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NWS Forecast for Cass & area Counties: May 2nd 2013 (3:56-a.m.)

Weather

May 2nd, 2013 by Ric Hanson

Today: Snow before 2pm, then a chance of rain between 2pm and 3pm, then a chance of snow after 3pm. High near 40. Windy, with a north wind 20 to 22 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.
Tonight: Rain and snow likely, becoming all snow after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 33. Breezy, with a north wind 10 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Friday: Snow likely before 10am, then rain likely. Cloudy, with a high near 42. Breezy, with a north wind 14 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Friday Night: Rain likely. Cloudy, with a low around 35. Breezy, with a north wind 15 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Saturday: A 50 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a high near 47. North northeast wind 8 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Saturday Night: A 40 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 37. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 57.

Posted in Weather |

(Update) Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect for western IA counties

Weather

May 2nd, 2013 by Ric Hanson

COUNTIES: HARRISON-SHELBY-POTTAWATTAMIE-MILLS 339 AM CDT THU MAY 2 2013

…WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM CDT THIS MORNING…

* TIMING...SNOW WILL CONTINUE TO DIMINISH TO FLURRIES AND SPRINKLES EARLY THIS MORNING.

* ACCUMULATIONS...LITTLE ADDITIONAL SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED.

* IMPACTS...ROADS WILL REMAIN SLUSHY AND SLICK MAKING TRAVEL DIFFICULT FOR THE MORNING COMMUTE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW…SLEET…OR FREEZING RAIN WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SLIPPERY ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES…AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.

Posted in Weather |

Winter Weather Advisory extended to far SW Iowa

Weather

May 2nd, 2013 by Ric Hanson

COUNTIES: MONTGOMERY-FREMONT-PAGE– 339 AM CDT THU MAY 2 2013

…WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM CDT THIS MORNING…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN OMAHA/VALLEY HAS ISSUED A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW AND SLEET…WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM CDT THIS MORNING.

* TIMING…A MIX OF SNOW AND SLEET WILL CONTINUE EARLY THIS MORNING BEFORE DIMINISHING TO FLURRIES AFTER 10 AM.

* ACCUMULATIONS...SNOW AND SLEET ACCUMULATIONS OF AROUND AN INCH ARE LIKELY ACROSS THE AREA.

* IMPACTS…ROADS MAY BECOME SLUSHY AND SLICK. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW…SLEET…OR FREEZING RAIN WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SLIPPERY ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES…AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.

Posted in Weather |

Travel becoming treacherous in western Iowa early this (Thursday) morning

News, Weather

May 2nd, 2013 by Ric Hanson

Roads covered with a thick layer of slush are making travel hazardous early this (Thursday) morning, here in western Iowa. The DOT’s 511ia.org website shows most roads along and north of Highway 92 and west of Highway 148 (Anita to Massena), west into Pottawattamie County, are completely covered with snow/ice/slush. Some semi’s were having trouble early this morning. One jacknifed on I-80, while another had trouble making it up the hill on  Olive Street in Cass County, just south of I-80, at around 3:45-a.m.

In Atlantic, snow was falling at 4-a.m. Roads were lightly covered with the heavy, wet snow.

Posted in News, Weather |

Authorities ask for help in locating missing western IA teen

News

May 2nd, 2013 by Ric Hanson

The Glenwood Police Department is searching for a missing 16-year-old.

Crysta Brammer

Crysta Brammer was last seen leaving Glenwood Community High School at 1:30 p.m. on April 29 with a white male from Omaha in a 1990’s red Dodge Dakota pickup with no plates. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Glenwood Police Department at (712) 527-9920.

Posted in News |

ISU professor says subsidies make farmers buy more expensive crop insurance

Ag/Outdoor, News

May 2nd, 2013 by Ric Hanson

A report by Iowa State University economics professor, Bruce Babcock, finds government incentives to help farmers pay for crop insurance push them toward the more expensive insurance and increase the costs to taxpayers. Babcock studied the crop insurance payouts for corn and soybeans related to the 2012 drought. “The premium subsidies incentivize farmers to buy Cadillac coverage,” Babcock says. “The Cadillac coverage increases the indemnities paid out. Taxpayers are paying three-quarters of those indemnities, so the subsidies have a direct impact on taxpayer costs because taxpayers are paying for part of that premium — but they inflate the overall indemnities and taxpayers pay the lion share of those in high-loss years.”

Babcock found the payouts for the top insurance coverage, known as revenue protection, were over 12-BILLION dollars in 2012.  “What I wanted to know was, well what if the subsidies hadn’t created such and incentive to drive farmers to the Cadillac insurance product and instead they got a bare bones..or a regular revenue insurance protection. Or what if they just bought regular yield insurance?,” Babcock asked. He says the answer to the question was the cost of the insurance was much lower. “And it turns out that if farmers had replaced revenue protection with a product called ‘Revenue Protection H-P-E’ –which is pure revenue insurance — the amount of loss would have been decreased from more than 12-BILLION dollars to about six-BILLION dollars. That is, the subsidies had basically increased the indemnities paid to farmers, it more than doubled them,” according the Babcock.

Babcock says he is not being critical of the crop insurance program itself as a security net for farmers. “I’m a critic of the subsidies, and those two are two separate items,” Babcock says. “And I just think that you could cut the subsidies a tremendous amount — or restructure them — save tens of BILLIONs of dollars over 10 years and still provide a high-quality assurance safety net. If that’s what Congress wants, you could do it at a far lower cost.” He says if farmers want the protection of the higher end insurance program, then they should have to pay for it and not have the taxpayers picking up 75-percent of the bill. Babcock talked about his findings with reporters in a conference called set up by the Environmental Working Group.

(Radio Iowa)

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |

Chiefs agree to terms with 13 rookie free agents

Sports

May 2nd, 2013 by Ric Hanson

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray, who left school after his junior season only to go undrafted, is among 13 rookie free agents who have agreed to terms with the Kansas City Chiefs. Bray’s big arm and prototypical size at 6-foot-6, 215 pounds left many expecting him to be a mid-round choice. But his stock plummeted amid concerns about his maturity and work habits. He played in 28 games at Tennessee, throwing for 7,444 yards with 69 touchdowns and 28 picks.

Among the other players agreeing to contracts were Florida wide receiver Frankie Hammond Jr., Missouri defensive lineman Brad Madison, Kansas safety Bradley McDougald and Vanderbilt defensive end Rob Lohr. The rookie free agents will join the Chiefs’ eight-member draft class for a three-day rookie minicamp that begins May 10.

Posted in Sports |

Iowa early News Headlines: Thu., May 2nd 2013

News

May 2nd, 2013 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s Medicaid program would no longer pay for abortions under a massive budget that has received approval from the House. Non-hospital health clinics that perform abortions could risk losing other Medicaid funding. The roughly $1.7 billion state Health and Human Services budget includes the Medicaid program.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa teenagers who want their intermediate driver’s license will have to wait a little longer. Governor Terry Branstad signed a bill into law that requires minors to have their learners permit for a year instead of the current six months. Iowa teenagers can get their intermediate license at age 16 and a full license at 17.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities are offering up to $10,000 for information that leads to the arrest of a man suspected of shooting a Sioux City police officer. Police say Jamal Dean shot Officer Kevin McCormick after a routine traffic stop Monday. Dean has been on the run since then. McCormick survived the shooting.

MONTICELLO, Iowa (AP) — Jones County Sheriff Greg Graver says a gas leak led authorities to evacuate an area south of Monticello. The line carries propane and is owned by energy company Kinder Morgan. The Texas-based company says it has isolated the section of the affected 12-inch line. No injuries have been reported.

Posted in News |

Winter Weather Advisory update for counties North of I-80 in western IA

Weather

May 2nd, 2013 by Ric Hanson

208 AM CDT THU MAY 2 2013

…WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM CDT THIS MORNING…

* SHORT TERM TRENDS...SNOW OR A MIX OF RAIN SLEET AND SNOW WILL SWITCH TO ALL SNOW IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS AND CONTINUE THROUGH MID THURSDAY MORNING.

* STORM TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...3 TO 5 INCHES WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS. SNOWFALL RATES OF 1 TO NEAR 2 INCHES PER HOUR CAN BE EXPECTED AT TIMES AND SNOW WILL ACCUMULATE QUICKLY. THUNDERSTORMS MAY ALSO OCCUR AND WILL PRODUCE LOCALLY HIGHER SNOWFALL AMOUNTS.

* WINDS/VISIBILITY…A NORTH WIND AT 20 TO 35 MPH WILL REDUCE VISIBILITY TO LESS THAN A HALF MILE AT TIMES.

* IMPACTS...ROADS ARE EXPECTED TO BECOME SNOW COVERED AND SLUSHY AS THE SNOW INTENSIFIES THIS EVENING AND INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SNOW COVERED ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITY…AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.

Posted in Weather |

Atlantic official works to enforce Maintenance Code

News

May 1st, 2013 by Ric Hanson

The City of Atlantic’s enforcement of its Minimum Maintenance Code has resulted in a reduced number of dilapidated houses and community involvement in improving others over the past year, but there are some property owners who are or will be receiving “Not so friendly” notices from the City, to get perceived problems with their properties resolved. That was the word during Wednesday night’s City Council meeting, from Jon Lund, Assistant to City Administrator Doug Harris.

Lund said much of the credit for improving the look of the City, with respect to dilapidated houses, goes to Atlantic residents Pat McCurdy and Jennifer McEntaffer, as well as CADCO (The Cass-Atlantic Development Corporation. Together, they came up with a “Let’s Paint the town” idea, whereby three homes owned by low-income residents were painted. Lund says it’s hoped three more homes in disrepair can be painted this year. Lund said many local businesses and groups stepped forward to donate the paint and time for the effort. Other businesses donated food and beverages for the workers, or discounted supplies. Others businesses donated cash for the project. He says that demonstrates the best solutions to some of the problems facing the City are found in the compassion and generosity of the people, and not the government.

On a darker note, Lund said their were more complaints this past year about nuisance properties. He says more abatement notices and bills mailed to property owners who were not in compliance with the City’s Minimum Maintenance Code. When questioned by Councilman Steve Livengood about a decrease in the number of “friendly warnings” given last year as compared with the previous year, Lund said he’s not messing around with the warnings, after fair notice has been given to some repeat offenders. He said he’s jumping right to abatements.

Lund was praised by the Council for his efforts to make the process fair and logical, when it comes to identifying and warning about nuisance properties. He said “Atlantic is a good place to live. We just need to encourage some people to take a little more pride in their property.”

Posted in News |