The driver of a pickup truck escaped injury after his vehicle erupted in flames Thursday morning near the Pottawattamie County Courthouse, in Council Bluffs. According to the Omaha World-Herald, the truck was heading into the downtown area when Barbara Jacobson, who was following behind her husband Jake‘s pickup, in her vehicle, noticed smoke coming from the pickup.

Jacobson pulled over onto 5th Avenue at around 10:40-a.m.    Workers in the area tried to contain the flames with fire extinguishers, but the fire quickly got out of control.  Firefighters responded quickly to the scene, but it still took about 30 minutes to bring the flames under control. Video from the courthouse showed a stream of flames flowing down the street from behind the pickup and trailer it was pulling.

Officials say a gas line leak is suspected to be the cause of the blaze, which destroyed the truck. The incident remains under investigation.

A suspicious white powder found Thursday afternoon at a business in Harlan caused authorities to block-off roads in the vicinity of CDS Global. Shelby County Emergency Management officials told the Omaha World-Herald the powder was reported at around 1:45-p.m. Federal and State Authorities were investigating the incident and conducting tests on the substance late Thursday night.Harlan police, deputies with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, crews with Harlan Fire Department and Shelby County Public Health officials assisted at the scene.

Police in Red Oak cited two men Thursday night on separate drug and alcohol-related charges. Officials say 23-year old Cory Melvin Stimmel, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 10:35-p.m. in the 100 block of West Hammond Street, on a charge of Possession of drug Paraphernalia. Stimmel was issued a citation and released from custody at the scene.

About an hour later, 50-year old Timmy Lee Gardner, of Red Oak, was cited for Possession of Open Container, following a traffic stop near the intersection of West 3rd Street and 3rd Avenue. Gardner was cited for the offense and released.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A business conditions index for nine Midwest and Plains states has dropped after rising the previous two months.  The overall Mid-America Business Conditions Index plunged to a growth neutral 50.0 in October from 54.8 in September. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says the partial government shutdown and slower business activity for firms tied to agriculture pushed overall economic conditions lower for the month.

The survey results are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth, while a score below that suggests decline. The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

The sign up begins today (Friday) for the program that provides assistance to low income Iowans who need help with their energy bills. Rob Hillesland of the Iowa Utilities Board says those who are signed up for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) or the Home Weatherization program also get some other help. “These programs help protect them against energy/utility service disconnection during the winter months,” Hillesland explains.

The protection against having the utilities disconnected begins Friday November first and runs through April 30th. Hillesland says LIHEAP provides some financial help with energy bills for those who qualify. “They have to meet certain income guidelines or show that they participate in certain programs in order to be eligible,” Hillesland says. He says you can find out how to sign up through your local community action agency. LIHEAP doesn’t cover all the utility costs.  “Usually it will pay a portion of what their winter heating costs are — its’ a supplemental assistance, it’s not going to pay all their heating bills,” according to Hillesland.

He says participants are encouraged to keep paying what they can. “That is something that the Iowa Utilities Board strongly urges, it that anyone who is certified as eligible for LIHEAP and receives that winter disconnection moratorium, continues to pay on their energy bills to the extent that they are able to throughout the winter months,” Hillesland says. “Otherwise.
they can collect a large bill that they are unable to pay when the moratorium ends in the spring.”

The Home Weatherization program is also available for low income Iowans. Hillesland says the program helps people do things to their homes to make them more energy efficient and provide longer term savings. Those who are signed up for the weatherization are also given protection from being disconnected from their utilities during the moratorium.

Hillesland says elderly Iowans have already been signing up for the program and now low-income Iowans who qualify can sign up. You can find out more about the eligibility requirements for the two programs from the Iowa Department of Human Rights, or on the Iowa Utilities Board website at: www.iub.iowa.gov

(Radio Iowa)

Iowans who receive benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will notice a smaller amount on their cash cards starting today (Friday). Kevin Concannon, a former Iowan and the U-S-D-A’s Undersecretary for Food and Nutrition Services, says the federal government raised the amount of benefits by 13-percent back in 2009 to help those struggling during the recession. It was a temporary increase. “The additional benefit added to the SNAP program expired the last day of October,” Concannon says.

About 421-thousand Iowans now receive SNAP benefits, or about 13-percent of the population. With the change beginning this morning, the federal government will be sending about 43-million fewer dollars to Iowa for food assistance. Concannon says every person taking part in the program will see a decreased amount.  “A single person receiving the benefit will see an $11 per month reduction and the current average benefit is about $133 dollars per month,” he says. “A four-person household will see a $36 per month reduction.”

Concannon served as the director of the Iowa Department of Human Services from 2003 to 2008. Cuts in SNAP benefits are also the subject of current debate in Congress as members of the House and Senate try to reach a compromise on a new farm bill.

(Radio Iowa)