AFTON, Iowa–The Iowa DNR received a call on Friday, July 2, 2021 regarding a milky white substance and chemical odor in an unnamed tributary that runs into Star Branch near the east edge of Afton in Union County.

DNR investigated the spill and found a milky white liquid flowing north in the small stream. Upon further investigation, a tile outlet located approximately 600 feet upstream had discharged approximately 250 gallons of Boundary herbicide.  It is believed to have come from the chemical shed at United Farmers Coop located in Afton, Iowa. Water samples were taken and will be analyzed.

A dirt berm was constructed downstream to contain the flow. An environmental contractor was contacted to assist with the cleanup. No dead fish were observed. The DNR will continue to monitor the site and consider appropriate enforcement action.

(Radio Iowa) – A donor is giving 300-thousand dollars to finance improvements at the Prairie Heritage Center in northwest Iowa. The center showcases Iowa’s tall grass prairie and features live buffalo. It’s located just off Highway 10, between Sutherland and Peterson. Gregg Struve says his donation is in honor of his parents Dan and Jean Struve. “My father was a county supervisor for 32 years here in O’Brien County and during his time the Prairie Heritage Center fundraising occurred to build the place in 2006. He was part of that, was very passionate that the center should be built down here in the southeast corner of O’Brien Country where it sits today.”

Two-hundred thousand dollars of Struve’s donation to the center is creating an endowment and the other 100-thousand is going into a fund named after his parents. There are nine miles of walking trails around the center, canoe access to the Little Sioux River and a building that houses educational displays about Iowa’s tall grass prairie. Abbie Parker, a naturalist with O’Brien County Conservation, says they are currently working on the design process for new exhibits.

“Hopefully an exhibit that will focus on the glacier times, you know, how our land was formed; Native American culture, which was super important to this area, and then how the prairie people got here as well,” she says ,”so having a sod house and a wagon that you can interact with as well as celebrating the flora and fawna of the local area as well as Iowa in general.”

Parker says they hope to start these projects in the spring of 2023. The center is open Wednesday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. and on Saturday afternoons from 1 to 4.

The 8:06-a.m. broadcast News from Ric Hanson.

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Additional details have been released with regard to a near head-on collision on Highway 71 Friday morning, just south of Galveston Road. The crash took place at around 10:37-a.m. Atlantic Police Lt. Paul Wood describes what happened.

The driver of the cargo van was identified as Michael Jones, from Nebraska. Both drivers were transported by private vehicle to Cass Health, to be checked for injuries.    Lt. Wood said they suffered minor bumps and bruises, a majority of which apparently came from the use of their seat belts. He said Guyer was cited for Passing in a No Passing Zone. Atlantic Fire and Rescue and Cass EMS responded to the scene.

The 7:05-a.m. broadcast News from Ric Hanson.

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(Radio Iowa) – Thousands are expected to hit the roadways to celebrate summer and our country’s independence this weekend. Iowa State Patrol spokesman, Sergeant Alex Dinkla, expects the predictions to be accurate. “The weather shows it’s not going to be too hot, not too cold. So I think we are going to have a lot of people who are traveling out to do recreational activities, as well as probably travel,” Dinkla says. Trooper Dinkla says one thing about the roadways hasn’t changed. “We continue here in Iowa to have a major problem with people speeding on our roadways. That’s something we’ve been pushing for months now — probably the last year and a half…we cant’ stress enough for people to slow down,” he says.

Iowa State Patrol spokesman, Sergeant Alex Dinkla

Dinkla says they don’t want to keep anyone from celebrating the holiday — but they do want to be sure you and everyone else is safe on the highway. “If you chose to go out and have some fun with some friends or some family this weekend — if you’ve had anything to drink…be responsible and find that designated driver. And just please don’t drive impaired. We want you to get home safe.” Dinkla says Troopers will be looking for signs of impaired driving. He says there have been five fatalities the last two years during the 4th, and four of them were alcohol-related.

Trooper Dinkla says wearing your seatbelt is important to keep you and your family safe if something were to happen on the roadways.

(Radio Iowa) – Some gas stations are having trouble getting their normal supply of fuel going into the holiday weekend. FUEL IOWA spokesman John Maynes says there is enough gas — it’s a matter of getting it delivered. “The issue isn’t the supply of gasoline or diesel fuel coming into the state of Iowa, it really is the issue of logistics and driver availability to shuttle the product to retail locations across the state,” Maynes says.

He says some outages happen as the demand picks up from holiday travel. He says it will be a temporary outage as distributors will be doing what the industry calls a “milk run” and dropping a partial load of gas at stations just to ensure they have some on hand.

He says those partial loads of gas can be enough in some cases and in others they aren’t. “You do run into situations — especially coming into a holiday weekend where demand is up — those smaller loads may not be sufficient until they can get a tanker back again,” according to Maynes.

Maynes says the gas shortage will most likely be the most visible during times of higher demand, but the actual shortage of truck drivers could be ongoing for some time as the industry looks to get younger workers learning the skill.

(COUNCIL BLUFFS) — Pottawattamie County Emergency Management Coordinator Doug Reed, late Friday night, reported  The Regional Water Rural Water Association had announced on their website, that affected customers would “very likely lose all water service entirely within the next few hours.”

Reed said also, the Shelby, Pottawattamie, and Harrison County Emergency Management Agencies have implemented emergency drinking water distribution plans for those who do lose water service and are unable to obtain drinking water. HyVee has donated over 100,000 bottles of water to the region that will be shipped in this evening.

Those customers impacted have Regional Water Customer Account Codes that begin with the following letters: A, C, CO, W, T, K, or P. Pottawattamie County residents with those customer account codes who have no access to drinking water should go to https://pcema-ia.org to register their need. The registry will ask for your contact information, address, customer code prefix identified above, and how many people are in your household. This information will help officials validate needs and estimate water quantities.

Impacted residents in Shelby or Harrison counties can contact their County Emergency Management Agency or monitor local media outlets for information on how to obtain drinking water in their area.

A boil order advisory remains in effect until further notice for impacted customers.

GREENFIELD, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation (DCI) today (Friday), said an autopsy was conducted on a body found July 1st in rural, southeastern Adair County. The cause and manner of death for the adult male found near the intersection of 320th and York Streets are pending further investigation by the Office of the State Medical Examiner. Additionally, the identity of the man is pending further investigation by the Division of Criminal Investigation Criminalistics Laboratory and notification of family members.

The Division of Criminal Investigation and the Adair County Sheriff’s Office continue the investigation into this suspicious death. Anyone with information as to the identity of the man or circumstances surrounding his death are asked to call Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater at 712-743-2148.

Additional information will be released when it is available.

(CORRECTION/Updated 5:15-p.m.) The Iowa State Patrol reports two people are dead and another was injured during a crash Friday morning, north of Massena. The crash happened at around 10:26-a.m. on Highway 148/750th Street. Authorities say a 2013 Fiat 500 driven by 69-year-old Juliana Krauth, of Massena, and a 2012 VW Jetta, driven by a minor under the age of 18 from Massena, were both northbound on Highway 148 just south of Oxford Road,  when for reasons unknown, the VW struck the Fiat in the rear, causing the Fiat to leave the road to the right. It rolled over and came to rest on the driver’s side within a creek.

The VW went off the road to the left and through a ditch before coming to rest on a fence. The driver – who was not wearing a seat belt – was transported to the Cass County Hospital by Cumberland Rescue, for treatment of minor injuries. Juliana Kauth and her passenger, 74-year-old David Krauth, also of Massena, died at the scene. Both were wearing their seat belts.

The accident remains under investigation.