Chances for relief from the drought conditions plaguing much of Iowa remain slim, but National Weather Service meteorologist Kevin Deitsch says showers and thunderstorms are possible late tonight into tomorrow.

“We have about a 40 to 50 percent chance going across much of the state,” Deitsch says. “Anything that falls will most likely be rather isolated and light, however there is an isolated chance of a severe storm which would obviously drop a little bit heavier amounts of rain.” A slight chance for showers and storms is forecast for Saturday as well. Temperatures, meanwhile, are expected to climb through the weekend.

“We’re looking for highs in the low to mid 90s for the weekend and then approaching the mid 90s for much of the state as we head into Monday and Tuesday,” Deitsch said. After Saturday, chances for rain drop off significantly.

“Drought concerns are really going to ramp up here as we head into next week,” Deitsch said. The new U.S. Drought Monitor map, released this morning (Thursday), shows all of Iowa is considered at least “abnormally dry” – while parts of eastern Iowa are placed in the “severe drought” category.

Two Atlantic women have received an award from Governor Branstad for their volunteer work.

Jan Burmeister and Marilyn Burmeister, who are both of Atlantic, each received a 2012 Governor’s Volunteer Award from Branstad during a special recognition ceremony held June 5 in Pleasant Hill.

The Governor’s Volunteer Awards (GVA) program was created in 1982, honoring several hundred volunteers from across Iowa in different categories each year.

The manager of Cass County Home Care Denise Coder says both Jan and Marilyn have provided many years of service helping seniors the community and that their contributions have been extremely valuable.

Jan and Marilyn have been involved with the Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) for 10 years.  They were individually nominated for a Length of Service Award by Cass County Home Care for assisting seniors with their Medicare questions.

Jan Burmeister with Gov. Branstad

Marilyn Burmeister with Gov. Branstad

Governor Branstad has ordered all flags in Iowa to be flown at half staff in honor of a western Iowa Sergent killed in Afghanistan.

Flags will be flown at half staff starting tomorrow at 5 PM until Monday at 8 AM in honor of 25-year-old Sgt. James Skalberg of Emerson.  The governor’s directive applies to all U.S. and state flags under the control of the state.

Skalberg was killed on June 27 by an IED (improvised explosive device) in Afghanistan near the vehicle he was driving.  Another soldier was also killed in that attack.

The funeral service for Sgt. James Skalberg will be held on Saturday at 10 AM the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Red Oak.  Sgt. Skalberg is survived by his wife, Jessica and his son, Carter.  The U.S. flag flown over the state Capitol on the day of the funeral will be presented to Sgt. Skalberg’s family at a later date, along with a proclamation honoring him.

Individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties and other government subdivisions are encouraged to fly the flag at half-staff for the same length of time as a sign of respect.

The Humane Society of the United States is threatening to sue 51 swine operations in Iowa, North Carolina and Oklahoma — 28 of those are here, in Iowa. Peter Brandt, an attorney for the Humane Society, says the practice of confining large numbers pollutes the environment with ammonia. Brandt says while there aren’t any guidelines for just how much ammonia a facility can emit, federal law does require transparency.

“These facilities have got to take their responsibilities under the federal laws seriously,” Brandt says. “The companies that operate these facilities have got to recognize that when you have a golf-course-size lake of manure decomposing, you’re going to be emitting a lot of ammonia and you need to report that.” According to Brandt, the farms the Humane Society is targeting are not filing those reports.

“It’s not a limit on how much ammonia you can emit, but you have to tell people,” Brandt says. “You can’t keep communities in the dark. You can’t keep emergency responders in the dark.” The attorney says because of the Humane Society’s petition, the farms have 60 days to report their emissions. If they don’t, Brandt will file a lawsuit. The Humane Society’s lawyer points to an Environmental Protection rule that requires reporting from any facility that released more than 100 pounds of ammonia within a 24-hour period, and according to Brandt the 51 operations threatened with legal action exceed that.The National Pork Producers Council is reviewing the Humane Society’s notification, but a spokesperson for the group suggests this is an allegation of a paperwork violation rather than a specific allegation of environmental harm.

Shelby County Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Seivert reports construction work near Westphalia will cause a road to be closed for a few days.

Seivert says Linden Road just south of 1400^th Street near Westphalia will be closed beginning today.  He says the road may re-open as early as Friday evening, but if repairs are delayed, it could be closed until Monday at the latest.

Please plan alternate routes, and if you have any questions you may contact the county engineer at 712-755-5954.

The western Iowa supervisor candidate who asked voters to cast ballots for someone else has changed his mind and now wants all the votes he can get.

The Associated Press says Brian Ashley, of Correctionville, won the June 5 Republican primary for Woodbury County’s District 5 supervisor. He’d dropped out of the race in May, citing ailments. But 53 percent of the voters cast their ballots for him anyway.

The 72-year-old Ashley said Wednesday that his health has improved and his family has urged him to take on the incumbent Democrat, Larry Clausen, this fall.

Clausen says he’s happy that Ashley’s health is good enough to run for the four-year term.