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8 candidates file for City offices in Cass County

News

September 14th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

With the deadline to file nomination papers for City offices approaching, eight people submitted their nomination forms to run for various offices in Cass County, Tuesday. Deputy Auditor Sheri Karns reports the following persons filed on Tuesday:

Atlantic City Council – 2nd Ward: Harlan L. Sisco, of Atlantic

Atlantic City Council – 5th Ward: Dana Halder, of Atlantic.

Griswold City Council – Doug Moore, of Griswold.

Griswold City Mayor – Brad Rhine (Incumbent)

Lewis City Council Member (vote for 2):

Ryan Archibald, of Lewis

Mary L. Neece, of Lewis.

Lewis City Council Member (Vote for 1):

Teresa E. Comer, of Lewis

Wiota City Council (Vote for 3):

Charles Bechtold, of Wiota.

A final reminder: the deadline to submit papers with the proper number of signatures. is Thursday, Sept 16th 5:00 p.m. Candidates for City Offices must file their papers with the Auditor’s Office. Once the filing deadline passes, we will populate the entire list of candidates for you on the kjan.com news page. Those candidates’ names will appear on the ballot in your respective city.

Glenwood Police report, 9/15/21: 2 arrested for Child Endangerment

News

September 14th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

The Glenwood Police Department reports two arrests occurred Tuesday (9/14). 36-year-old Nicholas Goodsell, and 33-year-old Chandra Goodsell, both of Glenwood, were each arrested on a Mills County Warrant for Child Endangerment, with their cash/surety bonds set at $2,000 a piece.

1 injured during motorcycle accident in Mills County; 2 arrested on separate charges

News

September 14th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

A man from Council Bluffs was seriously injured during a motorcycle accident last week, in Mills County. The Mills Sheriff’s Office, Tuesday, said 39-year-old Patrick Lewis was traveling south on 360th Street near Lambert Avenue at around 3:10-a.m., when a deer entered the road. When Lewis’ 2000 motorcycle struck the animal, he was ejected for several feet before coming to rest.

The cycle burst into flames. Lewis was treated at the scene by medical staff before being flown by LifeNet to a trauma center.

In other news, the Mills County Sheriff’s Office said 70-year-old Rodney Leroy Majors, of Council Bluffs, was arrested Saturday afternoon, for Operating a vehicle without registration/plate, failure to provide proof of insurance, and Driving under suspension. His bond was set at $900. And, late Tuesday (Sept. 14) morning, 38-year-old Nathan Palmer Hurley, of Omaha, was arrested at the Mills County Sheriff’s Office, on a warrant for assault with intent to inflict serious injury. His bond was set at $2,000.

DNR to eliminate the fish populations at three western Iowa lakes

Ag/Outdoor, News

September 14th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

Fremont and Mills counties (Iowa DNR News) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will treat Folsom, Scott B, and Lake Virginia late this summer or early fall (pending workable weather conditions) with rotenone, a botanical pesticide, to eliminate the fish populations.

Two of the lakes, Folsom and Scott B, are borrow lakes created during the construction of Interstate 29. Flooding by the Missouri River in 2019 introduced rough fish into these lakes, displacing almost all sport fish. The most recent fishery survey included common carp, silver carp, shortnose gar and black bullhead.  These injurious fish species reduce water clarity, destroy aquatic plants, and prevent the fishery from reaching its full potential.

Lake Virginia, located in Waubonsie State Park, suffered severe winter kill during the past winter. Winter kill occurs during prolonged periods of ice and snow cover that eventually depletes the oxygen from the water. Bryan Hayes, DNR fisheries management biologist, says “Surviving fish including black bullheads and common carp have gained the upper hand at Lake Virginia. The most effective method to reclaim these lakes for fishing is to eliminate the existing fish populations with a fish toxicant, rotenone; clearing the way for restocking sport fish.”

Rotenone is used world-wide and has been since the 1930s.  It is a common tool that fisheries managers use for managing sport fish and improving water quality. Rotenone is a naturally occurring compound that comes from the roots of a tropical plant in the bean family. The DNR commonly uses the commercially available formulation, 5 percent Prenfish, which has been approved for fisheries management by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The EPA has concluded that the use of rotenone for fish control does not present a risk of unreasonable adverse effects to humans or the environment. The EPA certifies all pesticides based on use according to label directions, which the DNR is equipped to fulfill these obligations.  Eliminating injurious fish species is an imperative step to achieve water quality and fishery improvements.  The three lakes will be stocked with largemouth bass, bluegill and channel catfish in the spring of 2022. Catchable-size fish are expected in the lakes as soon as 2023.

Council Bluffs School District to mandate masks effective Sept. 15

News

September 14th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

Less than 24 hours after a federal judge temporarily halted the Iowa law banning mask mandates in schools, the Council Bluffs Community School District is issuing new mask guidance. KETV in Omaha reports Superintendent Vicky Murillo wrote an email to parents today (Tuesday), stating “Beginning tomorrow, Wednesday, September 15, we will expect all students, staff and visitors to wear masks at school during school hours when physical distancing is not possible. Students will not have to wear a mask when seated to eat breakfast, lunch or while participating in recess or outdoor classroom activities.”

Murillo acknowledged that this new mask policy could change pending legal action. “We do recognize that members of our school community have varying opinions on the wearing of masks. As a school district, we have the responsibility to make decisions based on state and federal law and are doing so with the implementation of this change in expectations based on yesterday’s order,” Murillo said.

Council Bluffs said it will continue to track and monitor case totals and trends in each school, notify parents of cases, and work with the Pottawattamie County Health Department to adjust practices as needed.

Air travel levels back within 90 percent prepandemic, highway traffic at 99 percent

News

September 14th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Travel levels for planes and automobiles have all bounced back this summer as things opened back up from pandemic shutdowns. The D-O-T’s Stuart Anderson gave an update to the Transportation Commission today (Tuesday) — including air traffic.

That holds true as well for the number of passengers flying.

Anderson says the car and truck counts on state and local roadways continues to hold steady.

Traffic on roadways had dropped by 44 percent back in May of 2020 during the height of shutdowns. Anderson says the travel on city roadways is the one are that has been behind due to companies allowing employees to continue to work from home.

SPEED Enforcement/fatal accident reduction Project set for Thursday

News

September 14th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Council Bluffs/ISP District 3) – The Iowa State Patrol, in Partnership with the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau, the Iowa Department of Transportation and local law enforcement agencies will be watching for speeders this Thursday, Sept. 16th. ISP District 3 Trooper/Public Information Officer Ryan Devault says the effort is an attempt to reduce fatalities, more than anything.

Of particular concern, is reducing the number of triple-digit speeders. Trooper Devault said he thinks speeds have come down from where they were when COVID was at its peak, but there are still egregious violations where drivers are in excess of 100 miles per hour.

The push to reduce speeding is intended to try and keep the number of speed-related fatalities below 300 for the year. Devault recommends drivers use their cruise control to break the lead-foot habit.

He acknowledges vehicles are much safer these days. They can brake for you when you are too close to another car on the highway, they can tell you when it’s safe to change lanes, and there may come a day when most vehicles are totally autonomous, (or, without human input).

The main thing to take away from this Speed enforcement effort on Thursday, is how speed affects the chances you will die in a crash.

He reminds you also: Don’t drive distracted. Don’t drive impaired. And buckle your seat belt.

Governor Reynolds sets special session for redistricting

News

September 14th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Updated/Radio Iowa) – Governor Reynolds has signed a proclamation to convene a special legislative session on October 5th to consider newly drawn maps for Iowa congressional and legislative districts. The Legislative Services Agency will release the maps with redrawn district boundaries this Thursday. The Temporary Redistricting Commission has scheduled three public hearings next week, to give Iowans a chance to comment on the new maps, then the commission has to submit a report to lawmakers before the legislature convenes in three weeks. Under Iowa law, members of the House and Senate must vote yes or no on this set of maps. No amendments are allowed to make changes.

If the legislature rejects the first set of maps, the Legislative Services Agency must draw up a new set. If the second set is rejected, there’s a third round, when lawmakers are able to propose their own changes to district lines. The reapportionment process — which happens every 10 years — is usually completed in the spring, but the Census Bureau didn’t give states the population data for redrawing district lines until August.

Cass Co. BOS News: Olive & Boston Street bridges expected to open next week!

News

September 14th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday (Today), held a public hearing with regard to adopting an amendment to the FY2022 Cass County Budget. Following the hearing,during which there were no comments, the Board passed the amendment, and the changes take effect immediately. Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman explains the purpose of the amendment….

The change is necessary to appropriate the a portion of the American Recovery Act funds. The Board heard from a representative with Cott Systems, with regard to online file security. They also discussed the job description for an IT (Information Technology) position, and agreed to have Scott Bennett with Nishna Net, draft the job description for publication in the local newspaper, and online portals such as Indeed.com.

Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken provided an update on Secondary Roads Department activity and maintenance. He said they hope to open the bridges on both Boston Road and Olive Street, sometime early next week, as work is close to being finished.

Both bridges were closed in late Spring. The Olive Street project involves replacing the existing 56 ft. long x 24 ft. wide bridge with a 110 ft. long x 30 ft. wide bridge. Wolken said they will have another pour this week on the box culvert on Indian Creek Road. And, as far as Victoria Road at the Adair/Cass line, grading contractors have come in to start work and they have a couple more pours left on the box culvert down there. Wolken also put together a presentation for the Supervisors regarding the condition of secondary road facilities and what their needs are.

Online retail giant looks to fill 1,000+ jobs in Iowa

News

September 14th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Amazon is announcing plans to hire more than one-thousand workers across its Iowa locations, part of a national hiring blitz to fill 125-thousand new positions. Dave Bozeman, Amazon’s vice president of operations, says immediate openings are being posted today in communities including Des Moines and Iowa City. While Iowa employers in an array of industries express difficulty finding qualified workers to fill open positions, Bozeman predicts the online retailer’s salary and benefits will be a strong lure. “Average pay is going to be $18 an hour, up to $22.50 in certain areas,” Bozeman says. “They’re going to come with fantastic benefits on day one, health benefits, vision, dental, 401-K.”

In December, Amazon opened its fulfillment center near Des Moines in Bondurant, which employs several hundred. The facility boasts being able to process up to 950-thousand packages a day. The company also has delivery stations in Iowa City, Des Moines and Grimes, with a warehouse in Ankeny and another warehouse under construction in Council Bluffs. Bozeman says there are a host of full- and part-time openings. “It’s going to be across the entire network, so it’s going to be within our fulfillment center warehouses, it’s going to be in our sortation centers in which they’re sorting the product,” Bozeman says. “It’s also going to be within our delivery stations as well.”

The company is already offering same-day delivery on some products in parts of Iowa. “We’re going to continue to grow our same-day delivery as well as our normal network and these jobs will only staff and fuel that,” Bozeman says. “We feel good about our same-day delivery. It’s an awesome thing for customers and that’s what we do.” In July, Amazon announced it’s building a 640,000 square foot fulfillment center in Davenport that will employ one-thousand people full-time when it opens. The company is offering sign-on bonuses of up to $3,000 in some locations, but it’s unclear if any are in Iowa.
www.amzn.to/iowajobs