Atlantic Municipal Utilities General Manager Steve Tjepkes, Thursday, said the American Public Power Association has its latest report on electric rates charged by all the electric utilities throughout the U.S.

Based on the report:

· There are 181 electric utilities operating in the state of Iowa
· Atlantic Municipal Utilities (AMU) ranks as the 2nd lowest average electric rate charged to customers in the state
· The overall average rate comparison includes AMU’s Residential, Commercial and Industrial Rates

Tjepkes said “We were very pleased to see the results of the latest rate comparisons among electric utilities. While keeping rates low is important to everyone in our community, we believe it is the customer service our employees provide every day that we are most proud of and strive to maintain at AMU.”

AMU’s power supply consists of:
1. Co-ownership in the coal-fired Walter Scott, Jr. Energy Center Unit 3 plant in Council Bluffs
2. Hydro-generated electricity from dams along the Missouri River basin
3. Power purchased from Missouri River Energy Services, located in Sioux Falls, SD.
4. Atlantic’s local generation includes a 10 MW natural gas generator used primarily to meet capacity and energy reserve requirements and emergency back-up power

AMU provides electrical service to 3,984 residential and commercial consumers within the city of Atlantic and another 675 residential and commercial consumers in the surrounding rural area.

The American Public Power Association (APPA), based in Washington, D.C., is a national service organization representing the unified interests of the nation’s more than 2,000 community-owned municipal electric utilities. Collectively, municipal utilities serve more than 48 million Americans.

Atlantic, IA — Cass County Public Health has a limited supply of influenza vaccine as part of an initiative to immunize adults with no insurance, who are under-insured,or who have limited access to influenza vaccine. Appointments are required and can be made by calling Cass County Public Health at 712-250-8008.

The vaccine will be administered in their office at 1408 East 10thStreet. Weekend appointments may also be available; if needed, please ask when you call to schedule.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provided adult influenza vaccines to states to increase influenza vaccine coverage in the United States as a critical part of COVID-19 response work. Increasing adult influenza coverage will result in a decreased strain on the nation’s health care system.

This one-time initiative for the 2000-21 influenza season allowed states to order adult influenza vaccine and provide it to those who are uninsured, under-insured, or live in areas where they may have limited access to receive the vaccine

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa State Board of Education has adopted new rules that limit district on how and when seclusion rooms are used to discipline students. The Des Moines Register reports that the board voted unanimously Wednesday to limit educators to using seclusion and restraint of students as a last resort and only when there’s a threat of bodily injury. The new rules also require schools to notify parents of the use of seclusion and restraint as soon as possible and to use rooms at least 7×8 feet. Schools have five years to implement the new size requirements. The change comes after years of criticism and pushback on use of the rooms. In 2017, the Iowa Department of Education determined that the Iowa City Community School District improperly used the rooms for minor infractions.

DES MOINES – Gov. Kim Reynolds introduced a new public awareness campaign Thursday (today) aimed at encouraging Iowans to step up and stop the spread of COVID-19.  Reynolds says “It’s more important now than ever to reach as many Iowans as possible with information about what they can do to stop the spread of the virus. If everyone does their part, we’ll get life back to normal and keep our businesses open, our kids in school, our hospitals stable and our essential workforce healthy.” 

Several notable Iowans have joined the Governor in communicating the informational and motivational message in the campaign’s television spots, including: 

• Tom Vilsack, former Governor of Iowa and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture; 
• Dan Gable, legendary Iowa wrestling coach, Olympic gold medalist, and recent recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom; 
• Carson King, Carson King Foundation; 
• Suresh Gunasekaran, CEO, University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics; and 
• Katie Witt, a Test Iowa nurse. 

The state was able to leverage special programs and pricing for government and non-profit organizations to deliver its public awareness message through Iowa’s newspapers, radio and television stations. The campaign totals approximately $440,000 and will be funded through Iowa’s CARES Act allocation. The state worked with the Iowa Newspaper Association (INA) to place ads in its more than 250 member newspapers and online publications across the state, and extended the campaign’s reach to include Spanish and specialty publications. Newspaper ads started earlier this month and will run through the end of the year. 

The state also leveraged the Iowa Broadcasters Association’s (IBA) Public Education Partnerships Program for broadcasting educational messages statewide. Television and radio spots will be available to more than 200 IBA member stations through mid-March. 

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office says two people were arrested Wednesday on separate warrants. 41-year-old William Holt Jensen, of Glenwood, was arrested on a warrant for Failure To Appear. His bond was set at $5,000. And, 34-year old Yasmeen M. Mahmood, of Bellevue, NE., was arrested on a warrant for OWI/1st offense. Bond was set at $1,000.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — More than half of bankers surveyed in rural parts of 10 Plains and Western states are projecting a drop in holiday retail sales this year from last year as the coronavirus pandemic worsens across the country. The Rural Mainstreet Survey’s overall index fell to 46.8 in November from October’s 53.2. It’s the first time since April that the index has fallen, but it remains well ahead of the 35.5 reading in March, when the index bottomed out as the outbreak began. Any score below 50 suggests a shrinking economy, while a score above 50 suggests a growing economy.

Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds today (Thursday) warned there will be an increase in the number of COVID-19 outbreaks at Long-Term Care facilities (LTC’s) throughout the State. At 10-a.m. Today (Thursday), the Coronavirus dashboard indicated there were 94 outbreaks. During her press conference, the Governor said 120 new outbreaks are expected to show-up on the dashboard this afternoon, for a total of 114 active cases.

There are approximately 443 LTC’s in the State. The governor said the dashboard is being updated to show the number of new cases over the past 14 days in facilities with active outbreaks.

Governor Reynolds announced also, $14-million worth of CARES ACT spending will be allocated to Iowa’s Long Term Care facilities to assist with the increased costs related to testing and staffing.