(Radio Iowa) – The cities that were denied approval to keep their speed cameras running do have another chance to make their case. The director of the D-O-T Systems Operations Bureau, Dave Lorenzen, says they would have to file an appeal.

Lorenzen says they would have to take legal action if their appeal was denied.

A seven member panel put together by the D-O-T’s top safety engineer review accident reports and other material that led them to approve 11 of 139 requests to keep the speed cameras in place.

This is the first round of reviews under the new law passed by the legislature to regulate the cameras. Lorenzen says it will be a yearly process for those who were approved and any city wishing to put up a new speed camera.

He says there could be new speed cameras approved or current ones dropped in the next review.

Lorenzen says they cities that did not receive approval for their speed cameras could still keep them up, but they can only issue warnings and cannot collect fines from motorists. It may not be an option for cities as the revenue generated from the fines is used to fund their operation.

(Radio Iowa) – About 100 workers at the Cargill plant in Cedar Rapids are on strike. The Teamsters contract for workers at the corn milling plant in Cedar Rapids expired at midnight Monday. The union sought a three-dollar-an hour pay increase over the next three years and rejected the company’s lower offer.

Cargill is a privately owned company and Cargill’s C-E-O says the marketplace is extremely challenging right now and company officials say they’re hopeful negotiations will yield a contract agreement in the near future.

The Teamsters say wages the Cargill plant in Cedar Rapids is below pay at other local plants and workers are striking for a fair wage increase.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans will hear some new terminology when the winds of winter start to blow. National Weather Service meteorologist Chad Hahn says the agency is abandoning a few familiar terms in favor of language that’s a little more direct.

If the air temperature is ten-below-zero, that’s quite frigid whether there’s a breeze or not, so Hahn says it makes sense to have an alternative to wind chill advisories when it’s not windy.

The term “wind chill” isn’t going away, as Hahn says it remains very useful during the winter months to describe what the air temperature feels like with a combination of cold temperatures and sustained winds.

It’s possible we’ll hear about the heat index again in a few days, as the forecast calls for parts of Iowa to see unseasonably warm high temperatures in the low 90s by the weekend.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports numerous recent arrests. On Tuesday, Oct. 1st:

• 53-year-old Crystal Alaine Conley, of Creston, was arrested at around 1:30-a.m,. for OWI/1st offense. She was later released on a $1,000 bond.
• 25-year-old Noah Alexander Young, of Creston, was arrested for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He was later released on his Own Recognizance after being seen by Magistrate.
• 22-year-old Zoe Paulette Marie Hull, of Creston, was arrested at her residence. Hull was charged with Violation of No Contact/Protective Order – Contempt, and Interference with Official Acts. Hull was taken to Union County Jail and later posted at $600 cash bond.
• 22-year-old Christopher Gage Selvy, of Creston, was Tuesday for Violation of No Contact/Protective Order – Contempt. Selvy was taken to Union County Jail and later released on a $300 bond.
• and, 45-year-old Christopher Lee Breece, of Creston, was arrested for Driving While Suspended. Breece was cited and released from the scene on a Promise to Appear.

At around 12:10-a.m. Wednesday (Oct. 2nd), Creston Police arrested 31-year-old Michael Douglas Dean Kirkpatrick, of Edmore, Michigan, for OWI/1st offense. He was released after posting a $1,000 bond.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports six arrests took place over the past week:

• 37-year-old Stephanie Nicole LeMaster, of Macedonia, was arrested Sept. 24th for Possession of Controlled Substance, Accommodation-Marijuana and Possession of Controlled Substance (Bond $3,000).
• 60-year-old Hilario Villalobos Velazquez, of Omaha, NE, was arrested Sept. 27th for OWI/1st offense (Bond $1,000).
• There were two arrests on Sept. 28th in Mills County: 26-year-old Jeremy Jacob McCoy, of Tabor, and, 23-year-old Colton Jay Hale, of Red Oak, were each arrested for OWI/1st offense. Their bonds were set at $1,000 each.
• On Sept. 29th, Mills County Deputies arrested 47-year-old Gabbriel Diaz-Baeza, of Omaha, NE, for OWI/1st offense. His bond was also set at $1,000.
• And, on Sept. 29th, 55-year-old Stacy Aleen Newman, of Pacific Junction, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault with the Intent/1st offense; Reckless use of a Firearm; Criminal Mischief – 5th Degree, and Obstruction of Emergency Communication. Newman was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail.

(Radio Iowa) – State climatologist Justin Glisan confirms September is at the top of the record list after recording just seven-tenths of an inch of precipitation.

He says it was a warm one as well.

Glisan says the early outlook for October doesn’t show much change from September.

He says it doesn’t look like we will make up the lost precipitation from September anytime soon.

The State Fire Marshal’s website shows burn bans in 16 counties due to the dry conditions.

(Radio Iowa) – The deadline is later this month for grocery stores and small food processors in rural Iowa to apply for large state grants to help make themselves more marketable to consumers. Cynthia Farmer, senior policy associate at the Center for Rural Affairs, says the grants are for up to 25-thousand dollars each, which could be especially beneficial for small-town groceries.

Farmer says rural grocery stores are the backbone of many Iowa communities, but they’re facing a host of significant challenges. Those include supply chain troubles, food price inflation, and competition from big box super-stores in nearby towns.

The Rural Innovation Grant Program is being offered by the Iowa Economic Development Authority and applications have to be submitted by October 25th. Farmer says a 50-percent cash match is required to take part, so for a rural grocer to get a 25-thousand dollar grant, they’ll have to put up at least 12-thousand-500.

The program has 200-thousand dollars allotted. To qualify, applicants must be located and incorporated or authorized to do business in Iowa, operate in a community of 20,000 or fewer people, and not be in a community contiguous to a city with a population of 40,000 or greater.

(More info. at iowaeda.com/center-for-rural-revitalization/rural-innovation-grant)

(Clarinda, Iowa) – Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reminds the citizens of Clarinda, and those planning to visit the community, that there will be No Parking on certain city streets this Saturday, Oct. 5th, due to the Southwest Iowa Band Jamboree Parade. The following streets will be closed in Clarinda on Oct. 5th, from 7:30-a.m. until Noon:

• The 100 through 800 block of W. Main Street
• The 100 block of E. Main Street
• The 100 block of N. 15th Street
• The 100 block of E. Washington Street
• The 100 through 300 block of W. Washington Street
• 24th Street (Cardinal Drive) from Garfield Street to State Street (*SCHOOL BUS PARKING*)

The Clarinda Police Department appreciates the cooperation of all citizens in removing their vehicles from the parade route. Vehicles that are not removed will be towed at the registered owner’s expense.