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Red Flag Warning for all of western/sw IA Monday afternoon & evening

News, Weather

March 16th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

CRAWFORD-CARROLL-GREENE-BOONE-STORY-MARSHALL-TAMA-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-
DALLAS-POLK-JASPER-POWESHIEK-CASS-ADAIR-MADISON-WARREN-MARION-
MAHASKA-ADAMS-UNION-CLARKE-LUCAS-MONROE-WAPELLO-TAYLOR-RINGGOLD-
DECATUR-WAYNE-APPANOOSE-DAVIS-Red Flag Warning (Counties in pink)
343 AM CDT MON MAR 16 2015

RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 7 PM FOR EXTREME FIRE CONDITIONS….

MONONA-HARRISON-SHELBY-POTTAWATTAMIE-MILLS-MONTGOMERY-FREMONT- PAGERED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 8 PM FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR PARTS OF EASTERN NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWEST IOWA…

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.

* TIMING…HIGH FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL DEVELOP IN THE EARLY AFTERNOON AND PEAK BY MID AFTERNOON.

* WIND…WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 20 TO 25 MPH ACROSS THE SOUTH WITH GUSTS ABOVE 30 MPH AT TIMES THIS AFTERNOON.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY…WILL DROP AS LOW AS 15 TO 20 PERCENT BY EARLY TO MID AFTERNOON.

* FUEL…90 TO 100 PERCENT CURED.

* IMPACTS…ANY FIRES THAT DEVELOP WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO SPREAD MORE RAPIDLY DUE TO WINDY AND DRY CONDITIONS. ANY OUTDOOR BURNING IS HIGHLY DISCOURAGED AND SHOULD BE AVOIDED TODAY. COOLER CONDITIONS WITH HIGHER RELATIVE HUMIDITY RETURN BY TUESDAY.

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.

About 40-50 acres burned in Cass County fire Sunday

News

March 15th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

A brush pile that had been burning for a couple of days was fanned by high winds Sunday afternoon near Lewis, destroying about 40-50 acres of corn stalk rubble. Lewis Assistant Fire Chief Tim Pope said firefighters from Lewis and Atlantic were called to the area off Indian Creek Road between Lansing Road and Highway 6 at around 5:24-p.m., Sunday. No injuries were reported.

(Update 5:44-p.m.) 5 injured in I-80 crash Sunday morning; 4 from Ames

News

March 15th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

(In an update to our earlier online story), Five people were injured during a crash involving a semi and two other vehicles Sunday morning, in Pottawattamie County. The Iowa State Patrol says 24-year old Xinyao Li, 26-year old Gao Tianxiang, 45-year old Bo Yang, and 25-year old Shuo Yang, all of Ames, and 32-year old Juanita Kern, of Grimes, were injured in the crash that took place on I-80 eastbound near the 48.5-mile marker, at around 10:55-a.m.

Officials say a 2007 Toyota Camry driven by Xinyao Li, was traveling westbound in the left lane as a semi was passing her in the right lane. The Toyota went out of control and entered the median into eastbound traffic and sideswiped a 2013 KIA Sorento, driven by Juanita Kern. The KIA came to rest on the ditch, while the Toyota spun around in the eastbound lane and was hit by an eastbound 2015 Freightliner semi, driven by 32-year old Daniel Koller, of Mt. Pleasant.

The Toyota ended up in the median. Four people in the vehicle suffered severe injuries and were transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital, in Atlantic, by Medivac Ambulance. Kern suffered minor injuries, and was also transported to CCMH for treatment. Yang, who was  one of the passengers in the Toyota, was later transported by helicopter to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, in Omaha.

Iowa, Iowa State, UNI in NCAA Field

Sports

March 15th, 2015 by Jim Field

Iowa, Iowa State and Northern Iowa are all in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.  The pairings for the 68 team field were announced Sunday afternoon.

The Hawkeyes are the 7th seed in the South Region and will play a second round game on Friday at 6:20 pm CDT vs. 10th seed Davidson on TNT.  Iowa is 21-11 and Davidson is 24-7.  The game will be played at the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington.

The Cyclones, winners of the Big 12 Tournament title, are the 3rd seed in the South Region and will play on Thursday at 11:40 am CDT against 14th seed Alabama-Birmingham at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky on TruTV.  Iowa State is 25-8 and UAB is 19-15.

The Panthers, Missouri Valley Conference champions, are the 5th seed in the East Region and will face 12th seed Wyoming in the second round at the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington on Friday at 12:40pm CDT on TBS.  UNI is 30-3 while the Cowboys are 25-9.

The Iowa-Davidson game will be heard on KJAN Friday.

Large grass fire north of I-80

News

March 15th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

Firefighters from Atlantic were called to provide mutual aid to the Brayton and Exira Fire Departments late Sunday afternoon, in fighting a large grass fire. Atlantic’s grass trucks were called out just after 4-p.m. to 3340 Goldfinch Avenue, about 1.5-miles north of Interstate 80 and a mile east of N-16 (Olive Street). Atlantic fire was told to disregard at 4:19-p.m., as the other crews had the fire under control.

No other information is currently available.

Dozier homers for Twins in 6-6 tie with Cardinals

Sports

March 15th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) – Brian Dozier hit his second home run of the spring, a two-run shot off Carlos Martinez in the third inning, and the Minnesota Twins and the St. Louis Cardinals played to a 6-6, nine-inning tie Sunday.  With a strong contingent of Cardinals fans making the drive across the state, Martinez left after 3 1-3 innings with a 5-0 deficit.

Twins right-hander Kyle Gibson, a former first-round pick from the University of Missouri, opened with four scoreless innings. Gibson struck out four and allowed just two hits, back-to-back singles in the third.
Randal Grichuk, who homered against the Twins on Saturday in Jupiter, got the Cardinals on the board with a two-run double off Tim Stauffer in the sixth. The Cardinals rallied to tie the game on Dean Anna’s sacrifice fly in the ninth.

Stauffer struggled for the third straight time this spring. In 2 1-3 innings, he allowed four earned runs on six hits.

CONNIE L. SANDHORST, 56, of Marne (Svcs. 3/18/15)

Obituaries

March 15th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

CONNIE L. SANDHORST, 56, of Marne , died Friday, March 13th. Funeral services for CONNIE SANDHORST will be held at Noon on Wed., March 18th, at the Hoy-Kilnoski Funeral Home in Council Bluffs. In addition, a Mass of Christian Burial service will be held beginning at 3-p.m. Wed., at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, in Atlantic.

Visitation at the funeral home is from 6-until 8-pm on Tuesday (3/17).

Interment is in the Atlantic Cemetery.

Memorials may be directed to the family.

CONNIE SANDHORST is survived by:

Her daughter – Jennifer (Zach) Kerber.

2 grandchildren, her in-laws, other relatives & friends.

3 vehicle accident on I-80 46mm

News

March 15th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

Traffic on Interstate 80 eastbound near the 46 mile marker was at a standstill late Sunday morning due to a three vehicle accident involving a semi. Rescue crews from Avoca and Walnut along with Medivac Ambulance from Atlantic responded to the scene. Some of the victims were said to have been trapped in their vehicle following the crash. At least four people were injured, with those known to have been hurt transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital, in Atlantic. Life Net helicopter landed at the hospital at around 11:40-a.m. and transported at least one of the victims to another, unknown hospital.

Additional information was not available late Sunday afternoon.

Area School Board meetings set for Monday evening

News

March 15th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

A few area school districts have their monthly Board of Education meetings set for Monday evening. In Anita, the CAM School Board will gather for a 6:30-p.m. session in the High School Media Center. During their meeting, the Board will discuss and/or act on: Open enrollment applications; Resignations; and, the 2013-14 Audit report. The CAM Board will also review their proposed budget for 2015-16 and set the date and time for a Public Hearing on the 2015-16 Budget. They’re also set to consider a tennis sharing arrangement with the Atlantic School District.

In Audubon, the School Board meets at 7-p.m. in their boardroom at the high school. During the meeting, the Board will act on: Approving a contract for renovation of the track; Setting the dates for Public Hearings on the Budget Plan and Budget Amendment; Approving Early Retirement applications and other administrative matters. And, prior to an exempt session for strategizing over collective bargaining negotiations, the Audubon School Board will discuss a School Board Election timeline, and receive a school finance update.

An in Elk Horn, the Exira-EKH School Board will meet in the Family and Consumer Science Room at the High School, beginning at 7-p.m. On their agenda, is approval of contracts for various coach/assistant coaches, and a Middle School para-educator. They’ll also discuss setting the date for a Public Hearing in April, with regard to approval of the 2015-16 Exira-EHK School District Budget.

OWI arrest Sunday morning in Red Oak

News

March 15th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

A Red Oak man was arrested early this (Sunday) morning, on an OWI charge. Red Oak Police say 39-year old Michael Wade McFarland was taken into custody at around 3-a.m. at the intersection of east Nuckols Street and Highland Avenue. He was charged with OWI/2nd offense and brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where McFarland’s bond was set at $2,000.