(Clarinda, Iowa) – Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers says that with the weather forecast for Saturday night into Sunday indicating a probability for accumulating snowfall, the Clarinda Police Department would like to remind the citizens of Clarinda about the snow ordinance.

The ordinance states no person shall park any motor vehicle or other apparatus upon any street of the city that will obstruct the removal of snow when there has been an accumulation of 2 inches or more of snow or ice. Any vehicle left parked on any street in violation of this ordinance may be impounded, and the registered owner of the vehicle will be subject to a $30.00 parking fine, and payment of all applicable towing and storage fees before the vehicle is released. 

The parking ban remains in effect until the snow ceases to fall and the streets have been plowed from curb to curb.

(Radio Iowa) – Blood from eastern Iowa donors may already be helping survivors to recover from the New Year’s Day terrorist attack in New Orleans. Amanda Hess, spokeswoman for ImpactLife in Davenport, says they’re part of a national coalition of blood centers that routinely share supplies wherever they’re needed.

“We sent less than a dozen O-red cells, which is part of our standard protocol that Blood Emergency Readiness Corps members have on hand to ship at a moment’s notice when there is a mass casualty event,” Hess says. “We set those O units aside and they are ready to go immediately to package and ship off during the weeks that we’re on call.” Authorities in New Orleans say a man intentionally drove a pickup truck into a Bourbon Street crowd, killing 15 people and injuring at least 35.

The suspect was killed in a gun battle with police. Hess is urging Iowans to come forward and donate blood to replenish supplies as this is one of the center’s most difficult times of the year. “Holiday weeks, we see a drop in donations of 20-25%, which can put a strain on the supply, especially when you have a couple weeks in a row,” Hess says. “We have additional donor rewards that we promote right now, and we really just have wonderful volunteer donors that step up.” She says all blood types are needed.

“Red blood cells have a shelf life of 42 days. Platelets, however, are only good for about a week,” Hess says. “We’ve got to make sure that they get transfused pretty immediately, and so platelets are a daily constant need.” ImpactLife is headquartered in Davenport with offices in Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, Iowa City, Muscatine and Ottumwa.

https://www.bloodcenter.org/

(Radio Iowa) – A Tennessee man has been charged in the accident involving the Iowa State University Marching Band. The Cyclone Marching Band’s charter bus was hit Monday by a private school bus near Chattanooga, Tennessee as the band returned from the weekend the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Florida. K-C-R-G T-V reports the owner of the school bus, 55-year-old Cleveland Branum of Tennessee, was charged with failure to yield.

The driver of the Cyclone bus and 12 students had minor injuries, but were not taken to the hospital. The Windstar Lines bus was not driveable after the accident but the students were able to fit on other buses in the Cyclone convoy to return to Ames.

Atlantic, Iowa – The 2025 Crop Advantage Series meetings will give farmers and crop production professionals a solid foundation of current research-based crop production information to help make informed decisions for their farming operation. Twelve locations are set to host this series across Iowa throughout the month of January, including a January 21 session in Atlantic. The meeting is an opportunity for farmers and crop advisers to hear current research and crop production information from Iowa State University. Campus Extension specialists, field specialists and invited speakers will travel to Atlantic on Tuesday, January 21, providing updated management options and recommendations on crop production issues facing Iowa growers.

Meetings include catered lunch and continuing education credits for Certified Crop Advisers (CCA).  Private pesticide applicator continuing education will be available and will require a separate fee payable at the location. “There is no other program in our crop production education year where we are able to bring this many extension specialists together at sites across the state. We’re excited to provide the quality, in-person education farmers and ag retailers have come to expect,” said Aaron Saeugling, field agronomist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

The Atlantic Crop Advantage meeting will be held at Cass County Community Center (805 West 10th Street., Atlantic, IA) on January 21, 2025. Registration check-in opens at 8:30 AM and the program runs from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Program highlights of this location include a 2025 weather outlook, a deep dive into nitrification inhibitors, short corn research, DOT regulations for agricultural use, and managing waterhemp.

This meeting is part of a series being held at multiple locations across the state throughout the month of January. For more program details and registration information, for Atlantic or other Crop Advantage locations, including dates, times, and program details visit: https://go.iastate.edu/cropadvantage. Early registration for each location is $75; late registration completed less than seven days prior to the meeting, or on-site, is $100. Early registration for the Atlantic location closes at midnight on January 14th. Registration includes lunch, refreshments and CCA credits. Private pesticide applicator continuing education will also be available and will require a separate fee payable at the location. Online registration is now open at https://go.iastate.edu/cropadvantage.

For registration questions, please reach out to Registration Services at registrations@iastate.edu or 515-294-6222. For all other questions, email crops@iastate.edu or contact your local extension field agronomist Aaron Saeugling at clonz5@iastate.edu.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors held their annual Organizational Meeting this (Thursday) morning (Jan. 2^nd). The Board agreed to retain Steve Baier as Chairperson and Mark O’Brien as Vice-Chair for 2025. No changes were made to the Board’s 2025 meeting schedule, which will continue to be on the first-and third Tuesdays of each month at 9-a.m., and other days as needed, with a 24-hour notice. In other business, the Supervisors set mileage reimbursement rates for County Employees on County Business, and Sheriff’s Civil Processing reimbursement at 67-cents per mile, each. No changes were made to the Medical Examiner’s fees, which will continue to be $200 for a standard call, $400 for an Involved call, and reimbursement for expenses incurred.

The Board set 2024 Holidays dates the Courthouse will be closed as:
Memorial Day 5/26/2025; Independence Day 7/4/2025; Labor Day 9/1/2025; Veterans’ Day 11/11/2025; Thanksgiving 11/27/2025; Day After Thanksgiving 11/28/2025; Christmas 12/25/2025; New Year’s Day 1/1/2026.

There was considerable discussion about setting Christmas Eve hours for employees not covered by bargaining agreements. Supervisor Steve Green made the motion to set the hours and compensation.

The motion died for lack of a second. The Board tabled further discussion and action until the matter can be discussed with department heads and staff. In other business, the Cass County Board of Supervisors approved:

• The Investment Policy
• Authorizing county officials to destroy records in their possession which have been on file for 10 or more years and are not required as permanent records.
• Appointing a member of the board of supervisors to the board of directors of the Fourth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services for 2025. (Steve Baier appointed w/Steve Green as Alternate).
• Appointing (Bernard Pettinger w/Steve Green as Alternate) to the:
  • a. 28E Southwest Iowa Mental Health and Disability Services Region Board (MHDS)
  • b. 28E Board, Multi-county 28# Agreement Regarding Juvenile Detention Center and Emergency Juvenile Services (Steve Baier w/Steve Green Alternate)
    

    Cass Co. BOS mtg 1-2-2-25

• Re-appointing as Dennis Vogl Weed Commissioner for 2025.
• and various Committee appointments, with future changes as necessary.

They also adopted the following Resolutions:

• Appointing Deputies and Assistants by Elected County Officers

• They approved the annual Livestock Facility Construction Evaluation and use of the Master Matrix (No changes from last year)
• Authorizing the County Auditor to Issue Warrants.
• Authorizing the County Engineer to Close Secondary Roads when there are construction projects, etc., and intended to address potential safety issues.
• Authorizing Landus to place a 72,000-gallon anhydrous ammonia tank, and anhydrous facility, on the property located 53597 650th Street, Atlantic, IA as recommended by the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
• Approved a job classification and wage change for Stephanie Witzman from Sheriff’s Office Assistant ($26.73) to Civil Processor/Office Manager ($27.53)

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors held their organizational and regular meeting this (Thursday) morning, Jan. 2^nd. The Board elected Charla Schmid as Chairperson, and Bryant Amos as Vice-Chair. They also voted to change the start of their meeting times from 8:30-a.m. on Tuesday’s to 9-a.m.

The Board also set the Montgomery County Employee Holiday’s Schedule for 2025 as proposed, and they appointed members of the Board to various committees, with only slight changes to assignments.

(Radio Iowa) – A state law that went into effect on New Year’s Day now allows the transfer of motor vehicle titles to be registered in any county. Previous law required title changes to be registered in the county where the new owner of the vehicle lives. Bruce Anderson, president of the Iowa Automobile Dealers Association, says it’s an adjustment to the way people buy vehicles today. “You used to go to your hometown local car dealer and that’s where you would shop, but with the advent of the internet online automotive shopping customers are shopping all over the state,” Anderson says. “With some brands, especially with higher luxury brands, there aren’t dealers in every county, so a single dealer might be working with upwards of 40 or 50 different county treasurers.”

Anderson says this gives auto dealers a familiar, local point of entry to file the vehicle’s title, register a lien if the customer took out a loan to buy the vehicle, and get license plates ordered. “It should eliminate a lot of delay and make the titling and registration process quicker. Customers should get their plates quicker, their new registration quicker,” Anderson says. “It’s also a plus for law enforcement because instead of having to put this information in an envelope and sending it across the state, potentially have it come back if there’s a discrepancy on postage amounts or something like that. It’s getting the information into the database quicker.” The law has also increased the filing fees for vehicle titles by 10 dollars, as Senator Mike Klemish of Spillville explained during debate of the bill.

“The fees for a certificate of title will be increased from $2.50 to $12.50, protection of security interest/perfection of security interest $6 to $16, new registrations from $1 to $11,” Klemish said. “I’d also like to note that these fees have not been increased since 1989.” Titles for mobile homes must still be registered initially in the county where the buyer lives.

(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – Students and leaders at the University of Iowa are helping a nonprofit map public spaces across the state developed with accessibility in mind, in order to ensure people of all abilities can enjoy Iowa’s parks and other public areas. The Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities at the UI, headed by director Travis Krause, partnered with Pathfinders Resource Conservation and Development to help expand its map of accessible public spaces in Iowa and launch a survey for the public to inform them of the accessibility of nature areas, cultural sites and more. Krause said with the survey having launched in December, the project is off to a good start. “Our success really hinges on the help of people across the state providing us the information through this survey tool …,” Krause said. “So we will be successful if people are using the tool and participating, and we’re going to continue to keep pushing that out.”

The goal behind the Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities is to connect university staff, students and resources to organizations and community partners in order to help develop and complete projects that meet their needs, Krause said. The initiative has worked with Pathfinders, an Iowa nonprofit focused on helping revitalize communities through conservation and economic development, on many projects in the past, and Krause said its accessibility map is a perfect fit for a project.

The Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities is working with an Iowa nonprofit to expand its accessibility map. (Photo by Brooklyn Draisey/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

The nonprofit’s accessibility map mainly covers south-central Iowa, and Krause said the survey and other efforts will help expand it to the whole state. It includes museums, trails, campgrounds and other spaces that are partly or fully accessible. Students in the university’s Iowa Community Integrated Geography Organization, or ICIGO, worked with the initiative and nonprofit to use GIS and other mapping tools to display the information for the accessibility map, Krause said, and he and his graduate assistant, Jessica Monday, worked on the survey. Monday, who is seeking a master’s in public affairs, said she helped craft survey questions after going over research literature about accessibility in public spaces. So far they’ve received 16 responses, she said, and are hoping for more as the survey is distributed by Pathfinders and others.

Krause said the project has been fun so far, with everyone, including him, learning new things. Monday said she’s learned about new technologies and areas of accessibility that she previously didn’t think about, like having adult changing tables available in park restrooms.

The survey has no closing date, Krause said, so people can keep responding well into the future, with updates to the map coming afterward. A possible next phase of the project could be asking people about what areas need to see improvements in their accessibility and map those as well.