An investigation into a single-vehicle accident at around 11-p.m. Wednesday, north of Shambaugh, resulted in the arrest of a woman from Missouri. The Page County Sheriff’s Office says 34-year old Sarah Jean Carpenter, of Burlington Junction, MO., was traveling south on Highway 71, when her 2002 Chrysler Town and Country van left the road and entered the west ditch. Carpenter tried to get the vehicle back on the road, but the van became stuck in the mud.

When a Deputy arrived, Carpenter was operating the vehicle, spinning the tires attempting to get the van unstuck. The Deputy noticed smoke coming from under the hood of the van. He then assisted Carpenter out of the van and called for the Clarinda Fire Department to be dispatched for the fire. The Deputy then assisted Carpenter up the bank, as the engine compartment of the vehicle caught fire. The fire was extinguished by the Clarinda Fire Department.

Carpenter was arrested for OWI 1st Offense. She was transported to the Page County Jail where she was being held on $1000.00. She later posted bond and was released pending further court proceedings. The Page County Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by the Clarinda Fire Department & the Clarinda Ambulance service.

The Neely-Kinyon Research Farm Field Day is scheduled for Tuesday June19, 2018, 9:30 to 1:00 at the Neely-Kinyon Research Farm near Greenfield, Iowa. The public is invited to attend at no cost. This year’s program will begin at 9:30 AM, featured speakers are Tim Youngquiest, Agriculture Specialist II, speaking on SPRIPS Project that are underway this year on the Farm and Randall Cass, Extension Entomologist, will be discussing honey an native bee health in soybean and prairie landscapes. Complimentary lunch will be served at 12:00.

The Neely-Kinyon Farm is located 2 miles south of Greenfield on Highway 25, half mile east on 260th St, and half mile north on Norfolk Avenue. For more information contact the Wallace Foundation at 712-769-2650 or raelynb@iastate.edu.

DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today (Thursday) announced that applications for the Farmers Market Nutrition Programs are now available for eligible WIC recipients and low-income older Iowans. The WIC Farmers Market Nutrition and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Programs provide eligible Iowans with checks that can be redeemed for fresh, locally grown produce at authorized farmers markets and farm stands from June 1 through Oct. 31, 2018.

Naig said “The Farmers Market Nutrition Programs are designed to give WIC participants and low-income seniors better access to the fresh and nutritious fruits and vegetables that can be found at farmers markets and farm stands throughout the state.” The Farmers Market Nutrition Programs are administered through the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, in partnership with the Iowa Department of Public Health and Iowa Department on Aging.

The WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program provides eligible WIC recipients with nine checks valued at $3 each. WIC FMNP checks will be distributed statewide on a first-come, first-served basis. Eligible individuals may pick up checks at arranged appointments or at regularly scheduled clinic appointments. A combination of state and federal funds will be used to make benefits available to more than 16,000 eligible WIC recipients this year. Eligible individuals include children ages 9 months through 4 years, pregnant women, breastfeeding women, and post-partum women that participate in Iowa’s WIC Program. The state’s 20 local WIC agencies have begun to distribute checks and nutritional education information. WIC recipients with questions can contact their local WIC clinic or visit https://idph.iowa.gov/wic/families for more information.

The Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program provides eligible seniors with 10 checks for $3 each. In addition to produce, locally produced honey can also be purchased with Senior FMNP checks. The checks are available on a first-come, first-served basis to eligible recipients through Area Agency on Aging offices. A combination of state and federal funds will be used to make benefits available to more than 18,000 eligible seniors this year. Eligible seniors must be 60 years of age or older with a household income less than $22,459 if single or $30,451 for a married couple. Iowa seniors will be asked to complete a one-page application verifying their eligibility. The Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) have begun to distribute checks and nutritional education information. To find an Area Agency on Aging near you, contact the Iowa Association of Area Agencies on Aging (i4a) toll free at 866-468-7887 or at www.i4a.org.

After a long winter, a short spring and now an early summer, today (Thursday) is Heat Awareness Day in Iowa, according to meteorologist Kelsey Angle, at the National Weather Service.  Angle says, “This is the day that we want to take some time to review the safety tips in regards to heat and safety as we head into the heart of summer.” We’ve already seen record high temperatures well into the 90s and since summer doesn’t officially arrive until June 21st, a quick review may be helpful.

“We do know it will get hot again and the humidity will also increase, and with that, the impacts will increase, especially for those who will be working outside during the summer,” Angle says. “Also, it’s to bring awareness that you don’t want to leave children or pets inside vehicles.” If the outside temperature is 80 degrees, in 10 minutes the temperature inside the vehicle will be near 100 degrees, and in one hour, near 125 degrees. Last year, there were 42 vehicular heatstroke children deaths nationwide. So far this year, there have been seven such deaths. If you’ll be outside during any of the upcoming heat waves, he offers some suggestions.

“Drink plenty of water, take frequent breaks to cool your body down, wear light-weight, loose-fitting, light-colored clothes to reflect the sunlight and keep your body cool,” Angle says. “You also want to make sure pets and livestock have access to water.” He suggests checking on your friends and neighbors, especially the elderly, to make sure they’re doing okay. Heat is one of the nation’s leading weather-related killers, resulting in hundreds of deaths each year and even more heat-related illnesses.

(Radio Iowa)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is establishing a new field division based in Omaha that will include Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. In a news conference Thursday in Omaha, DEA Acting Administrator Robert Patterson said the new division will open in July. It is the agency’s 23rd division office in the United States.

Patterson says the move was prompted in part by the nation’s growing opioid crisis. In April, authorities seized a record 118 pounds of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl during a traffic stop. The Omaha division will be led by Matthew Barden, who previously served as the Associate Special Agent in Charge of the St. Louis Division. Barden says the new division will “produce more effective investigations on methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl and prescription opioid trafficking.”

Police in Red Oak say one person suffered what were suspected minor injuries, during a single-vehicle accident this (Thursday) morning. A 2013 ChevyC-1500  pickup driven by 81-year old Donald C. Dobbs, of Red Oak, was traveling north on Broadway Street, in Red Oak, when the vehicle left the road and struck a tree, head-on. The accident, which caused $10,000 damage to the truck, happened at around 8:50-a.m.  Police say Dobbs was evaluated and transported by Red Oak EMS to the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital, due to possible medical issues. No citations were issued.

Red Oak Police were assisted by Red Oak Fire/EMS, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Dept., Montgomery County EMA and the Iowa State Patrol.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, June 7, 2018 – Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett today (Thursday), announced that USDA is investing $309 million in 16 projects to improve rural electric infrastructure in 12 states. Hazlett made the announcement during a visit to the Central Iowa Power Cooperative. One of its members, Farmers Electric Cooperative in Greenfield, (Iowa) is receiving a $1.4 million USDA loan to invest in smart grid projects. Farmers plans to install more than 5,800 single-phase meters and additional meter reading equipment in its west-central Iowa service area.

Hazlett also announced that Harrison County REC, in Woodbine (Iowa), is receiving a $6 million loan to build 20 miles of electric line, improve 57 miles and make other system improvements. Its loan includes $578,000 for smart grid projects.

The loans are being made through USDA’s Electric Infrastructure Loan and Loan Guarantee program. It helps finance generation, transmission and distribution projects; system improvements; and energy conservation projects in communities with 10,000 or fewer residents. Farmers Electric Cooperative and Harrison County REC join many other rural electric cooperatives and utilities that partner with USDA to use smart grid for computer applications, two-way communications, geospatial information systems and other tools to increase the reliability and efficiency of electric power systems.

The investments will build or improve 1,660 miles of electric line serving rural homes, farms and businesses.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports 28-year old Chelsey Kile, of Creston, was arrested at around 2:15-a.m. today (Thursday), for domestic assault. Kile was being held for Union County in the Adams County Jail without bond, until seen by a Magistrate.

CRESTON, Iowa – June 7, 2018 – A bridge replacement project on the U.S. 71 bridge over Lone Tree Creek, one-tenth of a mile south of Cass County Road G-35, and 3.1 miles south of Atlantic, may take longer to complete than planned, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Creston construction office. As crews began removing the roadway to construct the bridge extension they discovered the slide that had damaged the roadway had impacted the existing piling at the south abutment.

To correct the piling, crews will need to remove the south deck of the bridge and beams to remove the bent piling before they construct the new pier. The new south abutment has been completed. The additional work will likely push the opening back to mid-November 2018.

The Iowa DOT and our contracting partner AM Cohron are committed to making the necessary repairs and getting the roadway opened as quickly as possible. During the closure, traffic will be detoured around the work zone using Iowa 83, Iowa 92, and Iowa 148.

A single-vehicle accident early this (Thursday) morning in northwest Missouri, resulted in a southwest Iowa man being transported to a hospital in Maryville, MO. The Missouri State Patrol reports 23-year old Spencer Zarek, of Stanton, was traveling north on Highway 71 at around 12:15-a.m., when his 2007 Chevy Malibu left the road to the east, about three-miles south of Maryville. The car impacted an embankment and went airborne and overturned before coming to rest on its wheels. Zarek was taken by a private vehicle to SSM Health St. Francis Hospital in Maryville for treatment of what were said to be minor injuries. The car was totaled in the crash.

The Missouri State Patrol was assisted by the Nodaway County Sheriff’s Office and Maryville Public Safety.