After just one meeting in person at the high school last month for the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak, the Atlantic Community School District’s Board of Education is going back to their electronic session for their regular meeting this month. The meeting takes place 6-p.m. Wednesday (Aug. 12th), via YouTube (The meeting can viewed here). Anyone who wished to enter comments on the record can e-mail them to Board Secretary Sarah Sheeder, at ssheeder@atlanticiaschools.org. Comments must be received by 4-p.m. Wed., Aug. 12th. If you have any questions, call the Central Office at 712-243-4252.

During the Board’s meeting, they are expected to act on six resignations: LaVon Sager. Aubrey Stuart and Linda Karstens – Special Education Paraeducators; Head Boys Soccer Coach Oran Perkins; Food Service employee Traci Luke, and Special Education Car Driver Lory Erickson. The Atlantic School Board will also act on approving the following Contract Recommendations:

• Jessica Larsen, MS Volleyball Coach
• Dan Vargason, Head Varsity Girls Coach (Interim)
• Brandon Baggett, Spring Play & Co-Speech/Debate Sponsor.
• Matt Mullinex, 9th Grade Football Coach
• Oran Perkins, MS Wrestling Coach
• Lory Erickson, Car/Van/Suburban Driver
• Loretta Barringer, Car Driver
• Jenny Madsen, Marnie Leiferman, DeLana Harris, Rhonda Hawkins, Angela Oglesbee and Mandi Brauer – all TLC Mentors

The Atlantic School Board will also discuss the latest news on the District’s Facilities Project, and Return-To-Learn plan. Action items include (but are not limited to):

• Disposal of Vehicles due to safety issues: A 2003 Chevy School Bus (#1), with 170,610 miles (Ordered taken out of service by the State Inspector 7/25/19 due to rust issues); and, a 2007 Ford Taurus (#12), which also has rust issues and deterioration of the unibody frame. The car was only being used to run errands for the Central Office during the 2019-20 school year, and is currently not in use.
• Approving Josh Rasmussen as District Title IX (9) Coordinator
• Approving 2020-21 Summer Sport Coaching Contracts as recommended by Activities Director Andy Mitchell, including:
  • Weight Room Coordinator – Derek Hall
  • Head Softball – Terry Hinzmann
  • JV Softball – Molly O’Hara
  • 9th Grade Softball – Derek Handel
  • Head Baseball – Joseph Brummer
  • JV Baseball – Robert Hanson
  • 9th Grade Baseball – Oran Perkins.
• Approve two pay requests associated with: the 6-foot safety fence at the softball diamond; removing gates at the north end of the Trojan Bowl. The changes amount to $1,783 from the General Operation Bonds.
• And, approval of a pay application for the Athletic Facilities Improvement Project in the amount of $935,827, for General Contract work, including electrical and mechanical.

Atlantic Mayor Jones would like to remind Atlantic citizens, in light of the extensive damage due to Monday’s storm, that tree trimmers performing services in the city need to be licensed – this is to protect the citizens by verifying tree trimmers’ proof of insurance.  Citizens can call City Hall to verify if a tree trimmer has a current license.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Iowa Health officials today (Tuesday), report (as of 10-a.m.) there were four more deaths in the State attributed to COVID-19 since 10-a.m. Monday, for a total of 935, and, 164 new, confirmed cases of the virus (compared to 268 previously), for a total of 49,182. Long-Term Care facility deaths account for 500 of the State death toll.

The IDPH says 525,823 Iowans have been tested, 2,456 tested negative since 10-a.m. Monday, for a total of 473,531 to-date. And, 37, 982 Iowans have recovered from the virus. Hospitalization data show: 244 are hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms, a decline of 20 since Monday; 64 are in an ICU, down from 57 Monday; 34 were admitted to a hospital since Monday’s report, compared to 26 Monday, and 25 people were on a ventilatir.

Southwest/western Iowa hospitals report: two more have been admitted since Monday, for a total of 16; six people are in an ICU (compared to 5 Monday); one person was admitted (compared to 0 on Monday), and one person remains on a ventilator. The IDPH says “Due to severe weather conditions on August 10, 2020, some Iowans being treated for COVID-19 in a long-term care facility or at a home, may be transferred to a hospital or other care facility for temporary treatment due to damage to their place of residence. This may cause hospitalization data on the site to fluctuate in the short term.”

Long-Term Care (LTC) data today, show: 25 Outbreaks (unchanged from Monday); 808 patients/staff have tested positive (5 more than on Monday); 466 have recovered (an increase of 41), and there have been 500 deaths altogether at those facilities.

There has been very little change in the positive case numbers for southwest/western Iowa since 10-a.m. Monday, but there were some changes in the number of persons who have recovered (counties with changes since Monday, have highlighted numbers):

• Cass County: 74 cases (44 recovered [1 more than Monday]); 1 death (since the outbreak began)
• Adair County: 30 cases (19 recovered)
• Adams County: 16 cases (12 recovered, 2 more than Monday)
• Audubon County: 28 cases (18 recovered, one more than Monday); 1 death
• Guthrie County: 132 cases (100 recovered, three more than Monday); 5 deaths
• Montgomery County: 59 cases (37 recovered); 4 deaths
• Pottawattamie County: 1,325 cases (981 recovered, 38 more than Monday); 26 deaths
• Shelby County: 185 cases [1 more than Monday] (158 recovered, 3 more than on Monday); 1 death.

(Radio Iowa) – The Derecho (a long-lasting, straight-line wind storm) that plowed through Iowa yesterday (Monday) caused significant damage in the Marshalltown area, a part of the state still recovering from the 2018 E-F-three tornado. A 99 mile-per-hour gust was reported at the Marshalltown Airport as the winds and rain inundated the community, damaging not only buildings and houses and trees in downtown Marshalltown, but throughout the community and beyond. But like two years ago, Marshalltown Police Chief Mike Tupper says when it came to people, no lives were lost.

“We got through another one without any significant or minimal significant injuries,” he says. “I know that we had one person injured during the storm fairly seriously.” Two years ago, the historic Marshall County Courthouse took a direct blow from the tornado. Renovation is work has been ongoing, with workers on scaffolding to repair the courthouse exterior. County Auditor Nan Benson says all the workers made it to shelter in time.

“We were able to get all the workers off of the scaffolding around the courthouse. Surprisingly, it’s like we knew it was coming, but I don’t know if our construction folks were not paying attention to the weather, but luckily everyone was off the scaffolding, so there were no injuries there. There was pieces of scaffolding flying around during the storm.” Marshalltown Aviation General Manager Steve Valbrecht says damage was minimal at the airport, despite that 99 mile an hour wind gust.

“We did have some damage to the buildings out here, as you can expect (with) metal buildings — roofing and collapsed hangar doors,” he says. “And one hangar door that actually left the hangar. There wasn’t any damage to any airplanes that we can find yet.” As of Monday night, the promise of power returning to Marshalltown, as well as Ames and other central Iowa communities was not known, but for some areas it could be days.

(Radio Iowa) — State Climatologist Justin Glisan is among those dealing with damage from Monday’s severe weather. Glisan and his wife were working from home when the storm rolled through the Beaverdale neighborhood in Des Moines.  “We call it a Derecho. It’s literally a wall of wind,” Glisan says. “This is the most frightened I’ve been in my life.” The wind blew a neighbor’s huge maple tree into Glisan’s house, sheared off the gas main and pushed into the foundation.

“We had a gas leak downstairs, so we had to leave,” Glisan says, “get out of the house with our dog, George, and get into a car and we drove to a parking lot that was free of large trees and just had to wait it out because we didn’t have anywhere else to go.” The first storm warnings were issued yesterday (Monday) morning for western Iowa, with wind speeds reported between 60 and 70 miles an hour. The winds picked up speed as they moved through the state, with a 99 mile per hour gust recorded in the Marshalltown area.

“Once you get a squall line like this to stay together, it just perpetuates itself,” Glisan says, “and that’s what happened.” Glisan says yesterday’s (Monday’s) storm is a reminder to heed National Weather Service warnings. “These events can get severe really fast and it can impact life and property, as we’ve seen across much of Iowa,” Glisan says.

Many communities in the path of the storm asked residents to stay home, as crews removed storm debris and power lines from streets and roads. By mid-afternoon Monday, more than 420-thousand Iowa homes and businesses had lost power according to the National Weather Service.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A rare wind storm with power similar to an inland hurricane swept across the Midwest, blowing over trees, flipping vehicles, causing widespread property damage and leaving tens of thousands of homes without power. The storm known as a derecho lasted several hours as it tore across eastern Nebraska, Iowa and parts of Wisconsin and Illinois. A scientist at the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center says the storm had the wind speed of a major hurricane, and likely caused more widespread damage than a normal tornado. Officials in the Iowa cities of Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Marshalltown say the damage is extensive.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — University of Iowa administrators are pushing ahead with plans to resume some in-person classes and on-campus housing, even as student leaders said those steps were too risky during the coronavirus pandemic. The university said it will not test students who will begin moving into the Iowa City campus in the coming days, unlike the mass testing last week at Iowa State University in Ames. The school has also not finalized metrics for determining whether to shut down face-to-face instruction in the event of an outbreak during the semester. But at a news conference, top administrators touted the safety measures they have put in place and said they looked forward to welcoming students back.

BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — Authorities in eastern Iowa say a road construction worker has died after becoming pinned under a concrete spreader. The Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office says the accident happened Monday morning along a segment of U.S. Highway 61 where crews are working on a paving project. Arriving first responders extricated the man from the machine and rushed him to an area hospital, where he died from his injuries. Officials have not released the worker’s name, but say he is a 61-year-old resident of Nichols, Iowa. The investigation into his death continues.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — The family of a fourth worker who died of coronavirus during an outbreak at Tyson Foods’ largest pork processing plant is suing the company over his death.The lawsuit says Isidro Fernandez of Waterloo, Iowa died April 26 from complications of COVID-19, leaving behind a wife and children. The case was filed last week and is similar to one brought in June by the same lawyers on behalf of the estates of three other deceased Waterloo workers. The lawsuits allege Tyson put employees at risk by downplaying concerns and covering up the outbreak in order to keep them on the job. Tyson says the deaths are tragic but that it vigorously disputes claims fo wrongdoing.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A rare wind storm with power similar to an inland hurricane swept across the Midwest, blowing over trees, flipping vehicles, causing widespread property damage and leaving tens of thousands of homes without power. The storm known as a derecho lasted several hours as it tore across eastern Nebraska, Iowa and parts of Wisconsin and Illinois.

Pieces of the Buccaneer Arena roof litter the parking lot after a strong thunderstorm with high winds blew through the Des Moines metro on Monday, Aug. 10. 2020, in Urbandale, Iowa. (Kelsey Kremer/The Des Moines Register via AP)

A scientist at the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center says the storm had the wind speed of a major hurricane, and likely caused more widespread damage than a normal tornado. Officials in the Iowa cities of Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Marshalltown say the damage is extensive.