(Radio Iowa) – Regional air carrier SkyWest has announced they are planning to pull their commercial service out of Sioux City, Mason City, and Fort Dodge. Assistant city manager Mike Collett oversees the Sioux Gateway Airport and says this SkyWest also gave a 90-day notice they were ending service during the height of the pandemic. “The good thing for Sioux City is that we’re part of the essential air service program, so as soon as they file this notice — it triggers a process with the federal D-O-T to start the 90-day — which they’ll go out and take bids from other airlines so we don’t have an absence in service,” according to Collet.

SkyWest cites the ongoing pilot staffing shortages as the reason for ending service. Collett is confident another airline will step up to provide flights:  “We’ll reach out to our airline contacts and foster those relationships we’ve had with them through the years. We’ll have other interest, we had three last time and I think we’ve had two to three bidders each time we’ve gone through this bidding process for essential air service,” he says.

Collett is also hopeful SkyWest will extend their service past the next 90 days: He says when American filed to leave in August of 2020 and were in the market into the following April and he expects SkyWest to be in the market for a smooth transition like American did.

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.

(Radio Iowa) – A Girl Scout troop in Council Bluffs is turning cookie sales into opportunities for girls who are homeless. The Micah House Homeless Shelter sponsors a troop that’s sold more than four-thousand boxes of cookies so far, with the money raised going toward field trips for the girls and their families. Shelter associate director Ashley Flater says the troop gives the girls a chance for stability and fun.  “That’s the way that we’re going to improve their self confidence,” Flater says. “That’s how they’re going to learn and grow and make those connections that help determine what their future looks like.”

Last year, the troop sold more than 20-thousand cookies to customers in all 50 states. This year, the girls are asking each buyer to consider giving an additional box of cookies to a friend or neighbor. Kayla Terrillion oversees the shelter’s Girl Scout program. She says it’s about more than just badges. It’s about community. “Most of their friends probably have no idea what it’s like to be homeless,” Terrillion says. “And so for them, it’s the idea that I’m here, and everybody else is going through the same thing that I’m going through.”

Cookie sales can pay for things like zoo passes or going horseback riding, while Terrillion says meeting cookie sales goals empowers the girls. “Some of these kids are pushing against the odds right now,” she says, “and what better way to show that we can beat the odds then by starting with Girl Scout cookies?”

The troop will be accepting orders until the end of March.

(reporting by Kendall Crawford, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – Democrats are considering a plan that could bump the Iowa Caucuses out of the first-in-the-nation position — and the party will be hosting three forums to give Democrats across the country a chance to weigh in on how the party picks its presidential nominees. Later this summer, the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee is to recommend the sequence of voting events in 2024. Former Iowa Democratic Party chairman Scott Brennan is a member of the committee, which met this past weekend.

“I have been assured that it’s going to be a fair and open process,” Brennan says, “and I take everyone at their word that is going to be the case.” National party leaders have been encouraging states to hold primaries rather than caucuses. By 2020, Democratic Parties in just Iowa, Wyoming and Nevada held Caucuses — and officials in Nevada already are planning to hold a presidential primary in 2024.

“Caucuses have their challenges, but I think we want to work with the Rules and Bylaws Committee to come up with a proposal that makes the Caucuses even more open and accessible.” The Des Moines Register was first to report national party leaders have developed a memo that outlines some new rules for which states have early voting contests in the 2024 presidential election, but the committee took no action on the matter this weekend.

The chairman of the Iowa REPUBLICAN Party says national party leaders are poised to confirm that the Iowa Republican Party’s Caucuses are to be first in 2024 and send the message that Middle America matters to the G-O-P.

(Creston, Iowa) – Authorities in Union County report two separate, non-injury accidents. In Creston, the Police Department says a 2020 Chevy Equinox was traveling west on Irving Street and approaching Elm Street, Saturday, when the SUV struck a legally parked, unoccupied 2018 Jeep Cherokee. The accident happened at around 1:17-p.m. The damage was estimated at $7,000 altogether. The driver of the SUV was identified as 40-year-old Emily Marie Edwards, of Creston. No citations were issued.

The second accident happened in Union County at around 7:26-p.m., Sunday. Sheriff’s officials report a 2004 Ford pickup driven by 69-year-old Dennis James Leith, of Creston, was traveling on Rea Road near Lark Avenue, when his leg cast (for a broken leg) got caught on the accelerator and caused him accelerate while attempting to negotiate a left curve in the road.

Leith tried to brake, but was unable to stop the pickup. The vehicle struck a Union County Secondary Roads Dept. sign, went around the curve and into the west ditch, where it rolled over and came to rest on its top. Leith was not injured. He was the vehicle removed by a tractor and towed back to his residence. The damage amounted to $5,100 altogether.

(Stanton, Iowa) — Charges are pending the results of an investigation into a single-vehicle rollover accident Sunday, in Montgomery County that resulted in two people being transported to the hospital.

According to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, a 2003 Ford Ranger driven by 22-year-old Kylie Dickinson, of Griswold, was traveling southbound on O Avenue at around 5:30-a.m., when for reasons unknown, the pickup went out of control and rolled over. The vehicle continued into a ditch and rolled twice more before coming to rest. The crash happened north of Stanton, about one-half mile north of 170th Street.

Emergency personnel found a passenger in the pickup, 22-year-old Nathan Fournier, of Red Oak, in the ditch between the roadway and vehicle. Dickinson was trapped in the vehicle and extricated by rescue personnel. Dickinson and Fournier were flown by air ambulance to trauma centers in Omaha, for treatment of their injuries.

The Iowa State Patrol, Red Oak Fire and Rescue, and Stanton Fire assisted the Sheriff’s Office at the scene.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, will take action on making a change in command, with regard to the Police Department. The first order of business during their 5:30-p.m. meeting at City Hall, is to recognize current Police Chief Dave Erickson for his more than two-dozen years of service. Erickson is retiring at the end of the month. The Council is then expected to act on appointing Lt. Devin Hogue as his successor, effective April 1st, and the appointment of Lt. Paul Wood as Assistant Atlantic Police Chief, also effective April 1st.

Lt. Hogue has served the force in Atlantic since August, 2011. Lt. Wood has been with the department since Nov. 2004. He’s also served as member of the Atlantic Fire Dept. since 2007. Both men bring extensive experience and knowledge to their respective proposed positions.

In other business, the Council is expected to act on the appointment of Bev Moffatt to the Beautification Committee. They will then hold a Public Hearing on the Adoption of the Final, FY 2023 Budget for the City of Atlantic, followed by a Resolution adopting said Budget. The final Budget must be certified by the County Auditor and submitted to the State, by March 31st.

The Atlantic City Council will also hold a Public Hearing on Adoption of the FY 2023 10-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), followed by action on adopting a Resolution for the same. Another resolution the Council will act on, is with regard to Amending Seasonal Wages for the Atlantic Parks & Recreation Dept. for 2022. The City’s Personnel & Finance Committee has reviewed the proposed wages. The Council will act also, on a resolution “Setting salaries for appointed officers and employees of the City of Atlantic,” for the Fiscal Year July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023.

Additional items of business include a Public Hearing on a proposal to enter into a General Obligation Solid Waste Management Loan Agreement, and a Hearing on the Bull Creek Improvement Project, to be followed by action on passing a resolution approving the previously mentioned Plans, Specifications and Form of Contract for the Bull Creek Improvement Projects, and, the awarding of a contract for those improvements (The City will open sealed bids 2-p.m. Tues., March 15th).

(Elk Horn, Iowa) – The Exira-EHK School District Board of Education will meet 6-p.m. Monday, in a regular monthly session that takes place in the Conference Room at the Elk Horn Building. Some action items on their agenda include:

• Approval of the following:
  • Publish proposed 2022-2023 Budget, and set a Public Hearing for April 11, 2022, at 6-p.m.
  • Wheeler contract for Asbestos Abatement in the Elk Horn Building cafeteria
  • Certified Teacher Salaries
  • Support Staff Salaries and Administration Salaries
  • Resignations:
    • Ana Belen Munoz Martin – Spanish Teacher
    • Alexis Velky – 3rd Grade Teacher
    • Sharry Schrier – Kindergarten Teacher
  • Hires:
    • Paige Gaskill – 3rd Grade Teacher

(Anita, Iowa) – Members of the CAM School District’s Board of Education will gather in the Superintendent’s Office at the High School in Anita, Monday, for their regular monthly meeting. Their session begins at 6:30-p.m.  Some of the discussion and/or action items on their agenda include:

• Approving the placement of the Kindergarten Section for the 2022-23 School Year.
• Approval of: Contracts for the 2022-23 School Year; Contracted service for Technology; an AEA Purchasing Agreement for the coming school year, and an Iowa Local Gov’t. Risk Pool Commission, Natural Gas agreement.
• Discussion with regard to the FY23 School Calendar and Budget.

Kansas City, MO – St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in America date back to the country’s founding. However you celebrate, make sure you and your friends stay safe this St. Patrick’s Day by remembering one important piece of advice: Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving. This means that if you plan to drink, it’s essential that you plan for a sober ride home. Law enforcement across Iowa and around the country will be on the lookout for those who are driving impaired.

Remember: A sober driver is one who hasn’t had any alcohol. To help keep your community safe, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Region 7 consisting of Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska is spreading the message about the dangers of drunk driving. Even one drink can be one too many.

According to NHTSA, 10,142 people were killed in drunk-driving crashes in 2019 – 612 in our region alone. On average, more than 10,000 people were killed each year from 2015 to 2019 — one person was killed in a drunk-driving crash every 52 minutes in 2019. This is why NHTSA wants to remind drivers that drunk driving is not only illegal but also a matter of life and death. As you head out to the festivities, help us spread the word: Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving.

“Drunk drivers are a continuing problem on our nation’s roads, especially around days like St. Patrick’s Day,” said Regional Administrator Susan DeCourcy. “People need to know that they can go out for a night of fun and return home safely by ensuring they have a sober driver take them home. Don’t be the reason someone — including yourself — doesn’t get home. Don’t let St. Patrick’s Day become an anniversary of a tragic night.”

During the 2019 St. Patrick’s Day period (6 p.m. March 16 to 5:59 a.m. March 18), 46% of crash fatalities involved a drunk driver. In fact, from 2015 to 2019, a total of 280 lives were lost in drunk-driving crashes during the St. Patrick’s Day period. Drivers should also keep an eye out for pedestrians who have had too much to drink. Walking while intoxicated can also be deadly, as lack of attention to their surroundings could put pedestrians at risk of getting hit by a vehicle.

NHTSA Region 7 urges drivers to designate a sober driver before heading out for any celebrations. If you plan on drinking, plan on not driving. Is it your turn to be the designated driver? Take that role seriously — your friends are relying on you.

Remember that it is never okay to drink and drive.
If available, use your community’s sober ride program.
If you see a drunk driver on the road, contact local law enforcement.

(Lenox, Iowa) — Sheriff’s officials in Taylor County report a traffic stop, Saturday, resulted in an arrest. A vehicle driven by 33-year-old Kevin Jungers, of Lenox, was pulled over on Brooks Street in Lenox for having an expired registration. Jungers was subsequently taken into custody for driving under suspension. Authorities say drug paraphernalia was located in plain view, allowing for a probable cause search of the car. Jungers was later released on a summons to appear in court before a Magistrate.