(Radio Iowa) – A Ivy League professor is warning a proposed railroad merger that would increase train traffic through parts of eastern Iowa poses an environmental threat. Canadian Pacific is asking federal officials to approve its acquisition of Kansas City Southern Railway. It would establish a rail line that stretches from Canada to Mexico. Mike Hepler, an engineering professor at Princeton, says “This rail is likely to carry a lot, an increased number of holding tar sands oils and bitumen,” Hepler says. “And again, these are going to be moving through the towns that carry risks to health, the environment.” Tar sands are a combination of sand, clay, water and bitumen. Bitumen is the black oil that’s sticky, like molasses.

Hepler says derailments and spills are likely to increase as train traffic increases. “Given a spark, given a flame — a fire source, this also presents an issue for air quality,” Hepler says, “and the quality for the environment, the soil, the waters that surround the trains.” The initial environmental assessment from the Surface Transportation Board concludes there is a small risk increased train traffic would lead to derailments and hazardous material spills along the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern route.

Hepler says it’s strange that the agency considers noise to be the major environmental impact of increased train traffic. Hepler made his comments during a recent public hearing about the merger.

Bellevue, Iowa – Authorities in eastern Iowa report during the early morning hours of October 9, 2022, Jackson County resident, Christopher Prichard was taken into custody without incident by law enforcement officials. He was arrested on warrants issued on September 30, 2022 for:  Adjudicated Charge(s) – Violation of No Contact Order/Protective Order-Contempt. Original Charge(s) – Violation of No Contact/Protection Order Contempt. Prichard is currently being housed in the Jackson County Sheriffs’ jail.

The investigation into the death of Angela Prichard is ongoing. An autopsy by the Office of the Iowa State Medical Examiner is scheduled for today. No further information will be released at this time.

(Previous version follows)

Bellevue, Iowa – On October 8, 2022 at approximately 7:49 AM, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call at the Mississippi Ridge Kennels located at 31821 Highway 52 Bellevue, Iowa. Upon arrival, law enforcement found Angela Prichard, age 55, dead from an apparent gunshot wound.

Law Enforcement is seeking the public’s assistance in locating Christopher Prichard, a subject of interest in the investigation. Christopher Prichard is a white male, approximately 5’07” and weighs approximately 145 pounds. Clothing and vehicle description is unknown.

Photo of Richard Prichard

If the public sees this individual, use caution and do not approach. The public is advised to call  911, the Jackson County Dispatch Center (319)-652-3312 or the Cedar Rapids State Radio (319)-396-4414.

This is a joint investigation conducted by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Iowa State Patrol, Bellevue Police Department and the Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office, US Fish and Wildlife and the Jackson County Conservation.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Enjoy Iowa’s beautiful weather and fall colors this weekend. Fall colors appear more vibrant this year, possibly due to the recent crisp weather. Cottonwood, hackberry, elm, basswood and walnut are turning yellow in northeast Iowa. The hillsides have splashes of color mostly from sugar maples. Yellows and oranges mixed with green dot the landscape in north central and northwest Iowa. Cottonwoods are vibrant. Silver maples are just starting to lighten in color.

Major river valleys in central Iowa like the Des Moines, Boone, and Iowa rivers are at 20-25 percent color change. More maples are turning red and yellow. White ash and dogwood are showing a little bit of purple in southeast Iowa. Some urban maples are starting to show a little red and orange. Most shrubs will be at peak color, which provide most of our reds in west central and southwest Iowa. Fall prairie flowers are still showy this week to bring vivid colors to your prairie hikes. 

Enjoy a fall drive and take in all the beautiful colors!

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A traffic stop Friday night west of Red Oak resulted in the arrest on a drug charge, of a man from Mills County. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports Deputies conducted a traffic stop on Highway 34 at Evergreen Avenue, at around 9:52-p.m.  Upon investigation, Deputies arrested 58-year-old Michael David Longcor, of Henderson, for Possession of Methamphetamine/2nd offense. Longcor was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

(Monroe County, Iowa) – A crash between two pickups in southern Iowa Friday afternoon left one of the drivers dead, the other injured. Both men were from Albia. The Iowa State Patrol reports a pickup driven by 22-year-old Cody Christopher Kosman was traveling south on 655th Avenue (a gravel road) north of Albia at around 2:45-p.m. A pickup driven by 26-year-old Jonathan Michael Bedell was traveling north 655th, following a truck that was kicking up gravel dust.

The dust created a low visibility situation. The 2004 Chevy Silverado driven by Kosman passed by the truck and entered the dust on the front driver’s corner. The vehicle collided with a 2011 Silverado, driven by Bedell. Kosman died at the scene. Bedell was transported to the Monroe County Hospital by ambulance. Neither man was wearing a seat belt.

(Radio Iowa) – A rural Merrill man who was convicted last month of first-degree murder in the death of his stepson was sentenced this (Friday) afternoon to life in prison. Eighty-four-year-old Thomas Knapp, was found guilty of the shooting death of 51-year-old Kevin Juzek in May, 2020, at Knapp’s home near Merrill.

Knapp was also sentenced to up to ten years for willful injury in Juzek’s death. He was ordered to pay 150-thousand dollars in restitution to Juzek’s estate. Charges against Knapp for injuring his wife, Darlene, in the same incident, brought a sentence of five years in prison.

Knapp was given the opportunity to speak before sentence was handed down. He declined to do so.

(Radio Iowa) – The Republican candidate for state treasurer says if elected, he’ll be an advocate for more state tax cuts. Republican Roby  Smith of Davenport has served in the state senate for the past 12 years. “Most people don’t realize this, but at the Capitol, the treasurer’s office can actually go in and for each bill, they can register for or against the bill,” Smith said. “The largest tax cut in the history of Iowa in this year, 2022, the treasurer’s office didn’t register — didn’t register for that.”

The Democratic incumbent says his responsibility as state treasurer is managing the state’s money and keeping it safe. Democrat Michael Fitzgerald has been state treasurer since 1983. “Now if the legislators and the governor want to increase taxes or decrease taxes, that’s their decision,” Fitzgerald says. “It’s not something that directly affects programs we run in the state treasurer’s office.” Smith is accusing Fitzgerald of mismanaging “College Savings Iowa” — a so-called five-29 (529) program which lets parents and grandparents set aside money tax-free for a child’s education.

Smith cites a recent report from an agency that rates investments like mutual funds. “Morningstar rating agency out of Chicago rated the 529s all throughout the country and Iowa’s was downgraded. It was downgraded from a C to a D,” Smith says. “It is one step away from failing.” Fitzgerald says Morningstar analysts misunderstood some of the investment options in College Savings Iowa.

“Our program has been solid for 24 years,” Fitzgerald says. “We explained it to them just a couple of weeks ago. I think you’re going to see an upgrade in another couple of weeks.”

The candidates made their comments during taping of “Iowa Press” which airs tonight (Friday) on Iowa P-B-S.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports three arrests over the past couple of days.

On Tuesday, Oct. 4th: 41-year-old Amanda Jean Schultz, of Omaha, was arrested at around 8:30-a.m. in the area of 195th Street & Lambert Ave. Schultz was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance. (Bond $1,000); And, at around 3:30-p.m., 22-year-old Kpor Kue, of Omaha, was arrested at the Douglas County, Nebraska Jail, on a Mills County warrant for Violation of Probation. Kue was being held in the Mills County Jail without bond.

On Wednesday (Oct. 5), 26-year-old Alesha Marie Young, of Carter Lake, was arrested at the Mills County Sheriff’s Office, on a warrant for Failure to Appear. Bond was set at $5,000.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – If you signed-up for automatic payment of your Storm Water Utility bill, in Atlantic, and noticed your bank account hasn’t been debited yet, you’re not alone. City Clerk Barb Barrick reports “Due to (mega) issues with the city’s software “talking to” the bank’s ACH software, automatic payments for stormwater will be deducted from customers accounts on Tuesday, October 11^th. ”

The city apologizes for any inconvenience.