The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports two people were arrested Wednesday. 27-year old Chastity Rae Anway, of Council Bluffs, was arrested on a warrant for Failure to Appear on Possession of a Controlled Substance and Unlawful Possession of a Prescription drug, charges. She was being held in the Mills County Jail on $5,000 bond. And, 25-year old Aaron Wade Opdyke, of Malvern, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance along with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Updyke was also wanted on a warrant out of Dickinson County, for Possession of a Controlled Substance. His bond on the combined offenses amounts to $2,800.

A freezing rain advisory is posted for a wide section of southern, central and eastern Iowa from 6 o’clock tonight (Thursday) through 6 o’clock tomorrow (Friday) morning. Forecasters say a coating of ice this evening will make roads very slick and travel treacherous in Adair, Adams, Guthrie, Dallas, Madison, Ringgold, Taylor & Union Counties in the KJAN listening area. Meteorologist Jim Lee, at the National Weather Service, says the approaching storm front will dump precipitation.

“In the areas where it forms as drizzle or light rain, it probably will freeze to the surface,” Lee says, “so we’ve issued a freezing weather advisory for about the southeastern half of the state.” While that storm should move out of the region tomorrow (Friday), Lee says another storm front is coming up behind it. “It looks like it’ll spread a pretty decent swath of snow somewhere across the Midwest and into the Ohio River valley,” Lee says. “Right now, the track of the storm isn’t very certain but it does look like parts of Iowa should see some snowfall out of that.”

In the more longer-range forecast, Lee says there are no indications there will be any foul weather early-to-mid-next week for the Christmas holiday.

(Radio Iowa)

w/ Ric Hanson

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Officials with the Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources report the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) has been positively identified in a residential tree in the city of Creston, in Union County. It’s the fifth location where the invasive beetle has been found in Iowa. EAB kills all ash tree species and is considered to be one of the most destructive tree pests ever seen in North America.

The current EAB infestation was found as a result of an arborist contacting state officials about a suspect ash tree. Investigation by the Iowa EAB Team members revealed characteristic galleries and D-shaped exit holes in dead branches, and a partial adult beetle was positively identified by federal identifiers.

EAB infestations had previously been discovered in Allamakee County in May 2010, Des Moines County in July 2013, Jefferson County in August 2013 and Cedar County in October 2013. A quarantine covering 25 counties in Eastern Iowa was issued on Nov. 1, 2013 intended to slow the accidental movement of EAB by humans.  An additional quarantine in response to this new confirmed infestation is being developed. A quarantine restricts movement of hardwood firewood, ash logs, wood chips and ash tree nursery stock out of the quarantined counties.

The Iowa EAB Team strongly cautions Iowans not to transport firewood across county or state lines, since the movement of firewood throughout Iowa or to other states poses the greatest threat to quickly spread EAB even further. Most EAB infestations in the United States have been started by people unknowingly moving infested firewood, nursery plants or sawmill logs. The adult beetle also can fly short distances, approximately 2 to 5 miles.

Ash is one of the most abundant native tree species in North America, and has been heavily planted as a landscape tree in yards and other urban areas. According to the USDA Forest Service, Iowa has an estimated 52 million rural ash trees and approximately 3.1 million more ash trees in urban areas. It is unknown how many public and residential ash trees are located in Creston.

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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha will again host an open house and air show this summer.  The event will return July 19 and 20 after a break last summer caused by budget problems amid spending negotiations in Congress.  The air show will include performances by the Blue Angels, the Navy’s flight demonstration team. It will be the team’s first visit to Offutt since 2009.

More information on the plans will be posted on a website when they’re available at www.offuttairshow.com

The Atlantic School Board will decide during a Special meeting tonight at 8 o’clock in the High School Media Center, which of the two school expansion concepts will be voted on by School District Patrons. The board has previously discussed Concepts 1 and 2, after school administrators provided their input on how the grade levels might fall into place and where those classrooms might be within the building with each one of those concepts.

Concept 1 includes: moving the Pre-K back to Washington Elementary and adding two Pre-K classrooms, one special education classroom and a new dining facility. This option also includes a new media center at Schuler, additional toilets, and eight new classrooms. The expansion would also include a new dining facility at the Middle School and three to eight additional classrooms at the high school along with an expanded art room. The price tag on this option is around $8.7 million.

Concept 2 is a little more dramatic. It includes: two Pre-K Classrooms, one Special Education Classroom and a new dining facility at Washington. There are two options at Schuler with this plan, an additional Special Education Classroom, or an additional art room and music center or three to eight additional classrooms at the high school. This plan would also include the construction of a brand new 80,000 square foot Middle School attached to the high school and a brand new competition Gymnasium. The cost of this project would be around $20 million.

The Design Alliance Architectural firm originally drafted five concepts. Following a public meeting and discussions with the personnel and staff, they narrowed it down to the two options.

A reminder to persons interested in the Mental Health and Disability Services, that the second of three public meetings with regard to the Regionalization of those services, will be held this afternoon, in Oakland. Counties formed Regions in response to State law affecting funding for the Mental Health and Disabilities Services in Iowa.

The Southwest Region includes nine counties (Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona, Montgomery, Page, Pottawatttamie and Shelby). Local advisory and Community input meetings have been scheduled to take place across the Southwest Region. Cass County Mental Health/General Relief Coordinator Teresa Kanning said the next meeting will be held this afternoon, at the Oakland Community Center [614 Dr. Van Zee Road, in Oakland]).

The meeting begins at 3-pm and runs until 5-p.m. In the event of a bad weather, it will be held January 7^th at the same location. The public is invited to attend the session to provide input into the current mental health service system, including what you feel works and doesn’t work. It’s also designed to: develop ideas for future service needs, including Crisis Response in rural areas; Build relationships and interest in participating in Local Advisory Councils, and to provide an overview of the developing region’s progress, administrative structure, future board and advisory structure, and current service systems.

Anyone who is a consumer of mental health services, family members of those using mental health and disability services, community mental health/developmentally disabled service providers and those interested in being a part of forming the Southwest Iowa MH/DS Region, is urged to attend. The meeting is being facilitated by Beth Morrissette, Executive Director of the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Network.

If you miss today’s meeting in Oakland, there will be a final session in Harrison County, January 21^st,  at the Dunlap City Hall.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press…

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Former Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer isn’t saying if he’ll run for president in 2016. But if he does, he thinks he can connect with Iowa voters. Schweitzer, a Democrat who served as governor from 2005 through early 2013, visited Iowa yesterday. He spoke in front of about 100 people at an event hosted by a liberal advocacy group.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Governor Terry Branstad has suspended rules limiting the work hour of truck drivers who haul propane. Branstad announce his action yesterday evening. It’s effective today and will continue through January 2nd. Branstad signed a proclamation saying the suspension of work rules is necessary because of a shortage of propane.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — A group of researchers have established a center for Arctic studies at the University of Northern Iowa. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports the National Science Foundation awarded a $749,000 grant to Andrew Petrov, a UNI assistant professor of geography, to run the program over the next five years.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Trevor Berkeley drilled his only 3-pointer of the game as Drake scored six points in the final 16 seconds to rally past Western Michigan 71-68 last night. Jacob Enevold Jensen scored 16 points for Drake, which improved to 7 and 3. Jordan Daniels added 14 with seven assists, and Chris Caird had 10 points for the Bulldogs in Des Moines.

The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, approved the sale of City owned properties at 807 Elm and 203 Locust Streets. Mayor Dave Jones said there was only one bid for the property at 807 Elm Street. The Council approved the lone bid of $1,000 submitted by Janet Jordan. Jones said there were three bids for the property at 203 Locust Street. The Council accepted a bid of $2,050 from ROMAR Investments (Robert and Marlo Stamp). Other bidders included Janet Jordan, who submitted her bid of $1,000 and Chuck Templeman, whose bid of amounted to $2,000. All bidders had previously agreed to provide a performance guarantee to demolish the buildings on the properties and remove them from the site.

In other business, City Administrator Doug Harris and Mayor Dave Jones reminded residents of their obligation under City Ordinance, to shovel their sidewalks within 72 hours of the end of a snow event. Harris said the City received complaints after the last snowstorm from citizens, about some sidewalks not being shoveled. The Mayor says the City will follow-up on those complaints as they are received, and make the property owners aware of their responsibility to provide a safe walking environment.