w/ Chris Parks

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The Union County Communications LMR(Land Mobile Radio) upgrade project will be holding two public forums for the press and the public to attend.  These public forums are to inform the public of the LMR radio project, the issues with our current system and the proposed solution to fix it. Members of all public safety agencies will be present to answer questions. We will also be providing a facebook live session for each of these public forums for the public to view if they are unable to be present.

The dates for these public forums are August 23^rd and August 29^th 2018 at 6PM.  They will take place at Union County Emergency Management Agency, 705 E Taylor St in Creston.

The Atlantic City Council unanimously approved the final reading of two rule changes and the first reading of another at their Wednesday meeting.

The Council passed the final reading of a rule change regarding the number of days the Atlantic Animal Control Office holds an animal before it becomes available for adoption. Animal Control Officer Kris Erickson had requested that the number of days an animal is held be changed from seven business days to three. The change aligns the city with the state required three days. The city hopes this helps animals minimize their stay and stress. Licensed dog owners will be contacted if their pet is found wandering.

The Council also approved the final reading of an ordinance changing zoning regulations. A number of changes to building heights and setbacks were included in the ordinance in hopes that residential property owners would have greater flexibility to improve their properties. These changes would eliminate the costly and time-consuming process of applying for a variance in some instances.

The first reading of an amendment to traffic code enforcement procedures was also passed. The changes will increase the fine amounts for regular parking violations and snow emergency violations. The changes will align the city with fine amounts in other nearby cities. The Personnel and Finance Committee recommended the council approve the fine increases which will go from $10 to $30 for regular violations and $25 to $50 for snow emergency violations.

The council also approved a key monitoring policy for the city. Alexis Fleener was appointed to the Community Promotion Commission and Megan Mewhirter was added to the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Board of Adjustment. Those appointments replace the resignation of Christina Bateman from those spots.

At their regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday night, the Atlantic City Council unanimously approved a street name change to honor Atlantic native Ed Podolak. The small section of East 11th Street in front of the Atlantic Middle School and Schuler Elementary will now be known as Ed Podolak Drive.

Ed was born and raised in Atlantic and is a 1965 graduate of Atlantic High School. He went on to star as a multiple position football player at the University of Iowa before playing professionally for the Kansas City Chiefs. Podolak was part of the 1970 Super Bowl Champion Chiefs during his rookie season in professional football. Ed lead the Chiefs in rushing for four seasons and currently sits 5th on the team’s all-time rushing list with 4,451 career yards and 34 touchdowns. In the Chiefs’ playoff loss to the Miami Dolphins on Christmas Day in 1971 Podolak had a playoff-record 350 total yards: 85 rushing, 110 receiving, and 155 return yards. He was inducted into the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame in 1989.

Following his playing career Podolak turned to broadcasting where he currently serves as the Color Commentator for Iowa Hawkeyes Football broadcasts alongside Gary Dolphin.

New black and gold street signs will go up this week and a dedication ceremony is set to be held on Sunday at 2:00pm at the Trojan Bowl. The ceremony will be at the end of the Atlantic Sesquicentennial Block party on the Atlantic Middle School grounds from 11:00am-3:00pm.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15, 2018 — Agricultural producers in Missouri who suffered losses and damages due to recent drought on two separate occasions may be eligible for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loans. The loans are made available under the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue.

Drought: 19 counties

For the recent drought, the Secretary has designated Andrew, Caldwell, Carroll, Chariton, Clinton, Daviess, DeKalb, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Linn, Livingston, Macon, Mercer, Nodaway, Randolph, Ray, Saline and Sullivan counties in Missouri as primary natural disaster areas.

Producers in the contiguous counties of Adair, Atchison, Audrain, Boone, Buchanan, Clay, Cooper, Holt, Howard, Jackson, Knox, Lafayette, Monroe, Pettis, Platte, Putnam, Shelby and Worth in Missouri, along with Decatur, Page, Ringgold, Taylor and Wayne counties in Iowa, and Doniphan County in Kansas, are also eligible to apply for emergency loans.

Drought:  Six counties

For the recent drought, the Secretary has designated Adair, Buchanan, Howard, Putnam, Schuyler and Scotland counties in Missouri as primary natural disaster areas.

Producers in the contiguous counties of Andrew, Boone, Chariton, Clark, Clinton, Cooper, DeKalb, Knox, Linn, Macon, Mercer, Platte, Randolph, Saline and Sullivan in Missouri, along with Appanoose, Davis, Van Buren and Wayne counties in Iowa, and Atchison and Doniphan counties in Kansas, are also eligible to apply for emergency loans.

Producers in all designated primary and contiguous counties will have until April 1, 2019, to apply for emergency loans to help cover part of their actual losses.

FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the emergency loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from the impacts of this disaster.

Other FSA programs that can provide assistance, but do not require a disaster declaration, include: Operating and Farm Ownership Loans; the Emergency Conservation Program; Livestock Forage Disaster Program; Livestock Indemnity Program; Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program; and the Tree Assistance Program. Interested farmers may contact their local USDA service centers for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs. Additional information is also available online at https://www.farmers.gov/recover.

The Iowa Grocery Industry Association announced this week the winners of their 2018 Hall of Fame awards, honoring champions of Iowa’s grocery industry, and a local business was honored. Atlantic Bottling Company was named Supplier of the Year.

The honor announcement states, “Atlantic Bottling’s commitment to Iowa and the many communities it serves, the grocery industry, and its employees has continued to grow alongside its business. The company’s devotion to quality and integrity has helped it forge lasting business relationships that contribute to its success. Atlantic Bottling supplies Iowa-based companies Hy-Vee, Fareway, Kum & Go, Casey’s and a large number of independent grocers, as well as many other companies. As Atlantic’s business has grown so has its support of the Iowa grocery industry.”

Atlantic Bottling is a privately owned independent bottler that distributes Coca-Cola products for almost all of Iowa, parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Missouri. The company operates from nine locations with its headquarters located in Atlantic, IA and employs more than 700 people.

Atlantic Bottling will be honored along with other award winners at the Iowa Grocery Industry Association Hall of Fame Dinner on Wednesday, November 7th at the Prairie Meadows Events and Conference Center in Altoona.

Police in Council Bluffs reports Omaha Police terminated their pursuit of a green, 1995 Chevy pickup truck at the Iowa/Nebraska State Line today, at around 1:50-a.m.  Their pursuit ended on the Veteran’s Memorial Bridge.

Council Bluffs Police Officers found the vehicle abandoned in the 4100 block of Veteran’s Highway. The suspect is unknown at this time. Additional details about the pursuit are not available at this time.

An elderly Adams County woman missing since 10-p.m Monday, was found late Wednesday morning, and is receiving medical treatment in Des Moines. According to reports, Judy Stalcup was located at around 11:45-a.m., Wednesday. She was suffering from a broken ankle and dehydration, but is expected to recover.

About 300 volunteers gathered early Wednesday morning near Prescott, in northern Adams County, to search for the woman. There was no immediate word on where she was found.

The woman had last been seen wearing a blue nightgown and shoes.

(Radio Iowa) — A Sioux City businessman’s retirement from Iowa politics lasted about four months. Rick Bertrand retired in April after finishing his second term in the Iowa Senate — but was nominated Tuesday evening by Sioux City Republicans to run again for the District 7 Senate seat. Bertrand was nominated by Steve Stokes, the former G-O-P candidate who dropped out of the race earlier this month for family and business reasons. Several Republicans, including Governor Reynolds and Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver started asking Bertrand to reconsider his retirement.

“When you’re asked it’s a good feeling,” Bertrand says, “and the community asked. And when your governor asks and when the party asks, it’s a good place. It’s a good thing for Sioux City. And I think this is a win-win for Sioux City when we win this.” Bertrand says if he is re-elected, he will continue to be a champion for Sioux City.

“That’s probably the thing that excites me the most — not just going back, that you are wanted and the community supports you — but you are going to walk back with a nice bag of capital and that means leverage, and that is power,” according to Bertrand. “And there are some things that we need to get done around here. With Highway 20 getting completed, we are going to have some infrastructure opportunities.”

Bertrand was first elected to the Iowa Senate in 2010. He was re-elected in 2014 by a 20 point margin. Former Woodbury County Supervisor Jackie Smith is the Democratic candidate for the senate seat. The Democratic candidate for Iowa’s District 7 state senate seat responded Wednesday to news about Bertrand.

Jackie Smith spoke at the Woodbury County Democratic Headquarters before a crowd of supporters, and says Rick Bertrand is going back on a promise he made. “His claim to fame is term limits. He had a farewell speech on April 17th — I encourage everyone to look at that — it’s on Youtube. It’s on the Senate Floor. And he actually talks about term limits and that it is time for him to go. I couldn’t agree more,” Smith says.

Smith served on the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors for eight years and is making her first run for state office. She disputes Bertrand’s claim that he will bring political capital for Siouxland to the state senate and says by re-entering the senate race he is breaking a promise. Smith says she had a 96 percent attendance record on the county board, and says Bertrand missed more votes and meetings than any other state senator the past four years.

“Now wouldn’t we be fired if we didn’t show up for our jobs?,” Smith asks. “I think voters should fire him and keep him home and not in Des Moines.” She went on to say she supports the right for Iowans to collectively bargain with their employers for wages, benefits and basic working conditions. Smith also says she will work to increase funding for education, mental health and medicaid programs if she is elected.

A collision Wednesday afternoon in Greene County between a cargo van and a semi, left the driver of the van dead. The Iowa State Patrol reports the semi, driven by 21-year old Arthur Vanderwaal, of Hull, was turning southbound onto Highway 4 from 290th Street, when a northbound 2017 Chevy Express van driven by 71-year old Wesley H. Bunnell, of Glidden, began to drift left into the southbound lane.

Vanderwaal saw the approaching van and tried to avoid a collision by taking to the west shoulder of the road, but the van struck 2010 Peterbilt Model 389 on the driver’s side. Bunnell, who was wearing a seat belt, died at the scene. Vanderwaal was not injured.

The accident, which happened at around 12:20-p.m, remains under investigation.