UPDATE 1/8/24: Due to the impending winter storm, the City of Atlantic’s Board of Adjustment meeting scheduled for this evening (1/8/24) has been postponed. KJAN will let you know when a reschedule date is established.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City of Atlantic’s Board of Adjustment will meet 5:30-p.m. Monday, January 8th, in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall, in Atlantic. The Board will take nominations for their Vice-Chair, and act on an Order to approved the proposed nominee.

In other business, the Board will conduct a Public Hearing to Consider a Conditional Use Permit Application by Massena Telephone Company. Zoning Commissioner John Lund says the company – which is expanding its fiber-optic network to serve residents and businesses in Atlantic – wants to install and operate a communications shelter (structure) to house its fiber-optic line terminals and associated electronics.

The company has an agreement to purchase the property currently identified as 703 East 14th Street (The old YMCA), from Compass Properties. The agreement is contingent upon Massena Telephone’s ability to get a conditional use permit and building permits for the proposed structure.  The proposed site is in a R-2 Low Density Single Family Residential District, and according to the Zoning Ordinances of the City of Atlantic, falls within the purview of a Conditional Use Permit Transferring to a New Lot  that “Shall be Identified as 1400 South Olive Street,” in Atlantic.

Discussion and a vote on the Conditional Use Permit Application by Massena Telephone Company will follow the public hearing. The Board of Adjustment will follow action on the permit by discussion on future meeting dates and times. The City of Atlantic’s Planning and Zoning will meet at 5:30-p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 9th, to review and vote on the site plan for the project, IF the Board of Adjustment approves the Conditional Use Permit during their meeting, Monday, and pending regulatory approval.

City Administrator John Lund will also provide the Committee an update on the City’s Comprehensive Plan and changes needed to the Zoning Ordinance.

View the BOA’s meeting packet here: Board of Adjustment E-packet 01-08-2024-min

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Mills County Sheriff Josh England reports three recent arrests. Two men were arrested on separate charges, Wednesday: 35-year-old Aaron Wade Opdyke, of Malvern, was arrested at around 12:40-a.m., for Driving Under Suspension. Bond was set at $300; And, 34-year-old Dustin Allen Hanshaw, of Clarinda, was arrested at around 10-p.m., for Theft in the 2nd Degree. His bond was set at $5,000.

On Thursday, Mills County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 49-year-old Dustin Clark Anglen, of Malvern, for OWI/2nd offense. Bond was set at $2,000.

(Radio Iowa) – News about the fatal shooting at the Perry High School Thursday, spread quickly. Students in or just arriving at, the school, messaged their parents when they learned what happened. Kevin Shelley tells K-G-R-A radio he was at his job, working on a garbage truck, when he got a text from his son Zander, a sophomore at Perry High, saying he’d heard shots and was hiding — and hurt.

Shelley said his son was only grazed by a bullet and he was headed to the hospital. School staff were preparing for the first day back from the Winter break, when their routine was shattered by a fire alarm. Lori Meinecke is a teacher at Perry High. She tells K-G-R-A radio she was in the school early on Thursday.

Meinecke says she followed proper procedures, getting herself and others out and away from danger as quickly as possible.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — A presentation was held for a long-range rail transportation plan for the Siouxland Interstate Metropolitan Planning Council (SIMPCO). The Siouxland Regional Transportation Planning Association revealed plans for its 2050 long-range transportation plan. SIMPCO said the plan is a tool for developing safe and efficient transportation improvements in the region for the next 25 years.

Part of the plan includes the possibility of adding a passenger rail that would connect Sioux City to other hubs. The Siouxland Regional Transportation Planning Association said they are planning to get approval for the plan by November of this year.

The federal government has sponsored a study to see parts of the country would benefit from an Amtrak rail. That study will be submitted to Congress later this year.

GAZA, Iowa (KCAU) — There’s officially a candidate going up against incumbent 4^th District Representative Randy Feenstra in the Republican Party, for his seat in Congress. Kevin Virgil held a campaign launch meet-and-greet Thursday at the Producers Coop in Gaza, Iowa.

Virgil told KCAU-TV he thinks a true conservative should run and serve the district, when taking into account much of the community’s political preferences. He said based on Feenstra’s voting record over the last two terms, it’s apparent Feenstra isn’t what the area needs. He said they want an alternative, and he’s a better choice to represent the constituents.

Ryan Melton is the only Democrat vying for the state’s 4th congressional district in the U.S. house of representatives.

(Blair, NE) – The case of a 43-year-old Sioux City, Iowa man accused of killing a Nebraska priest will go to trial next month. Kierre Williams, who is charged with first-degree murder, was bound over to district court during an appearance in Washington County, NE, court Wednesday.

Williams is also accused of using a deadly weapon to commit a felony, burglary, and possession of a weapon by a prohibited person in the killing of Rev. Stephen Gutgsell. Gutgsell was killed during a break-in at the rectory of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in December. Deputies received a 911 call from Gutgsell, who, according to court documents, said there was a man armed with a knife in his kitchen. Within minutes, deputies arrived and found Williams inside the church rectory, along with the priest. Court documents say the responding deputy found Gutgsell near the kitchen in the rectory. He appeared to had a severe laceration and was bleeding profusely. Father Gutgsell was taken to Nebraska Medicine in Omaha, where he died.

Williams is scheduled to appear in court next on Feb. 6. He remains held in the Washington, County, NE, jail.