(Atlantic, Iowa) – The polls are now open in Atlantic for the Mayoral Election. The only polling place is the Cass County Community Center. Grace Garrett and Tim Teig are vying for the seat currently held by Dave Jones, who did not run for re-election. Garrett and Teig were the top two vote recipients during the Nov. 2^nd election. Since neither had 50.1% of the vote, a run-off election was declared.

Atlantic residents living in the 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd Wards will use the main entrance to the Cass County Community Building on the fairgrounds. Those residents living in the 4^th and 5^th Wards will use the south entrance. The Polls close at 8:00 pm.

There are two other Iowa cities with Mayoral run-off elections today: Cedar Falls and Cedar Rapids. Voters in Cedar Falls and Edgewood will decide who wins run-off elections for City Council members.

(Radio Iowa) – Non-profit agencies are having a hard time finding volunteers and the Salvation Army in Sioux City is hoping a promotion with a local business will help them. Volunteers ringing bells during the holidays will be part of the “Ringing for Bling” program. Salvation Army Captain, Karissa Zumwalt says  “A two-hour time slot gets you a chance to win one of 12 pieces of jewelry from Riddle’s Jewelry. If you do more than one time slot, you get more chances to win,” Zumwalt says. The holiday fundraiser is key to raising money for their programs throughout the year.

“We’re pretty far behind in our goal right now, so we are just trying to push as hard as we can to get volunteer groups. You know, if it’s a church group, or a school group that wants to go together — it makes it more fun — or a family that wants to go out and just spend two hours together bell ringing,” she says. Zumwalt says they are also looking to hire people who may need to earn a little extra cash during the holidays.

(Radio Iowa) – A key Democrat in the Iowa Senate says the one billion dollars in the state’s Taxpayer Relief Fund should be used to reduce taxes for working Iowans and invest in schools, hospitals and child care. Senator Joe Bolkcom of Iowa City is the top Democrat on the Iowa Senate’s tax policy committee.

“Iowa GOP tax policies have hollowed out Iowa’s small communities and rural landscapes,” Bolkcom says, “and their tax and economic policies have created rural teacher and health care worker shortages and child care deserts.” The billion dollars accumulated over the past two years as state tax collections surged past official estimates and were deposited in the Taxpayer Relief Fund.

“It was seen as kind of a gimmick by Republicans to draw attention to their desire to cut taxes and I don’t think anybody expected it would have this kind of revenue come to it the way it was designed.” Bolkcom says the latest estimate indicates more than nine billion dollars in federal pandemic relief money and loans has been sent to Iowa during the Trump and Biden Administrations and the state wouldn’t have this billion dollar surplus without that.

“If it were not for the CARES Act money and the American Rescue Plan money from the federal government, Iowa would need every single one of these dollars that people have paid in state and local taxes to solve our problems that have been created by a pandemic that remains out of control in Iowa.” As Radio Iowa reported Monday, Speaker Pat Grassley — the top Republican in the House — says the billion dollars is an overpayment that should be returned to taxpayers. Bolkcom says the across-the-board reduction in individual income taxes he expects Republicans to pursue primarily benefits the wealthiest Iowans.

“I think the tax cuts will absolutely be loved by their Des Moines donors,” Bolkcom says. Bolkcom says he and other Democrat favor increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit for low and moderate income Iowans who work and have little to no income from savings or investments.