The Atlantic School Board Wednesday night approved a tentative agreement with the District’s Education Association representing certified teachers and staff. Superintendent Mike Amstein said the 2017-18 contract calls for an increase in the base wage of $215, which equates to a 2.007% for wages on longevity, FICA and IPERS. The contract is for two-years, but will be renegotiated in the Spring of 2018.

In other business, the Board approved the hiring or reassignment of the following individuals:

Montana Pence, K-3 Special Education Teacher

Michael Applegate, 7^th Grade Science Teacher

Rachel Larson, Kindergarten Teacher at Washington Elementary

Carolyn Hunt, Behavior Interventionist

And they approved the resignation of Paul Iekel as Girl’s Track Head Coach/ Boys and Girls Cross-Country Coach. Iekel is transitioning to the Link Center, which Superintendent Amstein says doesn’t leave him much time for the coaching positions.

Atlantic School District Superintendent Dr. Michael Amstein attended his final meeting of the School Board Wednesday night. Amstein, who is retiring at the end of the current school year, was presented with a large plaque made by some students and instructors from the board, and heard a statement from Board Member Josh McLaren.

Amstein, whose wife and family was in the audience, cracked a joke and got a bit choked up while unwrapping the plaque he was given.

Superintendent Mike Amstein

Former School Board Members Denny Davis, Phil Hascall and Glen Smith were on-hand for the event.

Mike Amstein talks with former Board Members Glen Smith, Phil Hascall and Denny Davis.

Mike Amstein announced in April 2016 that the 2016-17 school year would be his last. He’s served the District since April, 2010. His career in education has spanned 53-years. Replacing him for the upcoming school year is Steve Barber, who is currently Superintendent for the George-Little Rock Community Schools in George (Iowa).

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – State officials say fake food inspectors have again popped up at restaurants in Iowa. The Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals says in a news release Wednesday that people posing as inspectors appear to be targeting ethnic restaurants in Scott County and central Iowa.

The latest scam involves people posing as food inspectors who promise restaurant owners a renewed license in exchange for a $5 payment by credit card. Owners who accept could discover their credit card information has been stolen.

The scam first appeared in Iowa several years ago when people posing as health department officials would bully restaurant owners and staff in attempts to obtain personal information and cash.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors will hold a special meeting at 8:30-a.m. on Friday, to act on several matters. The action items include: Approval of a Resolution authorizing bids for the Glacier, Buck Creek and Echo Road paving projects and setting the date for a hearing; Approval of a Federal Aid Project Agreement for a bridge replacement projects (located on North Olive Street about 1 mile south of Interstate 80), and approval of the plans for two bridge replacements (Bridge #25 on Tucson Road and Bridge # 342 on Lansing Road).

The Board will also act on setting the date for vacating a portion of roadway in the 73,000 block of 660th Street (Between Yankton Road and Youngstown Road). The final action item is to set the dates (or dates) for a public hearing (or hearings) on a fireworks sales/discharge ordinance.

The meeting takes place in the Supervisor’s Board Room at the Courthouse, in Atlantic.

(Des Moines, Iowa – AP) In her first speech at the helm of state government, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds highlighted four goals. She told an audience today (Wednesday) at the Iowa Capitol she wants to reform the state tax code and encourage innovation in energy production, especially wind power and renewable fuels. She wants to stress science, technology, engineering and math education in K-12 schools and expand workforce training for adults.

Reynolds spoke to hundreds of people in the Capitol rotunda after being sworn in as Iowa’s 43rd governor. Reynolds addressed her historic role and called it both “humbling and exciting.” But the 57-year-old Reynolds said she hopes people remember her for more than that, promising to make the state a better place to live and work.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A 41-year-old western Iowa woman has been convicted of killing her romantic rival, who was last seen in Omaha more than four years ago. A Douglas County (NE) judge conducting the non-jury trial, found Shanna Golyar, of Persia, Iowa, guilty today (Wednesday) of first-degree murder in the slaying of 37-year-old Cari Farver. Farver disappeared in November 2012, and her body’s not been found. Golyar’s sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 15th.

Police say Golyar posed as Farver online and by phone for years after Farver’s disappearance, and also posed as other people confessing to having killed Farver. An officer testified that Farver had been dating Golyar’s ex-boyfriend for some weeks when she disappeared.

Golyar’s lawyer argued that prosecutors presented no evidence that a homicide occurred: no body, no murder weapon and no crime scene.

Sheriff’s officials in Pottawattamie County say a man from Carson was arrested Tuesday evening, following a domestic disturbance. 56-year old Mark Henry Morrow was taken into custody during a traffic stop that followed an incident involving his girlfriend at a residence on Carson. Morrow was charged with Domestic Assault, and Driving While Barred. The girlfriend was not injured during the assault.

And, an Oakland man was transported by Council Bluffs Fire and Rescue to Jennie Edmundson Hospital, after he reportedly tried to commit suicide while in a holding cell. The incident happened today (Wednesday), at around 1:50-a.m.  Officials say 35-year old Abraham Deng Mayom was in a holding cell because he was not being cooperative following his arrest on Monday. In an apparent attempt to kill himself, Mayom fell off a divider and hit his head on the floor, causing a severe laceration. As he fell, and before he hit his head, the man tried to grab a sprinkler head. In the process, the sprinkler head broke.

Mayom was charged with Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree in connection to the damaged sprinkler.

(Des Moines, Iowa – AP) Kim Reynolds has been sworn in as Iowa’s next governor, becoming the state’s first woman to hold the job after taking over for veteran Gov. Terry Branstad. The 57-year-old former rural county clerk took the oath of office Wednesday in a ceremony at the Iowa Capitol. She succeeds Branstad, who was sworn in the same day as U.S. ambassador to China.  Branstad was the nation’s longest-serving governor.

Reynolds will hold the position through January 2019, when Branstad’s term would have ended. She’s expected to launch a gubernatorial campaign in 2018.  Branstad signed a range of conservative-leaning legislation this year amid new Republican control of the statehouse. Reynolds is expected to support similar legislation, including tax cuts, though she faces budget constraints that could complicate the effort.

(Des Moines, Iowa – AP) Terry Branstad has resigned as Iowa governor and has been sworn in as U.S. ambassador to China. Branstad resigned in his formal office Wednesday morning at the Iowa Capitol. The ceremony was livestreamed to television screens in the nearby Capitol rotunda, where hundreds of people were awaiting the swearing in of Kim Reynolds as governor.

U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Steven Colloton swore in Branstad as ambassador after signing a resignation letter. Following the brief ceremony, a round of applause broke out in the rotunda. Branstad served for more than 22 years as governor, making him the nation’s longest-serving governor.

(Updated) Members of the Atlantic School District’s Board of Education will meet this (Wednesday) evening during a work session in the High School Media Center. During their session at 5:30-p.m, the Board is expected to approve an agreement reached just today, with the Certified Staff Bargaining Unit. It’s also expected the Board will approve the employment recommendations of Montana Pence as K-3 Special Ed Teacher, and Michael Applegate, as 7th Grade Science Teacher.

They’re also expected to approve the resignation of Paul Iekel, Girl’s Track Head Coach/and Boys/Girls Head Cross Country Coach. In other action, the Board will act on approving an update for Board Policy 102, which revises terminology that pertains to Equal Educational Opportunity, by adding “Socio-economic status.”

Following the action items, the Board will hear a presentation from RSP Services, with regard to an enrollment study.