The owners of a company that wants to build a massive pork processing plant in Iowa are looking at multiple Iowa communities after the project failed to win approval in Mason City last month. Ron Prestage, president of of Prestage Farms, says he’s gotten interest from nearly 20 other Iowa cities and is giving each of them fair consideration. “We had 19 communities in Iowa that contacted us after the Mason City vote,” Prestage says. “We’ve gotten through eight or nine of those communities that we have looked at their sites. We intend to look at all of the sites where people have expressed an interest in talking to us about locating the plant there.”

Prestage says there are several Iowa communities that look to be a good fit for their project, but that they want to avoid the opposition they faced in Mason City by the activist group Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. “We’ve already seen some sites that appear to be very attractive,” he says. “We’ve made it very clear to everybody that we do not want to see a repeat of what occurred in the circus in Mason City. The Mason City people we were dealing with were very, very professional and respectful. We really are unhappy about how that got somewhat hijacked by ICCI.”

Prestage says for the most part, his company has gotten a good reception from Iowa officials, and that’s part of the reason the state is the company’s first priority for the processing plant. “We’ve been treated very well in Iowa by the state government and all of the regulatory agencies we obviously have to deal with,” Prestage says. “If possible, we would prefer to build this plant in Iowa and I’ve been very honest with the adjoining states that have expressed an interest in the plant as well.”

The North Carolina-based Prestage Farms pork processing facility is a 240-million-dollar project that would employ up to 2,000 workers and process 10,000 hogs a day.

(Radio Iowa)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The Omaha Public Power District is set to vote on whether to close the nation’s smallest nuclear power plant in Fort Calhoun, which is located across the Missouri River from Iowa. The Omaha World-Herald reports that the district board will vote on the fate of Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station on Thursday.

Once closed, a nuclear plant must undergo a decommissioning process to remove or decontaminate materials and equipment that have been exposed to radioactivity. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission requires decommissioning to be completed within 60 years of a plant’s closing.

Cleaning up the site after its closure is estimated to cost about $1 billion. Power district President and Chief Executive Director Tim Burke has recommended using a decommissioning method that would give the utility the full 60 years to let radioactivity at the plant decay naturally and to fully dismantle the plant.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.3MB)

Subscribe: RSS

DAKOTA CITY, Neb. (AP) – An Iowa man is scheduled to go on trial Sept. 22, charged with three counts of vehicular homicide in northeast Nebraska. Forty-five-year-old Christopher Cox,  of Council Bluffs, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in a Dakota City courtroom. Authorities say Cox’s car ran off U.S. Highway 20 west of Jackson on Thursday and struck a concrete creek barrier. He told officers he swerved to avoid hitting a deer.

Two of his passengers died at the scene: 57-year-old Connie Fauzae and 9-year-old Espinoza Lara, both of Council Bluffs, Iowa. A third passenger died later at a Sioux City, Iowa, hospital: 10-year-old Jose Lara, also of Council Bluffs. Cox was treated for minor injuries.

(Updated) —

SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say docks were damaged and trees toppled by thunderstorms that passed through Iowa’s Great Lakes region in the northwest portion of the state, spawning a weak tornado. The Sioux City Journal says no injuries have been reported from Tuesday’s storms.

Philip Schumacher of the National Weather Service said Wednesday the tornado was spotted a little after 2:20 p.m., seven miles south of Lake Park in Dickinson County. He says it caused no damage. The twister was rated EF-0, with winds ranging from 65 to 85 mph.

Elsewhere, straight-line winds reaching 65 mph knocked down trees and power lines. Spirit Lake Fire Chief Pat Daly says a trailer at Center Lake lost its roof and says there were reports of boats flipped over and docks damaged.

The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.0MB)

Subscribe: RSS

The Creston Police Department reports a Ringgold County man was arrested Tuesday evening on two Ringgold County warrants for Assault with Intent to Commit Sexual Abuse – Bodily Injury, False Imprisonment, Trespass – injury or damage greater than $200, and Theft in the 4th degree. 24-year old Mason Reilly, of Mt. Ayr, was taken into custody at a residence in the 500 block of N. Taylor Street, in Creston, at around 5:45-p.m. He was transferred to the custody of Ringgold County authorities.

Later that same evening, 40-year old Carrie Porter, of Creston, was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center (LEC) on a charge of Simple Assault. Porter was subsequently released on a promise to appear later, in court.

And, at around 10-a.m. Tuesday, Creston Police arrested 41-year old Dennis Smith at the Union County LEC for Probation Violation, and Failure to Appear on an original charge of 5th degree Theft. Smith was later released on $2,000 bond.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office, Tuesday, reported two, recent arrests. On Monday, 22-year old John Alexander Morehead, of Plattsmouth, NE, was arrested at the Sarpy County, NE., Jail, on a Mills County warrant for Violation of Probation. His bond was set at $2,500. And, on Sunday, 39-year old Edward Allan Blough, of Henderson, was arrested for Driving While Revoked. His bond was set at $1,000.

Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County say no injuries were reported following a collision Tuesday afternoon, in Stanton. At around 3:10-p.m., a 2010 Chrysler van driven by 81-year old Mansor Kia, of Stanton, was southbound on Broad Avenue. As a 2008 Chrysler Sebring driven by 17-year old Mikayla Fort, of Red Oak, was backing out of a parking space, Fort failed to see the approaching van. The car hit the van in the front passenger side, causing a total of $5,000 damage. No citations were issued.

A Pottawattamie County man was listed in critical, but stable condition following a collision Tuesday evening between his motorcycle and a car. Council Bluffs Police say 59-year old Steven Joseph Sulentic, of Council Bluffs, was transported by Council Bluffs Fire and Rescue to Creighton University Hospital following the accident that took place at around 6:20-p.m., at the intersection of S. 24th Street and 6th Avenue.

Officials say the Harley Davidson motorcycle driven by Sulentic was southbound on 6th avenue when it collided with a Honda Civic driven by 19-year old Edwin Fermin Lopez-Ambrocio, of Council Bluffs, as he was westbound on 6th avenue.

Lopez-Ambrocio complained of pain afterward, but requested no medical attention at the scene. He was issued a citation for failure to yield the right away at an uncontrolled intersection. At this point this investigation is considered closed with the issuance of the citation with no further charges pending.