(Radio Iowa) – Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra says if he’s elected governor, he’ll pursue changes in special taxing districts designed to spur development. Iowa cities and counties create these “tax increment financing” districts and property taxes for the targeted business or industry are frozen at the pre-development level. The property taxes collected based on the improvements at the site go into a fund used to pay off city or county bonds for things like roads and sewers installed to attract the development. “There’s constructive ways to use it,” Feenstra said, “and there’s also a lot of abuses.” Feenstra says some local officials have chosen to make the districts permanent.

“What you’re going is usurping money, taking money away from your school districts, from your county and your city when you put things in a Tax Increment Financing area,” Feenstra says. “And there’s a way to do this and yet allow allow some TIF to grow because we need that economic growth lever in some of these communities.” Feenstra says tax increment financing districts are useful and sometimes critical in rural areas of the state trying to attract commercial development. “I was a city administrator for eight years in Hull. It’s a small town,” Feenstra said. “I understand small business. I understand how property taxes work.”

Tax increment financing was enacted in Iowa in 1969 to help cities develop blighted, rundown neighborhoods. It was expanded to all 99 counties in 1985. City and county officials say the districts are a valuable way to finance the infrastructure needed to attract new businesses. Critics cite abuses, like Altoona’s decision to create a tax increment financing district for a Bass Pro Shop superstore or districts that finance road improvements around wind farms.

(Atlantic, IA) – A representative of the Apex Energy/Coyote Willow Wind farm project, Tuesday, updated the Cass County Board of Supervisors on the status of the wind turbine farm affecting Audubon and Cass Counties. According to the company’s website, based on transmission capacity and local wind data, Coyote Willow Wind has the potential to generate up to 400 megawatts of clean, homegrown Iowa energy, enough to power up to 151,000 U.S. homes.

Coyote Willow Wind Public Engagement organizer Cory Eberling said the company is actively involved in becoming part of the communities in both counties.

He told the Supervisors also, the company delivered holiday turkeys and hams to food banks in Cass and Audubon Counties, and has awarded STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) grants that help to build healthy communities.

In other news, Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken updated the Supervisors on Secondary Roads Department maintenance and activities. He mentioned a bridge deck was being poured south of Massena on Rockport Road. Another bridge deck was being poured on 620th Street, north of the County line. He said also, the County received an award last week for the amount of asphalt that was poured during various project work in the Cass County.

He said also, work on the middle and south sections of County road N-28 is finished.

The Cass County Supervisors received a monthly report, Tuesday, from Cass/Guthrie County Environmental Health Director Jotham Arber. He said their crews have wrapped-up their seasonal percolation tests for new septic systems.

The big thing they’re working on, he said, is a request for funding proposal (RFP) to the State to try and get funding for new radon testing units.

The devices cost the department $50 each. Homeowners can also find them online.

He says the devices are simple to set-up and operate. Arber says if they get the grant, they can place one device in anywhere from 10-to 100-homes in each county the department serves.

(Atlantic, IA)  – The Atlantic Rotary Club is reminding 2026 graduating seniors of Atlantic Community School, that scholarships are available through the Atlantic Rotary Club. The Club will award six (6) $1,000 scholarships to graduating seniors from Atlantic High School, distributed across three educational pathways:

• Four-Year College or University:
  Two (2) $1,000 scholarships will be awarded to students planning to attend a four-year college or university. To be eligible, students must be enrolled in a four-year college or university on or before October 1, 2026, the year in which the scholarship is awarded.
• Community College:
  Two (2) $1,000 scholarships will be awarded to students planning to attend a community college and pursuing an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree. To be eligible, students must be enrolled in the program on or before October 1, 2026, the year in which the scholarship is awarded.
• Vocational or Technical Institution (New This Year):
  New this year, the Atlantic Rotary Club will award two (2) $1,000 scholarships to students planning to attend a vocational or technical institution. Applicants must be pursuing a program certificate, diploma, or license and must be enrolled in the program on or before October 1, 2026, the year in which the scholarship is awarded.

Applications are available on the Atlantic Community School website and must be postmarked by March 30, 2026. Completed applications should be mailed to:

Atlantic Rotary Club
PO Box 82
Atlantic, IA 50022

For more information, contact Rotarian Dolly Bergmann at 712-249-9275 or via email at bsktcola@gmail.com.

(Greenfield, IA) – The Adair County Board of Supervisor’s today (Wednesday) received the County Compensation Board’s recommendations for FY27 elected officials’ compensation. Jayne Lents, a member of the Compensation Board, says their recommendation essentially amounts to a four-percent across-the-board increase.

The Supervisors acknowledged receipt of the recommendations for consideration during the budgeting process. In other business, the Board approved:

• A 2026 ISAC Wellness Agreement (renewal), and
• A raise for Secondary Roads employee Mason Barkley, upon recommendation by County Engineer Nick Kauffman.

Kauffman presented also, his weekly report on Secondary Roads Department maintenance and activities, which includes a just shy of 22-inch thick slab for a bridge deck that’s being poured on the North 7 Eureka bridge. He said he’s working with Mid-American Energy with regard to an agreement for Orient wind turbine roads and related project construction.

Mid-American, Kauffman said, is paying for the road work. Kauffman said also, he’s been busy working on his department’s budget, and he has been researching the cost of a new motor grader.

Kauffman mentioned a lot of the counties around Adair County have gone to all-wheel drive, when ordering their motor graders, which is more expensive, but the machines come with more horsepower and added weight, which helps when it comes to traction.

(Creston, IA) – No injuries were reported, but a woman was cited, after a car crashed into a house Tuesday afternoon, in Creston. According to the Creston Police Department, 61-year-old Nickie Rae Stovie, of Creston, told investigating officers that she was trying to pull into the parking spot near 505 Maple Street at around 4:05-p.m., but the 2012 Suzuki SX 4 she was driving went over the curb and down a hill before hitting the residence owned by Ronald Beasley, of Creston.

While speaking with Stovie, officers detected an order of a consumed alcoholic beverage coming from her. Stovie initially denied having consumed alcohol, but then changed her story. An empty shooter-style bottle of alcohol was located by police under the front passenger side seat of the vehicle. Police gave Stovie a Standard Field Sobriety Test and Preliminary Breath Test, which registered a Breath Alcohol Content of under .08% (the legal limit for intoxication).

Stovie was cited for Open Container and Failure to Maintain Control. Her vehicle sustained a police-estimated $6,000 damage, and was declared a total loss. The house sustained an estimated $4,000 damage.

(Creston, IA) – An Adair County man was arrested Tuesday morning on drug charges, in Creston. According to Creston Police, 57-year-old Jack Howard Davis, of Orient, was arrested at around 9:50-a.m.  Davis was charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and two-counts Possession of Controlled Substance/3rd or Subsequent Offense. Davis was taken to Union County Jail, and later posted a $10,300 cash or surety bond, before being released.

And, at around 1-p.m. Tuesday, Creston Police arrested 62-year-old Michael Clyde Miller, of Creston, for Driving While License Revoked. Miller was cited and released from the scene of his traffic stop, on a Promise to Appear in court.

(Red Oak, IA) – Two men from Red Oak were arrested Tuesday, on separate charges. According to the Red Oak Police Department, 22-year-old Michael Daniel Hohl was arrested at around 6:30-p.m., on a valid Montgomery County warrant for Failure to Appear on two counts of Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor (Serious Misdemeanors). Hohl was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 cash-only bond.

And, Police in Red Oak arrested 30-year-old Matthew Henry Paulsen at around 4:40-p.m., Tuesday, on charges that include Driving While Suspended (Simple Misdemeanor), and Possession of a Controlled Substance/2nd offense (Aggravated Misdemeanor). His bond at the Montgomery County Jail was set at $491.25.

(Red Oak, IA) – A man from Red Oak was arrested on two active Montgomery County warrants, Tuesday night. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports 49-year-old Michael Lee Lafollette was arrested at around 8:55-p.m., in Red Oak. He was taken into custody on warrants for: Failure to Appear on an original charge of Trespass/3rd offense; and, FTA on original charges of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Violation of a No Contact/Protective Order. Lafollette was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a total cash-only bond of $4,000.

(Atlantic, IA) – Cass County Auditor Kathy Somers reports the Cass County Board of Supervisors, acting as the County Compensation Board, will meet at 9-a.m. on Friday, Dec. 19 (2025), to act on the Compensation of Elected Officials. The Board will:

• Compare compensation rates for the Auditor, Treasurer, Recorder, Sheriff, County Attorney and Supervisors, to comparable officers in other counties of the state, private enterprise and the federal government, in accordance with the Code  of Iowa.
• Set the compensation schedule for county elected officials for Fiscal Year 2027.

The Compensation Board will also act on the Compensation of County Clerks, Assistants and others:

• Discuss general compensation rate changes for the individuals who work in those positions, and
• Establish recommended parameters for use by department heads, related to the budgeting process.

The Comp Board’s meeting will be held in the Supervisor’s Board Room inside the Cass County Courthouse, in Atlantic.