The Atlantic School Board discussed once again the possibility of introducing a mandatory face mask/shield policy. Prior to the beginning of the school year, the Board had an in-depth conversation about the matter, and developed a mask policy that stated anyone in grades 6-thru-12 are expected to wear masks, when social distancing was not possible.

Superintendent Steve Barber said given the square footage of both the Middle School and High School, each Principal was able to create social distancing in the classrooms and lunch area.

Barber said also, “The standard for our PK-5 building was [to encourage the use of masks] when social distancing cannot occur.” He said “Given the self-contained nature of these grades and the space available, creating social distancing is more of a challenge. “Although space has been created,” he said, “The six-feet rule is hard to achieve. These groups are in bubbles.) He added both Principals observed the number of students wearing masks [in grades PK-5] was around 10-percent.

About three weeks ago Governor Kim Reynolds issued a new directive on the use of quarantines for persons who may have been in close contact with an individual who tested positive. The director stated that when both the positive case and the close contacts to a positive case were wearing masks, the close contact doesn’t have to quarantine. The basis of the change was to keep students who are not actually infected, in school. As a result, some schools have since required or mandated masks be used on campus and/or at events.

During the discussion Wednesday night, Board members Nicholas Hunt and Laura McLean said they were still in favor of a mask mandate. Hunt said he interprets the State’s policy change as giving the District more emphasis to use a mandated mask policy and avoid quarantines. He says health and saftey is the goal, keep kids in school, and reduce absenteeism.

Hunt says he spoke with District Registered Nurse Laura Freund, who told him “Our numbers are going to get worse.” He says District staff are worried about the positive numbers possibly going up and a possible hybrid situation. Hunt said he’s spoken with other district which have a mandated mask policy if they are not social distancing, about how things are going.

Hunt said the Griswold and Denison Schools haven’t had a problem with enforcement, mostly because peer pressure reinforces the need to wear a mask. Laura McLean said there are already some significant learning gaps between those who are in classrooms and who are being educated online. She said if masks are not or cannot be used, face shields are an option.

Other board members were not keen on a mandate. No action was taken during the meeting Wednesday. It’s expected more continued, in-depth discussion will take place at the Board’s next Work Session. T

(10/16 – Updated w/revised upward certified enrollment number) There was mixed news Wednesday evening with regard to the Atlantic Community School District’s Certified Open Enrollment numbers. Superintendent Steve Barber reported during the regular monthly school board meeting, that while all corrections for the Certified Annual Open Enrollment Report (CAR) are due by the end of today (Thursday), the official Certified Enrollment is 1333.32. The district is currently serving 17.05 fewer resident students.

On the other hand, he says there was an increase of 17.80 students, creating a net gain of 86.2 students.

The Superintendent says he’s hopeful that once the pandemic is over, those students who chose to receive their education virtually or in another district, will return to the classrooms in the Atlantic District. Barber reminds parents and the Board that Parent-Teacher Conferences will be virtual this semester, except for IEP meeting at the High School. “In-person mitigation strategies will be followed,” he said.

Red Oak Police say 34-year-old Michael Raymond Lakers, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 9:35-p.m. Wednesday, in connection with an assault that took place earlier in the evening. Lakers was located in the 2300 block of Eastern Avenue and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where his bond was set at $300 on a charge of Simple Assault.

Anita Rescue, Wiota 1st Responders and Cass EMS were dispatched to the scene of a semi tractor-trailer rollover accident this (Thursday) morning. The crash happened at around 3:20-a.m. off Interstate 80 westbound between mile markers 65-66. The vehicle was in the median.

Two people were said to have been trapped, one with an arm injury.  A Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy was able to extricate the accident victims from the vehicle within about 10-minutes, prior to the arrival of rescue units. The driver was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic, for treatment of what were described as minor injuries.

Additional details were not immediately available.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s highest court is upholding a state directive that was used to invalidate tens of thousands of absentee ballot requests mailed to voters pre-filled with their personal information. The Iowa Supreme Court issued its ruling in favor of President Donald Trump’s campaign and Republican groups as Trump held a rally in Des Moines. The court rejected a Democratic challenge that argued the directive issued by Republican Secretary of State Paul Pate was unconstitutional. Pate instructed county elections commissioners in July that all absentee ballot request forms they mailed to voters must be blank in order to ensure uniformity statewide. Auditors in three counties defied Pate’s guidance and courts invalidated their pre-filled forms at the urging of Trump’s campaign.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa prosecutor has been charged with harassment for allegedly threatening to pursue meritless criminal charges against his ex-fiancee, a doctor from Iran, that he warned could cause her deportation. A criminal complaint alleges that Ryan McCord was an assistant Des Moines County attorney in Burlington when he allegedly harassed the woman for months after they ended their relationship. The woman works as a physician at the Great River Medical Center in Burlington on a visa for foreign-born doctors. McCord allegedly falsely told the woman that he had a pending domestic violence charge against her at the sheriff’s office that could be filed if they didn’t get back together.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden will compete for TV audiences in dueling town hall meetings instead of meeting face-to-face for their second debate as originally planned. The two will take questions in different cities on different networks Thursday night — Trump on NBC from Miami, Biden on ABC from Philadelphia. Trump backed out of plans for the originally scheduled presidential faceoff after debate organizers shifted the format to a virtual event following Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis. The two candidates are taking care of other electoral necessities first: Trump has a midday rally in battleground North Carolina and Biden is raising campaign cash at a virtual event.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa continues to experience widespread coronavirus spread with public health data showing 1,217 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours and 11 deaths. As of Wednesday, the state had 1,492 deaths and 101,812 confirmed positive cases since the pandemic began. The number of people in hospitals also reached a new high Wednesday with 473 people hospitalized with COVID-19. The number of people admitted with the virus in the past 24 hours was third highest. State data also shows 18 counties with a 14-day average positivity rate of more than 15%, the level at which Gov. Kim Reynolds allows school districts to apply to the state to send students home for online learning temporarily.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — President Donald Trump is trying to shore up support from constituencies that not so long ago he thought he had in the bag: big business and voters in the red state of Iowa. Trump on Wednesday expressed puzzlement in an address to business leaders that they would even consider supporting his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden.

At a rally later Wednesday in Des Moines, Iowa, Trump claimed to be leading in the most recent poll he saw. But he said, “For me to only be up six, I’m a little bit concerned.” Multiple shows have shown a much closer race. Biden had no public campaign events scheduled Wednesday.

President Donald Trump says he doesn’t mind running against former Vice President Joe Biden, but he wouldn’t want to run against his Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett. Speaking to supporters in Iowa on Wednesday, Trump got some of his biggest cheers when he brought up her confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. He joked, “Please promise me, Amy, you’ll never run.”

Trump calls Barrett a “great intellect” who is deftly handling the questioning she is getting, particularly from Democrats, and “she handles it like nothing.” Trump says he hasn’t spoken with Barrett for a few days, “and I just want to say we made the right choice with Amy.” If Barrett is confirmed, which is expected, she would replace liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died last month.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s highest court is upholding a state directive that was used to invalidate tens of thousands of absentee ballot requests mailed to voters pre-filled with their personal information. The Iowa Supreme Court issued its ruling in favor of President Donald Trump’s campaign and Republican groups as Trump held a rally in Des Moines.

The court rejected a Democratic challenge that argued the directive issued by Republican Secretary of State Paul Pate was unconstitutional. Pate instructed county elections commissioners in July that all absentee ballot request forms they mailed to voters must be blank in order to ensure uniformity statewide.

Auditors in three counties defied Pate’s guidance and courts invalidated their pre-filled forms at the urging of Trump’s campaign.