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Iowa Storms

News, Weather

May 25th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Strong thunderstorms rolled across Iowa, Tuesday, bringing strong winds, hail and heavy rain.

The National Weather Service says wind gusts of 60 mph were reported Tuesday afternoon near Jamaica in Guthrie County, where a grain bin and a shed were damaged. In central Iowa, power lines are down in Woodward. In Grimes, trees were snapped and a front porch was damaged.

Earlier Tuesday, storms dumped heavy rain in eastern Nebraska. In Omaha, up to a 1/2 inch fell around noon. In Atlantic, we received one-quarter of an inch of rain Tuesday, from about 1:30 to 2:15-p.m. The rain came down in sheets and was accompanied by brief, gusty winds. Overnight, through 5-a.m., we picked up an additional .97”, for a total of 1.22.”

Forecasters say a strong and slow-moving system is affecting the Midwest, and will continue to do so until tonight (Wednesday). A Wind Advisory will be in effect from 4-p.m. today through 4-a.m. Thursday, for Cass, Adair, Adams, Guthrie, Dallas, Madison, Taylor, Ringgold & Union Counties. Winds of 15-to 30 miles per hour, with gusts up to 45 can be expected in the Advisory area.

In addition, a Flood Advisory is in effect for the Missouri River affecting Douglas and Sarpy Counties in Nebraska, and Pottawattamie County, in Iowa until Monday morning….and, a Flood Warning is in effect for the Missouri River in Mills and Fremont Counties through at least Saturday morning.

New top executive chosen to lead Boy Scout council

News

May 25th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The Boy Scout council that serves eastern Nebraska, western Iowa and the corner of South Dakota has chosen a new top executive. The Mid-America Council says Eric Magendantz will become the council’s top professional on July 1. He will replace Lloyd Roitstein who is retiring after 40 years with the council.

Magendantz has led the Chester County Council in West Chester, Penn., since 2007. He has been with the Boy Scouts of America since 1993 and has also held jobs in Florida, Maine, Connecticut and Delaware.

The Mid-America Council serves 31,000 youth in 58 counties in the three states, and it is supported by nearly 8,000 volunteers.

Elk Horn, IA residents arrested after drug bust

News

May 25th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office says two Elk Horn residents were arrested on drug charges Monday afternoon, following the execution of a search warrant at 2107 Washington Street, in Elk Horn.

22-year old’s Gregory Frazer and Lucas Spangler face aggravated or serious misdemeanor charges of Prohibited Acts, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and a felony charge of Manufacturing a Controlled Substance.

During a search of the men’s residence, authorities took into evidence material used to manufacture a controlled substance. Frazer and Spangler were brought to the Shelby County Jail and later released after posting $5,000 bond, each.

New Parks & Rec Director Announcement expected

News

May 25th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

The City of Atlantic’s Parks and Recreation Board will hold a special meeting today at Noon to announce the hiring of a new Parks & Rec Director. The person named will succeed Travis Garrett, who announced in March his resignation, effective June 23rd.

Today’s meeting takes place at the City Hall in Atlantic.

05-24-2011 Backyard and Beyond

Podcasts

May 25th, 2011 by admin

Lavon speaks with Lisa Riggs of the Danish Windmill about Tivoli Fest coming up!
Play

Western IA banker sentenced to 18 months

News

May 24th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A former Woodbine banker has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to making a false statement to influence the action of a bank’s loan committee. The U.S. Department of Justice says 59-year-old Kenneth Waite was sentenced May 20 in U.S. District Court in Council Bluffs. Waite was indicted on 50 financial counts in August 2010. He pleaded guilty to one of the charges in January.
He was accused of making a false loan application to his former employer, Commercial Federal Bank, to obtain a $2.3 million line of credit for a financially distressed customer. He funneled funds into the customer’s account by altering bank records to increase funds available to other customers and transferring funds from those loans into the customer’s account.

Measles Reported in Central Iowa

News

May 24th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Public Health has confirmed a case of the measles in a central Iowa resident who flew from Chicago to Des Moines earlier this month, and officials are looking for people who may have been exposed, the department said Tuesday.

The discovery is being treated as a public health emergency because measles spreads easily and can cause serious illness or even death. Symptoms of the measles include a cough, runny nose, pink eye and fever, and a rash can often develop a day or two later, said Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, the department’s medical director.

Local and state health officials are trying to determine who the unidentified Dallas County resident may have exposed to the illness so they can be checked and treated if needed. They’re looking for anyone who took a late-morning flight on May 11 from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago and visited the main terminal and baggage area in Des Moines.

Officials also are seeking those who visited the Mercy Central Pediatric Clinic and the Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines on May 14. “You can walk into a room where somebody with the measles left two hours before that, and you’re still exposed,” Quinlisk said. “You can imagine what could happen at a hospital, a mall, an airport.

The Center for Disease Control is working with officials in Chicago to track down anyone who may have been exposed there, department spokeswoman Polly Carver-Kimm said. Officials want to ensure that anyone who visited those areas have received measles and mumps vaccines. Health officials said anyone who has not had measles before or has not adequately responded to two doses of vaccines – which amounts to less than 1 percent of the population – can catch the illness if exposed.

Two to three people out of 1,000 who get measles die from the disease, which is easily spread through the air. Prevention is critical because there is no treatment for the illness, authorities said.

Adair County Board of Supervisors to hold public hearing

News

May 24th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

The Adair County Board of Supervisors will hold their regular weekly meeting Wednesday morning, in Greenfield. Among the items on their agenda is a public hearing on a Fiscal Year 2011 budget amendment. The 9:30-a.m. hearing will be followed by action on a FY 2011 Budget Amendment Resolution, and Amended Appropriations Resolution. The meeting begins at 9-a.m.

Atlantic man arrested on warrant

News

May 24th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

The Atlantic Police Department reports 36-year old Steven Root, of Atlantic, was arrested Monday. Root was taken into custody on a charge of Driving While Revoked for O.W.I Test Failure, and on a Cass County warrant for Failure to Appear. Root was booked into the Cass County Jail and held pending a court appearance.

FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT TONIGHT & WED.

News

May 24th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

FLOOD WATCH
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE
110 PM CDT TUE MAY 24 2011

...LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN POSSIBLE THROUGH EARLY WEDNESDAY...

.A STORM SYSTEM OVER COLORADO WILL MOVE INTO THE PLAINS TONIGHT
AND WEDNESDAY...MEANWHILE AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE IN CENTRAL
NEBRASKA AND THE TEXAS PANHANDLE WILL MOVE INTO NORTHEAST KANSAS
AND SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA. PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS
WILL EXACERBATE THE FLOODING POTENTIAL OVERNIGHT AND EARLY
WEDNESDAY. ONE TO LOCALLY THREE INCH RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL BE
POSSIBLE THROUGH MIDDWAY WEDNESDAY THUS A FLASH FLOOD WATCH HAS
BEEN ISSUED.

IAZ043-055-069-079-090-NEZ015>018-030>034-042>045-050>053-065>068-
078-088>093-250215-
/O.NEW.KOAX.FF.A.0001.110524T2300Z-110525T1700Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
MONONA-HARRISON-POTTAWATTAMIE-MILLS-FREMONT-THURSTON-ANTELOPE-
PIERCE-WAYNE-BOONE-MADISON-STANTON-CUMING-BURT-PLATTE-COLFAX-
DODGE-WASHINGTON-BUTLER-SAUNDERS-DOUGLAS-SARPY-SEWARD-LANCASTER-
CASS-OTOE-SALINE-JEFFERSON-GAGE-JOHNSON-NEMAHA-PAWNEE-RICHARDSON-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ONAWA...MISSOURI VALLEY...
COUNCIL BLUFFS...GLENWOOD...SIDNEY...PENDER...NELIGH...PIERCE...
WAYNE...ALBION...NORFOLK...STANTON...WEST POINT...TEKAMAH...
COLUMBUS...SCHUYLER...FREMONT...BLAIR...DAVID CITY...WAHOO...
OMAHA...BELLEVUE...SEWARD...LINCOLN...PLATTSMOUTH...
NEBRASKA CITY...CRETE...FAIRBURY...BEATRICE...TECUMSEH...AUBURN...
PAWNEE CITY...FALLS CITY
110 PM CDT TUE MAY 24 2011

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM CDT THIS EVENING THROUGH
WEDNESDAY MORNING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN OMAHA/VALLEY HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF IOWA AND NEBRASKA...
  INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING AREAS...IN IOWA...FREMONT...HARRISON...
   MILLS...MONONA AND POTTAWATTAMIE. IN NEBRASKA...ANTELOPE...
  BOONE...BURT...BUTLER...CASS...COLFAX...CUMING...DODGE...
  DOUGLAS...GAGE...JEFFERSON...JOHNSON...LANCASTER...MADISON...
  NEMAHA...OTOE...PAWNEE...PIERCE...PLATTE...RICHARDSON...
  SALINE...SARPY...SAUNDERS...SEWARD...STANTON...THURSTON...
  WASHINGTON AND WAYNE.

* TIMING...THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING.

* AMOUNTS...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL OF 1 TO 3 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE
  THROUGH MIDDAY WEDNESDAY.

* IMPACTS...MANY OF THE LOCAL RIVERS AND STREAMS ARE ALREADY
  RUNNING HIGH DUE TO RECENT RAINS...ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAIN
  TONIGHT MAY LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS MAY DEVELOP THAT LEAD
TO FLASH FLOODING. FLASH FLOODING IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION.

YOU SHOULD MONITOR LATER FORECASTS AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION
SHOULD FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS BE ISSUED.