(AMES, Iowa – Dec. 21, 2012 7:02-a.m.): The Iowa Department of Transportation is reporting that Interstate 35 from Ames to Mason City, both northbound and southbound, is reopened to traffic. The gate system is currently being deactivated for both the mainline traffic and all entrance ramps.

Snow drifts, stalled vehicles and jackknifed semis have caused a few roads in the KJAN listening area to be partially or completely blocked. The Iowa Department of Transportation’s 511ia.org website reports Interstate 80 eastbound about five-miles east of Walnut, was partially blocked by an accident involving a semi. The left lane in that area was closed while crews worked to clear-up the scene.

And,the right lane of I-80 westbound near Walnut (between County Rd. M-47 and Exit 51)  was reported to be blocked earlier this morning, due to a jackknifed semi. In addition, the DOT says Highway 44 in Guthrie County, between Iowa Hwy 4 and US 169, remains closed due to snow drifts and stalled vehicles on the roadway. The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office reported the road was closed Thursday morning. It will remain closed until the road is cleared of snow and vehicles.

A reminder also, that Tow Bans are currently in effect for Cass, Guthrie and Pottawattamie Counties, until conditions on the roadways improve. Vehicles which slide off the road in those counties will not be towed until the restrictions are lifted.

Police in Red Oak say one person was arrested Thursday afternoon following an alleged assault. Officials say 24-year old Michael James Johnson, Jr., of Red Oak,  was taken into custody at around 3:15-p.m. in the 2300 block of Northeastern Avenue. Johnson was charged with Serious Assault. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,000 bond.

Officers with the Red Oak P-D also arrested 29-year-old Gavin Lee Jackson-Weaver. He was taken into custody at about 9:30 p.m. Thursday, on a Possession of Marijuana charge. Jackson-Weaver was being held in the Montgomery County jail on $2,000 bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa officials say snow plow operators will be out this (Friday) morning continuing to clear roads affected by a major storm this week.  The state Department of Transportation says nearly 450 snow plows and other removal equipment is helping clear crash scenes and vehicles blocking roadways on the interstate system. The agency says travel is not expected to significantly improve until later today.

At least 80 crashes were reported Thursday throughout the state. Officials also say drivers on a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 80 were stuck Thursday night. A 25-car pileup on Interstate 35 in northern Iowa killed two people and injured seven.

A major snow storm hit most of Iowa Wednesday night into Thursday. The National Weather Service says more than a foot of snow hit the Des Moines area.