(Atlantic & Greenfield, Iowa) – The Cass and Adair County Boards of Supervisors will hold separate meetings beginning at 9-a.m., Monday, Jan. 3rd. Both Boards will handle their annual administrative/re-organizational sessions, which includes action on:

• Electing (or re-elect) a Board Chair and Vice Chair
• Approving a Master Matrix Resolution (with regard to livestock confinement building construction)
• Approve appointments to various boards, commissions and committees.
• Approve officials newspapers for publication of notices/ordinances, etc.
• and other administrative matters.

Both Boards will also hear reports/updates from their County Engineer (Trent Wolken, in Cass Co., & Nick Kauffman, in Adair Co.). The Cass County Board of Supervisors will meet in their Boardroom at the Cass County Courthouse, in Atlantic. The Adair County Supervisors will meet in the Courtroom at the Adair County Courthouse, in Greenfield.

One-person was injured during a rollover accident on Highway 25 in Union County, Saturday. According to the Union County Sheriff’s Office, a 2014 Dodge RAM pickup driven by 24-year-old George Wesley Eaglen, of Greenfield, was traveling east on the highway near Creston at around 1:34-p.m., when the pickup went out of control because it was traveling too fast for road conditions.

The vehicle entered the north ditch and slid into a culvert before it rolled once and came to rest on its wheels, with the front wheels in a pond near the Creston Golf Course. A passenger in the pickup, 18-year-old Peyton Sue Braman, of Knoxville, complained of pain and possible injury, but was not transported to the hospital. She was not wearing a seat belt.

Authorities say Eaglen was not hurt. Damage to the pickup was estimated at $5,500. No citations were issued.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City Council in Atlantic will hold a Special Meeting at Noon on Monday, Jan. 3rd, in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall. During their session, the Council will hold a Public Hearing on an Ordinance No. 1012 New Ward Map[110851] Amending the City Code…”by dividing the City into Five Wards and Five Precincts, and Outlining and Describing each Ward and Precinct, and Repealing Ordinance #934,” the populations for which were determined by the 2020 Census.

Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman has completed the maps for both the districts for the Board of Supervisors and wards for the City Council.

The Council will hold the first reading of Ordinance #1012. In order for the new Ward map to be adopted, a simple majority of the Council (4 out of 7) must vote in favor following the first reading, before the other readings can be read and voted on. If approved, the Council will then act on an Order to waive the rules for the second and third readings, followed by action on approving both readings.

City Administrator John Lund says they were informed last Wednesday, Dec. 29th, that the new ward map ordinance would need to be adopted and submitted by the end of the day on Monday (Jan. 3). He recommends the Council adopt the map as presented.

Atlantic Ward Populations:

• Ward 1: 1,488
• Ward 2: 1,324
• Ward 3: 1,336
• Ward 4: 1,334
• Ward 5: 1,310.

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reports, “At this time, parking is not permitted on city streets. Snow plows have been deployed. Stay safe, Clarinda!” 

(Atlantic, Iowa) -A pickup struck two rooms of a motel in Atlantic, Saturday afternoon, but no one was injured. According to Atlantic Police Lt. Paul Wood, the accident happened at the A-Ford-O Motel on the west-central side of town, off 7th Street, at around 1:45-p.m.

An eastbound F250 pickup on Highway 6 driven by 24-year old Austin Boggs, of Lewis, went out of control, turned sideways, and slid into the entrance of rooms seven-and eight. The rooms were unoccupied at the time of the crash.

The accident remains under investigation.

(Photo courtesy of Cass County Deputy Kyle Quist)

(Radio Iowa) – Two Iowans will have more interest than normal in watching the ball drop on the New Year in New York. They are among five finalists in the one million dollar New Year’s Powerball prize drawing. Iowa Lottery spokesperson Mary Neubauer says it’s the first time any state has had more than one finalist.

“With two finalists in the running — Iowa has a 40% chance that we would have the million-dollar winner that night., It’s live on the air and we at the Iowa Lottery will find out at the same time as everyone else whether or not we have the winner here in Iowa,” Neubauer says.

This is the third year for the special drawing. “For the last two years given the COVID realities, the winners have not gone to New York, they’ve had a house party at home. So they’ve had dinner that night and champaign and things at home — and so that is what our winners will be doing,” according to Neubauer.

One finalist is solo. “We have Shari Beenken from Titonka, a tiny little 500 population community up in northern Iowa. She entered tickets on her own — so if she wins the full million dollars goes to Shari,” she says. Rob Long of Waterloo is the other finalist — and will share the prize. He entered tickets on behalf of the group and Neubauer says before taxes each member of the group would get $45,500 dollars.

Long and Beenken. (RI photo)

Neubauer says each of the five national finalists for the drawing have already received some prizes. The individual lotteries held drawings for the semifinalists and the winners got $2,500 each. The five finalists were drawn from the semifinalists and the winners got a $10,000 prize and a home entertainment package.

The drawing in New York is in the eastern time zone, so the Iowans will learn if they have won at 11:15 Iowa time on New Year’s Eve. Neubauer says they are already anxious. “I’m sure they’ll just be watching the clock tick by that night, and then finally the time will come,” Neubauer says. The special Powerball drawing is held during A-B-C’s broadcast of “Dick Clark’s Rockin’ Eve” in Times Square. If an Iowan wins they have to wait until Monday to collect their prize at Iowa Lottery Headquarters.

The members of the Lotto 22 are:
From Clarksville: Scott Herrmann and Victor Herrmann
From Denver: Bruce Gonnerman
From Dunkerton: Michael Nicolaus and Nancy Smock
From Independence: Bryan Cain and Kristen Kayser
From Jesup: Ronald Kester
From La Porte City: Bruce Long
From Oelwein: Ellyn Perkins
From Plainfield: Valeria Marks
From Raymond: Randy Ruehs
From Shell Rock: Grant Clark
From Waterloo: Trish Bandfield, Mark Burke, Steven Foster, Kelvin Holmes, Rob Long, Nesffy Molina,
Mike O’Connor, Martin Van Horn, Eric Woodward.

(Radio Iowa) – Some Iowa families have a tradition of taking down the Christmas tree on this last day of the year in order to start the new year out fresh tomorrow. Horticulturist and extension educator John Fech says don’t just toss the tree to the curb, but find a way to repurpose it. “Recycling it, reusing it, thinking of it again as a resource or an asset,” Fech says.

If you’re crafty, trim the branches to make a fragrant sachet, wreath or garland to enjoy in the weeks ahead. You could also cut up pieces of the evergreen to toss in a nearby lake or pond to provide a habitat for fish. Fech says mulching is another option. “Do that yourself with a hatchet or you could have it run through a chipper,” Fech says. “Many of the cities do that for their parks and then they use that for trail cover around city parks and hospitals and places like that.”

Another idea is to return the tree to the great outdoors for wildlife to use as shelter. “Also, it could just be songbird habitat,” Fech says. “Set it near the bird feeder so birds have a place to get out of the wind and have a little bit of refuge from predator birds.”

If mulching the entire tree is too much work, just using the needles can be an effective mulch on perennial plants, in your garden and to keep weeds in check.

(Radio Iowa) – If you’ll be making a New Year’s resolution tonight (Friday), you may need to genuinely focus on making the change in order to keep the pledge. Alison Phillips, a psychology professor at Iowa State University, says our approach to making resolutions usually sets us up for failure.

“I’ve seen two different statistics, one is that 80% of resolutions fail by the second week in February,” Phillips says. “The other is a bit less depressing and that’s 40% of us are still hanging on after four months. Either way, long-term efforts at changing our behavior generally fail.” Phillips, who studies behavior change and habit formation, says to focus on how to make changes that will lead to creating a better version of yourself.

“This is important because behaviors that do stick around are those that become part of our self-identity, it’s how we see ourselves,” Phillips says. “They’re usually things that we’re proud of, that we’re good at, and they make us feel like we’re competent at something.” Zero in on things you can become good at and that you see yourself doing and take pride in, she says, as those are the kinds of things people won’t give up on.

Prof. Alison Phillips (ISU photo)

“Habits form as you repeat them in a stable context,” Phillips says. “Pick a time that’s pretty regular that you could do it and that will help you form a habit more quickly. Also, pick something that you relatively enjoy. You might not like exercise at all but pick something that you hate the least and that you would be proud of yourself to do.” If better physical fitness is your target, Phillips says it’s important to aim for specific goals that focus on behavior and not on certain outcomes, like a number on the scale.

“If you prefer bicycling to running, by all means, go for the bike,” Phillips says, “even if it’s in the gym and the stationary bike isn’t awesome, maybe try a spin class until the weather is nicer.” Everyone fails, she says, so plan ahead and rehearse how you will cope when you run into barriers. Also, social support is important, so in addition to having a workout buddy, make sure your family is on board, too, and will encourage you as you create new, positive habits.