(Harlan, Iowa) – The Shelby County Board of Supervisors met in a regular session Tuesday morning (April 16, 2024). In his meeting minutes, Auditor/Board Secretary Mark Maxwell reports Geralyn Greer, Shelby County Recorder, was on hand to present the Supervisors the Recorders quarterly report; revenues are up in a year to year comparison. Also her office has been busy with tag renewals for recreational vehicles. Her office has also been receiving phone calls about fraud fears with property ownership. Procedures are in the works to make the system a more secure environment for property records.

The Supervisors, after their review, then considered and approved a job description to be used for the hiring of a permanent EMS coordinator for Shelby County. The sale of the Annex building owned by Shelby County was then discussed. The Board voted to place a deadline of June 3rd at 4:30, for submittal of any bids, and the minimum bid of $265,000 being used as a starting bid point for bidders. Each bid shall include a 10% down payment for acceptance of their bid.

Todd Valline of the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce and Industry gave an update of events happening in the coming weeks. The preservation of the Shelby County Museum is taking place, the public is being asked to keep away from the area until completion. The Chamber is reaching out for new members as well as member renewals.

Secondary Roads Head, Chris Fredericksen, asked the Supervisors to approve a utilities permits for Marne Elkhorn telephone company. A motion to approve the application was passed unanimously. Next, a utility permit for Zayo Group was considered. Maxwell noted the permit for is simply pulling new wire through an existing conduit. That too, was approved as presented. Fredericksen then reported that the paving on County Road F24 is progressing nicely and the paving has reached the bridge, just west of Irwin. Fredericksen then gave thanks to the public for their cooperation in helping keep traffic off of the road while this project is taking place.

Finding it necessary to re-post a budget amendment for fiscal year 2024, the Board passed a Resolution setting May 21, 2024 at 9-a.m., as the date and time for a Public Hearing on the amendment as proposed. The proposed expenditures are attributed to Jail incarcerations and costs which are up sharply, property insurance increases, secondary roads construction projects, and water well grant expenditures. Mark Maxwell noted there is also over $80,000 in unexpected income for Shelby County, from numerous sources. And, the Sheriff has asked for expending some reserve Capital fund money and a $15,000 increase in spending for salaries.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A search warrant executed at around 1:50-a.m. today (Wednesday), in Red Oak, resulted in a woman’s arrest on drug and child endangerment charges. Red Oak Police conducted the search warrant on a residence in the 100 block of E. Nuckols Street, and arrested 40-year-old Jodie Michele Vanhouten, of Red Oak, on charges that include:

• Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (Simple Misdemeanor).
• Possession of a Controlled Substance – Methamphetamine (Serious Misdemeanor).
• 2 counts of Using a Juvenile to commit certain offenses – a Class C Felony.
• 2 counts of Child Endangerment – a Class D Felony.
• Unlawful Possession of Prescription Pills (Serious Misdemeanor), and
• 4 counts of Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor (Simple Misdemeanor).

Vanhouten was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $10,000 bond. Red Oak Police were assisted by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and Montgomery County Communications Center.

(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – The Iowa Senate passed a bill Tuesday requiring Iowa schools to adopt new social studies and civics education standards to include a more focused coverage of events and subjects in U.S. history.

House File 2545 passed on a 33-14 vote and was sent to the Senate. It calls for the Iowa Department of Education director to conduct a review of Iowa school curriculum, education standards and high school graduation rates and give recommendations to the governor and General Assembly by July 1, 2025. The bill still includes this goal, but was amended on the floor to include another subject: history and social studies education.

Some of language in the amendment came from House File 2330, a bill passed by the Iowa House in February but not taken up by the Senate. The original House bill would have mandated that history curriculum included subjects like the “history and meaning of the United States flag and national anthem,” “exemplary figures in western civilization, the United States, and the state of Iowa” including Benjamin Franklin, Frederick Douglass and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, as well as documents like the Declaration of Independence and Articles of Confederation.

The Senate amendment includes similar provisions, requiring that “exemplary figures and important events” from western civilization, U.S. and Iowa history are covered, as well as the model of the U.S. state and federal government “in comparison to alternative forms of government, and the crimes against humanity that have occurred under communist regimes since 1917.”

The bill directs the Iowa Board of Education to conduct a review and revision of the state’s social studies standards to include these subjects for students in grades 1 through 12 in a relevant and age-appropriate manner. These standards would be adopted by Dec. 31, 2025.

Democrats in the Senate argued that the bill was overly prescriptive of schools. The bill goes back to the House for consideration.