(Radio Iowa) – Regional air carrier SkyWest Airlines has announced they are planning to pull their commercial service out of three Iowa airports. SkyWest has provided the U.S. Department of Transportation with a 90-day notice of intent to discontinue service to 29 communities served by the Essential Air Service program, including the airports in Mason City, Fort Dodge, and Sioux City.

SkyWest in their notice cites the ongoing pilot staffing shortages as the reason for ending service. SkyWest last month announced they planned to reduce the number of weekly flights from Mason City to Chicago and from Fort Dodge to Chicago from 12 to 10 because of staffing issues.

SkyWest plane in Mason City. (KRIB file photo)

SkyWest had recently suspended one of its three daily flights from Sioux Gateway Airport to Denver, and Sioux City officials last month announced they were extending their service agreement with the air carrier.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — March 10, 2022 – To begin the next phase of interstate reconstruction in Council Bluffs, southbound Interstate 29 at 9th Avenue is expected to be closed to traffic on Tuesday, March 15, weather permitting. Several closures and detours will be in place to prepare for this traffic shift.

Expected Nighttime Closures – Sunday, March 13:

The 9th Avenue ramp to southbound I-29 will be closed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. to allow workers to restripe pavement.

Expected nighttime closures – Monday, March 14:

Southbound I-29 will close between 16th Street and 9th Avenue from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. to allow workers to set up the new traffic configuration. The 25th Street, Avenue G, eastbound I-480, and 9th Avenue ramps will also be closed.

Beginning Tuesday morning, March 15, southbound I-29 will be closed at 9th Avenue. This closure will be in place for approximately 8 months (late 2022), when all southbound traffic will be shifted to the Southbound Frontage Road. Traffic not destined for Council Bluffs should use detour routes. Local traffic will be detoured at 9th Avenue through the intersection.

Iowa DOT encourages motorists to follow signs and use caution while becoming accustomed to new traffic patterns. Interstate traffic will be slowed to 35 mph near the I-480 interchange. Traffic on the Southbound Frontage Road will need to yield to interstate traffic on the southbound I-29 to 9th Avenue ramp.

Iowa DOT is in the process of reconstructing I-80, I-29, and I-480 in the Council Bluffs metropolitan area as part of the Council Bluffs Interstate Improvement Program. This comprehensive interstate redesign will modernize the highway system and improve mobility and safety of approximately 18 miles of interstate.

The Cass County Auditor’s Office reports two candidates for County Office filed their respective nomination papers, today (Thursday). The candidates include:

• Mark O’Brien-Republican-Cass County Board of Supervisors, District #2 (incumbent)
• Non-Partisan (General Election only):
  • Travis Erickson-Edna Township Clerk.

Earlier this week, Cass County Supervisor John Hartkopf announced his intention to run for re-election on the Board of Supervisors for District 3, and Republican Cass County Recorder Mary Ward filed her papers to run.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest on Wednesday of 45-year-old Jason Richard Berendes of Red Oak. He was arrested at approximately 1:17 p.m. during a traffic stop. Berendes was arrested on a warrant our of Union County for Failure to Appear to Serve Sentence. Berendes was taken and booked in to the Adams County Jail.

(Radio Iowa) – A state panel is predicting tax payments being made to the State of Iowa will grow slightly more than they’d predicted three months ago. The Revenue Estimating Conference cites the continuing increase in sales tax payments to the state, an indication of consumer confidence.

“The State of Iowa continues to be on very solid financial footing.” said Kraig Paulsen, the governor’s top budget advisor who is also director for the Iowa Department of Revenue,” and I see no reason to expect that to change for the foreseeable future.”

Paulsen and the other two members of the Revenue Estimating Conference now predict total tax collections for the current state fiscal year will be 4.2% higher than the previous year. David Underwood, a CPA from Clear Lake, said there’s been two years of wage growth, but that seems to be leveling off in Iowa — and the war in Ukraine has injected uncertainty in the economy. “I would suggest we not be too optimistic, given the current circumstances,” Underwood said.

Holly Lyons, director of the fiscal services division in the Legislative Services Agency, expressed a similar opinion. “As long as employment numbers continue to improve, tax revenue growth should remain positive,” Lyons said. “The headwinds facing the economy I mentioned at the December meeting still exist, it just seems a little more turbulent now.”

State tax collections over the past eight months are running 7,8% ahead of the same period in the previous fiscal year. The panel expects that pace to decline over the next few months, but remain in positive territory. Republican lawmakers and Governor Reynolds say the group’s analysis shows there’s room for the tax cuts they approved last week.