More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Creston Police say two arrests and four incidents were reported over the weekend. Taken into custody on Saturday (11/19), was 26-year old Joey Baxter, and 32-year old Paul Daniels,  both of Creston. Baxter was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center on a Union County warrant for Solicitation to Commit a Felony, and Dominion/Control of a Firearm by a Domestic Abuse Offender. He was being held in the Union County Jail on a $5,000 bond. Daniels was arrested at his residence for Domestic Abuse/Serious Assault, and Public Intoxication/2nd offense. His bond was set at $1,000.

Last Friday, Creston Police received a report from a woman living in the 1000 block of S. Sumner Street. The woman told authorities someone siphoned gas from her vehicle while it was parked in front of her home. The loss was estimated at $18. A resident of the 500 of W. Mills Street reported to Police someone broke into her vehicle sometime between 8-p.m. Thursday and 7-a.m. Friday. Taken from the vehicle was a wallet and bank cards. The loss was estimated at $360.

A Creston man reported to Police Friday, that sometime overnight Thursday into early Friday morning, someone entered his vehicle parked in the 1000 block of W. Adams Street, and stolen two pairs of Carhart long underwear, an Under Armor infrared camouflage suit, another camo suit, and camo bibs, along with $300 cash. The total loss was estimated at $900. And, a Creston woman told Police Friday, that sometime overnight, someone entered her vehicle and took her wallet, with $360 cash inside. The incidents remain under investigation.

The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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An ag industry analyst says the economic downturn is hitting all sectors of agriculture and virtually all Iowa farmers are feeling the brunt. Dave Miller, director of research and commodity services for the Iowa Farm Bureau, says every commodity is being impacted. “Corn prices are down more than half from where they peaked a couple of years ago,” Miller says. “Soybeans are down about 60%, hogs are down 45% from two years ago, cattle are down 35% this year. It’s across the board with all of the major commodities we produce here in Iowa.”

Miller says part of the reason for the economic drop is tied to large crops globally. “We really have had very few production problems for the last four years across the world,” Miller says. “That is leading to good growth in consumption but it’s continuing to build stocks as the production has continued to outpace production and that’s putting pressure on prices.”

Miller says it’s an unfortunate reality but the situation won’t likely improve until there’s some monumental natural disaster. “There is no big new demand on the immediate horizon, such as we had with the development of the biofuels industry a decade ago,” Miller says. “Coming out of this is probably going to happen because of weather problems someplace significant around the world.”

Miller says you don’t often get five years in a row without inclement weather impacting agriculture.

(Radio Iowa)

One person was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital following a house fire early this (Monday) morning, in Atlantic. Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon told KJAN News a woman living in the home at 204 E. 6th Street (Tammie Sempek) was transported to CCMH by private vehicle, to be checked out and treated for smoke inhalation. The fire was reported at around 1:20-a.m.

Atlantic Fire Chief Mark McNees acknowledged the residents’ statement that a space heater was the apparent cause of the blaze.

The structure was a total loss.

The flames were under control about 75 minutes after crews first responded to the scene. Crews were on the scene until just before 5-a.m. conducting mop-up operations. McNees said the incident should serve as a reminder to residents of the area to take precautions when using space heaters.

(He said respect the devices, have them plugged into a dedicated circuit and not extension cords. Make sure the heater is not near your bed, clothing or other combustible materials, and try to avoid leaving it running overnight.)

The incident is reminiscent of numerous fires that occurred in a short time frame a few years ago.

(He said efforts to educate the public since then were helpful, but McNeed reminds you the devices are still dangerous, even if they are brand new.)

Rolling Hills Bank and Trust in Atlantic is accepting donations for Tammie Sempeck, to help her recover from the loss of her home. For more information, call them at 243-2244, or stop by 1307 E. 7th Street.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 2:40 a.m. CST

CANNON BALL, N.D. (AP) — Law enforcement and protesters are in a new confrontation on the site of the Dakota Access pipeline in North Dakota. The Morton County Sheriff’s Office estimated 400 protesters were on a bridge trying to go north on state Highway 1806 late Sunday evening. Law enforcement had formed a line to prevent their movement. At least one person had been arrested.

WINDSOR HEIGHTS, Iowa (AP) — When the Des Moines suburb of Windsor Heights began considering installing sidewalks, officials were surprised their plans prompted packed meetings and protest signs. At a time when cities are encouraging active lifestyles for residents, intense opposition to sidewalks may seem surprising, but similar disputes are raging across the country in suburban neighborhoods built in the 1950s and 1960s. They were designed to be different from larger cities and many residents want to keep it that way.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Authorities are re-examining a 15-year-old shooting because an Iowa man wounded in the incident recently died from complications related to the gunshot wounds. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports police have reclassified the unsolved case as a homicide instead of an assault. Shawn Michael North died Aug. 30 at age 45.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — Police are investigating after a church sign in Mason City that promoted God’s unconditional love was vandalized with spray paint. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports this is the second time in the past year that the sign outside the First Congregational United Church of Christ was vandalized.

One person is dead, two others were injured in a crash Sunday afternoon in Mills County. The Iowa State Patrol says the driver of a 2001 Ford Windstar van, 80-year old Alice Campbell, of Hastings (IA), who was wearing her seat belt, died in the crash. The driver of a 2013 Hyundai Sonata, 55-year old Patti Jipsen, of Elliott, and a passenger in her vehicle, 53-year old Barbara Irwin, of Charleston, IL, were injured. Irwin, who was not wearing a seat belt, was flown by LifeNet helicopter to Creighton Medical Center, in Omaha. Jipsen, who was wearing her seat belt, was transported by Glenwood Rescue to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, in Omaha.

The Patrol says the car driven by Jipsen was traveling west on Highway 34 at around 4:50-p.m. in the left passing lane. For reasons unknown, her car crossed the center line of the road and struck Campbell’s eastbound van head-on in the eastbound lane. Following the crash, the van entered the south ditch and rolled onto its top, while the car came to rest in the westbound lane of Highway 34.

The accident remains under investigation.

One person was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital following a house fire early this (Monday) morning, in Atlantic. Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon told KJAN News a woman living in the home at 204 E. 6th Street (Tammie Sempek) was transported to CCMH by private vehicle, to be checked out and treated for smoke inhalation. The fire was reported at around 1:20-a.m. The woman told authorities a space heater was to blame for the fire that resulted in the structure being a total loss.  The fire was under control about 75 minutes after crews first responded to the scene, and mop-up operations had begun by around 2:35-a.m. (Click on the images to enlarge)

Rolling Hills Bank and Trust in Atlantic is accepting donations for Tammie Sempeck, to help her recover from the loss of her home. For more information, call them at 243-2244, or stop by 1307 E. 7th Street.

Photo’s by KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

This winter, visitors to the Museum of Danish America will be immersed in “The Whimsical World of Bjørn Wiinblad.” The exhibition, opening November 25 and running through May 30, celebrates the iconic Dane who threw midcentury Scandinavian minimalism out the window and was loved for it.

The exhibit has been adapted from the original, which was developed by the ARKEN Modern Art Museum in Ishøj, Denmark. Several large-scale pieces are on loan from Denmark alongside an assortment of works from private collectors across the US.

Wiinblad (1918-2006) is an artist who embraced it all – every medium and every color, from the handmade to the mass-produced. The exhibit samples his work with ceramics, theatrical costumes, posters, tapestry, and more. Most guests to the exhibit will recognize his characteristic smiling, round-faced people in vaguely 19th-century costume, such as those featured on his set of 12 Nymolle calendar plaques, among the most commonly seen collector’s items.

“Wiinblad believed that everyone should be able to have something beautiful in their home, and he happily collaborated with companies that offered affordable items to the public,” said the museum’s Albert Ravenholt Curator of Danish-American Culture, Tova Brandt, “He wrote that it was the quality, rather than the quantity, that defined good art – and he devoted as much effort to designing wrapping paper as his did to costumes for the Royal Ballet.”

Wiinblad’s career began in 1945, amidst the enduringly popular “Danish modern” design movement. Wiinblad injected fantasy and an almost cartoon-ish flair that created a perfect accent to all of the clean-lined furniture and modernist spaces of the time.

“Though Wiinblad’s style may look like a departure from the minimal, modernist aesthetic of the mid-20th century, his commitment to the democratization of art fits into the social values of the era,” commented Brandt.

Quite notably, the exhibit is accompanied by a 144-page publication created by ARKEN that is the most comprehensive volume of Wiinblad’s life and work ever published. (Copies are available through the MoDA Design Store for $22.) As part of its “Whimsical Winter” slate of activities to go along with the exhibit, the museum will be holding a special winter solstice celebration on the evening of December 21 with a cozy bonfire and activities to mark the shortest day and the longest night of the year.

From his most popular collectibles to unique examples of textile art, this retrospective exhibit engages both long-time and new fans of Wiinblad’s work. “The Whimsical World of Bjørn Wiinblad” is made possible by support from the Albert V. Ravenholt Fund, the Iowa Arts Council – a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, and The Danish Home of Croton-on-Hudson, NY.

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Exhibit webpage: http://www.danishmuseum.org/explore/exhibitions/whimsical-world-of-bjrn-wiinblad

A distracted driver is being blamed for an accident Saturday evening, in Red Oak. According to Red Oak Police, 36-year old Megan Sullivan, of Clarinda, was traveling west on Highway34 at around 5:50-p.m., and slowing to turn north onto N. 4th Street, and had come to a complete stop, when her 2011 Dodge Durango was struck from behind by a 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix. The driver of the car, 16-year old Noah Roberts, of Red Oak, told authorities he looked down at his cell phone “for just a second,” when his car hit the SUV.

Airbags on the Pontiac deployed upon impact. No injuries were reported. Damage from the collision amounted to $17,500, with the Pontiac said to be a total loss. No citations were issued.