A motorcyclist who authorities say was going too fast for conditions, lost control of his machine and suffered undisclosed injuries when he was ejected. The Page County Sheriff’s Office was notified at around 8-a.m. Monday about the crash on M Avenue, near 220th Street, or about a mile southeast of Yorktown. Authorities say 25-year old Daniel Nathan August, of Clarinda, was southbound on M Avenue and attempting to navigate a curve in the road to the left (east), when he braked and skidded on the damp/wet pavement. The motorcycle slid on its side, ejecting August,  who was not wearing a helmet.

He was transported to Clarinda Regional Health Center by Clarinda Ambulance. Damage to the motorcycle is estimated at $ 5,000. The Page County Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by the Clarinda Fire Department and the Clarinda Ambulance service. No citations were issued.

A traffic stop early this (Wednesday) morning in Walnut resulted in an arrest. The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports a deputy stopped a 2011 Chevy Malibu at around 12:07-a.m., in the area of Antique City Drive and Park Streets, in Walnut. The vehicle was pulled over for having a broken tail lamp. The driver, 47-year old Christopher James Binns, of Walnut, displayed numerous clues of impairment and was placed under arrest for OWI 2nd offense.

A traffic stop at around 2:25-a.m., Wednesday, resulted in a passenger in the vehicle being arrested on a warrant. Sheriff’s officials say the traffic stop on a 2001 Buick LeSabre was made at 185th and Honeysuckle. The vehicle was stopped for the driver showing a status of not valid. The driver was identified as Kevin O’Connor and the passenger as 41-year old Tracey McDougal, of Crescent. A records check showed McDougal was wanted on a Pott. County warrant for Probation Violation. She was taken into custody without incident, but once at the Pott. County Jail, was found to be in possession of marijuana. McDougal was subsequently charged with Possession of Contraband in a Jail Facility.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Kim Reynolds says it was an “appropriate decision” for Iowa Republicans to accept a $522,000 donation from a disgraced former lawmaker. Reynolds told reporters Wednesday she was “fine” with the Republican Party of Iowa accepting a March 26 contribution from former Iowa Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix. The Shell Rock Republican resigned two weeks earlier after video surfaced showing him kissing a Statehouse lobbyist who wasn’t his wife.

A GOP party spokesman on Tuesday defended the donation, saying it will help elect Republicans this fall. Dix faced criticism last year after the state paid a $1.75 million settlement to a former Senate Republican staffer who says she was fired after reporting workplace harassment. Dix claimed the firing was performance related.

Democrats say Republicans should use Dix’s money to reimburse Iowa’s general fund.

CORALVILLE, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Corrections Department says an inmate struck a guard at the state’s medical classification center in Coralville. The department says the assault occurred around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, when the inmate didn’t follow the guard’s instructions. The two clashed and fell to the floor, where the inmate punched the guard several time atop the head. The department says other staffers and another inmate came to the guard’s aid.

The guard was examined at a local hospital and found to have suffered no significant injuries. The names of those involved haven’t been released.

Members of the CAM School District’s Board of Education met earlier this week. Superintendent Dr. Casey Berlau told KJAN News the Board approved 2018-19 salaries for classified staff. The staff are receiving a .32-cent raise, or about a 3.2-percent increase. The CAM School Board also approved salaries for Teacher Leadership positions and issued contracts to Keslie Kralik and Haley Wollum for those positions. They are Master Teachers/Instructional Coaches.

And, they approve the 2018-19 school calendar, which has minor changes from the current school year. Berlau said school begins Aug. 23^rd, and is based on hours. The Board elected to move the Spring Parent-Teacher conferences to February.

The conferences this year were held in March. And, the Board approved a Sharing Agreement with Atlantic for a Business Manager. Two weeks ago, the Atlantic School District Board approved the agreement, which calls for 70-percent of Sarah Sheeder’s time to be spent in Atlantic and 30-percent in the CAM District. CAM will provide 30% of the cost associated with the shared position. And, since the business manager position is one that fits under the Operational Sharing legislation, each district will receive additional revenue.

Sixty-two communities across Iowa are now qualified for the federal government’s new Opportunity Zones program. The initiative is meant to spark development in certain low-income neighborhoods by deferring taxes for investors. Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority, says the effort has great potential. “I think this could really, again, implemented correctly, could really propel forth some pretty transformational projects,” Durham says.

Among the cities qualified for the Opportunity Zones program, is: Atlantic, Council Bluffs, Creston, Denison, Griswold, Harlan, Shenandoah and Winterset.

The state has seen good outcomes from other tax credit investment deals, according to Durham, but she says a lot depends on how the federal government structures the effort. Under the program, people can defer taxes on certain capital gains if they invest in the opportunity zones, selected tracts that have higher poverty levels or lower family incomes. Alan Kemp, with the Iowa League of Cities, says this kind of targeted investment in disadvantaged neighborhoods is novel. “And I think that’s the real benefit of it,” Kemp says. “I think cities can see benefit that they could see investment for new businesses or existing businesses that they might not otherwise be able to take advantage of.”

Kemp says the success of the new federal program relies on how it’s implemented. The U.S. Treasury Department is still developing rules for investors and local agencies.

(Radio Iowa, w/Thanks to Kate Payne, Iowa Public Radio)

The Adair County Board of Supervisors will hold a Special Session Thursday morning. During the 9-a.m. CLOSED SESSION, the Board will discuss “Matters in Litigation.” No other details were provided.

DURANT, Iowa (AP) — A family owned German company is celebrating the opening of its new office and manufacturing plant in eastern Iowa. Group Schumacher’s new facility in Durant replaces the U.S. headquarters it has operated there since 1994. Schumacher’s Tim Chen told the Quad-City Times the more than $4 million project shows the Schumacher family is making an investment in North America.
The company makes agricultural equipment, importing from Germany about 70 percent of what it sells and building around 30 percent of its products in the United States. Chen says the company seeks the flexibility of more regional manufacturing by raising the percentage of U.S.-built goods.

Chen says the company has hired an additional half-dozen workers for the new facility so far, bringing the local total to around 36.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday (today), approved the re-appointment of Kenny Harrison, of Anita, to the Cass County Veterans Affairs Commission. The Board also set the date for a Public Hearing on a proposal to incur Non-Current Debt in an amount not to exceed $350,000, “for the purpose of paying the costs of certain urban renewal projects in the 2017 Cass County Agribusiness Urban Renewal Area,” which consists of using Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to pay the costs of constructing grey water management improvements and undertaking capital projects, for the construction of roads, bridges and culverts – pertaining to the Elite Octane Ethanol plant. The hearing takes place 8:30-a.m., Thursday, May 31st in the Supervisors Board Room at the Courthouse in Atlantic.

Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman explained a change order for the Echo to Glacier road project and construction costs associated with the ethanol plant, necessitates additional funds that not expected to exceed $269,000, but money is built-in for any surprises/additional change orders.  He says since the costs weren’t built into the General Obligation bond loan, they will borrow from the Local Option Sales Tax [LOST] and pay it back over a period of years when the Tax Increment Financing payments to the County start coming in from the plant by 2021.)

The County does not have to pay tax on the LOST, and will receive $960,000 in tax per year for about 15 years, according to the agreement with Elite Octane. Those funds will be use to pay back the LOST fund.  In other business, the Board approved permits for Hansen Valley Oil and the 21st Century Co-op C-Store, to sell cigarettes, tobacco, alternative nicotine  or vapor products.

Coca-Cola Days 2018 will be held September 28th and 29th in Downtown Atlantic. The event is the second largest collectors’ show in the United States and includes a tailgate barbecue open to the public, a Show Swap & Sell, “On the Road with Coca-Cola Raffle” and many more activities for all ages.

Coca Cola Days 2018 T-shirt

This year’s feature theme is, “On the Road with Coca-Cola”. T-Shirts for the 2018 Coca-Cola Days Celebration are now available for $16 at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, 102 Chestnut Street, from 8 AM – 5 PM, Monday – Friday. T-shirts can be shipped for an additional fee.

For more information on Coca-Cola Days or a full list of activities, please visit www.cocacoladays.com, call the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce at 712-243-3017 or email chamber@atlanticiowa.com. 2018 Coca-Cola Days brochures are also available at the Chamber or local merchants.