Governor Branstad’s aides have begun drawing up plans for a state government shutdown. Branstad and his fellow Republicans in the Iowa House have been unable to strike an agreement on state spending with Democrats in the Iowa Senate. Dave Roederer (ROH-der) — Branstad’s budget director — says the contingency plans will ensure state workers get paid and prisoners stay in prison if there’s no deal by July 1st when the new state fiscal year begins.

“We have plans for all types of emergencies and this would be no different,” Roederer says. “But we’re not focusing on that. We’re focusing on getting the budget done.”

Democrats in the Senate are urging Branstad to release more details to the public about what would happen if state government does shut down.

“The governor has emergency powers whenever there’s an emergency. I am not anticipating an emergency,” Branstad says. “I will deal with it if I have to, but I think they need to get serious about doing the job and I have cancelled my trip so I will be available to do whatever I have to do.”

Branstad has canceled his participation in an 11-day trade mission to China and South Korea in mid-June so he can stay for budget negotiations.

“There’s been virtually no action in the legislature for the last several weeks,” Branstad says. “I intend to stay here and hold their feet to the fire because I believe the people of Iowa deserve a budget that is sustainable for the long-term and one that protects the taxpayers against a massive tax increase.”

Democrats in the Senate sent Branstad a letter this morning (Tuesday), urging him to strike a “middle-ground” compromise on the budget that would include proposals that neither side supports 100 percent. Branstad’s not budging, though.

“The bottom line is the people of Iowa elected a new governor and they elected a new governor and they elected a new governor because they were not satisfied with the direction the state was going and the financial mess that had been created by the previous governor and the legislature,” Branstad says. “Somehow they haven’t gotten that message yet.”

Branstad says Democrat are making “reckless and irresponsible” demands for additional spending in education and other areas. Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds likens Democrats to children demanding their parents spend money on frivolities that should be spent instead on the family’s mortgage. Reynolds will lead the state trade mission to China and South Korea.

(Radio Iowa)

Police in Atlantic report three people were arrested over the weekend, and one accident was investigated. Taken into custody Friday on a charge of Driving While Suspended, was 31-year old Ryan Richards, of Avoca.

On Saturday, officers with the Atlantic P-D arrested 25-year old Ryan Mullen, of Atlantic, for Driving While Revoked for failure of an OWI test, and, on Sunday, 23-year old Dereck Hilsabeck, of Des Moines, was arrested for OWI and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

All three men were brought to the Cass County Jail, where they were booked and held pending an appearance before the magistrate.

And, no injuries were reported following an accident early Saturday morning. Officials say Jacob Goff, of Atlantic, was traveling east on Highway 83, entering Atlantic and approaching Sunnyside Lane, when his vehicle was hit by a deer that jumped out of the south ditch. The accident, which happened just before one-a.m., caused about $1,200 damage.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors today (Tuesday), approved a budget amendment for Fiscal Year 2011. The changes, which were described by County Auditor Dale Sunderman, did not result in the amount of the budget being changed, just a shifting of funds.

The amendment changes the Secondary Roads Department allocations, reducing the construction budget, and increasing slightly, the operating budget. There was also minor adjustment in appropriation of monies into the local health budget, because of a flow through of received grant monies.

There was also an allocation of funding so the new courthouse generator could be paid-off through the Capital Projects line item, rather than through a loan from the local option sales tax.

The budget amendment was adopted after a public hearing, during which there were no objections. The Board also amended expenditure appropriations, in that the D.O.T and County budgets were changed.

The DOT expenditure appropriations were changed by decreasing Secondary Roads construction by $808,000, increasing snow and ice control by $60,000, and increasing new equipment by $75,000.

The County’s portion of the adjustments were increased accordingly.

Two people were injured during a motorcycle accident Sunday night, near Crescent. According to the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, 30-year old Daniel Slusky, of Omaha, was driving a 1999 Harley Davidson motorcycle on Highway 183 (Old Lincoln Highway), when he crossed the center line of the road and lost control of the cycle before it crashed. The accident happened at around 8:05-p.m., Sunday.

Pott County Sheriff’s Department spokesman, Sgt. Dwayne Riche, says Slusky was unconscious when rescue crews arrived. He was flown by Life Flight helicopter to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, where a report on his condition is currently not available.

An adult female passenger on the cycle, Dakota Job, of Omaha, was injured, and transported by Crescent Fire and Rescue to the UNMC.

Sgt. Riche says alcohol was being investigated as a possible cause of the crash.

The Atlantic City Council has several Resolutions to act on during their meeting Wednesday evening, at City Hall. Included among them are those pertaining to approval of contracts and bonds for the Portland Cement Concrete and Hot Melt Asphalt paving projects, the Sunnyside Park Road Resurfacing and Parking improvement, Bull Creek Pathway Resurfacing, and City sidewalk repair, projects.

The Council will also hear a report from the City’s Finance Committee, with regard to a proposed Development Agreement with Boulders Inn and Suites. The committee will meet Tuesday, and present their recommendation to the Council on Wednesday.

City Administrator Doug Harris says while there currently is no signed agreement with Boulders, negotiations remained ongoing, and he’s hopeful an agreement can be reached in time for a public hearing. The Council will decide Wednesday, on whether to approve a resolution setting a date for the hearing on the 15^th, but if an agreement is not reached by the time their meeting takes place, the resolution and action on the matter will have to be tabled.

Harris says the latest proposal presented by Boulders’ developers, is for a $125,000 up-front grant from the City, and a total of $41,000 in tax rebates. The developer would also realize  another $42,208 in tax avoidance savings. The incentives package would end up costing the City $247,464, or about $5,824 less than what the City offered last May.

The biggest advantage, according to Harris, is that the tax rebates would be spread over nine-years, rather than four. The extended time frame, he says, also allows the City a better cash flow and the ability to fund other, needed, public improvements.

In other business, the Council, Wednesday, will act on authorizing Mayor Dave Jones to sign a five-year agreement between the City and The Iowa Department of Transportation, for maintenance and repair of primary roads. It would be in effect from July 1^st, 2011 through June 30^th, 2016.

The Atlantic City Council meeting begins at 5:30-p.m., Wednesday.

Nearly 100 people have been tested in connection with a measles case that state health officials are treating as a “public health emergency.” Most of the people were passengers on a flight from Chicago to Des Moines on May 11. A child, who later tested positive for the measles, was on the American Airlines plane (flight 3965). Iowa Department of Public Health Medical Director Dr. Patricia Quinlisk says measles is easily spread and can cause serious illness.

“It can cause permanent damage, such as brain damage. Even with good medical care…it can still cause people to die,” Quinlisk said. “So, we take this disease very seriously and want to make sure we stop anybody from getting the measles if we can.”

Iowans who were on the flight or visited Mercy Central Pediatric Clinic or Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines on May 14 may’ve been exposed to the measles. The symptoms include fever, cough, red/pink eyes, runny nose and a rash. Quinlisk says people who suspect they have the measles should NOT go directly to the E-R or their doctor’s office.

“What you need to do is call your health care provider ahead of time…and they will arrange for you to be seen in a way that is safe for the health care provider and you’re not spreading it to other patients,” Quinlisk said.

Iowans who are not sure if they’ve received two MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccines should contact their health care provider. Quinlisk says people who are vaccinated have a 99-percent chance of never getting the measles – even if they’re exposed to the disease. Those older than their mid-50s and know that they had measles as a child do not need to be vaccinated.

(Radio Iowa)

RANDOLPH, Iowa (AP) — The mayor of Randolph isn’t sitting back and quietly accepting a possible proposal to close the town’s post office.

Mayor Vance Trively says he’s demanding financial information about the post office and has put postal officials on notice that he will fight a possible closing of the Randolph post office in the southwest Iowa town of about 170.

The Daily Nonpareil in Council Bluffs says Trively also has talked with state and federal lawmakers.

Mail volume has dropped 20 percent in the past four years and the U.S. Postal Service plans to close or consolidate 2,200 post offices across the country. Among the other proposed post office closures, are those located in Earling, Gray, Kimballton, Elk Horn, Marne, Grant, Modale, Tabor, New Market, Sharpsburg, and Braddyville.

Randolph’s residents say closing their post office is not a solution, suggesting instead a cut in bureaucracy.

Trively suggests a 10 percent across-the-board pay cut.

SLOAN, Iowa (AP) — Residents of a riverside subdivision near the northwest Iowa city of Sloan are calling for help filling sandbags.

Sioux City television station KTIV reports that the work at River Woods subdivision is scheduled to begin Tuesday morning at 9 o’clock. Volunteers are asked to bring along shovels and gloves.

Sloan and other Iowa towns along the Missouri River have been preparing for more flooding. Water has already spilled over the banks in several low-lying areas along the river in Nebraska and Iowa.

In Omaha, Neb., the city installed flood gates Sunday to keep rising water from seeping into downtown.

The Army Corps of Engineers warns that the high water level and flooding issues will likely worsen over the next month as releases from upstream reservoirs reach historic levels.

Tim Pawlenty, R-MN Presidential candidate

Republican Presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty will be making the rounds in western Iowa this week. The two-term former Governor of Minnesota will be in Sioux Center, LeMars and Sioux City on Tuesday, and in Council Bluffs, on Wednesday.

His first stop a “Coffee with Governor Pawlenty,” will be 8:30-a.m. Tuesday, at Casey’s Bakery in Sioux Center. Later that afternoon, he’ll visit the Blue Bunny Ice Cream Shop in Lemars, beginning at 2:30-p.m. And, at 7-p.m. Tuesday, Pawlenty will appear at the Sioux City Library.

On Wednesday, “T-Paw,” as he’s called on his website, will stop at Tish’s Restaurant in Council Bluffs, for a Town Hall meeting that begins at 9:30-a.m. Pawlenty kicked-off his campaign last week in Des Moines, with the announcement he intended to run for President in 2012.

Pawlenty told the crowd at the state capital the country is “in big trouble” and it will take a “new and better president” to fix things. He said that means phasing out federal subsidies for ethanol. That statement prompted a response from the ethanol industry: go to the heart of oil country and give a speech there about ending petroleum subsidies.

For more on Pawlenty’s positions on the issues, surf to www.timpawlenty.com.

No injuries were reported following a rollover accident Sunday night, about five-miles south of Red Oak. According to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, 45-year old David Lee McClain, of Essex, was charged with OWI 1^st offense, after he wrecked the 1999 Dodge Ram pickup he owned and was operating.

Officials say McLain was traveling south on Highway 48, just south of 260^th Street at around 9:35-p.m. Sunday, when for “reasons unknown,” the vehicle crossed the center line into the northbound lane of travel. McLain attempted to steer back into his lane, but in doing so overcorrected, causing the pickup to enter a ditch on the east side of Highway 48.

In the ditch, the truck rolled an estimated three-to four-times before coming to rest on the driver’s side in a farm field. The vehicle, valued at $10,0000, was a total loss. McClain was arrested and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where he was being held on $1,000 bond.

The Sheriff’s Office was assisted in its investigation by Red Oak Police. Red Oak Fire and Rescue also responded to the scene of the accident.