The Cass County Conservation Board is holding a National Trails Day T-Bone Trail Ride one week from today (Saturday). The program will meet at the I-80/T-Bone Trail Trailhead, north of Atlantic on Saturday, June 1st beginning at 1-p.m.

The event is FREE! Bike, walk, stroll…everyone is welcome! Come out and celebrate National Trails Day!  All ages/abilities welcome!

The event will be cancelled if there is inclement weather.

The National Weather Service, Friday night, cancelled a Flash Flood Watch that had been in effect until 7-a.m. Saturday, for parts of southwest Iowa. A Flood Warning is  in effect for Page County, until early Sunday afternoon.

The forecast flooding has changed from Minor to Record severity for the Nodaway River At Clarinda affecting Page County.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

Do not drive cars through areas where water covers the road. The water depth may be too great to allow your vehicle to pass safely. Turn around…don`t drown!

* At 8:00 PM Friday the flood stage was 26.7 feet…or 3.7 feet above flood stage.
* Flood stage is 23.0 feet.
* Record flooding is occurring and Record flooding is forecast.
* Forecast…the river will continue rising to near 27.1 feet by midnight Friday. The river will fall below flood stage tomorrow (Saturday) evening.

A Flood Advisory remains in effect for the Missouri River affecting Harrison, Pottawattamie, Mills, Montgomery, Fremont and Page Counties through Sunday morning.

Members of the City of Atlantic’s Personnel and Finance Committee will meet in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall beginning 5:30-p.m. Wednesday, May 29th, to review and act on making a recommendation to the full Council, on two positions.

The first is to review and recommend to the City Council, applications for the vacant 3rd Ward City Council seat. The seat became open when Ashley Hayes resigned May 15th because she had moved out of the Ward.

The second matter pertains to the City Attorney’s job. Mark Bosworth is leaving the position. Additional details were not immediately available. In other business, the Personnel and Finance Committee will review and make recommendations to the Council with regard to Street Superintendent Compensation, and Personnel Policy Changes.

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers, Friday evening, reported that “All administrative phone lines at the Clarinda Police Department & Clarinda City Hall” were once again operational. The lines had gone down Friday morning. No reason was given for the temporary disruption in service.

The Mills County Attorney’s Office, Friday night, said a Mills County Jury found 40-year old Christopher Lee Irvin, of Pacific Junction, guilty of felony Sexual Abuse in the 3rd Degree and Sexual Exploitation by a School Employee, an aggravated misdemeanor.

Irvin had been formally charged on September 10, 2018, with one count of Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree, a Class C Felony; one count of Sexual Exploitation by a School Employee, each a Class D Felony; and two counts of Sexual Exploitation by a School Employee, each an Aggravated Misdemeanor.

His trial began Tuesday, May 21st. The jury deliberated for six hours before finding him guilty on one count of Sexual Abuse in the 3rd degree and one count of sexual exploitation. Irvin was immediately taken into custody by members of the Mills County Sheriff’s Office and is being held, without bond, pending a sentencing hearing to be scheduled by order of the Court.

A Class C Felony is punishable by up to ten (10) years in prison. An Aggravated Misdemeanor is punishable by up to two (2) years in prison. Due to the nature of the offenses, Irvin will be required to register as a sex offender and be placed on special parole for the rest of his life.

Mills County Attorney, Naeda Elliott, thanked the Mills County Sheriff’s Office; the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Division of Criminal Investigation; Project Harmony and Phoenix House for their help and dedication “to bring justice to the victim of this atrocity.”

DES MOINES – Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Friday, vetoed House File 732, an act relating to Iowa’s existing medical cannabidiol program. Governor Reynolds said the following in HF 732’s transmittal letter:

“House File 732 would make a number of changes to expand Iowa’s medical cannabidiol (“CBD”) program. Our program was originally established to provide CBD as a treatment option for Iowans suffering from specific medical conditions. Since our program began, I have heard countless stories of the relief and remarkable improvements that CBD has offered Iowans. And I support our program and efforts to strengthen and improve the program, so that it continues to be a safe, rational, and compassionate medical CBD program.

“Unlike some states, Iowa’s medical CBD program is not a medical marijuana program. To this end, current Iowa law limits the level of tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”)—the psychoactive chemical in the cannabis plant—in medical CBD products to three percent. But recognizing the limited experience with medical CBD and potential questions surrounding the three percent limit, the Legislature had the foresight to establish a Medical Cannabidiol Board, primarily made up of medical experts.

The Board is tasked with governing our program and advising the Legislature on potential statutory changes to the definition of medical CBD, including the THC limit. The Legislature was wise to understand that we were entering uncharted territory and could benefit from the Board’s expertise in navigating any potential expansion of the program.

“Most of the changes included in House File 732 were the result of the Legislature and the Medical Cannabidiol Board coming together to reach agreement on appropriate and positive improvements to our medical CBD program.  I fully support these changes. But unfortunately, the bill would also remove the three percent limit on THC in medical CBD products and replace it with a limit of 25 grams of THC per 90-day period. This change was not recommended by the Board. And if approved, it would drastically expand Iowa’s medical CBD program far beyond its original scope of CBD-based treatments and could open the door to significant unintended consequences to the health and safety of Iowans.

Reynold said “I agree that there should be some change to the three percent THC limit. There appears to be consensus, including from the Board, that a gram-based limit would be more appropriate than a percentage-based limit. But I have not been unable to discern any evidence-based justification for the specific 25-gram limit proposed in this bill. And after its review of the available evidence, the Board recommended a limit of only 4.5 grams per 90-day period.

She added “It may be that a THC limit higher than 4.5 grams is appropriate. But the 25-gram limit in this bill would allow a person to consume more than 277 milligrams of THC per day—an amount higher than one would typically consume even with aggressive recreational marijuana use. This is all the more concerning because a participant in the program is not prescribed a particular dosage by a medical practitioner or monitored on an ongoing basis for any adverse health consequences. Iowa’s program only requires a practitioner to certify that the participant suffers from a qualifying condition on an annual basis.

According to the Governor, “Ultimately, I believe Iowa must proceed cautiously to ensure that any expansion of our medical CBD program is thoughtful and deliberate—particularly because Iowa’s program is in its infancy and the body of research that analyzes the efficacy of medical CBD is limited. So I look forward to working with the Legislature and the Medical Cannabidiol Board to find an evidence-based THC limit that we can work to enact along with the rest of the provisions in House File 732 that I support. The health and safety of Iowans is too important for us not to get this right.

“For these reasons, I respectfully disapprove of House File 732 in its entirety.” Iowa Department of Public Health Director Gerd Clabaugh said Friday, “I support Governor Reynolds’s veto of House File 732. The medical cannabidiol board was concerned about the amount of THC patients would have been allowed to access if this bill was signed. The Department will continue to look to the Governor, the legislature, and the expertise of the Iowa medical cannabidiol board to provide guidance for ongoing operation of the program.”

Officials with Iowa Senator Joni Ernst’s office report that next Friday, May 31st, the Republican from Red Oak will be making stops in Cass and Harrison Counties as part of her 99 County Tour for 2019. In Cass County, Senator Ernst will speak at the grand opening of Elite Octane in Atlantic (60502 Glacier Road), beginning at Noon.

Next, Senator Ernst will travel to Logan, in Harrison County for a 2:30-p.m. Town Hall meeting at the Logan Community Center (108 West 4th Street). Later, she’ll tour the Mapleton Community Catalyst Project, in Mapleton (at 322 Main Street).

The events in Atlantic and Logan are open to the public. Her office says “Senator Ernst looks forward to hearing from constituents in the area about the issues most important to them,” during the public events.

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reports the administrative phone lines at Clarinda City Hall & the Clarinda Police Department are not working due to a system outage. It is unknown when phone service will be restored.

Officials with the Iowa Dept. of Transportation said Friday (Today), that a portion of U.S. 34 west of Interstate 29 that was severely damaged by flood waters in March, reopened to traffic at approximately 3 p.m. today.

The roadway opening provides a valuable link between Mills County, Iowa and Sarpy County, Nebraska. Restoring mobility over the U.S. 34 bridge will give travelers another option to cross between Nebraska and Iowa in addition to Iowa 2, which had been restored in a very limited manner using temporary measures.

Traffic will be able to use both westbound lanes, but eastbound travel will be restricted to one lane.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports 36-year old Rex Dean Peterson II, of Dunbar, Nebraska, was arrested Thursday on a Theft charge in Hamburg. His arrest was the result of a call from a citizen at around 10:19-a.m., about suspicious activity at A and Argyle Street in Hamburg.

Rex Dean Peterson, II

The caller reported that Peterson was in the in possession of pipe and filters from the Manildra Milling Corp, at 100 George Street. The company is located in an area of extensive flooding in Hamburg. The Pipe had a value of over one-thousand dollars.

Peterson was charged with Theft 2^nd was transported to the Fremont County Jail. He posted a $5,000 cash or surety bond.