(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak, Monday night, arrested a man on a warrant for Probation Violation. Authorities say 24-year-old Brandon Lane Good, of Red Oak, was arrested a little after 9-p.m. on the Mills County warrant. Good was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $5,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – U-S Senator Joni Ernst says time is running out for the U-S Department of Education to fix the application college students and their parents fill out to find out how much federal aid they may qualify for. “All of the money that was supposed to go to updating and simplifying the form — instead they redirected that to student debt bailout,” Ernst says. “It’s just been really, really confusing time, a very frustrating time.”

On Friday, the agency announced another error on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA will delay decisions for up to 200-thousand students. A federal law passed in late 2020 called for simplifying the FAFSA form.  “What we have now is a very, very confusing form,” Ernst says. “It’s worse than it was before and the rollout of the FAFSA has been completely botched.”

Ernst, a Republican from Red Oak, cites bipartisan calls to address a new calculation of the finances of farm families and small business owners. Ernst says it doesn’t take into account those who are property rich, but don’t have the cash flow to pay for a child’s college education. “The provision would reduce aid eligibility by thousands of dollars for our farm families and our small business families,” Ernst says.

Ernst was in Lamoni yesterday (Monday) to meet with students and administrators from Graceland University as well as the three state universities and Des Moines Area Community College about that issue as well as the delays in federal aid as well as scholarship decisions due to the FAFSA form delays.

Voters in the Adair-Casey Community School District have an opportunity to attend a Public Hearing this Wednesday evening, with regard to the Proposed 2024-2025 Property Tax Rate.  The hearing takes place beginning at 7-p.m., at the AC/GC Junior High Media Center.

Hearing Agenda:

I. Call to Order/Roll Call

II. Open Public Hearing

III. Receive Written and/or Oral Comments

IV. Close Public Hearing

The Adair-Casey CSD Board will hold a Work Session immediately following the Public Hearing. During their session, the Board will discuss Open Enrollment.

Agenda:

I. Call to Order/Roll Call (Immediately Following the Public Hearing)

II. Approve Meeting Agenda

III. Discussion Item
A. Open Enrollment

IV. Adjourn Meeting

Patrons of the Guthrie Center part of the AC/GC District will be able to attend a hearing on the proposed property tax rate, April 3rd at 7 p.m.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County (IA) voters interested in voting absentee for the June 4 Primary Election may file requests for absentee ballots with the Cass County Auditor’s Office starting March 26. Due to recent legislation, the time period to request absentee ballots has been reduced from 120 days to 70 days. The new legislation also has shortened the number of days that the Auditor’s Office may have ballots available for absentee voting. Voters now have 20 days to vote absentee
either by mail or in-person rather than 29 days.

Voters wishing to receive a ballot by mail for the Primary Election will need to complete an absentee ballot request form and return it to the Cass County Auditor’s Office, 5 W 7th St., Atlantic, IA, before 5 p.m. May 20. Voters are reminded that due to recent legislation the ballot must be returned to the County Auditor’s Office before polls close at 8 p.m. on June 4 to be
counted.

In-person early voting in the Auditor’s Office and mailing of ballots will begin May 15. Absentee ballot request forms can be found on the Cass County Elections website at https://www.casscountyia.gov/county-departments/auditors-office/ . Any voter may also request a form by calling the Cass County Auditor’s Office at 712-243-4570.

Absentee voters are reminded that since this is a Primary Election the voter must choose which party’s ballot they would like to vote. The Primary Election in Iowa is a nominating process for the Libertarian, Democratic and Republican parties to determine who will appear on the General Election ballot in November.

For more information about the 2024 Primary Election contact the Cass County Auditor’s office at 712-243-4570 or visit the website at www.casscountyia.gov/county-departments/auditors-office.