PLEASANTVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Firefighters are battling a fire at a church in south-central Iowa that erupted before dawn Monday. Several firetrucks were dispatched to the Pleasantville Christian Church before 6 a.m. Water was sprayed down from a nozzle mounted on an aerial ladder as flames danced and heavy gray smoke billowed from the multilevel building. No injuries have been reported. The fire cause will be investigated.
The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Jim Field.
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Three people were arrested over the past few days in Creston. Authorities say 61-year old Edward Gunter, of Creston, was arrested Saturday afternoon for Theft in the 5th Degree. He was cited at the scene and released on a summons to appear in court. On Friday, 34-year old Joshua Weeks, of Lorimor, was served with a Union County warrant at the Union County Jail, for Violation of Probation on an original charge of OWI/3rd offense. He remains held in the jail without bond, pending an appearance before the magistrate. And, 67-year old James Goodman, of Diagonal, was arrested Friday in Creston, for Violation of a Protection Order. He was released on a Promise to Appear in court.
Creston Police said also, a man residing in the 500 block of S. Birch Street, reported Sunday evening, that sometime between 6-p.m. Saturday and 1-p.m. Sunday, someone entered two vehicles on his property and took loose change along with a vehicle ignition key. The loss was estimated at $125.
The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.
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MAQUOKETA, Iowa (Telegraph Herald) — An agency wants to fine an eastern Iowa animal food operation for workplace safety violations, saying it has exposed employees to risks that include long falls. The Telegraph Herald reports that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration wants to impose fines of more than $74,000 on Devenish Nutrition. The company is based in Fairmont, Minnesota, and has a feed mill in Maquoketa. Company officials have declined to comment.
Inspectors said after a Dec. 2-3 check that they found a lack of proper protection from falls along the Maquoketa building’s catwalk. Inspectors also say employees were exposed to explosive dust hazards.
(Radio Iowa) – An NCAA committee is expected to vote today (Monday), to provide spring sport athletes an extra year of eligibility. The vote comes after spring sports were cancelled due to the corona virus pandemic. Iowa baseball coach Rick Heller says how that would be implemented for his sport leaves a lot of questions.
Baseball currently has a scholarship limit of 11.7 total that is divided among a roster size of 35 players. Heller says expanding eligibility would require expanding scholarships and the roster.
Iowa athletic director Gary Barta is a member of the council that is expected to vote today (Monday).
There is still some confusion as to whether the added eligibility will include just current seniors or all players. Seth Wing is the coach at Cornell College.
Wings says many seniors on his team already have jobs lined up and may not take advantage of the extra year.
Wing says it at least provides an option for seniors who may want to return.
The council will also consider a plan to give an added year for athletes in winter sports who had their post season cancelled but that is considered a long shot for approval.
(Radio Iowa) — Recovery efforts will resume this (Monday) morning for the body of a missing Mason City man who fell into the Winnebago River near Hanlontown Friday afternoon. The Worth County Sheriff’s Department says 43-year-old Adam VanSyoc was fishing when the boat he was in struck cables from an old footbridge, causing him to enter the water. Search efforts started shortly after law enforcement’s arrival on Friday afternoon and have been taking place all weekend, but have been hampered by the swiftly-moving waters of the river, which is at a high level.
(Radio Iowa) — The outlook for spring planting in Iowa is much improved over last year thanks to less rain and snow during the past winter. Iowa State University Extension field agronomist Joel DeJong, based in Le Mars, says at this time a year ago, farmers in many parts of the state were already dealing with significant challenges. “Last year, we were just getting rid of snow cover and it came with a massive quantity of other water and, of course, all the low-land flooding,” DeJong says. “At this time last year, the flooding was just starting. Our soil moisture is still full. We kind of almost had a wintertime drought so the amount of precipitation we’ve had in this region hasn’t been excessive. We’ve got some surface drying.”
With the soil already saturated, DeJong says there is no room for any additional — or even normal — spring rain. “Top five feet around here will hold about 10 to 11 inches of water,” DeJong says. “Our history is, on November 1st, we could have numbers that are 6 to 8 is normal. I didn’t even pull samples this fall because the math said we were at 11. That’s the gap that we can typically absorb and hold some water in the spring and we don’t have that space this year.”
The 90-day outlook from the National Weather Service calls for above-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation. DeJong says heavy rain could quickly change the planting outlook. “When you get this much water in the system, it’s hard for me to think that we’re going to be drier-than-normal in the spring,” DeJong says. “My best advice is to make sure everything is ready to go and when we have opportunities, we’re in the field and we’re not waiting to fix equipment we could’ve had done before that window came open.”
DeJong says most farmers got fall fertilizer on their fields but not much tillage was done, so that narrows the spring planting window even more.
Sunday’s High in Atlantic was 59. Our (24-hour) Low this morning was 24 (ending at 7-a.m.). Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 43 and the Low was 18. The record High for March 30th in Atlantic, was 87 in 1968. The Record Low was 8 in 1964.
Two additional cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Shelby County. Officials said Sunday, the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Shelby County was on March 27th. The individual is between 61-80 years old. The second confirmed case is an individual between 61-80 years old. The third confirmed case is an individual between 41-60 years old.
The Iowa Department of Public Health does not publicly release specific information regarding individual COVID-19 cases. However, when a positive case is confirmed, a thorough investigation is completed and any individuals deemed to be at risk are notified and advised on appropriate measures to take.
Myrtue Medical Center’s Public Health Director Lori Hoch said “We continue to remind residents to take preventive measures to slow the spread. Stay at home and limit exposure to other people. It is important to practice social distancing, if you must go out for essential items.”
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