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NWS Forecast for Cass & Area Counties: Wed., April 9th 2014

Weather

April 9th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

EARLY THIS MORNING…CLEAR. SOUTHWEST WIND NEAR 5 MPH.

**RED FLAG WARNING FOR ALL OF IOWA TODAY FROM NOON UNTIL 7-P.M.**

TODAY…SUNNY…BREEZY…WARMER. HIGH IN THE UPPER 70S. SOUTH WIND
10 TO 15 MPH INCREASING TO SOUTHWEST 20 TO 25 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.
GUSTS UP TO 35 MPH.
TONIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. NOT AS COOL. LOW IN THE UPPER 40S.
SOUTHWEST WIND 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 25 MPH.

THURSDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. BREEZY…COOLER. HIGH IN THE UPPER 60S.
NORTH WIND 10 TO 20 MPH.
THURSDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY THROUGH MIDNIGHT…THEN MOSTLY
CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF LIGHT SHOWERS AFTER MIDNIGHT. LOW
IN THE MID 40S. NORTHWEST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH SHIFTING TO THE SOUTH
AFTER MIDNIGHT.

FRIDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE UPPER 60S. SOUTHWEST WIND 5 TO
15 MPH.
FRIDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE UPPER 40S.

SATURDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS. BREEZY. HIGH
IN THE LOWER 70S. CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS 40 PERCENT.

Meyer, Stokes to leave Iowa

Sports

April 9th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Iowa reserves Kyle Meyer and Darius Stokes are leaving the program.    Hawkeyes coach Fran McCaffery says the seldom-used forwards have been released from their scholarships and plan to transfer.

Meyer, a 6-foot-10 post player from Alpharetta, Ga., played one season at Iowa after redshirting in 2012-13. Meyer appeared in just 12 games and averaged 1.3 rebounds. He’ll have three years of eligibility left.

Stokes played in 38 games in four years with the Hawkeyes. He is scheduled to graduate in May and should be eligible immediately for a final season at another school.

Cardinals rally past Reds 7-5

Sports

April 9th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

ST. LOUIS (AP) – Matt Holliday hit a go-ahead two-run double in the sixth inning that glanced off right fielder Jay Bruce’s glove on the warning track and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-5 on Tuesday night. Yadier Molina homered and Peter Bourjos had three hits and an RBI to help the Cardinals clinch their 26th series win to go with three losses and two splits since 2003 against Cincinnati.

Bruce had a two-run triple in the first, Billy Hamilton’s second hit of the season drove in a run and Ryan Ludwick had two RBIs  for the Reds.  The Reds squandered a 4-0 second-inning lead by the bottom half of the inning, and Lance Lynn got enough support to beat Cincinnati for the second straight time.

Police: 1 hurt in Iowa State crowd disturbance

News

April 9th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

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: Large sum in unpaid trash bills

News

April 8th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

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.

Elevated Fire Danger for Cass & area counties Wednesday

Ag/Outdoor, News, Weather

April 8th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

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.

Red Flag Warning for western/sw Iowa – Wednesday afternoon

Ag/Outdoor, News, Weather

April 8th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

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.

Local lawmen and elected official brave the wind and cold for a cause

News

April 8th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

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.

(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.IMG_20140408_150222_409~2 IMG_20140408_150206_275~2

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.

Survey shows drop in Iowa cropland value

Ag/Outdoor, News

April 8th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

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.

Update 1:30-p.m. Oakland Shooting information

News

April 8th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

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

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.