(Lewis, Iowa) – An historic site near Lewis will host a Pioneer Skills Festival on May 3rd. Officials with the Cass County Conservation Board say if you’ve ever wondered how the pioneers made their own rope or dipped their own candles, or pondered using your hand at spinning wool, you should come to the Hitchcock Pioneer Skills Festival on Saturday, May 3rd, at the Hitchcock House, which is a National Historic Landmark built in 1856, and which features a secret room that hid persons escaping slavery via the Underground Railroad.

The Hitchcock House can be found six-miles south of Atlantic and 1.5-miles west of Lewis. The festivities will begin at 1:00 p.m. and end at 4:00 p.m. You will have an opportunity to visit the historic Hitchcock House and see many of the skills and crafts that people of the late 1800’s used in daily living. You could begin your visit with a tour of the Hitchcock House. This two-story home features thick sandstone walls, window seats, native hard wood trim. The secret room is located in the basement where there is also a stone fireplace where the freedom seekers could cook food and keep warm. It is said that the famous John Brown preached around this fireplace.

Hitchcock House. (photo from Hitchcock House Facebook page.)

Once you’ve toured the home, head over to the barn, where the hub of the festival activities will take place. In the barn, you’ll observe skills and crafts of the past, and can try your hand at a few of them. There will be rope making, candle dipping, tin punching, and woodcarvings.

The festival will be held rain or shine. Families are encouraged to come and share the day together as they might have in the 1800’s. There is a $5 fee/adult for a tour of the Hitchcock House. All activities in the barn are free of charge; donations to the Hitchcock House will be accepted.

(Stanton, Iowa) – Montgomery County resident Jan Norris reports a “Carbon [capture] Pipeline Opposition Meeting” will be held April 28th, in Stanton. The meetings that are being held around the state, are hosted by the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club, Iowa Easement Team, and landowners who may be impacted by the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline and the possible use of Eminent Domain to acquire land for the pipeline to cross. Organizers say the meetings are intended to educate communities about carbon capture pipelines, and prepare affected landowners for Iowa Utilities Commission (IUC) proceedings.

On Monday, April 28th, local landowners and issue experts will provide an overview of the proposed pipeline projects, the latest updates from across the five-state pipeline footprint, and action steps to prepare for pending permit proceedings.

The meeting will be held at the Stanton Viking Center (501 Elliott St., Stanton, IA), beginning at 6:30-p.m., Monday (April 28th).

(Creston, Iowa) – If you travel on eastbound Interstate 80 west of Des Moines you need to be aware of an upcoming project that may slow down your trip, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Creston construction office. Eastbound I-80 between Grand Prairie Parkway (exit 118) and the West Mixmaster will be closed on the following nights so crews can shift lanes on the roadway for a new stage of bridge and pavement removals.

• Sunday, April 27 from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. on Monday, April 28
• Monday, April 28 from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. on Tuesday, April 29
• Tuesday, April 29 from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. on Wednesday, April 30

When the roadway is closed, you will follow a marked detour route (see map) using Grand Prairie Parkway (exit 118) up to University Avenue, Jordan Creek Parkway, Westown Parkway, 50th Street, and I-80/I-35 (exit 124).

The Iowa DOT reminds motorists to drive with caution, obey the posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, drivers should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.

Atlantic, Iowa) – Following a public hearing, Wednesday (during which there were no comments received, written or oral), the Atlantic School Board approved the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget, which, according to District Finance Director Lisa Jones, said, is slightly more than the current levy rate of $12.514/$1,000 of assessed property valuation. 

The property tax rate for FY26 will be $12.532/$1,000.

In other business, the Atlantic School Board approved a bid from Rick’s Computers, for 900 new 1-to-1 devices for 6th through 12th grade students, with a total cost of $279,000. District Technology Director Roger Warne urged the Board to approve the bid due to the recently enacted tariffs.

Screenshot of the YouTube Atlantic School Board mtg. Roger Warne discusses recommended 1-1 devices.

Warne said the bid is a good deal compared to what the earlier cost comparison was.

The other vendors, he said, couldn’t guarantee their price quotes would still be honored days from now, based on the tariff situation.

The Board also approved changing the District’s health insurance vendor for 2025-26, to Wellmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Following the public hearing and Special Meeting, the Board held a scheduled Work Session.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City of Atlantic’s Parks Advisory Commission, during their meeting Wednesday afternoon, approved the purchase of a used piece of equipment needed for maintenance of the Little League Field.  Lucas Mosier – attending by phone – said the three-wheeled machine will be used to drag the Little League Field, making it possible to level fields and keep them maintained in preparation for play. Their current machine, he said, is worn out.

He proposed getting a 2018 John Deere dragger with just 834 hours on it, from a source in Texas. On Average, the machines last for up to 2,000 hours

Mosier said it will save time and money, can be serviced locally, and will make the fields look better than before.

The Atlantic Youth Sports Organization is picking-up one-half of the $16,000 cost for the machine. The Parks Board agreed to contribute the other half, which Parks Commission Chair Kevin Ferguson said City Administrator John Lund has acknowledged there is money in the budget for the purchase.

The City Council must approve the purchase before it can occur. Mosier said Little League is extremely popular, with 181 kids set to participate this year. Most of the money the Organization receives comes from registration fees and concession stands purchases.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – As we’ve mentioned, the Cass County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday, approved the County Secondary Roads Five-Year Construction Program. The Iowa Department of Transportation has reviewed and approved the plan and related budget, as well. Previously, the plan would come before the Board before it is approved by the DOT, but the Iowa DOT changed the procedure for approval.

County Engineer Trent Wolken summed-up the five pages of projects and maps included in the plan, during Tuesday morning’s meeting.

Some of the projects involve the use of box-culverts instead of new bridges. Wolken said it’s too early to tell what the costs of those projects will be.

Details of the 5-year plan can be found here: FY2026 Five Year Construction Program Signed-min

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, reports the arrest Wednesday afternoon, of a woman on a felony, Theft charge. 42-year-old Ashley R. Crill, of Villisca, was arrested for Theft in the 1st Degree, a Class C Felony. Crill was taken into custody following the completion of an investigation into a reported act of theft. She was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $10,000 bond. Additional details concerning the alleged theft were not released.

(Radio Iowa) – A central Iowa man charged with stalking and threatening a shooting at an Iowa State University event has appeared in court for the first time. Information from the U-S District Court for Southern Iowa shows 28-year-old Tanner Bandy, of Nevada, sent threatening text messages and voicemails to his former fiancee. It’s alleged that two days before his arrest April 17th he sent a voicemail discussing his intention to conduct a mass shooting at an Iowa State University commencement ceremony. Police searched his residence and car and found two guns and ammunition. The judge ordered Bandy held pending further proceedings.

Police say Bandy is not a student at I-S-U.

(Radio Iowa) – A report from a private, independent research firm devoted to healthcare issues details what will happen in Iowa — and to Iowans — if Congress moves ahead with a plan to enact deep cuts to Medicaid. Rachel Nuzum, senior vice president of policy at the Commonwealth Fund, says some U-S House Republicans propose 880-billion dollars in cuts to Medicaid, which is the nation’s public health insurance program for low-income residents. “About 673,000 people are covered by Medicaid in Iowa,” Nuzum says, “and in Iowa, the Medicaid program is called Iowa Health Link. It really is the source for coverage for kids to see doctors, low-income older adults to afford prescriptions, and for families to really get the care that they need most. Thirty-eight percent of all children in Iowa are covered by Medicaid.”

In addition, about one in every two Iowa nursing home residents is covered by Medicaid. If Congress follows through with the cuts, the organization predicts it could result in nearly 900-thousand lost jobs nationwide and a 95-billion dollar drop in state gross domestic products next year alone. Nuzum says, “In Iowa specifically, this could mean $865-million in lost economic activity, over 33,000 jobs lost, and a reduction of $177-million in lost state and local revenue.” Under the current funding formula, the federal government pays 90-percent of Medicaid costs while states pay ten-percent, but Congress may decide to shake that up. “They could change that percentage for the expansion population. Iowa expanded Medicaid and there’s about 250,000 adults in the expansion group, so they could change the matching rate for that group alone,” Nuzum says. “They could impose work requirements that would really impact who is eligible for coverage.”

The State of Iowa has already asked the Trump Administration to approve a work requirement plan for some of the Iowa adults enrolled in Medicaid. Governor Kim Reynolds said it’s about “promoting a culture of work” among “able-bodied” adults under age of 65 who get government-paid insurance coverage. The waiver request would require at least 100 hours of work per month. Nuzum says the changes being proposed would be challenging for some people to accept. “We know that once people have benefits that they rely on, it’s really difficult to take that away,” Nuzum says. “In a lot of areas, especially rural areas, we already have shortages in our healthcare workforce. We already have hospitals that are really struggling to stay afloat financially.”

Medicaid is not just a health care program, she says, but a major economic engine in every state.

(Radio Iowa) – The state has more than 58 MILLION dollars sitting in a fund for opioid addiction treatment programs and, for a third year, lawmakers are trying to come up with a plan on how to spend the money. Representative Gary Mohr, a Republican from Bettendorf, is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

“It’s taken a long time, but I think it took us that long to figure out the best way to go about it,” Mohr said, “and that’s the bottom up approach.” Companies that made. marketed and sold the powerful painkillers agreed to a national legal settlement. Legislators are required — by law — to come up with the distribution plan for what eventually is expected to be over 345 million dollars in payments to Iowa over nearly 20 years.

The chairman of the Appropriations Committee in the Iowa Senate has introduced a plan that primarily would give the Iowa Department of Heath and Human Services authority to distribute 75 percent of the settlement funds and the Iowa Attorney General’s Office would decide where most of the rest goes. Mohr says that’s a top-down approach and House leaders are considering distributing the money to the state’s seven behavioral health regions.

“The differences between Spencer and Burlington are vast,” Mohr says. “The regions need to be the ones that make these decisions and, if there are shortfalls in services, they need to be the ones that need to say: ‘Here’s something that we really need.’ I can’t tell that from sitting here in Des Moines.”

About half of the opioid settlement money paid to the State of Iowa is to go to local programs. State records indicate 238 Iowans died in 2023 from opioid use.