Local News

In these times of economic recession and budget belt-tightening, Mills County is lowering its tax asking for next year, according to the county's 2009-2010 budget.

The county's tax asking is down slightly from last year's $5,652,813 to $5,486,731 this year, meaning Mills County's $12,461,544 budget is about $400,000 less than last year.

Not bad considering the current state of the economy and the fact the county didn't have to eliminate any programs, said Joe Blankenship, president of the Mills County Board of Supervisors.

About a year ago, Gary Cochran had an idea.

Cochran's 97-year-old grandmother had just passed away and his children, ages 2 and 4 at the time, didn’t really know their great-grandmother or really who she was from looking at old photos.

It’s a project that’s been talked about off and on for two decades in Glenwood.

An interpretive center that would compliment the Glenwood American Indian Earth lodge and serve as a tourist attraction for visitors interested in learning about the unique archeological history of the Loess Hills and the ancestral Plains Indians who once inhabited the region.

“The long-term goal is to establish an interpretive center where people can learn about the Glenwood Culture,” Mills County Conservation Board member Wayne Phipps said during a recent interview.

CeCe Spotts still can’t bring herself to drive by the scene.

Just an anonymous piece of concrete and gravel along northbound Interstate 29, not far from the 43 mile marker to most, to Spotts it’s where she lost her father.

Joseph Spotts was killed by a hit-and-run driver on June 1, 2008, while helping a friend who had run out of gas.

“I just don’t like driving on the interstate,” said Spotts, 22.