ATLANTIC – Cass County Memorial Hospital and Atlantic Medical Center have both reached a historical landmark in 2018: 50 years of caring for southwest Iowa. In celebration, Cass County Health System will host four free chili dinners during October. The meals will be served from 5 – 6:30 pm at the following locations:

October 3        Cass County Memorial Hospital Cafeteria

October 17       Griswold Community Center

October 23      Anita Community Center

October 30       CAM Middle School Cafeteria, Massena

CCHS CEO Brett Altman said “We have been celebrating our 50th anniversaries all year, and this is our way to say thank you to the people of southwest Iowa for helping us achieve this milestone. It has been our privilege to be a part of these communities and families, and we are excited to celebrate alongside them.”

In November 1965 there was a public vote to determine if the Atlantic Memorial Hospital would become a county hospital. The measure passed, although by a mere 14 votes! The E.A. Kelloway family donated the land for a new building and the groundbreaking was held in April 1967. After 18 months of construction, a dedication was held October 6 and patients were moved to the new facility on October 12, 1968. Major construction projects updated the facility in 1972, 1997, and 2013.

“Over the past 50 years, CCMH and Atlantic Medical Center have continued to grow and adapt to the ever-changing healthcare environment,” Brett noted.  “We have been fortunate to have had outstanding physicians, advance practice providers and supporting staff who have all worked together to provide excellent healthcare and a superior experience to all those we serve.  We look forward to continuing our mission for the next 50 years!”

More than 200 employers, educators, workforce and economic development professionals, government officials, and students are expected to come together from around the state for the upcoming Employer Educator Summit in Panora on Wednesday, October 10th. Previous summits proved to be successful in turnout and inspiration for attendees to bridge the workforce gap by engaging students with early initiatives to prepare them for the diverse workforce. This year’s Summit in Panora will be a continuation of those efforts, showcasing innovative programs throughout the state. The Employer Educator Summit agenda will run from 9am-3pm and feature presentations from Iowa Economic Development Director Debi Durham, discussion on federal regulations related to hiring youth, local program incentives, resource and collaboration toolkit as well as the Workforce Warrior Award Presentation.

Who:     Employers, Educators, Workforce Development Professionals, Economic Development Professionals

What:    Employer Educator Summit

Why:     50% of Iowa’s jobs require workers with Middle Skills, but only 33% of our workforce has those skills.

When:   Thursday, October 10th, 9 am – 3 pm

Where:  Lake Panorama National Conference Center, 5071 Clover Ridge Rd, Panora, IA 50216

How:      Registration is requested at www.westerniowaadvantage.com or by calling (515) 523-1262.

Organizational Background:

The Employer Educator Summit is hosted by Western Iowa Advantage and IowaWORKS – Western Iowa Western Iowa Advantage is a partnership of economic development organizations dedicated to promoting Western Iowa for business, job attraction and retention. The partnership includes Midwest Partnership EDC, Audubon County Economic Development, Greene County Economic Development Corporation, Carroll Area Development Corporation, Chamber & Development Council of Crawford County, Ida County Economic Development, Sac Economic & Tourism Development, Region XII COG, and Raccoon Valley Electric Cooperative.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A city council in western Iowa is moving toward repealing a 40-year-old law against begging that the city attorney says probably has never been enforced.
The Council Bluffs City Council voted Monday for the repeal. City Attorney Richard Wade told The Daily Nonpareil that repealing it requires two more readings and votes by council members, who likely will waive the third vote.

In August the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa sent letters to Council Bluffs and other Iowa cities, asking for repeals. The ACLU legal director, Rita Bettis Austen, says the ordinance is unconstitutional, “because the First Amendment protects the right of people to express their needs and ask for help.”

Wade said Tuesday that, to the best of his knowledge, the ordinance has never been enforced in Council Bluffs.

The Creston Police Department reports three arrests on Tuesday.

At 10:55am Officers arrested 41-year-old AJ Miller of Mount Ayr at 302 North Pine Street in Creston. He was arrested on a Union County Warrant for Theft 3rd Degree. He was taken to the Union County Jail and later released on $2,000 bond.

At 1:02pm Officers arrested 28-year-old Tonya Tindle of Creston at her residence on North Pine Street. Tindle was arrested on a Union County Warrant for a Controlled Substance Violation. She was taken to the Adams County Jail and held on $1,000 bond.

At 4:49pm Creston Police arrested 29-year-old James Roach of Greenfield at 806 Laurel Street in Creston on a Union County Warrant for the charge of Harassment 1st Degree. He was taken to the Union County Jail and later released on $2,000 bond.

ADAIR, IOWA–September25, 2018–Owner Revolution Inc.(ORI, Owner Revolution),announced today the signing of a definitive agreement to sell substantially all of the operating assets and business of their wholly-owned subsidiary located in Adair, Iowa, Schafer Systems Inc., to Pollard Banknote Limited (Pollard Banknote), headquartered in Winnipeg, Canada. Upon completion of the transaction, the Adair facility will join Pollard Banknote’s team, focused on serving the needs of lotteries and charitable gaming organizations around the world.

The Schafer Systems brand will remain in place and the business will continue to operate out of the60,000 square foot facility that they have occupied for the past30yearsin Adair. Don Hudak, Owner Revolution’s CEO and President, commented on the pending transaction saying,“The sale of Schafer Systems to Pollard Banknote brings together two organizations that have successfully served the lottery and gaming industries for many years. Working together, they will represent a real powerhouse in the markets and will be able to bring innovative products and solutions to customers at an even higher level. Our employees and the communities we’re in will reap the benefits of this transaction through increased stability and growth.”

Schafer Systems’ product lines will complement the products and services currently provided by Pollard Bank note to its customers, allowing a broader range of solutions to those in the industry. John Pollard,Co-Chief Executive Officer of Pollard Banknote said,“We are very excited to acquire Schafer Systems and add their capabilities to our organization. They have an outstanding reputation in the industry for delivering quality products and custom solutions to meet their customer’s ever-changing needs. I’m looking forward to see what great things we will accomplish working together to drive product innovation and create greater value for our customers.”

Pollard Banknote is a leading lottery partner to more than 60 lotteries worldwide, providing high quality instant ticket products, licensed games, and a full suite of digital offerings ranging from game apps to comprehensive player engagement and iLottery solutions, including strategic marketing and management services. The company is a proven innovator and has decades of experience helping lotteries to maximize player engagement, sales, and proceeds for good causes. Pollard Banknote also plays a major role in providing pull-tab tickets, bingo paper and its Diamond Game and Oasis-branded electronic ticket machines to charitable and other gaming markets in North America. Established in 1907, Pollard Banknote is owned approximately 67.6% by the Pollard family and 32.4% by public shareholders, and is publicly traded on the TSX (PBL). Pollard Banknote employs over 1,700 people across multiple locations in Canada and the United States. For more information, please visit their website at www.pollardbanknote.com.

ORI is an Iowa based holding company located in Adair and is employee-owned. Besides their Schafer Systems brand of lottery ticket dispensers and promotional displays,ORI owns Blue Wave Ultrasonics in Davenport, Iowa, a leading manufacturer of industrial ultrasonic cleaning systems, providing the most technologically advanced and reliable cleaning systems in the marketplace.

ADAIR, IOWA–September25, 2018–Owner Revolution Inc.(ORI),announced today the signing of a definitive agreement to sell their two subsidiaries located in Atlantic, Iowa, Plastic Professionals Inc. and Connect-A-Dock Inc., to Elkhart Plastics, Inc., headquartered in Elkhart, Indiana. Upon completion of the transaction, the Atlantic facility will become Elkhart Plastic’s sixth location in the United States for the supply of rotationally molded products and services to a wide array of customers across the country.

The Connect-A-Dock brand will remain in place while the Plastic Professionals will now become Elkhart Plastics of Iowa. Both businesses will continue to operate out of the 225,000 square foot facility that they have occupied for the past 14 years in Atlantic. Don Hudak, Owner Revolution’s CEO and President, commented on the pending transaction saying “The sale of these two subsidiaries comes with the best interest of the employees and the local communities in mind. Elkhart Plastics is a proven leader in the rotational molding industry and has aggressive plans to grow the businesses, bringing new jobs and opportunities to the area.”

Jack Welter, CEO of Elkhart Plastics also provided comments saying“The Atlantic operation provides us with the expertise and production capacity that we desperately need to continue growing with our existing customers and future endeavors. The location of the facility also fits in perfectly with our plan to have strategically located manufacturing sites across the country to efficiently serve our growing customer base.”

Elkhart Plasticsis a privately held U.S.company founded in 1988 and has over 600 employees. They are one of the largest custom rotational molding companies in the United States and have three manufacturing sites in Indiana, one in Washington State and one in Colorado. Their custom, plastic products provide trusted solutions for a very diverse group of applications and markets across the country. You can learn more about Elkhart Plastics at www.epi-roto.com.

ORI is an Iowa based holding company located in Adair and is employee-owned. Besides their Connect-A-Dock brand of floating docks and accessories and their custom molded product offerings at Plastic Professionals, they also own Blue Wave Ultrasonics in Davenport, a leading manufacturer of industrial ultrasonic cleaning systems, providing the most technologically advanced and reliable cleaning systems in the marketplace.