Iowans who heat their homes with natural gas will likely see higher heating bills this winter, compared to last winter, based on a study from the American Gas Association. Bruce McDowell, the organization’s director of policy analysis, says their projections show natural gas consumption by residential customers will rise in the months ahead. “We can expect that they’ll use more because last year was the warmest year on record, so it’s bound to get a little colder than it did last year,” McDowell says. “Prices are lower though, that helps us set that, so we see a slight increase in the customer bills only because they’re going to be using more gas due to the weather, not because of any price increases.”

Iowans are helping to conserve natural gas, he says, which is stretching the supply and keeping the bills low. “In 1970, the house used 40% more than a house uses today,” McDowell says. “That’s what people are enjoying because of the conservation efforts they’ve made such as tighter homes, more efficient furnaces, checking the furnace to make sure it’s operating properly, and making sure that your home is adequately insulated.”

He says domestic natural gas supplies are at an all-time high.  “Everybody agrees there’s an abundance of natural gas out there,” McDowell says. “We have forecast there’s enough gas out there to last a century or more. When I started in this business, it was 60 years of supply, now it’s 100 years of supply, and that goes back 30 years.” The latest survey shows the U-S has the largest storage assets of any country in the world with more than 400 natural gas storage fields. Record underground storage levels were reached in November of 2011 for the third year in a row.

(Radio Iowa)

The two presidential campaigns continue their press to win Iowa and the state’s six votes in the Electoral College. Mitt Romney visited Iowa last week. This week, President Obama is due to visit Wednesday. Former President Bill Clinton led a Friday night rally in Sioux City for Christie Vilsack, a Democratic candidates for congress, but Clinton spent a good portion of his speech targeting issues like Medicare that are at the heart of the presidential race.

“I decided in this election I wasn’t going to give a lot of whoop-de-do speeches. I’m trying to explain things to people. I got offered the job of ‘secretary of explaining stuff’ — you may have seen that,” Clinton said, getting whoops from the crowd for that reference to the reaction to his speech at the Democratic National Convention. The presidential campaigns have been bringing in a host of people to try to turn out voters in Iowa.

On Tuesday night, Scott Walker, the Republican governor of Wisconsin, will visit a Republican phone bank in Cedar Rapids. On Thursday, musician Bruce Springsteen will headline an early voting rally in Ames for the Obama campaign.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

A teenager girl from western Harrison County was killed Sunday, after the vehicle she was in was hit by a train. The Iowa State Patrol says 16-year-old Cailey Marie Berndt, from Little Sioux, was traveling westbound on 125th Street near County Road K-45 around noon Sunday, when she failed to yield to a northbound Union Pacific train. After the 2005 Pontiac G-6 she was driving was hit by the locomotive, it was tossed  into the Harrison/Monona Waterway. Berndt was flown by medical helicopter to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, where she died shortly after arrival. The Patrol says she was not wearing a seat belt. The accident remains under investigation by both the Iowa State Patrol and the Union Pacific Railroad.

Deputies from Cass and Montgomery County responded to a reported domestic abuse incident with shots fired early this (Monday) morning, in Cumberland. According to scanner traffic at around 1:37-a.m., deputies were looking for a man who fired a round from a shotgun, outside of a home and into the air, in the 200 block of Adams Street. No injuries were reported at the residence. The weapon was found in the yard. The unidentified suspect took off from the home on foot and was not believed to be armed. At least two k-9 units were called-in to search for the man. The search was called-0ff just before 3-a.m.

Additional details are currently unavailable. It’s expected Sheriff’s officials will have more on the incident, later this morning.

SHELLSBURG, Iowa (AP) – Authorities in eastern Iowa are searching for two missing 15-year-old girls.  KWWL-TV in Waterloo reports that Skie Floyd and Jazlyn Visekboth last made contact with family members on Saturday afternoon.

The teens are believed to be traveling in a vehicle similar to this.

Family members say they left in a gold Jeep Grand Cherokee with no license plates.

The girls are both from the Shellsburg area.

Austin Boggs

Benton County Sheriff Randy Forsyth says the girls may be with two runaways from the Atlantic area, 16-year-old Corey Sunderman and 13-year-old Austin Boggs.

Corey Sunderman (photo provided by his family)

Floyd is described as 5’1″ 115 pounds white with blue eyes and blonde hair.

Skie Floyd

She was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, dark stonewash jeans and boots. Visek is white and has green eyes and brown hair. She’s 5’5″ and weighs 185 pounds.

Jazlyn Visek

She was wearing blue skinny jeans, a gray zip up hooded sweatshirt with word “arrow” on the front and gray and green Nikes. She also has two lip rings.

If you have any information on the teens’ whereabouts, call the Benton County Sheriff’s Department at 319-472-2337.

Members of the CAM Community School District’s Board of Education will hold their regular meeting Monday evening, at the CAM High School Media Center. During their 7-p.m. meeting, the Board will discuss and/or take action on: Contracts; a Joint Board meeting with the Adair-Casey Community School District; an FFA ski trip; and, Revisions to Board Policies pertaining to Employee Physical Exams, and Classified Employee’ Vacations, Holiday and Personal Leave.

Prior to the Board reports and adjournment, the CAM Board will enter into a closed session, to discuss the goals of Superintendent Steve Pelzer.

The Griswold School District’s Board of Education will meet Monday evening in the Central Office Board Room at the Middle School/High School Building. On the agenda for the 5:30-p.m. session, is an update on district improvement projects, along with discussion and/or action, on: A Sport Coordinator; Short- and long-term Facilities projects; Various Board policies; the purchase of a wheel chair lift bus; An agreement with the Atlantic School District, with regard to the CCEOC (Cass County Educational Opportunity Center; and a policy pertaining to the publication of student names with school photos.

The Griswold School Board will also hear updates on: Certified Enrollment; the Iowa West grant; and, other Board Policies.

The Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department’s Board of Directors will meet Monday evening in a regular session, in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall. On the agenda for the 5:15-p.m. meeting, is a presentation pertaining to a Tobacco Policy, discussion with regard to the Schildberg Recreation Area campground plan, updates on the Parks and Rec Capital Improvement Plan, and, an update on plans for a dog park at the Schildberg Recreation Area. In addition, Parks and Rec Director Roger Herring will provide his regular, monthly report.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – School administrators in Sioux City say a new state bullying database helped them stop harassment. The Sioux City Journal reports that school officials have used the system to track where instances of bullying have taken place.

The database required by the Iowa Department of Education has been in use for the past month. The system collects detailed reports about where bullying has occurred, who was involved and why the victim was targeted.

Sioux City schools administrator Marilyn Charging says the database has helped administrators identify where bullying has occurred, allowing them to increase staff in problem areas.  The Iowa Department of Education says districts filed nearly 11,000 reports of bullying in the 2011-12 school year.