(Atlantic, Iowa) – During a regular meeting Wednesday evening of the Atlantic School Board, Superintendent Steve Barber addressed a number of matters. The first pertained to the status of repairs underway at the Middle School. The facility was damaged by a fire that began while crews were on a lunch break from laying down new roofing this past July. The cause was never found, but it was deemed accidental. Barber said crews were wrapping-up repairs to the new roof on Wednesday.

Demolition work on the Central Office at Washington is done. It is currently an open space. Mr. Barber said also the cost of LED lighting in the entire building will be costlier than expected. The original plan after the fire, was to convert the building from the current conventional lighting to LED, which would have been more energy-efficient over the years, last longer and don’t flicker when they wear out. But they do tend be more costly than the fluorescent bulbs.

The consensus of the Atlantic School Board was to not include LED lighting in the reconstruction process, and stick with the type they had. In other business, the district is seeking specifications in order to solicit bids for a 77 passenger bus for 2023 delivery.

Barber also discussed the federal vaccine mandate that was temporarily put on hold by a Federal Judge, and that was supposed to go into effect on January 4, 2022, for all businesses with 100 or more employees.

The District’s legal counsel is studying the matter since the temporary STAY was enacted last week.

Red Oak Police, Wednesday night, arrested a woman for Simple Assault. 27-year-old Emily Kay Louise Rohner, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 9:45-p.m. in the 1660 block of E. Summit Street. She was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – State Climatologist Justin Glisan says it’s difficult to forecast whether this winter will be snowier than usual.  “It’s a coin flip right now,” he says. That’s because the Pacific Ocean is currently in what’s called a “La Nina” phase, when thunderstorms are pushed further west. “And that impacts the jet stream over the United States,” Glisan says. “…We have a bullseye for above average precipitation in the Ohio Valley into the Great Lakes and in the Pacific Northwest. Southern states are dry. Iowa happens to be right in the middle of that interface.”

Glisan says the Pacific was in its colder, La Nina phase last winter, too. “We had the 12th snowiest winter in record with nine inches above average, so it’ll depend on the strength of that La Nina phase. Right now, it’s looking weak,” Glisan says. “When we look at precipitation behavior for La Nina in the wintertime, it’s all over the board.”

Glisan made his comments during a recent appearance on “Iowa Press” on Iowa P-B-S. The National Weather Service forecast indicates there are chances for light snow in parts of Iowa tonight (Thursday) into Friday morning.

[UPDATED] (Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic School Board met Wednesday evening during a regular session at the Schuler Elementary School Media Center. During their session, the Board acted on several personnel matters, including the resignations of Washington Elementary Teachers Cathy Williams and Jodie Allen. Their resignations are effect at the end of the current school year. Superintendent Steve Barber thanked both women for their years of service to the Washington Building and the Atlantic School Community as a whole.

The Atlantic School Board also approved 10 contracts as recommended by Superintendent Steve Barber including Mallory Robinson, Communications Specialist

And, Taylor Jones contract as Washington Paraeducator was approved, Wednesday. The Board approved contracts as well, for Middle School Principal Josh Rasmussen as Interim JV Boys Basketball Coach, and Ed Den Beste as Interim 9th Grade Boys Basketball Coach.

He said this a one-year deal for both men. Sarah Rose and Katie Hedegaard were approved as Winter Cheerleading Co-Sponsors

The Board approved Matt Best and Bryce Smith, Assistant Boys Track Coaches, and Cole Renken as 9th Grade Girls Basketball Coach. They also approved the following as Volunteer Coaches:

• Jacey Hoegh and Zach Christensen, Boys Basketball
• Todd Killion, Peter Smith, Mike Greving, Chase Roller, Caleb Smith and Ryan South: Wrestling.
• and Kelbe Flathers, Dance Coach.

Along that same line, the School Board approved recommendations from Activities Director Andy Mitchell, for 2022 Summer Sport Coaches:

• Athletic Enhancement Coordinator: Derek Hall
• Head Softball: Terry Hinzmann
• JV Softball: Molly O’Hara
• 9th Grade Softball: Derek Handel
• Head Baseball: Joseph Brummer
• 9th Grade Baseball: Oran Perkins.

A man from Mills County was arrested Wednesday afternoon on a warrant out of Montgomery County. Sheriff’s Officials say 19-year-old Obadiah D. Waddell, of rural Henderson was arrested at around 2:10-p.m. on the warrant charging him with Harassment 1^st Degree. Waddell was located at his residence and taken into custody without incident. He was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $2,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – A glass candy bowl from the Clarke County courthouse was used to help determine the winner of the mayor’s race in Osceola. The contest ended in a tie, with both candidates for mayor of Osceola getting 382 in last week’s election. The chairman of the county board of supervisors drew Matthew Stoll’s name out of the candy bowl, then all three supervisors voted to confirm Stoll as the winner.

The incumbent mayor, Thomas Kedley, told reporters he may go to court to contest the results. Kedley says he’s heard from several people that a man who lives outside of city limits claimed a condemned house in Osceola as his legal residence in order to vote in the mayor’s race.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Public Health has started its search for a new state medical director after Doctor Caitlin Pedati resigned in late October. Interim public health department director Kelly Garcia told the state board of health today (Wednesday) that she’s making some changes to the job. Pedati served as both the state medical director and the lead epidemiologist. Garcia says she got input from state and federal officials and decided those duties will now be separated into two positions.

“This is a really really key hiring for a number of different reasons. I’ve already received a little bit of interest which is exciting to hear that folks are invigorated despite what we have gone through with our pandemic response, there are still Iowans who are highly qualified and engaged and are wanting to serve in this space,” she says.

Garcia says the new state medical director will be the head of public health after the department merges with the Department of Human Services. The opening for a lead epidemiologist hasn’t been posted yet as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

(reporting by Katarina Sostaric, Iowa Public Radio)

DES MOINES – From Council Bluffs to Davenport and Mason City to Centerville, the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs today announced it is awarding more than $1.5 million in grants for the return of the state’s arts, culture, history and creative sector by supporting arts and cultural jobs and programming in the humanities. (A full list of grant recipients is available for viewing HERE)

In total, 236 individuals and organizations – representing 70 communities across 56 Iowa counties – will benefit from $1,527,814 in one-time grant funding, made possible through the agency’s state/federal partnerships with Arts Midwest, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities with federal funds through the American Rescue Plan Act.

The department received more than $4.1 million in requests to help support a portion of about 1,600 arts jobs. The list of grant recipients includes individual artists, cultural centers, museums, local government and community groups, arts organizations, public libraries, historical societies, community theaters, media production organizations and more.

The department awarded $642,080 in American Rescue Plan Humanities grants to 47 humanities organizations, made possible with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Here are a few of them:

• Elk Horn: The Museum of Danish America will sustain a full-time position to provide humanities-based publications, online content and programming, including several exhibitions that travel across Iowa and the United States.

• Sioux City: The Sioux City Art Center will continue its efforts to develop engaging online content, building on a new website and video series launched in 2021, and expand its community outreach and engagement.

(Radio Iowa) – After two delays, Iowa astronaut Raja Chari is hoping the third time’s a charm as liftoff is now scheduled for tonight. Launch of the Falcon 9 rocket was originally set for early on Halloween but it was delayed several days due to bad weather. The next delay was due to a crewmember’s illness. Now, launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida is set for shortly after 8 p.m./Central time. Chari, a Cedar Falls native, is the commander of the six-month mission. If all goes as planned, the crew of four will arrive at the International Space Station tomorrow. Chari is among the 18 astronauts named to the new Artemis team which is setting its sites well beyond the low-earth-orbit of the space station.

“The Artemis goal is to have people back on the Moon to stay by 2024,” Chari says. “We’ll have to build to that so there will be a mission prior to that to go around the Moon and test out the systems and then we’ll also continue to keep our presence on the space station, so there’s lots of different possibilities for me in the coming years.”

Raja Chari in EVA suit (NASA photo)

In a Radio Iowa interview last fall, Chari acknowledges he could be the first man since the late Gene Cernan of Apollo 17 to step foot on the Moon, but the modest Iowan is betting on his other NASA colleagues. “It is, I guess, theoretically possible but I would put my money on someone else,” Chari says, laughing. “There’s much better qualified people in the office than me. That’s a great problem to have, to be working with people that, every single one of them, I’d say you should take them instead of me. That’s what I love about working here at Johnson and in our office, just the caliber of people.”

He joined the astronaut corps in 2017, being among a dozen candidates picked out of 18,000 applicants. Chari has degrees in aeronautics and astronautics from the Air Force Academy and MIT. He will become only the eight Iowan to reach orbit.

(Radio Iowa) – Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks plans to move and will seek re-election in Iowa’s new first congressional district. None of the four Iowans who currently serve in the U.S. House live in the new first congressional district. Miller-Meeks, who lives in Ottumwa, says she’ll move into the district, but hasn’t decided where yet. The area includes the cities of Fort Madison and Maquoketa as well as Mount Pleasant, Fairfield, Newton, Oskaloosa and Indianola. Miller-Meeks, who is an eye doctor, previously worked at an eye clinic in West Burlington and taught at the University of Iowa in Iowa City — two other cities in the district. She’s also emphasizing that as the current second congressional congresswoman, she represent 16 of the counties in the new first district.

Marianette Miller-Meeks. (photo from Miller-Meeks office.)

Miller-Meeks will face a possible primary in the new first district, as Bettendorf businessman Kyle Kuehl announced Monday that he’s launching a campaign for Iowa’s first district seat. Two Democrats are running in the district. State Representative Christina Bohannan of Iowa City is a University of Iowa professor. Joseph Kerner of Knoxville is a senior cultivator with licensed medical marijuana manufacturer MedPharm Iowa,