DES MOINES– Gov. Kim Reynolds today (Thursday) announced her appointment of Julie Schumacher as a judge of the Iowa Court of Appeals. Schumacher, of Schleswig, Iowa, currently serves as a district court judge in Judicial Election District 3B. She has previously served as a district associate judge, an assistant county attorney for Crawford County,  and an assistant city attorney for Denison.

She also engaged in the private practice of law in Denison for nearly twenty years. Schumacher received her undergraduate degree from the University of South Dakota and her law degree from Creighton University School of Law.

The Iowa Court of Appeals is Iowa’s intermediate appellate court. It is composed of nine judges and decides appeals from district courts across Iowa. Schumacher fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Iowa Court of Appeals Chief Judge Gayle Nelson Vogel of Spirit Lake.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A former western Iowa pastor already charged in Nebraska with sexually assaulting two children has, along with his wife, been charged with an additional count of witness tampering. The Omaha World-Herald reports that 44-year-old Emanuel Rodriguez and 42-year-old Veronica Rodriguez were arrested this week. Police say Emanuel Rodriguez called his wife from jail after his arrest earlier this month on the sexual assault counts and told her to contact the mothers of the two girls. Victoria Rodriguez later told her jailed husband that she said she had sent text messages to the girls’ mothers saying her husband “had lost his whole career in the ministry” because of the accusations.

Police say Emanuel Rodriguez fondled two prepubescent girls between 2017 and May 2019 at two Omaha homes previously owned by Rodriguez. Rodriguez was the pastor at Calvary Assembly of God Church in Council Bluffs, Iowa, at the time of his arrest.

(Press Release) — Marne Elk Horn is now a recognized member of the Smart Rural Communities SM program, which is offered by NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association.  “Across the United States, rural, community-based broadband providers are serving small  towns with robust broadband networks to support critical and innovative solutions for rural communities and Marne Elk Horn is one of them,” said NTCA Chief Executive Officer Shirley Bloomfield. “Marne Elk Horn is helping to build a nationwide network of Smart Rural Communities, where broadband connections are helping create a brighter future.”

“We have been a Gig Certified Community through NTCA since we completed our fiber project in Elk Horn, Kimballton, Marne, Brayton, and Walnut,” said Janell Hansen, CEO of Marne Elk Horn. “To us, that was step one, which was connected to our technological capabilities. The Smart Rural Community approach is about how the technology benefits the people, businesses, community and region. We have always been about serving our customers with the best products for a fair price. The Smart Rural Community initiative is an extension of that while connecting us to other companies and communities like us nationwide.”

According to Bloomfield, the Smart Rural Communities program promotes collaborative work among rural broadband providers and other local leaders to develop broadband-enabled solutions for education, economic development, healthcare and more. The Smart Rural Communities initiative celebrates the technological leadership of nearly 850 small, community
based rural broadband providers in NTCA’s membership. “I am so proud of Marne Elk Horn for rising to meet the challenge of providing exceptional service in rural America, where our member companies face low population density, geographic obstacles, regulatory hurdles and limited budgets,” stated Bloomfield.

“NTCA’s Smart Rural Community Providers are leading by example and charting a course toward an even more vibrant, productive and community-oriented rural America.” Hansen said more info can be found at www.metc.net/smart.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Kansas City District say there is a simple way for lake visitors to greatly reduce their risk of drowning this Labor Day weekend: Wear a life jacket. The Corps district manages 18 lakes in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska. Public safety manager Kyle Ruona said Thursday that 89 percent of all water-related fatalities at Corps lakes involve people who fail to wear life jackets.

Swimming in a lake is harder than swimming in a pool, so Corps officials urge people to take precautions, be alert and to expect the unexpected when on the water. People using boats also are encouraged to avoid alcohol.

Officials with the Family Crisis Support Network in Atlantic say “Family Table Talk” cards will soon be distributed in Cass County. Director Wendy Richter says the cards have been a collaborative effort between the Cass County Child Abuse Prevention Council and the Atlantic Rotary Club. Richter says the Council began the project as a way for families to put down electronic devices at mealtime, and what better way to begin that than while waiting for food at a restaurant. Many of the ideas on the cards are activities that families can do in restaurants but are also ones that can be done while at home too.

Pictured are: Melanie Storural, Council member, Damon Clark, Rotarian, Dolly Bergmann, Rotary District 6000 Asst. Governor, Kaila Antisdel, Rotarian, Kate Olson, Rotarian & Council member, Lora Kanning, Council member. (Photo courtesy Wendy Richter)

The activities easily open communication between parents and their children and when talking to their parents is easy for kids, they are more likely to talk to parents when struggling with difficult issues as they get older. According to Prevent Child Abuse Iowa, “it’s important to give all parents resources that allow them to bond with their children, gain parenting skills and manage stress”. “Family Table Talk” cards will help in each of these areas.

Rotary Clubs in District 6000 were encouraged to participate with their local Child Abuse Prevention Councils to work on a project. The Atlantic Rotary Club, being a member of District 6000, contacted to Cass County Child Abuse Council to find a way to work jointly on a project. The cards project was presented to the Rotary Club and approval for participation was approved by the Board of Director.

For additional resources about the groups mentioned above, check out the following: pcaiowa.org, rotaryinternational.org, or see the cass county child abuse prevention council on FaceBook.

AMES, Iowa – August 29, 2019 – The Iowa Department of Transportation is conducting a planning study on the Missouri Valley bypass corridor.  The study area includes an area south of Missouri Valley and extends along U.S. 30 from I-29 east to 280th Street. An online public meeting is now available to view on the Iowa DOT’s Public Involvement webpage: www.iowadot.gov/pim. To view the meeting and related content, click on the Missouri Valley bypass corridor project from the list of public involvement events. The online meeting allows you to scroll through the information at your own pace and at any time. The Iowa DOT is asking interested parties to take a few minutes to view the information and offer any feedback.

For general information regarding the proposed improvements or public meeting, contact Scott Suhr, transportation planner, Iowa DOT District 4 Office, 2210 E. Seventh St., Atlantic, Iowa 50022, phone 712-243-3355 or 800-289-4368, email: scott.suhr@iowadot.us.

(Updated) DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Bring out your dead. That’s what an Iowa funeral home is calling on families to do with the unclaimed cremated remains of nearly 100 people that it has been keeping in a locked closet for years, some since the mid-1990s. Lanae Strovers, of Hamilton’s Funeral Home in Des Moines, told TV station KCCI that she has been trying to reach the families for two years and has had some success, making arrangements for 200 sets of the ashes. But the funeral home is still trying to make arrangements for 91 others.

She says in the immediate aftermath of a death, some families aren’t emotionally ready to take home a loved one’s remains and eventually forget to pick them up. Others mistakenly think another family member picked them up. Remains that aren’t claimed in the coming weeks will be buried during a mass service on Sept. 26 at Avon Lake Cemetery.

Atlantic School District Superintendent Steve Barber reports diagrams and plans for the next phase of the Athletic Facilities Project are set to go out to contractors, today (Thursday).

(A bid opening for the Atlantic Facilities Improvement project will be held 2-p.m. September 26^th, at the High School Media Center. The process is open to the public.)

Dave Sturm of Snyder and Associates provided the School Board with an update on the plans during their special meeting on Wednesday evening. On a related note, Barber said the Atlantic School Board approved a Construction Invoice from Allender-Butzke Engineers, Inc., of Urbandale, with regard to Geotechnical Exploration of the District ballfields and Trojan Bowl Improvements. The invoice amounts to $23,600.

The Board, Wednesday evening, discussed the district’s Strategic Plan.

They also approved the resignation of Food Service Worker Lisa Andersen, and Contract Recommendations for Ernie Hawthorne, Mark Vavricek, and Dale Retallic – Special Education drivers.

Following their regular meeting, the Board entered into a Closed Session to conduct Superintendent Steve Barber’s annual evaluation.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst are calling on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to keep its commitment to repair a key levee near Hamburg. The Corps ordered that the levee be lowered eight feet following flooding in 2011 and residents say that’s one reason this year’s Missouri River flooding was so devastating. Ernst says there are indications the Corps is retreating from its earlier promise to rebuild what’s called the Ditch 6 levee. “They made a commitment to bring that levee up to 919 feet and then they backed off of it,” Ernst says, “so we’ve got to do something about that and we’ll continue to push them.”

Ernst held a town hall meeting yesterday (Wednesday) in the small town of Riverton, which is in the far southwest corner of the state and fielded complaints about the Army Corps’ management of the river. Linda White of Hamburg says her family lost their farm to this spring’s flooding. “Who does the Corps actually have to…answer to?” White asked. “It seems like to us common people that they don’t answer to anybody except for themselves.”

Ernst and Missouri Senator Josh Hawley are co-sponsoring a bill calling for the Corps to make flood control of the Missouri River its highest priority.”The Corps will answer to whatever the congress directs, but understand even those of us along the MIssouri River corridor have different ideas on what those priorities should be,” Ernst said, “so if we can’t all agree up and down the river system that flood control should be the priority, it’s not going to go anywhere.”

And Ernst warns that other representatives want protection for hydroelectricity and recreational projects along the river to be priorities.

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

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