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Red Oak woman arrested (again)

News

September 4th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Police in Red Oak arrested a woman Monday evening who has a lengthy record of being in the Montgomery County Jail. Officers arrested 48-year old Shelby Joann Olivares, of Red Oak, for Public Intoxication. She was taken into custody at around 7:35-p.m. in the area of 1st Avenue and W. 4th Street and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where Olivares’ bond was set at $300.

Audubon School PPEL Election Sept. 11th

News

September 4th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

One week from today (On Tuesday, September 11th), the Audubon Community School Board will ask registered district voters to renew the district’s Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) for another ten years. School officials say the levy, which the board is proposing to leave at its current rate of $.67 per thousand, plays an integral part in providing a quality education for the students at Audubon Community School.

PPEL Funds can only be used for specific purposes as stated by Iowa Law. Here are a few of the ways PPEL funds have been utilized by the Audubon School District:
• Student Security – Security cameras, secure entrances, playground upgrades
• Building Maintenance – roof repair & replacement, carpet replacement, tuck-pointing
• Transportation Equipment – purchase/repair buses, vans & suburbans
• Technology – 1:1 initiatives, classroom technology, student management software
• Energy Savings – LED lighting, door & window replacement, upgrade HVAC system

Officials say by using PPEL funds to maintain facilities and equipment the Audubon Community School has been able to hold the line on the General Fund levy, making it one of the lowest levies in the area. That has also allowed the school board to focus General Fund dollars on the District’s main goal of providing a first-rate education to Audubon students.

If you have any questions concerning the PPEL fund levy, please feel free to contact the Superintendent’s office at 712-563-2607. Voting will open at 12:00 p.m. Sept, 11th and will close at 8:00 p.m. at the Agri-hall at the Audubon Fairgrounds.

For more information about voting or about absentee voting, please contact the county Audubon County Auditor at 712-563-2584.

Iowa early News Headlines: Tue., Sept. 4th 2018

News

September 4th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — About two dozen environmental demonstrators are undertaking a 100-mile march in Iowa to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline in Iowa. The Des Moines Register reports that they began their eight-day trek Saturday in Des Moines. Advocacy groups Bold Iowa and Indigenous Iowa organized the march to show unity against the $3.8 billion, four-state pipeline. Protesters plan to walk 10-15 miles a day, completing the march Saturday in Fort Dodge.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Three people are dead and two others are injured after a three-vehicle crash on Interstate Highway 29 in western Iowa. The Des Moines Register reports the Iowa State Patrol is investigating the cause of the Sunday crash in Harrison County north of Omaha, Nebraska. According to the Iowa State Patrol, an 80-year-old Rock Valley man drove off the road, across the median and hit two vehicles near Little Sioux.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democrats know who their voters are. They just have to figure out how to get them to the polls in November. That’s why the liberal group NextGen America is pouring more than $30 million into an effort to mobilize and energize young voters in 11 battleground states. It includes things such as setting up a dog petting booth on the University of Wisconsin-Madison to attract students and register them to vote. The group has nearly 800 organizers on 421 college campuses.

BROOKLYN, Iowa (AP) — The father of slain Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts says his daughter’s death should not be used to promote political agendas. A Mexican farmworker suspected of being in the U.S. illegally has been charged in Tibbetts’ death. Rob Tibbetts in an opinion piece in The Des Moines Register spoke out against using “Mollie’s soul in advancing views she believed were profoundly racist.”

(Update) 3rd person dies from I-29 crash in Harrison County

News

September 3rd, 2018 by Ric Hanson

In an update to our earlier reports, the Iowa State Patrol says a third person has died as the result of a crash on Interstate 29 in Harrison County, Sunday. Two other people were injured. 80-year-old Rock Valley resident Richard Van Zee drove off the road, across the median and hit two vehicles traveling south near Little Sioux. His car sideswiped one vehicle and then hit a pickup truck carrying three people from Indiana. The accident happened at around 6:15-p.m.

Van Zee and 77-year-old Mary Ann Van Zee were killed in the crash. Knightstown, Indiana resident, 65-year old Elizabeth Cobbs,  who was in the back seat of the pickup and also died. The driver of the pickup, 66-year old Michael Gerrish and his other passenger, 52-year old Melinda Gerrish, both from Shirley, IN, were injured.

The accident remains under investigation.

Protesters begin 100-mile march against Dakota Access

News

September 3rd, 2018 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — About two dozen environmental demonstrators are undertaking a 100-mile march in Iowa to protest the Dakota Access oil pipeline. The Des Moines Register reports that they began their eight-day trek Saturday in Des Moines.

Advocacy groups Bold Iowa and Indigenous Iowa organized the march to show unity against the $3.8 billion, four-state pipeline. Protesters plan to walk 10-15 miles a day, completing the march Saturday in Fort Dodge.

Native American Coalition of the Quad Cities President Regina Tsosie told the newspaper that the pipeline could break and poison the water. She also says it has desecrated sacred sites.

Protesters have pushed back against the pipeline for years. But a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers study of the pipeline released last week says it poses no significant environmental threats.

Labor Day Music Festival cancelled in Grant due to rain

News

September 3rd, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Today’s Labor Day Country Music Festival in the Grant Iowa Park has been cancelled due to the continuing rainfall.

2 dead, 3 injured in Harrison County crash Sunday evening

News

September 3rd, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Two people are dead, three others were injured during a crash at around 6:15-p.m. Sunday on southbound Interstate 29, in Harrison County. The Iowa State Patrol says a 2017 Cadillac XTS driven by 80-year old Richard Lee Van Zee, of Rock Valley, for some reason drove off the left side of I-29 near mile marker 99, entered the median and the southbound lanes of the Interstate, where it sideswiped a southbound 2005 Chrysler 300 driven by 31-year old Saul Escobedo Gonzales, of Des Moines. The Cadillac then hit a 2008 Ford F-450 truck that was behind the Chrysler.

The Cadillac came to rest in the median. Gonzales was able to pull his car off the road and onto the shoulder, while the pickup came to rest in the west ditch. Van Zee was transported to the hospital in Missouri Valley, where he died. A passenger in one of the vehicles, 65-year old Elizabeth J. Cobbs, of Knightstown, IN, was transported to Burgess Hospital in Onawa, where she died from her injuries. 77-year old Mary Van Zee, of Rock Valley, along with 66-year old Michael E. Gerrish, of Shirley, IN, and 52-year old Melinda A. Gerrish, also of Shirley, IN, were also injured in the crash. Mary Van Zee was flown by LifeNet to Mercy Hospital in Sioux City, along with Michael Gerrish, who was transported by ambulance. Melinda Gerrish was transported by ambulance to Burgess Hospital.

The crash remains under investigation.

Amateur & professional photographers are called to capture Iowa’s beauty

Ag/Outdoor, News

September 3rd, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — From sunsets reflecting off shimmering lakes to gleaming skyscrapers against a night sky, Iowans who love to take pictures of our state’s many stunning sights are being called to action. Entries in the 9th annual Keep Iowa Beautiful photography contest are now being accepted. Bill Jackson, a spokesman for Keep Iowa Beautiful, says the competition is open to all. “It’s an opportunity for amateur and experienced photographers to show Iowa’s rural and urban beauty,” Jackson says. “It’s a fun way to show what you, as a photographer or part-time photographer, really enjoy about Iowa.”

Jackson says Iowans can submit their photos now showcasing the land between two rivers. He says the judges tend to see a lot of entry’s depicting rural landscapes.”We like to have urban experiences,” Jackson says. “I know in past years we’ve had some river scenes going through communities, we’ve had pictures of the state capitol. It’s whatever you in your area enjoy most about Iowa.”

The first prize winner gets $50, second prize wins $40 and the third-place finisher gets $30. “And also, each one of those will win a one-year subscription to ‘Our Iowa’ magazine,” Jackson says. “It’s written by Iowans for Iowans and has a lot of great photography and great, fun stories about Iowa.”

Each photographer can enter up to 10 photos at a cost of $5 per entry. The entry deadline is December 14th. Learn more at www.keepiowabeautiful.com.

(Podcast) KJAN 8-a.m. News, 9/3/18

News, Podcasts

September 3rd, 2018 by Ric Hanson

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

Play

Early harvest due to drought may bring lower propane prices

Ag/Outdoor, News

September 3rd, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) –Propane prices are creeping slightly higher in Iowa as farmers prepare for the harvest and drying their grain. Paul Ovrum, an ag marketing specialist with the Iowa Department of Agriculture, says the corn harvest will likely begin earlier in parts of southern Iowa this fall due to continued drought. He says those early birds could impact propane prices for the good. “As they start harvesting earlier, that may relieve some of the pressure that happens typically later in the fall when everybody’s harvesting at once,” Ovrum says. “If it’s spread out a little more, that may lessen demand on supplies in Iowa.”

Lesser demand typically means lower prices. Still, foreign markets are helping to drive up propane costs, according to Ovrum. “We have seen, since late 2016, a steady increase in demand for propane overseas from U.S. supplies,” Ovrum says. “So, as the U.S. manufactures propane, a lot of that, more and more, is going overseas and that has increased prices here.”  Propane is averaging $1.26 a gallon in Iowa, up about 13-cents a gallon from a year ago. It’s estimated 67-percent of Iowans use natural gas to heat their homes, 15-percent use electricity and 14-percent use liquid propane.