A swimming incident on the Nodaway River near Clarinda led to two young teens being taken to area hospitals.

The incident happened late Tuesday evening when boaters on the river noticed the two young swimmers appearing to be in distress. A call was then immediately made to authorities. When they arrived they noticed a young boy and girl swimming near the east side of the river near the Clarinda dam.

Clarinda Police say a boy who appeared to be under the age of 14 was pulled at about 10:30 PM. He was flown by lifenet helicopter and is believed to be in critical condition.

First responders were also able to dive in the river and to pull out a girl who appeared to be under the age of 14. When brought to land she was still unconscious and was taken by ambulance to the Clarinda Regional Hospital where she was believed to be in fair condition.

Witnesses say they saw the two teens enter the river sometime after 8:30 PM. An update is expected later today from Clarinda Police.

The Elk-Horn Kimballton school district is looking for a new band leader.

The current band director, Michelle Dickinson, resigned to pursue a similar position at another school in Iowa.

The board decided to fill the position by hiring another full-time instructor. They had considered sharing the band director position with Audubon during Monday’s board meeting.

Interviews will begin Thursday in the district for finding a new band leader.

Some roads in Atlantic will be temporarily closed during RAGBRAI in an effort to keep the cyclists safe.

Most of the road closures will only be closed only for about an eight hour period when the 12,000 cyclists begin to enter Atlantic.

Atlantic Police Chief Steve Green strongly encourages motorists to avoid Highway 6 between Lewis and Atlantic Sunday. He says the shoulders of Highway 6 will have rumble strips on them and it will be difficult for bicyclists to move to the shoulder for vehicle traffic.

To keep Highway 6 traffic low, the 22^nd street and Sunnyside Lane intersection will be closed to westbound traffic starting Sunday morning . Meanwhile, the 29th street intersection with Willow Street will also be closed starting Sunday morning to westbound traffic.

Areas of Sunnyside lane from 22nd to 10th street will be open only to RAGBRAI riders and those living on Sunnyside Lane in that area. Other areas may have traffic restrictions as the situation warrants throughout Sunday.

RAGBRAI support vehicles will use Olive Street (exit 57) from I-80 to enter Atlantic, so Green recommends avoiding Olive Street north of town if possible.

Other likely to be congested include 10th Street between Olive and Highway 6, Sunnyside Park, Cass County Fairgrounds, Roosevelt Drive, East 14th Street, and the areas around the Atlantic High School and Heritage House.

Green also suggests avoiding Highway 173 Monday as riders will be using that road to leave town.

Green suggests that Highway 6 traffic going to Griswold or Lewis use G-30 west to M-56 if . For those going to Omaha, Green suggests using I-80 via Highway 71.

School Board elections in Cass County are set to take place on September 13 this fall.

Nomination papers for offices up for election must be filed with the appropriate school board’s secretary by August 4. All offices up for election this year are for four-year terms.

The following offices are up for election:

Atlantic Community School District

Three At Large local directors

Incumbents:

Jon Martens Atlantic IA

Phil Hascall Atlantic IA

Dennis Davis Atlantic IA

One At Large local directors (vacancy term ending 2013)

Incumbents:

Glen Smith (appointed) Atlantic IA

CAM Community School District

One North District local director

Incumbent: Randall Rabe Massena IA

One South Distric local director

Incumbent: Todd McKee Massena IA

CAM Community School District

One North District local director

Incumbent: Randall Rabe Massena IA

One South Distric local director

Incumbent: Todd McKee Massena IA

Hot temperatures were the cause of an early wake up call for residents of Clarinda early Tuesday morning.

Emergency sirens in Clarinda accidently sounded for about five minutes at about 3:00 AM Tuesday morning.

Officials in Clarinda say the sirens went off due to atmospheric conditions and their effects on wireless technology. The heat caused radio frequencies to skip hundreds of miles across the atmosphere. Those skips usually occur during prolonged periods of warm temperatures.