State officials are asking legislators to ban private companies from selling Iowa lottery tickets and games online. Tyler Ackerson of the Iowa Department of Revenue says businesses called lottery couriers are operating websites and smart phone apps. “Customers sign up on there, fund their account, and then the courier uses that money to purchase lottery products on behalf of that customer,” Ackerson says. “These lottery couriers typically partner with a business who sets up a stand alone, brick and mortar location that becomes a licensed lottery retailer and then all of those lottery products are purchased through that location.”
Jake Ketzner — a lobbyist for Lotto-dot-com — says the company started selling Nebraska lottery products online this week and would like to operate in Iowa at some point “We are active in 18 states. It’s not new,” Ketzner said. “Think of it as kind of an ‘Uber Eats’ model for lotto tickets.” State officials have already turned down an application from Jackpocket, a New York based lottery courier that wanted to start selling Iowa lottery games online. Tim Coonan is a lobbyist for Jackpocket, which is owned by sports betting giant DraftKings.
“We had no plans to bring legislation this year to try to advance the ball or improve our position relative to that denial,” Coonan says, “and we’re hoping to have a more fulsome conversation with policymakers about the service we provide.”
According to the Iowa Department of Revenue, parts of already existing state law prohibit online lottery sales, but the agency’s asking the legislature to include an outright ban in a bill dealing with routine tax matters. The chairman of the Senate’s tax policy committee says the debate about online lottery ticket sales should probably be held in a different committee.
(Radio Iowa) – Volunteers across Iowa with an interest in pollinator conservation are needed for a new program that will help researchers track and monitor the state’s at-risk bumble bees. Stephanie Shepherd, a wildlife diversity biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says the Iowa Bumble Bee Atlas will recruit and train community scientists to survey and identify the dozen-plus species of bumble bees that live in our state.
“Participants will adopt an area and will go out a couple of times during the summer,” Shepherd says. “They can come to field days where they’ll learn how to actually handle the bumble bees, and be able to look at them up-close, and how to identify them. It’ll give us a look at where all these bumble bees are how abundant they are.” There are between 300 and 400 types of bees living in Iowa, but she says this survey will only focus on the state’s 14 species of bumble bees.
“They’re fairly easy to distinguish from other bees. They’re larger, they’re fuzzier,” Shepherd says. “Other than honey bees, they’re one of the only species that has a modified leg to carry pollen. So there’s just some structures that you can pay attention to that help you to say, okay, this is definitely a bumble bee.” There are two free training sessions scheduled this month for potential volunteers. Shepherd says bumble bees play an essential role in sustaining the health of the environment, from pollinating native wildflowers to flowering crops in farm fields and backyard gardens. Several species native to Iowa have undergone alarming declines, she says, and they face an uncertain future.
Xerces Society photo
“Iowa is home to the first federally-endangered bumble bee, the rusty patched bumble bee,” Shepherd says, “and then there’s a couple of other species in the state that are currently being considered that may need to be listed and have some protection. So we have some common species but we also have several species that are of concern, and this additional data will really help us move forward.”
The Iowa Bumble Bee Atlas is a collaboration between the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Iowa State University, and the Iowa D-N-R. Bumble Bee Atlas projects are underway in 20 states. Last year alone, more than 900 people helped to document over 20,000 bumble bees, and some volunteers discovered species previously thought to have vanished from their states.
Today: Sunny & breezy, with a high near 54. N winds @ 15-25 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 27. Tomorrow: Sunny, with a high near 58. E/NE winds becoming E/SE @ 5-10. Tom. Night: Partly cloudy & breezy, with a low around 33. Saturday: Sunny & windy, with a high near 61. Sat. Night: Windy. Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Low around 43. Sunday: Windy. Showers & possible thunderstorms. Becoming P/Sunny. High near 64. Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy & breezy w/a chance of showers. Low around 40.
Wednesday’s High in Atlantic was 56. Our Low this morning, 28. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 51, and the Low was 25. The All-Time Record High on April 4th in Atlantic, was 91, in 1929. The Record Low was 4, in 1899. Sunrise: 6:58. Sunset: 7:48.
(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has sent the governor a plan to extend post-pregnancy Medicaid coverage for new mothers and infants from 60 days to a full year. The coverage will be limited to families with incomes at or below 215 percent of the federal poverty line. Representative Devon Wood, a Republican from New Market, says that’s in line with surrounding states. “It would put us higher than South Dakota. It would put us higher than Nebraska,” Wood said. “It would put us comparable with Illinois and it would put us just under Missouri and Minnesota.”
The current two months of Medicaid coverage of post-pregnancy care is available to babies and their mothers in households with incomes 375 percent above the poverty line. Representative Heather Matson of Ankeny is among the Democrats who unsuccessfully urged Republicans to keep that higher income threshold for the expanded coverage. “At a time when maternal and infant mortality is on the rise, we should expand coverage for more women, not less,” Matson says.
House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst says with billions of dollars held in surplus accounts, the state can afford to extra seven MILLION dollars to help more low income families with a new baby. “And that’s frustrating because this isn’t an expensive endeavor and the cost is so high for not doing it,” Konfrst said, “the cost to moms and the costs to babies.”
Wood, the Republican who led debate of the bill, says she welcomes continued discussion about supporting more new moms, but the bill is an important step to expand post-pregnancy Medicaid coverage to a full year for uninsured mothers and babies. “This bill, as is, is imperative for those moms who need it most,” Wood says. “It would
still put us at 13th most generous (coverage) in the nation.”
A federal law approved three years ago gave states authority and funding to expand postpartum coverage in the Medicaid program. Iowa will soon join 47 states that have approved the expansion.
The Tri-Center Boys Soccer program is off to a running start. The Trojans have 23 participants out and are coached by Kelly Daugenbaugh.
Coach Daugenbaugh recapped on how his squad did last season.
In their young season Coach Daugenbaugh is already seeing improvements.
Coach Daugenbaugh said five of his players participated in club soccer in the offseason.
Coach Daugenbaugh said his big goal of the season would be to get his team into the state tournament.
The Trojans next soccer match will be at Atlantic Soccer Field in a non-conference matchup on Thursday April 4th. That game will get underway at 5:30 p.m.
The Tri-Center Trojans girls soccer season is off to a great start. The Trojans have 23 high schoolers out and are coached by Jeff Lefeber.
Coach Lefeber commented on well his squad has been doing this season.
Coach Lefeber said he was really in impressed how this team played in their season opening loss to Treynor.
Coach Lefeber says he wants to see all the Iowa Western Conference teams stronger this season.
Coach Lefeber talked about his expectations for this season.
The Trojans next match will be Thursday April 4th in a non-conference matchup, as they will host Atlantic at Neola City Park. That soccer match will start at 5:00 p.m.
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Senior forward, Sharron Goodman, is the recipient of the Elite 90 award for the 2024 NCAA Division-I Women’s Basketball Championship for the second year in a row.
Goodman, majoring in health studies, currently carries a 4.0 GPA and will be graduating this May. The Lime Springs, Iowa, native was presented with the award during the Salute on Wednesday evening in Cleveland.
The Elite 90, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 90 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s championships.
Eligible student-athletes are sophomores or above academically who have participated in a sport for at least two years with their school. All ties are broken by the number of credits completed. For more information on the Elite 90 award winners, log on to https://www.ncaa.com/elite-90.
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Drake graduate forward Grace Berg will participate in the 2024 Women’s College All-Star Game on April 6, joining other seniors from across the country in a nationally televised contest on ESPN2. The game will be held at 2:30 p.m. CT at the Wolstein Center on the campus of Cleveland State University in downtown Cleveland.
The Women’s College All-Star Game will provide 20 of the country’s brightest stars one final opportunity to represent their programs and be recognized against the backdrop of the sport’s championship weekend. Intersport, an award-winning Chicago-based agency that first launched a national women’s college basketball all-star event alongside the WBCA 25 years ago, will host the event.
Tickets for the Women’s College All-Star Game, which start at just $15, are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting the event’s website atwww.womenscollegeallstar.com.
Berg started all 35 games this year in her final season as a Bulldog. She averaged 16.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game while shooting .508 percent from the field, .343 percent from three-point range, and .817 percent from the free throw line. She also led the Bulldogs in total field goals. Berg earned two MVC Player of the Week awards and was selected as a First Team All-MVC performer. The Indianola native wrapped up her career in the top 10 on Drake’s all-time scoring list at No. 10 with over 1,800 points.
Grace will suit up for either Team Lieberman or Team Miller, which will be coached by Naismith Hall of Famers and basketball legends Nancy Lieberman and Cheryl Miller, respectively. The complete rosters for Team Lieberman and Team Miller will be announced the week of the event, while individual player commitments will be announced on a rolling basis in the coming days.
Follow the event and get the latest updates on roster news and other details by visiting the event website at www.womenscollegeallstar.com or byfollowing @IntersportHoops on Instagram and X.
Twenty-five years after launching a national women’s college basketball all-star event, Intersport has re-introduced the Women’s College All-Star Game as an annual showcase spotlighting the country’s elite players. These standouts, who will be exhausting their collegiate eligibility and are on the precipice of hearing their names called in the WNBA Draft, will have one final opportunity to represent their programs and be recognized against the backdrop of the sport’s championship weekend. Intersport launched the inaugural Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-Star Challenge in 1998, which the WBCA operated through 2006. Additional information on the event is available at womenscollegeallstar.com.
(Clarinda, Iowa) – The Page County Sheriff’s Office has released a report on arrests, citations and accidents that took place from March 15, 2024, through March 30, 2024. The complete report can be viewed in the following PDF link:
(Atlantic, Iowa; UPDATED) – A Public Hearing was held this (Wednesday) afternoon in Atlantic, with regard to the Proposed Maximum Property Tax Levy for Fiscal Year 2025. The Council heard only one objection, and that was from Atlantic resident Barbara Stensvad, who reiterated the “significant protest” she spoke of at the last meeting of the Atlantic School Board, during their Budget Hearing.
During the Council’s regular session that began at 5:30-p.m., Mayor Grace Garrett administered the Oath of Office to Atlantic Police Officer Brock Thompson, who was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. Thompson joined the A-PD in 2017, and currently serves as Driving Instructor, Standard Field Sobriety test Instructor, Field Training Officer, and Drone Pilot. Thompson served in the U-S Marine Corps from 2012 through 2016.
Atlantic Mayor Grace Garrett congratulates Sgt. Brock Thompson on his promotion.
In other business, the Atlantic City Council passed a Resolution “Authorizing and Combining Loan Agreements, Approving the Future Issuance of General Obligation Bonds and Providing for the Levy of Taxes to Pay the Same.” The 5-year, $800,000 bank note through 1st Whitney Bank & Trust, carries an interest rate of 4.5%, and will be used to fund segments of the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), including…$200,000 for Police Equipment & Vehicles, $230,000 for Fire Equipment, $100,000 for Library Equipment and Building Improvements, and $250,000 for Emergency Generators. A levy and the collection of taxes to pay for the CIP begins July 1, 2024, with a net annual sum of $184,780.
The Council passed an Order to Approve Second Amendment to Ambulance Services Agreement Between City of Atlantic, Iowa, the Cass Health System, Cass County Iowa, and Midwest Medical Transport Company. The agreement includes a subsidy fee of $40,000 per month from now through June 30, 2024, and an annual fee of $625,050 or $52,087 per month, from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025…an increase of 84.31%. City Administrator John Lund said voters in the County will have the choice in November, of approving a 75-cent increase in the County-wide tax levy and a small income tax to pay for the ambulance service, or vote “No.”
He said if the voters reject the proposed tax increase, the City would most likely have to resort to dramatic budget cuts to departments that cannot be sheltered through cost allocation through other funds, or it can borrow the funding to cover the annual payment, by paying for a new ambulance and equipment for Midwest Medical, for the City’s share of the agreement with the other taxing entities, which could result in a record-high property tax levy.
In other action, the Atlantic City Council passed a Resolution setting the date for public hearing on adoption of the FY 2025 Budget, as April 17, 2024. Lund said the budget reflects the Council’s priorities. FY 2025 expenditures, he said, amount to nearly $18.8-million. They also passed a Resolution “Approving Contract and Bonds for the 2024 Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project.”
The Council agreed to Terminate City Clerk Services Contract with Marne Effective May 31, 2024, and they passed an Order to Approve The Retail Coach Contract Extension, which had been Tabled during the last meeting. And, since the Council took no action on a motion to Approve a Professional Services Agreement with Barb Barrick to Temporarily Provide City Clerk Consulting Services for the City of Atlantic, a Resolution to that effect, failed. Councilperson Elaine Otte on the search for a new City Clerk…
In other business:
The Atlantic City Council passed a Resolution “Authorizing and Combining Loan Agreements, Approving the Future Issuance of General Obligation Bonds and Providing for the Levy of Taxes to Pay the Same.” The 5-year, $800,000 bank note through 1st Whitney Bank & Trust, carries an interest rate of 4.5%, and will be used to fund segments of the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), including…$200,000 for Police Equipment & Vehicles, $230,000 for Fire Equipment, $100,000 for Library Equipment and Building Improvements, and $250,000 for Emergency Generators. A levy and the collection of taxes to pay for the CIP begins July 1, 2024, with a net annual sum of $184,780.y.
The Council tabled a Resolution “Setting the Date for Public Hearing on a Proposed Ordinance Vacating the Street Located between 3009 Palm Street and 3101 Palm Street in the City of Atlantic, until they receive an update on the status of improvements to one of the properties included in the Right-of-way discussion.
Their final order of business, was to change the dates of the July 2024 Council meetings. The meeting will be held July10th and 24th, due to the fact the original meeting set for July 3rd, comes too close to the Independence Day holiday.
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
RSS