(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court has thrown out a district court ruling that allowed environmental groups to sue the state over water quality. The Supreme Court ruling says it is speculative that a favorable court decision would lead to a more aesthetically pleasing Raccoon River, better swimming, kayaking, and lower water rates in the Des Moines metropolitan area. The ruling says the groups are simply seeking broad, abstract declarations that do not provide any assurance of concrete results.

The 4-3 decision says the remedy sought by the groups is quite general and the environmental groups admit it can only be done through legislation. The ruling says that opens the question of what would the legislation look like as “there is no free lunch” — because reducing the amount of fertilizer farmers use would not reach the goal set for nitrates and could cause economic harm to farmers.

(Radio Iowa) – The tax bill Governor Kim Reynolds signed into law this week includes a sales tax break for the state’s Food Banks. The state sales tax isn’t charged on food, but Iowa food banks pay an estimated 200-thousand dollars every year in sales taxes on other supplies and equipment. Linda Gorkow, executive director of the Iowa Food Bank Association, says that savings will translate into an additional one million meals. “It provides us an opportunity for us to save funds that have been donated graciously by donors, community members,” she says, “and really put those funds towards feeding hungry people across the state of Iowa.”

Advocates have been lobbying legislators for this move for about a decade. Gorkow says food bank warehouses spend a lot of money on things like fork lifts, trucks, cleaning supplies and refrigeration units — all of which were subject to the state sales tax until this change. While food banks used to focus primarily on shelf-stable food that did not require refrigeration, Gorkow says freezers and coolers are essential to operations now. “Food banks have gone to really serving our Iowans with healthy food — produce, other perishable items,” Gorkow says. “Our freezers and coolers are very important. We freeze our meat and proteins as soon as we receive them.”

The Iowa Food Bank Association represents the six food banks that serve all 99 Iowa counties. Officials say for a variety of reasons, an estimated 400-thousand Iowans are struggling to afford a reliable supply of food and they rely on local food pantries and food banks for meals.

The Atlantic Chamber Ambassadors visited the United Church of Christ on Thursday, June 17th, 2021. The Ambassadors visited with the church’s new pastor Heather Santi-Brown. The Ambassadors learned about her new role in the church and moving to small town Iowa.

Heather and her family moved to Atlantic from Texas in April, and shortly after that Heather began her work for the church. Heather has enjoyed the small town feel after living in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for most of her life. Heather’s favorite part of the community is how welcoming it is to everyone, especially with her children. Heather and her husband also enjoy being a part of the community and attended Art in the Park and Produce in the Park, among other community activities.

Patti Mass, Krysta Hanson, Kathie Hockenberry, Jim Kickland, Scott Bennett, Dolly Bergmann, Marcus Daugherty, Anne Quist, Chris Bennett, Heather Santi-Brown, Dawn Marnin, Donnie Drennan, Dr. Keith Leonard, Jennifer McEntaffer, Carole Schuler and Heidi Roland-Hinman

The church is operated by a small staff including Heather and office assistant Chris Bennett. The United Church of Christ welcomes all people so feel free to visit them for a service or listen on 96.5 KSOM Sunday’s at 8:30 AM. The bell that is pictured below, was the first bell rang in Atlantic encouraging people to worship.

For more information about United Church of Christ visit their Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/UCCAtlantic

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office on Friday (today, June 18th), reported two arrests and one accident. On Wednesday, Deputies arrested 50-year-old Stanley Oral Rossell, of Lewis, on a Boulder County Colorado warrant for bond revocation.  Rossell was transported to Cass County Jail where he is being held without bond and awaiting transport by Colorado authorities.

On Tuesday, June 15th, 39-year-old Brian Harold Eilts, of Massena, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for violation of probation.  Eilts was transported to Cass County Jail and is currently being held on $2,000 bond.

And, on Saturday, June 12th, approximately 7:44 p.m., Cass County Deputies responded to an accident on Interstate 80 at the 65 mile marker.  Authorities say Alexandrea McAfee, of Anita, was driving a 2015 Ford Fusion westbound on the Interstate, when she swerved to miss another vehicle entering her lane. When McAfee lost control, her car entered the north ditch.  No injuries were reported.

The broadcast news from Ric Hanson.

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June 18, 2021 (DES MOINES) – Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Economic Development Authority today (Friday) announced $400,000 in grant funding awarded to 26 projects that will help grow and revitalize rural communities across the state. Gov. Reynolds said “The Rural Innovation Grant program and the Rural Housing Assessment Grant program help turn innovative ideas into reality for so many small communities across Iowa, paving the way for opportunity and prosperity for generations to come. The Governor’s Empower Rural Iowa Initiative continues to bring together stakeholders from all walks of life who are focused on growing our rural communities.”

Iowa Lt. Governor Adam Greg says “We’re building on the success of last year’s launch of these transformative grants with a second round of projects that will serve as models for rural revitalization across the state. The governor and I look forward to seeing the projects that step forward to apply.”

The Governor’s Empower Rural Iowa Initiative developed the following grant programs in 2019 for rural communities of fewer than 20,000 people:

• The Rural Innovation Grant program supports creative ideas to overcome rural community development challenges, such as workforce development and housing shortages.  In the KJAN listening area:
• The City of Griswold was awarded $10,000 to install food lockers downtown for regional delivery w/Ramsey Market. The total project cost is $65,00; The City of Lenox was awarded $20,000 for activation of an alley into a pocket park, w/a curb bump out. The total project cost is $80,000; The City of Manning was awarded $7,600 towards the total cost of $11,400, for Conceptual design for three housing developments & community input processes.; and, the Southwest Iowa Nature Trails Project by the City of Imogene, was awarded $20,000 towards the $35,140 cost of a bike trail beautification with a mural, sculpture and community spaces.

The Rural Housing Assessment program supports efforts to expand access to quality housing tailored to communities. The program leverages data from the Iowa Finance Authority’s Profile of Iowa tool and provides support through a partnership with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. The grants cover 26 projects across the state, including: The Cities of Mount Ayr and Onawa, which were awarded $10,000 each, to facilitate with ISU Extension and Implementation. Atlantic, Grinnell, Livermore, Rock Valley, Sheldon and Shenandoah also received Rural Housing Assessment grants, and will participate in readiness assessment and implementation process in partnership with Iowa State University Office of Extension and Outreach.

A full list of grant recipients is available at iowaeda.com/empower-rural-iowa.

Officials with the Creston Police Department report a Des Moines man, 21-year-old Steven Michael Hildebrand, was arrested Thursday at 809 W. Adams St., in Creston. He was charged with Theft 2nd Degree, Possession of Controlled Substance 3rd, and a Union County Warrant for Failure to Appear Theft 5th. Hildebrand being held in the Union County Jail on a $10,000 cash or surety bond.

The broadcast news at 7:07-a.m. w/Ric Hanson.

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Last week, the Mayor of Audubon issued a Water Emergency in effect until September 1, 2021. Thursday, City officials in Exira issued a Mandatory Water Conservation Notice. The Regional Rural Water Association is asking citizens of Exira to abide by the following restrictions: