The Atlantic City Council is set to meet 5:30-p.m. Wednesday in their Chambers at City Hall. Among their action items, is the second reading of an Ordinance that would strip the Parks and Rec Department Board of its authority to hire, fire, discipline and otherwise manage City Employees in the Department. It would also essentially take away their authority to handle its budget expenditures. In both instances, those duties would be turned over to City Administrator John Lund.

Word of the Amended Ordinance didn’t reach the Parks Board until minutes before their meeting last month, which is something the Board was not happy with. The expressed their frustration during the Nov. 20th City Council meeting. Their chief complaint was the lack of communication from Lund, and having to read or hear about the proposed changes from the media.  The first reading of the Amended Ordinance was approved during that Nov. 20th meeting.

In other business the Atlantic City Council will consider approving an Order to approve an Engineering Work Order for Additional Bull Creek Engineering Services. The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers would allow the city to proceed with plans for dealing with erosion along the banks of the creek, once the studies are complete, but even when the studies are finished, obtaining a permit to assess the amount of work to be done will take time due to the backlog of permit requests. And, once the proposed improvements are given the green light, construction would not likely begin until the Spring, or possibly even the Fall, of 2021.

The Council will also, as a matter of formality and by Iowa Code, pass a Resolution approving the CY 2020 Budget for Atlantic Municipal Utilities (AMU). AMU is an entity of the City, but is governed by its own oversight Board, Atlantic’s Utility Board of Trustees. AMU General Manager and or Comptroller Jennifer Saathoff are usually on-hand to answer any questions the Council may have, prior to their action to approve the budget.

Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker says this Saturday, December 7th, the Sheriff’s Office will hold its 21st Annual “Shop with the Sheriff,” at the Target Store (3804 Metro Drive) in Council Bluffs. The event takes place from 6:30-until 8-a.m.  The Sheriff says there are fifty-six children scheduled to participate in the event. Another twenty families with infants will pick-up gifts, food and necessities from Target that morning.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports a deputy on patrol in Council Bluffs at around 2:30-this (Tuesday) morning, saw a car traveling recklessly on East Kanesville Blvd., and continue past McKenzie Avenue. Following a traffic stop, 31-year old Joshua Josiah Reiss, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. His bond was set at $1,000.

(Radio Iowa) — More than two MILLION Iowans are registered to vote in Iowa — a new milestone for this point in an election cycle. There have never been this many registered voters in Iowa at the beginning of December, heading into a General Election year. Secretary of State Paul Pate cites a variety of factors, like the new law that lets 17-year-olds register to vote if they’ll be 18 by Election Day next November. He also noted people can register online and victims of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking can register to vote now and keep their address confidential.

Here’s how the voter registration numbers break out for the political parties:

Democratic Party: 613,899
Republican Party: 640,180
No Party:                743,885
Other:                        16,262

TOTAL:               2,014,226

Independent or “no party” voters are the largest block of voters in three of Iowa’s four congressional districts. Democrats lead Republicans in voter registration totals in the first, second and third congressional districts. In the fourth district, Republicans hold a voter registration edge over both no party and Democratic voters.

The raw vote totals for each congressional district are listed on this map.

CENTER POINT, Iowa (AP) — Police say an eastern Iowa woman has died and a man was injured, when a sport utility vehicle hit them in a bar parking lot and sped away. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that the incident happened around 1:30 a.m. Sunday in the parking lot of Bully’s North in Center Point, about 20 miles north of Cedar Rapids.

The Linn County Sheriff’s Office says 50-year-old Kimberley Swore, of Center Point, died at the scene. Another pedestrian suffered minor injuries in the hit-and-run. Police have information on a suspect, but no charges had been filed by late Monday.