Officials with the CAM School District said Tuesday (today), there will be an informational meeting held on Wednesday, October 13, 2021 at the CAM North Elementary gym in Anita, at 6:30p.m regarding the November 2nd bond election. All five of the CAM CSD Board of Education members may be in attendance. This is an informational meeting only and no action will be taken.

Des Moines, Iowa – Get ready for sticker shock on the bill for natural gas prices. Officials with MidAmerican Energy today (Tuesday) said the utility is telling Iowa customers that higher natural gas prices will impact their monthly heating bills this winter. The company said natural gas market prices have more than doubled from this time last year. MidAmerican said increased global demand coupled with both limited production and inventory have heavily increased the cost for the company to purchase natural gas.

MidAmerican said based on the market prices for natural gas over the last month, customers in MidAmerican’s service area can expect their total bills to increase by 46% to 96%. In a news release, Peggi Allenback, MidAmerican Vice President of Market Operations and Supply, said “We’re not seeing signs of supply challenges this winter, but we do expect to see higher customer bills because of higher commodity prices.”

Allenback says “We don’t mark up what we pay for natural gas, rather the cost of the commodity is a straight pass-through to customers. We purchase a portion of gas in advance at the best possible price, and in warmer months, when gas is generally cheaper, we store it for use in winter to help protect our customers financially. Despite these efforts, though, we want our customers to understand that natural gas bills will still be higher this heating season.”

According to MidAmerican, the higher market prices will affect a customer’s gas supply charge, which is the cost of the natural gas the customer uses. Market price fluctuations do not affect rates, which include fixed administrative costs, as well as costs associated with maintaining infrastructure and ensuring safety.

The company said actual bill impacts will vary by customer due to usage as temperatures get colder and market prices continue to fluctuate. MidAmerican offers budget billing to customers and offers tips on how to save energy.

The Iowa Energy Office recommends turning thermostats back 7 to 10 degrees for eight hours per day for an annual savings of 10%.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday morning, approved by a vote of 3-to 2, a Bond Counsel Agreement with Ahlers Cooney. Supervisors Hartkopf and Pettinger voted against the agreement. On a related note, the Board passed by a vote of 3-2, with Hartkopf and Pettinger again the Nay votes, a Resolution setting October 29^th at 9-a.m., as the date and time for a Public Hearing, on a revised proposition to authorize a loan agreement not to exceed $2-million, and the issuance of notes to evidence the County. The bonds would be used to pay for the addition of radios and the construction or addition of a radio tower, to increase the area of coverage for law enforcement and emergency communications through the ISIC System.

Originally, it was proposed the bond asking would not be in excess of $3-million, but the Board felt $2-million would be enough to cover any contingencies. Board member Steve Green on the origin of the $3.5-million original figure:

Board member John Hartkopf asked “How quickly will this technology be taken out?” He said he thinks it will be obsolete and that the future will not likely be emergency communications by radio, it’ll be something along the lines of a cell phone.

In his report to the Board, Cass County Conservation Director Micah Lee said “It’s been a super busy year at Cold Springs State Park.

He said they installed new playground equipment in September, including spring toys. The teeter totters and metal slide were removed at the suggestion of ISAC (Iowa State Association of Counties) representatives, because they are safety issues (Metal slides can cause burns. Teeter totters can cause lower body/spine issues when they hit the ground). Rubber curbing and pea gravel has been installed in the area help to prevent fall injuries.

The campground at Cold Springs will be closed at the end of October. Micah spoke also about the T-Bone Trail, but because of certain ongoing discussions, there wasn’t much he could say, publicly.

County Engineer Trent Wolken said his crews are still working on installing a box culvert on Indian Creek Road, north of Highway 6, and, their road maintenance work.

(Radio Iowa) – A congressional field hearing on drug abuse in Iowa will be held in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, hosted by U-S Senator Chuck Grassley. The hearing will offer testimony to the U.S. Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control. Grassley, a Republican, says one focus will be on opioids, which are responsible for a rising number of overdose deaths in Iowa in recent years. Grassley says, “We have tremendous problems with opioids generally, but an increasing problem because of fentanyl.”

According to Grassley, the field hearing will provide insight and information on the needs of Iowa and local communities when it comes to federal drug control policy. “I think the problem is worse in eastern Iowa than in other parts of the state,” Grassley says, “but don’t let me downgrade any discussion of the problem by saying it’s not only in Iowa but it’s throughout the country and in some parts of the country, even worse than Iowa.”

The list of witnesses includes experts and professionals from the Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy, Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas, Iowa Alliance of Coalitions for Change and CRUSH (Community Resources United to Stop Heroin) of Iowa. In a statement, Grassley says, “The testimony we hear will provide important insight on Iowa’s drug control efforts, and how Congress can work to support Iowans as both legislative and executive branches develop a comprehensive approach to an ongoing and ever-changing problem.”  “It’s very important that we prioritize the safety and wellbeing of Iowa families,” Grassley says, “and that’s doing it through enhancing drug control, prevention, education, law enforcement and international interdiction.”

The hearing is scheduled for Thursday at 10 a.m. at the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Iowa in Cedar Rapids.

(Radio Iowa) – Bugs are starting to become more of a nuisance as we head into fall. Iowa State University Entomology Professor, Donald Lewis, says minute pirate bugs help the environment until this time of year when they can cause humans pain.

Pirate bug (ISU Extension photo)

“Now there’s not much out in the field for them and they wander around looking for something moist,” Lewis says. “And if you happen to be on your ladder in your short-sleeved shirt painting the white side of your house — they’re going to find you, and they’re going to be attracted to the reflective light. They are going to taste you to see if are you an insect egg, or are you a source of moisture. And that’s why they bite.”

Lewis says boxelder bugs can also cause nuisances this time of year as they prepare to hibernate during the winter. “One cheap and easy way to control boxelder bugs outdoors is to spray them with soapy water,” he says. That keeps them under control in the short term. “Now that has no residual. That will not control the boxelder bugs that come an hour later. But the ones that are there now, the ones that are massed in the late afternoon, you can kill them with a soapy spray, but you are going to have to do it probably every day for best results,” according to Lewis.

Lewis says the Minute Pirate Bugs will die once the freezing temperatures come.

Boxelder bug (ISU Ext.)

(Corning, Iowa) – Officials with the Adams County Sheriff’s Office report four recent arrests. Three arrests took place last Saturday (Oct. 9th):

• 53-year-old Scott Perrin, of Corning, was arrested for OWI/1st offense, following a traffic stop at around 12:35-a.m., at Highway 34 and Kentucky Avenue. Perrin was transported to the Adams County Jail and held on a $1,000 bond. And…
• 38-year-old Mindy Marie Knapp, of Red Oak, and 32-year-old Christopher John Hazen, of Council Bluffs, were arrested in the 2500 block of Elm Avenue, in connection with a burglary. Officials say Knapp and Hazen were both charged with Burglary in the 3rd Degree, and Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree. They were also cited for Trespassing. Knapp and Hazen were transported to the Adams County Jail.

And, on Oct. 8th, Adams County Deputies arrested 38-year-old David Christopher Yazell, of Corning, on an active warrant for four counts of Failure to Appear. He was transported to the Adams County Jail and held pending an appearance before a Magistrate.

Waterloo, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Corrections reports Kevin Reddout, who was convicted of Domestic Abuse Assault-3rd or Subsequent Offense and other charges in Black Hawk County, failed to report from work to the Waterloo residential facility as required, Monday.

Reddout is a 46-year-old white male, height 6′ 0″, and weighs 216 pounds. He was admitted to the work release facility on 05/13/2021.

Persons with information on Reddout’s whereabouts should contact local police.

Kevin J. Reddout (Iowa DOC photo)

(DeSoto, Iowa) – A crash in Dallas County over the weekend that killed two people has resulted in the death of a third person. The Iowa State Patrol says 25-year-old Kenneth Mueller, of Urbandale died, after the van he was driving struck the rear of a semi. He was wearing a seat belt. The accident happened at around 3:15-p.m., Sunday on Interstate 80 westbound at mile marker 115 (two-miles east of the Van Meter Exit). Authorities say the semi, driven by 22-year-old Lovepreet S. Rattan, of Mississaugua, Ontario, Canada, had slowed and stopped for traffic ahead, that was at a standstill due to an accident just west of DeSoto.

Mueller failed to reduce his speed prior to the collision. He died at the scene. The driver of the semi was not injured. Dallas County Sheriff’s Deputies and the Dallas County Medical Examiner assisted at the scene.

The accident that caused the traffic to back-up in the first place, occurred at around 1:17-p.m. Sunday. The Patrol says a 1980 Chevy Corvette driven by 19-year-old Samuel Wayne Kasap entered westbound Interstate 80 from the DeSoto on-ramp and accelerated to a high rate of speed. The car went out of control and entered the median before rolling over the cable barrier and coming to rest in the eastbound lanes.

Neither Kasap nor his passenger, 24-year-old Maximilian Vincent Kasap, were wearing a seat belt. Both men were ejected. Samuel Kasap died at the scene. Max Kasap was injured and transported by Dallas County Rescue to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines.

More area and State news from Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (3.8MB)

Subscribe: RSS

(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Creston Police Department report the arrest at around 10:45-p.m. Monday, of 27-year-old Patrick Riley Iiams, of Creston. He was taken into custody at Spencer and Sycamore, for Disorderly Conduct and Public Intoxication 1st offense. Iiams was being held at the Union County Jail on $600 bond.