A WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR SEVERAL COUNTIES IN THE KJAN LISTENING AREA BEGINNING LATE SUNDAY NIGHT OR EARLY MONDAY MORNING. The Watch is in effect from 12-a.m. Monday until 12-a.m. Tuesday for: Harrison, Shelby, Pottawattamie and Mills Counties, and from 6-am Monday until 6-a.m. Tuesday for Cass, Adair, Audubon, Dallas, Guthrie, Crawford, Carroll, and Sac Counties.

Winter Storm Watch late Sunday night into Monday night (counties in blue). Winter Weather Advisory until 6am Sun. for counties in purple).

For today: Light freezing rain will continue on-and-off across far southeast Nebraska and southwest Iowa this (Sunday) morning. The Main brunt of the storm system will enter the area tonight into Monday and Monday night, bringing a mix of rain…freezing rain…sleet and snow.

The area from Omaha/Council Bluffs to Harlan will see mixed precipitation including icing and /or several inches of snow. Elsewhere in the Winter Storm Watch area, freezing rain will develop later tonight before quickly changing to all snow Monday morning. Additional snowfall and other mixed wintry precipitation of varied intensities will occur later in the day, Monday, before switching to main all lighter snow Monday night or Tuesday.

The National Weather Service predicts anywhere from three-to five-inches of snow will fall in Cass and surrounding Counties, with eight-inches or more further into northwest Iowa. Ice accumulations amounting to several hundredths of an inch may precede the snow.

Winds will shift from the east to southwest Monday, ranging from 5-to 15 miles per hour during the day, with gusts up to 20mph at night. Ice topped by snow will lead to hazardous travel conditions and may possibly impact the Monday morning commute. The heavy, wet snow will also be difficult to shovel and remove.

A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW…SLEET…OR ICE ACCUMULATIONS THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL. CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Two state lawmakers are raising concerns about Gov. Terry Branstad’s plans to continue to shift Iowa’s Medicaid operation to private management, after a judge recommended that the state throw out one of four contracts awarded to companies to run the program.

Administrative Law Judge Christie Scase recommended Wednesday that Iowa reverse its contract with Florida-based WellCare. Branstad spokesman Ben Hammes said the decision allows the privatization plans to move forward.

The Des Moines Register reports that Democratic Sen. Amanda Ragan, of Mason City, says it is time to “take a breath.” Democratic Sen. Janet Petersen, of Des Moines, also raised concerns. Department of Human Services spokeswoman Amy Lorentzen McCoy said Friday the agency is reviewing Scase’s recommendation.

Iowa’s Medicaid program is set to move to private managers in January.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A Council Bluffs hotel is offering free rooms over the Thanksgiving weekend to people in town to see a family member or friend at a hospital or treatment facility. The Omaha World-Herald reports that the Fairfield Inn & Suites participates in a program called Rooms in the Inn. The initiative was started by parent company TMI Hospitality, which offers this program at the company’s hotels across the country.

Under the program, anyone in town to visit somebody in a hospital, nursing home or treatment facility can seek a free room over the Thanksgiving weekend. The hotel will also offer free rooms on Christmas and Christmas Eve.

General Manager Diana Palmer says the hotel participates as a way to give back to the community.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — The police chief in Council Bluffs says the town needs a bigger police station. The Omaha World-Herald reports that Council Bluffs Police Chief Tim Carmody offered tours on Tuesday and Wednesday to members of a committee that will examine the need for a new police station.

The current station was built in 1977 and has about 19,000 square feet. Carmody says that Council Bluffs — which has about 62,000 residents — should have a facility of 45,000 square feet. Members of the group said they were concerned about the lack of space in the current headquarters.

Council Bluffs voters would have to approve a bond issue to build a new law enforcement center. Carmody said it was too soon to discuss the cost or timing of the project.

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, a junior U.S. Senator from Texas, will be making stops in southwest Iowa today (Saturday, Nov. 28th).

His schedule is as follows:

11:00 a.m. – Greenfield, IA Meet and Greet with Ted Cruz and Special Guest Congressman Louie Gohmert The Corner 284 Public Square.

12:30 p.m. – Corning, IA Meet and Greet with Ted Cruz and Special Guest Congressman Louie Gohmert Kays Kafe 608 Davis Ave.

2:00 p.m. – Creston, IA Meet and Greet with Ted Cruz and Special Guest Congressman Louie Gohmert Windrow Restaurant 102 West Taylor.

3:30 pm – Lenox, IA Meet and Greet with Ted Cruz and Special Guest Congressman Louie Gohmert Tiger Den Restaurant 501 W Ohio St.

5:00 pm – Mount Ayr, IA Meet and Greet with Ted Cruz and Special Guest Congressman Louie Gohmert Greggo’s Pizza and Sandwiches 103 W Monroe St.

6:00 p.m. – Lamoni, IA Meet and Greet with Ted Cruz and Special Guest Congressman Louie Gohmert Lamoni High School Commons 301 West Main Street.

w/ Chris Parks

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The Red Oak Police Department reports the arrest of a Red Oak Woman on Friday on charges stemming from a November 25th incident.  At 8:24pm Friday Officers arrested 18-year-old Cara Belle Hale of Red Oak on charges of 3rd Degree Burglary and 4th Degree Criminal Mischief.  The charges are the result of an incident that happened Wednesday in the 400 Block of Highland Avenue in Red Oak.

Hale was taken to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center and held on $5,000 cash bond.

Despite low agricultural commodity prices, Iowa farmland still seems to be in high demand — with buyers willing to pay near-record prices. At a Sioux County land auction held two weeks ago near Hospers, a tract of 154 acres sold for more than 17-thousand dollars an acre ($17,300). Jim Klein of Remsen was the auctioneer for that sale.

“I think everybody figured coming into the fall season with the grain markets down and going down that the land market was going to follow,” Klein says. “Actually in the last probably month, month-and-a-half we’ve actually seen the prices increase and I don’t quite understand it yet.” Klein says “local people” were bidding for the ground and it was sold to a neighbor who owns land across the road. In addition to row crops, Sioux County has a number of livestock and poultry operations and Klein believes one reason for the high demand for land in the area is so farmers have somewhere to spread their manure.

“I think they want to expand their operations in numerous ways and one of them of course is having extra property to disperse their manure,” Klein says. A parcel of Sioux County land near the town of Boyden sold for nearly 22-thousand dollars ($21,900) an acre about two years ago, the all time record price for Iowa farm ground.

(Radio Iowa)

The State Board of Education has approved the final draft of rules to allow schools to use a device that is expected to help save the lives of students or others who experience a severe allergic reactions. Governor Terry Branstad sign a bill into law in April allowing schools to use what are called epinephrine auto-injectors or EpiPens. Board of Education lawyer, Nicole Proesch, says one of the adjustments made to the final rules narrowed the definition of a school building.

Proesch says the Iowa Association of School Boards asked for a change so the definition wouldn’t be so broad that it would include a shed or storage facility or a building where there weren’t people. Proesch says they decided to make the definition of a school building a place where there would be students, adults or other people are present.

“We know even if you had an EpiPen in a bus barn, the problem would be the practicality of being able to use it if you had it in a bus barn or somewhere other than where you would have a school nurse present or somebody that would be adequately trained,” Proesch explains. “Because it is more likely than not that the individual who is going to be trained to use the EPi-Pen injector is going to be your school nurse or some other individual present in the attendance center.” The Epi-Pen can only be used by a person who has the proper training. The other change requires the schools to have two separate doses on hand.

“We are requiring both a pediatric dose and an adult dose in every attendance center. And we had some pushback on that until we explained that you have to have both doses available as an equity issue. And you may have students who might be a weight that is not consistent with a pediatric dose. You have adults in the building as well, so we are going to be a sticklers about requiring both doses — that way you have either doses available if you need it.” Proesch says they are also requiring schools to make a report when they use the device.

“We wanted to get information back on that so we understand and know if our training the we have for EpiPens is adequate training,” according to Proesch. “So having the reporting mechanism allows us to make sure that we have the appropriate training that we need to have as well down the road.” The decision on whether to have the EpiPens on hand is still up to the districts.

“They are not required to, this is a voluntary thing that school districts can do. But if they do volunteer to do it, then they have to follow the rules and do it the way that the rules have outlined,” Proesch says. She says the rules will go before a the Legislative Rules Review Committee one more time, and if there are not major concerns, they would go into effect in January.

(Radio Iowa)

The Creston Police Department reports a northeast Iowa man was arrested early Thursday morning on a drug charge and for an outstanding warrant. 48-year old Roger Steadman, of Sumner, was arrested at around 1-a.m at 806 Laurel, in Creston. Steadman was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance, and arrested on a Bremer County warrant for Probation Violation. He was released on $1,000 bond for the Union County charge, and then transferred to the custody of Bremer County deputies.

Arrested Thursday afternoon, in Creston, was 25-year old Noel Ornelas, of Creston, who faces a charge of Simple Domestic Assault. Ornelas was being held in the Union County Jail while awaiting a bond hearing.

And, Thursday night, 37-year old Lacey Fowler, of Creston, was arrested at 900 N. Sycamore Street in Creston, for allegedly assaulting a Police Officer. Folwer was later released from the Union County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

(8-a.m. News)