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Atlantic Parks & Rec Board to meet Monday evening

Ag/Outdoor, News

May 20th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

The City of Atlantic’s Parks and Recreation Board will hold a regularly scheduled meeting 5:15-p.m. Monday (May 21st), in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall. On their agenda are updates from Parks & Rec Director Seth Staashelm, with regard to:

  • The Schildberg Development Project, including the west shelter & east playground.
  • Lake Number Three
  • Community Parks (Cedar and Mollett projects)
  • The Sunnyside Park entrance sign
  • and, a report on a part-time Parks Foreman position.

In his regular report to the Board, Staashelm is expected to mention the Sunnyside Pool will open this Saturday, May 26th, beginning at 1-p.m. He’ll also talk about: Summer Programs, the Sunnyside Park Block Party on June 1st, Movies in the Park, featuring “The Lion King,”  and provide an update on the campgrounds.

Benefits of Iowa’s tax cuts could be delayed by slow growth

News

May 20th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Republicans said it was essential to pass $2.8 billion in tax cuts in part due to federal tax changes, but those state reductions might not be implemented for years under a plan awaiting the governor’s signature.

Iowa has an unusual tax system in which federal tax cuts passed late last year are poised to create state tax increases, which Republican lawmakers argued should be returned to taxpayers. GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds said the state should also get rid of the policy that created the problem in the first place.

Yet the bill that passed the Iowa Legislature would delay a solution for at least several years. The bill also delays other changes that would further lower taxes on working families.

Former Democratic state Sen. Charles Bruner, who chaired a key tax-writing committee, said many Iowans will continue to pay more until the standardized deduction, which accounts for typical household expenses, is increased. Earlier proposals would have grown the standard deduction within a year, but Bruner said that was delayed in favor of corporate tax cuts and bigger tax deductions for business expenses.

Lawmakers who wrote the legislation said delaying parts of the tax cuts until certain economic conditions are met, which could happen as soon as 2023, was needed in case of an economic downturn. “For the first few years of this bill, tax reform is built into law,” said Rep. Peter Cownie, a West Des Moines Republican.

A coalition of conservative advocacy groups asked legislators to lower the trigger, which requires the state to reach a certain level of tax revenue and show significant revenue growth from the prior year. They plan to lobby for a reduction in the trigger in a future legislative session. The state has hit the required growth rate 11 times in the past 19 years, according to Iowa Department of Management data. To hit the trigger by 2023 would require yearly revenue growth of 4 percent.

“It’s pretty unlikely,” said Drew Klein, state director of the conservative-leaning Americans for Prosperity-Iowa. “By 2030, we could probably hit that trigger. But 2023 is pretty unlikely.” Once the trigger is hit, the state would eliminate what’s known as “federal deductibility,” a process that allows individual taxpayers to deduct the full amount of their federal income taxes from their state tax returns. Because federal taxes are declining, Iowans would be able to deduct an estimated $148 million less next year.

Iowa is one of three states that allows for full federal deductibility. Opponents of federal deductibility say it complicates the state’s tax code and primarily helps higher income Iowans who pay more taxes. Reynolds said eliminating federal deductibility will allow overall tax rates to be lowered. “I believe it’s important that we do something with federal deductibility because we have federal tax reform, and so the timing seems appropriate,” Reynolds said while the final bill was being crafted.

The tax cut bill would eliminate federal deductibility by using the same income calculation for Iowan’s state returns as their federal taxes. That would also incorporate a significantly higher standard deduction for Iowans, raising it from the current $2,030 for single filers and $5,000 for married filers to the federal deductions of $12,000 and $24,000 respectively.

Income tax rates also would shift from the current nine brackets to four once the trigger is hit. The highest tax rate would fall to 6.5 percent, down from nearly 9 percent now. Those reforms cumulatively are expected to significantly simplify the process of filing a tax return for many Iowans.

Peter Fisher, research director with the liberal-leaning Iowa Public Policy Project, said that simplification for taxpayers would have come sooner under earlier versions of the tax cut bill. “We could have simplified things for them by increasing the standard deduction in Iowa right away,” Fisher said.

Earlier versions of the bill also phased out federal deductibility without a trigger. The bill ultimately passed by lawmakers includes corporate income tax cuts that were not part of Reynolds’ original proposal or a bill from House Republicans. The final price tag for the bill is $2.1 billion over six years, which accounts for new tax revenue also included in the bill.

New sales taxes will apply to digital goods like e-books and movie downloads, digital subscription services such as Apple Music and Netflix, ride-sharing apps and goods purchased online. Some online retailers, such as Amazon, already collect sales taxes on some transactions. The Iowa Department of Revenue estimates the new taxes will yield more than $867 million.

Iowa’s ability to collect those taxes depends on a forthcoming Supreme Court decision, which is anticipated by late June. Without a change to the status quo from the Supreme Court, much of those anticipated revenues could go unrealized — adding to the cost of the tax cuts to the state coffers.

HOWARD C. HENRIKSEN, 93, of Harlan & 68-year old PEGGY JO GRAGERT, of Pueblo, CO. (Joint services 5/26/18)

Obituaries

May 20th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

HOWARD C. HENRIKSEN, 93, of Harlan, died April 11th, in Harlan, & 68-year old PEGGY JO GRAGERT, of Pueblo, CO., died Feb. 8th, in Colorado. Joint Memorial Services for HOWARD HENRIKSEN and PEGGY JO GRAGERT will be held 2-p.m. Saturday, May 26th, at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church, in Jacksonville (IA). Burmeister-Johannsen Funeral Home in Harlan has the arrangements.

Friends may call at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church, in Jacksonville, on Saturday, May 26th, from 1-until 2-p.m.

Burial of ashes will be held at a later date in the Jacksonville Cemetery.

HOWARD HENRIKSEN is survived by:

His wife – Rhoda Henriksen, of Harlan.

His daughters – Bonnie (Kim) Fritz, of Story City, and Patricia (LaVern) Musich, of Roosevelt, UT.

His sons – Ronald Henriksen, of Harlan, as well as Randy Henriksen and L. Charles (Molly) Henriksen, all from Urbandale.

19 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren, other relatives & friends.

PEGGY JO GRAGERT is survived by:

Her mother – Rhoda Henriksen, of Harlan.

Her husband – Walter Gragert, of Pueblo, CO.

Her daughter – Martha Coleman, of CO.

Her son – Daniel Gragert, of CO.

Her step-daughters: Mindy Pittman, of WI., and Jennifer Powell, of AL.

Her sisters – Bonnie (Kim) Fritz, of Story City, and Patricia (LaVern) Musich, of Roosevelt, UT.

Her brothers – Ronald Henriksen, of Harlan, as well as Randy Henriksen and L. Charles (Molly) Henriksen, all from Urbandale.

8 grandchildren, other relatives and friends.

Minor injury accident in Montgomery County Friday afternoon

News

May 20th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County said Saturday, three people suffered suspected minor/non-incapacitating injuries during an accident Friday afternoon. Authorities say a 1999 Buick Century driven by 26-year old Jayce Danielle Hale, of Red Oak, was traveling east in the 2000 block of 200th Street at around  2:50-p.m., Friday, when a front seat passenger leaned over to roll up the driver’s window. The move caused Hale to move the car far enough to the shoulder that the right side tires went off the road. Hale over-corrected, causing the car to skid into a waterway in the north ditch.

Hale, and her passengers, 30-year old Charles Randall Brown, III, and 22-year old Lindsay June Droz, both of Red Oak, were transported to the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital by Red Oak Rescue, to be checked out. Hale was cited for seat belt and no insurance violations.

Red Oak woman arrested Saturday evening on a theft charge

News

May 20th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Police in Red Oak, Saturday evening, arrested 53-year old Julie Ann Rassel, of Red Oak, on a charge of Theft in the 5th Degree. Rassel, who is also known as “Julie Crawford.,” was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.

Midwest Sports Headlines, 5/20/18

Sports

May 20th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Gary Sanchez hit two of the Yankees’ five homers, Gleyber Torres had a three-run shot and New York pounded the Kansas City Royals 8-3. Aaron Hicks and Giancarlo Stanton also homered for the Yankees, while Luis Severino ran his unbeaten streak to seven starts. Danny Duffy took the loss with four lousy innings for Kansas City.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Odubel Herrera homered and Jorge Alfaro drove in the go-ahead run to propel the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-6 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Alfaro was scratched with right knee soreness after originally being in the lineup.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Clay Millican took the No. 1 qualifying position in the Menards NHRA Heartland Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park. Millican had a 3.739-second run at 331.12 mph during the third Top Fuel qualifying session of the weekend and first of the day.

Iowa early News Headlines: Sunday, 5/20/18

News

May 20th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 5:35 a.m. CDT

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Police say a child has been killed in one of four overnight shootings that left three others wounded. The Courier reports that officers were called to a house around 5:15 a.m. Saturday and found a victim, described as a boy, suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died. In two other separate shootings early Saturday, three other people suffered injuries not believed to be life threatening.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An 18-year-old Des Moines man accused of beating his infant son has pleaded guilty to charges in the case. The Des Moines Register reports that Dominick Joseph Clausi pleaded guilty Friday to three counts of child endangerment causing bodily injury and two counts of neglect of a dependent. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Clausi is expected to receive a 45-year suspended sentence in July.

EARLHAM, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have charged a south-central Iowa man after dozens of severely neglected horses _ and 2 horse carcasses _ where found on his property. The Des Moines Register reports that the nearly 60 animals were found Thursday night at the Lemontree Welsh horse stable in Earlham. Jimmy Lee Lemon, co-owner of Lemontree Welsh, has been charged with three counts of livestock neglect and two counts of failure to dispose of animal remains.

Skyscan Weather forecast for Atlantic & the area, Sunday 5/20/18

Weather

May 20th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Today: Cloudy with a 30% chance of showers & thunderstorms. High near 66. North northeast wind around 10mph. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tonight: A 20% chance of showers. Low around 52. NE wind 5 to 10 mph.
Monday: Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 74. North wind around 5 mph becoming light and variable in the afternoon.
Monday Night: A 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms after midnight, otherwise partly cloudy, with a low around 56.
Tuesday: A 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1pm, otherwise Partly sunny, with a high near 82.
Tuesday Night: A 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63.
Wednesday: Partly sunny w/a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms. High  83.

Yesterday’s High in Atlantic was 74. We received .42” of rain. Our Low this morning (as of 6-a.m) was 54. Last year on this date our High was 65 and the Low was 43. The record High in Atlantic on this date was 95 in 1925. The Record Low was 26, in 1894.

Red Oak bicyclist suffers injuries after crash with vehicle

News

May 19th, 2018 by admin

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a bicyclist was serioursly injured during an accident in Red Oak on Saturday morning. At 10:48am a bicycle being operated by 53-year-old Dale Dean French of Red Oak was traveling southbound on Highway 48. At the driveway of 2508 Broadway a 2013 Ford Taurus driven by 35-year-old Elysia Dylene White of Red Oak turned left and into the path of the bicycle causing French to crash and hit his face on the front right tire of the vehicle. French was taken to Montgomery County Memorial Hospital by Red Oak Rescue and then flown to UNMC by LifeNet helicopter. The extent of his injuries were unknown.

White stated that she looked before making the turn but did not see French coming on the bicycle. White was not injured during the accident and was cited for Failure to Yield Upon a Left Turn and No Insurance. The Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Red Oak Police Department.

No further details were released.

Atlantic boys tennis heads to State Final Four

Sports

May 19th, 2018 by admin

Atlantic Boys Tennis Team
Photo courtesy Shawn Petersen

The Atlantic boys tennis team is heading to the Class 1A State Final Four for the 5th time in school history. Atlantic advanced with two wins on Saturday in Carroll.

They first won their substate match over Denison-Schleswig 5-0. In the other substate match at the site host Kuemper Catholic swept by Creston 5-0.

Atlantic then defeated Kuemper Catholic in the First Round State match 5-3 to advance to State Final Four Team Tennis on Tuesday, May 29th at Waveland Tennis Courts in Des Moines. Play at state will begin after the coaches meeting that day at 8:15am.