(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Business and Professional Women (BPW) organization has four scholarships available for 2024. The Iowa Business and Professional Women’s Foundation also has four $1,000 scholarships available at www.bpw-iowa.org.  If you know anyone who could benefit from these scholarships, please have them contact Laurine Price, at 712-249-6688 or lprice_79@msn.com or local high school scholarship websites for an application.

All applications are due by or postmarked by: April 1, 2024

1. The $750.00 Collen Scholarship is available to any female student a resident of Cass, Shelby, or Audubon Counties in Iowa. The student must be pursuing a degree in Computer Science, Management Information Systems, Computer Systems Management, Chemistry or Engineering. The student may attend college full-time or part-time.

2. The $1000.00 BPW Scholarship is available to a Cass County resident non-traditional (has been out of high school 5+ yrs.) female or male who: (1) Is a United States citizen; (2) Has been out of the work force and is seeking to get back into the work force and needs additional education; (3) Completed high school five or more years ago and wants to start or resume their college education; (4) Demonstrates financial need, scholastic ability, leadership skills and career goals.

3. The $1000.00 Bev Mendenhall Nursing Scholarship honoring the memory of a long-time active Atlantic member. The scholarship is available to a female or male resident of Cass County, Iowa who is a non-traditional student (has been out of high school 5+ yrs.) who: (1) Is a United States citizen; (2) Has been out of the work force and is seeking to get back into the work force and needs additional education; (3) Completed high school five or more years ago and wants to start or resume their college education; (4) Demonstrates financial need, scholastic ability, leadership skills and career goals.

4. The $1000.00 Don Sonntag Nursing Scholarship, provided by the generous donation from Don Sonntag. The scholarship is available to a female or male resident of Cass County, Iowa, is a high school senior or non-traditional student who is a US citizen and is pursuing education in the Nursing profession

Iowa Business and Professional Women Foundation Scholarships

The Iowa BPW Federation was founded in 1920. The Iowa BPW Foundation was established in 1988 for charitable, educational and scientific purposes. Since that time, the Educational Scholarship Committee has awarded numerous scholarships to deserving women and men in order to help them continue their higher education.

The Iowa Business and Professional Women Foundation works to:

• Promote charitable, educational, and scientific purposes.
• Establish, maintain and distribute scholarships.
• Give financial aid to schools, colleges, and other institutions of education.
• Conduct research and surveys.
• Provide lectures and seminars.

Four $1000.00 scholarships will be awarded for 2024-2025 academic year. Applications may be found at: www.bpw-iowa.org

Requirements

Applicants must be a non-traditional student who:

• Is a resident of Iowa. Attending a school outside Iowa does not negate residency. If the applicant was a resident of Iowa prior to attending school or if her (his) parents are residents, this will constitute residency. An active non-resident member of a BPW/Iowa local organization may also apply provided she/he has been a member for five (5) years. Active means attends local & state meetings; participates in projects. * The applicant need not be a member of Business and Professional Women of Iowa (BPW/Iowa).
• Is a United States citizen.
• Wants/needs to reenter the workforce but needs additional education.
• Graduated high school five (5) or more years ago (2018 or before) and now wants to start or resume a college education. Demonstrates financial need, scholastic ability, leadership skills and career goals.

The limit of the scholarship awards is two (2) years.

(Adair, Iowa) – The Adair-Casey/Guthrie Center School District Boards of Education will meet 7-p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 28th), in the AC/GC Junior High Media Center, in Adair. On the agenda for their combined Work Session, is discussion with regard to Whole Grade Sharing. No action is expected. According to the Iowa Department of Education, “Whole grade sharing as a procedure used by school districts whereby all or a substantial portion of the pupils in any grade in two or more school districts share an educational program for all or a substantial portion of a school day under a written agreement pursuant to the Iowa Code. Whole grade sharing may either be one-way or two-way sharing.

Starting with the 2016-2017 school year, the Adair-Casey District entered into a Whole Grade Sharing Agreement with the Guthrie Center Schools, thereby starting a new chapter in the school district. Elementary students within the school district in grades Pre-school through 6 attend school at the Adair-Casey Elementary campus. Junior high (grades 7 and 8) join students from Guthrie Center and attend the AC/GC Junior High at the Adair-Casey campus. Grades 9 through 12 from both Adair-Casey and Guthrie Center attend the AC/GC High School at the high school campus in Guthrie Center.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Members of the Atlantic Community School District’s Board of Education will hold a Work Session at 5:30-p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 28th), in the Central Administration Conference Room at the Achievement Center (1407 SW 7th St.). The meeting will be made available for viewing through YouTube. Among other business, the Board will act on approving the resignations of:

• James Brauer, HS English Teacher
• Tori Wood, Makyala Lucero and Kaitlyn Geib, SpEd Paraprofessionals

And, they will act to approve contract recommendations and/or Letters of Assignment for:

• Trinity Christensen, SpEd Paraprofessional
• Hannah Misner, HS Science Teacher
• Stephanie Kelley, HS Social Studies Teacher.

View the rest of their agenda here: 02282024 Public AGENDA Work Session

(Atlantic,Iowa) – The Atlantic Park and Recreation Department Park Advisory Commission is set to meet Wednesday afternoon (Feb. 28th), at the Parks and Rec Office at 1200 Sunnyside Lane. During their 3:30-p.m. Session, the Commission is expected to elect a chairman and vice chairman.

They will also discuss old programs and new ideas. And, they’re expected to hear a presentation from Vicki Nordskog, with regard to Mollett Park.

The commission held its first meeting last month. Parks Coordinator Jeff Christensen said during the last meeting on January 24^th, that he envisioned the commission as one that would take community input and come up with ideas for the park to get a variety of opinions when it comes to programs and activities.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill under consideration in the Iowa House would lower the state tax rate for Iowa’s state-licensed casinos to be at or near the tax rate for casinos in Nebraska and Missouri. Illinois casinos have variable tax rates, based on the size of the market and the games offered. Mark Joyce is a lobbyist for the company that operates the Diamond Jo casinos in Northwood and Dubuque. Joyce says lowering taxes would be a welcome move. Lobbyist Doug Struyk represents the Catfish Bend Casino in Burlington, which he says is facing competition from new casinos in Illinois. Struyk also represents Caesars Entertainment which owns the Horseshoe and Harrah’s casinos in Council Bluffs that soon will be competing with a new casino in Omaha.

Gaming revenue for all three Council Bluffs casinos began to dip when the WarHorse Casino in Lincoln opened in September of 2022 and Harrah’s opened in Columbus, Nebraska in June of last year. Struyk says that has slowed the flow of gamblers from Nebraska into Iowa. Another WarHorse Casino is expected to open in Omaha by August of this year. Representative Jane Bloomingdale is sponsoring the bill to gradually lower Iowa’s casino taxes over a three year period. She’s from Northwood. The state-licensed Diamond Jo casino is nearby.

Bloomingdale’s bill has cleared a House subcommittee, but one member of the panel said she’s concerned cutting casino taxes will lower the amount of money deposited in the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund. Money from the fund is used on a variety of projects, from lake dredging to constructing or repairing state-owned buildings.

(Radio Iowa) – Koch (coke) Industries has announced a three-point-six billion dollar deal to buy a fertilizer plant in southeast Iowa, and some ag leaders fear it could create a monopoly. The purchase of the Iowa Fertilizer Company in Lee County still awaits federal review. Jason Sporrer is a sales manager for a co-op that serves western Iowa. He says when the fertilizer company opened in 2017, it brought more competition to the marketplace.

“Some of that now is going by the wayside, in my opinion,” Sporrer says. Democrats in the Iowa statehouse also have questions about the acquisition. They want federal and state regulators to investigate the impact consolidation would have on prices and the 260 employees of the facility in Wever. Iowa State University economics professor Chad Hart says four of the top producers control 80-percent of fertilizer production.

Hart says, “I think that always puts up what’s called yellow caution lights within the sector about, okay, are we truly maintaining the competitive balance there or not?” Hart says the war in Ukraine led to major swings in fertilizer pricing. A U-S-D-A spokesperson says when dominant middlemen control so much of the fertilizer supply chain, producers, and consumers “bear the brunt.”

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak, Monday, arrested 23-year-old Brandon Lane Good, of Red Oak. Officials say Good was taken into custody at around 6:40-p.m. in the 200 block of E. Hammond Street, on an active Pottawattamie County warrant for Failure To Appear on a Driving while license denied or revoked, charge. Good was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 bond, or until extradition to Pott. County.

Monona, Iowa – One person was injured during a collision Monday morning in northeastern Iowa’s Allamakee County. According to the Iowa State Patrol, the crash happened just before 9-a.m. north of Monona, near the intersection of County Road X26 and Smithfield Drive.

Investigators say a 2007 Chevy Impala driven by 18-year-old Carter Mielke, of Monona, was traveling southbound when it crossed the centerline and struck a 2019 Chevy Silverado pickup driven by 42-year-old Jeremy Geisler, of Waucoma, that was traveling northbound.

Mielke – who was wearing his seat belt – was injured in the collision. He was flown by helicopter to Gunderson Hospital. There is no word on his condition at this time.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says American farmland needs to remain in American hands and she will quickly sign one of the first bills to clear the 2024 legislature. The bill closes a loophole that could let foreigners or foreign governments be investors in limited liability companies or involved in trusts that acquire Iowa farmland. The bill requires agland purchase reports filed with the state to include more information about ownership structures.

Republican Representative Derek Wulf, a farmer from Hudson, says purchasers will also have to file a complete list of all their landholdings in the United States. “Chinese nationals are buying farmland near military bases. They’re looking to steal our intellectual property from our seed and genetic companies. They’re trying to steal our livestock practices and advancements learned through generations of agriculturalists — and these are only some of the few things they’re doing. They’re coming for our way of life and, quite frankly folks, this needs to end,” Wulf said, pounding his desk on the House floor to emphasize his comments.

Representative J.D. Scholten, a Democrat from Sioux City, says now’s the time to act, because food security is national security. “With the average age of a farmer north of 58 years old, we’re going to see the largest amount of farmland transfer in Iowa’s history in the next 10-15 years, according to Iowa State University,” Scholten said. “Nationally, foreign ownership of American farmland is larger than equivalent of the entire state of Ohio and growing.”

The bill ensures Iowa’s attorney general has subpoena powers to investigate agland purchases and it significantly increases the penalty for any violations. Under current law, foreign entities caught owning more than 320 acres of Iowa farmland face a two-thousand dollar fine. The bill raises the fine to 25 percent of the assessed value of the land.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has given final legislative approval a bill that gets rid of the gender balance requirement for Iowa boards and commissions. Republican Representative Jane Bloomingdale of Northwood says it’s an antiquated law. “Gender balance often causes us to eliminate some of the most qualified candidates and that’s the last thing we want to do,” Bloomingdale says. “We want the most qualified candidates on our boards, commissions and councils.” The bill passed on a 62 to 33 vote. The 33 nos came from Democrats, like Representative Elinor Levin of Iowa City.

“We have not achieved gender parity on our boards and commissions,” Levin says. “Perhaps when we have this conversation would be worth having.” The bill passed the Senate this week and is headed to Reynolds, who says it lets people with a passion for service fill slots on boards and commissions at the state and local level.

“I just feel like the best, most qualified and somebody who wants to do it is the person we should put in that position,” Reynolds said. The governor made that comment during an interview with Radio Iowa in 2023. Gender balance has been required on all boards and commissions in state government since 1987. In 2009, the legislature passed a law to require the policy in local government. This bill repeals both laws.