(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic City Council met this (Wednesday) evening. During their brief session, the Council held a Public Hearing on the Transfer and Sale of 302 Birch Street, a property owned by the City. City Administrator John Lund previously mentioned Randy C. Clark was the only party to submit a bid for the property, which was for the assessed amount of $5,600. Lund noted Clark had taken care of the property by mowing it since it was acquired by the City. Following the public hearing, the Council adopted a Resolution executing the sale of the property.

In other business, the Atlantic City Council passed a Resolution “Authorizing Adoption of Amended and Restated Policies and Procedures regarding Municipal Securities Disclosure,” which the City’s Finance Attorney says needed to be updated to reflect laws that were changed in 2019, pertaining to Municipal Bonds. John Lund explained….

The Council passed also, a Resolution “Assessing Unpaid Fees and Costs to Property Taxes,” with regard to billing for the cleanup of nuisance properties with garbage, junk, tall grass and weeds. The City will formally charge costs relating to the abatement of such nuisances in the same manner as assessed property, if fines and/or cleanup costs are not paid by the property owner after being informed of their responsibility to take care of their property. John Lund said for property owners facing assessment, the City will send a notice by regular mail to each affected property owner. This notice will include a copy of the resolution and the specific assessment amount. Additionally, property owners will be informed of their right to object or request a hearing within 10 days from the date of the notice.

John Lund discussed a request by the Atlantic Bottling Company to eliminate all parking on the east side of their plant at 2nd and Walnut, to make semi traffic safer and more efficient. The request includes removal of 11 parking stalls currently in existence on the east side of Walnut Street, north of 2nd.

Lund noted the company (Atlantic Bottling) has been a valuable part of the community and county. The suggestion was made to make the area an official, “No Parking Zone,” but no action on the request was taken at this time. And, during the Council Committee reports, Councilperson Emily Kennedy said Atlantic Municipal Utilities (AMU) received a grant for Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations. Mayor Grace Garrett added to the conversation…

In other business, the Council approved three Pay Applications by contractors for the various City Street Improvement Projects.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Montgomery County Auditor Jill Ozuna reports (Pursuant to Code of Iowa Sec. 50.51), the Secretary of State’s Office has ordered a post-election audit of the November 4, 2025, City/School Combined Election.

The race to be audited will be the first race, on the first ballot style available (For School Director At-Large) in Precinct 4 (Grfld, Lncln, Sher, Pilot Grove, Twp, Elliott). The polling location for Precinct 4 is the Elliott Community Building.

The Montgomery County Auditor’s Office will conduct this audit on Thursday, November 13, starting at 1:00 p.m. The audit will take place on the 3rd floor, Auditor’s Election room of the Courthouse, 105 E Coolbaugh Street, Red Oak.

The proceedings will be open to the public.

(DES MOINES) – The Iowa Finance Authority Board of Directors today (Wednesday), approved more than $5.7 million in grants to assist 42 agencies with homelessness assistance initiatives during the 2026 calendar year.

In Pottawattamie  County:

• Heartland Family Service received an Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) for $71,050.
• Micah House Corporation received Shelter Assistance Fund (SAF) award of $133,265
• New Vision Homeless Services received an ESG in the amount of $50,000, and a SAF award of $150,000.

Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) awards were presented to sponsors Primary Health Care and Siouxland Community Health Center, in the amounts of $537,574 and $189, 752, respectively. Those two agencies serve counties in west central, western and southwest Iowa, as well as other parts of the State.

Iowa Finance Authority Director Debi Durham says “Iowa’s greatest housing needs include support for individuals with the lowest incomes who are at risk of homelessness. Through strong partnerships with homeless service providers across the state, these awards will support many Iowans in their time of crisis and on their path to housing stability.”

Individuals in need of homelessness assistance should visit iowahousinghelp.com or call the coordinated entry system at 833-739-0065. Residents of Des Moines or Polk County should call centralized intake at 515-248-1850. Residents in the Siouxland area should visit siouxlandhomeless.org or call 712-224-5247.

The funding is made available through the State-funded Shelter Assistance Fund (SAF) and the federal Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) programs.

The Iowa Finance Authority conducted competitive application processes for the ESG and SAF programs, while HOPWA funding is distributed by formula based upon Iowa Department of Public Health data. Applications were scored in several categories, including program design, experience and capacity, community partnerships, performance, budget and grants management.

Emergency Solutions Grant Program (ESG) 

The primary purpose of the federal Emergency Solutions Grant program is to help Iowans and their families quickly regain stability in permanent housing after experiencing a housing crisis or homelessness. Examples of eligible services include rental and other emergency financial assistance, street outreach, case management and supportive services. The program is administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and by the Iowa Finance Authority in Iowa. Twenty-seven agencies were awarded a total of more than $3 million in 2026 Emergency Solutions Grant program funds.

Shelter Assistance Fund (SAF) 

The State-funded Shelter Assistance Fund program provides assistance to help with the costs of operations of homeless and domestic violence shelters, essential services for individuals in shelters and evaluation and reporting services. Twenty-two agencies were awarded a total of more than $1.4 million in 2026 Shelter Assistance Fund grants.

Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) 

Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS is a federal program of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development designed to assist persons who have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and their families who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness. Five agencies were awarded a total of more than $1.2 million in 2026 Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS grants.

The awards list is available here: 2026 SAF.ESG_.HOPWA Awards_0

• Hometown Connections: Expanding Centers of Excellence and developing Health Hubs with investments in telehealth, medical equipment, and care for uninsured Iowans.
• Best and Brightest: Recruiting and retaining top-tier health professionals in rural communities through targeted incentives.
• Combat Cancer – Prevent and Treat: Increasing access to cancer screening and treatment, forming cancer-specific hubs, and supporting families and research.
• Communities of Care: Co-locating providers for coordinated multidisciplinary care supported by community health workers.
• Health Information Exchange: Ensuring seamless access to health records across the state to support continuity of care.
• EMS Community Care Mobile: Bringing care directly to rural residents through mobile health services and high-risk transport support.

• Fewer emergency department visits for preventable conditions
• More rural residents receiving care locally
• Increased provider-to-population ratios
• Expanded telehealth access across rural Iowa

• Reinstating the Presidential Fitness Test in alignment with Executive Order 14327
• Adding nutrition education to continuing medical education for physicians
• Joining the PSYPACT compact to expand access to mental health providers
• Removing Certificate of Need requirements for outpatient behavioral health services

(Radio Iowa) – Two-hundred employees at the Case New Holland plant in Burlington will lose their jobs next year when the facility closes for good. The company says the Burlington facility is its most expensive plant to operate, plus demand for the backhoe loaders produced in Burlington has dropped nearly 50 percent. Production at the Burlington plant began in 1937 and is expected to end by mid-2026.

About 60 employees, most of whom are part of C-N-H’s engineering team, will still work in Burlington to test Case New Holland equipment. The United Auto Workers is holding a rally in Burlington Friday afternoon to protest the company’s decision.

C-N-H was created 25 years ago by the merger of Case and New Holland. The company is controlled by an Italian family whose patriarch co-founded the Fiat Motor Company in 1899.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s largest city had to turn away thousands of people from applying for federal housing vouchers under the Section Eight program — and that’s just for a chance to get on a wait-list, not for the rental assistance itself. It’s the first time Des Moines had to close its wait-list in two decades. Chris Johansen, director of neighborhood services, says the city received 75-hundred applications this year. That sets a new record and is three-thousand more than last year.

“We had a lot more people from not only just locally, but from other states that applied as well,” Johansen says, “and that just tells me that the waiting list in their community are either long or they’re closed as well.” Johansen says it’s a sign that incomes aren’t keeping up with the cost of housing. He says the high demand for housing might be caused by COVID aftereffects. Since the pandemic, he says there has been a large increase in rent prices.

“We’ve seen, over the last two years, our average housing assistance payment has increased by about $150,” Johansen says. “That’s a straight correlation with the rise in rental rates.” Johansen says the city is already having trouble meeting the need, as federal funding isn’t covering as many families as it used to cover.

(Radio Iowa) – For the second time in two years, bond referendums for new jails in Sac and Dallas Counties have failed. The 12-and-a-half MILLION dollar jail plan in Sac County got the support of nearly 57 percent of voters, but fell short of the required 60 percent needed for approval. Sac County Sheriff Katie Stange says it was tough to see the measure come so close to passing.

“It’s not the super majority that we want, but at the same time Sac County voters have demonstrated two years in a row that over half of voters agree that Sac County needs a new jail,” Stange said, “so although it’s not the 60%, it’s still encouraging.” Sac County’s Jail opened over 80 years and is the oldest county jail operating in the state. Due to its age and safety issues, it’s at risk of being closed by the state. Stange says she and other county officials will spend the next few weeks reviewing voter feedback and whether changes in the design of a new jail could be made and another bond issue be presented to voters.

“We’ve obviously put a spotlight on the liability of our jail, but the liability on Tuesday in 2025 is the same liability that’s been in the Sac County Jail for 5, 10, 15, 20 years,” the sheriff said, “so I would hope that we would have some options moving forward.” The Sac County Jail’s next state inspection is scheduled in the summer of 2026. If state officials order the jail to be closed, Sac County officials will have to transport prisoners to jails in other counties and deal with higher transportation costs and room/board fees.

The bonding plan in Dallas County for a new jail and law enforcement offices in Adel got 51 percent support — far short of the 60 percent needed for passage. Voters in Bettendorf approved a plan for a new police station. A bond for a new fire station was approved by Ames voters, while 70 percent of voters in Le Mars rejected a plan for a new fire station.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office, today (Wednesday), released information about a non-injury accident involving a semi tractor-trailer, that occurred on Oct. 26th. Authorities say a Freightliner semi driven by 34-year-old Dustin Woods, of Guthrie Center, was traveling north on Sycamore Avenue at around 7:45-p.m. on the 26th, and trying to negotiate a left turn onto 160th Road, when a grain trailer the semi was hauling, dropped-off into the eastbound ditch, before it rolled over and dumped its load of grain into the ditch and onto the roadway.

The semi tractor came to rest on the road. The semi sustained an estimated $35,000 damage. The grain trailer, registered to Austin Smith, of Yale, sustained $20,000 damage, according to the report.

No citations were issued.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says it’s hard to negotiate solutions to rising health care costs when the government is shut down. “The president and the administration are doing what they can to lower the cost of prescription drugs for the American people. I applaud them for doing that,” Hinson said. “And I’ve had Iowans tell me they want lower costs, but they’re frustrated that the government is shut down, so I think most people see through what’s happening here, so we need to get the government open so we can continue those conversations.” Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra, who is running for governor, has criticized continuing the Affordable Care Act insurance subsidies for Americans with incomes above 400% of the federal poverty line that were extended during the pandemic. Hinson — who’s running for the U-S Senate — says Democrats put the subsidies in place to mask the rising cost of insurance premiums.

“We can all agree that health care costs are way too high,” Hinson says. “It’s the Unaffordable Care Act. It’s not the Affordable Care Act…I want to work on solutions to lower the cost of care, expand access.” Hinson has proposed a bill she says would improve access to breast cancer screening tests in rural areas. It calls for a 25 percent increase in the amount the U-S-D-A pays in a cost-share program for rural facilities that purchase mammograms, C-T scanners and other equipment used to test for breast cancer. “Early detection gives hope a head start and saves lives,” Hinson said. “And I’m very proud to help introduce this bipartisan legislation that would strengthen federal resources for cancer prevention.” Hinson says the shutdown is preventing discussion of this bill and other topics in congress — and she rejects the idea congress needs to pass any stop-gap measures to fund SNAP benefits or address flight delays at airports by paying air traffic controllers.

“If we get the government open, the air traffic controllers and the TSA agents will get paid and they’ll get their backpay for all of the weeks they have been working unpaid,” Hinson says. “…This is about Democrats using these people as leverage and now they’re putting the safety and security of Americans flying through our airports at risk.” Hinson made her comments this (Wednesday) morning during a conference call with Iowa reporters. Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart says Republicans are in total charge of the federal government and are failing to do their jobs. The Republican-led House passed the temporary spending plan that has stalled in the Senate six weeks ago and hasn’t reconvened since then.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday morning, received an update from Jim Richardson with the County Secondary Roads Department, while Engineer Karen Albert was attending the 2025 Traffic and Safety Forum, in Ames.

The Board also received an Information Technology (IT) update from Beau Boeye (Boeye Tech and Design) – IT Point of Contact for Montgomery County – with regard to AI (Artificial Intelligence) Pilot Project. He said anywhere you go, in any industry, the big topic is AI. At a IT Director conference last month, the topic of discussion was with regard to having an AI policy in-place. That sparked discussions between his department and Montgomery County Auditor Jill Ozuna.

He said as the directors at the conference discussed, “You can’t block AI.”

He said they especially want to have a policy in-place in Montgomery County to help protect any sort of PII (Personally Identifiable Information).

He said they want to use the tools correctly to protect the data correctly and give useful information to the other department heads.