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Gov. Reynolds announces award winners for Teacher and Paraeducator Registered Apprenticeship Pilot Program 

News

June 9th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES — Today (Thursday), Governor Kim Reynolds announced the 19 recipient schools of the Teacher and Paraeducator Registered Apprenticeship Pilot Grant Program, which she unveiled during her Condition of the State Address in January. Included among them is: the AHSTW District**, which is receiving over $1.656-million dollars; Council Bluffs District ($709,879), and the Winterset District*** ($561,726).

The Teacher and Paraeducator Registered Apprenticeship Pilot Program grants will serve more than 1,000 paraeducators and students in 134 schools ultimately creating over 500 new paraeducators and 500 new teachers.  Of these, 110 recipients are creating the first-ever registered apprenticeship programs in their schools. A total of $45.6 million will be granted towards the program. The full list of award winners can be found here. The grant program will provide opportunities for current high school students and adults to earn a paraeducator certificate and associates degree and paraeducators to earn their bachelor’s degree all while learning and working in the classroom. The program will begin this fall during the 2022-2023 school year. To learn more about the pilot program, visit here.

Governor Reynolds says “The overwhelming response we received for this grant opportunity has been truly remarkable and is evident of the great interest and passion that lies within our students and paraeducators to jumpstart their careers in education. Through valuable partnerships, this program makes post-secondary educational opportunities available at the fingertips of high school students before graduating high school. And, we’re not done yet–this pilot program is just the beginning of what we hope will expand across the state.”

Iowa Dept. of Education Director Ann Lebo said “Growing our teacher and paraeducator talent pipeline helps ensure Iowa students have access to a world-class education today and into the future. I commend these school districts and postsecondary partners for their innovative plans to start registered apprenticeships that will inspire and support the next generation of educators in Iowa communities.”

Funding is made available through the American Rescue Plan Act.

**The AHSTW District includes: Atlantic/Central Decatur/Clarinda/East Mills/Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton/ Fremont-Mills/Glenwood/Griswold/Harlan/IKM-Manning/Lamoni/Lenox/Logan-Magnolia/Missouri Valley/Riverside/Sidney/South Page/Stanton/ Treynor/Tri-Center/Woodbine.

***The Winterset District includes: Van Meter/Creston/Interstate 35.

3-1 vote split in Iowa’s US House delegation on gun bill

News

June 9th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s delegation in the U.S. House has voted along party lines on new gun regulations, like raising the age to buy A-R-15 style rifles from 18 to 21. Democratic Congresswoman Cindy Axne of West Des Moines says it is common sense, comprehensive legislation that will help curb the gun violence epidemic. The three Iowa Republicans in the U.S. House voted no. Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, a Republican from Marion, says the bill Democrats proposed was unconstitutional. “What we saw last night obviously was legislation that they pushed through that will really to little to stop the violence,” Hinson says, “but again it just targets our law abiding citizens and violates their Second Amendment rights.”

The bill passed with the support of all House Democrats and five Republicans. Hinson says congress should instead bolster school safety, law enforcement training and mental health resources. “Right now I think we need to be focused on real solutions to the challenges in our country,” Hinson says. “The laws on the books need to be enforced and we need to stop guns getting into the wrong hands.”

Congressman Randy Feenstra, a Republican from Hull, also supports the G-O-P proposal to add security to schools and increase access to mental health treatment. Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a Republican from Ottumwa, is co-sponsoring a bill to let schools use federal pandemic relief funds on security measures.

Omaha man arrested in Mills County

News

June 9th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Sheriff’s Officials in Mills County report 26-year-old Joseph Ray Moreno, of Omaha, was arrested Wednesday afternoon. He was taken into custody on a warrant issued by the Council Bluffs Police Department, for Unauthorized Credit Card Use. His bond was set at $2,000.

Iowa’s Workforce Development boards meet today in Marshalltown

News

June 9th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Association of Workforce Boards is hosting its annual statewide training workshop today (Thursday) in Marshalltown for Iowa’s nine local Workforce Development panels. Miranda Swafford, executive director of the Mississippi Valley Area Workforce Development Board, based in Burlington, explains the group’s overall role in improving workforce opportunities across the state.  “The primary role of the local Workforce Development Board is to really oversee all of the Workforce services in their specific counties,” Swafford says. “They are a federally-mandated board and they help to develop specific programming to meet the needs of our businesses and our job seekers through our Iowa work centers.”

The group is meeting at the Iowa Valley Continuing Education Conference Center in Marshalltown.  “We are bringing all nine Workforce boards together, which will be comprised of business owners and economic development, community college representatives and a lot of other workforce partners,” Swafford says. “We are bringing in experts from outside the state to help design and drive Workforce services across the state of Iowa moving forward.”

Learn more about available Workforce Development opportunities at www.iowaworkforceboards.org.

Cass Supervisors approve staff hiring for Treasurer’s Office

News

June 9th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic) The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday afternoon, agreed to Treasurer Tracey J. Marshall’s request to hire three new staffers for the Treasurer’s Office, following the loss of some staffers and the upcoming retirement of another. The Board agreed to pay those individuals $18-dollars per hour, with an increase to $19-dollars per hour after 90-days and a review of performance. After six-months, the new staff would be paid $20-dollars per hour.

Marshall said two of the new staff can start right away. The third person will be available in the coming week. As it stands currently, the office is closed all day on Tuesdays, for staff training. It’s open the rest of the week from 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., closed from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., open from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Board Chairman Steve Baier asked Marshall how long she was anticipating having to run abbreviated service hours.

If there are any future changes to her office hours, Marshall said she would keep the public updated via the media and postings on the courthouse entrances, as well as the Treasurer’s Office doors.

Washington, D-C woman escapes injury during Union County crash

News

June 9th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Union County, Iowa) – Storms that took place Tuesday evening made driving difficult in many areas. The Union County Sheriff’s Office, Wednesday, said a woman escaped injury during a rollover accident that occurred during a thunderstorm. Authorities say 20-year-old Jada Fife, from Washington, D-C, was driving a 2021 Jeep Compass SUV eastbound on 195th Street at around 8:10-p.m., and trying to get back to the local residence she was staying at.

Fife told a Deputy that because of the swirling, heavy rain, she couldn’t see the road. Her SUV entered a ditch and rolled onto its top. Fife admitted to not wearing a seat belt, but her side impact airbag deployed during the crash, saving her from likely injuries. No citations were issued. Damage to the SUV was estimated at $10,000 (a total loss).

Shelby County Supervisors adopt Urban Renewal Plan Amendment & discuss pipeline tax benefit

News

June 9th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Harlan, Iowa) – The Shelby County Board of Supervisors met Wednesday morning in the Council’s Chambers at the City Hall, in Harlan. In his minutes of the meeting, Shelby County Auditor Mark L. Maxwell, stated Supervisor Kenkel had reported that the Supervisors along with the Shelby County Attorney, the Assessor and County Engineer are presently working on draft ordinances for windmills, solar farms and hazardous pipelines. The plan is to finalize drafts and bring to BOS for approval within next couple of months.

In other business, the Supervisors held a public hearing on a proposed Urban Renewal Plan amendment. Hearing no public comments, and having received no related correspondence, the hearing was closed and a motion was made to suspend further readings of the ordinance and approve the Resolution to ” Declare Necessity and Establish an Urban Renewal Area,” and “Approve [the] Urban Renewal Plan Amendment for the Shelby County Urban Renewal Area.” They adopted the Resolution later in the meeting.

The amendment covers the addition of the Property to the Urban Renewal Area, and authorizes the undertaking of a new urban renewal project in the Urban Renewal Area consisting of using tax increment financing to pay the costs of constructing county road, bridge and culvert improvements for the betterment of transportation infrastructure and the promotion of economic development.  There are multiple bridge and/or culvert projects included in the plan. Mark Maxwell says “It is expected that the completed Road, Bridge and Culvert Projects will cause increased and improved ability of the County to provide adequate transportation infrastructure for the growth and retention of commercial, industrial and agri-business enterprises in the Urban Renewal Area.”

Description of Properties to be Acquired in Connection with the Project: The County will acquire such easement territory and right-of-way as are necessary to successfully undertake the Road, Bridge and Culvert Projects. Description of Use of TIF: It is anticipated that the County will pay for the Road, Bridge and Culvert Projects with either borrowed funds and/or the proceeds of an internal advance of County funds on-hand. In any case, the County’s obligations will be repaid with incremental property tax revenues. It is anticipated that the County’s use of incremental property tax revenues for the Road, Bridge and Culvert Projects will not exceed $2,000,000 plus any interest as may accrue on any credit facilities entered into by the County to finance the Road, Bridge and Culvert Projects.  For further details, please contact the Shelby County Auditor’s Office.

Kaylee Langrell from Turnkey Logistics along with Christopher Hill, representing Summit Pipeline solutions addressed the Supervisors during Wednesday’s meeting. Langrel and Hill were questioned about the claim of $867,390 estimated property tax to be collected by Shelby County annually. They informed the Board and audience, that it was an estimate produced by others. Many questions were ask of Summit Reps on their tax estimates, construction protocol, project benefits to the County, as well as expected communication with our inspector prior to construction. The Board stated they would like to Summit to attend the Board meetings at least every 90 days.

Iowa Ag Secretary says pandemic nearing close

Ag/Outdoor, News

June 9th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig says the state is getting closer to the end of the bird flu outbreak. There are just a few commercial poultry sites left to release from quarantine and then they can bring in new birds. He says that’s not the only step in recovery. “There’s the financial piece of this as well, which is a significant disrupter, and it’s a financial hardship for these producers. And so, in terms of financial recovery, that could take time,” Naig says. The process for lifting the quarantine involves cleaning and disinfecting the sites and then testing for the virus.

“It takes some time for these things to happen. And we anticipate that by the end of June, all of the quarantines will have been lifted,” Naig says. The U-S Ag Department pays producers for their bird losses and for cleaning and disinfecting their barns, but Naig says these payments don’t make producers whole. More than 13 million birds in Iowa have died from the disease or been killed to stop it from spreading. The state had its last case of bird flu in early May.

DeJear to soon reveal running mate choice for race against Reynolds-Gregg

News

June 9th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – With Iowa’s Primary Election over, both major political parties shift to General Election mode, with a lot of attention on the race between Republican Kim Reynolds and Democrat Deidre DeJear for governor. Neither had opposition in the primary. Reynolds, who’s been governor for five years, has been describing her platform as push back against President Biden. “When you take a look at what’s happening in this country today, it’s just so sad and unbelievable in 16 or 17 months how this economy has changed and what we’re facing,” Reynolds says.

Reynolds says the tax cuts she signed into law and the E-15 expansion plan she approved last month put Iowa in a position to withstand high inflation. “We’ve got a good message, a good contrast to run against what’s happening at the federal level, the national level, with the Biden Administration,” Reynolds says. DeJear says her focus is on state policy, not a national agenda.

“When we look at the data, the numbers, the rankings, when we look at the challenges that Iowans are facing, there are some fundamental flaws in how Governor Reynolds is leading,” DeJear says, “and the decisions that she’s making.” DeJear will soon be announcing a decision of her own — as she chooses a lieutenant governor as a running mate. DeJear has been asking for advice from people she meets on the campaign trail as well as elected officials and her campaign team. She says her pick will bring balance.

“So that our ticket will be stronger and greater and that’s what I’m looking for right now,” DeJear says. “I don’t need a replica of me…I need someone who’s willing to do the work and I can’t wait to share with the entire state who that individual is going to be.”

DeJear says her decision will be announced the latter part of next week. In Iowa, candidates for governor choose a running mate and their nominee for lieutenant governor is voted upon at their party’s state convention. Democrats will hold their state convention on Saturday, July 18th. The Republican Party’s state convention is THIS Saturday.

Casey’s CEO says gas prices are extremely volatile right now

News

June 8th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The C-E-O of the Ankeny-based Casey’s convenience store chain talked today (Wednesday) about gas prices during the quarterly conference call for investors. Darren Rebelez says it is constantly changing. “This is an extremely volatile environment right now. When I was in the military, we would call this a VUCA environment, which is an acronym for volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous,” Rebelez says. “I think all of those words describe what we’re experiencing in fuel right now.”

The company reported that the number of gallons of gas sold in the fourth quarter was up one-point-five percent and the margin was 36-point-two cents a gallon despite the volatility of the gas pricing. Rebelez was asked if we might see gas prices at or above six dollars a gallon. “You know, it’s really hard to put predict where we’re going to see those prices ultimately peak out. And I would say it’s very geography specific — we have a pretty wide range from the most expensive areas in our geography to the least expensive,” he says. 

He says their stores in the Greater Chicago suburbs have prices well north of five dollars a gallon, while at the other end of the spectrum there are some that are just slightly above four dollars a gallon. Triple-A Iowa reports the average cost of a gallon of gas here is four dollars, 68 cents a gallon. Rebelez says people are backing off on purchases in the areas where the gas price is the highest. “We are starting to see some erosion in volume in the low single digits. In the middle two quartiles, we’re kind of flatish to maybe slightly down. And then in the bottom quartile, we’re still seeing gallon growth,” according to Rebellez. He says overall customers haven’t cut back on their visits.

“The average fill up is down about a gallon versus where it was the same time last year. So people are purchasing just a little bit less fuel than they had historically per visit,” he says. “But they’ll end up having to make more visits to the store over time, which we believe gives us a better opportunity to get people inside the store to buy more stuff.” He says customers are also shifting over to higher blends of ethanol. “The ethanol economics are actually working out pretty favorably right now from a consumer perspective. So they’ll shift over to an E-15 type of product versus what most of the fuel is blended at E-ten,” Rebellez says.

Rebelez says six dollars a gallon is uncharted water for everybody and he imagines people might cut back on their purchases at that point. The overall financial report for the quarter showed the company generated a record 340 million dollars in net income and gross profits were up 14 percent.