren’t as hard to come by as they were last year, according to some Iowa school administrators. Mason City School District officials say the district has boosted its substitute fill rate by around 15-percent in the last year. The district’s Human resources director Tom Drzycimski says an increase in pay and training offerings have aided the school’s search. “The local community college has been providing more authorization classes,” Drzycimski says. “We’ve had a number of people that have taken advantage of those, some of them are our own paraprofessionals.”

Despite the progress, Drzycimski says they could still use more staff. This time last year, school board meetings at Sioux City Community School District were full of tense discussion on how to improve its substitute fill rate of 70-percent. The district settled on raising rates by at least 25-dollars a day and providing a one-hundred dollar recruitment stipend. It helped, as district human resource director Jen Gomez says the fill rate has risen to 87-percent. “Staff aren’t having to help fill in during their planning time or during their duty time,” Gomez says, “so, when that fill rates higher our existing staff is less stretched.” Des Moines Public Schools is seeing a similar situation.

It’s increased its fill rate from 46-percent to 64. District officials say they’ll will continue pushing recruitment efforts.

(reporting by Kendall Crawford, Iowa Public Radio)

[COUNCIL BLUFFS] – Pottawattamie County Emergency Management Agency Director Doug Reed reports “9-1-1 Communications Officials in Pottawattamie County have discovered an 9-1-1 service outage impacting Verizon Wireless customers throughout the county. There is no indication as to the cause or potential duration of the outage. All Verizon Wireless customers living or working in Pottawattamie County should call 712-328-5737 and press Option #1 for access to emergency services OR call 9-1-1 from another non-Verizon phone number. This policy will be in effect until normal service is restored.”

Reed says also, “These types of disruptions are planned for, and the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office 9-1-1 Communications Center has excellent redundancy and emergency procedures in place for situations just like this.” Verizon customers in Pottawattamie County should monitor local media outlets and Emergency Management’s Facebook and twitter pages for updates. Also, residents should sign up for Alert Iowa emergency notifications at https://pcema-ia.org.

Pott. County EMA

“The first alert we send is through Alert Iowa,” said Doug Reed. The system was used this morning for the 9-1-1 outage and distributed over 35,000 alerts by multiple methods (voice, email, text, social media). “The system isn’t just for weather notifications. Real-life, everyday emergency notifications are sent over this system. We can’t inform you if we can’t contact you, so sign up today to help keep yourself, your family, and your coworkers safe.”

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Listed as Travel Iowa’s number one Christmas destination, downtown Atlantic lights up six blocks with nearly 200,000 lights for the holiday season. Bailey Smith, Executive Director at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce says “It’s a big tourist season for Atlantic with people from all over the state, and outside Iowa, coming to see our downtown. It also provides the community with free family activities the entire months of November and December, while encouraging holiday shopping at our incredible locally owned businesses.”

Christmas in Atlantic kicks off Saturday, November 12th with the Holiday Open House. Visit local retailers to get a holiday sneak peek and enjoy treats, giveaways and special promotions. For a list of participating businesses, visit www.atlanticiowa.com. For the sixth year in a row, the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce will be offering AtlantiCash at a discounted price as part of their Holiday Promotion, sponsored by First Whitney Bank & Trust. According to Smith, “Last year we sold $35,000 in about an hour, our highest dollar amount yet. The goal this year is to sell another $35,000, all of which goes back into Atlantic businesses.” For one day only, community members can come to the Chamber on Saturday, November 12th and buy a pack of $100 in AtlantiCash for $80, a 20% discount. Up to three packs, totaling $300, may be purchased. The discounted AtlantiCash will be available from 9 AM – 12 PM, or till supplies last.

The Annual Grand Lighting Ceremony, sponsored by Atlantic Municipal Utilities and TS Bank, will be Thursday, November 17th at 5 PM at the Historic Rock Island Depot in downtown Atlantic. There will be free hot chocolate and Atlantic Hy-Vee will be serving a free hot dog meal for spectators to enjoy. Santa will have a special arrival at 5:30 PM to turn on the lights and see children in his cabin from 6 – 7:30 PM at City Park. 

The Lighted Parade and Fireworks will be December 3rd, starting at 6 PM. Please submit Lighted Parade entries to the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce by calling 712.243.3017 or emailing chamber@atlanticiowa.com. Pre-registration is not required, but is encouraged. The Lighted Parade and Fireworks is sponsored by A.M. Cohron & Son and McDermott & Son Roofing. Prior to the Lighted Parade on December 3rd, visit Santa in his cabin where you can enjoy hot chocolate and treats, as well as horse-drawn carriage rides, sponsored by Lloyd & Meredith, from 3-5:30 PM. Visit www.atlanticiowa.com for Santa’s full holiday schedule. Santa’s Cabin is sponsored by the Atlantic Rotary Club and Farmhouse & Flowers.

Join us for the Holiday Concert and Angel of Christmas on December 4th at the First United Church of Christ, starting at 3 PM. Submit your nominations for Angel of Christmas to the Atlantic Area Chamber by November 23rd. The Angel of Christmas is sponsored by Cass Health.

Pick up your Christmas Brochure from area retail businesses, like the Chamber on Facebook or follow on Twitter to find dates and details to celebrate Christmas in Atlantic. You can find a complete list of activities at www.atlanticiowa.com. Capture the Christmas magic with #MyAtlanticIA and post to the Atlantic Area Chamber’s Facebook page or Instagram (AtlanticIowaFan). Contact the Atlantic Area Chamber with any questions at chamber@atlanticiowa.com or call 712.243.3017.

Police in Red Oak say one person suffered possible injuries but refused medical treatment, Tuesday evening, after the SUV she was driving was struck and the air bags deployed. The accident happened at around 5:47-p.m., as a 2009 Honda Pilot driven by 23-year-old Brenna Kaye Rivers, of Shenandoah, was turning into the Red Oak Hy-Vee parking lot. A 2022 Nissan Altima rental car driven by 31-year-old Crystal Karen Durbin, of Red Oak, was preparing to turn out of the lot onto southbound Broadway Street, with a few cars stopped at the traffic light.

Another driver waiting for the light to turn green, waved Durbin out. In exiting, she didn’t see Rivers’ SUV, possibly because of the blinding sun or headlights. The car struck the SUV on the rear, passenger side, causing a total of $9,500 damage. Both drivers were examined for possible injuries. No citations were issued.