(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors have a full agenda for their meeting at 9-a.m. Tuesday, in Atlantic. First-up, the Board is slated to receive a monthly report from Jotham Arber, Executive Director of the Cass/Guthrie County Environmental Health Department. They will also receive an update from Diane Schultz with the Iowa Morman Trails Association, with regard to replacing directional signs along the Morman Trail.

Afterward, the Board will consider a request from Graydon Schmidt, to define a resident of the county, with regard to county burial and cremation, under General Relief. They’re expected to set Christmas Eve hours for county employees not covered by bargaining agreements, as Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. The Cass County Supervisors will act on appointing Spencer Walton as Jail Administrator, with an annual salary of nearly $4,286. And, they will likely act to approve a letter of support for Southwest Iowa Egg (SWI Egg), with regard to their grant application from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS).

Other business includes approving renewal of a 28-E agreement with the Southwest Iowa Juvenile Detention Center, and setting the date and time for a Public Hearing with the Audubon County Board of Supervisors, to consider vacating and closing a section of Audubon/Cass County Secondary Road. The road is described as being 350th Street/Akron Road (established in March, 1899). The aforementioned road is 40-feet wide, and contains a little more than 3-acres of road right-of-way in Audubon County, and just under 3-acres of right-of-way in Cass County, for a total length to be vacated, of just under 5,000-feet (or slightly less than one-mile).

The Supervisors will hear a regular report from Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken, a Quarterly Report from Cass County Conservation Director Micah Lee, and a monthly report from Debbie Schuler, Cass County Community Services Director/Mental Health Advocate. They will then move to accept the resignation of Ray Schellenberg – Grant Township Trustee, and the appointments of Adam Akers as Grant Township Trustee, and Patrick Hoffman, to the Board of Health.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department says seven people were arrested over the past few days. At around 12:30-a.m. Sunday (1/19), 18-year-old Tanner James Richardson, of Tingley, was arrested for Possession and/or purchase of Alcohol by a person under the age of 21, 1st offense. Richardson was released from the Union County Jail after posting a $1,300 bond.

Saturday night, three people were arrested on drug charges in Creston:

• 22-year-old Abby Joann Woodruff and 19-year-old Austin James Breuklander, both of Eagleville, MO, were arrested in Creston for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Possession of a Controlled Substance-Marijuana/1st offense. Woodruff was additionally charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance/1st offense. Her bond was set at $2,300. Breuklander’s bond was set at $1,300. Both posted bond and were released.
• And, 42-year-old Nickoloas Allen Treanor, of Creston, was arrested for Poss. of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana-1st offense. He was released after posting a $1,000 bond.

Saturday evening, Creston Police arrested 45-year-old Lela Ann Churchwell, of Creston. She was taken into custody on a Union County warrant for Failure To Appear on a Public Intoxication charge. Churchwell was released after posting a $500 bond. Early Saturday morning, 43-year-old Angel Jean Davis, of Creston, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. She later posted a $1,000 bond.

And, Friday morning, 22-year-old Christopher Gage Selvy, of Creston, was arrested for Driving While Revoked and Driving Revoked-Operating a vehicle without an Ignition Interlock Device. Selvy was cited and released on a Promise to Appear in court.

DES MOINES – State Treasurer Roby Smith is sharing information about an upcoming webinar to help Iowans learn more about IAble, Iowa’s Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) plan. The webinar, co-hosted by IAble and Iowa’s Developmental Disabilities (DD) Council, takes place Thursday, January 23. “This is a great chance to learn about the exciting changes and updates to IAble, including a new investment option and increases to the annual contribution limit and state tax deduction,” said Smith. “But basics like eligibility, qualified disability expenses and more will also be covered.” Register for the webinar at IAble.gov.

IAble accounts help eligible individuals with a disability and their support system save above asset caps without risk of losing crucial federal benefits such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid. Funds saved in an account can be used for a variety of qualified disability expenses including housing, basic living expenses, food, education, assistive technology, employment training and support, transportation and more.

“The New Year inspires us to take meaningful steps forward, whether it’s through pursuing new milestones or enhancing our financial health,” Smith continued. “See how IAble can help you or someone you know make strides towards those goals in 2025 by visiting IAble.gov today. To learn more about IAble, check out our latest newsletters for information and account tips at iable.gov/resources/newsletter.”

Connect with the Treasurer on Facebook,  Instagram and X, to stay informed of updates and news. For details about IAble, review the Plan Disclosure Booklet.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic City Council will meet in a regular session beginning at 5:30-p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 22nd in their chambers at City Hall. Among the items on their agenda, is a presentation from Retail Coach, updating the Council on their retail recruitment activities over the past several months. The Council last heard from Retail Coach Project Director Kyle Cofer, on April 30th, 2024. The City hired the company in 2021, to help provide necessary data to help officials better understand Atlantic’s retail market and needs.

The Atlantic City Council will hold the Second Reading of an Ordinance that calls for the vacating of Palm Street, between 3009 and 3101 Palm. The First Reading of the Ordinance was held January 8th. In other business, a Public Hearing will be held during Wednesday’s meeting, with regard to a proposed Amended Ordinance pertaining to Zoning Regulations, specifically affecting front/rear yard setback changes in the R-4 District. The Ordinance would change the front-yard setback from 30-feet to 25-feet, similar to what is found in the R-2 (Low Density) & R-3 (High Density) Districts, and the rear-yard requirement to 20% of the lot depth, with a maximum requirement of 25-feet. The hearing will be  followed by action on passing the First Reading of the Ordinance.

The Council will act also, on re-appointing Brad Henningsen to the Atlantic Airport Commission, and Emily Krengel to the Board of Adjustment. They will act on passing a Resolution “Obligating Funds from the Hotel Whitney Urban Renewal Area Revenue Fund,” for appropriation to the payment of an annual appropriation TIF (Tax Increment Financed) obligations which will come due in Dec., 2025. This will be the 7th year the City has been eligible to capture the taxes paid by the Whitney Group, using TIF, and it will be an annual occurrence until the City either pay’s-off the $750k maximum payment, or 20-years, whichever comes first.

The Atlantic City Council is expected to act on an Order approving an amendment to the Midwest Medical Services Contract, which ends July 1, 2025. The amendment makes some wording changes (including making Cass County the payer of the contract [through the newly passed EMS Levy], while keeping all the coalition partners in the document], and its limits the shortfall allowance amounts as compared to the original Midwest Contract.

The Council’s final order of business, Wednesday evening, is to enter into a Closed Session (as allowed in the Code of Iowa), for the purpose of strategy meetings for Collective Bargaining.

(Radio Iowa) – When big pharmaceutical companies merge, the perception is that drug prices rise, but a University of Iowa study finds that’s not always the case. Study co-author Amrita Nain, a professor of finance at the U-I’s Tippie College of Business, says in select situations, merging firms cut costs — and prices — as they may have overlapping products that treat the same medical conditions. “If you look at companies that sell generic drugs, and about 70-to-80% of prescriptions in the United States are for generic drugs,” Nain says, “so firms that are focusing on these generic drugs that are basically just copying existing drugs after their patents have expired, these drug prices actually decline after a merger.” If a company has developed a new drug therapy and placed a patent on it, creating a multi-year monopoly on that drug, prices tend to go up if there’s a merger, but Nain says that’s not always true for others that focus on generics.

“Their business model is really different,” Nain says, “They’re focusing on high volume sales of low price drugs. It’s a very competitive market, and these firms tend to use mergers as a way of cutting costs, getting more efficiency, and then passing these cost cuts onto prices so they can be more competitive in the generic drug market.” Nain says prices may fall after a merger that brings reduced overhead in areas like staffing, marketing, research and development, and distribution networks. Still, it depends on the type of company and the type of drug being made. “If you look at the price of drugs that are manufactured by highly innovative firms, like brand-name drugs or patented drugs, those actually tend to go up in price by about 6.2%,” Nain says, “but if you focus instead on generic drugs, those decline by almost 6%, so it’s almost exactly in the opposite direction by about the same magnitude.” Nain says the U-I study has important implications for policy, especially for anti-trust authorities like the Federal Trade Commission.

“Over the last few years, the FTC has been really aggressive about blocking mergers,” she says. “I would suggest proceeding with caution and that some mergers may actually be beneficial for patients. So look at the difference between the type of drugs they’re selling, instead of saying a blanket ‘no’ to mergers in general.” One downside to mergers, Amrita says, is that there’s a risk of reducing innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. The study finds merged companies that lowered prices saved money by cutting research and development, while also trimming back on the creation of new therapies.

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – The Iowa Department of Education on Friday announced its 2024 certified enrollment numbers for public school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, and participation numbers in the ‘Student First Education Savings Account’ program (ESA). Public school district certified enrollment dropped .63 percent last year from 483,699 in 2023 to 480,665 in 2024. It continues a downward trend from the previous year’s numbers.

Meanwhile, certified enrollment at Iowa accredited nonpublic schools rose again last year from 36,195 in 2023 to 39,356 in 2024. 27,866 participants used their Students First ESA at an accredited nonpublic school, as of Oct. 1. That number is up from 16,757 participants in 2023. More than 43,000 public school students open enrolled in a public school outside their home district.

The Department of Education explained the certified enrollment count is a snapshot in time, taken on the first day of October every year. It’s used to determine funding for public schools and is slightly different from the actual headcount of students enrolled. The certified enrollment drives funding for the next fiscal year, so the numbers from Fall 2024 will determine public school funding for the 2025-26 school year.

The Department of Education says the number of participants using ESA differs from the total number of applications that were approved because some participants withdrew and others had an ESA approved, but did not use it.

(Radio Iowa)  – An Iowan invited to drive his tractor in today’s (Monday) Inaugural Parade — which has been cancelled — has still been able to drive his rig on the D-C streets. Gary Leffler’s 1957 Ford H tractor is painted red, white and blue and he rolled by the line of Trump supporters waiting to attend Trump’s Sunday night rally.

“A strong, patriotic theme,” Leffler says. “It’s got an American flag over the hood of it. It’s got John 3:16 right there by the steering wheel. Underneath the hood of the tractor are all the names of our family members who have served in the United States military.” The tractor has made appearances at a number of events in Iowa for Republicans and veterans, but this was its first out-of-state engagement.

“We don’t look at this as a Gary and Janelle (Leffler) tractor. We look at this as an Iowa tractor,” Leffler says. “100% of our motive is to represent Iowa and all the good people of Iowa.” Leffler, who was a precinct captain for Trump a year ago in the Iowa Caucuses, was a bit shocked the tractor was chosen for the Inaugural Parade from over 28-hundred potential entries.

Gary and Janelle Leffler drove down D.C. streets on Saturday, passing by the line of people waiting to attend a Trump rally. (Photo courtesy of Gary Leffler)

“The idea that a Gary and Janelle tractor from West Des Moines, Iowa, is being invited to this type of a thing is just somewhere off the charts,” Leffler says. “Kiddingly, I tell people I jumped so high we had to get the sheet-rock repaired on the ceiling of the room.” The cold weather in D-C didn’t phase Leffler or his wife, who rode on the tractor, too, waving at the crowd lined up to see Trump. Leffler filled up the gas tank and got the tractor spiffed it up before loading it into a trailer for the trip to D.C.

“I had to take the tractor over to the beauty shop to get its tires and fenders done,” Leffler says. “Took it over to my friend Bob Perkins at Perk’s Auto and he detailed it all out, so it looks like it just came straight out of the factory now.” Some of the Iowans who made the trip to D-C for today’s (Monday’s) inauguration attended the Midwest Ball on Saturday night and on Sunday the six Republicans in Iowa’s congressional delegation hosted a reception for Iowa visitors. Iowa Senator Joni Ernst is among the U-S Senators who met with Trump for breakfast on Saturday morning.

(Griswold, Iowa) – The Griswold School Board will meet twice this coming week. Their regular monthly meeting takes place beginning at 5:30-p.m. Monday (Jan. 20th), in the Conference Room at the High School. Their session kicks-off with a Public Hearing on the High School Gym Floor Replacement Project, and includes a presentation of the proposed plans and cost estimate. Later on, during the New Business portion of the Board’s agenda, they will consider awarding a bid for the project.

Other business Monday, includes consideration and possible action, with regard to:

• The 2024-25 Individual Career and Academic Plan
• A Modified Supplemental Amount (MSA) and Plan
• Chemical Application Specifications

The Griswold School Board will discuss the 2025-26 Calendar, and hold the 1st Reading of various Board Policies. Thursday evening, the Griswold and Lenox Community School District Boards of Education will hold a Special, Joint Meeting in the Griswold Elementary School Library, beginning at 6-p.m. On their agenda, is:

• Discussion on a Superintendent Sharing Agreement and Individual Contract
• Consider renewing the Sharing Agreement, and,
• Consider renewing the Superintendent Contract with Mr. Dave Henrichs.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak arrested a man on a Probation Violation warrant, Friday afternoon. Authorities say Officers arrested 41-year-old Nicholas Daniel Huntington, of Red Oak, at around 3:50-p.m. In addition to the warrant, Huntington was charged with Interference with Official Acts, stemming from an incident that occurred during his arrest.

Huntington was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $5,000 cash-only bond. Red Oak Police were assisted during the arrest, by deputies from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and the Montgomery County Communications Center.