As of Tuesday, the Page County Sheriff’s Office reports that the handgun found in possession of Rodney Eugene Long during the home invasion in Taylor County was the handgun that had been stolen in a burglary at 2914 180th Street in rural Clarinda which KJAN reported on earlier this week. This was confirmed by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. Evidence from this burglary has been turned over to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Crime Lab for analysis.

No charges have been filed in this burglary case and the case remains open pending results of the analysis from the DCI Crime Lab.

Harlan Municipal Utilities has announced after five years of construction and planning, the new HMU water treatment plant is in operation. The plant was first approved by the HMU board in 2008 and is now online providing water to the city of Harlan. The $7.1 million operation will see 2.4 million gallons per day capacity and is fully automated, runs 24 hours a day, removes iron and manganese from water, uses reverse osmosis technology to further filter and soften water and has fluoride and chlorine added to the finished product. In a press release from HMU, Steve Dresen, director of Gas and Water, said, “This plant will be much more efficient than the old one as we are using new and automated technology. We anticipate our labor, operations and maintenance costs to decrease. One thing I do want our customers to know is they may notice a different taste to the water.” He stated the plant uses a different way to clean the water and HMU still meets all the safety and quality standards.

(Joel McCall KNOD)

From late-August through Labor Day, city, county and state police will be out in force as part of the annual nationwide “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” crackdown on drunk driving. The crackdown, which will include high-visibility enforcement throughout Iowa, will run from August 26 through September 8, 2013.

The effective nationwide drunk driving crackdown will include high-visibility enforcement and will be supported by national paid advertising, creating a comprehensive campaign to curb drunk driving in August and through the Labor Day holiday weekend. Iowa ranks 2nd as having the lowest number of alcohol related fatalities in the nation.

While it is illegal to drive drunk (having a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher) in all 50 states, far too many people across the nation get behind the wheel after consuming too much alcohol. The latest statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration underscore the serious nature of the nation’s continuing drunk driving epidemic.

“Every year, about one third of all motor vehicle traffic deaths involve one or more drunk drivers or motorcycle operators,” said Colonel David Garrison – Chief of the Iowa State Patrol. “In 2011 9,878 people died across the nation in crashes involving drunk drivers. That is approximately one drunken driving fatality every 53 minutes.” During last year’s Labor Day Holiday, there were no reported alcohol related fatalities, however there were 4 fatalities.

“Research has shown that high-visibility enforcement like the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign reduces drunken driving fatalities by as much as 20 percent. By joining this nationwide effort, we will make Iowa’s roadways safer for everyone throughout the Labor Day period,” said Colonel Garrison.

“Driving drunk is simply not worth the risk. So don’t take the chance. Remember, we will be out in force and we will be watching, so ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over,’ said Colonel Garrison.

For more information, visit the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign headquarters at www.TrafficSafetyMarketing.gov.