The Cass County Board of Supervisors will once again discuss and take possible action on filling open positions on various County boards or commission. The Supervisors are set to meet at 9-a.m. Tuesday in their Boardroom at the Cass County Courthouse, in Atlantic.

First-up on their agenda, is a regular, Secondary Roads Dept. update from County Engineer Trent Wolken. That will be followed by action on appointing one person as the Board’s representative to serve on the Cass County elected officials Compensation Board. (Compensation Board recommends annual compensation of elected county officials: the auditor, treasurer, recorder, sheriff, county attorney, and supervisors.  This is a seven-member board with two members appointed by the Board of Supervisors and one member appointed by each of the five other elected officials.) Last week, the Supervisors moved to re-appoint Kipp Harris as member on the Cass County compensation board, for a 4 year term beginning 7/1/21.

Discussion, and possible action includes:

• Filling a vacancy position of one Trustee and one Clerk for the Franklin Township
• Filling a vacancy position on a list of persons eligible to serve on the Condemnation in Eminent Domain proceedings Board. The person must be a city/town property owner.
• Possible action on appointing one person to the Cass County Conservation Board, to fill a vacancy for the term ending Dec. 31, 2022.
• and, possible action on the use of funds from the American Rescue Plan [ARP] (Pandemic relief), as related to proposals received to-date.  (Last week, the Supervisors discussed an e-mail from a Food Policy Council member, inquiring whether ARP funds could be used to enhance our local/community food system to enhance our self-sufficiency, i.e. lower dependence on external resources such as industrial meat processing. The board also discussed the possible use of ARP funds for courthouse climate control/HVAC improvements. )

The Red Oak Police Department reports the arrest of an Omaha man following a high speed pursuit of a motorcycle on Sunday night. At around 9:00 p.m. on Sunday a Red Oak Police Officer was following a motorcycle as it popped a wheelie and passed a car at the bridge construction site west of Red Oak on Highway 34. The Officer activated his lights and sirens and the motorcycle took off, reaching speeds up to 110mph. The Officer was able to catch up to the bike near Evergreen Street and the driver eventually pulled over.

The driver was identified as 24-year-old Matthew Jacob Tortorilla of Omaha, NE. He was arrested on charges of Eluding and Reckless Driving. He also received a citation for traveling 110mph in a 55mph zone and another for No Valid Driver’s License.

Tortorilla was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $2,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – The director of the Sawmill Museum in Clinton has written a book about Clinton’s 19th century “lumber kings.” The title of Matt Parbs’s book is “Hidden History of Clinton, Iowa” and he says it deals with some of the myths about the city’s position as a leader in the logging industry. “You always hear about how we had the most millionaires per capita or that we were the lumber capital of the world and none of those are quite true,” Parbs says. “To me what’s more impressive about our lumber story is that we were the headquarters of the monopoly that controlled like 90% of Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois.”

Parbs says many of the chapters in the book were generated by questions from visitors to the Sawmill Museum. Parbs used census data and other documents to chart Clinton’s history in the late 1800s. “We were probably the richest sawmill town, but we did actually have quite a large population. There are towns out there that actually do have the most millionaires per capita, depending on the years and ones like Cheyenne, Wyoming that had eight millionaires in a town of 3000,” Parbs says, laughing. “It’s kind of hard to beat that ratio.”

In its heyday from about 1870 to 1895, the Mississippi River Logging Company and other Clinton-based companies shipped logs and boards to the east and west or south down the river. Parbs released the book in March of 2020, at the start of the pandemic, so a tour to promote the book was cancelled.

(Radio Iowa) – A little less than a week is left for Iowa’s cities, counties and groups like the Boy Scouts to apply for state grants to plant trees as part of the recovery process from last year’s derecho. The state legislature is allocating 250-thousand dollars for the Derecho Community Forestry Grant Program. Gabriele Edwards, an urban forestry program specialist at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says the grants will go a long ways toward helping our towns restore some of that lost beauty. “This grant is targeting communities and public organizations,” Edwards says. “So, think local, state government, cities, municipalities. The public organizations would be more like scouting groups, county conservation, essentially any public group that would be planting trees on public property.”

The grants range from $500 to $5,000 and are to be used to buy and plant trees suitable to Iowa on publicly-owned lands. That can include all sorts of places like street right-of-ways, parks, school grounds, courthouse lawns, fairgrounds, cemeteries, libraries and trails. Trees are an underrated commodity, Edwards says, and few people seem to appreciate them until they’re gone. “You’re going to notice, the summers are going to be hotter, no shade to hide in, no shade for your building and you’ll be paying higher energy costs to cool your home,” Edwards says. “The same is true for winter when it’s cold out, you’ll have those winds hitting your house and making it cold.”

Some Iowa communities lost more than half of their canopies in the powerful storm on August 10th of last year. As new trees are planted, Edwards says there’s an emphasis on diversity in species, as she says a diverse canopy will be a resilient canopy.  “We can notice in the communities that were hit very hard, there are certain species that did well and certain species didn’t,” Edwards says. “Maples are weaker-branched trees and they’re more likely to lose limbs in big wind storms like this, versus and an oak or a hickory that has stronger branches that can withstand that.”

She says Iowa is overplanted with maples and people should consider other options, including the black locust, honey locust and hackberry trees. Grant recipients are required to provide a dollar-for-dollar cash match as part of the program. The deadline for applications is August 20th. www.iowadnr.gov/urbanforestry

A few area school district boards of education will hold their regular monthly meetings, Monday, Aug. 16th. The Griswold School Board meeting begins at 5:30-p.m. in the High School Conference Room. Among the items of New Business/action, are those with regard to: Approval of a New Hire, and, Compensation package; Approval of a Return-to-Learn plan, following public input; Discussion and possible action on Lifetime Activity Passes; a decision on staff Flu Shots; approving an evaluation system for Administrators, and, consideration of whether or not to enter into a closed session with regard to matters pertaining to school personnel (hiring, performance or discharge).

In Exira, the Exira-EHK School Board meeting begins at 6-p.m. in the Conference Room, and includes the following discussion & action items with regard to:

• The start of the School Year Return-To-Learn Plan
• Bus bids
• Approval of Personnel Hires, Transfers, Resignations, etc.
• A Closed session to review or discuss records which are authorized or required by state or federal law, to be kept confidential.
• Action on a late open enrollment request.

The Audubon School Board meeting takes place in the High School Boardroom at 7-p.m., and includes action on Vacation regulation; approval of: Student Handbooks; Election Publication; and the Return-To-Learn plan. The Board is expected to act also, on setting the date and time for a Public Hearing on the proposed issuance of SAVE Bonds. They will also act on any Personnel matters to come before them. In his report, Audubon School District Superintendent Eric Trager will provide an update on the District’s Building Project, including: a combined timeline; funding opportunities and a revised Budget. He’ll also discuss Back to School Pre-service Days, and the Transportation report.

The CAM School Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 17, beginning at 7:30-p.m. in the CAM High School Superintendent’s Office. Discussion/action items on their agenda included those pertaining to:

• Open sealed bids for disposal of excess vehicle.
• Facility Update: Discuss and Acts upon the Facility Committee”s Recommendation.
• School Board Election Process.
• Approval of Board Policies related to Legislative Updates.

The City of Atlantic’s Park and Recreation Board of Directors will meet 5:15-p.m. Monday, Aug. 16th, at the downtown City Park Shelter. Action Items and/or New Business includes:

• An update on the Schildberg Recreation Area.
• Produce in The Park.
• A National Fitness Campaign.
• Cass Health Pool Day
• Sunnyside Pool is closed for the season.
• Adult Tricycle Bike.

In the Director’s Report, Bryant Rasmussen is expected to mention:

• Adult Art in the Park (successful event held recently)
• Cass County Fair Booth (review of activities/turnout)
• Groundskeepers are done with the bulk of their work
• Atlanticfest/Kids Bike Ride results
• Produce in the Park
• and, Recreational items checked out.

A man and a woman on a motorcycle were seriously injured and transported to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinic, following an accident Saturday evening in northeastern Iowa’s Delaware County. The Iowa State Patrol reports the accident happened at around 6:40-p.m., when a 1997 Harley Davidson cycle operated by 57-year-old Thomas J. Hermsen, of Kieler, WI, failed to stop at the intersection of 250th Street and 220th Avenue. The machine was traveling north on 220th at the time.

The motorcycle went out of control, ejecting both Hermsen and his passenger, 54-year-old Marleen M. Goodin, of Dubuque. They came to rest on the north shoulder of the road.  A report on their condition was not available.

The Patrol was assisted at the scene by Delhi Fire and 1st Responders, the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, ambulance and towing services, and others.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa voting rights advocate Deidre DeJear announced Saturday (today), that she will seek the state’s governorship in 2022. In her statement, DeJear, a Democrat, said “Working families have been hit hard over the past few years. They are worth the fight. As your governor, I will spend my time working on solutions by bringing together Iowans from river to river to meet our challenges head on.”

DeJear, 35, gained attention in 2018 when she became the first Black candidate in Iowa to win a statewide primary ahead of her unsuccessful campaign for Iowa secretary of state. She was defeated by incumbent Republican Paul Pate. A Mississippi native, DeJear attended high school in Oklahoma and moved to Des Moines to attend Drake University. DeJear later got her political start working on Barack Obama’s winning campaign for the 2008 Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses.

Deidre Dejear (July 2021 file photo)

After the 2018 election, DeJear became a senior Iowa adviser to then-California Sen. Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign. DeJear joins state Rep. Ras Smith of Waterloo among Democrats hoping to challenge Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, next year. Reynolds, governor since 2017, is expected to seek re-election.

Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann released the following statement in response to Deidre DeJear announcing her campaign for governor:  “Iowa Democrats are signaling they are joined at the hip with their out-of-touch national Democrat counterparts,” said Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann. “Iowans overwhelmingly support Voter ID, and if DeJear thinks the elimination of Voter ID will win Iowans over, she will be sadly mistaken yet again. No matter who Democrats select, none will compare to Governor Reynolds. Iowans believe in her because she got children back in the classroom, cut taxes, and proved she is the leader Iowa needed.”

Ankeny, IA – Longtime public servant, Michael Bousselot, won the special nominating convention today and will be the Republican nominee for the special election for Iowa House District 37. “I am honored to be the Republican nominee to fill the seat of late Representative John Landon,” said Bousselot. “These are big shoes to fill, but I intend to embody the character and dedication that John brought to this job. I believe parents know what’s best for their children. I have always made it a priority to listen to Iowans and I intend to take that same mentality to serving Ankeny in the Iowa House.

Speaker of the Iowa House Pat Grassley congratulated Bousselot on his nomination. “Michael Bousselot has been hard at work for Iowans alongside Governor Branstad and Reynolds for years. He’s proven his commitment to cutting taxes, responsible budgeting and protecting Iowa values. The people of Ankeny deserve a representative that will listen and act on their concerns, not an extreme liberal who continues to run on the same out-of-touch agenda, hoping for a different result. Michael Bousselot is the best person for the job and I’m eager to get to work ensuring Ankeny voters know who he is and what he stands for.”

Bousselot currently serves as Director of Iowa’s Department of Management in Governor Kim Reynolds’ administration. Bousselot previously served as chief of staff, legal counsel, and as a policy advisor in the Branstad – Reynolds administration. A Davenport native, Bousselot lives in Ankeny with his wife Holly.

He graduated from the University of Iowa with undergraduate and graduate degrees in accounting and with a law degree from Drake University Law School.

Area and State News from Ric Hanson, broadcast at 8:06-a.m.

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