OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Authorities say 45 pounds of marijuana has been seized and a minivan driver has been arrested along Interstate 80 in Omaha. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office says a deputy saw the eastbound minivan drive onto the roadway shoulder without signaling around 2:15 a.m. today (Friday). The deputy later called for a department drug dog, which the Sheriff’s Office says eventually alerted deputies to the odor of drugs.

The Sheriff’s Office says the pot was found in 40 sealed bags placed inside two duffel bags. More than $3,600 in cash also was seized. The driver told deputies he was driving from Utah to Iowa.  He was arrested on suspicion of possession for sale and failure to affix a drug tax stamp.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors today (Friday) approved bids for County-owned farm pasture ground and crop ground. Three bids were received for each property. The Board awarded a bid of $181 per acre for pastureland to TLC Cattle Company (The current tenant), and a bid of $26,700 for 115 acres of row ground (or, about $232/acre) to Ryan Hansen. The contracts for those properties are expected to be for three-years, with the right to terminate by either party given by no later than Sept. 1st of each year.

In other business, the Supervisors heard from County Engineer Charles Bechtold and Seneca Companies Consulting Manager for Environmental Services, Leslie Nagle,with regard to corrective action on cleaning up underground contamination from what is believed to be a leaking underground storage tank. The contamination is on County-owned property located along portions of Commerce and State Street, near the County garage and sheds.

(Nagle says two-years ago the site was cleaned-up to the point where “No action required,” meaning there’s no immediate risk to sanitary lines, water lines, drinking water wells or any human health risk.)

However, the State of Iowa and EPA has requirements that all of the “free product” plume remnants must be removed. Additional tests were conducted and monitoring wells were installed. Two areas, one slightly larger than the other, were determined to have the most amount of residual contamination. Nagel said that can best be removed by excavation, and then land-applied back into the soil on County-owned land for natural degradation and minimal effect. Clean soil will then be applied on top of a sand base.

Nagel said the holes will be deep, but will hopefully take care of the problem once and for all. It’ll cost $125,000, but the funds are paid by the State to the County which in-turn pays Seneca, so it costs the County nothing. The work should take about 5-to 10-days to compete.

Board of Supervisors Chair Gaylord Schelling said also, an “Active Shooter’ drill for County Employees will be held November 16th at the courthouse in Atlantic, from 8-until 11-a.m.  The courthouse will be closed to the public for the duration of the training.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports a man from Hancock was arrested Thursday on a warrant for Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree. 40-year old Charles Raymond Bird was taken into custody at around 9:20-p.m. and booked into the Pott. County Jail, for allegedly causing damage to his place of residence  located in the 100 block of N. Scott Street, in Hancock.

And, a woman from Magnolia turned herself-in to the Pott. County Sheriff’s Office Thursday afternoon. 41-year old Virginia Renee Points was wanted on a Pott. County warrant for Harassment in the 3rd Degree. Points was turned over to Corrections officers without incident.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has found the source of runoff that caused the water in Bear Creek to turn red west of Larrabee in northern Cherokee County. The D-N-R’s Tom Roos says it was traced to a feedlot. “We found a field that had been recently applied with cattle manure from an earthen basin that had flowed off a field down a waterway and into Bear Creek,” Roos says. He says the cattle feedlot is owned by Nathan Tentinger of Tentinger Farms.

The Cherokee County Sheriff’s office reported the stream contamination Wednesday afternoon after it was noticed that the runoff turned the water red in Bear Creek as it ran down to Mill Creek. “I would say the plume was about a mile long of red water,” Roos says. He says the red plume is probably due to whatever was in the cattle lot basin. “Each cattle lot has a little bit of a different color to them…but it definitely matched the color of the water that was in the basin,” according to Roos. He says no dead fish were found and that could be because the Bear Creek ran into Mill Creek.

“Both streams are extremely high right now — so it definitely helped the dilution,” Roos says. Roos says this is an example of why producers need to be careful about spreading manure, especially when there are wet conditions in fields. “It’s important that those producers pay close attention to those pumps and irrigation at this time of year, because if you leave it unattended, things like this can happen,” Roos says. He says the D-N-R will consider any appropriate enforcement action once it wraps up its investigation.

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced today that 63 Iowa communities (including Atlantic) have been honored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with a Water Fluoridation Quality Award. The number of communities receiving awards is up from 40 last year. Fluoridation is the adjustment of fluoride in drinking water to a level that is effective for preventing tooth decay. The award recognizes those communities that achieved excellence in community water fluoridation by maintaining a consistent level of fluoride in drinking water throughout 2015.

Among the area communities that have received the award is:

Atlantic Municipal Utilities; Breda Water Supply; Council Bluffs Water Works; Elk Horn Municipal Water Works; Glenwood Municipal Utilities; Guthrie Center Municipal Water Works; Harlan Municipal Utilities; Logan Water Plant; Minden Water Supply; Monona Municipal Water Department; Onawa Municipal Water Plant; Shelby Water Supply-Plant 1; Shelby Water Supply-Plant 4; Treynor Water Department; West Central Iowa Rural Water Association – Boyer; West Central Iowa Rural Water Association – Nishnabotna; and the Winterset Municipal Water Works.

DPH Water Fluoridation Coordinator Kelsey Feller says “Water fluoridation is one of the best investments that communities can make in maintaining the oral health of their citizens. It is equally as effective in preventing cavities in children and adults. Fluoridation is also highly cost effective; studies continue to show that for every $1 invested by communities in water fluoridation, $38 are saved in dental treatment costs.”

For more information on the water fluoridation in Iowa, visit https://idph.iowa.gov/ohds/oral-health-center/fluoride.

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

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The Atlantic Police Department reports one person is dead following a single-vehicle accident that took place Thursday night. Officials say 66-year old Lawrence Greufe, of Atlantic, was pronounced dead at the Cass County Memorial Hospital by the Medical Examiner. Authorities say Greufe was traveling west on 7th Street at around 9-p.m. when his 2005 Ford Focus crossed both lanes of traffic near Cedar Street, struck a curb and hit a tree before coming to rest on the southwest side of 7th Street.

Atlantic Police were assisted at the scene by Atlantic Fire and Rescue, Medivac, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office and Iowa State Patrol.

Police in Creston say a rural Creston resident reported the theft of tools from his tractor.  The tools were stolen from a tractor that was on Park Street. The theft happened sometime between 11-p.m. Wednesday and 7-a.m. Thursday. The loss was estimated at $150.

Officials with the Southwest Iowa Planning Council (SWIPCO) will holding a town hall informational meeting Wednesday November 9th at 6:30 p.m., at Anita Community Building with regard to a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for housing rehabilitation in a targeted area of the city.  SWIPCO will discuss the application process with city officials and residents of the target area, and staffers will help any residents who would like to apply for a grant  that evening, in filling out the application and give them examples of supporting documentation needed. anita-town-hall-flyer

Community Development Director Amber Carcel, says “We really wanted to have a face to face with as many of the potential applicants as possible, walk them through the application and explain the process of the program once they are income qualified. So many homeowners struggle to understand what we need, why we need it, etc. There is a lot of back and forth via the mail, telephone calls, and fax. We hope to eliminate that and expedite the entire process by helping them in the beginning.”

Anita received a housing community development block grant (CDBG) to assist low to moderate income homeowners within a set target area in 2016. The grant is for $230,900 to repair six homes within the set target area. Each approved home is eligible for up to $24,999 in repairs. Carcel says  “This amount of money allowed per home through this program allows us to do much more than with our other forgivable loan programs. We may do a roof, siding, windows, etc.” Community Development Block Grants are awarded annually by the Iowa Economic Development Authority with funding from the department of Housing and Urban Development.

SWIPCO is a council of government serving the eight counties of southwest Iowa with public transportation, community development, and housing. SWIPCO is an equal opportunity employer, provider, and lender.