The recent warm weather and official beginning of Spring have property owners in Atlantic chomping at the bit to spruce up their land by removing tree branches and other yard debris. That point was driven home during Wednesday night’s City Council meeting, by Mayor Dave Jones. Jones says property owners need to get back in the habit of trimming their trees and mowing their lawns.

The City is making it easier to get rid of lawn clippings and and other such debris, by opening the Yard Waste Site earlier this year. During the Winter, the site was only open on Saturdays, but the days and hours were officially changed on Monday, which means property owners or tenants have more hours to take advantage of the Yard Waste disposal site.

Effective immediately, the days and hours are as follows:
Tuesday-12:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
Thursday-12:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
Saturday-9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sunday-1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

The City of Atlantic reminds citizens that only trees, branches, grass, garden waste, and leaves are accepted at the Yard Waste site.

A Clarinda woman was killed this (Wednesday) morning during a head-on crash in northern Iowa’s Webster County. The Iowa State Patrol reports 68-year old Katheryn Anne Duley died and the driver of the other vehicle, 17-year old Patrick William Oberg, Jr., of Otho, was critically injured, when their vehicles collided on County Road P-59, about one-half mile north of Highway 20, near Coalville. The accident happened just before 8-a.m.

Officials say Duley was southbound on P-59 in a 2005 Saturn Ion, when Oberg’s northbound 1999 GMC Sierra pickup crossed the center of the road. After the vehicles collided, Duley’s car came to rest on its roof in a ditch, trapping her inside. Oberg’s vehicle came to rest on its side, on the traveled portion of the road. Both drivers were taken to Trinity Regional Medical Center in Ft. Dodge, where Duley died from her injuries.

The calendar may say Spring arrived this week, but Iowans who suffer from allergies have been keeping tissues handy for weeks. Sneezing, runny noses and watery eyes are all too common for some of us, according to allergist Dr. Linda Ford, of Omaha/Council Bluffs. Dr. Ford says the warm winter is to blame for the latest burst of pollen. “If you’re having problems with your allergies and you think, ‘Oh, it’s much worse this year,’ it’s because there wasn’t a gradual increase in pollen. All the trees just started exploding.” Dr. Ford says the trees across much of Iowa usually release pollen much more gradually, but not this year.

“Starting at the end of February, we have been consistently counting pollen and as the weather got warmer, those trees just blossomed out and just exploded their pollen.” Ford says there are many good over-the-counter medications that can help stave off allergy symptoms.  “If that takes care of it, that’s fine and dandy, you don’t have to do anything else,” she says, “but if you have more severe allergies, a trip to your doctor is important because there are other things that can be done by prescription, such as the inhaled steroid nasal sprays.” Ford says rinsing out your nose with an over-the-counter or even a homemade saline solution can decrease the amount of pollen in the nose. Pollen can also cling to clothing so changing clothes after being outdoors can help.

(Matt Kelley/Radio Iowa)

The US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri says a Clarinda man was among 30 people who were indicted and charged by a federal grand jury, in connection with the distribution of methamphetamine in Northwest Missouri, Northeast Kansas, Southeast Missouri and Southern Iowa. 34-year-old Joshua Duane Dockweiler, of Clarinda, is among the suspects.

Dockweiler, and the 29 other people, most of whom were from St. Joseph, MO, allegedly trafficked more than 15 kilograms of methamphetamine, with a street value of more than $1 million dollars from January 1st, 2009, to March 14th of this year.  All of the suspects face charges of conspiracy to distribute and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Some of the defendants also face additional charges that included firearms possession and possession and delivery of methamphetamine. In addition, each the suspects allegedly participated in a money-laundering conspiracy over the same time frame, by conducting financial transactions that involved the unlawful proceeds of the drug-trafficking conspiracy.

An early morning fire has destroyed a machine shed in rural Cass County. According to reports, at blaze broke out at around midnight Wednesday, about 5-miles south of Massena. Massena Fire Chief Brad Lank said crews from Massena, Cumberland and Corning fought the flames which destroyed the structure on the Joe and Kathy Clinton farm. The couple reportedly heard explosions and looked out to see their machine shed engulfed in flames. Most of the building was already gone by the time firefighters arrived. In addition to the structure, several pieces of farm equipment, including a combine, five tractors, some 4-wheel ATV’s and a semi-tractor trailer were lost. Firefighters were at the scene about three hours. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire remained under investigation.