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Atlantic Parks & Rec Advisory Board receives Harl Holt park update; Schildberg Trail Mileage Signs & Sunnyside Pool pump

Ag/Outdoor, News

March 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City of Atlantic’s Parks and Rec Advisory Board met Monday afternoon. During their regular monthly session, the Board received an update from Parks and Rec Coordinator Jeff Christensen, with regard to the Harl Holt Park “Pour and Play” playground safety equipment and installation.

Christensen said the advantage of the Pour and Play safety product over wood chips, is that it doesn’t dissolve, and is long-lasting.

Christensen reported also, a new pump and sand for the Sunnyside Pool have been ordered.

Atlantic Parks & Rec Advisory Board meeting, 3-20-24 (Left to right: Jeff Christensen, Ali Pieken, Kevin Ferguson, Mike McDermott, Dolly Bergmann, Emily Kennedy, and (Center) Rich Tupper.

The Parks Advisory Board received a request from Carrol Garrett, for a model solar system to be installed at the Schildberg Recreation Area, dedicated to memory of her husband John.

Christensen said some initial discussions have taken place about where sculptures of the planets could be located.

While the big picture will eventually be hashed-out, the Parks Advisory Board the budget should be set at no more than $6,000. And, Frank Saddlemire reported to the Advisory Board that a couple of distance signs for the Schildberg Recreation Area that had been installed years ago, became very weathered and faded. They had been removed. Saddlemire missed them, and graciously donated new signs to replace those that were outdated and removed.

The signs are specifically designated for each end, with mileage included from each point.

On another note, the Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department and the Atlantic Animal Shelter will host their annual Easter Egg Bone Hunt on March 30th. The event takes place at the Buck Creek Dog Park in Atlantic, beginning at 10-a.m. Dogs will hunt for eggs with treats in them, and the cost to participate is $1 per dog. Proceeds go to the Atlantic Animal Shelter. All dogs must be on a leash, and dogs should be up to date on their vaccinations. Owners should bring a bag to carry all the treats their dogs find, and prize drawings will also be held during the event.

Woman accused of lighting fire on porch after no answer at ‘friend’s’ house

News

March 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Burlington, Iowa) – A Burlington woman is facing criminal charges for lighting a fire on the porch of house she believed was her friend’s. According to the Burlington Police Department, the incident occurred just after 4:30pm on March 19, 2024. The resident of 2224 Vineyard in Burlington called DESCOM after she received an alert of motion from her security camera. The resident, who was not home at the time, watched video from her security camera as a woman lit a fire on the resident’s porch. The resident said she did not know the woman and had never seen her before.

Officers from the Burlington Police Department and Burlington Fire Department were dispatched to 2224 Vineyard and when they arrived, they found Michelle Young, 46, standing on the porch. Young told officers her friend lived there and admitted to setting a fire on the porch. Young told officers the items she set on fire were miscellaneous items she picked up while walking in the area.

Michelle Young (Burlington PD photo)

Officers were able to view the video from the security camera and positively identified Young as the person who had started the fire. Michelle Young was arrested and during her arrest, officers discovered Young was in possession of drug paraphernalia. The fire department quickly extinguished the fire and there was minimal damage to the porch.
Young was charged with Reckless Use of Fire, a serious misdemeanor, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, a simple misdemeanor.

Bill to help Perry Schools recover advances in Iowa Senate

News

March 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Television Iowa Capitol Bureau) – After January’s shooting, the Perry Community School District reached out to other schools that dealt with similar tragedies. They found many staff members often decide to leave. A bill passed by the Iowa House would allow the Perry Community School District to give teachers a bonus to come back next year. The bill also waives certain state requirements for the district like some standardized testing, graduation, and hours of instruction.

The bill passed the House in a 94 to 1 vote. Over in the Senate, it passed out of the Ways and Means Committee Wednesday afternoon. It can now be brought up on the Senate floor for a vote.

Johnson County Sheriff’s Office: Iowa DCI assisting in inmate death investigation

News

March 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation is looking into the death of an inmate in the Johnson County Jail after an apparent medical emergency last week. According to a release from Johnson County Sheriff Brad Kunkel, 36-year-old Nathaniel Davis Jr. was booked into the jail on March 10 to serve a seven-day sentence. On March 14 at approximately 6:10 p.m., Davis had an apparent medical emergency, and a deputy watching a camera monitor saw Davis fall over in his cell. When jail staff responded to Davis’ cell and determined he was having a medical emergency, they began CPR and applied an automatic external defibrillator. An ambulance was also called at this time.

Davis was transported to University of Iowa Hospital, where he died on March 19. According to Kunkel’s release, his office has requested the DCI investigate the incident. An autopsy will be conducted by the Johnson County Medical Examiner’s Office and the State Jail Inspector has been notified.

Some of the world’s best women billiard players compete in Iowa tourney

News, Sports

March 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – While many Iowans are excited about this week’s start of the college basketball tournaments, another tournament in a different sport will be held in Iowa starting today (Thursday). Daryn Hamilton of Fairfield is vice president of the W-P-B-A board of directors, that’s the Women’s Professional Billiard Association. Hamilton says the Fairfield Invitational is bringing 48 of the world’s most talented professional women billiard players to the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center.”They’re literally coming from around the globe,” Hamilton says. “Of the 48 players, maybe 30 of them are from here in the United States and different locations, but we have people coming from China. We have people coming from Europe, Bulgaria. We’ve got a gal coming from Germany.”

Spectators are expected from all over, too, as these women are among the best of the best and they’ll be competing simultaneously on six tables. “We have a couple of younger players,” Hamilton says. “One is a gal by the name of Savannah Easton. She’s 14 years old, she’s from Las Vegas, Nevada, and she’s ranked number 10 right now in the WPBA.” The youngest player in the tournament is a 12-year-old whose nickname is “Sure Shot” and Hamilton says the name fits as she doesn’t miss. This event is all about billiards and there will -not- be T-Vs set up so people can watch the basketball tournament. Still, there’s free wi-fi in the convention center, so Hamilton suspects there will be people watching hoops on their phones.

Kelly Fisher, from the UK, won the Fairfield tourney in 2021. (WPBA photo)

“I knew that I would be competing against them,” Hamilton says. “The very first time I put this on, I did it in August which was the same time that another really big event was going on here in the state of Iowa — the State Fair.” Think you’re pretty good at shooting pool? You can try and prove it at this event, as Hamilton says there will be a pro-am meet and greet. “You’ll be put on a team with three other people and one pro,” Hamilton says, “and you’ll be able to play in a scotch-format nine ball with that pro against another team with three amateurs and a pro.”

The tournament runs through Sunday and will feature some of the best women in the sport, including Kelly Fisher from England. Fisher, known as the “Duchess of Doom,” won the tournament the last time it was held in Fairfield in 2021.

Most bloomed flowers won’t be hurt by return to cold

Ag/Outdoor, News

March 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa)- I-S-U Extension horticulture specialist Aaron Steil says plants that started popping out or blooming early in the recent above-normal temperatures should be okay as the cold returns.

“Most plants that come out relatively early in the spring, especially things like our spring bulbs like daffodils and tulips, they tolerate below freezing temperatures, especially in the upper 20s, fairly well and often come through with very little if any damage,” Steil says. He says temperatures well below normal would impact how the plants bloom. “Down into the lower 20s or teens then yeah, those flowers probably would be damaged and it would cut the bloom time short,” he says, “but many of those plants that bloom early in the spring are used to kind of fluctuating spring temperatures and can tolerate light freezes with very little damage.”

Steil says there are a few things you can do to protect smaller plants. “With perennials or spring bulbs, we might put an extra layer of mulch around them to protect them from some cold or even put a frost blanket over, and that’s not really practical or possible with larger plants like trees and shrubs,” he says. “And so, the good news is that they fare just fine long term. It’s just they get some damage, they see shorter flowering, they may have to send out a second flush of leaves because the first flush was damaged.” Steil says it is not fun to have the time you can enjoy spring flowers cut short.

“That’s always hard to see and disappointing, especially if flower shows are cut short,” he says. Steil says the good news is those flowers will be back next year.

Pott. County man arrested in Red Oak, Wednesday night

News

March 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A traffic stop at around 9:15-p.m. Wednesday, in Red Oak, resulted in the arrest of a man from Pottawattamie County. Red Oak Police report 24-year-old Austin Keith Shannon, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at the intersection of N. 8th St. and Highway 34, for Driving While License is Denied, Suspended, Canceled or Revoked. Shannon was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on bond amounting to $491.25.

Proposed constitutional amendment for a flat income tax

News

March 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Republicans on a Senate committee are advancing a proposed amendment to the Iowa Constitution that would make a single-rate “flat tax” the only legal kind of state income tax. The proposal cleared the Senate Ways and Means Committee with yes votes from the 11 Republicans on the panel, but none of them publicly discussed the proposal. Senator Herman Quirmbach of Ames is one of the six Democrats on the panel who voted against it.

“By flattening the income tax, which you’re principally going, what you’re doing is reducing taxaction on high income earners,” Quirmbach said. Iowa has had a graduated income tax for decades, with higher rates for Iowans earning higher incomes. Quirmbach says in a few years the state will have to raise other taxes, like the sales tax, if the state income tax is permanently flattened to one single rate.

“What cuts in services are you proposing? What increases in other taxes are you proposing?” Quirmbach asked. Senator Cindy Winckler, a Democrat from Davenport, says Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania are the only states that have a flat income tax requirement in their state constitutions.  “They all have quite different make up of industries and revenue streams,” Winckler said. “We can’t identify that one size certainly fits all.”

Under current law, Iowa’s individual income tax is scheduled to shrink to a flat rate of three-point-nine percent by January of 2026. Governor Reynolds has proposed a lower rate, to take effect retroactively to January 1st of this year. The governor has also said her ultimate goal is to eliminate the state income tax by January 1st of 2027.

Atlantic City Council approves SplashPad construction bid & award of contract

News

March 20th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday (March 20), reviewed bids for construction of the Atlantic Splashpad, and awarded a contract for the project to the Henley Group, LLC, in Muscatine. Their bid was $552,084, which was below the engineer’s estimated cost of $611,328, or $59,244 less than expected.

Snyder and Associates Engineer Dave Sturm said the Henley Group has completed four similar projects, with other such projects under contract. The company came highly recommended when their references were checked-out. Sturm said they plan on getting construction underway beginning this Summer, with complete by the end of the Summer.

Mayor Garrett hugs City Clerk Barb Barrick

In other business, Atlantic Mayor Grace Garrett presented City Clerk Barb Barrick with a plaque for her service to the City. Barrick’s last day is Friday. She has accepted a position with the City of Huxley. The Council tabled a Resolution approving a professional services agreement with Barrick, that would temporarily provide City Clerk Consulting Services to the City.

The Council, upon recommendation by the City’s Personnel & Finance Committee, approved the appointment of Rich Tupper as Acting City Clerk.

Rich Tupper sworn-in as Acting City Clerk

The Council also passed an Order to Adopt a Memorandum or Understanding (MOU) between the City and the Nishna Valley YMCA, for 2024 management of the Sunnyside Pool, and a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the AFSME Council 61, with regard to City Employees represented by the Union. They tabled, however, a contract extension with Retail Coach, until a City-proposed renewal fee can be presented to the retail recruiter for their approval. Retail Coach had proposed a $15,000 contracted for their services, with $10,000 up-front.

The City proposes the $15,000 be broken into three payments: $5,000 up-front, $5,000 after a three-month review, and the last payment after a six-month review.

Atlantic resident says junk properties are running “amok”

News

March 20th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic City Council, this (Wednesday) evening, heard from an Atlantic resident with regard to junk – illegally parked vehicles, campers and utility trailers and tires – which says she said has “run amok in the City.” The woman acknowledged there is a process in-place to deal with issues such as those she described, and that it’s most likely a “Very tedious process to cite people for the ordinance violations,” junk related.

She asked the City to become more aggressive in dealing with personal vehicles, ATV trailers and so on, parked on the grass, in some cases for months at a time. She said she “Doesn’t want the City to run around and clean up just because 20,000 RAGBRAI ® riders are coming.” She said her concern is with the people who come to the City on a daily basis to shop, eat and visit persons in the hospital or nursing homes. She asked what type of impression the City is leaving with those people. “I want to make the best impression that we possibly can, so I would plead with you to be more aggressive because I feel our City is run amok with the amount of ordinance violations.”

Cole Loward (foreground) and Kris Erickson talk to the Atlantic City Council (3-2024) Ric Hanson photo

She said the City should get the word out that is not “going to be complacent with all these ordinance violations. It hurts our property values, it’s hurting out community.” Code Enforcement/Animal Control Officer Kris Erickson she has conducted several property inspections and Code Enforcement Office Cole Lowary, said they recently abated a property to the tune of $700, which was billed to the property owner. Erickson said she and Lowary, along with two Street Department employees, cleaned-up the property of person who refused to do so. “Most of what we’ve written-up lately, they’ve complied. So, we are seeing compliance with people,” even with the swings in the weather and temperatures.

Erickson said if they are notified of a potential ordinance violation, she and Lowary have five-days to investigate it. Each case is documented with photographs. If the complaint is deemed valid, then they must wait seven-days to see if the property owner takes care of the eyesore, under most circumstances. If the issue continues, the owner receives a notice of violation.  In that case, the problem area must be cleaned-up within two-weeks. The timeline is different for properties with a dangerous structure. Anything extreme that causes “Danger, stress [or] discomfort to the public, it is a nuisance. Those we deal with as quickly as we possibly can.”

If an abate is conducted (Property clean-up) by the City, the property owner has 30 days to pay the bill, or it will be assessed to their property taxes. Erickson said if a reported property violation is not visible from a City right-of-way, “we can’t write it up, because we cannot trespass. If we send a notice stating we are going to be there if they don’t, that is not trespassing,” because they were fully informed Code Enforcement was going to be there. “If a neighbor gives us permission to access their backyard to be able to see an issue they’re reporting, we can use the neighbors property. We cannot walk on their property to write-them-up, so if it cannot be seen by a street, alley or sidewalk, our hands are tied.”