The Iowa Department of Transportation reported (as of 11:35-p.m Thursday), that the right lane of Interstate 80 eastbound near Avoca (Between Exit 40/Highway 59 and Exit 34/County Road M-16) is blocked due to a property damage only, accident. No injuries were reported.  A slight delay in traffic flow can be expected.

URBANDALE, Iowa (AP) — A sometimes hostile crowd peppered Iowa Congressman David Young with questions about the Affordable Care Act, environment and other issues at a public forum in Urbandale. House and Senate members from across the country have faced skeptical crowds while home during a congressional break, and that was the case Thursday when Young took questions during a forum that lasted more than an hour.

Jordan Hobfoll asked the two-term Republican if health care would remain affordable for his 1-year-old son, who was born with a serious health problem. The crowd jeered Young as he sidestepped giving “a definite answer” but said the boy wouldn’t be denied care.

Others criticized Young’s support for President Donald Trump and expressed fears about the president’s cabinet choices for the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies.

Here is the latest (as of 3:15-p.m. Thursday), on the impending Winter Storm:

A Blizzard Warning is in effect from Midnight tonight (Thursday), through Midnight Friday (early Saturday) for Crawford, Carroll and Greene Counties, where 5-8 inches of snow are expected along with much deeper snow drifts. Winds will be N/NW at 20-30mph w/gusts to around 35. Travel will be dangerous to near impossible due to whiteout conditions.

A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect from 6-a.m. Friday until Midnight, for Monona and Harrison Counties, where 5-8″ of snow are possible, along with NE winds at around 35 mph creating blowing and drifting of snow and near zero visibility at times.

A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect from 6-a.m. Friday until Midnight for Shelby, Pottawattamie, Mills, Audubon, Cass, Guthrie and Dallas Counties, where 2-6″ of snow are possible, along with N/NW winds at 20-30mph. Visibilities may drop to as low as 1/2 mile during the day, Friday. Hazardous travel conditions are expected from early Friday morning into early Saturday morning.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A subcommittee in the Republican-controlled Iowa Legislature has approved a comprehensive gun bill that includes a stand-your-ground provision. The panel signed off on the measure Thursday, and it now heads to the full House Judiciary Committee.

The bill would allow people in Iowa to use deadly force anywhere if they believe such force is necessary to avoid injury or risk to one’s life or safety. People could use deadly force even if an alternative course of action is available, and it allows people to be wrong in that estimation of danger.

The bill also would remove background check restrictions on private handgun purchases and allow people to carry concealed weapons without a permit. It would also stop colleges from banning weapons on campus, allow firearm permits to last a lifetime, prohibit local governments from passing gun restrictions, allow children under age 14 to use guns with supervision of a parent and allow guns on the Capitol grounds.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest this (Thursday) morning of a woman on a Harassment charge. 30-year old Trintke Marie Welder, of Corning, was arrested at around 10:30-a.m. and held in the Adams County Jail on a $300 bond. No other information was provided with regard to the circumstances behind the charge.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A GOP-led legislative subcommittee has approved a bill that would allow an unlimited number of students in Iowa to enroll in for-profit virtual schools that receive state education funding. A subcommittee of the Senate Education Committee approved the bill Thursday. It now heads to the full committee.

Enrollment in virtual schools is currently capped at several hundred students in Iowa. Students from around the state are technically part of two school districts that contract with two out-of-state, for-profit companies that offer online curriculum. The system allows state education dollars to go to the companies.

Republican Sen. Amy Sinclair, the bill’s sponsor, says the proposal gives more students and parents additional choices over education opportunities. Some groups registered against the measure say it takes more money out of public schools.

Area Counties: Shelby…Pottawattamie…Mills…Crawford…Carroll..Audubon…Guthrie & Cass:

A Winter Weather Advisory for snow and blowing snow remains in effect from 6-a.m. Friday until Midnight.

* TIMING…Rain will be the primary precipitation type in western Iowa through about midnight before turning to a rain and snow mix early after midnight. All snow is expected then early Friday morning. Snowfall will continue on into Friday then gradually taper off early Friday evening.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS…Snow accumulations of 3 to 5 inches are expected with locally higher amounts possible.

* IMPACT…The gusty winds will likely create areas of blowing and drifting snow resulting in reduced visibilities which will make traveling conditions quite hazardous.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A Winter Weather Advisory for snow and blowing snow means that periods of snow with blowing snow will cause primarily travel difficulties. Be prepared for snow covered roads and limited visibilities, and use extra caution while driving.

Members of the Griswold Community School District Facilities Committee met Wednesday evening during a work session to assess the District’s current facilities. Griswold Superintendent David Henrichs told KJAN News as a result of that meeting, a Special School Board meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, March 7^th at 7-p.m., in the High School Auditorium, that the public and stakeholders in the future of the District should plan to attend.

Henrichs says “For the past several months the facilities committee has been carefully evaluating the costs to maintain multiple school buildings while considering the long-term operational impacts. During the March 7^th Special Board meeting, which is focused on school facilities, the committee and the architect representing the school will share their findings and make a final recommendation to the Board of Education regarding the next steps.”

He says “With the School Board’s consent, the community intends to further define the plans, the cost and educational benefits for our students.” Henrichs said also, district patrons and the public are more than welcome to attend to meeting, to learn more. The Facilities Committee, he says, feels like they are ready to make a recommendation to the School Board, and the Board will be asked whether they wish to approve that recommendation.

Iowans who have a child, born between 1993 and 2009, are being encouraged to replace their wallet-sized birth certificate issued to newborns in the state during that time period. Melissa Bird, with the Iowa Department of Public Health, says the smaller cards are missing vital information that make them useless for various identification purposes.

“The issues that we’ve seen, coming out of that period of time, include the Department of State not being able to accept these types of cards for passport purposes and the Department of Transportation has issues with these cards because they lack identifying information,” Bird says.

Parents of many children have already exchanged the wallet-sized certificates, but the Iowa Department of Public Health is now offering the exchange at no charge. Bird says over 634,000 people were born in Iowa between May of 1993 and October 2009, when these smaller birth certificates were issued.

Iowans who were born in the state during that time period can get a new birth certificate for free, but must surrender the old wallet-sized card. “In exchange, at no cost to the customer, we will provide an 8-1/2 by 11, letter-sized, certified copy of that birth certificate,” Bird says.

The application can be filed online through the Iowa Department of Public Health’s website. Bird says, due to the volume of requests, it may to 4 to 6 weeks to process each application. Iowans can also make the exchange through their local county recorder’s office or the newborn birth cards may also be exchanged by mail or in person with the Bureau of Health Statistics, 321 E. 12th St., Lucas State Office Building, Des Moines, Iowa 50319.

(Radio Iowa)

Forecast snowy weather has prompted the Shelby County Emergency Management Agency to reduced the field/grassland Fire Danger category to “Low,” from now through Monday, when the next update will be available. Earlier this week, dry and windy conditions, as well as numerous recent grass and brush fires in Shelby County, had resulted in the Fire Danger being elevated to High.