A three-term Republican member of the Cass County Board of Supervisors passed away Saturday, at his home in Atlantic. Charles “Chuck” Kinen, who had been re-elected to his fourth, four-year term, last Fall, had suffered from pancreatic cancer. Auditor Dale Sunderman says Kinen was first elected as a Cass County Supervisor in 1998. He assumed his duties on November 10th, 1998, following a canvass of the 1998 General Election.  He immediately succeeded incumbent Julie Schmidt, who resigned from the Board to move out of state, along with her husband, where he was moving his opthamology practice.  Kinen served as chair of the Board of Supervisors in 2006 and 2007.

Current Board Chair Duane McFadden said Kinen was a faithful public servant to the residents of Cass County.

Dmf1 (McFadden said Kinen would always strive to be at the various committee meetings he volunteered to attend, and he will be missed, because he played a role in moving the county forward.)

Kinen had been in hospice care for about two-weeks prior to his return home. McFadden said there is a process that is in-place to fill Kinen’s position on the board.

Dmf2  (He says the county auditor, treasurer and recorder will schedule interviews with persons who apply and are interested in filling the position.)

 It’s not clear how soon that process will begin, though, especially with the Labor Day weekend closing down the courthouse until Tuesday.

Funeral services for Chuck Kinen will be held Wednesday morning, in Atlantic. Duane McFadden said the courthouse will shut down for one-hour prior to and after the services at 11:30-a.m, so that county employees may attend his funeral.

Audubon Mayor Sam Kauffman says today’s Veteran’s program at the Audubon City Park (11-a.m.) has been moved inside to the Memorial Building, due to the weather.

A firefighter in Council Bluffs has been charged with arson, in connection with an early morning car fire which occurred in mid-February. 44-year old Henry Hinkel II, is accused of second-degree arson and fraudulent submissions to an insurer in a car fire that took place at around 3:30-a.m. on February 21^st in Hinkel‘s driveway.

According to court documents, the fire destroyed Hinkel’s 2002 Jaguar. In an arrest warrant affidavit, State Fire Marshal investigator John Ticer wrote that his investigation determined an “ignitable liquid (gasoline)” was used to light the vehicle on fire. The court document also said the car was normally kept in the garage but was in the driveway that morning. The affidavit said Hinkel had a video surveillance camera monitoring the driveway, but the car was parked outside of the camera’s view. The camera does not show Hinkel until after the fire.

Council Bluffs Fire Chief Alan Byers said he has been advised not to comment on the charges. He directed questions about the case to the City Attorney’s Office. City Attorney Richard Wade was not available for comment, Friday. A trial in the matter is set for Nov. 22nd. Hinkel has been released on his own recognizance.

Thunderstorms bringing winds gusting up to 60-miles per hour may have been responsible for a power outage in Elk Horn Friday night, and an accident on Interstate 80 near Avoca. The Elk Horn Fire and Rescue Department reported on its Facebook page at around 11-p.m. Friday, a large part of the community was without power. Officials with Mid-American Energy were working to restore power to the community, and as of early this (Saturday) morning, there was only one customer in Shelby County who was reported to be without electricity.

Elk Horn Fire officials said at the time also, that there were no immediate signs of damage from the storms that passed through the area, other than a few trees branches down.

Severe storm warnings were issued at around 9-p.m., Friday, for southeastern Harrison, northern Pottawattamie and southwestern Shelby Counties. At 9:32-p.m., a 60-mile per hour gust of wind was recorded in Shelby. The Iowa Department of Transportation reported, that at about that same time, a semi jack-knifed on Interstate 80 westbound, at the Avoca exit. A detour was established and the road reopened to traffic about 90-minutes later. There were no reports of injuries.

Severe thunderstorm warnings were issued as well, for Audubon, Carroll, northwestern Greene and southwestern Guthrie Counties, at around 9:40-p.m. The National Weather Service said a 60-mile per hour wind gust occurred just before 11-p.m., two-miles northeast of Guthrie Center, as the storms maintained their intense winds, having moved northeast out of Cass and Audubon Counties.