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Griswold School Board to meet with Lewis City Council Wed. evening

News

January 15th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Members of the Griswold Community School District’s Board of Education will hold a joint meeting 6:30-p.m. Wednesday, with the Lewis City Council. The purpose of the meeting in the Griswold Middle School/High School Library, is to hear proposals from individuals who have expressed interest in purchasing the Lewis Elementary Facility, and to select a proposal to move forward in the sale process. A period of public input on the proposals will follow both presentations prior to discussion and a possible selection of a proposal.

Man taken to hospital after fire at northeast Iowa house

News

January 15th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

EVANSDALE, Iowa (AP) — Firefighters battling a house fire in northeast Iowa have pulled an unconscious man to safety. Evansdale firetrucks were sent to the home around 3:20 a.m. Tuesday after a neighbor called 911 to report smelling smoke. Evansdale Fire Chief Ryan Phillips says the man was found in the living room of the one-story structure and was taken to a hospital. His name hasn’t been released. The fire cause is being investigated. It appears to have started in the kitchen.

(Podcast) KJAN 8-a.m. News, 1/15/2019

News, Podcasts

January 15th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

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

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Sioux City officials consider $16M riverfront project plan

News

January 15th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Sioux City officials are considering a $16.4 million plan for its riverfront, though there are concerns there’s not enough parking space. The Sioux City Journal reports that architecture company SmithGroup JJR presented council members with the updated plan Monday. Landscape architect Tom Rogers says the plan includes interactive structures that light up and change color. The plan also includes open green spaces, pavilions, overlooks, a basketball court, a dog park, a playground and a fishing pier platform. Rogers says work on the project could begin in 2020 and finish in 2023.

The council has tentatively designated $6 million in city funds for the project. Organizers will have to turn to private fundraising. Mayor Bob Scott says he’s concerned that the current plan for 67 parking spaces doesn’t have enough room.

3 arrested on Theft charges Monday, in Creston

News

January 15th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Officials with the Creston Police Department say three people were arrested on Theft charges, Monday night. At around 10:10-p.m., 19-year old Jasmine Grace Aviles, of Crawfordville, FL., 20-year old Madelyn Moya, of Lansing, KS, and 18-year old Paola Tavares, of Creston, were taken into custody at the Wal-Mart in Creston, on charges of Theft in the 5th Degree. All three were being held in the Adams County Jail on $300 bond, each.

And, at around 4:50-a.m. today (Tuesday), Steven White, of Creston, was arrested following a traffic stop, for Driving While Suspended. He was later released from the Union County Jail on a $300 bond. 

(Podcast) KJAN Morning News & Funeral report, 1/15/2019

News, Podcasts

January 15th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Man accused of shooting pellet gun at bus gets probation

News

January 15th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

FOREST CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Forest City man accused of shooting a pellet gun at a school bus has been given five years of probation. The Globe Gazette reports that 33-year-old Martin Tindall also was sentenced last week to five years in prison, suspended, and told to pay $510 restitution to the Forest City school district. He’d entered an Alford plea to the felony charge of intimidation with a dangerous weapon. In an Alford plea, a person doesn’t admit guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence for a likely conviction.

No one was injured in the Jan. 5, 2018, incident. A pellet shattered one of the bus windows .

Beware slick roads this morning!

News, Weather

January 15th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

The Iowa Dept. of Transportation reports numerous area highways are partially covered with ice this morning, creating slick driving surfaces, especially on bridges. Some affected roads include:

  • Highway 71 from Hwy 141 south to Grant
  • Highway 173 from Hwy 44 to Hwy 83
  • Highway 83 from Anita to Avoca
  • Highway 6 from Anita to Council Bluffs
  • Highway 25 from Hwy 141 to I-80
  • I-80 from Hwy 25 to the I-680 split
  • Highway 148 from I-80 to Hwy 92
  • Highway 92 from Cumberland to Treynor
  • Highway 59 from Harlan to Henderson
  • Highway 44 from Panora to Hwy 30

Trucks Park Here system launched in Iowa, seven other states

News

January 15th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — Operators of big rigs traveling through Iowa and seven other states are starting to take advantage of a new system designed to make it easier for commercial drivers to locate parking in rest areas and private truck stops. Phil Mescher, with the Iowa DOT’s Office of Systems Planning, says the effort was launched several years ago and went “live” earlier this month. “People can travel all across our interstate system and at certain times see overcrowding of trucks in our rest areas and truck stops,” Mescher said.

Truck drivers can get information on available parking spaces along select interstates through various smart phone apps that access a data feed provided at trucksparkhere.com (trucks park here dot com). Officials in each of the eight states that are part of the “Trucks Park Here” system chose their own state-specific plans. In Iowa, the information is focused primarily on parking spots located along Interstate 80. “In Iowa, we picked the Interstate 80 corridor because that is where most of our truck traffic is. Mescher said also, “We have some sites that are very close to I-80. They go up I-29 and we also have one off of I-235. We go up Intestate 35 all the way to the rest areas that are south of Story City. We go up Interstate 380 as well, up to the Cedar Rapids area.”

Information on the available truck parking spots in Iowa will eventually be included on the state’s 511 system (www.511ia.org). The system should help truckers who need to find a parking space before reaching limits on how many hours they can be on the road. “It will never say that there are no spots available, it will just say the availability is low. But that at least gives them advanced information to make a decision…if they know their hours of service are about up, then they should probably go ahead and park in that first one rather than trying to risk getting to the next one,” Mescher said.

The Trucks Park Here system uses a variety of in-pavement and parking lot entrance/exit sensors. The effort was funded by a $25 million federal grant and involves the states of Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

Embattled school district’s superintendent quitting post

News

January 15th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

WAUKEE, Iowa (AP) — The superintendent of the embattled Waukee Community School District will be leaving her post at the end of the school year. The school board voted Monday to accept Superintendent Cindy McDonald’s resignation, effective June 30. The third year of her three-year contract will be voided. A special state audit report released last month said administrators improperly used state credit cards and spent nearly $129,000 on items and services that “were not in the taxpayers’ best interest.”

The report says the items included nearly $28,000 for lounge chairs and furniture for the superintendent’s office and more than $83,000 on district administrators’ retreats. The district’s former chief operating officer, Eric Rose, is charged with two counts of solicitation to commit a felony and one count of felonious misconduct in office. Dallas County court records say Rose has pleaded not guilty.