Atlantic City Clerk Barb Barrick reminded the Atlantic City Council and the public, Wednesday night, that the petitions for various City Council positions may be circulated now, and turned in toward the end of the month. Barrick said current Council members seeking re-election and persons wishing to run for office, can receive nomination papers at City Hall, the Cass County Auditor’s Office, or the Secretary of State’s website. The completed papers may be filed with the County Auditor, beginning August 28th.

City Council members whose elected positions are slated to end Jan. 1st, 2018 and will be included on the November 7th ballot, include: Mayor – Dave Jones; 2nd Ward – Kathy Somers; 5th Ward – Richard Casady and At Large – Gerald Brink.

Brink was appointed in Sept. 2016 to fill a vacancy on the Council created by the resignation of Bob Cord. Casady was appointed in 2015 to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of Lori Stuart. Casady was unopposed in the Nov. 2015 election to hold the seat for through the end of 2017.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest at around 12:20-a.m. today (Thursday), of 19-year old Payton Ray, from Lenox. Ray was taken into custody on a charge of Sexual Abuse in the 3rd degree. He was brought to the Adams County Jail and held on a $10,000 cash only bond. No other details surrounding the charge was made available.

Governor Kim Reynolds says policymakers should be “looking for whatever” they can to find a solution for Americans in danger of losing health insurance. Just one company will be offering insurance next year on the Affordable Care Act “exchange” in Iowa — and premiums could go up even higher if federal subsidies aren’t extended. “I think there’s one thing that we should all agree on and that is not doing anything is not an option,” Reynolds says.

Iowa’s insurance commission has proposed a “stop gap” measure he believes would help the 72-thousand Iowans who’ve bought individual insurance policies on the exchange, but it needs approval from federal officials. Governor Reynolds says she and her staff are talking with Trump Administration officials weekly about the issue.

(Radio Iowa)

Officials say negotiations are underway with an agency in the executive branch of state government about personnel matters in the Iowa Senate — but it’s unclear if the agency would take over the investigation of alleged sexual harassment in the Senate G-O-P Caucus Staff office.

Senate Republican Leader Bill Dix publicly announced Wednesday afternoon that discussions with the Department of Administrative Services are part of his “on-going” response to a jury’s decision that the state should pay two-point-two MILLION dollars to a former Senate G-O-P staffer who testified she was sexually harassed while at work. Dix said last Friday he had asked a senate staffer he hired last January to handle the investigation and determine if the allegations are “truthful.”

Governor Kim Reynolds says she has a “zero tolerance” policy when it comes to sexual harassment in the executive branch. And she says Dix has made it clear the same policy is in force now in all corners of the legislative branch. “The Senate is conducting an investigation into the full scope of what came out at the trial, so I’m appreciative in the steps that they are taking,” Reynolds says, “and I have faith in Senator Dix that he will take the necessary steps and has, it’s my understanding, taken the necessary steps.”

Reynolds said yesterday (Wednesday) it’s “not a bad idea” to have an “outside” review of the allegations about a “toxic” work environment in the Senate G-O-P Caucus Staff office.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CDT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Two Iowa teenagers have filed federal lawsuits alleging they were placed in solitary confinement for months at Wisconsin’s troubled youth even after they both tried to kill themselves. The Wisconsin State Journal reports one of the girls alleges a guard helped her hurt herself after she became suicidal in solitary by walking on top of her cot after she placed her head beneath it.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A Lebanese man accused of helping smuggle guns bought in Iowa to his home country has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison to violating the federal Arms Export Control Act. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa says 42-year-old Fadi Yassine was sentenced Wednesday for a conviction of one count of conspiracy for brokering firearms shipments to Lebanon in 2014 and 2015. Yassine was arrested Feb. 5 in New York as he entered the U.S. from Lebanon.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Several law enforcement agencies are searching for a man accused of leading officers on a chase from Iowa to South Dakota and injuring a sheriff’s deputy. Authorities say the search is centered in Sioux Falls. Police spokesman Sam Clemens says the suspect struck the squad car of a sheriff’s deputy from Iowa’s Lyon County, sending the officer to the hospital.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — University of Iowa officials say the Gerdin family has committed $5 million for renovations and new programming at the athletic learning center that bears the family name. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that center will be getting more study rooms, a commons area and a cafe. Work on the center is expected to be finished by spring 2018.