(Radio Iowa) – Socioeconomic studies conducted for the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission show some types of crimes do increase in casino communities — but overall they aren’t less safe. Spectrum Gaming Group managing director, Michael Pollock, says you have to look very closely at the crime studies. “Crime is a universal concern, a universal question in every gaming market. And the reality is –we’ve been studying this for 40 years — casinos do not create street crime, do not do anything along those lines,” Pollock says.

Pollock says certain types of non-violent crimes– such as robberies and thefts — are higher in casino towns. He says that’s because there are more people and money there and opportunities for criminals. “There’s going to always be some relationship, but it’s really a function of the number of people and the amount of money and the number of visitors. It doesn’t make a community unsafe,” he says. Pollock says other positive factors offset the impact. “When you add employment, and you add capital investment, quite the opposite is true. The community becomes safer. When you say the crime rate increases, people think that makes that community less safe — and it’s not the case,” according to Pollock.

Pollock says their study shows similar things with other socioeconomic impacts such as divorce. “You may in certain instances and this is nothing particular about Iowa, it could be in any state. You may see a correlation and that does not equate to causation. In our 40 plus years in this industry, there is nothing in the nature of this industry that would cause divorce rates to go up, or child abuse or any of the other issues,” Pollock says. He says you also have to look at the history of an area prior to the casino being there. “The communities that seek to have a casino as an economic stimulus and very much want that economic stimulus, often have a lot of problems to begin with that they don’t have the resources to address. So, those problems may have been there to begin with — that is essential to understanding what these numbers mean,” he says.

Pollock says there is an increase in problem gambling with casinos, but he says there are a lot of factors involved in that issue as well. He says the problem gambling rate remains very low in Iowa and the state ranks fourth for the amount of money put into its gambling treatment program. You can see the full report on the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission website.

(Ames, Iowa) – There will be a new way for people to get around Ames this summer, and city leaders want the community’s help. Officials say two new electric buses will soon join CyRide’s bus fleet. The buses will run on battery and are funded by both a federal grant and a state fund. The buses should be delivered by the end of June. The clean vehicles were funded by the Federal Transit Administration Low- or No-Emission Grant program for $1.6 million and the Iowa Department of Transportation Volkswagen Settlement Environmental Mitigation Trust for $390,000.

The new buses will lower carbon emissions, control noise pollution, and reduce the operating costs of CyRide’s large bus fleet. Instead of an engine burning diesel fuel, these vehicles run from 564-kWh batteries, which could power a house for an entire month. These buses will look familiar as they are from the same manufacturer as CyRide’s articulated buses.

CyRide wants to draw attention to these unique buses while retaining many of the design elements and colors of the rest of the fleet. To help choose a new design, CyRide is asking Ames residents and Iowa State University students, faculty, and staff to help make the final decision on how these buses will look. To view all four sides of all three proposed designs, visit the CyRide site .

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (Via KCCI) — Police say a good Samaritan suffered serious injuries in a crash in West Des Moines.  The crash happened just before noon. Officers say a man was helping a semi-truck driver who broke down on Highway 5 at Veterans Parkway. One car slowed down, but another did not, slamming into the car, which then hit the pedestrian.  His condition has not been released.

(Radio Iowa) -A regional cattle processing plant that’s planned for the Council Bluffs area is expected to benefit from the Biden administration’s just-announced Meat and Poultry Supply Chain Action Plan. Chad Tentinger, founder of Cattlemen’s Heritage, says the massive facility will get a financial boost from the billion dollars earmarked for expanding the footprint of independent processors. Tentinger says they’ll break ground late this spring or early summer. “We are in fundraising right now through various means, talking to a lot of investors at this point,” Tentinger says. “We are 75% done with all blueprints and planning. We have the site under control. We have done grid sampling and boring samples to make sure it’s stable. We’re moving along quite nicely.”

The project is on schedule, he says, to be completed by late 2023 or early 2024. Tentinger says their approach is different because they want to put a face on their product for consumers and give small family farmers a place to sell their high-quality cattle and be rewarded for it. “Our plant will be 400,000 head a year, roughly 1,500 head a day. We will have 750 employees. We will have a $1.1 billion annual impact on the state of Iowa. We are incorporating all of the latest technology into this plant. We will have agent source verification from the ranch to the plate.”

He says they’re still trying to determine if they will sell direct to consumers or online.  “We have a lot of demand for this high quality beef that we’ll be putting through this plant and with that demand, we’re exploring all options,” Tentinger says. “It will be domestic and international. We anticipate a lot of restaurant groups. Cattlemen’s Heritage will be an umbrella that will set the gold standard of quality for meat.”

Tentinger says the goal is build the facility and not be bought up by one of the nation’s four major meatpackers.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A woman from Cass County was arrested Sunday afternoon, in Red Oak. Authorities says 65-year-old Marcia Elaine Lehman, of Griswold, was arrested at around 4-p.m. in the 1800 block of N. 4th Street, for Violating a No Contact Order. Lehman was being held in the Montgomery County Jail, on a $300 bond.

Marcia Elaine Lehman (Sheriff’s booking photo – 2021 file)

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says carbon pipelines are private sector projects and she does NOT support direct state investment in any of the pipelines that are proposed. During her Condition of the State address last week, Reynolds called for investment in what she described as carbon capture solutions.

“To sustain and build on our leadership in renewable energy,” Reynolds said. During an interview with Radio Iowa, Reynolds indicated she’s talking about state money for Iowa State University research focused on how Iowa farmers could secure carbon credits for planting crops.

“There’s a lot of interest in capturing carbon and we want to truly understand that,” Reynolds says. “It’s a value add for our farmers. It’s really important, I think, for the industry to not only sustain it, but to build on our leadership and I just think like we have with other renewables — wind, biofuels — we should be leading again and this is an opportunity for us to do that.” For example, I-S-U researchers already are studying something called “biochar” which is added to soils to help store carbon underground.

There are now three proposed pipeline projects to carry liquid carbon through the state, with terminals to pick up stored carbon emissions from Iowa fertilizer and ethanol plants. Reynolds told Radio Iowa it’ll be up to the private sector to make their case with landowners and state regulators. “We always have to be conscientious about taking someone’s land and the impact it has on that. This is underground, so it’s disrupted for a little while, but they can still utilize it, as far as the pipelines, but also, I mean it is extremely important to an industry,” Reynolds says. “I think it is like over 55% of our corn goes to ethanol, so we have figure out a way to balance the two.”

Critics of the pipelines say the projects to capture carbon emissions from ethanol plants are a waste of money as the country moves toward electric vehicles. Environmentalists says liquid carbon is a hazardous material and poses a danger as it’s shipped through pipelines and stored underground.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic City Council is set to meet 5:30-p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 19th, at City Hall. One of their agenda items is to hold the Second Reading of an Ordinance “Amending the City Code…by dividing the City into five Wards and five Precincts, and outlining and describing each Ward and Precinct,” and repealing Ordinance 934.

City Administrator John Lund says an error occurred two weeks ago with the rules for waiving the second and third readings of the Ordinance to adopt the redistricting maps for the City. That means the Ordinance was not passed by the presumed deadline. In his agenda preview notes, Lund said “[City Clerk Barb Barrick] contacted the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office with the issue. As suspected, they wanted to get their hands on our maps, which were submitted, on time.” Lund said “[The SOS Office] was very accommodating of our error and merely want the ordinance sent to them when it is passed.” He says “Since the second and third readings were not legitimate, the second reading can occur now (at the Jan. 19 meeting).”

The Council is then expected to waive/suspend the rules for the third reading that requires three separate meetings before the ordinance is approved. It must do so by a three-fourths vote of the full Council (6 out of 7 members). If that occurs, they can move on to the third and final reading, which requires a simple majority vote, in order to pass. If approved, the Ordinance may then be sent on to the Secretary of State’s Office.

In other business, the Atlantic City Council will act on an Order to approve an agreement with the City of Massena, for Wastewater Operator Services. The City of Massena was informed by the Iowa DNR that the City must delegate the Operator-In-Charge authority necessary to operate and maintain their wastewater facilities, and an operator with a Grade II license. Massena’s employee only has a Grade I license, but is working on their Grade II license. Massena has already established relationships with surrounding communities for the services they need help with, including the City of Marne and the City Clerk’s Office. Atlantic’s Wastewater Superintendent Tim Snyder (who has a Grade IV license) is willing to assist Massena at a contracted rate.

The Atlantic City Council will also act on a Resolution adopting the Cass County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP), and Resolution repealing a Resolution and “Establishing the use of the ARPA Special Fund,” as determined last week by the U-S Treasury Department that allows for greater flexibility in how the COVID relief funds are used. It also means the Bull Creek restoration project is still on the table.

(Area) Various monthly meetings are set to take place around the area, Monday. First-up, at 5:15-p.m., the City of Atlantic’s Parks and Rec Board will gather in the City Council’s Chambers. Action items include those pertaining to: The Quality of Life Committee; Sand Volleyball Courts; Little League Expansion, and a FEMA Safe Room. And, Director Bryant Rasmussen and the Board will discuss exploring synthetic ice options and enhancing online reservations.

The Griswold School Board meeting takes place at 5:30-p.m., Monday, in the Conference Room. At 6-p.m., the Board will move into a Public Hearing on the 2022-2023 School Calendar, followed by discussion. When they resume current business, the Board will act on setting the meeting date and time for a Special Board/Work Session. They’ll also take action on approving the 2022-23 School Calendar, and the Modified Supplemental Amount (MSA) & a plan for the Dropout Prevention and At-Risk Program. Additional discussion will cover topics such as the Baseball Field and Middle School Gym Maintenance.

At 6-p.m., Monday, members of the Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton School Board will meet in the Conference Room at the Elk Horn Building. There, they will receive and recognize a Letter of Intent to Bargain, from the Teacher’s Union. Discussion and/or action items include: Setting the date and time for a 2022-23 Calendar Hearing; A request to the SBRC for funding relating to FY 22 SWVPP increased enrollment (including a resolution to submit a request to the SBRC for funding in the amount of $32,521.50; Action on adopting a Resolution accepting completion of the MS staff restroom renovations in the Exira building; They will also act on: Approving an April 1st-3rd Music Booster trip to Kansas City; A retention stipend for staff, and approve hiring Cody Parmley as Drama/Play Sponsor.

The Audubon School Board meets 7-p.m. Monday in the High School Board Room. Action items include approving: sharing agreements with Coon Rapids-Bayard; the transfer of funds from Profession Development and Home School Assistance to the Flex Funds. Superintendent Eric Trager will report on the Federal Vaccine Mandate for businesses with 100 or more employees (Which was blocked by the Supreme Court last week), and he’ll provide updates on District building projects.

(Scranton, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Greene County, Saturday, said one of the teenagers badly burned in a Greene County cabin fire on New Year’s Day, has died. Two teens, 15-year-old Harley McDonald and 14-year-old Lucas Oakes suffered from burns when a cabin they were staying at near Scranton, caught fire. Oakes suffered burns to mainly his hands and face after he put out the fire on McDonald, who suffered critical injuries. Both teens had been flow to the burn unit in Iowa City, where McDonald later died.

Oakes was released from the burn unit on January 8th and was treated to a “Welcome Back” ceremony with friends and family at the Greene County High School parking lot on January 9th.

Investigators are still looking into the cause of the fire.

Des Moines, Iowa (Via KCCI) – A man involved in a deadly drive-by shooting in the 1990s is now behind bars once again for a different crime. Arrest records show 44-year-old David Flores is being held in the Polk County Jail on suspicion of domestic abuse, several counts of probation violation and one count of operating a vehicle without consent. Court documents indicate an assault on Dec. 31 led to Flores’ most recent arrest.

Flores was convicted in the 1996 death of Phyllis Davis. She was shot when she found herself in the middle of a rolling gun battle north of downtown. Flores’ conviction was later overturned. He later entered into a plea agreement in the case and was sentenced to time served.

In 2014, a warrant was issued for his arrest after he was accused of assaulting his girlfriend, but he went into hiding for several months before being captured in Arizona.