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Atlantic High School Principal Heather McKay says she is pleased to report the AHSneedle, an online student newspaper, was recently designated a 2021 School Newspapers Online distinguished site. The accomplishment demonstrates the news staff’s excellence in the SNO recognized aspects of online publishing: Continuous coverage; Site excellence; Audience engagement; Story page design; writing, and multimedia. The students are guided in their efforts by their Advisor, Allison Berryhill.

AHSneedle staff and Advisor Allison Berryhill (back row, far right)

2021 marks the eighth year since the launch of the SNO’s Distinguished sites program. It was developed in an effort to outline and disambiguate standards of excellence in online scholastic and collegiate journalism.

See the latest edition of the AHSneedle at https:/ahsneedle.com/

To learn more about SNO, visit www.snosites.com.

(Radio Iowa) – While some gas stations in the Southern U-S have temporarily closed and pump prices are rising on the East Coast, there’s only one report of a Davenport-area convenience store running out of gas, though prices are climbing in many Iowa cities. Meredith Mitts, spokeswoman for Triple-A Iowa, says the state’s gasoline supply is secure in the wake of last week’s cyberattack on a pipeline’s computers.  “Colonial Pipeline is working very hard to have the operation restored by the end of this week,” Mitts says. “Hopefully, what’s happening with those gas price surges and those shutdowns is going to be a very temporary thing and not reach us at all in the Midwest.”

The Russian ransomware group Darkside is reportedly responsible for the disruption of the pipeline providing fuel for much of the Southern and Eastern U-S. Mitts says it’s difficult to predict any ripple effects as a result of the cyberattack. “Unfortunately, the situation is very fluid,” Mitts says. “With the gas shortage, it’s going to vary by region and we don’t yet know what the full impact is happening in the Midwest and in Iowa.”

Gas prices nationwide are averaging three-dollars a gallon, while in Iowa, the statewide average is two-89, which is up almost a dime a gallon in the past week. A year ago, the average Iowa price was more than a buck cheaper, at a dollar-71. Mitts says demand for gas is starting to rise in Iowa as we approach the warmer weather months. “People are more comfortable traveling,” Mitts says. “We are seeing a 60% jump from last year, but that’s still 14% below our pre-pandemic levels. As we get closer to normal, we aren’t quite back to what we were before the pandemic.”

The unofficial start of summer is coming in a few weeks with Memorial Day weekend, which Mitts says should mean a significant uptick in traffic.

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa Department of Public Health administrator says the state is shifting its strategy for distributing COVID-19 vaccines as demand for the shot continues to decline. Ken Sharp says the department is now advising vaccine providers to prioritize vaccinating individuals over wasting doses. That’s based on federal guidance. “Waste has become more acceptable and, in fact, a necessity, so that we can ensure the ongoing progress in getting individuals vaccinated,” Sharp says.

The state accepted less than one-third of its COVID-19 vaccine allocation from the federal government this week. Sharp says counties have largely stopped mass vaccination clinics.  “And we’re transitioning really to kind of focused small, we’ll call micro clinics, that are going into communities where they are meeting people where they are. And we’re seeing some very good progress there,” according to Sharp.

He says the state will also begin offering the Pfizer vaccine to all Iowa counties so they can vaccinate kids ages 12 to 17.

(reporting by Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)

Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County report a woman from Clarinda was arrested May 5th, on an active Montgomery County warrant. Ashley Argo was taken into custody for Contempt of Court, for failure to pay child support. Argo was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held without bond.

(Radio Iowa) Officials say over 400-thousand Iowans are food insecure and demand at Iowa food pantries and the six food banks around the state remains 50 percent higher than it was before the pandemic. Linda Gorkow, executive director of the Iowa Food Bank Association, says food banks provided 60 million meals to Iowans last year — almost double the volume of food provided in 2019.

“The impact of Covid-19 continues as food insecurity is expected to be a part of reality in Iowa and nationwide,” Gorkow says. “…One unfortunate life situation or unexpected disaster could put most any of us in the need of food assistance.” The governor established a Feeding Iowans Task Force in April of last year and the group issued a final report yesterday (Wednesday) to provide a tally of the food it rounded up and the government funds spent on the effort. Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg was the group’s leader.

“I want to be clear. We’re not saying we’ve solved hunger in Iowa forever more, but instead we want to use the relationships we’ve built and the connections that we’ve made to continue this conversation in other forums,” Gregg says. Some task force members will be added to the state team that develops plans for emergencies. “So we can continue these conversations in other forums to improve our response,” Gregg says.

Lori Williams of the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management says, for example, the task force arranged for volunteers to take bulk purchases of rice, oatmeal and pasta and repackage it for distribution at food pantries. That effort was expanded in August to repackage food that didn’t have to be refrigerated for victims of the derecho. “We often say in emergency management that during the disaster is not when we want to exchange business cards,” she says. “We to build those relationships ahead of time and so we’re going to continue the momentum from this task force and its relationships to support disaster feeding activities in the future.”

The lieutenant governor says the state will soon distribute another five-and-a-half million dollars to the state’s smaller food pantries.

CLARINDA – The Iowa Department of Corrections reports 80-year-old Ronald Harris Brown, an inmate at the Clarinda Correctional Facility, died Wednesday morning, from complications related to his suspected suicide. His death took place at 9:35 a.m.

Brown had been serving a life sentence for the crime of Murder 1st Degree from Black Hawk County. His sentence began on October 31, 1983. All suspected suicides are investigated by the department.

Officials with Connections Area Agency have announced that the state is continuing the Farmers Market voucher program for older Iowans.  With this program, seniors meeting income requirements can obtain vouchers that they can use at participating area Farmers Markets to buy $30.00 worth of fresh, locally grown produce.  This year since  senior centers and offices are currently closed to the public, officials will be asking individuals to call-in beginning June 1st, to 800-432-9209 x8888 and leave a message with their name and phone number.

All calls will be returned within five business days.  The staff person who returns your call will then fill out your application on the phone and vouchers will be assigned and mailed out on Thursdays of each week.

Program Criteria:

• Must be at least 60 years of age or older
• Annual income must be less than

$23,828              Single

$32,227              Married

• When a staff member returns your call please indicate whether you are applying as an individual or a married couple.
  

Outline of Process: 

• Connections Farmers Market line open for applicants to leave their name and number for an application call back.
• PLEASE LEAVE ONLY ONE MESSAGE PER INDIVIDUAL OR COUPLE. DO NOT LEAVE MORE THAN ONE MESSAGE.
• All calls will be returned within five business days.
• Vouchers will be mailed out on Thursdays of each week.
• Due to COVID-19 we will not accept any walk-in applicants at our local offices or meal sites; this method is the only way to obtain Farmers’ Market vouchers in 2021.

The Atlantic Community School District’s Board of Education, Wednesday evening, held a Public Hearing with regard to the 2020-21 Amended, Certified Budget. There were no comments written or spoken from the public. Later on in their meeting, the Board approved the Budget, as amended. They also approved the resignations of: Emma Bireline, High School English Teacher/Play Director/Mentor Teacher; Jeremy Blake, High School Special Ed Teacher/Freshman Volleyball Coach/ J.V. Basketball Coach/Assistant Track coach; Jim Mullenix, Bus Route Driver, and Special Education Para’s, Susannah O’Dette and Ashley Updike.

There was some discussion with regard to Blake and Bireline’s request for approval of their resignations. Superintendent Steve Barber said Bireline’s reason was “to go to a school that is more conducive to her family life.” Blake has been offered an opportunity not available to him in the Atlantic District, and he has a “passion to pursue that advancement.” The Board had the option to accept both reasons as “unforeseen circumstances,” or hold them to their contract until a “suitable replacement” is found.

Board President Jenny Williams said “I feel like it’s a tough call. I hate to say no…I know one explains why, the other one I don’t know what the circumstances are, but it puts us in a situation at the end of the year that’s difficult for our administrators to find teachers.” She acknowledged there “Is a teacher shortage, especially for some positions.” Mr. Barber noted that, since the district has already hired an extra Special Ed Teacher for the coming school year, it would essentially break-even with the loss of Jeremy Blake. In the end, the Board approved the resignations based on Mr. Barber’s recommendations.

In other action, the Board approved contracts and/or letters of assignment for:

• Katie Hedegaard, Middle School English Language Arts
• Angela Behrens, Lori Namanny, and Melissa Balch – Summer Lunch Program
• and Mikalya Schuler, Kindergarten.

The Atlantic School Board, Wednesday, approved: the 2019-20 Audit report; the 2021 list of graduating Seniors; the approved Superintendent Steve Barber’s 2021-22 contract, which calls for a 2.5% total package increase, that amounts to a little more than $4,873; They approved 2021-22 Substitute Employee Pay rates, which Mr. Barber noted haven’t been changed for a couple of years.

In other action, the Board approved a 2021-22 milk bid from Anderson-Erickson, and a 21-22 bread bid from Pan-O-Gold, along with an AEA purchasing agreement, which will save the district money. They also approved 2021-22 Club/Activity Sponsor contracts.

(Radio Iowa) – The main source of drinking water for Iowa’s largest city and the surrounding metro area is down about 90-percent from normal due to the extended drought. Des Moines Water Works C-E-O Ted Corrigan says most longtime residents have never seen the river levels this low. “The median flow in the Raccoon River during May is 4,000 CFS (cubic feet per second) and today the river’s flowing at about 400 CFS,” Corrigan says, “so it’s quite a bit lower than it would typically be at this time of year.” While the river is far below its normal level, Corrigan says it’s no reason to panic.

“There’s currently no issue. We have plenty of water to supply all of our customers,” Corrigan says. “Conditions are dry. The grass is green and there’s plenty of water but the river is low and it’s not cause for concern but it’s cause for awareness and communication.” Residents are -not- being warned to stop watering their lawns, filling swimming pools or washing their cars. “We are not recommending that anyone cut back on anything at this point in time,” Corrigan says. “We always ask that people use water wisely. Make sure that as they’re setting up their irrigation systems that they’re not watering the sidewalk and the driveway and those kinds of things, that they’re not wasting water.”

Corrigan was asked if he sees this as a being a short-term situation. “Hard to say, honestly,” Corrigan says. “There’s forecast rain for the next several days. If we get that, that will certainly help. If we don’t, it will be cause for additional awareness.”

The Des Moines Water Works supplies drinking water to about a half million residents in the capitol city area.