The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports a man from rural Essex was arrested Tuesday night on an assault charge. 42-year-old Shane Michael Farley was taken into custody for Domestic Abuse Assault, following an investigation into a domestic disturbance at a residence in the 1200 block of 130th Street, or about three-miles northwest of Essex, at around 7:50 PM.

Shane Farley

Farley was transported to the Page County Jail where he is being held without no bond, pending further court proceedings.

Cass County Auditor Dale Sundermen, today (Wednesday), issued a statement says there appears to be a misunderstanding among the public, on what a ‘tax levy’ is.  A property ‘TAX LEVY,’ he says, is the simply the amount in dollars that is to be generated  by taxing real estate property after all other sources of revenue/funds have been considered

[Total Expenses – All other sources of funds/revenues = amount to be raised by Real Estate Property Taxes]  (See the PDF link below to see data/spread sheets)

Levy Info.

See the line titled “Total Tax Levy’ on the first page of the attachment as an example.  [Note: The Maximum Proposed Property Tax Levy only covers the ‘regular’ levies;
which means it does not include voted levies, debt service levies, ag land levies, capital project levies, etc.]

The line below that line is ‘Tax Rate’ or the rate that is calculated by dividing the ‘Tax Levy’ by the “Regular Taxable Valuation/1,000”. When the valuation increases, the ‘Tax Rate’ goes down.  Note column three compared to column 2.

Column 4 of line ‘Regular General’ shows ‘TAX LEVY’ increased (but the tax rate is still 8.10000).

Why is it showing increased tax dollars: The regular general levy for cities must be at 8.1 before the supplemental levies (such as FICA and IPERS) may be used. To calculate whether or not the ‘TAX LEVY’ increased or decreased compare column 3 to column 4 for each individual tax levy (column 1). In this example: Column 5 ‘Annual % CHG’ reports that the combined ‘TAX LEVY’ increased a little more than 2.87% and the tax rate increased from 12.42 dollars per $1,000 of taxable valuation to 12.45 dollars per $1,000 of taxable valuation.

Summation: to decide whether or not the TAX LEVY has increased, decreased or remained the same: compare column 2 Current Year Certified Property Tax 2020-2021 of the NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING- CITY OF ATLANTIC – PROPOSED PROPERTY TAX LEVY to column 4 Budget Year Proposed Maximum Property Tax 2021-2022; or compare column (A) on current year ending June 30, 2021 Adoption of Budget and Certification of City Taxes (page 3 of attachment) with the column headed Request with Utility Replacement (page 2 of attachment).

The 8:09-a.m. report with Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.3MB)

Subscribe: RSS

(Radio Iowa) – Fundraising is underway to help refugees settle in central Iowa this year. The U-S Committee for Refugees and Immigrants field office in Des Moines is expecting an influx of refugees in the area after President Biden promised to increase the refugee cap. Even though he hasn’t signed the determination yet, the state should still prepare, according to Kerri True-Funk, the committee’s Des Moines director. “Due to the pandemic, things have been a little bit slow,” True-Funk says, “but we are anticipating as vaccination efforts worldwide are being undertaken and the determination ceiling goes up, that we will get new arriving refugee families.”

True-Funk expects they’ll help settle more than last year’s 75 refugees in central Iowa, but doubts they’ll reach the record of more than 660 refugees set in 2016. “But I do anticipate that, especially as vaccinations roll out and mitigation efforts continue, that the numbers will start to come up,” she says. The organization is raising money to buy mattresses for the expected refugees and ten-percent of the goal has been met so far.

(reporting by Kassidy Arena, Iowa Public Radio)

The CAM School District’s Board of Education, Monday, opted to discontinue a Business Manager with the Atlantic School District for the upcoming school year, and instead share the position with the Nodaway Valley Community School District. The agreement, effective for the 21-22 School Year, is a 50/50 cost share, at $58,328.

Also during their meeting, Monday, the CAM School Board set April 12^th at 6:30-p.m., as the date and time for a Public Hearing on the 2021-22 School Calendar, which has the first day of school set for Aug. 23^rd 2021, and Graduation as May 25, 2022. The hearing will take place in the Superintendent‘s Office.

The Board also approved a 21 member school facilities committee, which will be tasked with reviewing the discussion process that began over a year ago, with architects. The committee will set the dates for community meetings on the facilities project. Community input will be received during the process to help the district in make sound decisions for students’ future education.

Police in Creston, Tuesday afternoon, arrested a man at his home, on a Union County warrant. 20-year-old Montell Mario Rivers was taken into custody on a warrant for Child Endangerment with Serious Injury. Rivers was being held in the Union County Jail on a $10,000 bond.

The 7:07-a.m. report from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.5MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Grow Another Row Cass County invites local farmers and gardeners to plant a few more rows of produce to share this year. According to ISU Extension, the 13 best produce donations are:
tomatoes, winter squash, zucchini, potatoes, onions, peppers, cucumbers, melons, broccoli, cabbage, sweet potatoes, carrots, and beans. The Grow Another Row leadership team requests
additional potatoes, carrots, melons, and green beans because these were the items that were in highest demand last year, and the team knows these items will get used in Cass County.

Grow Another Row Cass County is a Healthy Cass County campaign started in 2020 by a group of local growers to encourage residents to grow and share more food. After a successful first
year with lots of positive feedback from people who enjoyed produce, the planning team is excited to continue the project in 2021.

Emily Paulsen, with Brun Ko Garm, a Grow Another Row leadership team member, says “We know some folks are already planting seeds in greenhouses and others will start gardens later. We invite any grower—big or small, seasoned or green–to join us.” She noted, “You don’t have to sign up for the email newsletter to participate in the program, but you might want to.” Growers can sign up for the Grow Another Row newsletter by emailing Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh at bhoegh@iastate.edu or visiting https://www.extension.iastate.edu/cass/content/grow-another-rowcass-county.

Grow Another Row is seeking a Program Coordinator for 2021. This temporary position is made possible through AmeriCorps funding. The coordinator will manage produce donations and distributions throughout Cass County. Cass County ISU Extension is seeking to fill the position immediately. Interested individuals should visit https://www.extension.iastate.edu/cass/ for more
information and to apply.

Sheriff’s officials in Pottawattamie County, Tuesday, said 31-year-old Jose Rodriquez was arrested Monday afternoon for Reckless Driving, after a Deputy attempted to stop a 2013 Hyundai Sonata having no license plates, and traveling at a high rate of speed on westbound Kanesville Blvd. The driver attempted to elude authorities for a short time, but was later located with the assistance of officers from the Council Bluffs Police Dept. Rodriquez and a female passenger were also arrested for warrants and driving offenses. A small dog was taken into protective custody.

A little after noon, Monday, Pott. County Deputies arrested 51-year-old Jonathon Holtz, following a traffic stop on his pickup truck in the Shelby area. Holtz was arrested for Driving While License Suspended or Revoked. Sunday afternoon, 44-year-old Brock Allen Knop was arrested in Hancock, while Deputies, along with an Iowa DHS Investigator, were at home on 410^th Street. They were on location in reference to a follow up being conducted by the Iowa DHS. Authorities learned Knop was in the presence of a woman while at the residence, in violation of protective orders against him issued from Tennessee and Iowa.

An inmate at the Pott. County Jail was charged Friday, with being a Fugitive from Justice. 30-year-old Andrew Lucas Espinoza, was being held also for Burglary in the 3rd Degree. His bond is set at $5,000. Another inmate, 53-year old Rocky Lee Weis, who was being held on charges that include Fugitive from Justice and Theft in the 2nd Degree, was issued a warrant for Violation of Probation. His bond was also set at $5,000.  Espinoza and Weis were presented with their warrants and returned to the custody of Corrections Staff.

Red Oak Police arrested a man and a woman on drug charges Tuesday night, following a call about two people fighting at a residence in the 200 block of S. 8th Street. Upon further investigation, officers discovered drugs and drug paraphernalia inside the home. After a search warrant was obtained, Police arrested 21-year old Jacob David Berggren, of Red Oak, for Possession of Methamphetamine, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. 25-year old Paige Marie Clark, of Red Oak, was arrested for Possession of Marijuana and Possession of Paraphernalia.

The pair were taken into custody at around 8:15-p.m. and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where their bonds were set at $1,000 each. Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies assisted in the arrests.