(Radio Iowa) — Nearly three dozen calves were killed in a barn fire early this (Wednesday) morning near New Vienna. New Vienna’s fire chief says the fire broke out in a barn on the farm of Mark and Mary McAlister about five miles east of town. When fire fighters arrived, the barn was fully ingulfed in flames. Thirty-five baby calves were lost in the blaze. The barn is a total loss. There was also damage to the house and several surrounding buildings. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

(Radio Iowa)  — Just one dollar. That’s the purchase price for the deal that will see the State of Iowa turn the former Iowa Braille and Sight-saving School campus over to the City of Vinton. John Nash is director of facilities for the Iowa Board of Regents which has managed the site for decades. “The property includes 48 acres and 11 buildings,” Nash says. The main building on the Vinton campus opened in 1862. One of the school’s most famous students was Mary Ingalls, the sister of “Little House on the Prairie” author Laura Ingalls Wilder.

The number of students living at the school dwindled to just 16 in 2008 and by 2011 the school was closed. The state signed a lease 11 years ago with the federal government and the site has been used as a regional hub for the AmeriCorps program.  “Before we finalize the property sale, we do have closing documents to complete, including the transfer of the AmeriCorps lease itself from the Board of Regents to the City of Vinton,” Nash says.

The Board of Regents is expected to review and approve the deal during its meeting tomorrow (Thursday) in Cedar Falls. Most states, like Iowa, now offer technical help to school districts where blind or visually-impaired students are enrolled, rather than run a residential school, but there are still about two dozen residential programs in the country that are managed by states or privately run.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa’s attorney general is joining his counterparts in 21 other states in calling for the forgiving of loans to former I-T-T Tech students. Tom Miller and the other attorneys general are calling on the head of Federal Student Aid to immediately discharge the loans of borrowers enrolled at closed schools. As of May, there were 52,000 former ITT Tech students eligible for closed-school discharge relief, but only 7,000 were granted it.

The for-profit school, which had campuses in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, filed bankruptcy in 2016 after action by the U.S. Department of Education to restrict its access to federal student aid. In a news release, Miller said: “Iowans who attended ITT Tech incurred debts for a questionable education that they could not repay nor discharge.”

The Atlantic Rotary Club will host their Annual Auction Saturday, November 23^rd at the Cass County Community Center. Doors open at 5:30-p.m. Every year, the club partners with an organization to help them raise funds for items needed. This year, they are partnering with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office to help them purchase body cameras and a drug dog. Raffle tickets are one for $20 or six for $100. First prize receives $1,500; second receives $1,000 and third receives $500. You do not need to be present to win.

If you can’t make the auction and would like to support by purchasing raffle tickets, stop by the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce.

Lewis, Iowa – Iowa State University Extension and Outreach is partnering with the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) to conduct Farm Bill: ARC/PLC & Farm Financial Decisions meetings statewide this fall. Atlantic is one of several locations across Southwest Iowa where producers and landlords can learn about the program election/enrollment process regarding the Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and/or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) commodity crop programs.

The meeting will take place on Wednesday, December 4th beginning 9:30 AM, at the Cass County Community Center, 805 West 10th Street in Atlantic.  Doors open 30 minutes prior to the meeting and it is open to the public at no cost. Patrick Hatting, Farm Management Specialist with ISU Extension and Outreach, says “This meeting is designed to help producers, landlords and other agri-business professionals with ARC/PLC elections, enrollment process and tools to available.”

Topics and presenters include:

• ARC/PLC Programs Rules & Regulations: USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Director
• ARC/PLC Decisions, Using the ISU Payment Analyzer & Farm Financial Issues: Patrick Hatting, ISU Extension Farm Management Specialist
• Farm Stress Management and Related Resources: ISU Extension Family Life Specialist

The meeting will last approximately two and one-half hours.  No pre-registration or registration fee is required.  More than 50 similar meetings will be held statewide in November and December 2019. Additional meeting sites and information can be found at www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/info/meetings.html.

For more information on the Atlantic meeting, please contact the Cass County Extension office at (712) 243-1132 or visit www.extension.iastate.edu/cass.

OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP) — A jury has found an Ottumwa man guilty of second-degree murder in the 2018 killing of another man. Station KTVO reports that 19-year-old Jacob Heckethorn was also found guilty Wednesday of assault with intent to commit serious injury in the Aug. 23, 2018, shooting death of 43-year-old William Shettlesworth, of Bloomfield.

Heckethorn had been on trial for first-degree murder, but the Wapellow County jury convicted on the reduced count after nearly two days of deliberation. Heckethorn had argued he shot Shettlesworth in self-defense as he tried to rescue a friend from a fight.

Heckethorn faces up to 50 years when he’s sentenced in January.

MONTEZUMA, Iowa (AP) —  A police officer who obtained a confession from the suspect in the disappearance and death of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts says she made an honest mistake by initially failing to read him his legal rights. Officer Pamela Romero testified Wednesday that she tried to read Cristhian Bahena Rivera his Miranda warnings from memory during the Aug. 20, 2018, interrogation.
She said she didn’t realize until much later that she had inadvertently failed to warn him that his statements could be used against him in court.

After several more hours of questioning, Rivera led police officers to a cornfield where they discovered Tibbetts’ body underneath a stack of leaves and stalks. Romero says Rivera provided substantial information about what happened to Tibbetts at that point. Rivera’s lawyers have asked a judge to suppress Rivera’s alleged confession, in part due to the incomplete Miranda warning.

Police say they believe the body of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts would have eventually been discovered, even if the suspect in her killing hadn’t led police there. Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation agent Trent Vileta testified Wednesday at a hearing to determine if incriminating statements made by Cristhian Bahena Rivera can be used at his murder trial.

Rivera’s defense argues that evidence from a police interview that began on Aug. 20, 2018, should be suppressed because he had not been read his legal rights. Prosecutors concede that’s true but argue that Tibbetts’ body would have been discovered anyway and therefore the comments should be admissible. Vileta says farmers would have spotted Tibbetts’ fluorescent running shoes when harvesting the field where she was dumped. Judge Joel Yates is considering the issue.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A district court judge has rejected a request by former Gov. Terry Branstad’s lawyers to set aside a jury verdict that concluded Branstad discriminated against a former state official because he’s gay. The ruling by Judge Brad McCall filed Tuesday summarily rejects dozens of arguments, including challenges to legal rulings during trial and jury instructions.

Branstad’s attorneys asked McCall to set aside the July 15 jury verdict of $1.5 million awarded to former Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commissioner Chris Godfrey. Jurors concluded Godfrey was the victim of discrimination and retaliation when Branstad tried to force him to quit in 2011 and then cut his pay.

Branstad’s attorney Frank Harty asked McCall in a July 31 motion to dismiss the lawsuit or order a new trial. Harty says the verdicts are unsupported by substantial evidence and are contrary to law. McCall concluded that substantial evidence exists to support the jury’s conclusions. The bill to Iowa taxpayers for the case stands now at about $8 million if the verdict isn’t reverse.

November 12, 2019 CANVASS OF CITY/SCHOOL ELECTION OF 11/05/2019

The Cass County Board of Supervisors met as ex-officio Board of Canvassers with all members present. After inspection of the TALLY BOOKS from the November 5, 2019 regular CITY/SCHOOL ELECTION, the Board declared the following candidates elected.

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CITY OF ATLANTIC

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We declare Grace N. Garrett duly elected to the office of ATLANTIC CITY COUNCIL AT LARGE.

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We declare Jim Behrens duly elected to the office of ATLANTIC CITY COUNCIL FIRST WARD.

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We declare Pat McCurdy duly elected to the office of ATLANTIC CITY COUNCIL THIRD WARD.

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We declare Linda Hartkopf duly elected to the office of ATLANTIC CITY COUNCIL FOURTH WARD.

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We declare Erin McFadden and Ashley Hayes duly elected to the office of ATLANTIC PARKS & RECREATION BOARD.

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CITY OF ANITA

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We declare Thomas R. Harris duly elected to the office of ANITA MAYOR.

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We declare Pat Cassell and Kevin Littleton duly elected to the office of ANITA CITY COUNCIL AT LARGE.

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CITY OF CUMBERLAND

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We declare N. Virginia Coughlin duly elected to the office of CUMBERLAND MAYOR.

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We declare Sandra Eversole and Scott Becker duly elected to the office of CUMBERLAND CITY COUNCIL AT- LARGE.

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CITY OF GRISWOLD

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We declare Carmen Sorensen, Kirk Stapleton and Greg Lightner duly elected to the office of GRISWOLD CITY COUNCIL AT LARGE.

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CITY OF LEWIS

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We declare Russell Hansen duly elected to the office of LEWIS MAYOR.

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We declare Ryan Lockwood, Duane Scott Anderson and Richard L. Clark duly elected to the office of LEWIS CITY COUNCIL AT LARGE.

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PUBLIC MEASURE DG: Shall the City of Lewis change the composition of the Lewis Library Board of Trustees to: “Five (5) member Board of Trustees with Four (4) Bona Fide Citizens and Residents of the City and One (1) Non-Resident?”.  We declare the public measure DG to be adopted.

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CITY OF MARNE {Transition year for going from 2 year to 4 year terms}

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We declare Randall I. Baxter duly elected to the office of MARNE MAYOR.

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We declare Mark Opbroek, Jericho Schmitt and Wayne Preister duly elected to the office of MARNE CITY COUNCIL AT LARGE, for the term of 4 years;

and further declare Aaron Williams and Angela Redler duly elected to the office of MARNE CITY COUNCIL AT LARGE, for the term of 2 years.

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CITY OF MASSENA

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We declare Philip Przychodzin duly elected to the office of MASSENA MAYOR.

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We declare Kevin McCunn, Micah Lee and Adam McCunn duly elected to the office of MASSENA CITY COUNCIL AT LARGE.

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CITY OF WIOTA

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We declare Ford Lillard duly elected to the office of WIOTA MAYOR.

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We declare Jim Fischer and Steven R. Havens duly elected to the office of WIOTA CITY COUNCIL AT LARGE.

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The Cass County Board of Supervisors also canvassed the votes cast in Cass County for the SCHOOL ELECTION. The certificates of votes will be submitted to the respective control counties.  Next week a Tier 2 canvass will determine those elected. Chair declared canvass complete and canvass was adjourned.

[Full listing of votes canvassed posted with minutes on county website.]

MONTEZUMA, Iowa (AP) — Police believe the body of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts would have eventually been discovered, even if the suspect in her killing hadn’t led police there. Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation agent Trent Vileta testified Wednesday at a hearing to determine if incriminating statements made by Cristhian Bahena Rivera can be used at his murder trial.

Rivera’s defense argues that evidence from a police interview that began on Aug. 20, 2018, should be suppressed because he had not been read his legal rights. Prosecutors concede that’s true but argue that Tibbetts’ body would have been discovered anyway and therefore the comments should be admissible. Vileta says farmers would have spotted Tibbetts’ fluorescent running shoes when harvesting the field where she was dumped.

Judge Joel Yates is considering the issue.