Construction crews will close Harry Langdon Boulevard to traffic from Woodbury Avenue to U.S. 275/Iowa 92 to set girders for the future westbound Interstate 80 bridge beginning at 6 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, weather permitting, according to the Iowa DOT’s District 4 Office.

Harry Langdon Boulevard will be reopened to traffic on Monday, Oct. 17, by 6 a.m. Access will be maintained to property owners living along Harry Langdon Boulevard during the closure. Harry Langdon Boulevard will also be closed overnight Monday, Oct. 17, and Tuesday, Oct. 18, from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

The Iowa DOT is in the process of reconstructing I-80, I-29, and I-480 in the Council Bluffs metropolitan area. This comprehensive interstate redesign will modernize the highway system and improve mobility and safety of approximately 18 miles of interstate. Motorists are encouraged to allow for extra travel time while this interstate improvement takes effect.

As part of National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, the Council Bluffs Police Department will participate in a semi-annual drug take-back event sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Agency.  The event is designated as “Council Bluffs Operation Medicine Cabinet” and involves the collaboration of several community organizations, volunteers, and the City of Council Bluffs Recycling Center.

The event will be held rain or shine at the Council Bluffs Walgreens store (535 East Broadway), on the west side of the store next to the drive through lanes. It takes place on Saturday, Oct. 22nd, from 10-a.m. until 2-p.m.    You are simply asked to drive through a designated lane, hand over your unused, expired prescription or over the counter drugs with no questions asked.

The Council Bluffs Police Department has helped to organize 12 Prescription Drug Drop Off events since 2010. The past events have collected more than 3,900 pounds of prescription and over the counter drugs with more than 2,100 residents dropping them off anonymously. The National Prescription Drug Take Back addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Many Americans are not aware medicines that remain in homes are highly susceptible to theft, misuse, or abuse.

Prescription drug abuse in the U.S. is increasing at an alarming rate, as are the numbers of accidental poisonings and overdoses. Studies show many abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinets. In addition, many Americans do not know how to properly dispose of their unused medicines, often flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away, which are both potential safety and health hazards.

Prescription drug abuse is a huge problem and this drug drop off is a great opportunity for citizens of Council Bluffs and anyone else to help reduce this threat. Please clean out your medicine cabinets and make your home safe from potential drug theft and abuse.

Shelby County Emergency Management officials today (Thursday), upgraded the County Fire Danger Index to “High.” Precipitation at the start of the week had caused the field and grassland fire danger to be reduced to “Moderate,” but now, with the killing frost and drying conditions increasing rapidly, the potential is increasing for any controlled burns to spread rapidly out of control.

When the Fire Danger rating is “High,” burning of any kind is restricted in Shelby County unless approval is received from local Fire Chief. Controlled burns that are not reported will result in Fire Department being dispatched, and Fires extinguished if determined to be un-safe. Please call 712-755-2124 with questions

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Authorities have accused a Council Bluffs man of stealing some of his grandmother’s jewelry and pawning it. The Daily Nonpareil reports 23-year-old Colton Rankin was arrested Wednesday and is charged with theft and burglary.

Council Bluffs police say the woman noticed Sept. 12 that someone had gotten into her jewelry boxes and taken some items. Court records say she told police she suspected her grandson because of what she said was his drug problem. Her family checked with his employer in the Omaha, Nebraska, suburb of La Vista and learned that Rankin had not gone to work that day.

Police say Rankin later told a relative that he pawned the jewelry in Omaha.

Expect to pay more to heat your home this winter than you spent last year. That’s the message from government analysts who sifted through forecasts for a colder winter and slightly higher energy prices. The Energy Department said today (Thursday) that household bills from October through March are likely to be higher for all four main heating fuels – natural gas, electricity, heating oil, and propane.

Consumers got a break last winter, when temperatures were mild. Government meteorologists are expecting a colder winter this time in the Northeast, Midwest and South.

A woman from Kansas was arrested on numerous charges associated with a break-in and burglary in rural Pottawattamie County, Wednesday morning. According to the Pott. County Sheriff’s Office, a Deputy responded to a report about a suspicious female at a residence northeast of Neola. The woman was identified as 38-year old Lindsey Dawn Sanchez, of Dodge City, KS.

An investigation determined Sanchez was in possession of property belonging to the 73-year old resident of the home, including a purse, bathroom toiletries, antique cans, a light holder, oil, bears and a mirror. The items were valued at $310 altogether.

Sanchez was taken into custody for Burglary in the 2nd Degree, Theft in the 4th Degree, Interference with Official Acts, and making a False report to Law Enforcement.

Page County Sheriff Lyle Palmer reports a Clarinda man was arrested Wednesday evening on a Page County District Court warrant for OWI. 26-year old Donovan James Harvey was taken into custody at around 6:30-p.m.   Harvey has since posted bond a,nd was released pending future court appearances.

It’s “Pink at the Pump” month at some of the Iowa retailers who sell a higher blend of ethanol. Grant Menke of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association says it applies to E-15 and 28 Iowa stations are participating. “Who, for the entire month of October have agreed to donate three cents per gallon to the National Breast Cancer Foundation for every gallon of E15 that they sell during the month,” Menke says.

You may have noticed the promotion if you’ve filled up at a station with E-15 pumps. Participating locations have pink nozzle guards, to mark the grade of fuel that is part of the promotion. “2001 and newer vehicles are all approved by the EPA for E15, so it’s safe for your vehicle. You’ve going to get the mileage,” Menke says. “You’ve going to save money and then with this National Breast Cancer Foundation tie-in, you’re also going to help save lives.”

The average price for regular unleaded in Iowa is currently $2.20 a gallon, and E-15 is selling for about 20 cents less. Among the gas stations participating in “Pink at the Pump,” is: the “STAR Energy” station Guthrie Center; and the “United Farmers Coop” in Creston and Mount Ayr.

(Radio Iowa)

A woman from Adair County was seriously injured during a crash in Union County Wednesday afternoon. The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports 73-year old Joyce Herr, of Fontanelle, was transported by ambulance to the Greater Regional Medical Center in Creston, after her 2003 Chevy Impala collided head-on with a 2012 Hyundai Veracruz, driven by 26-year old Shanna Yenzer, of Creston. The accident happened just before 5-p.m. Wednesday, near the entrance to the Chicken Inn on Highway 34, west of Creston.

Officials say Herr was traveling east on Highway 34 and turning left into the restaurant driveway, and failed to yield to the westbound Hyundai. Yenzer complained of pain following the crash but was not transported to the hospital as of the time of the Sheriff’s report. Both vehicles were totaled in the crash, with the damage amounting to $15,000.

Symbols and reminders of domestic violence are currently on display through the end of this month at the Cass County Courthouse and Cass County Memorial Hospital, in Atlantic.

Photo’s courtesy Bev Groves

T-shirts made by victims of domestic violence or their friends and families, are on display as part of “The Clothesline Project” (www.clotheslineproject.org). In a follow-up to our report last week, KJAN News spoke with Bev Groves Crime Victim Coordinator, and Assistant to Cass County Attorney David Wiederstein,  Groves says t-shirts representing each form of domestic violence are on display as part “Domestic Violence Awareness Month.”

The shirts are made available through Southwest Iowa Families, which collected them from victims of domestic violence and/or their friends and families. Groves says one of the shirts hanging in the corridor of the 2^nd floor in the Cass County Courthouse, caught the eye of 4^th District Court Judge Susan Kay Christensen

The shirt made in memory of Holly Durbin.

The shirt was in memory of 29-year old Holly Rae Durbin, of rural Shenandoah, who died in July 2009, from a gunshot wound to the head. In February, 2015, Fremont County District Court Judge Timothy O’Grady found 35-year old Brian Heath Davis guilty of first-degree murder in connection with Holly’s death. Davis was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Southwest Iowa Families, in conjunction with Catholic Charities and Phoenix House, have been providing the displays for a number of years at this same time. The color of the shirts is representative of the type of violence women have endured.