The Fourth of July holiday is in the reservation window for state park campsites and while there are currently plenty of options, campers shouldn’t wait as sites can go quickly. Todd Coffelt, chief of state parks for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says  “Our parks have a lot to offer and no two parks are the same. If your favorite park has filled, give a different park a try.”  To find a campsite, go to http://iowastateparks.reserveamerica.com/

As of Tuesday morning, reservable campsites with electricity have been filled at Clear Lake, Elinor Bedell, Emerson Bay, Gull Point, Lake Macbride and Lewis and Clark, near Onawa. Campers wanting to stay in those parks for the holiday will need to arrive early to secure a walk in site.

A few other state parks are close to filling reserved sites. Ledges and McIntosh Woods each have one reservable handicap site available. Viking Lake has one electrical site; Lake of Three Fires has two; George Wyth, Lake Wapello, Maquoketa Caves and Stone have three; and Green Valley has four. Dolliver Memorial, Union Grove and Wapsipinicon each have five electrical sites; Backbone and Lake Manawa have six; and Bellevue has seven.

Speculation abounds that the overnight violence at Iowa State University will spell the end of the long-running annual VEISHEA celebration, which got underway on Monday. Ames police Commander Geoff Huff says the problems started just before midnight with a crowd that was getting out of control at a party in the Campustown area on Hunt Street.  “We had officers go into that area and they were able to get control of that fairly quickly, didn’t think it was that big of a deal,” Huff says. “A lot of the crowd moved from that area over to Welch Avenue and at that point they flipped over a car and that’s when this thing got bad.”

More officers were dispatched to try and disperse the crowd but it only grew and became more violent. “The crowd went another block east to Stanton Avenue and got very large, flipped over another car and as officers responded the crowd got worse and started throwing beer cans at the officers, rocks at the officers, anything that wasn’t nailed down,” Huff says. Several injuries are reported, including one young man who was seriously hurt.

“At Welch and Chamberlain, a couple of light poles were knocked down by the large group and somebody was hit when a light pole came down,” Huff says. “It was a head injury. It was very serious. It took us a while to actually get to him because of the crowd and confusion.” The unidentified man was taken to an Ames hospital, then LifeFlighted to a Des Moines hospital for treatment of his injuries.

Huff says it’s unclear if this will mean an end to the annual student-run celebration at I-S-U, with 90-plus years of history.  “I’m sure there’s going to be some meetings that take place today to discuss what happened and how we move forward into this weekend,” he says. “I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of conversations and I don’t know where that’s going to go right now.”

I-S-U President Steven Leath issued this statement early this morning:
“I was immediately made aware of the situation that began in Campustown shortly before midnight, and have continued to receive information over the past few hours from police and other staff. We are all distraught and disappointed over the events that have unfolded near campus overnight. I can confirm that one of our students has been seriously injured and his condition is unknown at this hour. Student Affairs staff have reached out to the family. At this time, I ask everyone to keep this student in your thoughts and prayers. My senior cabinet will convene first thing in the morning to assess this situation and evaluate options for the remainder of our official Veishea activities planned for this week.”

(Radio Iowa)

WED APR 9 2014 …

RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 7 PM

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG WARNING FOR EXTREME FIRE CONDITIONS…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING.

* WIND…SOUTHWEST 20 TO 30 MPH GUSTING OVER 35 MPH.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY…20 TO 25 PERCENT THIS AFTERNOON.

* FUEL…GRASSES ACROSS THE ENTIRE STATE REMAIN 85 TO 100 PERCENT CURED. VERY LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES ON TUESDAY HAS PRIMED THESE FUELS FOR EASY IGNITION AND THE POTENTIAL FOR RAPID FIRE GROWTH.

* IMPACTS…RAPID FIRE GROWTH IS LIKELY TODAY FOR ANY FUELS THAT BECOME IGNITED. OUTDOOR BURNING IS NOT RECOMMENDED.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW…OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF STRONG WINDS…LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY…AND WARM TEMPERATURES WILL CREATE EXPLOSIVE FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL.

AMES, Iowa (AP) – Ames police say 1 person has been seriously injured after a rowdy crowd disturbance near the Iowa State University campus in which people overturned cars and toppled light poles.  Police Cmdr. Geoff Huff says in a statement on the agency’s Facebook page that the crowd massed late Tuesday in the Campustown area and threw beer cans at officers after overturning two cars.

He says people also knocked down two light poles, striking the person who was badly hurt. Police say the person, who wasn’t immediately identified, was airlifted to a Des Moines hospital.
The Des Moines Register says the disturbances came amid Iowa State’s annual Veishea celebration.

Police told The Associated Press that the crowd dispersed early Wednesday. They sought the public’s help identifying those involved.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — The city of Council Bluffs has reported more than $670,000 in unpaid trash bills from customers. The Council Bluffs Public Health Department says the unpaid bills are from the last three billing cycles, which occur every two months. The unpaid bills are tied to more than 3,600 accounts.

Health Director Donn Dierks tells the Daily Nonpareil that customers have 45 days to pay their bills. There is a late fee added after that. County official then put a lien on a delinquent property after another period of time.

Officials say the city continues to collect garbage whether the sanitation bill is paid or not.

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT/ NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 413 PM CDT TUE APR 8 2014

SAC-CRAWFORD-CARROLL-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS-CASS-ADAIR-MADISON-ADAMS-UNION-TAYLOR-RINGGOLD COUNTIES…

…ELEVATED FIRE DANGER LATE WEDNESDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON…

WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE REGION LATE WEDNESDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON. WITH SOUTHWEST WINDS EXPECTED TO INCREASE TO 20 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO NEAR 35 MPH AT TIMES. WITH RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES DROPPING TO NEAR 25 TO 35 PERCENT DURING THE DAY…AN ELEVATED FIRE DANGER WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE REGION BY LATE MORNING AND PERSIST THROUGH THE LATE AFTERNOON HOURS.

OUTDOOR BURNING IS HIGHLY DISCOURAGED WEDNESDAY. THE COMBINATION OF BREEZY SOUTHWEST WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY WILL RESULT IN THE POTENTIAL FOR A RAPID SPREAD OF FIRE OR FIRE THAT BECOMES QUICKLY OUT OF CONTROL.

URGENT – FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE

331 PM CDT TUE APR 8 2014

…CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS EXPECTED FOR WEDNESDAY…

A WARM AND DRY AIRMASS WILL BE OVER THE REGION WEDNESDAY. THIS AIRMASS COMBINED WITH SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 15 TO 30 MPH AND AVAILABLE FUELS/DRY GRASSES…SHOULD ELEVATE FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS INTO THE RED FLAG WARNING RANGE.

COUNTIES: MONONA-HARRISON-SHELBY-POTTAWATTAMIE-MILLS-MONTGOMERY-FREMONT-PAGE–

…RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TO 7 PM CDT WEDNESDAY FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN OMAHA/VALLEY HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG WARNING FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TO 7 PM CDT WEDNESDAY. THE FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

* WINDS…SOUTHWEST 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 35 MPH.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY…AS LOW AS 15 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS…FIRES CAN EASILY IGNITE AND SPREAD QUICKLY.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW…OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF STRONG WINDS…LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY…AND WARM TEMPERATURES CAN CONTRIBUTE TO EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR.

Three local lawmen wearing their uniforms and an Atlantic City Councilman braved cold water and brisk winds to try and raise money for a boy with cancer, Tuesday.

(Left-to-right) Cass County Sheriff Darby McLaren, Dep. Ryan Johnson, Atlantic Police Chief Steve Green & Councilman Chris Jimerson.

Atlantic Police Chief Steve Green, Cass County Sheriff Darby McLaren, Deputy Ryan Johnson and Councilman Chris Jimerson entered one of the lakes at the Schildberg Recreation Area just after 3-p.m., Tuesday.

Sheriff McLaren accepted Chief Green’s challenge to partake in the “Plunge for Landon,” a 5-month old boy from Tarkio, MO., who is recovering from surgery in his fight against cancer. Before he entered the lake, the Chief challenged Ackley, Iowa Police Chief Jeff Harnish, Red Oak Police Chief Drue Powers, and the entire staff at the Cass County Memorial Hospital to take the plunge. The Sheriff challenged Doctors Jeff Georgen and Doug Leonard to do the same.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A survey shows the value of Iowa cropland has dropped for the first time since 2009. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports the survey from the Iowa Realtors Land Institute shows the value of tillable cropland fell by 5.4 percent in the past six months. The report found the average price of high-quality farmland was $11,104 an acre, a drop of $570 from the last survey released in September.

The survey showed declines in all nine regions of the state, with the largest drop in southeast Iowa. Reasons for the decline include lower commodity prices, higher input costs and increasing interest rates. Prices for Iowa farmland have more than doubled in the past five years. Average high-quality farmland cost $5,297 in 2009 but had soared to $11,515 by 2013.

Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker early this (Tuesday) afternoon released additional information about a shooting incident that occurred at around 3-a.m. in Oakland. Danker says Pottawattamie County Communications received a 911 call reporting that a female had been shot at 303 Brown Street in Oakland.

Robert Reynolds

Deputies, assisted by Council Bluffs Police Officers and Iowa State Troopers arrived shortly thereafter and after a brief standoff, 63 year old Robert Reynolds, of Oakland, was taken into custody. Deputies investigating the incident found a 64 year old female from Rural Cass County Iowa deceased at the scene. Reynolds was transported to the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office and later booked in on the charge of Murder in the First Degree. The name of the victim is being withheld at this time. The investigation is ongoing.