The Iowa Transportation Commission approved the annual update to the five-year plan for road improvements Tuesday. The director of the D-O-T planning and programming division Stuart Anderson says they’ll spend a little more once again this year. He says it’s a three-point-five Billion dollar plan, which is a 300 million dollar increase over last year. “And that increase is primarily due to the passage of the federal transportation authorization bill that provided some additional funding for improvements. And then of course this increase comes on the heels of the program that the commission approved last June which had a 500 million dollar increase over the previous program as a result of the legislative action to increase the fuel tax.”

A big slice of the money approved is going toward bridges. “About a third of that three-point-five Billion is going for bridge improvement or bridge construction across the state of Iowa,” Anderson says. He says the amount of money spent on bridges has steadily increased and the number of structurally deficient bridges on the state highway system has been reduced from 256 in 2006 to 81 in 2015. They have prioritized the bridges to decide which ones will get worked on first in the next year.

“Certainly the bridge conditions plays a role in that prioritization, as does the amount of travel on that bridge and type of travel,” Anderson says. “And also as it is coordinated with other projects — and in different parts of the state that may impact schedule as well. So, it’s a combination of factors.” The plan adds a new year of projects each year as projects are completed, and some major projects carry over.

“The interstate construction in Council Bluffs and Sioux City has been underway and continues in this program. We also have four-lane construction of U-S 20 in western Iowa in this program, and also U-S 30 in Tama and Benton Counties. Also, U-S 61 four-lane construction down in southeast Iowa is included in the program,” according to Anderson. The D-O-T planners put together the estimated cost of the projects before they are approved by the Transportation Commission. Anderson says they’ve been fortunate that the final bids have been better than expected.

“For the last several years….the bids have come in below the programmed amounts. That has resulted in additional funding coming available for more projects to be programmed,” Anderson says. You can see the complete list of projects in the plan in this story at www.news.iowadot.gov.

(Radio IOwa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:30 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a northwest Iowa ethanol plant owner has pleaded guilty to failing to pay employment taxes and dumping ethanol into a stream. Randy Less, of Hopkinton, was charged in January with failing to collect and pay to the government federal income, Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld from the wages of employees of Permeate Refining.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Court of Appeals says two men convicted of second-degree murder for their involvement in the mob beating death of a Des Moines man in a downtown parking lot in 2013 will get new trials. The court’s ruling filed Wednesday says new trials are necessary for James Shorter and Yarvon Russell to determine their role in the death of 40-year-old Richard Daughenbaugh.

ALTOONA, Iowa (AP) — An IRS report says that a central Iowa casino owes up to $60 million in back taxes and penalties. The Des Moines Register reports that Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino’s board of directors released a 93-page IRS report Wednesday that threatens to revoke its tax exempt-status and a letter protesting federal agency’s actions. Casino officials learned about the IRS’ plans to take away its tax-exempt status May 12, following a year-and-a-half investigation.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A Cedar Rapids highway currently under construction appears on track to open ahead of schedule. Cedar Rapids television station KCRG reports that the first half of the Highway 100 extension could open by Thanksgiving. It had been scheduled to open sometime next year, with the entire project to open in the fall of 2018.

The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday evening paid tribute to the Atlantic High School spring athletic program participants and coaches. Mayor Dave Jones explained why he wanted to take the time to officially recognize those youth and their coaches.

Jones said “All you hear about youth is bad news, and all you hear is complaints about kids today are gonna run this country to hell, blah blah blah. When I was a kid and everybody elses’ kid, you heard the same thing about us, too. We all kind of survived someway making it through.” He said also, the quality of our youth is exemplified by how they represent the City at sporting events, and it makes him proud.

“You have youth out here doing good things, and you don’t hear about that very much. You get a little in sports a little recognition here and there. This time we [wanted to say] ‘Thank you guys for what you’re doing.”

Members of the Atlantic City Council, Atlantic Coaches and their track, golf and soccer squad members. (Ric Hanson/photo) – click on the photo to open another page then click again to enlarge the image.

The Council heard from the boys and girls golf, track and soccer coaches, who spoke about their successful year, and what we can look forward to from the returning students. They also introduced the members of their squads who were able to attend the Council meeting. The group then took a picture with members of the City Council.

5th Ward Councilman Richard “Dick” Casady, who was an assistant under former Atlantic Coach Don Jenkins, said he knows how much work it takes to be a champion. He said “You ought to be real proud of yourself, pat yourself on the back if you don’t break your arm. Congratulations to all of you.”

CASS-ADAIR-ADAMS-UNION-TAYLOR-RINGGOLD- POTTAWATTAMIE-MILLS-MONTGOMERY-FREMONT-PAGE COUNTIES…

…HEAT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM TO 7 PM CDT THURSDAY…

* TEMPERATURE…HEAT INDEX VALUES WILL RISE TO 100 TO 105 DEGREES THURSDAY AFTERNOON…DUE TO THE COMBINATION OF HIGHS IN THE MID 90S…WITH DEWPOINTS AROUND 70.

Heat Advisory for counties in orange from 1-to 7-pm Thursday, 6/16

* IMPACTS…HEAT-RELATED ILLNESSES WILL BE MORE LIKELY FOR THOSE SPENDING TIME OUTDOORS THURSDAY.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… A HEAT ADVISORY MEANS THAT A PERIOD OF HOT TEMPERATURES IS EXPECTED. THE COMBINATION OF HOT TEMPERATURES AND HIGH HUMIDITY WILL COMBINE TO CREATE A SITUATION IN WHICH HEAT ILLNESSES ARE POSSIBLE.

DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS…STAY IN AN AIR-CONDITIONED ROOM…STAY OUT OF THE SUN…AND CHECK UP ON RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS AND PETS. TAKE EXTRA PRECAUTIONS…IF YOU WORK OR SPEND TIME OUTSIDE. WHEN POSSIBLE…RESCHEDULE STRENUOUS ACTIVITIES TO EARLY MORNING OR EVENING. KNOW THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF HEAT EXHAUSTION AND HEAT STROKE.

WEAR LIGHT WEIGHT AND LOOSE FITTING CLOTHING WHEN POSSIBLE AND DRINK PLENTY OF WATER. TO REDUCE RISK DURING OUTDOOR WORK…THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDS SCHEDULING FREQUENT REST BREAKS IN SHADED OR AIR CONDITIONED ENVIRONMENTS. ANYONE OVERCOME BY HEAT SHOULD BE MOVED TO A COOL AND SHADED LOCATION. HEAT STROKE IS AN EMERGENCY…CALL 9 1 1.

School’s out for the summer, but hundreds of Iowa science teachers are going back to class over the next few days. Iowa Department of Education spokesperson Staci Hupp says they have teamed up with Grand View University to work with teachers on the new science standards adopted last fall. “We call this an immersion institute — and what that means is we want educators to really have an opportunity to experience what it would be like to be a student in the classroom using the new science standards,” Hupp says.

They’ve brought in national and state science education leaders to work with the teachers on ways to teach using the new standards. She cites an example of one of the lessons. “They’ll have the teachers looking at field corn that has been siting out versus corn that has been sitting in water soaking for a week and then the scientific phenomenon associated with that. So, this really gets to idea of helping students experience and explains science, ” Hupp says. “So in that field corn example — this is saying as a student I am going to observe this as a scientist would — ask questions, and then use my knowledge and skills to explain why the field corn won’t sprout after it has been sitting in water for a week.”

This is the second year of the four-year implementation of the new science standards, which take a new approach to teaching science. “Our previous science standards were based on learning from the late 1990s, and so much about science and our understanding about how students learn about science has changed over that time,” according to Hupp. “The new standards identify those science and engineering practices and content that students should master in order to be prepared for success in college and the workforce.” The institute is designed to give teachers ideas to use in their classroom.

“What we want people to walk away with is to look at our science standards and say ‘what are some local contexts that I can use to spark interest in my students so that they want learn about it,’ and then use critical thinking skills to explain it and potentially solve the scientific problem,” Hupp says. She says the Department of Education is trying to help districts as they decide how best to implement the new standards.

“The standards articulate expectations for what students should know and be able to do at particular grade levels, but its really up to the local schools to make those curriculum decisions. Including decisions about what is taught and how it is taught,” Hupp says. The institute takes place over three days, with elementary teachers taking part today (Wednesday), middle school teachers tomorrow and high school teachers Friday. It is being held at West Des Moines Valley High School.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Three finalists have been announced for the New Food Contest at the Iowa State Fair.  Fairgoers can vote on them Aug. 11-15. The winner will be announced Aug. 16. The finalists are Ice Cream Nachos, Not Your Mamma’s Taco and Pride of Iowa Wrap.

The nachos are described as crisp cinnamon sugar chips covered with cinnamon ice cream drizzled with hot fudge and caramel and sprinkled with chocolate, caramel and strawberries. It’s topped with nuts, whipped cream and a cherry. The taco is made from a deep-fried flour tortilla that’s layered with shredded turkey and veggie slaw and topped with mango salsa. The wrap uses a jalapeno-cheddar tortilla with pork shoulder, corn salsa and bacon bits. It’s layered with cheddar jack cheese, avocado relish, chipotle aioli and crispy tortilla bites.

The driver of a pickup truck swerved to miss a deer Tuesday night in Page County, causing the vehicle to go out of control and rollover. The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports 44-year old Steven Wayne Falk, of rural Essex, was traveling in his 2012 Ford F-250 pickup, when he swerved to avoid a deer. The vehicle went out of control, into a ditch, and rolled onto its top. The accident happened in the 1400 block of C Avenue, about a mile west of Essex. Authorities were notified about the crash, just after 10-p.m., Tuesday.

No injuries were reported. Damage to the pickup was estimated at $48,000. No citations were issued.

The owners of a company that wants to build a massive pork processing plant in Iowa are looking at multiple Iowa communities after the project failed to win approval in Mason City last month. Ron Prestage, president of of Prestage Farms, says he’s gotten interest from nearly 20 other Iowa cities and is giving each of them fair consideration. “We had 19 communities in Iowa that contacted us after the Mason City vote,” Prestage says. “We’ve gotten through eight or nine of those communities that we have looked at their sites. We intend to look at all of the sites where people have expressed an interest in talking to us about locating the plant there.”

Prestage says there are several Iowa communities that look to be a good fit for their project, but that they want to avoid the opposition they faced in Mason City by the activist group Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. “We’ve already seen some sites that appear to be very attractive,” he says. “We’ve made it very clear to everybody that we do not want to see a repeat of what occurred in the circus in Mason City. The Mason City people we were dealing with were very, very professional and respectful. We really are unhappy about how that got somewhat hijacked by ICCI.”

Prestage says for the most part, his company has gotten a good reception from Iowa officials, and that’s part of the reason the state is the company’s first priority for the processing plant. “We’ve been treated very well in Iowa by the state government and all of the regulatory agencies we obviously have to deal with,” Prestage says. “If possible, we would prefer to build this plant in Iowa and I’ve been very honest with the adjoining states that have expressed an interest in the plant as well.”

The North Carolina-based Prestage Farms pork processing facility is a 240-million-dollar project that would employ up to 2,000 workers and process 10,000 hogs a day.

(Radio Iowa)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The Omaha Public Power District is set to vote on whether to close the nation’s smallest nuclear power plant in Fort Calhoun, which is located across the Missouri River from Iowa. The Omaha World-Herald reports that the district board will vote on the fate of Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station on Thursday.

Once closed, a nuclear plant must undergo a decommissioning process to remove or decontaminate materials and equipment that have been exposed to radioactivity. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission requires decommissioning to be completed within 60 years of a plant’s closing.

Cleaning up the site after its closure is estimated to cost about $1 billion. Power district President and Chief Executive Director Tim Burke has recommended using a decommissioning method that would give the utility the full 60 years to let radioactivity at the plant decay naturally and to fully dismantle the plant.

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

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