(Manning, Iowa) – Patrons of the IKM-Manning School District are being asked to vote Tuesday, Sept. 14^th, $19.5-million General Obligation Bond, that if approved, would allow the district to address a series of facilities needs in both Irwin and Manning. School officials say three needs identified include: Safety and Security; Space and Capacity, and Long-Term investments.

The ballot referendum reads as follows: “Shall the Board of DIrectors of the IKM-Manning Community School District in the Counties of Audubon, Carroll, Crawford and Shelby, State of Iowa, be authorized to contract indebtedness and issue General Obligation Bonds in an amount not to exceed $19,950,000 ot provide funds to renovate, remodel, repair, improve, furnish and equip, including HVAC/ventilation, safety and security improvements, and to construct, build, furnish and equip an addition to the Manning school building and improve the site; and to renovate, repair, improve, furnish and equip the Irwin school building?”

According to district administrators, the tax rate impact would amount to $118 per year on a home with a $100,000 assessed value. For agricultural property, it would be an additional $2.63 per acre/year, depending on where you live. The district’s tax rate would increase from $9.51/$1,000 of taxable valuation to $11.81, which is still one of the lowest tax levies in the area.

Out of 327 public school districts in the state, only 15 have a lower tax rate than IKM-Manning—placing the district in the bottom 5 percent. Officials say interest rates remain at historic lows at this time, and by moving forward now, they can take advantage of those low rates and significantly reduce the total cost of the proposed projects.

Polling stations open 7am-8pm on Tuesday, Sept 14th

• Audubon – Irwin Community Building
• Carroll – Sacred Heart Church
• Crawford – Manilla Fire Department
• Shelby – Irwin Community Building

For more information on IKM-Manning’s facility needs and the proposed solution on the ballot, visit https://www.ikmmanningbond.org.

(Omaha, Nebraska) – Acting United States Attorney Jan Sharp has announced that 22-year-old Lauryn Besta, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced Friday in Omaha Federal Court, for conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of a minor. Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Besta to 142 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After her release from prison, Besta will begin a five-year term of supervised release.

An investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations and the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office determined that from January 2016 and continuing through January 2019, in the District of Nebraska and elsewhere, Besta (also known as “Lola”) and a co-defendant, Darien Brewer, conspired and agreed to recruit, transport, and entice four minor females, under the age of 18 years old, to engage in commercial sex.  The victims were introduced into the lifestyle of prostitution through the use of drugs and alcohol provided by Besta and Brewer.  Besta and Brewer often referred to the minors as “the Bunny Gang.”

Investigators determined that Besta and Brewer would instruct the minors how to advertise, solicit, and charge for commercial sex acts in the District of Nebraska and elsewhere.  They obtained commercial sex customers for the minors by purchasing and posting advertisements on internet sites such as www.backpage.com. Sex customers responded to the advertisements via telephone and text message and commercial sex acts were coordinated to occur at various hotels, motels, and other locations.  Besta and Brewer used vehicles and public highways to drive the minors to various hotels, motels, and other locations for commercial sex acts, including Omaha, Nebraska; Lincoln, Nebraska; Iowa; and Houston, Texas.  The minors paid a portion or all of the payments received for commercial sex acts to Besta and Brewer.

On August 27, 2021, Chief Judge Rossiter sentenced Brewer to 180 months’ imprisonment and a five-year term of supervised release.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig says to achieve the goal of expanding existing Iowa meat lockers and getting new ones established, more people need to be trained as butchers. “You can’t just walk in off the street and automatically go to work,” Naig told Radio Iowa. “There’s training that’s required.”

A few college-level programs in the state offer instruction in meat processing, but Naig said more training programs, like apprenticeships, are needed. “There is a really good meat science program at Iowa State, but that’s a four year or an advanced degree and there’s a place for that from a management perspective or if you’re looking at food safety or specialty products….There’s a few community colleges with meat science programs as well, for a two-year program,” Naig said. “And then we think that there are folks who don’t need either of those and, really, what they need to do is come into a meat locker and do an apprenticeship.”

The Artisanal Butchery Task Force. (Ag Dept photo.)

Naig is chairman of the Artisanal Butchery Task Force, a temporary group created by a state law passed this spring. The group held its first meeting this week. “What we saw in the last year, year and a half is that the small meat locker was incredibly busy and we think there’s a tremendous opportunity for that to expand,” Naig said, “…so I think what we try to look at, then, is what can we do to try to have an impact.”

The legislature set aside $750 thousand worth of state grant money to help small meat lockers expand. Naig said the demand is there, from the consumer end. He’s heard from cattle producers who have potential customers for their beef, but can’t find a meat locker to break it down and package it. “It builds on a great Iowa brand for meat, direct to consumer and I think even branded products that end up in grocery stores and in restaurants is a good thing, too,” Naig said. “To me there’s just tremendous opportunity that also, potentially, can bring more cattle into the state.”

Naig is also lobbying the USDA to make more Iowa meat lockers eligible for the $500 million in federal grants that will be available. A meat processor must be federally-inspected or enrolled in a USDA program to ship meat across state lines to qualify. Naig said about half of Iowa’s 250 meat lockers are state inspected and under current rules would be ineligible for the federal grants.

(Radio Iowa) – Woodbury County Sheriff Chad Sheehan, a Republican, announced his is opposed to the vaccine mandate issued by President Joe Biden.

Sheehan’s department has around 120 employees. The president’s mandate calls for any workplace with more than 100 employees to have all workers vaccinated or have weekly COVID testing.

Woodbury County Sheriff Chad Sheehan.

DES MOINES – Today (Friday), Gov. Kim Reynolds announced appointments to Iowa’s boards and commissions.

The following (area resident) appointments are subject to Senate confirmation [Name/County]:

Iowa Comprehensive Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Fund Board
Patricia Beck, Carroll

Iowa Great Places Advisory Board
Danna Kehm, Pottawattamie

Iowa Workforce Development Board 
Brad Elliot, Ringgold

The following appointments are not subject to Senate confirmation:

Empower Rural Iowa Initiative-Connecting
Kevin Cabbage, Montgomery
Justin Wagner, Harrison

Empower Rural Iowa Initiative-Growing
Tina Bakehouse, Mills
Ron Reischl, Carroll

Empower Rural Iowa Initiative-Investing
Chuck Morris, Page
Wayne Pantini, Union

Iowa Arts Council
Donna Dostal, Pottawattamie

Iowa Council for Early ACCESS
Johnathan Wunderlich, Pottawattamie

Iowa Drug Policy Advisory Council
Brenna Bird, Guthrie

Iowa Statewide Interoperable Communications System (ISICS) Board

Daniel Schaffer, Crawford
Jason Hoffman, Carroll

CRESTON, Iowa – Sept. 10, 2021 – The Iowa Department of Transportation’s Creston Construction Office reports a project to set beams for the new Ashworth Road bridge over Interstate 80 in West Des Moines requires closing eastbound I-80 between Jordan Creek Parkway and Grand Prairie Parkway overnight from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 22 and Thursday, Sept. 23, weather permitting.

During this closure, traffic will follow a marked detour route using Jordan Creek Parkway, University Avenue, and Grand Prairie Parkway.

The Iowa DOT reminds motorists to drive with caution, obey the posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, drivers should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.

Cass County Deputy Auditor Sheri Karns said Friday (Today), Gerald A. Brink has filed nomination papers to be placed on the Nov. 2nd ballot for re-election to the City Council At Large, in the City of Atlantic. And, Matt Shehan has filed nomination papers for Mayor of Griswold. Current Mayor Brad Rhine had not filed for re-election as of Friday afternoon.

Karns said also, “We have a number of offices that still don’t have candidates to fill the positions.  Filing deadline is Sept 16^th 5:00 p.m. School Candidates will file with their perspective School Board Secretaries and City Candidates will file with the Cass County Auditor’s Office.”

Here are the open positions for the City Elections in Cass County:

Anita:          City Council- 2 positions

Atlantic:      Ward 2- 1 position

Cumberland:   City Council- 1 position

Lewis:          City Council- 2 positions

City Council Vacancy-1 position (please be sure they put that it is a vacancy position on paperwork)

Marne:        City Council- 2 positions

Massena:    City Council- 2 positions;          Mayor

Wiota:        City Council- 3 positions;             Mayor

(Radio Iowa) – As the nation remembers the 20th anniversary of the Nine Eleven attacks, the memories are especially vivid for an Estherville woman. Cindy Hood was an air traffic controller at the New York Air Route Traffic Control Center on September 11th of 2001. Hood wasn’t on duty but she was at the control center for a training session when the class was told an airplane had hit the World Trade Center.

Several days after the towers fell, Hood took a group of Girl Scouts to Ground Zero to volunteer at a soup kitchen feeding the recovery crews. Between serving meals, they were able to observe something very solemn near the wreckage.

Hood and her husband, Mark, lived in the town of Deer Park on Long Island. A neighbor was among the firefighters who was killed when the towers collapsed.

Nearly three-thousand people died in the attacks with another six-thousand injured. It remains the deadliest terrorist attack in world history.

(Atlantic, Iowa) — Officials with Cass Health report Cass Health’s Senior Life Solutions team is hosting a free community walk in support of Suicide Awareness Month. The event takes place Wednesday, September 29, 2021 beginning at 6:30 pm, at the Rotary Shelter located at the Schildberg Recreation Area. The event is being co-hosted by Healthy Cass County and Cass County Iowa State University Extension.

Karmen Roland, RN, Program Director of Senior Life Solutions, said “We welcome participants of all ages to join us to show support for those who have been impacted by suicide. Showing up to community events like this is one small way that each of us can help normalize mental health care and show our neighbors that we’re here for them.” The event will kick-off (at 6:30 pm) with local speakers, Noelle Whitney and Christal Sullivan, who will share their story on how suicide has touched their lives. The walk portion of the evening will begin around 7 pm. Participants will walk the trail loop at the Schildberg Recreation Area. Information about mental health services and community resources as well as light refreshments will be available at the Rotary Shelter.

Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh says “People across the county identified mental health as the number one health need in the recent Community Health Needs Assessment. It’s so important to have events like this where we can come together and show our support. It’s OK to not be OK. We want to end the stigma in Cass County.” For community members who would like to contribute their own experiences and stories about how suicide has impacted their lives, an anonymous form is available at casshealth.org/suicideawarenessevent

Roland says “We want to share stories from our own community members. We’ll post their comments on the night of the event for all participants to read, but we will keep it anonymous.” For more information, go to casshealth.org or check out the Facebook event.