The four U-S senators from Iowa and Nebraska are working together on a bill that would return a tract of land that was seized from the Winnebago Tribe in the 1970s. The land along the Missouri River and was taken through the power of eminent domain to become a recreational area, but those plans never materialized. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says the 16-hundred acres, which are maintained by the Iowa D-N-R as a wildlife area, need to be returned — something he says should’ve been done long ago.

Grassley was scheduled to meet in his Washington D-C office today (Tuesday) with the chief of the Winnebago Tribe, which he’s done before on several occasions.

Some five decades ago, the U-S Army Corps of Engineers planned to use the land both for a recreational area and to stabilize the banks of the Missouri River, but those plans stalled and were eventually tabled. Part of the land on the Nebraska side of the Missouri was given back to the tribe, but the land on the Iowa side was not. Grassley says this should be a relatively simple transaction to return the land to the tribe, but it takes an act of Congress to make it happen.

Grassley is co-sponsoring the bill along with Iowa Senator Joni Ernst and Nebraska Senators Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts — all Republicans.

(Radio Iowa) – A 24-year-old Des Moines man has been charged with murdering a woman who was found with stab wounds at a hotel across the street from the State Fairgrounds early this (Tuesday) morning. According to a news release from Des Moines Police, officers found a woman with traumatic injuries at the hotel shortly after 2:30 a.m. and she was rushed to a Des Moines hospital. Police announced at about nine-a.m. that she had died.

Police say Brantlee Rainey was found “within the room where the stabbing occurred,” he had a knife with what appeared to be blood on it and Rainey fit the description provided by a witness, who police did not identify.

In a written statement released shortly after 3:30 a.m., police said there is “no indication of any ongoing danger or threat to the neighborhood.”

(Radio Iowa) – It’s been 11 days since Alliant Energy shut off the power to the mall in Marshalltown due to unpaid utility bills. John Hall, President and C-E-O of the Marshalltown Chamber of Commerce, says the New York company that owns the mall says electrical issues might be resolved by this Saturday, November 18th. “This has been going on for about 10 months of unpaid electric bills, so I’ll believe it when I see it,” Hall says, “but I know that a lot of businesses out there are holding onto hope that is going to be the case.”

Hall briefed Marshalltown’s city council last (Monday) night about the situation at the mall, which opened in 1972. “Of the 16 total businesses out there, I want to be clear that at this point

The Marshalltown Mall opened in 1972 and at one point had JCPenney and Younkers as anchor stores. (Historic photo from KFJB.)

none of them have deemed themselves permanently closed and so all are working on trying to find other answers,” Hall said, “but there are four closed inside the mall.”

The fire marshal ordered businesses that are only accessible through the mall itself to close. Businesses with an external exit have been paying Alliant directly and are being allowed to operate, however some had to rewire teir electrical hook-ups and water lines to meet the fire code. The New York company that owns Marshalltown’s mall also owns the Westland Mall in West Burlington and Lindale Mall in Cedar Rapids.

COUNCIL BLUFFS — The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reports the City of Council Bluffs began discharging wastewater from the I-80 Sanitary Pump Station at 5 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14th. The discharge, officials say, is necessary to repair a damaged force main. Repairs will be conducted as quickly as possible but may take several days.

Council Bluffs estimates they will discharge approximately 4 million gallons of untreated wastewater per day during the repairs. The public should avoid contact with the Missouri River downstream from Interstate 80.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Board of Supervisors in Montgomery County, Tuesday (Today), approved the Tier 1 canvass of votes from the November 7th City/School Elections. Auditor Jill Ozuna reported that out of 7,135 registered voters, there were 1,101 ballots received, with 15.43 percent voter turnout which she said “Was pretty darned good.” Ozuna said there were several write-in votes for many of the open City positions.

The elections in the City of Coburg was a big disappointment, because there were no votes at all for the three, At-Large seats.

Next week, the Montgomery County Supervisors will act on approving the Second Tier, City/College results, as well as all certificates ready for signing, so they may be submitted to the State.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors have tentatively approved the use of ARPA (Covid relief/recovery) funds to help cover the cost of repairs to the Hitchcock House Foundation. They will actually have that as an action item on their agenda next week, since it was only for discussion during their meeting today (Tuesday). Because of the amount of deterioration of the basement wall, the Hitchcock House stopped offering tours of the building on July 23rd. Hitchcock House Board Chair Sharon-Guffey-Lewis said with the repairs to the wall complete,they hope to re-open this historic structure for tours, May 1st, 2024.

Last July, Guffey-Lewis told the Board the cost estimate of the project was $72,000, with a down payment of $22,000 required. During Tuesday’s (Today’s) meeting of the Board, Guffey-Lewis said the project is finished, but they still owe nearly $48,000 to the contractor, since it came in $18,000 over budget. They have received $8,000 in donations, and have used money from the endowment fund, to pay the contractor.

The Hitchcock House Board, she says, intends to cover the costs of interior repairs to the drywall and floors, through grants and donations. In other business, the Cass County Supervisors discussed, but took no action on the subject of childcare operating budgets, the impact on economic development, and the County’s possible role in subsidizing those endeavors. Board Chair Steve Baier spoke about a forum held in Atlantic on Nov. 1st, that dealt with the childcare desert topic.

During the forum, it was noted Cass County has a shortfall of 1,184 spaces, 48-percent of childcare businesses have been lost in the last ten years, and 11-percent in the last five years. Baier says he wanted to add the discussion item to the Supervisors’ agenda, because of what the City of Atlantic did to help the Ann W. Wickman Childcare Development Center.

For years, the City of Atlantic had donated $15,000 annually, for the Ann W. Wickman Childcare Development Center. Supervisor Mark O’Brien asked “Where does this stop?” with regard to public funds being used for non-profit daycare centers, while privately operated centers rely don’t receive any funds except those from the parents/guardians who send their children to those centers. Supervisor Wendy Richter said “We have to be very careful in who we help out,” especially in light of the hours the Wickman Center operates.

Steve Baier suggested the County could avoid using taxpayer monies by using funds derived from interest growth in the Valley Business Fund for economic development. He concluded by saying young people are leaving the County because they can’t find things like childcare that they can find in larger cities.