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Atlantic Police advise City and County residents take alternative routes during RAGBRAI next week

News

July 19th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Riders associated with the largest river-to-river (Missouri-to-Mississippi) bicycle ride in Iowa will be traveling from west to east this coming week, and the Atlantic Police Department suggests residents in the community, and persons from around the area who may have business in town during RAGBRAI® (July 22nd and 23rd),  find alternate driving routes. Riders will be entering Cass County throughout the day, Monday, and exiting through at least mid-day on Tuesday.

Authorities ask you to “Please pay close attention to the roadways and the significant amount of increased traffic, to include bicyclists! Give yourself plenty of extra time during your daily commute(s).”

Maps of the bike route through Cass County can be found on RAGBRAI’s downloadable maps site, and the turn-by-turn mapping option, on their website. Please see https://ragbrai.com/maps/ for additional information and more clear mapping options.

Here is a synopsis of the route:

2 men arrested Wednesday following a pursuit in Woodbury County

News

July 19th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Sioux City, Iowa) – A high-speed pursuit resulting from an attempted traffic stop in northwest Iowa ended with the arrest of two people. According to the Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office, deputies tried to stop a vehicle on Highway 141 a little after 8-a.m., Wednesday. The driver refused to yield and led deputies on a chase along northbound Interstate 29. Officers with the Sergeant Bluff Police Department assisted the Sheriff’s Office, by deploying stop sticks. A Woodbury County Deputy then performed a successful pursuit intervention technique – or, PIT, maneuver. The Iowa State Patrol also assisted during the incident.

The vehicle finally stoped on I-29 near mile marker 142. Two male occupants, who were identified as 34-year-old Shelton Lapointe, and 29-year-old Richard Martinez, were taken into custody. Lapointe, who was the driver, was charged with violating a parole warrant, driving with a barred license, felony eluding, and possession of a controlled substance. Martinez was charged with possession of a controlled substance, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Traffic in the area was temporarily tied-up while both lanes of I-29 north were closed during the incident investigation.

35th anniversary of Flight 232 crash marked

News

July 19th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Today (Friday) is the 35th anniversary of the crash of United flight 232 at the Sioux Gateway Airport. The Mid American Museum of Aviation and Transportation is holding and open house to remember the 112 who died in the crash, the 180 who survived, and the first responders and community members who aided them. Museum board member Pam Mickelson says begin at 10 a-m and will have activities throughout the day. “At 3:45 we’re starting a presentation that doctor Mitch Simmons is going to talk about the communications that went on in the D-C-10 between Captain Alfred “Al” Haynes and the crew members, and how that saved lives. So that’s the focus of his discussion. And then at four o’clock we’re going to have a moment of silence,” she says.

Mickelson says Simmons will talk about research that tells the story through the eyes of flight attendant Susan White and how the crew worked together with the late pilot Al Haynes. She was 26, she hadn’t been on are many flights, so she’s in the back of the plane and Jan Brown is in the front of the plane taking instructions and communicating with Captain Haines and the flight crew,” Mickelson says.

Part of the Flight 232 exhibit in Sioux City. (KSCJ photo)

Mickelson says White is one of the few people who were involved that haven’t retired. She says they still get weekly visitors to the exhibit that was created during the 25th anniversary. Mickelson says it’s an opportunity for a new generation to hear the details of the heroic efforts of those involved in the crash on July 19, 1989.

Iowa Public Information Board sued over alleged open-meetings violation

News

July 19th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The state panel charged with ensuring transparency in government is being sued for allegedly violating Iowa’s Open Meetings Law. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports Briana Reha of Polk County is suing the Iowa Public Information Board and its members for the manner in which they approved a pay raise for the board’s executive director, Erika Eckley.

The lawsuit alleges that on June 25, IPIB posted an agenda for its June 27 board meeting. Nine minutes into the meeting, Monica McHugh, the board chairman, proposed an increase to Eckley’s salary as a topic for board deliberation and action. After briefly discussing the matter, the board approved a 6% salary increase for Eckley by unanimous vote, bringing her total annual salary to $103,307.60.

The video of the board meeting indicates the board was informed that anything above 6% would exceed the allowable salary range for the position. Eckley was appointed to the job in March 2023. The lawsuit alleges the board did not include on its agenda a salary increase as a topic of board discussion or as an action item for the board. The agenda and the related board materials contained no reference to a possible salary increase, and only indicated that the board chairman would make comments pertaining to  “Eckley’s evaluation.”

That notice “did not sufficiently apprise the public and give full opportunity for public knowledge and participation on the issue of the proposed salary increase,” the lawsuit claims. The lawsuit seeks a court finding that IPIB violated the state’s Open Meetings Law and asks that the court void the salary increase and issue an injunction ordering the board to refrain from any future violations.

The Iowa Public Information Board is a nine-member panel appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate for the stated purpose of fielding complaints about local and state boards, commissions and councils’ compliance with Iowa’s Open Meetings Law and Open Records Law.

In 2018, Iowa’s Office of Ombudsman issued a report on IPIB called “No Model for Transparency.” The report was critical of the manner in which IPIB handled complaints and of the manner in which IPIB responded to the ombudsman’s inquiries on two issues. As part the ombudsman’s investigation into that matter, the office had asked for, and eventually subpoenaed, tapes of IPIB’s relevant closed-door meetings. IPIB refused to turn over the tapes, and the ombudsman’s office opted not to pursue the issue in court.

Credit/Debit card skimmers found at Hamburg convenience store

News

July 19th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Sidney, Iowa) – The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday, credit/debit card skimmers were located on pumps 3,4, and 5 at the Casey’s Store in Hamburg, Thursday afternoon. Authorities said the skimmers have been on the pumps for an unknown period of time. Deputies are currently investigating the case and hope to have a timeline for the transactions where skimmers were used, as soon as possible.
The skimmers were placed inside of the fuel pump, on a circuit board which had been pried open. The sheriff’s office said the public would NOT have been able to locate the electronics without accessing the inside of the fuel pump.
Authorities say if you used pumps 3,4 or 5 at the Hamburg Casey’s Store recently, please check for any fraudulent activity in bank accounts, and if any fraudulent activity is observed, please call the Fremont Sheriffs Office to report it.

Man from Elliott arrested Thursday afternoon in Griswold

News

July 19th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a man from Elliott was arrested Thursday, in the 900 block of Cass Street, in Griswold. 40-year-old Quintin Perdue was taken into custody at around 3:50-p.m., on an active Pottawattamie County warrant for Violation of Parole. Perdue was transported to the Montgomery County Jail in Red Oak, and held without bond.

Climate experts: All dryness has left Iowa

Ag/Outdoor, News, Weather

July 19th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – All parts of Iowa — for the first time in more than four years — have sufficient soil moisture to not be considered “abnormally dry” by national climate experts, according to a U.S. Drought Monitor report on Thursday. That dryness designation can indicate an area is on the cusp of drought conditions, under which affected areas can have negative impacts for agriculture and water supplies.

An example: After years of drought, a lake that supplies water for the city of Osceola had lost so much of its volume that the city considered recycling its wastewater. Significant rainfall in recent months has restored the lake to nearly its normal surface elevation, according to city data.

Drought developed in Iowa in July 2020 and persisted until May 2024, after the state had one of its wettest starts to a year on record. It marked a dramatic recovery since September, when the state was the driest it had been in a decade. Last week, Iowa had rainfall that was below average, according to State Climatologist Justin Glisan. However, heavy rain fell along the eastern edge of the state where the last remaining pocket of abnormal dryness lay.

A month ago, about 31% of the state was abnormally dry, according to Drought Monitor reports. The last time there was no drought or dryness was May 2020. The federal Climate Prediction Center does not foresee drought reemerging in Iowa in the coming months. Iowa lies in the center of a multistate area that has no drought and little abnormal dryness.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported this week that more than 90% of Iowa’s farm fields have adequate or surplus moisture for growing crops. Last year, only 57% of topsoil was rated the same way.

Skyscan Forecast for Atlantic & the Nishna Valley: Friday, July 19, 2024

Weather

July 19th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 80. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy w/a 40% chance of showers & thunderstorms. Low around 62.
Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy w/a60% chance of showers & possibly a thunderstorm. High near 73. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tom. Night: Mo. Cldy w/a 30% chance of showers & thunderstorms. Low around 60.
Sunday: Partly sunny w/a 30% chance of showers & thunderstorms. High near 76.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59.
Monday: Partly sunny w/a 30% chance of afternoon showers & thunderstorms. High near 78.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 60.
Tuesday: A chance of afternoon showers & thunderstorms, otherwise mostly sunny. High around 81.

Thursday’s High in Atlantic was 82. Our Low was 53. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 83 and the Low was 62. The All-Time Record High in Atlantic on July 19th, was 110 in 1934. The Record Low was 47 in 1891 & 1947. Sunrise: 6:02; Sunset: 8:49.

National party rules keep Iowa GOP Caucuses first in 2028

News

July 19th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Republican Party leaders say there have been clear signals this week that their Iowa Caucuses will be first-in-the-nation again in 2028. Iowa G-O-P chairman Jeff Kaufmann was chosen to deliver the nominating speech for former President Trump and Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird was chosen to preside over the V-P’s nomination at the party’s national convention. Bobby Kaufmann, the son of the state party’s chairman, is a senior advisor to Trump’s reelection campaign.

“President Trump has repeatedly told many people that he values Iowa’s first-in-the-nation status,” Kaufmann says. “…He is what kept us first-in-the-nation when other states were coming after us, he stepped in and said, ‘No, we’re going to have Iowa (first).’ And I think him putting us in prominent roles in the first day of the convention just solidifies what he’s already said I’m confident we will have his backing for 2028.”

Steve Scheffler — Iowa’s Republican National Committeeman — says national party rules approved last week keep the Iowa Caucuses first, followed by New Hampshire’s Primary. “When you’re from Iowa, you’ve always got to keep two eyes in the back of your head to make sure that nobody’s trying to take us out,” he says. Nearly 30 percent of the Republican National Committee members are new this year, so Schefler says he and other Iowa G-O-P leaders will be meeting with them to tout the Caucuses.

“Making them understand we play a unique role and there is no reason on God’s green Earth that you should upset the apple cart and start from some other direction,” Scheffler says. Governor Kim Reynolds says having the Iowa Republican Party’s chairman AND Attorney General Brenna Bird in prominent speaking roles this week is a good indicator Iowa’s Caucuses will remain first.

“Just super proud of them and the role they’ve been able to play in the convention and really bringing Iowa just front and center,” Reynolds says. The Democratic National Committee kicked the Iowa Democratic Party’s Caucuses out of the lead-off position in 2024. Some Iowa Democratic Party leaders have said they intend to try to get their Caucuses back in the first voting slot for the 2028 presidential campaign.

Rock Valley to start school in temporary spaces

News

July 19th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa law allows schools to start on August 23rd this year — but the fall semester will begin September 5th in the Rock Valley school district as the community recovers from severe flash flooding that hit in June. In a message posted online, Rock Valley Superintendent Mike Van Voorst says district officials hope returning to classes can bring some normalcy back to students’ lives. School rooms aren’t ready, though, so students in kindergarten, first and second grades will start classes at a Rock Valley church.

Third, fourth and fifth graders will start school in cleaned, sanitized but unfinished classrooms. The State of Iowa is constructing six temporary classrooms that will be used by students in sixth through 12th grades and those older students will rotate back and forth to unfinished spaces in the school building where reconstruction is underway.

The superintendent says while the situation is far from ideal, the plan provides staff with the necessary space to educate students in person.