(Radio Iowa) – Some agreements between public schools and local libraries would be blocked under a bill approved by Education Committee in the Iowa House. Library bookmobiles would be barred from school property and the bill prohibits schools from letting students use school I-Ds to access books and other materials from public libraries. Katherine Bogaards with a group called “Protect My Innocence” says the bill is needed to stop Iowa schools from going around a state law that bans school libraries from having books with sexually explicit content. “It closes the loopholes and ensures schools remain accountable to parents, accountable to the taxpayer, transparent to the public, and compliant with the law,” she said.

Republican Representative Brooke Boden, of Indianola, says the bill reinforces the 2023 law she and other legislators passed after learning kids and teens were able to check out books with graphic sexual content from some school libraries. “Reading is so important,” Boden said, “but we also don’t want our kids reading literature that they’re going to need counseling for for the rest of their lives either.” Representative Elinor Levin, a Democrat from Iowa City is a former public school teacher who opposes this year’s bill, especially the ban on bookmobile visits to public schools. “Watching the bookmobile pull up at my local elementary school, there is no greater delight that I see on children’s faces, other than maybe running around a snow day,” Levin said. “It is incredible and it is powerful and I cannot think of a reason to take that away.”

Other critics say the bill would create barriers for students in schools that don’t have libraries or have limited book collections. Christopher Rants, a lobbyist for Des Moines Public Schools, says five of the district’s schools do not have libraries and about 12-thousand middle and high school students use their school I-D cards at Des Moines Public Libraries. “The Des Moines Public Schools has listened to what we’ve been told by the state: Be more efficient. You know, you’ve got to compete. Do more with less, eliminate duplications, find ways to be efficient,” Rants said, “so that’s what they’ve done.”

Representative Heather Matson, a Democrat from Ankeny, says the Huxley Public Library operates as the library for middle school students in the Ballard School District. “This lessons the burden to property taxpayers, both through school taxes and city taxes,” she said. Representative Helena Hayes of New Sharon says Republican legislators will try to find a way to let SOME of those agreements continue, but the bill is meant to reinforce guardrails. “The public schools and the public libraries operate on different standards and different rules,” Hayes said, “so to bring in a separate organization like that — a public library into the school — would be to have it functioning under other rules.”

The bill as currently written prohibits Iowa schools from entering into any agreement with a public library that would let students use a school I-D to access ANY books, electronic resources or other educational materials at the public library.

• On Sunday, February 1st, Cass County Deputes arrested 45-year-old Erin Renee Jensen, of Griswold, for Possession of Controlled Substances. Jensen was transported to the Cass County Jail and later released on her own recognizance.
• And, on Monday, February 3rd, 2026, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office arrested 55-year-old Georgenia Renay Chamberlin, of Atlantic, along with 41-year-old Derik Wayne Bud Pickrell,  of Fontanelle. Both were charged with the Trafficking of Methamphetamine (5- grams to 100-kilograms). Both were booked into the Cass County Jail. Chamberlin was later released on bond. Pickrell remained in custody as of the latest report.

(Atlantic, IA) – Atlantic Mayor Rob Clausen, Jr., Wednesday night, in his report to the Atlantic City Council, he’s still adjusting to his new role as Mayor, along with various boards and committees.

Clausen was elected to the center seat on the Council, last November, and took over from Grace Garrett, who chose not to run for re-election. He said with a chuckle, he hopes as time goes by, he can begin scaling-back on all the meetings he has to attend. In the Council Committee reports, Councilman Jim Behrens mentioned the Atlantic Fire Department is looking into the possibility of obtaining a new ladder truck with the expanded capability to place firefighters in areas where they otherwise wouldn’t be able to reach by a standard ladder truck.

Atlantic CC mtg. 2-4-26

He said they had a house donated to the department for fire training. And, Councilman Dana Halder reported on a recent meeting of the Cass County Landfill Commission, and a presentation from officials with Metro Waste Authority and their proposal.

And, Councilperson Elaine Otte reported on a grant opportunity she learned about during a meeting of the Volunteerism Task Force.

Volunteer Iowa, she said, will give the provide a $4,000 grant to carry out whatever the City/County does to promote volunteerism on a day of service.

Otte said some examples of would engage volunteers in the city-wide clean-up, and maybe something associated with the Parks and Rec Department. The whole idea is to build-up the volunteer force in the City and County. More information is expected within the next few weeks.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill tabled in the Iowa House would have eliminated Iowa’s 34 volunteer boards that coordinate local early childhood services, with the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services taking over the system. Supporters of the Early Childhood Iowa boards say they ensure services are tailored to the specific needs of kids in their communities.

McKinley Bailey is executive director of the Early Childhood Iowa board for Hamilton, Humboldt and Wright Counties. He says state officials don’t understand how the boards function. “If you pull all of this out of there, you are ripping apart a system and they have never taken the time to figure out what they’re blowing up,” Bailey said. “They don’t even know the basics of what we do and how we do it.”

The volunteer-led Early Childhood Iowa boards support programs and activities in their areas that focus on children under the age of six. Officials in the Department of Health and Human Services argued having the agency take over would ensure more efficient and consistent services for young Iowa children. Republican members of a House subcommittee say they want to find ways to improve the system, but they don’t support the agency’s bill.

(Atlantic, IA) – The Cass County ISU Extension Office in Atlantic is now taking appointments for FREE preparation of 2025 Taxes for qualifying taxpayers through the VITA Program. Appointments in February and March will be at the Extension Office on the Fairgrounds in Atlantic. The IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, offers free basic tax return preparation to qualified individuals. The VITA program has operated for over 50 years. VITA sites offer free tax help to people who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns, including:

• Households that generally make $69,000 or less per year
• Elderly
• Persons with disabilities; and
• Limited English-speaking taxpayers
• Full information on what types of tax preparation the VITA Program can assist with is available by visiting the IRS website at https://www.irs.gov/individuals/free-tax-return-preparation-for-qualifying-taxpayers.

While the IRS manages the VITA program, VITA sites are operated by IRS partners and staffed by IRS-certified volunteers who want to make a difference in their communities. VITA services are not only free, they are also a reliable and trusted source for preparing tax returns. All VITA volunteers who prepare returns must take and pass tax law training that meets or exceeds IRS standards. This training includes maintaining the privacy and confidentiality of all taxpayer information. In addition to requiring volunteers to certify their knowledge of the tax laws, the IRS requires a quality review check for every return prepared at a VITA site prior to filing. Locally, volunteers are trained and supported by the Iowa Center for Economic Success. Find more information about documents needed for tax preparation at https://theiowacenter.org/taxservices/

In addition to benefiting eligible taxpayers, the VITA program also benefits local communities by helping low-income taxpayers access special tax credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Child Tax Credit, and Credit for the Elderly or Disabled. In Iowa, the average Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) refund is $2,311, and almost 20% of eligible Iowans do not access this credit. When taxpayers claim this credit, local economies get double the benefit, as every EITC dollar claimed results in up to $2 in local economic activity!

Please call the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132 to schedule your appointment. We have limited dates available in February and early March of 2026, and appointments will be offered on a first-come basis. For more information on the VITA program in Cass County or other local Extension programs, visit www.extension.iastate.edu/cass.

(Red Oak, IA) – The Red Oak Police Department reports no one was injured during a collision Tuesday afternoon. Authorities say 89-year-old Nicholas Couse, of Red Oak, was leaving the parking lot of the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital at around Noon on Tuesday. He looked, but failed to see an approaching SUV driven by 18-year-old Thomas Wilcoxen, of Red Oak, that was traveling east on Senate Avenue.

When Couse pulled-out of the parking to turn left onto Senate Avenue, his car struck the SUV broadside behind the front tire. Both drivers denied injury. Damage from the collision amounted to a police-estimated $3,000 altogether. Both vehicles were driven away from the scene. Red Oak Police cited Couse for Failure to Yield Upon Entering a Highway/Street.

(Creston, IA) – Two people were arrested on separate charges, Wednesday, in Creston. According to the Creston Police Department, 19-year-old Michael Robert Goodall, of Creston, was arrested at the Creston WalMart store, at around 2:30-p.m., for 5th Degree Theft. Goodall was cited and then released from the scene on a Promise to Appear in court.

And, at around 11:30-p.m., Wednesday, Creston Police arrested 20-year-old Alec Steven Belter, from League City, Texas. Belter was charged with Operating While Under the Influence 1st Offense. He was taken to the Union County Jail and later posted bond before being released.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Poison Control Center is seeing an uptick in calls about carbon monoxide poisoning as many of us are indoors most of the time, with our homes and offices sealed up from the cold. Poison Center spokeswoman Janna Day, a licensed practical nurse, says she hasn’t heard of any carbon monoxide deaths in the state this winter, but there -have- been plenty of poisoning cases. “Carbon monoxide is actually known as the silent killer because it is invisible, and it’s odorless, and it’s tasteless,” Day says, “and you don’t know that it exists in your home unless you have a carbon monoxide detector.” Day says several home appliances are the most common causes of carbon monoxide poisonings.

“That could be something like your water heater, your furnace, your fireplace, stoves,” Day says. “When fuels like gasoline or natural gas are burned, we get carbon monoxide as a byproduct. If those appliances in your home aren’t well maintained, you might get a carbon monoxide leak.” Some appliances should never be used inside, like generators. If your house loses power, position the generator at least 20 feet away from your home. Day says another big risk for carbon monoxide poisoning comes from something many Iowans do frequently during the winter.

“If you want to start your car to warm it up in the morning — or any time of the day — when it’s cold, make sure that you’re not doing that inside your garage, even if your garage door is up,” Day says. “You would want to make sure that your car is outside of your garage because that carbon monoxide can come into your home.” Warming up a snow blower in the garage could create the same risk. Day recommends getting annual check-ups on your furnace and having at least one carbon monoxide detector in your home, and better yet, at least one on each level.

The Sioux City-based Iowa Poison Control Center responds to more than 23,000 cases each year and makes more than 50,000 follow-up calls to ensure patients remain safe. More than half of all cases involve children under the age of 19. The round-the-clock number is 800-222-1222.