More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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The Atlantic City Council will meet in a regular session Wednesday evening at City Hall, beginning at 5:30. On their agenda, is a call-in presentation from Carlos Galo, of SeeClickFix, with regard to the proposed Community Support and Service software, which Mayor Dave Jones says is part of his goal to make City Government more effective in its communication and follow-through with the public. The program has no up-front cost, but does require a $7,485 annual fee, which would be paid for out of the City’s General Fund.

The Council will also recognize Atlantic Police Chief Steve Green for his 30-years of service to the community, and making Atlantic one of the 25 safest communities in Iowa, according to Iowa Living Magazine. Green is retiring at the end of the month, and will be succeeded by Lt. Dave Erickson. The Council is also expected to act on an order appointing Barb Barrick as City Clerk, effective Feb. 25th, 2017. Barb will succeed Deb Wheatley-Field, who is retiring after serving the City for more than 35 years as City Clerk. Barrick is currently the Community Development Specialist for SWIPCO, and has previously served as the City Clerk/Finance Director for the City of Fort Dodge, and Financial Manager for the City of Marengo.

In other business, City Code Enforcement Officer Kris Erickson will present her annual report, especially with regard to Nuisance Abatement, Abandoned Properties and Minimum Maintenance Issues. Erickson wrote-up an Ordinance that’s expected to be added to the current Code, with regard to residences without working sewers or water systems. The Ordinance, which will receive its second reading, Wednesday, will address the issue of persons using means other than a sanitary sewer to dispose of human waste.

The Council will also act on the third and final reading of an Ordinance providing for the establishment of a TIF (Tax Increment Financing) District for the Old Whitney Hotel project, which is being financed through multiple cash streams, including private investors, commercial loans, as well as State and Federal Tax Credits. The Ordinance calls for the property owner to pay their taxes as normal, but the County Treasurer would not break the funding into separate taxing authorities (City, County and School), and would wait until the City sends an amount of Certified Liability to the Auditor, to be captured. The captured value would be the amount of total taxes the City has the right to retain (Minus the portions of the City and School District’s debt service) into a TIF Fund. The taxes in that fund would be collected and the City would rebate them back to the property owner. In the early years of the project, taxes paid and rebated will be nearly 90%. The percentage will decline over the life of the TIF and as the property value appreciates.

On a related note, the Council is expected to set the date of a Public Hearing on the proposed Development Agreement between the City and The Whitney Group, LLC, as Jan. 4th, 2017.

Police in Creston arrested three people on separate charges over the past few days. At around 8:30-p.m. Sunday, 23-year old Jordan Hibbs, of Creston, was arrested for Public Intoxication. Hibbs was later released from custody on a Promise to Appear in court. Saturday afternoon, Creston Police arrested 23-year old Jami Michael, of Creston, for 5th Degree Theft. She was also released from the Union County Jail on a Promise to Appear. And, Friday afternoon, 38-year old James Smizer, of Creston, was arrested at the Union County Jail on a charge of Simple Domestic Assault. He was later released on $300 bond.

The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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The impact of wind turbines on the state’s energy production is well documented, and now an Iowa State University study is trying to determine the impact they may have on  Iowa’s crops.  I-S-U Distinguished Professor of agronomy, Gene Takle set out to find out if the relatively new giant rotating blades made an impact on a variety of conditions in nearby farm fields.

“Differences in micrometeorlogical conditions, differences in temperature, wind speed, wind direction humidity,  carbon dioxide levels — these are some of the things that we measure up wind and down wind of turbines,” Takle explains. ” And the simple answer is yes, we can measure some differences.”

While the early research shows some changes, Takle says it’s only a small part of the research right now. “The more complicated question as to whether these have an impact on biomass production, plant size, plant yield, those are more difficult and we haven’t found anything out about those yet,” Takle says.

He says they set up a tower to measure the changes in the air over the fields “We found that in general the landscape downwind of the turbines is slightly warmer at night and slightly cooler during the day. The amount of that is maybe a one-degree warming at night, and maybe a  half-degree celsius cooling during the day — so it isn’t a large effect,” according to Takle.

One result of the changes could be less dew forming on the plants. “Which would be generally a good thing because dew promotes growth of fungus and mold and some pathogens that crops are generally affected by,” Takle says. He says they found the turbines slowed the wind over the fields. “And this in meteorological terms that leads to a surface convergence. And that means that by laws of physics that there must be an upward motion over the windfarm,” Takle says.   “..and it could have significance in that it could affect fog and cloudiness or rainfall if it is on a large enough scale.”

The research was done behind a couple of rows of turbines. “We have not gone to look at the regional scale say of 150 or 200 turbines, the impact that might have,” Takle says. “But that is an very interesting question and one that we are pursuing, because it could have some significance.”

He says it’s going to  be much harder to find those answers because of all the other factors at play in a field — such as variations in soil quality or precipitation. It was announced earlier this year that from July of 2015 to July of 2016 35-point-eight percent of Iowa’s electricity was generated by wind.

(Radio Iowa)

A man wanted in connection with numerous burglaries and a previous narcotics investigation in Fremont County, was arrested early this (Monday) morning in Hamburg after a scuffle with Deputies. Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reports 48-year old John Tracy Miller, of Hamburg, was arrested after an altercation with Deputies who served a search and arrest warrant on Miller at his home located in the 1500 block of Washington Street.

Miller faces charges that include Delivery of Methamphetamine and Interference with Official Acts. He also has pending Burglary and Theft charges.  He was transported to the Fremont County Jail and held on a $50,000 cash bond.

John Tracy Miller

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, Sunday, released the identity of the man whose body was discovered by a group of hunters Dec. 11th beneath the Highway 2 Missouri River bridge, at the Waubonsie Access Wildlife Management Area.

Deputies and officials with the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner, in Ankeny, determined 39-year old Larry Eugene Burns II, of Lamar, Colorado, died from blunt force trauma associated with a fall, and hypothermia.  Toxicology reports will not be completed for approximately 6 weeks.

Deputies determined Burns was walking on the westbound shoulder of the Highway 2 bridge when the fall occurred.  Deputies determined Burns had last spoken to relatives around Nov. 22nd, 2016. The Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner assisted the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office with the investigation.

Anyone with any information on the incident is asked to please contact the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office at 712-374-2424.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The struggle to recruit attorneys to rural areas hasn’t let up despite several Plains states’ efforts. That’s particularly true in states such as Nebraska with vast stretches of sparsely populated land. But the state has launched a program that targets rural high schools students, hoping to persuade them to return to their rural roots to practice law.

The Rural Law Opportunities Program offers high-achieving high school students full-tuition undergraduate scholarships to three rural Nebraska colleges. Those who maintain a 3.5 GPA and get a minimum LSAT score are automatically accepted to the University of Nebraska College of Law. Program organizer Thomas Maul hopes the rate of return will be as high as the 60 percent reported by a similar program to get doctors into small towns.

CHICAGO (AP) — The Latest on bitter cold weather in the Midwest. (all times local): 1:30 p.m….Record low temperatures have been recorded in cities across South Dakota, northwest Iowa and southwest Minnesota, while a blizzard shut down Interstate 90 in parts of Montana.

The National Weather Service in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, says the city of Huron set a new low for Sunday’s date in that location of minus 31 degrees. Another record fell in Marshall, Minnesota, where it was 31 below zero. Spencer, Iowa’s negative 27 degrees was a record-breaker there.

Extreme cold is forecast for the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and New England. The weather service says the Gulf Coast region will have below normal temperatures for a few days. But a warming trend is expected to start early in the week in many spots as a quieter weather pattern begins with much less precipitation nationwide compared with recent days.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Dangerous cold conditions are lingering across Iowa and Nebraska, but forecasters predict that warmer temperatures will arrive this week. The National Weather Service has issued wind chill warnings and advisories across most of both states Sunday because of the cold.

The subzero temperatures are combining with wind to create wind chills of 20-below to 40-below zero across the two states. So forecasters are encouraging people to stay inside or minimize any exposure to the cold. But some relief is in the forecast. Temperatures are expected to warm into the 20s and 30s beginning Monday.