Much of Iowa is frozen and snow-covered, but soon enough, spring will be here and homeowners will leap into landscaping and farmers will dig into the soil. Ben Booth, at Iowa One Call, says if you plan to do any digging, it’s the law to call 8-1-1 at least 48 hours before digging and have all potential obstacles underground marked off. Booth says they’re holding special damage prevention seminars this month for contractors and excavators.

Booth says, “This program focuses on the farming community, specifically farmers and tiling excavators and land improvement contractors, people who will be doing the terracing and installation of drainage tile.”

If a pipeline, communications line or other vital service is ruptured by your negligence, you may be found financially liable for repairs and any repercussions. There have been several incidents in recent years in rural Iowa involving ag contractors digging where they shouldn’t be digging. Booth says, “We have a lot of problems throughout the year with these types of farming and agricultural operations impacting the pipelines as well as fiber infrastructure, fiber optic cables.”

Anyone who fails to call Iowa One Call and ruptures an underground line could face fines ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 per day. There were pipeline explosions in Jackson and Plymouth counties in the past few years. Booth says both incidents happened because the contractors failed to call Iowa One Call. “There can be some really serious ramifications of hitting an underground high-pressure natural gas pipeline or a hazardous liquids pipeline,” Booth says.

The next seminar on damage prevention is planned for next week. It will be held at 6:30 P-M Tuesday at the Senior Center in Glenwood. Learn more at: www.iowaonecall.com

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa House has passed a bill that would allow all-terrain vehicles on all rural roads and county highways in Iowa. Four-wheel A-T-V’s currently can be driven on those roads if they’re being used for farming and some cities and counties have ordinances allowing A-T-V’s on local roads. Representative Kurt Hansen, a Democrat from Fairfield, says he’s heard from rural Iowans who aren’t thrilled with the idea of letting anyone drive an A-T-V on a rural road.

“Their concern is that they have a lot of remote properties — their properties are vulnerable to theft and vandalism — and they’re worried about a new group of people coming into the county, operating these vehicles and harming their property,” Hansen says. “The concern also centered around people going down a narrow gravel road with a hill and finding one of these vehicles driven down the highway. Now we have just a few. Could this open it up to just a whole bunch of vehicles?”

Representative Sally Stutsman, a Democrat from Riverside, says the bill should have required safety equipment on A-T-Vs — like seat belts and roll-bars — if these vehicles are going to be driven on roads. “I continue to have grave concerns about allowing the use of vehicles that the manufacturers specifically say are not to be used on roads,” Stutsman says. “…What makes these such good vehicles for off-roads are the very things that makes them dangerous for on-roads.”

Representative Mary Mascher, a Democrat from Iowa City, says she’s talked to her brother about A-T-Vs — because he sells them. “And he has said these were never, ever, ever meant to be ridden on the road,” Mascher says. “They were not constructed for that.” The House passed the bill by a wide margin — a vote of 70 to 28. Representative Brian Moore, a Republican from Bellevue, was the only House member to speak in favor of the bill.

“I do know where these particular vehicles are riding now where they’re forced to ride out in pastures or timber ground or even parks where they don’t know the layout and you can’t see the layout of the ground,” Moore says. “I think the gravel road system we have and the secondary system I think is going to be a much safer place than what they have offered to them now.”

A similar bill recently passed a Senate committee. A bill to allow ATVs on rural roads passed the Republican-led House during the 2013 legislative session, but stalled in the Democratically-controlled Senate. A legislative committee then studied the issue last fall, hearing from both sides in the debate.

(Radio Iowa)

The Cass County Soil and Water Conservation District will be hosting a Cover Crop meeting on Wednesday, March 12th at the Cass County Community Center. The meeting will start at 1:00 pm and run till 3:30pm. Doors will open at 12:30 to the public. Bill Northey, Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture will speak during the meeting about Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy.

Matt Lechtenberg from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land stewardship, Division of Soil Conservation will also present information about the Iowa Water Quality Initiatives. There will also be a panel of local producers that will give their account of how they have incorporated cover crops to their own farm operations.

The Cass County Soil and Water Conservation District Commissioners are: Greg Zellmer, Fred Kay, Ray Wilson, Curt Behrends, and Chase Wheatley along with Assistant Commissioner Alan Peterson.

w/ Ric Hanson

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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – A Corps of Engineers official says the mountain snowpack in the Missouri River’s upper basin is close to levels seen before 2011 flooding on the river. But she says flooding this year is still far less likely. Jody Farhat with the corps says drought in 2012 has resulted in a one-third increase in water storage capacity in the three Missouri River reservoirs in the Dakotas and Montana. And she says there is not as much snow accumulation on the plains as there was three years ago.

South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard says he still wants government officials and residents to be diligent about monitoring flood potential this year. He says in 2011, information on river conditions came too late.

Authorities in Harrison County say a Missouri Valley man was arrested Thursday, following a high speed chase that began on Interstate 29 and ended on I-680. Missouri Valley Police Chief Ed Murray told the Daily NonPareil 43-year old Anthony Valenzuela was taken into custody on suspicion of misdemeanor eluding, reckless driving, speeding, driving without a license, driving without insurance and other traffic violations. The man was being held Thursday in the Harrison County Jail.

Murray said the incident began at around 4-p.m., when a Missouri Valley Police officer attempted to stop Valenzuela’s 1996 Chevy S10 pickup truck. The officer observed Valenzuela drive by in a residential area of Missouri Valley and recognized him from a traffic stop on Wednesday for driving without a license and without insurance.

Valenzuela refused to pull over and traveled south on I-29 before turning onto I-680. At times, his truck was traveling near 95-mph.  Valenzuela was finally apprehended at the 16-mile marker of I-680.

SALIX, Iowa (AP) — Authorities closed Interstate 29 in western Iowa after a truck veered off the freeway and caught fire. The Sioux City Journal reports the driver of the truck was found dead, but it’s possible he had a medical condition that led to the Thursday morning crash.

The Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office says the incident happened when the truck, which was hauling a trailer filled with hamburger, veered off I-29 near Salix, south of Sioux City. The truck crossed a shallow ditch, came to rest in trees and caught fire. Both southbound lanes of the freeway were closed while crews fought the fire. Traffic was routed into Salix. One lane was reopened several hours later.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press…

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Legislative leaders say they agreed before the current session started to arrive at broad budget figures on which Republicans and Democrats could agree to prove that divided state government can work. Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, a Democrat from Council Bluffs, said yesterday that record low public disapproval of Congress gave state leaders impetus to work together.

SALIX, Iowa (AP) — Authorities closed Interstate 29 in western Iowa after a truck veered off the freeway and caught fire. The Sioux City Journal reports the driver of the truck was found dead, but it’s possible he had a medical condition that led to the crash. The Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office says the incident happened Thursday when the truck, which was hauling a trailer filled with hamburger, veered off I-29 south of Sioux City.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A Dubuque man has been accused of trying to conspire with his teenage daughter to get his wife to take harmful pills. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports 55-year-old Michael Schoonover was arrested Tuesday morning. He faces a charge of solicitation to commit a felony.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Egidijus Mockevicius tied a career-high with 19 points, had a career-best eight blocks and grabbed 10 rebounds as Number 9 seed Evansville defeated eighth-seeded Drake 69-61 in the opening round of the Missouri Valley tournament last night. Richard Carter scored 26 points and Jordan Daniels finished with 11 to lead the Bulldogs in St. Louis.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Legislative leaders are telling the greyhound racing industry and casinos that want to end dog racing to work out their differences soon. Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, a Council Bluffs Democrat, says he’d like to see a deal that provides a “soft landing” for the greyhound industry that support the state’s two remaining dog tracks at casinos in Council Bluffs and Dubuque. Republican House Speaker Kraig Paulsen agrees.

The casinos, which provided $10 million last year to subsidize dog racing want the tracks to close. The greyhound industry says it employs 1,200 workers in Iowa and hopes to keep a track operating somewhere in Iowa.

A bill that has passed the committee level requires the casinos to pay the dog industry $70 million over six years to shut down racing.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports two arrests this week. Authorities said Thursday that 44-year old Tammy Darleen Flathers, of Cumberland, was arrested Tuesday on a District Court warrant for Failure to Appear to Serve Jail Time. Flathers was taken to the Cass County Jail where she was being held until the completion of her jail time.

And on Wednesday, 29-year old Ehren Michael Mardesen, of Anita, was arrested on a charge of Aggravated Domestic Abuse Assault. Mardesen was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released the following day on his own recognizance.