The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday evening passed by a vote of 6-to-1, the first reading of an “Ordinance Amending Chapter 6 of the Code of Ordinances, by changing the method of election to runoff elections.” At Large Councilperson Grace Garrett was the lone Nay vote. During the Public Comment period of a hearing on the matter, there was no one to speak in-person, but Garrett said she had received questions from the her constituents regarding the proposed method of election change. Speaking on behalf of those she spoke with, Garrett said they wanted to know “why the change?, and “Why now?” The current system is a plurality, or, “Winner takes all.” Garrett said an unidentified person who works at the courthouse did some checking into the matter.

The method of election, the person wrote, was either changed in 2014 or the beginning of 2015, to “Winner takes all.”

Councilperson Somers said she never remembered having that conversation. Mayor Dave Jones recounted past elections, and memories were less than clear among the Council, about when the change actually took place. The Mayor said it was likely brought up in the ordinances because there’s the likelihood more than one person will run for Mayor in the next election. He says he firmly believes the winner should have 51% (50.1). While he couldn’t recall when it was changed, Jones said “Hopefully somebody in the courthouse didn’t just decide to change it for us.”

City Administrator John Lund has said “There has been a great deal of interest in the Mayor’s Office. No fewer than five [persons] have expressed an interest in running.” The City’s Personnel and Finance Committee reviewed all the options during their meeting on May 26th, and concluded the election system should be changed to a majority, and recommended the Council vote to consider/approve the change.

On a related note, the Atlantic City Council held a Public Hearing with regard to a change of the term for Park Board members from six-years to four-years. The Parks Board is in favor of the change, which would mean seniors members would be available to help incoming Board members, if needed. They passed the first reading. Like the other election ordinance, there must be three readings before it becomes law.

In other business, the Atlantic City Council passed a Resolution “authorizing and approving a loan agreement and providing for the issuance of a $90,000 General Obligation Solid Waste Management Note,” as part of a 28-E agreement with regard to the organization that operates the Cass County Landfill. And, the Council passed an “Order to enter into an agreement with the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) for Maintenance and Repair of Primary Roads in Municipalities,” more specifically with regard to Highways 6, 71 and 83.

Police in Red Oak, Wednesday afternoon, arrested 44-year-old Jason Richard Berendes, of Red Oak, on a valid Montgomery County Domestic Assault  – No Contact Order. Berendes was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $2,000 bond.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office report the arrest Wednesday on an assault charge, of 42-year-old Robert Matthew Lynn Petersen. The Red oak man was arrested on a warrant for Domestic Assault. His bond was set at $300.

(Des Moines, IA) – Test Iowa, the state’s large-scale, free COVID-19 testing program which launched in April of last year, will end operations on July 16, 2021. Staggered closings of its drive-thru test sites and clinic locations statewide will occur over the next five weeks.

The five state-operated drive-thru locations will close when testing concludes at 4 p.m. on the following days:

• Wed., June 23: Pottawattamie County (3236 Nebraska Ave., Council Bluffs)
• Thurs., June 24: Linn County (Windstar Lines, 5755 Willow Creek Dr. SW, Cedar Rapids)
• Fri., June 25: Black Hawk County (4121 Alexandra Drive, Waterloo)
• Fri., July 16: Polk County (4475 NE 3 rd St., Des Moines)
• Fri., July 16: Scott County (North Park Mall, 320 W. Kimberly Rd., Davenport)

Clinic site closures will be determined by provider, but will occur no later than Friday, July 16. Closing dates will be announced publicly and posted online at coronavirus.iowa.gov and testiowa.com. Demand for testing is at its lowest levels in more than a year since vaccine is now widely available and virus activity has significantly decreased. However, ensuring the availability of free COVID-19 tests for Iowans remains a priority.

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) and State Hygienic Lab (SHL) are finalizing plans now to provide at-home test kits free of charge to Iowa residents following the closure of the Test Iowa program. More details will be provided in the coming weeks. Additionally, COVID-19 testing will continue to be provided by health care providers, pharmacies, and other retail testing sites statewide.

Since opening, nearly 644,000 individuals have been tested for COVID-19 at a Test Iowa site, making it Iowa’s top testing option. Testing peaked on Nov. 23, 2020, when more than 6,700 individuals were tested on a single day. Approximately 400 total tests per day are now being conducted across all 17 drive-thru and clinic sites
currently open.

Drive-thru test sites will continue to operate Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., while they remain open. Hours of operation vary by clinic site. For more information about locations, hours or scheduling a test, visit coronavirus.iowa.gov or testiowa.com.

If you have symptoms of COVID-19 or have been exposed to an individual who has tested positive and you have not yet been fully vaccinated, you should be tested and remain at home away from others until you know your results. If you are positive for the virus, follow the isolation instructions from your testing provider or local public
health department.

IDPH encourages Iowans age 12 and up to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Information about vaccine providers and events statewide is available at vaccinateiowa.gov.

(Radio Iowa) – A judge has ordered a Sergeant Bluff man to pay an 80-thousand-dollar civil penalty for burning thousands of railroad ties on his property. State regulators say they warned John Goldsmith not to burn some 30-thousand railroad ties after he called a D-N-R employee in 2018, and said he intended to burn some of them. He said that disposing of the ties would cost significantly more than his property was worth.

The lawsuit against Goldsmith says he barricaded the property to prevent anyone from getting in and then burned the railroad ties over a period of three days. The judge issued the maximum penalty and also issued a permanent injunction against Goldsmith to keep him from violating solid-waste and open-burning laws.

The judge warned Goldsmith that he could face contempt charges and possible jail time if he disobeys the judge’s order.

424 PM CDT Wed Jun 16 2021 …A HEAT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM TO 8 PM CDT THURSDAY FOR ALL OF SOUTHWEST, MUCH OF WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN IOWA…

• Expect Highs from the upper 90s to around 100 degrees. Peak afternoon heat indices from 100 to 105.
• Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses to occur.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when possible.

To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds has signed a wide-ranging bill into law that cuts personal income taxes, gradually gets rid of the state inheritance tax and erases a property tax levy used to finance mental health services. State money is to be used to finance the mental health system. “Health care professionals and patients who rely on Iowa’s mental health system deserve this sustainability and predictability this funding source will provide,” the governor says.

Reynolds says she’ll recommend MORE personal income tax cuts in 2022. The legislation was a compromise brokered by Governor Reynolds with the Iowa House and Senate to wrap up the 2021 Legislative Session.

SF 619 provides significant tax relief to hardworking Iowans:   

• SF 619 drops tax rate from 8.53% to 6.5%  
  • Reduces the number of tax brackets from 9 to 4  
  • Eliminates Federal Deductibility  
• Phases out the mental health levy over 2 years, saving property taxpayers over $100 million
• Phases out state inheritance tax over 4 years, saving taxpayers nearly $100 million
• Expands eligibility for the Beginning Farmers Tax Credit
• Food Bank sales tax exemption

SF 619 invests in mental health and foundational priorities like child care and housing:  

• Dedicated, sustainable mental health funding from Iowa’s General Fund
  • Includes a growth factor that allocates new money as revenue increases

• Increases eligibility for the Child Care Tax Credits from families making $45k – $90k
• Increases workforce housing tax credits to $40 million for FY22 ($35 million for years following)
• Extends Brownfield/Grayfield and increases funding from $10 million to $15 million
• Develops a Manufacturing 4.0 strategic roadmap for the future of manufacturing in the state of Iowa

(Radio Iowa) – The Board of Supervisors in the state’s most heavily populated county has approved a lottery with thousands of dollars in prizes to try and lure more residents to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The Polk County leaders say their goal is to get 75 percent of the county’s eligible population vaccinated by the end of the State Fair on August 22nd.
Supervisor Tom Hockensmith said he supports the program. “In order to reach herd immunity, I think we’re gonna have to do things like this to really encourage folks and set folks to, to get vaccinated,” Hockensmith says.

The county will host lottery drawings for all fully vaccinated residents on every Friday starting next week. Ten prizes of one-thousand dollars will be given out weekly. One prize of 50-thousand dollars and a five-thousand-dollar scholarship will be given out every other week. The governor says the state won’t be doing any sort of vaccine lottery — but Polk County Supervisor Robert Brownell thinks it could work for Polk County. “It’ll help drive vaccinations and it’ll help drive our vaccination numbers. And once we can get past this thing, then things really can get back to normal,” Brownell says.

Polk County residents can go to the website immunizepolk.org to register for the vaccine lottery.

(Walnut) – One of the organizers of this Father’s Day weekend’s 38^th Annual Walnut AMVETs Antique Show says approximately 350 vendors from 21 states will be on hand to display and sell their antiques and older collectibles. The event takes place this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Gene Larsen, with the Walnut AMVETs, said the first time the event was held, it started out small, with about 20 or 30 dealers, but then it quickly began to grow each year.

The huge number of vendors, according to Larsen, take up about 15 city blocks over the weekend, in Walnut, in addition to three big halls for displays.

Larsen essentially runs the show, as administrator. He says they make sure vendors have quality items for sale before they are allowed to set up in their display area.

Gene Larsen says people are shocked at the amount and variety of antiques they’ll find.

The event has been featured in almost every antiques-related magazine and newspapers in the country has featured the Walnut AMVETS show. One antiques magazine even rated it in their Top 10 Antiques Travel Destinations in the world.

In addition to antiques, there will be plenty of food vendors. Admission to and parking for the event, are free. The show runs from 8-a.m. to 5-p.m. Friday and Saturday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.