U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack is addressing concerns about his agency’s plan to close 259 U-S-D-A offices, labs and other facilities. Vilsack, a former Iowa governor, told reporters in a teleconference Tuesday, that the closures are in response to Congressional budget cuts. The goal is to trim USDA expenses by $150 million a year. Vilsack said the plan involves $90 million in savings through reduced travel and supplies. The office and lab closures would account for the remaining $60 million in savings. Vilsack does not anticipate widespread layoffs as nearly 7,000 USDA employees took early retirement last year and many workers will be given the opportunity to transfer to other offices. Critics of the plan have raised concerns about the possible effect on food safety.

“I want to be very clear about this – the office closings we announced in the food safety area are about administrative personnel. They are not about inspectors,” Vilsack said. “We did not deal with the inspector issue at all. We’re still going to be in every single plant. The inspectors will continue to do the work that they’re doing in those plants and it will have no impact whatsoever on our responsibility to ensure the safety of the food supply in the United States.” In Iowa, the so-called “Blueprint for Stronger Service” would close three Farm Service Agency offices in Appanoose, Decatur and Union Counties. In addition, a Natural Resource Conservation Service office in Jefferson County would be shut down. Vilsack said public hearings will be held within 90 days in the counties where offices are to be closed.

(Pat Curtis/Radio Iowa)

Authorities have identified a southwest Iowa man who died following an ATV accident Tuesday afternoon, north of Shenandoah. According to officials, 63-year old Lyle Green was riding the all-terrain vehicle on family property about a mile and half north of Shenandoah when the accident occured at around 4:30-p.m.  At about that same time, the Shenandoah Fire Department was called to a field fire, and, while details concerning the accident are not available, sources say the ATV accident was the cause of the fire.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office was assisted in their investigation of the incident, by the Iowa State Patrol, DNR, the Fremont County Coroner’s Office and Shenandoah Fire/Rescue.

410 AM CST WED JAN 11 2012

Counties included in the Advisory: CRAWFORD-CARROLL-GREENE-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS-POLK-CASS-ADAIR-MADISON-ADAMS-UNION-TAYLOR-RINGGOLD

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A WIND ADVISORY WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 PM CST THURSDAY. THE COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON WITH WINDS INCREASING BETWEEN NOON AND 3 PM AND WILL PREVAIL THROUGH THURSDAY. NORTHWEST WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS APPROACHING 45 MPH ARE POSSIBLE.

A WIND ADVISORY MEANS THAT WINDS OF 30 MPH ARE EXPECTED. WINDS THIS STRONG CAN MAKE DRIVING DIFFICULT…ESPECIALLY FOR HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES. USE EXTRA CAUTION.

300 AM CST WED JAN 11 2012 …STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS THROUGH THE DAY…

.STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS WERE BEGINNING TO SPREAD INTO NORTHEAST NEBRASKA EARLY THIS MORNING BEHIND A COLD FRONT. THE COLD FRONT AND THE STRONG WINDS WILL OVERSPREAD EASTERN NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWEST IOWA DURING THE MORNING. A PERIOD OF SNOW SHOWERS OR FLURRIES MAY ALSO ACCOMPANY THE WINDS LATER THIS MORNING. WINDS

COUNTIES INCLUDED IN A WIND ADVISORY: HARRISON-SHELBY-POTTAWATTAMIE-MILLS-MONTGOMERY-FREMONT-PAGE

…WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 PM CST THIS EVENING…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN OMAHA/VALLEY HAS ISSUED A WIND ADVISORY…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 PM CST THIS EVENING. STRONG WINDS WILL DEVELOP BY LATE THIS MORNING AND LAST THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. NORTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 25 TO 35 MPH. GUSTS UP TO 45 MPH OR HIGHER ARE POSSIBLE.

STRONG WINDS MAY MAKE DRIVING DIFFICULT. LOOSE OBJECTS SUCH AS TRASH CANS MAY ALSO BE BLOWN AWAY. LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS MAY ACCOMPANY THE WINDS WHICH COULD REDUCE VISIBILITY.

A WIND ADVISORY MEANS THAT SUSTAINED WINDS OF 30 MPH OR HIGHER ARE EXPECTED. WINDS THIS STRONG CAN MAKE DRIVING DIFFICULT, ESPECIALLY FOR LIGHT WEIGHT OR HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES. USE EXTRA CAUTION.

An Atlantic man was arrested on theft charge, Monday. According to the Atlantic Police Department, 48-year old Mark Allen Anderson was taken into custody for 5th degree Theft. Anderson was booked into the Cass County Jail and later released on bond.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held this (Tuesday) morning in Lewis, for a new fire station that’s been over three-years in the making.

Lewis Fire Station, Jan. 2012

Lewis Mayor Don Cohrs said the preliminary design for the station was approved by the City Council in October 2009, after they took into consideration the costs and space required. When a committee was formed, it was determined the facility needed to be 6,500 square feet, if it was to store all the equipment necessary to respond to emergencies. Cohrs said the project got off the ground when the City applied and was approved for, a nearly $281,000 I-Jobs 2 grant, through the State of Iowa. Cohrs said in addition, with a grant from the Lewis Fire Association’s Building Fund, and funds from the City, the project was completed at a cost of nearly $420,000.

The Mayor said the City benefitted while construction was underway, from all of the construction crews who spent their money in town, at the local convenience store, café and Post Office.

Former IA Gov. Chet Culver listens as Lewis Mayor Donny Cohrs talks about the new facilty

Cohrs credited former Governor Chet Culver with creating the I-Jobs initiative that made a significant impact in financing, not only for the Fire Station project, but other needed projects within the community as well. Governor Culver, who was in attendance at the event, congratulated the Mayor and other City officials who worked long and hard to see the process through.

Culver said the purpose of the I-Jobs initiative, was to help eastern Iowa recover from the floods of 2008 and other natural disasters that year. He said they discovered during that process, that there were many communities with needs that had gone unmet, because funding was not available through Federal agencies. That’s when his administration created the Iowa Jobs and Infrastructure concept, the best part of which, he says, involves no taxpayer dollars. Instead, the money comes from bonds paid off through 17 casinos in the State.

Former Gov. Chet Culver talks about the I-Jobs Initiative in Lewis

Culver said the second part of the I-Jobs program was added to help communities with major infrastructure projects not associated with the floods and disasters. He says the result was a State that was transformed and modernized, and that includes the small community of Lewis.

Culver said people who put their lives on the line, like firefighters, deserve the most modern facility and equipment possible, so they can do the very best job possible.

Administrators at the Nodaway Valley Community School District in Greenfield are remaining mum on what disciplinary action has been, or will be taken, following an alleged hazing incident involving the school’s wrestling team. The School Board heard from parents who are furious over sexual abuse by members of the wrestling team against an 16-year old wrestler. 

The school’s athletic director, David Huff, sent a letter home to parents last Friday saying the school is aware of a hazing incident on the wrestling team and that the school conducted its own investigation. According to KCCI-TV in Des Moines, many of the parents who attended Monday’s night’s school board meeting called for administrators to not only fire the coaching staff but the suspend the rest of the wrestling season, but the board isn’t talking about what actions are being taken. 

One of the parents who attended the meeting Monday, said her son is a member of the wrestling squad. Dora Pudenz said her son had been threatened at least once by his teammates. In one instance, she says the wrestling coach allegedly stood by and authorized the wrestling captains to decide for themselves what they wanted for the punishment, while the coaches walked out of the room. 

Greenfield Police Chief Austin O’Brien isn’t talking about the situation, either. He reportedly kicked KCCI’s reporters off his property Sunday.

w/ Ric Hanson

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An early morning raid at a home in Shenandoah resulted in two people being arrested on drug charges. Officers with the Shenandoah Police Department, along with Page and Fremont County Sheriff’s deputies executed a search warrant this (Tuesday) morning at 812 South Avenue. Authorities say 56-year-old Michael Weaver and 47-year-old Bryan Bowman, both of Shenandoah, were  taken into custody.

Weaver was charged with Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Methamphetamine and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He posted a $1,000 bond and was ordered to appear in court at a later date. Bowman was arrested on Possession of Marijuana, Methamphetamine and Drug Paraphernalia charges. He also faces a felony Possession of Firearm charge. Bowman was unable to post a $5,000 bond, and was being held in the Page County Jail