The Cass County Board of Supervisors met this (Wednesday) morning at the courthouse in Atlantic. The Board tabled action on a Resolution approving Audubon County’s plan of reimbursement to Cass County for Administrative Assistant services rendered to the Audubon County Attorney’s Office.

The Board passed a Resolution authorizing County Engineer Charles Bechtold to execute the Certification of Completion of work and final acceptance, in accordance with the plans and specifications associated with all Farm to Market construction projects. Auditor/Board Secretary Dale Sunderman said the move is essentially a formality that’s done whenever a new County Engineer comes on-board, as is the case with the retirement last month of former Engineer Charles Marker.

Cass County Engineer Charles Bechtold

Bechtold agreed. He said some counties, however, will approve the resolution on an annual basis. The Board also approved an ordinance establishing a policy for the construction and reconstruction of roadways and bridges in the County. Bechtold said the policy stems from FEMA, and is designed to cover disasters affecting the County.

He said for instance, if a bridge goes out due to a flood or other disaster, the County is allowed to put the same type of structure back in. The new bridge would be brought up to current standards, though. The same stipulations apply to roads damaged or destroyed in a disaster. And, in his regular report to the Board, Bechtold said a “fracture critical” bridge in the Washington Township is scheduled to be inspected, Thursday. The bridge is located southwest of Atlantic, on Jasper Road. He also discussed an ISU study being conducted on a test plot in Pottawattamie County, that deals with gravel road degradation.

The results of the study, which just recently began, may affect how counties repair their gravel roads, which are costly to maintain in-part because of the dwindling supply of aggregate and crushed rock.

State Radio near Lewis reports a vehicle was stolen last night, from Atlantic. According to the All-Points bulletin, the vehicle is a black 2000 Chrysler Sebring with Iowa license plate DVP 203. It was taken from a person’s place of business, along with the keys to the registered owner. If you see the vehicle, contact your local law enforcement agency.

This vehicle was stolen from Atlantic.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office says an Ellston man reported that his home was broken into sometime between 6-and 11:30-p.m., July 3rd. Stolen from the home was a Sentinel gun safe containing three weapons, a rifle scope and related firearms equipment. The weapons were described as including a 9-m.m. Mansfield pistol in a red plastic gun case, a 870 Remington 12 gauge shotgun, and a 30-06 bolt action Savage axis rifle with 3X-9X scope.  The loss was estimated at $2,300.

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

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The Creston Police Department says a resident of the 500 block of S. Walnut Street has reported the theft of a flute and band shoes. The incident occurred sometime between 6-p.m. July 9th and 10-a.m July 10th, as the resident was in the process of moving out of the home. The loss was estimated at $2,055.

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

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The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency, Monday, said road construction projects in rural areas of the County require the temporary closure of two roads. 2300th Street, about 300-feet east of the intersection of 2300th and Juniper Road, is now closed for a pipe repair/replacement project.

2300th St. Project

The closure is located in the 1100 block of 2300th Street, between Union Township Sections 11-14. The road should remain closed for about one week.

And, a bridge replacement project on Juniper Road will require the road to be closed, beginning Monday, July 18th, and lasting for about 10 weeks. The bridge is over Lyons Creek in the 1700 block of Juniper Road, just north of 1725 Juniper, between Westphalia Township Sections 10-11.

Juniper Road bridge project

Area residents and emergency response personnel will want to plan for alternate routes to reach homes or property in the affected areas.

Iowa’s seeing a lot of severe weather lately and the Federal Emergency Management Agency now has a free smart phone app to help people deal with it and to potentially save lives. FEMA spokeswoman Brenda Gustafson encourages Iowans to download the mobile app, which includes severe weather alerts.  “There are several different scenarios that are in there to give you what to prepare for, what to do if that disaster actually happens and then what to do afterwards,” Gustafson says. Once you plug in some basic information, the app can be exceptionally helpful in emergency situations.

“The nice thing about this is you can get up to five different counties or areas in the United States,” she says. The FEMA app is free and can be downloaded in your mobile app store.  “Being prepared is what helps save lives in disasters,” Gustafson says. “The more prepared you are, the better for your family, includng your pets.” The app includes information about how to receive federal disaster assistance. It’s also available in Spanish.

(Radio Iowa)

A new “thrill ride” at a popular central Iowa tourist attraction has been shut down. “The Monster” is a steel track roller coaster that sends riders through five inversions and features a 101-degree first drop. It opened at Adventureland Park in Altoona in early June, but was closed this week due to “some unexpected maintenance,” according to park officials.

Initially, it was announced the coaster would be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday only — but now, officials say The Monster will be idled though Friday and possibly longer. A post on Adventureland’s Facebook page says they’re “having some parts machined and it will unfortunately take more time than anticipated to have them manufactured, delivered and installed.”

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 4:00 a.m. CDT

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa park ranger is being credited for saving two Council Bluffs men whose boat on Lake Manawa filled with water because of high winds. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says in a news release that 72-year-old William Buchholz and 54-year-old James Tanga were fishing on the western Iowa lake around 10 p.m. Monday when their boat became swamped. Lake Manawa State Park Ranger Aaron Johnson and firefighters were able to pull the men from the water.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Transportation says it is closing two driver’s license stations and seven maintenance garages because of reduced state funding from the Iowa Legislature. The department announced the closings Tuesday. An agency spokeswoman says the changes do not include layoffs, but 67 open positions will be permanently removed.

CLAYTON, Iowa (AP) — A 60-year-old Dysart man has died after being pulled from the Mississippi River in eastern Iowa after he fell from a boat. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says Charles Petersen was a passenger on a boat operated by his wife when he fell into the river from the rear of the boat Monday evening. Rescue crews pulled him from the water, and he died at a nearby hospital.