COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa  — Officials in western Iowa are investigating a deadly shooting involving an officer. The incident began at around 6-p.m. during a traffic stop, when an individual reportedly pulled a shotgun on an Iowa State Patrol Trooper.

A pursuit of the suspect ended at around 6:30-p.m. near the Pottawattamie County Jail, in the area of Interstate 29 and North 16th Street in Council Bluffs. Multiple agencies responded to the incident, the conclusion of which ended with the armed individual being shot and fatally wounded. No officers were injured during the investigation.

Police had urged the public to avoid the area while the preliminary investigation was being conducted. I-29 at Exit 56 in Council Bluffs reopened to traffic at around 2:45-a.m. today.

(Atlantic, Iowa) –  Public hearings were held this (Wednesday) in the Atlantic High School Media Center, as a precursor to a SPECIAL MEETING of the Atlantic School Board. (You can view the entire session HERE).

During the hearing, concerned District patrons and others, expressed their thoughts on the proposed replacement of the High School Roof, and the issuance of $18.5-million in School Infrastructure Sales, Services and Use Tax Revenue Bonds. No one spoke with regard to the roof replacement project, but Justin Williams addressed the Bond Issuance, which he said is a move that is not fiscally responsible to the taxpayers.

Justin Williams

Williams, an Atlantic High School graduate and former educator with the Atlantic Community School District, is also a candidate for the Atlantic  School Board this Fall. If it is approved by the voters in November, the bonds would provide funds to build, furnish and equip a new multipurpose indoor practice facility/fieldhouse at the high School with related site improvements, including costs of issuance and a debt service reserve fund if required by the purchaser.

Any bond proceeds remaining after completion of this project will be used for other school infrastructure projects as authorized by the School District’s Revenue Purpose Statement. Justin Williams said the Field House is an extravagance that is not necessary, and not one person he’s spoken with is in favor of using the bond for that purpose.

He urged the Board to vote no on the issuance of the bond. Atlantic School Board President Laura McLean said the District also received an e-mail comment on the matter, from Tammy Rush DeBord, who graduated from AHS.  McLean summarized the e-mail…

McLean acknowledged during discussion with regard to the Bond referendum, there have been issues with communicating this District’s reasoning and intentions behind asking for the Bond.

She said the purpose is to reduce the tax burden by borrowing against current and future the SAVE funds. Board member Kristy Pellett addressed the perceived sense of urgency in pushing the bond through.

Board member Josh McLaren said there is confusion about the use SAVE funds and Bonds.

During the action portion of their meeting, the Atlantic School Board approved a bid from Rigid Edge Exterior for the High School Roof Replacement with the addition of a protective matting, in the amount of $117, 550. Afterward, they unanimously passed both a Resolution Approving Revenue Purpose Statement, Ordering an Election on a Revenue Purpose Statement to Authorize Expenditures From Revenue Received From the State Secure an Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE) Fund, Ordering the Publication of a Notice of Election, AND, a Resolution Supporting the Proposed Issuance of Approximately $18,500,000 School Infrastructure Sales, Services and Use Tax Revenue Bonds.

In other business, the Atlantic School Board approved (previously mentioned) hiring recommendations (see our post earlier this week), and resignations. They also approved Vendor Contracts, including:

• An Athletic Training Contract (Proposal #2) with Peak Performance, Owner Bobby Reisz, to provide an athletic trainer for Football, Wrestling, Cross Country and Soccer Athletic Training Contract (Proposal #1) which includes Football, Wrestling, Cross Country, Soccer but also includes Home Basketball games, On-site hours on Tuesdays and away Varsity football games.
• A Council Bluffs Consortium Agreement for Children’s Square (learning services)
• Heartland Family Service (therapeutic services), Heartland of Omaha.
• A two-year Athletic Sharing Contract for Swimming with the Griswold School District.
• and, Early Childhood Consultation.

The entire meeting lasted a little more than 90-minutes. The Board’s next, REGULAR meeting, is at 6:30-p.m. on September 10, in the High School Media Center.

(Radio Iowa) – A leader in Iowa’s hospitality industry says most Iowa restaurants, bars and pubs are struggling financially and up to 600 may close this year. Iowa Restaurant Association president and CEO Jessica Dunker said the price of food and labor costs are exceptionally high and raising menu prices any higher could drive away customers.

“While revenue is high — and people see the record revenue into the restaurant industry — there is no profitability,” Dunker said during an interview with Radio Iowa. “…We’ve hit that threshold of what we can charge…We’re worried Iowa’s restaurants. We’re worried that people that just found their way through the COVID mess are now dealing with the difficulties of being able to survive in the marketplace and, unfortunately, the data backs up that there’s a lot of struggle out there.”

The association’s 2024 survey of Iowa restaurants found half were not profitable and, while about 17% of U.S. restaurants close in their first year, Dunker said there’s another trend she’s watching. “Long time owners who are just choosing…to say: ‘It’s gotten too tough,’” Dunker said. “When we start to lose those, that’s when we start to get worried and that’s the trend that concerns us the most.”

Dunker indicated there’s another troubling trend nationally. About a third of Americans say they’ve cut back on eating out, getting food from a drive through or ordering take out. Iowa has nearly 6500 eating and drinking establishments that employ over 147,000.

(Harlan, Iowa) – Officials with the Shelby County Auditor’s Office say they have been made aware of a recent letter sent by The Center For Voter Information to some residents, suggesting that the recipient may not be registered to vote. The Auditor’s Office says emphatically, that those letters were not issued by the Shelby County Auditor’s Office or the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office. The information contained in these letters is based on outdated voter data and may not accurately reflect your current voter registration status.

To ensure your voter registration is up to date, the Shelby County Auditor’s Office strongly encourages you to verify your status directly on the Iowa Secretary of State’s website at https://apps.sos.iowa.gov/elections/voterreg/regtovote/search.aspx.

For any questions or concerns regarding your voter registration, please contact the Shelby County Auditor’s Office at 712-755-3831.

(Radio Iowa) – While the University of Iowa’s football team opens its season on Saturday, all 18 of the Big Ten conference schools are entering a competition today to see which campus can collect the most blood donations. Mandy McClenahan, with the DeGowin Blood Center on the Iowa City campus, tells KCRG-TV the goal is to encourage people to donate for the first time, with the hope some of them will become consistent donors.

“The need is constant. Holidays? We still need blood,” McClenahan says. “People still get into accidents. There’s always going to be a need for blood. Someone gives birth and they have a hemorrhage, they’re going to need blood. That can happen at any time.”

The grand prize is one-million dollars for the contest which runs through the end of the football season. The money is to be used toward community and student health projects on campus. People can also donate blood at any ImpactLife Blood Center and they can choose which Big Ten school should get the credit for their donation. Alex Burkamper, at ImpactLife, says the contest is an opportunity to bridge community service and competition.

LifeServe photo

“There is no substitute for human blood, and that blood needs to be on hospital shelves for when patients need it,” Burkamper says. “It’s not something that we can create in a lab, so we rely on the generosity of our blood donors to keep our communities healthy.” ImpactLife has Iowa facilities in: Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Dubuque, Iowa City/Coralville, Muscatine and Ottumwa. It provides blood products and services to more than 120 hospitals in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin.

LifeServe Blood Center also issued an appeal for Iowa donors today, saying its blood supply has dropped to critically low levels heading into the busy end-of-summer holiday weekend. LifeServe provides blood products to 175 hospitals primarily in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Illinois.

The UI placed sixth in last year’s competition, with more than 1,200 blood donations. The contest is being sponsored by the health care company Abbott Laboratories.

(Radio Iowa) – Jim Carlin — running for the U-S Senate seat currently held by fellow Republican Joni Ernst — says he’d sponsor a bill to ensure law-abiding gun owners with a state-issued permit to carry concealed weapons can carry their firearms across state lines, without worrying about conflicting state gun laws.

“In America, your rights don’t stop at a state line,” Carlin said. “If you can drive in all 50 states, you should be able to defend yourself in all 50 states.” Carlin, a former state legislator from Sergeant Bluff, is critical of Ernst’s support for a bipartisan gun safety bill President Biden signed in 2022.

Former State Senator Jim Carlin (R-Sergeant Bluff) is running for the U.S. Senate. (Carlin campaign photo)

The bill provided money to states with red flag laws that let law enforcement or others seek a court order to temporarily prevent someone from buying or possessing guns. Carlin opposes red flag laws.

“which means the government can take away your guns with no trial, no due process and your gun rights are gone.” Ernst said the bill did not take away any person’s Second Amendment rights and was designed in the wake of a mass shooting at a Texas school to keep kids and schools safe and provide access to mental health treatment.

Carlin has campaigned in four counties over the past week. He’ll be the featured speaker Tuesday at a meeting of a new group called MAGA Nation Iowa. The group, co-founded by the former chair of Dallas County Republicans, meets monthly at a bar in West Des Moines.

(Radio Iowa) – NextEra energy has cleared another procedural hurdle in restarting Iowa’s only nuclear power plant with federal regulatory approval to connect to the power grid. NextEra’s director of nuclear development Garrett Goldfinger spoke at a Linn County board of supervisors meeting before the federal request was approved.  “This project will build upon NextEra’s history of major energy investments in the state, which total more than three billion dollars since 1999,” he says. “We’re looking forward to continued collaboration with the county, the state and this administration as we continue to advance critical milestones on the project.”

Linn County Planning and Development Director Charlie Nichols recently told county supervisors the power supply is facing growing demand.  “This demand is straining the grid and promoting utilities to look for more power sources, including nuclear power. So, we’re seeing a demand for more electricity from data centers, from electrification of vehicles and just the general electrification of things,” Nichols says. The plant in Palo operated from 1975 until it was shut down after the 2020 derecho.

Next Era plans to invest between 50 and 100 million dollars in the recommissioning the plant. The Linn County supervisors have approved the first reading of new land-use standards for operating nuclear-power generating facilities.

• Barriers that prevent people from volunteering.
• Ways to encourage more people to get involved.
• Opportunities available through resources like Volunteer Iowa’s “Volunteer Job Board.”

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors held their regular weekly meeting today (Wednesday morning), during which the Board accepted the resignation of a long-time member of the Adair County Tourism Council.

They approved an amendment to the City of Stuart’s Urban Renewal Plan. Auditor Mandy Berg…

The Adair County Supervisors approved Opiod Litigation Participation Agreements. Auditor Berg said the fund has a balance of $37,500. Representatives John Huff and Mike Griglione with MidAmerican Energy provided the Board with updates on the utilities’ projects. Huff started with the wind turbine farm projects.

He said the turbines comply with the County setback and other requirements. He spoke also about the Orient Energy Center project for those turbines.

The total number of wind turbines in the County are unchanged. One is just being moved to replace a wind turbine damaged in a tornado. Adair County Courthouse Custodian Scott Roberts presented bids for a Courtroom AC/Heating Unit. The Board approved the bid as presented.

County Treasurer Brenda Wallace presented for the Board’s consideration, a tax abatement, which they approved. Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater discussed with the Supervisors a change in internet service providers, and presented a contract with Windstream. The contract was approved by the Board, as presented.

And, County Engineer Nick Kauffman discussed an Engineer’s sharing agreement with Adams County for the Board’s consideration. He said the costs and time for his services would be split 50-50. Kauffman said he reached out to other area counties that share their Engineer’s service, to compare the cost and arrangements for an engineer’s time.

After a considerable amount of discussion, the Adair County Supervisors tabled action on approving an agreement until they could gather more information, take into account the needs of Adair County, and further clarification of the details. They agreed to revisit the matter in two-weeks.  Kauffman also presented his weekly report on Secondary Roads Department maintenance and activities.