(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Auditor’s Office reports one person filed nomination papers Wednesday, in advance of the November 4th City/School Elections. Officials say Deanna Andrews filed papers Wednesday to run for one of three seats on the Anita City Council. As a reminder, the following candidates for City Office are in the running for the elections:

• Dori A. Borras, of Cumberland – To Fill a Vacancy on the Cumberland City Council
• Jim Triller and Russell Miller, both of Lewis, are running for two seats on the City Council in Lewis.
• Matthew Dolch is running for one of three open seats on the City Council in Cumberland.
• Rob Clausen is running for Mayor in the City of Atlantic.
• Jeremy Butler is running for an At-Large seat on the Atlantic City Council. And,
• Dana Halder is running for re-election to his 5th Ward seat on the Atlantic City Council.

The last day to file is Thursday, September 18, 2025, at 5:00 PM. City candidates shall file nomination papers with the county auditor. School board candidates shall file nomination papers with the respective school board secretary.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City Administrator in Atlantic, Wednesday evening, reported to the City Council that Vision Atlantic’s building grant for single-family homes was approved. John Lund said the project has $14-million dollars worth of valuation, which will improve the City’s financials.

In the Council Committee reports, Wednesday, Councilman James Behrens asked parents of children in the community, to remind kids that they need to be watchful for and careful of, traffic, when kids are riding their bicycles and scooters.

The building that houses the Atlantic City Hall, City offices and Police Dept.

The matter was brought-up earlier in the afternoon Wednesday, during the City of Atlantic’s Community Protection Committee, which discussed and reviewed a proposed Electric Scooter Ordinance. Councilman Dana Halder is a Council liaison on that committee. He said they will issue a recommendation on an ordinance to the full council. Halder said the Committee also discussed for the Council’s approval, proposed “Children at Play & Slow Down” signs to be Placed on Bryn Mawr at the 14th Street Entrance, in addition to signs at Ridge Road and Chestnut Streets.

And Councilperson Elaine Otte reminded the Council and the public that tonight is Local Government night at Produce in the Park in downtown Atlantic. If you want to learn more about what your local government representatives do—or ask them questions about things happening in our community, it’s your chance to do so.

Expect to find representatives from:

• Atlantic City Council & Mayor, Cass County Board of Supervisors, County Assessor, County Treasurer, County Recorder,
• Atlantic Parks Commission, County Conservation Board,
• Atlantic Planning & Zoning and Board of Adjustments,
• Cass County Local Food Policy Council,
• Atlantic School Board, and more!

There will also be Local Government scavenger hunt BINGO! Everyone who completes their scavenger hunt BINGO card will be entered in a $50 Farmers Market gift card drawing. For more information, see the Produce in the Park Facebook page. While there may be a quorum of Council members on-hand for the event, no action will be taken on any issues. Their presence is meant to be informative only.

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston say a man was arrested, then released with a citation, late Wednesday morning for Driving While Barred. 24-year-old Jaxon Andrew Welcher, of Creston, was arrested at around 11:30-a.m. in the area of S. Chestnut St. and Highway 34. Welcher was released from the scene on a promise to appear (in court.)

(Radio Iowa) – A suspect is now jailed after a deadly shooting in Fort Dodge on Tuesday.  Thirty-eight-year-old Rolman Recinos Gonzales, of Fort Dodge, was wanted on charges of murder in the first degree, trafficking in stolen weapons and person ineligible to carry dangerous weapons. The case involves the discovery of a deceased adult male outside an apartment building on North 28th Street.

The name of the deceased male is not being released all family members are notified. Recinos Gonzales is being held in the Webster County Jail in Fort Dodge awaiting his first court appearance on the charges.

(Radio Iowa) – State Climatologist Justin Glisan says August didn’t follow the record July numbers when it came to rainfall. “About three-point-four (3.4) inches for the statewide average, and that’s about three-quarters of an inch below average, with the driest part of the state that southwestern corner, only about 53 percent of normal,” Glisan says. He says there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for the August temperature. “The normal temperature for August to 71 degrees. I take the daytime high of the overhead low and add them together, divide by two. We came right at 71 degrees, so near normal for the temperature,” he says.

The summer as a whole ended up wetter than normal as July was the second wettest in 153 years of record keeping. “Preliminarily, we’re at about 18-and-a-half inches for that statewide average. That’s almost five inches above what we would expect,” Glisan says. “So we’re looking at around the tenth wettest, June, July and August on record. And much of that rainfall was at the end of June, and the very wet July that we had.” July averaged nine-point-two inches of rain, while June was right at its average. Glisan says summer wasn’t far from what we expect for temperature. “Slightly warmer than average, depending on where you are in the state, anywhere from a degree to a degree and a half above average,” Glisan says. “We did have some warmth in the third week of July with the heat Dome that’s set up, but overall we escaped the summer without any widespread and long term heat waves.”

What’s know as the meteorological fall starts September 1st, while the autumnal equinox is on September 22nd.

(Council Bluffs) — Pottawattamie County officials are urging residents to focus on emergency preparedness this month.

By unanimous vote Tuesday morning, the county’s board of supervisors approved a proclamation recognizing September as National Preparedness Month. Emergency managers across the county set aside this month to encourage residents to prepare for emergencies. With the special month, Pottawattamie County Emergency Management Coordinator Doug Reed says his department is launching a special social media campaigning highlighting important steps in emergency planning.

He said they’ve created some very short preparedness videos on each week’s topics–there’s a different one each week, and the declaration coincides with Pottawattamie County’s 2025 Preparedness Fair September 18th from 5-until 8-p.m. at the county’s emergency operations center in Council Bluffs.

Their fifth annual event offers activities for all ages, including kids and family fun games, and face painting for the kids. There will be around 20 or more community organizations that are involved in disaster relief and recovery efforts. Their representatives will be on-hand to give information out to the public on general preparedness for all types of events

“Preparedness Begins at Home” is the theme of this year’s national observance. More information on emergency preparedness is available from Ready.gov.

(A Radio Iowa report) – Democrat Bob Krause was running for Iowa’s first district congressional seat until this week — when Krause announced he’d make a fourth try at winning Iowa’s U.S. Senate seat. “For 28 and a half years in the military, I pledged to defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies, foreign and domestic,” Krause said, “and today I see movements toward the ignoring of the Constitution and I want to change that.”

Krause, who is 75, was commissioned in the Army Reserve in 1972. It’s the same year he was elected to the Iowa legislature, where he served for six years. “I was chair of the (Iowa House) Transportation Committee and I passed the nation’s first regional transit plan for rural America. That plan for Iowa is still in existence,” Krause said. “It was adopted by the Federal Transit Commission and it’s the national model for all of the United States.”

Krause didn’t seek reelection to the Iowa House in 1978 and ran unsuccessfully for state treasurer that year. In 2010 and 2016 Krause unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party’s nomination to face Republican Senator Chuck Grassley. In 2022, Krause ended his third U.S. Senate campaign after failing to collect enough signatures to make it on the Primary Ballot. Krause also ran for governor in 2014, but dropped out and endorsed another Democrat in the race.

Krause, who is an Algona native, has been active in various veterans groups. Krause and his wife currently run the Veterans National Recovery Center website.

(Creston, Iowa) – A collision Wednesday evening in Creston resulted in a police-estimated $12,000 damage to the vehicles involved, but no one was injured. Authorities say a Ford Bronco driven by 70-year-old Adrian Hernandez-Cruz, of Lenox, was traveling north on Wyoming Avenue after leaving the controlled intersection with Highway 34. A Dodge Charger driven by 18-year-old Justin Louden, of Creston, was traveling west on Highway 34.

Police said Hernandez-Cruz failed to yield the right-of-way upon crossing the highway. His vehicle was struck by the car, causing damage to both vehicles. The accident happened just before 5:30-p.m., Wednesday.

Adrian Hernandez-Cruz was cited for Failure to Obey a stop sign and Yield the right-of-way.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Atlantic Mayor Grace Garrett, Wednesday (Sept. 3rd), took time during a regular meeting of the Atlantic City Council, to address the resignation announced this past week, of At-Large Councilman Gerald Brink, whose resignation due to health concerns, was official as of Monday, Sept. 1st.

The Council then discussed how to proceed with filling the vacancy. City Administrator John Lund has stated that because the Iowa League of Cities has informed the City that it is too close to the General Election of 2025 to hold a Special Election, that only leaves the option of an appointment, with the voters then having to decide who will fill a full-term, during the Nov. 4th General Election.

The City will post public notice in the local newspaper a minimum of four and a maximum of 20 days before action is taken to fill the Council seat by an appointment. The Council must fill the vacant seat within 60 days.

Afterward, members of the public may submit letters of interest to City Hall for consideration by the full Council. Public interviews will then be conducted, and each candidate will be publicly voted on.

Once a candidate reaches a  majority vote, they will assume the seat for the remainder of the term of office. The Council will then be required to vote down the remaining candidates. The Mayor will then swear-in the new Council-member. On November 4th, the voters determine who will serve a full term in the At-Large seat. The winner will join the Council for the term that begins January 1, 2026.

In other business, the Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, passed the Second Reading of an ordinance vacating a portion of the right-of-way in the 400 block of Laurel Street, and, following a public hearing, passed the First Reading of an amended ordinance pertaining to Flood Plain regulations, and as required by the National Federal Flood Insurance Program. City Engineer Dave Sturm mentioned City Administrator Lund had received a letter from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources regarding Flood Plain Management Regulations.

The Atlantic City Council then passed a Resolution (#61-25) “Authorizing and Approving a Loan Agreement and Providing for the Issuance of a $90,000 General Obligation Solid Waste Management Note.” They also approved three separate Pay Applications for work on the City Street improvement Projects.

The next regular meeting of the Atlantic City Council is scheduled for September 24 at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at City Hall.

(Radio Iowa) – The U.S. House has passed a bill co-sponsored by Iowa Congressman Zach Nunn that outlines new sanctions for fentanyl manufacturers in China.  “Tragically, right here in Iowa nearly half of all overdose deaths are related directly to the importation of fentanyl and use in our state,” Nunn says.

The bill would expand the definition of foreign opioid trafficker in federal law. That would give federal officials authority to impose new sanctions on Chinese individuals and organizations that produce, sell or export synthetic opioids, including fentanyl.

It also would require the Trump Administration to determine if top officials in the Chinese government should be designated as opioid traffickers. Nunn — a Republican from Ankeny — says the Chinese Communist Party continues to turn a blind eye to the fentanyl crisis and it’s time to hold bad actors accountable, wherever they may be.

“And while it is made in China, produced and executed in places like Mexico, the results are deadly on the streets across America,” Nunn says. The bill passed the House on a 407 to four vote and now goes to the U.S. Senate for consideration.

Fentanyl is responsible for 70 percent of overdose deaths in the United States and is the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45.