Pat McCurdy, of Atlantic, announced today (Friday), that he intends to run for the Cass County Board of Supervisors in District 2, a seat currently held by Gaylord Schelling. Schelling announced Wednesday that he is not seeking re-election during the June 5th Primary.

McCurdy has a lengthy history in agriculture, and he is currently involved in housing in Cass County. He has also served on many Boards, including the C&M School Board, Southwest Iowa Egg, and the Southwest Iowa Housing Board. His current work in economic development, through Cass/Atlantic Development Corporation and the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, have allowed him to gather the skills he needs to be a qualified candidate for a Cass County Supervisor.

In a statement, McCurdy said “As a lifelong Cass County resident, I would like to see our community grow and prosper, as we are the hub of Southwest Iowa. I will work hard to keep county spending under control, promote the local economy, and encourage growth.”

Gasoline prices have risen 20-cents a gallon in Iowa over the past month. Gail Weinholzer, spokeswoman for Triple-A-Iowa, says when the nation’s financial markets see escalating figures, gas prices quickly follow. “We’ve seen an increase of all stocks and bonds, and crude oil is no different,” Weinholzer says. “We’ve seen stocks that apply to crude oil increase rather substantially. Crude oil is now selling for between $63 and $65 a barrel.” That price would have to drop to 40-dollars a barrel in order for gas prices to fall below two-dollars a gallon, Weinholzer says. This is normally the time of year when gas prices fall, so she’s expecting them to remain relatively steady, for now. “I don’t know that we’ll see them continue to rise, but we certainly don’t anticipate any sort of fall anytime in the next couple of months,” Weinholzer says. “Once we get into March and April, we’re going to start the switchover from the winter to the summer grade fuel. That costs more to refine and those costs are passed on at the pump.”

Gas prices in Iowa are averaging two-55 a gallon, up from two-35 a month ago. The current national average is a penny higher than Iowa. “We don’t expect prices to decline in the short term,” she says, “but certainly, three to four months out, we would expect prices to increase because of the switchover.” Iowa’s cheapest gas is in Council Bluffs at two-40 a gallon while the highest prices are a three-way tie at two-60 a gallon in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines and Dubuque.

(Radio Iowa)

The president of the Iowa Senate says it may not be possible to sell the state-owned Iowa Communications Network — because no private-sector buyer wants it. Nearly 30 years ago, the legislature authorized construction of a state-owned fiber optics network to provide video and data connections for schools and state government. Senator Jack Whitver, a Republican from Ankeny, says it may be time to pull the plug on the network.”Right now, we’re mandating certain entities to buy coverage from the ICN at a rate that is higher than the market rate and so I don’t think that’s a good way to do business in the 21st century,” Whitver says. “I mean, frankly, the days of sitting in an ICN room like when I was a kid in Grinnell — those days are over. You pull up your phone now and you have FaceTime Live and so the world has changed and government needs to adapt to it.”

Whitver, who was elected to the Iowa Senate in 2011, has been an advocate of selling the network. “One of my first years in the legislature, we voted to try to sell the ICN,” Whitver says. “That was unsuccessful, but there obviously need to be changes there.” A recent audit found 380-thousand dollars of questionable spending at the Iowa Communications Network. It included the revelation that some state-purchased equipment was delivered to the home of the network’s manager, who was fired early this month. Whitver says it may be time now for the state’s chief information officer to take over as manager of the network. As for selling the network itself, that’s tricky as there was an attempt four years ago to lease segments of the network to private-sector companies. “We put it up for sale and we did not get a bid,” Whitver says.

Whitver says that could be a signal it’s time to just shut the network down. Whitver made his comments today (Friday) during taping of Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press” program which airs tonight (Friday) at 7:30.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa woman convicted of murder in the starvation death of her 16-year-old daughter has been given three life sentences. The sentences were handed down Friday to 43-year-old Nicole Finn of West Des Moines. She was convicted last month of first-degree murder and three counts of kidnapping.

Authorities say Natalie Finn weighed only 85 pounds when she died in October 2016. Experts testified that her siblings, Mikayla and Jaden, were at risk of starving to death as well and spent months recovering after Natalie suffered cardiac arrest. Finn’s ex-husband, Joe Finn II, has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping, neglect or abandonment and child endangerment. He wasn’t living with the rest of the family when Natalie died. His trial begins April 30.

OAKLAND, Iowa (AP) — A preliminary report on a school bus fire in Pottawattamie County Iowa that killed the driver and a teenage passenger says the fire started in the engine compartment after the bus became stuck in a ditch. The Omaha World-Herald reports that the preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board was issued today (Friday). The Dec. 12 fire killed 16-year-old Megan Klindt and 74-year-old Donnie Hendricks.

The report found that Hendricks was backing the bus out of Klindt’s rural driveway when the bus’ right rear wheels dropped into a 3-foot-deep ditch. As Hendricks tried to drive out of the ditch, a fire began in the engine compartment and spread to the passenger compartment. The report says it is unknown why Hendricks and Klindt did not exit the bus.

2018 marks the 50th year of service for two healthcare institutions in Cass County – Cass County Memorial Hospital and Atlantic Medical Center. Both opened for business in the fall of 1968, as two separate healthcare businesses working together to care for citizens of Cass County and beyond. Prior to 1968, there had been private hospitals in Atlantic since 1903, and several private physician offices. In November 1967, Cass County residents voted to create a county hospital, which meant committing to utilize some of the county tax revenue to help support the new hospital. At the same time, the E. A. Kelloway family donated a 25-acre site, where the current hospital sits. Patients and staff moved into the new Cass County Memorial Hospital in October 1968.

In October 1968, a crowd gathered to celebrate the opening of the new Cass County Memorial Hospital.

As the new hospital was being constructed, a group of local physicians decided to come together and create a clinic across the street from the hospital. Drs. Dwaine Wilcox, John Weresh, Einer Juel, Millard Petersen and John Moriarty opened the Atlantic Medical Center on November 1, 1968, at 1500 E. 10th Street. They moved to their current location when the hospital added on the north wing, focused on outpatient services, in 1998. The hospital and medical center officially joined forces in 2000 with the creation of Cass County Health System, which also includes Southwest Iowa Surgery, Eye Associates, Anita Medical Center, Massena Medical Center, and Griswold Medical Center.

“To have these two healthcare businesses survive the many ups and downs in healthcare over the past 50 years is really quite an accomplishment,” noted Brett Altman, CEO. “I believe the key is, and always has been, having outstanding, dedicated staff throughout the health system. It is the commitment of these individuals that allowed both the clinic and the hospital to continuously adapt to the changing environment while consistently providing superior care and experience to patients.”

Cass County Health System will be celebrating the dual anniversaries with staff and community members throughout 2018.