MAURICE, Iowa (AP) — Residents and officials have gathered to celebrate the opening of a new airport in northwest Iowa that’s expected to fuel area business and development. The grand opening of the $32 million Sioux County Regional Airport on Wednesday marked the culmination of a nearly 20-year effort. It features a 5,500-foot  runway that can handle business jets. There’s also a parallel taxiway, a terminal, several hangars, fueling systems, safety approach lighting, a weather station and other features.

The airport replaces airports in Orange City and Sioux Center that were limited by their shorter runway lengths. It sits about a mile from Maurice. Construction began in 2015 at a 493-acre site that was previously farmland. The project was funded by a mix of federal, state and local funding and private sources.

Atlantic School District Superintendent Steve Barber, Wednesday, provided the School Board with an update on capital projects and district needs for the future. Barber said the “catwalk” between the Middle School and Washington Elementary is finally finished after being closed due to an accident earlier this year, involving a truck. With regard to capitol projects, the first priority is to continue with the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) replacement cycle. The tentative plan calls for replacing two, large units above the high school gym and a medium-size unit for the office. The price would fall between $55-thousand and $130-thousand dollars, so cost estimates, according to Barber, would be a requirement.

He said also, Transportation Director Dave Eckles has applied for a diesel replacement grant for one of the District’s buses. The bus fleet, he says, is in good shape right now, so they can wait another year or so for their next purchase. Additional grant dollars may be available through Volkswagen in the future to purchase a bus. An audit by a roofing company and the district’s insurance company, Barber says, and an analysis of the district’s roofs show they are in good condition, but administrators feel that it will be important to begin a cycle of having a roof project each year. That he said, can wait for another year. Barber said also, the high school track needs to be repaired.

In future meetings, District Technology Director Roger Warne will be presenting to the Board his thoughts on a technology plan that includes achieving goals for implementation and costs associated with, a three-year cycle. Barber said also, they are looking at options to continue the transition to LED (Light Emitting Diode) lighting on a continuous cycle until all the lights are converted to the energy and cost-saving lights.

And finally, Superintendent Barber said he has inquired about the cost of replacing the parking lots, with the high school parking lot a priority, since it continues to deteriorate. He says the best approach appears to be to remove and replace the surface, to the base can be improved that would ensure a long-lasting, concrete parking lot. Discussion about those projects are expected to begin in December. Those talks would include the current budget for PPEL (The Physical Plant and Equipment Levy), and SAVE (Secure an Advanced Vision for Education, and the projected costs to each of the Capitol Projects.

Two people were arrested in Creston recently. Authorities say 26-year old Jonathan Dakotah Davor Vert was arrested a little before 3-a.m. today (Thursday), for Domestic Assault. Vert was being held without bond in the Union County Jail, pending an appearance before the Magistrate. And, at around 3:35-p.m. Wednesday, 29-year old Steven Mathew Behlers, of Creston, was arrested for Theft in the 3rd Degree. Behlers was being held in the Union County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) — The two Iowans who represent Iowa in the U.S. Senate will have new leadership positions in 2019.

Republican Chuck Grassley was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1980, making him the Republican with the longest tenure there now. Because of that seniority, Grassley will become the Senate President Pro Tempore in January. It means he will be third in line of succession to the presidency, behind the vice president and the speaker of the U.S. House.

Joni Ernst, Iowa’s other senator, has been elected vice chair of the Senate Republican Conference. She now ranks sixth on the leadership roster for Senate Republicans. She’s the first woman to be elected to Senate G-O-P leadership since 2010.

Senator GRASSLEY’S staff says it’s been 100 years since an Iowan served as Senate President Pro Tempore. Albert Cummins had been a three-term governor before he was appointed in 1909 by the General Assembly to serve as a U.S. Senator. Cummins served in the U.S. Senate until his death in 1926.

One person was transported to the hospital to be checked for injuries following a chain-reaction collision in Creston, Wednesday afternoon. According to Creston Police, 36-year old Joel Juarez-Lopez was driving a 2006 Hyundai Tucson northbound on N. Sumner Street at around 4-p.m., and braked to yield for another vehicle. 67-year old Linda Ibbotson, of Creston, was driving a 2003 Dodge and also slowed. A 1994 Ford pickup driven by 54-year old Douglas Brightwell, of Creston, was traveling behind the Dodge and struck it from behind.

The impact caused what Police said was a “Pinball-like accident,” where Ibbotson’s vehicle was shoved into the Juarez-Lopz Hyundai. Brightwell was cited for Failure to Stop in an Assured Clear Distance. He complained of pain following the collision, and was transported by ambulance to the Greater Regional Medical Center in Creston. Ibbotson also complained of pain, but refused medical transport. Damage from the crash amounted to $11,000.

FOREST CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Minnesota woman who authorities say sent 696 text messages to a northern Iowa man in April has taken a plea deal. Winnebago County District Court records say 34-year-old Katie Christian, of Emmons, Minnesota, filed a written guilty plea Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge of stalking. Prosecutors agreed to recommend suspended jail time and two years of probation in return for her plea. The records don’t list a sentencing date.

A criminal complaint says Christian also made 10 phone calls and went to the man’s Lake Mills house three times in an attempt to make contact with him or his daughter.