FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) – The second trial of a man accused of killing his former roommate in 2009 also will be held in a different Iowa county. On Thursday a judge ordered that John Green’s next trial begin March 30 in Boone County. The 55-year-old Green is charged with first-degree murder of 58-year-old Mark Koster in Sac City.

Green’s first trial was held in Webster County because his attorney had argued that pretrial publicity would make it impossible for Green to receive a fair trial in Sac City. The same argument was used against holding the second trial in Fort Dodge. The first trial ended in a mistrial.

Koster was reported missing in 2010 and declared dead in 2011. His remains were found buried in the basement of his Sac City home in 2012.

The 7:06-a.m. Newscast with Ric Hanson.

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

Subscribe: RSS

Officials with the Wellmark Foundation have announced 14 recipients of its 2014 Matching Assets to Community Health (MATCH) grant program in Iowa. The 14 competitively awarded grants create pilot efforts or expand health initiatives that focus on childhood obesity prevention and community-based wellness projects. Among the grant recipients was Live Well Council Bluffs, which received a $75,000 grant for the “Council Bluffs Bike Sharing Pilot” project.

Live Well Council Bluffs is creating a pilot bike-sharing program in Council Bluffs that will be run in conjunction with an existing bike-sharing program in the Omaha/Council Bluffs metro area: Omaha B-Cycle. The funding request is to start the program, not to maintain it.

And, the Rebuild and Recover Mapleton Foundation and the Monona County Alliance, which was awarded a $75,000 grant, for their “Mapleton Active Living by Design” project.

While planning for long-term disaster recovery, Mapleton’s Rebuild and Recover Committee became aware that many in Mapleton could not walk to or safely access recreational and educational sites by any means other than driving. In an analysis of infrastructure and activity, assisted by Iowa State University, landscape architects and Iowa DOT, they learned that the barriers of highways and discontinuous and broken sidewalks combined with poor lighting inhibited children from walking or biking to school and made access to recreational facilities and nearby necessities like groceries difficult for every age group. They plan to build safe highway crossings and well-lit complete sidewalks to enhance access to school.

This was the second year that The Wellmark Foundation offered the MATCH grant program. To view the grant opportunities available for 2015, visit the Wellmark Foundation website.

Iowans are enduring extremely cold temperatures lately, but there’s encouraging news for those who use propane to heat their homes. Harold Hommes, a fuels analyst with the Iowa Department of Agriculture, says prices are falling. “So far, inventories look to be more than adquate, a completely different situation than what we encountered last year,” Hommes says. “Both U.S. supplies seem to be at the high end of the normal range and certainly here in the Midwest, we’re looking at very good supplies.” Hommes is hopeful the cost of propane will remain steady for the rest of the winter.

“Prices seem to be hanging in there,” he says. “We just did our weekly report on Monday and it showed $1.55 average in the state. It does show quite a wide range, as low as $1.20 and up into the $1.80s. It has been drifting downward, believe it or not.” A year ago, prices spiked within a matter of days, shooting from under two-dollars a gallon to nearly five-dollars.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

CRESTON, Iowa (AP) — The manager of a fertilizer plant in southern Iowa says an employee has died following an explosion at the facility. Bill Clem, plant manager of Green Valley Chemical in Creston, says the explosion yesterday morning killed an employee and injured at least two people. Lee Freeman with the Creston Fire Department says officials responded to a medical call from the plant around 11 a.m. Thursday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Des Moines Water Works board has voted unanimously to sue three northern Iowa counties, holding them responsible for the high nitrate levels the in rivers the utility uses for source water. The five-member board says it will file a notice of intent to sue Calhoun, Buena Vista and Sac counties, who oversee 10 drainage districts.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker says he’s praying over whether to run for president in 2016 as he hires a senior adviser, plans a trip to Iowa in a couple weeks and expects to form an organization to raise and spend money. Walker says today that his hiring of experienced presidential adviser Rick Wiley doesn’t mean he’s decided to enter the race yet.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Des Moines Water Works board has voted unanimously to sue three northern Iowa counties, holding them responsible for the high nitrate levels the in rivers the utility uses for source water.

The five-member board says it will file a notice of intent to sue Calhoun, Buena Vista and Sac counties because they oversee 10 drainage districts that were designed to move water out of farm fields downstream. The suit will allege with water the drainage districts move contaminants like nitrate that Water Works must remove when the levels exceed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency limits.

A notice of intent will be Friday which informs the county supervisors and state officials that a lawsuit will be filed in 60 days. The process is laid out in the federal Clean Water Act.

CRESTON, Iowa (AP) – The manager of a fertilizer plant in southern Iowa says an employee has died following an explosion at the facility. Bill Clem, plant manager of Green Valley Chemical in Creston, says the explosion Thursday morning killed an employee and injured at least two people. He called those injuries non-life-threatening, but he did not elaborate. He also would not say if the injured are employees. Clem said he could not immediately provide any further details about the circumstances of the explosion.

Lee Freeman with the Creston Fire Department says officials responded to a medical call from the plant around 11 a.m. He says there was a report of an explosion, but he did not have additional information.
A website for the plant says it produces agricultural fertilizer and anhydrous ammonia.

DES MOINES – The Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) say it is continuing to build and sustain a more culturally vibrant Iowa by awarding more than $1.3 million for projects in six communities designated Iowa Great Places. The DCA approved an Iowa Great Places Citizen Advisory Board recommendation to designate and award funding to five communities as Iowa’s newest Great Places: Sixth Avenue Corridor (Des Moines), Grinnell, Linn County, Manning and the Raccoon River Valley Trail (Waukee).

Iowa Great Places funding will advance the vision of Manning, to offer increased recreational, transportation, and social opportunities. Great Places support coincides with other major initiatives in Manning involving the Iowa Economic Development Authority, Drake University and the Iowa Restaurant Association. Manning’s proposal will reinforce its unique sense of place while encouraging creativity and highlighting its most historic attractions.

Plans call for bronze statues and sculptural elements to be placed throughout the community and the creation of a new park around the historic Milwaukee Trestle Bridge. Additionally, a Park/Hospital trail connector will improve pedestrian access from a regional hospital to the community’s historic Main Street, supporting the community’s economic development goals. All of the projects are supported by multiple local and regional vision plans and partnerships with Iowa State University and Trees Forever.

Dawn Rohe (Roy), with the City of Manning, said “The Manning community is very grateful for the Iowa Great Places designation and funding. Not only will it help fund three public art projects, two trail segments, and the new trestle park, it will help showcase some of the developments that make Manning one of the great places of Iowa.”

This year, the board reviewed applications from nearly a dozen Iowa communities requesting approximately $3 million. Common themes identified across the communities awarded funding include an emphasis on creating livable, walkable communities, revitalizing downtowns and urban neighborhoods, and capitalizing on outdoor recreational corridors.

Officials with the Cass County Health System have announced the first baby born in the New Year, belongs to a couple identified as “Keisha” & “Rick.” The little girl and her proud parents of “Lily Lynn” were celebrated by the CCMH OB Department,  were celebrated by going home with a stash of diapers and Lily’s very own 2015 baby blanket.