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Intermittent lane closures on I-680 in Pottawattamie County begin Sept. 27

News

September 2nd, 2011 by Ric Hanson

Officials with the Iowa DOT say road construction work on Interstate 680 between I-29 (exit 71) near Loveland and I-80 (exit 27) north of Neola will cause intermittent lane closures in both directions beginning Tuesday, Sept. 27th, weather permitting.  The project is expected to be completed by mid-October.

Bridge construction work on eastbound I-80 in Pottawattamie County begins Sept. 12

News

September 2nd, 2011 by Ric Hanson

The Iowa Department of Transportation’s Council Bluffs construction office reports bridge construction work on Interstate 80 between Pottawattamie County Road M-16 (exit 34) near Shelby and U.S. 59 (exit 40) near Avoca will cause lane closures in the outside lane beginning Monday, Sept. 12th, weather permitting . The project is expected to be completed by early October.

SHARON KAY LOUK, 73, of Des Moines, & formerly of Greenfield (svcs 9-9-11)

Obituaries

September 2nd, 2011 by Ric Hanson

SHARON KAY LOUK, 73, of Des Moines (formerly of Greenfield), died Fri., Sept. 2nd, at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines. Memorial services for SHARON LOUK will be held 10-a.m. Fri. Sept. 9th,  at the Steen Funeral Home in Greenfield.

There is no visitation.

Memorials may be directed to the family.

Burial will be in the Avondale Cemetery in rural Fontanelle.

Online condolences may be left to the family at www.steenfunerals.com

SHARON LOUK is survived by:

Her sister – Shirley (Bill) Stark, of Winter Garden, FL.

Several nieces and nephews.

Minor injuries reported after pickup and semi collide

News

September 2nd, 2011 by Ric Hanson

A pickup truck was totaled and its driver suffered possible, minor injuries, after the vehicle collided with a semi this (Friday) morning, in Montgomery County. Sheriff’s officials say 41-year old Ronald Paul Lyons, Jr., of Beaumont, TX, was transported to the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital by Red Oak Rescue, following the crash at around 8-a.m. about half-way between Red Oak and Emerson.

Authorities said Lyons pulled his 2002 Ford F-150 pickup off of the traveled portion of Highway 34 in a turning lane, that would allow a vehicle to turn right off of the highway, without impeding the flow of traffic. As Lyons attempted to conduct a left hand turn, his truck collided with the center portion of a westbound, passing semi-tractor trailer. Following the impact, the pickup ricocheted off of the semi, and came to rest in the ditch at the intersection of Highway 34 and County Road M-37 (Boxelder Avenue).

The driver of the semi, 47-year old Jeffrey Arnold, of Kahoka, MO., locked up the brakes on the cab and trailer. The tractor-trailer slid across the intersection and came to rest on the pavement, facing westbound. Arnold was not injured in the crash, but the 1997 Peterbilt semi he was driving sustained $5,000 damage to a drive axle and fuel tank assembly.

The pickup, valued at $12,000, was a total loss. The sheriff’s report did not indicate if any citations were issued.

LEROY BURG, 80, of Bridgewater (svcs 9-6-11)

Obituaries

September 2nd, 2011 by Ric Hanson

LEROY BURG, 80, of Bridgewater, died Fri., Sept. 2nd, at the Clarke County Hospital in Osceola, Iowa.  A Mass of the Resurrection service for LEROY BURG will be held 10-a.m. Tue., Sept. 6th, at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, in Massena.  Steen Funeral Home in Massena has the arrangements.

Visitation at the funeral home is from 2-until 8-pm Mon., Sept. 5th, with the family present from 6-8pm, and a Prayer service at 6-p.m.
Memorials may be directed to the Leroy Burg memorial fund to be established by the family.

Online condolences may be left to the family at www.steenfunerals.com

LEROY BURG is survived by:

His wife – Laura Burg, of Bridgewater.

His children –
Daniel Burg and wife Rosanne of Papillion, NE; Sheryl Kay Gettler Nichols and husband Pat of Earlham;  Kathryn Jean Bass and husband Jim of Fontanelle;  Teresa Ann Jensen and husband Duff of Blair, NE;  Steven Leroy Burg and wife Cindy of Murray, NE;  and Kevin Ralph Burg and wife Heather of Atlantic.

18 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

Tennessee Tech-Iowa Capsule

Sports

September 2nd, 2011 by Jim Field

 By The Associated Press
     Tennessee Tech (0-0) vs. Iowa (0-0), 11 a.m. (BTN)
     Series Record: First meeting.
     WHAT’S AT STAKE
     Saturday’s opener will allow junior James Vandenberg to settle
into his new role as the Hawkeyes starting quarterback. Iowa also
has six new starters on defense, which won’t have much time to gel
with a trip to Iowa State looming. The most important thing for the
Hawkeyes will be to survive the game without any major injuries.
Tennessee Tech is hoping to push for the Ohio Valley title, and a
decent showing against a Big Ten team could help them do just that.
     KEY MATCHUP
     Tennessee Tech’s front seven vs. Iowa RB Marcus Coker. Coker is
one of the more physical backs in the country, and the Golden
Eagles won’t likely see anyone like him all year. The Hawkeyes will
have an easy afternoon if they can just give it to Coker between
the tackles and let he and his offensive line march down the field.
     PLAYERS TO WATCH
     Iowa: WR Keenan Davis. It’s now or never for Davis, who’s in
line to be the Hawkeyes’ second option next to star Marvin McNutt.
     Tennessee Tech: WR Tim Benford. He ranks second in school
history with 151 receptions and is third with 2,174 yards
receiving.
     FACTS & FIGURES
     Iowa has won its last 10 openers by an average of 31.5 points
and is 17-4 at Kinnick Stadium since 2008…Tennessee Tech’s alumni
include Atlanta Falcons coach Mike Smith, who spent 12 seasons with
the Golden Eagles from 1987-98…The Hawkeyes could have as many as
eight new starters, including Davis and safety Collin Sleeper.

Northern Iowa-Iowa State Capsule

Sports

September 2nd, 2011 by Jim Field

 By The Associated Press
     Northern Iowa (0-0) vs. Iowa State (0-0), 6 p.m., No TV
     Series Record: Iowa State leads 19-4-3.
     WHAT’S AT STAKE
     Northern Iowa is one of the few teams Iowa State is expected to
beat this season, and the Cyclones can’t afford to let this one
slip away given how tough their schedule appears to be. The
Panthers could gain some serious momentum for their FCS season and
avenge last year’s ugly 27-0 loss in Ames by beating Iowa State.
     KEY MATCHUP
     Northern Iowa QB Tirrell Rennie vs. Iowa State’s secondary.
Rennie is one of the best running quarterbacks in the FCS, but he
threw just eight TD passes and 11 interceptions in 2010. The
Cyclones will look to force the Panthers into passing situations
and hope Rennie will make mistakes like he did in tossing two picks
a year ago.
     PLAYERS TO WATCH
     Iowa State: QB Steele Jantz. It’s the first career start for
Jantz, who figures to be dangerous with his feet. If he can make
plays with his arm, too, the Cyclones could have a find on their
hands.
     Michigan State: RB/KR Carlos Anderson. He returned two kickoffs
for touchdowns in 2010 and could even things up for the Panthers on
special teams.
     FACTS & FIGURES
     When Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads says the Panthers have “track
speed,” he isn’t kidding. According to Panthers spokesman Colin
McDonough, three of the four members of the school’s 400-meter
relay team will play on Saturday…The game will mark the debut of
a new $5 million scoreboard at Jack Trice Stadium, which will be
five times larger than the old one…Northern Iowa is 9-20 against
FBS opponents since 1985.

Scrap yard fire in Atlantic

News

September 2nd, 2011 by Ric Hanson

The Atlantic Fire Department responded to a report of a possible vehicle explosion this (Friday) morning, at the local scrap metal recycling plant. The call about a fire at Frederiksen Iron Recycling at 607 Sunnyside Lane, came in just after 11-a.m.

Fire department  officials say workers at the facility were working on a car that was being scrapped, when a fire broke out. There were reports a small explosion, possibly related to a fuel tank rupture, could be heard across the street from the business. Workers at the recycling facility typically punch holes in a fuel tank before a vehicle is crushed or recycled, to prevent such a incident.

The fire was quickly extinguished, and no injuries were reported.

Exira Middle School Teacher Suspended Until Further Notice

News

September 2nd, 2011 by Ric Hanson

The Superintendent of the Exira-Elk Horn Kimballton School District says a 5th grade teacher has been placed on indefinite suspension, following an incident which allegedly occurred late last month in a classroom. KCCI-TV in Des Moines reports the unidentified teacher was suspended s a result of something he said in front of his fifth-grade class. Parents met with administrators of the school district to discuss the teacher’s behavior, Thursday night.

District Superintendent Dean Schnoes told KCCI the district sent a letter home with parents explaining the situation, but the letter didn’t mention the specifics of the incident.

Schnoes said he “Decided that the individual needed to be suspended until further notice.” Schnoes said a concerned parent called the Exira middle school principal on August 24th.

Aaime Lyle said her daughter told her the teacher threatened to harm himself if the class wouldn’t be quiet. She said her daughter was among 25 fifth-graders in the classroom. Lyle said it was a full week before she learned of the alleged incident from her daughter. According to the girl, the teacher asked the students not to tell.

Schnoes said the students aren’t in danger. He said as part of the investigation, the Audubon County Sheriff’s Office was called in to search for weapons, but none were found. No charges have been filed. The school district also had a counselor talk to the students the next day.

Schnoes said the investigation is ongoing, and even when it’s complete, he said he will likely have to consult with the School Board before the teacher is allowed back in the classroom.

Water releases stable on Missouri River as levees are checked for damage

News

September 2nd, 2011 by Ric Hanson

The Missouri River at Yankton, South Dakota, is now just above 20-feet after maxing out at 26-feet back in early July and remaining there through August. The river dropped below flood stage at Sioux City, Iowa, last week. Dave Becker, operations manager of Gavins Point Dam at Yankton, says releases from the dam have been cut from a record 160-thousand cubic feet per second at the peak down to 90-thousand, where they’re holding.

 

Becker says, “The primary purpose of staying at 90,000 is really so everybody can take a look at their facilities, the levees, the berms, their sandbag walls, all those kinds of things and make sure that everything is in really good condition.” Becker says the lower releases and the pause will allow the inspection of the dam itself in and near the river.

“Everything is going well, thus far,” he says. “I talk to people every day who are assessing their property and their situation. It’s good that we have this pause in here so people can see what needs to be done at this point and possibly react before we start going down further.” The U-S Army Corps of Engineers had to do a lot of re-rocking of river banks close to the dam during the high water as erosion was blasting it away. Becker says there have been no surprises.

“We have not had any catastrophic issues,” he says. “A lot of minor wear-and-tear things will take some time to get fixed up and we’re starting to fix those already.” Thousands of acres of farmland and dozens of homes were flooded for most of the summer in Iowa and Nebraska as the Corps worked to move record amounts of snow melt and heavy upstream rain down the Missouri.

(Radio Iowa)