Authorities in Taylor County said Monday that a Lenox man has died from injuries he suffered after a gas can exploded while he was burning debris.

According to the Lenox Police Department, 75-year old James M. Wurster died at the Burn Treatment Center at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics in Iowa City, early Saturday morning.  Wurster had been burning debris at around 11:20-a.m. Friday, when fumes from a nearby five-gallon gas can ignited, causing the can to explode, showering Wurster with flaming gasoline.

The man was transported by ambulance to the hospital in Corning before being flown to Iowa City where he died at around 3-a.m., Saturday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Gov. Terry Branstad wants Iowa to be in the top 10 states for student standardized reading and math scores by 2019.  Branstad laid out the goal during a news conference Monday, as he continued to push lawmakers to approve his $187 million education reform plan.

Arguing that the state needs “world class schools,” Branstad noted Iowa now ranks 25th in the nation for eighth grade math and 29th for fourth grade reading. He said he wants to get those scores into the top 10 by boosting minimum teacher salaries and pay incentives to senior teachers who take on tasks like mentoring.

Lawmakers are reviewing Branstad’s proposal, but there has been some conflict with Democratic legislators who want to first set a general level of school funding.

AMES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa State University is updating its statewide network of automatic weather reporting stations.  ISU Extension agronomist Elwynn Taylor says the updated stations will provide information on soil moisture and crop water consumption, letting farmers know the limits being placed on crop yield “by water stress as the season progresses.”

The new stations are replacing units that have been in place for more than 30 years. The networked readings will be monitored on the Mesonet (http://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/ ).    The new stations also will measure rain, air and soil temperature, humidity, sunlight, wind speed and direction. The units will be solar powered.  The goal is to have at least one station in every county.

(This is a correction to a previous posting which indicated the meeting is Feb. 11th)

The Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department’s Board of Directors will hold a special meeting Tuesday evening (Feb. 12th), at City Hall. Parks and Rec Director Roger Herring released the meeting agenda late this morning. During the session, the Board will take action on the contract and plans with Snyder and Associates, for the Parks and Rec Dept. office and Maintenance Building after they are presented for approval. The Board will also act on the Master Plan for the Schildberg Recreation area.

The meeting takes place at 5:15-p.m. in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall.

w/ Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (2.5MB)

Subscribe: RSS

w/ Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (1.9MB)

Subscribe: RSS

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — MidAmerican Energy is still considering building a new nuclear power plant as part of its long-term plans in Iowa. The Des Moines Register reports MidAmerican President William Fehrman told state regulators the utility may try to build a nuclear plant at some point. MidAmerican, which is owned by Warren Buffett’s Omaha, Nebraska based Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated, is converting coal plants at Council Bluffs and Sioux City to natural gas. And it has invested heavily in 2,200 megawatts of wind power capacity.

But Fehrman says he wants to make sure MidAmerican has a diverse mix of fuels, and he’s not convinced that natural gas will remain as cheap as it is now. The utility will provide more details of its plans this summer in a report to regulators.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

Police in Red Oak report the arrest Sunday afternoon of a Red Oak woman. 47-year-old Amy Jo Ross was taken into custody following a traffic stop at around 4-p.m.  She was charged with a probation violation and driving while barred. Ross was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on bond amounting to $15,000.

Authorities in Guthrie County are on the lookout for a man wanted in connection with a wild pursuit that took place late last week. According to the Stuart Police Department, an officer tried to stop a vehicle driven by 25-year old Alex Nolan, of Stuart, at around 11:40-p.m. Thursday. Officials say Nolan, who has been barred from driving since March 2011 for being a Habitual Offender, failed to stop for the officer when he activated his emergency lights and siren. The vehicle Nolan was driving was headed north on Adair Street at around 50-to 60-miles per hour, when it hit a set of railroad tracks at Adair and Front Streets.  The impact launched the vehicle 65-feet into the air before it came crashing down in the middle of Front Street.

Despite having sustained severe damage from the crash, the vehicle continued north on Adair Street, until its engine finally gave out when it pulled into the Stuart Speedway. Officials say Nolan then took off on foot  into the woods just east of the speedway. Two male passengers in  the vehicle suffered minor injuries during the crash and were transported to the Guthrie County Hospital by Stuart Rescue.

The Guthrie and Adair County Sheriff’s Department, Panora Police Department, and Stuart Rescue all responded and assisted Stuart Police in attempting to locate Nolan in the woods, but were unsuccessful. He’s currently facing criminal charges that include driving while bared, eluding, interference with official acts, reckless driving, and numerous traffic offenses.