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Contract awarded to raise Missouri River levee in Iowa

News

July 11th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

HAMBURG, Iowa (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Omaha, Nebraska, says it has awarded a nearly $2.8 million contract to repair a Missouri River levee in southwestern Iowa.

The contract is build up the elevation of levee that was breached near Percival and Hamburg during historic flooding in March. The breach near Percival was closed last month and work to close the one at Hamburg is expected to be closed within days.
The contract to raise the levees from 2 to 4.5 feet goes to Weston Solutions Inc. of Chester, Pennsylvania.

The Corps says more than 500 miles of levees on the Missouri, Platte and Elkhorn rivers, as well as other tributaries, have experienced significant flood damage this year.

Gunshot victim, pursuit in Atlantic & a fight in the Jail – all in about 15-minutes

News

July 11th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(Update 7/12) — Law enforcement and emergency responders had a busy Thursday evening in Cass County. Rescue and law enforcement responded at around 7:04-p.m. to a report of an apparent accidental shooting in Lyman, where a male subject was shot in the neck during the misfire of a .9-mm handgun. He was transported to CCMH by Griswold Rescue. The incident remains under investigation.

A few minutes later, authorities attempted a traffic stop in Atlantic on a motorcycle that reportedly ran a stop sign. When the cycle took off a pursuit ensued. Authorities were not able to locate the motorcycle after losing sight of it.

And, at around 7:18-p.m., a fight between two inmates broke out in the Cass County Jail. Medivac Ambulance was called to assist in the treatment of one person who was injured. The person was transported to CCMH.

No other details are currently available.

UPDATE Thursday: Atlantic man set to appear in court for wire fraud & odometer fraud

News

July 11th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Upate: Fulk made his initial appearance on Thursday and was advised of charges/maximum penalties. A plea of not guilty was accepted. A trial date was set for September 9th. Fulk was released on conditions of pretrial release. A plea entry deadline was set for August 23rd.

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Documents filed in the U-S District Court for the Southern District of Iowa say an Atlantic businessman is set to make his initial appearance and be arraigned 10-a.m. Thursday in Council Bluffs, on three counts of Wire Fraud and 15 counts of Odometer Fraud.

According to court documents, beginning on an unknown date, but as early as October 2015, and continuing to about September 2016, Larry Scott Fulk, of Atlantic, and others, devised a scheme to defraud as to material matters and to obtain money and property by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises, and by intentional concealment of material facts.

The documents indicate that as part of the scheme, Larry Scott Fulk would purchase vehicles on behalf of 2nd Street Repair. He would then remove the odometer clusters from these vehicles and replace them with lower mileage odometer clusters. Afterward, Fulk would post and advertise the vehicles with false odometer clusters for sale on Craigslist on behalf of 2nd Street Repair, at an inflated price.

Craigslist servers are located in San Francisco, California, and Ashburn, Virginia. It was also alleged that Fulk would sell the vehicles with the false odometer clusters to individuals in Iowa, in exchange for money.

Cass County Public Health delivers Stop the Bleed Kits to SWITA

News

July 11th, 2019 by admin

L to R: Linda Edelman, RN, Cass County Public Health; Mark Lander, Transit Director, SWIPCO; John McCurdy, Executive Director, SWIPCO; Beth Olsen, Director, Cass County Public Health.

ATLANTIC- Cass County Public Health recently delivered more than one hundred Stop the Bleed Kits to Southwest Iowa Transit Agency thanks to funding from the Southwest Iowa Preparedness Partners (SWIPP).

Bleeding from a traumatic injury can lead to death in just a few minutes, well before medical help can arrive, which is why bleeding control kits and training is vital. To date, Cass County Public Health has trained more than 700 people on the Stop the Bleed Program and distributed more than 450 bleeding control kits for use in emergencies. Cass County Public Health trained more than 70 SWITA drivers and staff in April on the Stop the Bleed curriculum, which includes recognizing and controlling life-threatening bleeding through wound packing techniques and the use of tourniquets.

“We truly appreciate the training and the donation of the Stop the Bleed Kits. SWITA operates more than 100 vehicles in 8 counties in Southwest Iowa and by placing one of these in each of our vehicles and training our drivers in their use, we are not only helping our passengers, but anyone near a SWITA bus should a need for the kits arise.  No one ever wants to come upon the scene of an accident, but this donation puts many more tools out in the community where they can be of the most use,” said John McCurdy, Executive Director of Southwest Iowa Planning Council.

The kits were made available through SWIPP, which is a 12-county coalition that meets monthly with the purpose to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from incidents that affect the health of the population in the service area to decrease mortality and morbidity.

The Stop the Bleed campaign is a national initiative originating from the Department of Defense, Homeland Security, the White House, and other governmental and private agencies. The program is currently being championed by the American College of Surgeons-Committee on Trauma. The program is based on recommendations identified in the Hartford Consensus, which was a review of mass casualty and active shooter events. The program is designed to teach civilian bystanders basic hemorrhage control techniques.

Cass County Public Health offers free Stop the Bleed training for any interested groups, such as schools, churches, community groups, or businesses. Please call (712) 243-7551 for more information or to schedule your class today.

Gov. Reynolds announces appointments for Children’s Behavioral Health System Board

News

July 11th, 2019 by admin

DES MOINES – Today, Gov. Reynolds announced her appointments to Iowa’s Children’s Behavioral Health System Board. The board will facilitate the coordination of Iowa’s recently created Children’s Mental Health system, ensuring children will have access to the mental health services they need.

“I was proud to create a Children’s Behavioral Health System, where the path to healing is clearly marked and parents know where to begin so their child can get help. The Children’s Mental Health Board will take a leading role in improving the system for generations to come,” said Gov. Reynolds. “I look forward to working with this remarkable group of professionals who will make life-changing decisions for Iowans who need it most.”

The following appointments are subject to Senate confirmation in the 2020 legislative session:

Children’s Behavioral Health System Board

Scott Hobart, Davenport
Shanell Wagler, Panora
Okpara Rice, Marion
Andrew Allen, Huxley
Dan Cox, Sioux City
Melanie Cleveringa, Sioux Center
Peggy Huppert, Johnston
Mary Neubauer, Clive
Jason Sandholdt, Knoxville
Nathan Noble, Clive
Carol Meade, Newhall
Darci Alt, Redfield

Earlier this year, Gov. Reynolds signed HF690, a bill that creates and funds the first of its kind comprehensive Children’s Mental Health System. The bill follows recommendations from the first Children’s Mental Health Board, Gov Reynolds created by Executive Order in 2018.

Update on flood repairs for Iowa 2 in Fremont County

News

July 11th, 2019 by admin

Iowa DOT ATLANTIC, Iowa – July 11, 2019 – The Iowa Department of Transportation awarded a contract Thursday to Reilly Construction Co., Inc. of Ossian to begin emergency repairs to Iowa 2 west of Horse Creek in Fremont County. The winning bid for the project was $905,626.02 This area was overtopped by flooding in March and severely damaged by a second round of flooding in May.

The emergency repairs will restore limited mobility between Interstate 29 and the Nebraska border. Once opened, traffic will travel in a head-to-head pattern in the westbound lanes. This temporary solution is expected to be completed by mid-August.

Several options are being considered for permanent repairs to Iowa 2 that will reduce the chance that Iowa 2 will be overtopped by floodwaters in the future and have the potential to reduce impacts from that overtopping if it does occur.

For the latest in flooding information and recovery resources, as well as an image gallery showing the flood damage and recovery efforts go to https://floods2019.iowa.gov/.

Sweet corn is finally starting to arrive on Iowa street corners & farmers markets

Ag/Outdoor, News

July 11th, 2019 by admin

(Radio Iowa) The governor signed a proclamation naming Wednesday as “Sweet Corn Day” in Iowa as the first freshly-picked ears have started showing up. Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig (like egg) says it was good to see the sweet corn finally ready to go.

“Typically folks really try to hit something at market right before the Fourth of July — and we are running about a week, week and a half to two weeks behind — so you’re going to start seeing a lot more sweet corn available here on the street corners, and on the stands and at the farmers markets here. Good Iowa sweet corn coming your way,” Naig says. He says the sweet corn planting got set back by the same weather that hampered the field corn and soybeans from getting into the ground.

“You had cold and wet conditions that persisted and that initially caused our delays, and then what we sort of need after that is ideal growing conditions,” according to Naig. “For corn in the state of Iowa, we need some heat, we need some sun. humidity and lots of moisture. We’ve had all those things across the state — so it’s sort of been ideal weather conditions to bring this crop on fast.” Naig says you can see the impact of the weather as you travel the state by the different stages of development of the corn and beans. But he thinks the will all catch up.

He says you’ll see variability because the crops didn’t get planted in the ideal conditions, with wet weather that led to compaction and other issues. “But, there are parts of this state that look great, they got in in good shape. As long as we can get the weather to cooperate, I think we’ll bring this crop on fast,” Naig says. When it comes to the sweet corn — Naig has his preferred method for eating.

“A typewriter strategy on sweet corn,” he says, “and the other thing I’ve just got to have is butter. . You have to have some real butter on that sweet corn. But, yeah, typewriter all the way.” The typewriter method is eating from one side of the ear to the other and then staring over. The other strategy is rolling the ear as you eat it. Naig and Governor Kim Reynolds each had an ear of fresh sweet corn cook on the steps of the state capitol. Reynolds also prefers the typewriter method.

CAT grants approved for Council Bluffs, WDM, Cascade, Iowa City

News

July 11th, 2019 by admin

(Radio Iowa) Four projects have won Community Attraction and Tourism grants from the Enhance Iowa Board. Iowa Economic Development Authority spokesperson, Jessica O’Riley, says a grant of 400-thousand dollars was approved for the Iowa West Sports Plex in Council Bluffs.

The total project cost is more than eight-point-three million dollars. Another sports facility — the MidAmerican Energy Company RecPlex in West Des Moines — won a grant..

Cascade won a grant of 228-thousand dollars to build a new swimming pool to replace their old pool.

The whole project will cost a little more than three-point-three million dollars. The final project is indoor project in Iowa City known as the FilmScene. O’Riley says the 320-thousand dollar grant will help fund the one-point-five million dollar project.

O’Riley says these projects will all have a big impact on their communities.

The board approved the awards at its meeting Wednesday in Des Moines.

Atlantic School Board discusses details with FRK Architects on facility upgrades

News

July 11th, 2019 by admin

The Atlantic School Board met on Wednesday evening in the high school media center and a big portion of the discussion focused on the facility upgrade projects that are in the works after the April bond issue was passed. Some preliminary mocks-ups have been put together for the high school sports complex and the baseball and softball complex. Superintendent Steve Barber said they are working on making decisions to get the projects closer to bid-letting.

The plan all along has been for the 2020 baseball and softball seasons to be missed with upgrades to the fields and surrounding buildings but Superintendent Barber said they have considered turf options that would potentially speed up the process.

The fields need to be torn up in order to change the layout of the complex and to fix some elevation issues.

Mr. Barber said they plan to meet with the steering committee next week to go over the plans and make sure all the necessary details are added to move the project forward.

The Board also took action on a number of contracts and resignations that were on the agenda and Mr. Barber wanted to thank Tony Wiley for his long tenure as a teacher in the Atlantic district.

The Board also heard a special presentation last night from the School Improvement Advisory Committe about a new program called “A Portrait of a Graduate.”

The Board also talked about bond proceed investment with local banks and approved the school handbook for this upcoming year.

Iowa DOT Motor Vehicle Enforcement leads the way for Operation Safe Driver Week

News

July 11th, 2019 by admin

ANKENY, Iowa – July 11, 2019 – Summer travel season is in full swing. With the increased traffic comes an increased emphasis on sharing the road with all types of vehicles and showing off those safe driving behaviors.

Starting July 14, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance is promoting a nationwide law enforcement focus on safe speed as part of Operation Safe Driver Week. The Iowa Department of Transportation’s Motor Vehicle Enforcement officers, in coordination with the Iowa State Patrol, will be conducting several targeted enforcement projects around the state in a continued effort to reduce crashes and positively impact driver behavior, particularly in and around commercial vehicles such as semis.

As the number of miles traveled by both commercial and non-commercial vehicles increase, analysis of data has helped safety professionals pinpoint areas where more focus on safety is needed. To increase the effectiveness of Operation Safe Driver Week’s targeted enforcement, the locations were selected by analyzing data using the “Heavy Truck Crash Tool”  developed by Iowa State University Institute for Transportation.  This tool allows law enforcement and traffic safety staff to evaluate crashes involving trucks and identify trends and factors that contributed to these crashes.

Using this data, Motor Vehicle Enforcement and Iowa State Patrol officers will be teaming up to watch for both commercial vehicle drivers and how non-commercial vehicles behave around commercial vehicles.  They will focus on speed, distracted driving and seat belt usage. Unmarked vehicles and Iowa State Patrol aircraft may be utilized.

Dates and locations of the enforcement activities include:

Monday, July 15 – Winnebago, Hancock, and Sioux counties.
Tuesday, July 16 – Interstate 80/35 urban loop in Des Moines, Iowa 141 near Granger, Grimes area and Dallas County.
Tuesday, July 16 – Greenhill Road area / U.S. 218 in Waterloo.
Wednesday, July 17 – I-35 north and southbound Worth County.
Wednesday, July 17 – Mills and Fremont counties.
Thursday, July 18 – Johnson County/Iowa City area