The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday night, rejected a bid of $20,445 from the Atlantic Elks Lodge, for the purchase of the Atlantic Senior Center. The Elks had hoped to purchase the building because they could no longer afford the upkeep on their former home. In their original proposal, Elks officials said they wanted a place to hold their bingo and other events. They offered to buy the Senior Center as is, make the necessary repairs to the roof, and share the facility with Senior Citizens during the day.

Their bid was the only one received by Monday’s deadline. The Council voted 6-1 in favor of rejecting the bid, because most thought it was too low. A realtor has said the fair market value of the building, as is, would be $59,000 to $63,000, but the appraised value was $46,000.

Councilman Dick Casady pointed out that with the purchase of the building, and the estimated $39,000 cost of the roof repair, the Elks would be near their budget limit as set by their Grand Lodge, so the price is not all that unreasonable.

Councilman Dick Casady, who voted against the decision NOT to sell the building to the Elks, said “It’s basically the end of the Elks in Atlantic, Iowa.” Elks spokesperson Mark McNees said “I wouldn’t go that far, Dick.” Councilman Dana Halder said he voted against the bid, and that “It’s unfortunate, but I think in my position, I was elected to do the best thing for the people of Atlantic. Yeah, it would be a good thing for that group, but I don’t know that it’s in everybody else’ best interest to take that price.” With the decision, the City will retain ownership of the building.

In other business, Councilman Halder reminded citizens there is an Ordinance prohibiting large boats and campers in your yard. He said he’s already seen a camper that’s been hooked-up for almost a week and extends across the sidewalk to the street. And, Mayor Dave Jones warned of the dangers of riding bicycles and motorcycles on city streets, with all the sand remaining from this past winter’s battle against the snow. Street sweepers are trying to clear the sand, but the Mayor said the best thing is a good rain, and for those who ride two wheels to be cautious on city streets.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Three Midwestern Republican governors of states ravaged by recent flooding on Wednesday demanded more authority over management of the Missouri River system.

Following a meeting with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts and Missouri Gov. Mike Parson criticized the federal body that manages the river, saying it puts too much emphasis on fish and wildlife habitat and not enough on flood control.

“One thing is clear: Something needs to change,” said Parson, who pointed to increasing damage from flooding over the last decade with no solutions in sight.
The governors said they plan to work together for that change, even if it means petitioning Congress to give states more authority in river management.

Ricketts complained that even when funding for reinforcement of levees is approved, it’s often years before the work is actually done. In some cases, flooding repeats before the work even starts. “That permitting process has got to be faster,” he said. Reynolds said the governors would be presenting a united front to the federal government in demanding more authority.

“We can’t continue to do things like build a temporary levee that would protect a community, and after the Corps deems the flood incident over, require them to tear it down,” she said. Asked whether the Corps indicated it would or could cede some river management decisions to the states, Parson replied, “Well, they listened.”

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, also was scheduled to attend but had transportation problems and did not make it. The Corps has said it works to balance all its priorities and that much of the flooding was well out of its control. The agency said that much of the water that created the flooding came from record rains and melting snow that flowed over frozen ground and directly into the river downstream of its dams, all while massive amounts of water filled Missouri River reservoirs and had to be released.

On Wednesday, the Corps released numbers showing record March runoff in the upper Missouri River Basin above Sioux City, Iowa, of 11 million acre feet — nearly 4 million acre feet more than the previous record of 7.3 million set in 1952. The average March upper basin runoff is 2.9 million acre feet, the Corps said.

Officials have estimated that the flooding caused nearly $1.4 billion in damage in Nebraska and more than $1.6 billion in Iowa. That includes an estimated $1 billion of damage to farms in both states, where flooding destroyed stored crops, tore up land and equipment and killed livestock. Thousands of homes and businesses have been damaged or destroyed in Nebraska alone. The damage total is expected to grow as more assessments are made.

Kansas and Missouri officials are still waiting on damage estimates, although Kansas officials say that state saw flood damage limited to about 31,000 acres of mostly farmland and some stored grain. In Missouri, the surging river caused dozens of levee breaches that inundated about 168,000 acres in Missouri’s two hardest-hit counties of Holt and Atchison.

Officials have said the March floods could be just the beginning of a rough spring, as hefty snowpack in the northern Plains adds to already swollen rivers and streams. That includes the Mississippi River, which started falling Wednesday in St. Louis as the crest moves downstream.

St. Louis closed its floodgates in advance of Tuesday’s crest. Although the flooding there isn’t classified as major, it closed some roads, including stretches of Missouri 94 and 67. Downstream, the flood fight continues. The Corps said it handed out more than 100,000 sandbags to communities in its St. Louis district, including Clarksville, parts of Jefferson County and Ste. Genevieve.

The Atlantic City Council paid tribute Wednesday evening to a young man who was one of two people to represent Iowa in the Special Olympics World Games held last month in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates.

Brandon Baier is recognized during an Atlantic City Council meeting 4/3/19. (Ric Hanson/photo)

Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones read from the proclamation that paid tribute to Brandon Baier. The proclamation as read can be found here: Proclamation

The 27 year old Baier participated in Track & Field at the Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle last July, earning a gold medal and qualifying for the World Games. Brandon won a bronze medal in the Shot Put and competed in the 100 meter dash and the 4 x 100 meter relay at the World Games in March.

Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones and the City Council paid special recognition Wednesday evening to the Atlantic High School and Middle School Archery Teams. The High School Team qualified both a bullseye and 3D team, and Middle School team qualified for Bullseye.

Members of the Atlantic Sate Archery Team pose during their recognition at City Hall (Ric Hanson/photo)

The High School team finished the 3D Tournament 15th, with Lee Houser scoring 279 and finishing 21st. Zach Colton finished 22nd with a 279, and Lia Lillard finished 60th with a score of 255. The team also finished 11th out of 31 teams in the Bullseye tournament. The top girl finisher for Atlantic was Jasmyne Oasay-Waddel, ranking 158th out of 334 and scoring 266. Finishing 10th was Lee Houser, Cooper Jipsen was 11th, and Dustin Dreager at 20th.

The Atlantic Middle School Team was 19th out of 30 teams. Out of the 350 middle school girls competing, Halle Copeland was second. Of the 837 girls in the tournament she was 11th. Carter Smith was 19th out of 427, and the tops boys finisher and 97th of all the boys in the tournament. On the girls side, Mariah Hadley finished 25th. The Washington Middle School took the title with a team score of 3,278.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court says former Justice Daryl Hecht has died after leaving his position to focus on his treatment for skin cancer. The court’s spokesman Steve Davis says Hecht died early Wednesday. He was 66.

Hecht, who was appointed by Democratic Gov. Tom Vilsack in 2006, resigned from the court in December while receiving treatment for melanoma in Sioux City and at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

In a statement, the Iowa Judicial Branch described Hecht as a kind, thoughtful jurist with a passion for the law and an unwavering commitment to the rule of law.
He practiced law in Sioux City for 22 years before his appointment in 1999 to the Iowa Court of Appeals, where he served until his appointment to the Supreme Court.

He is survived by his wife, two daughters and three grandchildren.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa Republican senator is expressing irritation at what he calls “idiotic” comments by President Donald Trump about wind energy.
Trump, at the National Republican Congressional Committee’s annual spring dinner Tuesday night, said noise from wind turbines causes cancer.

Sen. Chuck Grassley said in a conference call with reporters Wednesday that the comments “were first of all idiotic and it doesn’t show much respect for Chuck Grassley as the grandfather of the wind energy tax credit.” Grassley was instrumental in approving a federal tax credit 26 years ago that has spurred wind energy development.

Iowa is a national leader in wind energy, with more than 4,000 turbines. Asked about Trump’s claim, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds refused to say the president was wrong, saying it was not her place to do so. “You know how those things change. One year coffee is good for you and the next year coffee causes cancer,” she said.

“That’s what happens. We’ve got a lot of people that are driving the industry and investing in the industry and we should be proud of our position.” She noted Iowa generates 40 percent of its electricity from wind.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports 48-year old Valeria Ventura Ramirez, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced Tuesday in Council Bluffs District Court, to 24 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to launder money.

In 2016, Ventura Ramirez was the owner and operator of Novedades Ventura, Inc., a money service business located on Leavenworth Street in Omaha. Between July and November of 2016, Ventura Ramirez utilized multiple money transfer companies, including but not limited to, MoneyGram, Western Union, Sigue, InterCambio Express, CES and Intermex, to knowingly wire drug money from the United States to Mexico on behalf of drug traffickers operating in Council Bluffs and Omaha.

The matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, Council Bluffs Police Department, and the Omaha Police Department. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Wednesday (today), said three people suffered minor injuries during a collision Sunday afternoon at the intersection of Highways N-28 and 92. Authorities say a 2007 Buick Rendezvous driven by 15-year old Joann Elizabeth Brahms, of Cumberland, was westbound on Highway 92 when a southbound 2018 Chevy Silverado owned and driven by 70-year old Stephen Swanson, of Essex, pulled away from a stop sign and entered the intersection, striking the Buick in the driver’s side. The Buick then entered the south ditch. The injured persons were transported to Cass County Memorial Hospital by Cumberland Rescue and Medivac. Swanson was cited for Failure to Yield at a Stop Sign. Damage to the vehicles amounted to $15,000.

On March 26th, Cass County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 40-year old Justin David Altstadt, of Atlantic, on three Atlantic Police Department warrants for Violation of No Contact Order, and two District Court warrants for Failure to Appear. Altstadt was taken to the Cass County Jail where he remains held on $11,100 bond.

On March 29th, 20-year old Jacob Hoyt Way, of Audubon, was arrested on two District Court warrants for Probation Violation. Way was taken to the Cass County Jail where he remains held on $40,000 bond. That same day, 38-year old David Dewayne Thomas, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Cass County Sheriff’s Office warrant for Harassment 2^nd Degree. Thomas was taken to the Cass County Jail and was released the following day on his own recognizance.

On March 30th, Cass County deputies arrested 28-year old Shari Lavon Lowe, of Creston, on a District Court warrant for Failure to Appear. Lowe was taken to the Cass County Jail and was held pending transport to the Iowa Correctional Facility for Women.

And, on April 1st, 39-year old Misty Lynn Scybert, of Atlantic, was arrested on a District Court warrant for Violation of Probation. Scybert was taken to the Cass County Jail where she remains held on $5,000 bond.