(Harlan, Iowa)- The Shelby County Board of Supervisors met in a special session at 9:00-a.m. Tuesday, April 23, 2024,  and held a Public Hearing for the 2025 Shelby County Budget. Having received no comments, verbal or written, the hearing was closed and the Board opened a Special Session, whereby they passed a Resolution (as show below), to adopt the Budget as proposed, along with the Shelby County Compensation Board’s recommendations.

RESOLUTION NO.  2024-19: ENTRY RECORD OF THE HEARING AND DETERMINATION OF THE COUNTY BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025

BE IT REMEMBERED, on the 23rd day of April 2024, A.D., at the hour of 9:00 A.M. of said day, the Board of Supervisors of Shelby County, Iowa, met for the hearing upon the county budget as filed with the Board.  There was present a quorum as required by law.

WHEREAS, the Board investigated and found that the notice of time and place of hearing had, according to law, and as directed by the Board, been published in the official county newspapers published in Shelby County and that affidavits of publication, therefore, are on file with the County Auditor.

THEREFORE, on said day, the budget was taken up and considered.  Present were interested parties and various department heads.  There were no other written or oral comments.  After discussion, the Chairman declared the hearing closed and the County Budget for Fiscal Year 2025 adopted, along with the Shelby County Compensation Board recommendations.

The above and foregoing resolution was adopted by the Board of Supervisors of Shelby County, Iowa, the vote thereon being as follows:    AYES: Kenkel,  Parkhurst. NAYES:  None  Abstain: Schaben

The meeting then adjourned.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Nishna Valley YMCA Executive Director Dan Haynes, today (Tuesday), issued a statement with regard another anonymous donation in support of operations at the Sunnyside Pool, in Atlantic. The donation will help to pay for five additional people to take the Lifeguarding Class, who plan to work at the YMCA, as well as a sign-on bonus to those who act quickly! The LifeGuard Classes begin next week.

(Radio Iowa) – Ground was broken this morning on Mason City’s Destination Iowa bike park project. City Administrator Aaron Burnett says a grassroots effort from a local organization turned into a state-funded project with help from a $4.5-million Destination Iowa grant.

Burnett says the bike park is specifically designed for off-road and mountain biking with features for all ages. The closest example of a facility like this is in Arkansas.

“A bike park is really a place where you can work on your skills, everything from a little kid just getting on a bike for the first year of their life and riding it around and going over some small bumps, all the way up to expert jumplines where you have a little more danger, but you are also getting air and experiencing that, working on your jumps, going over features,” Burnett says.

The Prairie Rock Trails Bike Park will be located on the southern edge of Lime Creek Nature Center and will link the 450-acre conservation area to Mason City’s new High Line Trail, the Riverwalk near Southbridge Mall and 20 miles of existing trails. Burnett says the bike park is the main feature of the city’s Destination Iowa grant, which includes the build-out of a trail system in the area.

“We’re building many miles of single-track trails here. We’ve got the bike park that we’re celebrating today with the groundbreaking, but we’ve already completed the High Line Trail,” he says. “The Riverwalk has been bid, and that will start construction this year.”

Alaina Santizo, of the Iowa Economic Development Authority, says Mason City’s application was part of a very competitive process in choosing award recipients for Destination Iowa grants.

“The county, city and these groups that really coalesced around one plan brought forward, but also the uniqueness of all,” Santizo says. “This is the first of its kind in our state and even in the Midwest, so it’s really exciting. During those COVID years, we really saw people just really craving those outdoor recreational opportunities and that’s just remained. The COVID days are past us now, but people still love doing some of that outdoor recreation.”

Photo by Bob Fisher, KRIB

Santizo praises the local efforts of Mason City and Clear Lake in recently receiving Destination Iowa grants for projects. This project fits into the program’s outdoor recreation awards, while the Clear Lake Surf District project received funding from the “placemaking” portion of the program.

She says, “The projects that both of those communities brought forward were extremely competitive, and so they scored well in our process, and we were pleased to be partners on both of those projects.”

The bike park is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2025.

(Radio Iowa) – The fines for trespassing in order to hunt deer will go up significantly July 1. The law — and the fines — have been expanded to include trespassing to hunt any wildlife. The trespasser can be arrested and officers will be able to confiscate animals from hunters who trespass on private property — and assess more fines based on how many animals the hunter has taken. Senator Tom Shipley, a Republican from Nodaway, said it’s “a big deal” in southwest Iowa.

“I think raising these penalties is very important to those people in areas where they have people coming in from all over the country just deciding it’s their ground to play on,” Shipley said. Senator Janice Weiner, a Democrat from Iowa City, is skeptical. “I didn’t hear any good arguments in committee or elsewhere that would necessitate us raising the fines for trespass,” Weiner said, “or that there have been really egregious instances.”

Senator Tom Shipley

Representative Monica Kurth, a Democrat from Davenport, said she doesn’t condone trespassing, but this law seems excessive. “If a farmer’s trying to rid his property of nuisance raccoons and crosses a property line to get after those varmints and happens to have three of those critters in his possession, he would suddenly be fined $500 for the trespass, plus $200 for each of those raccoons,” Kurth said, “making a grand total of $1100.”

Republican Representative Mike Vondran of Davenport said trespassing is trespassing and the law is needed. “The simple act of knocking on your neighbor’s door and asking permission to deal with critters and varmints is one thing versus just deciding to go out and take your weapon and cross over a fence line, cross into another property where you have no concept of who is where and what activity they might be undertaking at the time,” Vondran said, “so to some degree this is a large measure of safety as well.”

The governor signed the bill into law Friday. It raises the fine to $500 for a first offense of trespassing in order to hunt. It’s currently $265. The fine for a second violation would be a $1000.

The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Northern District Office reports a Red Oak woman, 49-year-old Ann Sulsberger,  pled guilty April 18, 2024, in federal court in Sioux City, to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

At the plea hearing, evidence showed that between April 2023 and May 2023 Sulsberger and others conspired to distribute over a pound of methamphetamine in the Woodbury and Monona County areas.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a pre-sentence report is prepared. Sulsberger remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Sulsberger faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by Bureau of Indian Affairs, DEA Laboratory, Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, that consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City, Iowa, Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and Woodbury County Attorney’s Office.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Police in Glenwood report two arrests. 57-year-old Sherry Harvey, of Glenwood, was arrested today (Tuesday), for Theft. Her bond was set at $300, but Harvey was released on her Own Recognizance.

And, 31-year-old Antonia Hudson,  of Red Oak, was arrested in Glenwood on Sunday, for criminal mischief 4th degree. Hudson was released after posting a $1,000 bond.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak have arrested a man on a felony, Theft, charge. 29-year-old Tylor Daniel Fine, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at a residence in the 100 block of E. Nuckols Street at around 9:45-a.m. today (Tuesday). He was charged with Theft in the 2nd Degree [>$1,500 but < $10,000] (a Class-D Felony). Fine was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $5,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Libraries in Kossuth County are facing nearly $200,000 in budget cuts. Kossuth County Library Association president Lany Mitchell said that cut in county funding means each of the county’s 12 libraries will get about $7000 in county support during the next fiscal year. “A $7000 per year funding is literally a death knell for at least four of the libraries here,” Mitchell said. The Kossuth County Board of Supervisors met with area residents for nearly two hours Monday afternoon to hear their concerns. Library officials learned just last week that the county would be reducing their funding. Mitchell is director of the public library in the small community of Wesley.

“I believe (the library director in) Fenton said that even if she worked for free, that $7000 wouldn’t make the library operational for Fenton,” Mitchell said. “Seven grand doesn’t even keep the lights on and the internet paid for. I can’t stress enough how that’s going to be ugly for a lot of libraries.”

In the current fiscal year, Kossuth County provided over $270,000 for libraries in 12 communities. For several facilities, that county funding is the vast majority of the library’s budget. Cutting library hours is not an option for many, as state funding gets cut if a library isn’t open for at least 20 hours a week. The Kossuth County Supervisors made the decision to cut library funding at a budget workshop two months ago, but didn’t inform the county libraries. Supervisor Carter Nath said that decision was a mistake. “I will take as a portion of that responsibility making that decision on February 22 in a budget workshop that you were never notified,” Nath said, “and that was wrong.”

Photo courtesy of Public Library in Wesley, population 383.

Board Chairman Kyle Stecker said budget cuts would have to be made to restore funding for the county’s libraries. “I would personally support restoring library funding to the levels in the current budget in the form of a budget amendment after the fiscal year starts if we as a board can come up with an agreement in reductions to the secondary road budget to the tune of $200,000 plus for Fiscal Year ’25,” he said.

Kossuth County library leaders say that leaves them in limbo, not knowing whether the budget cut will be rescinded and they’ll be able to stay open.

(Radio Iowa) – Nominations are now being taken to recognize Iowa farmers who go above and beyond to conserve resources and the environment. The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation is in its 73rd year of awarding the Iowa Conservation Farmer of the Year, which honors Iowa farmers committed to environmental stewardship and conservation. Farm Bureau president Brent Johnson says while Iowa is well known for its production capabilities, the award is a chance to highlight the conservation work. “We actually lead the nation in so many different conservation practices, and a lot of that is born on the farm directly, through innovation provided by farmers to implement new ways of conserving their resources and the environment around them,” said Johnson. “They’re doing a fantastic job, and there are so many good stories to tell.”

One nominee is selected from all 99 counties and will be considered for nine regional awards. Those nine individuals would then vie for “Conservation Farmer of the Year.” Johnson notes they are also looking for individuals who have continued innovating their conservation practices. “Those folks who have been involved in conservation practices for a long time, trying some new things and figuring out what works and what doesn’t work — making those tweaks and advancing in those areas,” Johnson says. “Those are the types of people whose stories we are looking to share with other farmers — those who have that ‘lead-by-example’ kind of mentality.”

The winner of this year’s award — announced at the Iowa State Fair in August — will also receive free use of a John Deere 5-M Series utility tractor for up to 12 months or 200 hours. Over the years, Johnson says he has heard of various ways farmers go about preserving the land and their resources. “I’ve heard of farmers using CREP water lands where they’ll use tile to fill up a pond and then rewater those acres so there’s water circulation,” he said. “There’s various different types of structures being put onto farms to help with water flow or soil erosion and then you can talk about buffer strips, bio-reactors, and terraces. There are so many good stories that are being implemented out there.”

Nominations are due May 10th, and forms are available at cdiowa.org/awards. The prize, valued at over $12,000, was donated by Van Well Equipment of Perry and John Deere.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Master Gardeners have a busy month planned in May! On Saturday May 11, the group will host their annual Spring Plant Sale on the Cass County Fairgrounds. A few weeks later, on Wednesday May 22, the annual Master Gardener Bus Trip will leave from the fairgrounds for a day of education, garden exploration and plant nursery shopping. Any interested member of the public is invited to both events to help kick off the start of the gardening season!

The Plant Sale begins at 8 AM on May 11 , and will be held in the front parking lot of the Cass County Community Center on the fairgrounds at 805 W 10th Street in Atlantic. The event promises to have a wide variety of perennials available for gardeners to add to their landscape this year, as well as lawn tools, décor, and gardening books. Interested gardeners are encouraged to arrive early for best selection. All items will be sold for a free will offering, with all proceeds used to support Master Gardener community grants, scholarships, and other projects around the county. A resource table with information on gardening topics and local projects will also be available.

For the annual spring sale, Cass County Master Gardeners offer a variety of perennial and annual plants from their own gardens, as well as plants dug from gardens in the local area. The Atlantic FFA chapter and horticulture students will again be set up at the plant sale, offering food plants and flowering annuals for sale. All FFA plants will be sold at a separate booth and individually priced. Information will also be available on student plant sales from other Cass County schools. Community members are welcome to donate plants to this event, and members may even help you dig! If you are dividing perennials in your yard this spring and have extra plants to donate, please call in advance and make arrangements to drop off donated plants before the date of the plant sale.

The annual Bus Trip on May 22 features a full day of garden visits, educational activities, and a chance to explore and shop specialty plant nurseries. The trip heads north this year, and includes stops near Wall Lake, Odebolt, Auburn and Lake View. The bus departs the fairgrounds in Atlantic at 8 AM and returns around 6:30 PM. The trip is coordinated by the Cass County Master Gardeners but is open to everyone.  Registrations are taken on a first-come basis, so register soon and be sure to reserve your spot on the bus! The cost is $65 for the day, which includes transportation, a meal and snacks. Registration forms are available at the Cass County Extension office and can also be found on the Cass County Extension website at www.exension.iastate.edu/cass. A full itinerary is on each registration form.

The goal of the Master Gardener program is to provide community service and education in horticulture.  The Cass County Master Gardeners utilize funds raised from their annual spring and fall plant sales for local community projects, include maintaining community garden spaces around the county, providing education programs to youth and adults, and providing financial support to local horticulture projects. Other upcoming events from the Master Gardeners include a local garden walk at the end of June and the fall plant sale on September 14. Master Gardeners will also be providing education to community members at events throughout the summer and offering the opportunity to train as a new Master Gardener beginning later this summer.

For more information about the plant sale, bus trip, and other Master Gardener activities in Cass County, please call the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132, or email Cass County Extension Director and Master Gardener Coordinator Kate Olson at keolson@iastate.edu.  In addition, you are invited to follow the Cass County Master Gardeners at their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CassCoMG or visit www.extension.iastate.edu/cass/master-gardener-program to keep up with local events and tips for gardening and learn more about becoming a Master Gardener in Iowa!