(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s largest music festival is making some changes to address concerns raised by the extremely warm conditions this past summer. Hinterland Festival Director Sam Summers says one of those changes will include a refund process if temperatures are predicted to reach 90 degrees or higher. “I think that gives people, you know, the confidence that, like, you know, if we get to the point where it is very hot come August, and, you know, you make a decision you don’t want to go, you can return it,” he says.

The festival is held annually in Saint Charles, south of Des Moines, and Summers says they says are adding more space and shade this year at a new main stage location inside the festival grounds. “What that new space will do is allow people more space, more entrances, you know. We’ll have additional food areas,” he says.

Organizers also announced that Lana Del Rey, Tyler the Creator and Kacey Musgraves will headline the festival this year. It is scheduled from August 1st to August 3rd.

(Atlantic, Iowa) –  Get ready to welcome spring by attending the Cass County Master Gardeners’ 2025 Spring Garden Seminar, scheduled for Saturday, March 8. This year’s seminar focuses on the “Flowers, Bees, Butterflies and Trees” and is open to anyone interested in learning more about local garden topics. The daylong event will be held at the Cass County Community Center in Atlantic, and feature four keynote speakers. In addition to the presentations, a variety of local vendors will be on hand with garden related crafts and décor, as well as local resources and information for gardeners of all skill levels and interests.

The event opens with registration and light refreshments at 8:30 AM. Vendor and resource tables will also be available to browse beginning at this time. The first session begins at 9 AM and will feature local garden designer and butterfly enthusiast Nicki Weiderstein sharing the monarch butterfly’s journey to their winter home in Mexico. The second speaker of the morning will be Andy Schmitz from the Brenton Arboretum with a deep dive into planting trees, including some hands-on demonstrations of root health. After the second morning speaker, a light lunch will be served and attendees are invited to visit the vendor and resource fair again to discover a variety of local treasures.

The afternoon begins with ISU Extension Bee Specialist Randall Cass, as he guides attendees through an exploration of the basics of beekeeping. Our final speaker of the day will be Aaron Steil, Consumer Horticulture Specialist for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, discussing hydrangeas and their uses, selection and care in the Iowa landscape. The program will conclude at 3 PM with giveaways and one more chance to visit the vendor and resource fair at the end of the day.

Plan now to join the Cass County Master Gardeners as we Gather, Learn and GROW together at the 2025 Spring Garden Seminar! Cost for the seminar sessions, including food, sessions and materials is $50 for the day if paid by February 15^th. After this date regular registration and walk-in registration will be available at $55/attendee. Registration is now open and can be completed online by visiting the online registration page at https://go.iastate.edu/8PQJHF. Online registrations may be paid by credit card or check. Registrations are not refundable but may be transferred to another attendee with advance notice.

A full schedule and program registration information is also available by visiting the Cass County Extension website at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass, or by stopping into the Cass County Extension office. Previous seminar attendees with a current email address on record will also receive a registration link by email. Questions can be directed to Kate Olson at 712-243-1132, or by email at keolson@iastate.edu. Mark your calendars, get registered, and plan to join the Cass County Master Gardeners for the 2025 Spring Garden Seminar on Saturday, March 8!

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce will host its Annual Dinner on Friday, March 7th, 2025, at The Venue in Atlantic. Chamber Executive Director Bailey Smith says “The Annual Dinner is always a favorite for the Chamber. It’s a great opportunity for us to reflect on what we’ve accomplished, look forward to what we will accomplish and most of all, highlight all of our members and volunteers that have invested their time and money back into our organization and our community.”

The Chamber will recognize businesses, organizations and individual leaders in the community. The 39th Annual Distinguished Service Award will also be given out at the dinner. The Distinguished Service Award recognizes an individual, business or organization who has made the community a better place to live. They have rendered special services for the benefit of the community and have demonstrated an active leadership role for the betterment of the community through their involvement in business, civic and social service organizations.

Melissa Ihnen, 2022 Distinguished Service Award winner, presenting Dan Vargason with the 2023 Distinguished Service Award.

Last year, the Distinguished Service Award was given to Dan Vargason for his passion for youth development, going above and beyond his role as an educator and coach. Dan spends a considerable amount of time outside of school teaching youth the importance of volunteerism and what it means to love your community.

Smith encourages those who sent a nomination last year to do so again this year if their recipient didn’t win. Nominations for the Distinguished Service Award are due by February 21st, 2025.

You can nominate someone by submitting a nomination letter to the Chamber at 102 Chestnut Street, or email chamber@atlanticiowa.com. DSA Nomination Form

The Annual Dinner will begin at 6:00 PM with a social followed by dinner at 6:30 PM. You can register for the dinner at www.atlanticiowa.com.

(Radio Iowa) – Two startup companies are getting a boost from the Iowa Economic Development Authority board. I-E-D-A spokesperson Kannan Kappleman says on is Reality Wave based in Coralville. “Reality Wave received a 50-thousand dollar proof of commercial relevance loan, and the company utilizes A-I technology to provide objective evaluations of academic manuscripts and grant proposals,” she says. Kappleman says the company’s process ensures scholarly articles meet high quality standards in a timely manner. A Des Moines-based company received a loan for product refinement.

“Tumblewood VITA received a hundred thousand dollar demonstration fund loan and the company offers a step-by-step approach to managing end-of-life and post-loss plans,” Kappleman says. She says the product helps people plan for and carry out the final wishes of those involved. “So their legacy planning software guides individuals and families and other entities in organizing records, logging final wishes, and so forth,” she says. Two communities won Community Attraction and Tourism or CAT grants. Community Theatre of Cedar Rapids was awarded 500-thousand dollars.

“For their ‘Dream Here, Do Here’ project, which focuses on the renovation of the historic building’s upper stories to accommodate additional classroom and rehearsal space in their community theater,” Kappleman says. The other award went to a community project in Tama and Marshall County.  “The city of Legrand was awarded for a little over 44-thousand dollars to make park improvements, which includes new playground equipment, upgrades to surfacing, installation of pickleball courts,” she says. Kappleman says the project will complement a new nearby housing development.

(Ames, Iowa) – Police in Ames have released the name of a man who died following a shooting Saturday evening. Authorities say 25-year-old Parker L. Stoneburner, of Boone, died at Mary Greeley Medical Center, following a shooting that took place at around 6:30-p.m. Saturday in an apartment in the 200 block of S. 5th Street, in Ames.

After he died at the hospital, Stoneburner’s body was transported to the State Medical Examiner’s Officer for an autopsy.

No arrests have been made, however tips received continue to be reviewed by investigators. Residents in the area of the shooting are encouraged to review home doorbell or surveillance video for suspicious activity from 6-to 7-p.m. on January 18. The Ames Police Department continues to investigate this incident.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the Ames Police Department at (515) 239-5133 or the anonymous tip line (515) 239-5533. You may also contact Crime Stoppers of Central Iowa at (515) 223-1400. Online anonymous tips may be submitted to www.crimestoppersofcentraliowa.com.

(Griswold, Iowa) – Griswold Rescue was dispatched this afternoon to the scene of a single-vehicle rollover accident with minor injuries to two occupants of the vehicle. Cass County Sheriff John Westring said both victims were transported to the hospital by private vehicle to be checked-out and treated. The crash happened on 550th Street just north of Newton Road, at around 1:45-p.m. Additional details are currently not available.

Another accident happened at 7th and Spruce in Atlantic, at around 4:53-p.m. There were no serious injuries reported.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill introduced in the Iowa House would no longer let cities use a private company to issue tickets and collect fines for speeding or red light violations that are caught on camera. Gary Grant, a lobbyist for the City of Cedar Rapids, says it would be more expensive to have city staff handle the ticketing process.  “Using third parties is the most effective, efficient way to do this,” Grant says.

“If we’re no longer able to do that, then we’ll have to assign that work to city employees and in an era where we’re being encouraged to explore smaller, smarter governments and less pressure on local property taxes, we think this is the most efficient way to do it.” David Adelman is a lobbyist for one of the vendors that handles tickets issued for traffic camera violations. He also represents the largest cities in Iowa that are part of the Metropolitan Coalition.

“This piece of legislation we believe in kind of the manner of efficiency and the manner of DOGE, is taking a step backwards,” Adelman says. “By providing a third party to (issue) the citation and collect the fine is allowing the cities to do more with less.” The bill also would end the confiscation of state income tax refunds from those who refuse to pay the fines generated by traffic camera tickets.

Representative Daniel Gosa, a Democrat from Davenport, opposes the bill, including that part of it. “If you don’t have any teeth in something, then it really has no meaning behind it,” Gosa says. “If a kid’s bad in school, you want that kid to go to detention, but if there are no repercussions for that, they’re just going to keep doing what they’re doing.” The bill cleared initial SUB-committee review today (Tuesday), but the bill’s floor manager says at this point he wouldn’t support bringing it up for a vote in a House committee.

A state law that took effect July 1st set new parameters for traffic enforcement devices and has led to a 44 percent reduction in the number of traffic cameras placed around the state.

(Radio Iowa) – A state senator who works in the construction industry is exploring building code reform, in hopes of making housing more affordable. Senator Scott Webster, who’s been a home builder for three decades, says he’s trying to figure out how to keep measures intact that protect the life, health and safety of Iowans, while making it less expensive to build, remodel and perform regular upkeep on properties. “Doing something too rashly, too quickly could become a problem, but I think also if we don’t do something it’s going to become a problem,” Webster said, “so we’re walking that line right now, trying to find the best solution.” There are a wide variety of building codes, for things like plumbing, heating and cooling, and electrical systems as well as fire safety and even building materials in some instances.

“We need to make homes affordable in Iowa and cut down on regulation, but still making sure we keep life, health and safety in mind,” Webster says, “because that’s what building codes should do.” Webster is not a huge fan of studies, but he says an in-depth review of building codes may come up with the best statewide solution rather than hastily drafting and passing legislation this year.   “Over regulating in building codes can actually make things less safe because people don’t follow the codes and they do it without building permits and they do it on the side, so that’s why I have a passion for it,” Webster says. “We’ve got to figure out how to have good regulation that’s safe, that’s affordable, that’s good, that people don’t go underground and, at the same time, make things affordable so people can upkeep their homes.”

Senator Scott Webster (R-Bettendorf) (official photo)

Webster, a Republican from Bettendorf, plans to attend a meeting this (Tuesday) afternoon at the Capitol focused on rebuilding in areas hit by natural disasters. Webster says South Dakota has very limited building codes and could be more attractive to northwest Iowans who’re looking for housing.  “I’m not saying we get rid of building codes,” Webster says. “I’m saying they have to compete there and it’s a lot harder for Iowa to compete when the other side of the river makes it a lot less expensive to build.”

Webster says for years it was significantly cheaper in his area to build new housing in Bettendorf rather than Davenport. In some instances, he says it’s amazingly cheaper to build on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River due to building code restrictions.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors today (Tuesday) received a report from Diane Schultz, President of the Iowa Mormon Trails Association and on behalf of the National Parks Service, with regard to directional signage along the Mormon Trail. Schultz last appeared before the Board in October, 2023. During her presentation today (Jan. 21st), she requested the signs near Lyman and Lewis be replaced with newer, more visible signs.

Supervisor Chair Steve Baier said the Secondary Roads Department should be able to replace the signs, but there are some caveats before that can be done.

The Board approved the installation of the signs, which likely wont’ be installed until later this Spring. The Cass County Supervisors received and acknowledged a monthly report from Cass/Guthrie County Environmental Health Director Jotham Arber, and heard from Graydon Schmidt with the Schmidt Family Funeral Homes, with regard to the definition and jurisdiction of the County, as it pertains to County burials and cremation services under the General Relief Department. He described one situation whereby an indigent veteran died, but the County couldn’t cover his funeral expenses because there was a discrepancy as to his County residency status.

Another, similar situation occurred nearly back-to-back with the aforementioned scenario. Board Chair Steve Baier said he’s looked into definition of resident, and so has General Relief Coordinator Deb Schuler. They concluded the same thing.

County Attorney Vanessa Strazdus referenced a section of the Iowa/County Code in defining who is a resident.

In cases where the County is allowed to cover indigent burials/cremations, it pays up to $1,500, but Deb Schuler said the County is not required to pay for indigent burials, but the State leaves it up to each county to do so if they choose. No action was taken on the matter during the meeting, Tuesday.

In other business, the Cass County Supervisors approved the appointment of Cass County Chief Deputy Sheriff Spencer Walton as Jail Administrator, with an annual salary (specifically for that title) of approximately $4,286. They also approved a letter of support to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS), with regard to a Southwest Iowa Egg (SWI) grant application, that would allow them to install cage-free housing for their chickens, and that would allow them to sell their eggs in California and other states that have restrictions on how poultry are raised.

The Board approved a 28-E (Cost sharing) Agreement with the Southwest Iowa Juvenile Detention Center. And, they set February 4th at 9:05-a.m., as the date and time for a Public Hearing with the Audubon County Board of Supervisors, with regard to the vacating of a nearly mile-long section of 350th Street/Akron Road in almost equal sections of both Counties. The Road was established over 125-years ago.