(Radio Iowa) Today (Wednesday) is the last day of June and what marks the end of the peak season for tornadoes in Iowa. National Weather Service meteorologist Kenny Podrazik says April, May and June were relatively quiet months for severe storms. In fact, it’s been a fairly quiet year. “So far, there’s only been six confirmed tornadoes in the state and that’s through the end of June,” Podrazik says. “Normally, through the end of this month, the statewide totals would typically average around 34 or 35 tornadoes.” That means Iowa has only seen about one-sixth the usual number of tornadoes by this date, not that anyone is complaining.

“I’m totally fine with being below normal for tornadoes,” Podrazik says. “We don’t like seeing people’s property getting damaged and things like that. That’s one of the things we’re okay with for right now.” Tornadoes can strike at any time of day and during any month of the year and Podrazik says it’s entirely possible we’ll see some twisters in the weeks ahead. “We’ll have a little bit of a secondary season into July and then we definitely get some storms in August,” he says. “Obviously, the derecho is still fresh in folks’ minds from last year. We’re still not out of the woods yet but the peak season, June, is typically when we have the most active severe weather.”

The derecho that tore across Iowa on August 10th of last year was the most damaging thunderstorm in United States’ history. It caused 13-billion dollars damage, most of it in the state of Iowa. Also last year, Iowa saw 28 tornadoes with no reports of injuries or deaths due to the storms.

CRESTON, Iowa – June 30, 2021 – The Iowa DOT’s Creston Construction Office reports an interchange project in Dallas County intended to improve traffic flow during peak hours at the Interstate 80/U.S. 169 interchange (exit 110) will require lane and shoulders closures and an eastbound off ramp and westbound on ramp detour beginning at 8 a.m. Tuesday, July 6, until Tuesday, November 16, weather permitting.

Work on this project includes pavement widening to add turn lanes on U.S. 169 and the on- and off ramps at the I-80/U.S. 169 interchange, pavement resurfacing, and adding traffic signals at the interchange. Ramps on the west side of the interchange may be closed for a short period of time. During these closures, marked detour routes will be in place.

The Iowa DOT reminds motorists to drive with caution, obey the posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, drivers should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, Wednesday, released a backlogged report on arrests and incident spanning from June 16th through the 29th. From most recent to the earliest dates:

• On Tuesday, June 29th: 27-year-old Holly Sue Warta, of ElkHorn, NE., who was being held in the Pott. County Jail serving a short term, was presented with a warrant for Driving While License Suspended or revoked. She continues to serve her jail time; 42-year-old Ralph Randall Campbell was taken into custody at the Pott. County Sheriff’s Office, Tuesday, on a warrant for Violation of Probation. He was arrested after turning himself-in.
• On Monday, June 28th: 35-year-old Rachel Suzanne McDaniel was taken into custody at around 9:05-p.m., following a traffic stop for failure to use headlights. She was arrested for Driving While Barred/Habitual Offender; 38-year-old Justin M. Anthony was arrested at around 2-a.m. Monday in Council Bluffs, for OWI/1st offense and Open Container – Driver. He was pulled over after the SUV Anthony was driving was seen a church parking lot. When a Deputy pulled into the parking lot, the SUV took off at a high rate of speed and led the Deputy on a brief pursuit.
• On June 26th: 50-year-old Donald Odell, Jr.,  was arrested near Crescent, for Driving While Barred/Habitual Offender; 54-year-old Steven Lee McKeighan was arrested following a traffic stop in Council Bluffs. He was charged with OWI/1st offense.
• On the 25th: A Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Deputy arrested 28-year-old Ryan Mitchell Hainline on I-29 near Honey Creek. He was charged with OWI/2nd offense; 37-year-old Erasmus Luis Gonzalez was arrested in Council Bluffs, for being a Fugitive from Justice. He had turned himself-in to the S/O prior to be arrested; 24-year-old Brennan Joseph Carter was arrested June 25th near McClelland, on an OWI charge; 41-year-old Jeffrey S. Peters was arrested for being a Fugitive from Justice, after a Deputy observed suspicious activity at a fireworks tent on the Fareway Store lot on McKenzie Ave., in Council Bluffs.
• June 24th: 31-year-old Codey Thomas Thramer, of Red Oak, was served at the Pott. County Jail with a warrant for Failure to Pay Child Support.
• June 23rd: A 17-year-old male was arrested at his residence in Council Bluffs, for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Possession of Marijuana/1st offense. He was referred to law enforcement after his mother took paraphernalia from the teen; 22-year-old Chase Zachary Stewart was arrested June 23rd following a traffic stop in the Crescent area. He was charged with OWI/1st offense.
• On June 22nd: 31-year-old Darell C. Richards was arrested at the Casey’s Store in Crescent, after a Pott. County Deputy saw a vehicle that matched the description of a vehicle with a reckless driver. Richards was charged with OWI/1st offense, and cited for Failure to Provide proof of insurance, failure to have a valid driver’s license, and operating a non-registered vehicle;  38-year-old Joseph Daniel McNeal, of Council Bluffs was served with a warrant on June 22nd, for Violation of Probation. McNeal was being held in the Pott. County Jail at the time. His total bond amounts to $12,300.
• On the 21st: 42-year-old Derek Lynn Driver was arrested in Minden, following a traffic stop. Driver was charged with OWI/1st offense.
• On June 20th: 44-year-old Christopher Julius Zepeda, of St. Paul, MN., was arrested at Arrowhead Park near Neola, after he allegedly assaulted a woman. Zepeda was charged with Domestic Abuse Assault, Violation of a No Contact/Protective Order, and for being a Fugitive from Justice.
• June 19th: A Pott. County Deputy was dispatched to Walnut, with regard to a disturbance. 45-year-old Eric D. Gillpatrick and 68-year-old Michael D. Gillpatrick were arrested on charges of Assault Causing Bodily Injury or mental illness/Without intent; 22-year-old Gavin McCall Knight was arrested June 19th in Council Bluffs, for Domestic Abuse Assault 1st offense/Causing injury.
• On the 18th: A Pott. County Jail inmate, 27-year-old Dalton Luis-Marciano Rocha, of Council Bluffs, was served with warrants for Ongoing Criminal Conduct and Theft in the 2nd Degree. The Second warrant was for Criminal Trespass/1st Offense; another inmate, 21-year-old Noah Ethan Stout, of Council Bluffs, was served with a warrant for Sex Offender Registry Requirement Violation; 34-year-old Dannielle Nicole Gaudreau was arrested during a traffic stop in Council Bluffs. She was charged with Failure to Appear and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia; 36-year-old Diana Lynn Seefus was arrested in Council Bluffs on June 18th, for No Valid Driver’s License and OWI/2nd offense.
• On June 17th: 27-year-old Calum Christian Stoltzfus was arrested following a traffic stop in Crescent. He was charged with OWI/1st offense; 27-year-old Jake Jacky was arrested following a traffic stop in Oakland, and charged with Driving While License Suspended or Revoked; 20-year-old Noah Donald Groves, of Council Bluffs, was served at the Pott. County Jail, with a Platte County, Nebraska warrant for being a Fugitive from Justice. Two people were arrested June 17th following a traffic stop in Council Bluffs that resulted in a pursuit. Authorities say 29-year-old Toriann M. Russ was charged with Eluding while exceeding the speed limit by more than 25mph, Open Container – Driver, Reckless Driving, Leaving the Scene of an Accident/Failure to provide aid and/or information, Carrying a weapon while intoxicated, and OWI/1st offense. A passenger in the pickup, 35-year-old Ach-Sah Rosohundra Hyche, was charged with Interference with Official Acts and Carrying a weapon/transport in a vehicle.
• And, on June 16th, a welfare check on a juvenile male resulted in the arrest of his father, 27-year-old Damion James Sadler, on a hold for another law enforcement agency.

The broadcast news at 8:11-a.m. w/Ric Hanson.

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The broadcast News at 7:07-a.m., with Ric Hanson

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(Radio Iowa) – The D-N-R wildlife biologist who tracks pheasant numbers says the winter and spring weather should offset each other to set up for a good fall season. Todd Bogenschutz uses a model of bird survival based on past weather information. He says the winter was mixed for pheasants. “The northwest part of the state had relatively normal to just slightly below normal winter. The eastern third definitely had more snow than normal. The southeast had several ice layers, and in January and February, I was told humans could walk on top of it without breaking through,” Bogenschutz says.

He says the drought conditions actually help pheasants this spring during nesting.He says a dry spring is usually good for the birds.  Bogenschutz says the number of birds will vary by region. He says they should be good in the northwest part of the state and not so good in the eastern part of the state — so he expects the overall numbers should be as good or better than last year. Bogenschutz says the hatch is over and he’s already been hearing reports of birds. He says he’s had reports recently of young pheasants up the size of a meadowlark — which is about what he would expect.

Bogenschutz says they will know for sure how well the pheasants have fared when they do their August roadside survey.

Cumberland Fire and Rescue Chief Brad Penton, Tuesday, posted on social media that their new ambulance has arrived, decked out in bold. vivid colors. Penton said “We would like to thank the everyone in the community for your continued support throughout the past few years for the donations.”

He offered “Special thanks to the following businesses that sealed the deal on making this purchase happen—Cumberland Telephone Company, 21st Century Coop, Houghton State Bank and JBG Farm Corporation. Without everyone’s help, large purchases like this are very difficult to make.”

Photo via Cumberland Fire and Rescue Facebook page.

(Radio Iowa) – A new, 10-point-two million dollar cargo facility at the Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids has officially opened. United Parcel Service has signed a 10-year lease on the nearly 40-thousand square facility and will use it to sort and distribute U-P-S packages. U-P-S has been operating at the Cedar Rapids airport since 1983. It will be moving out of a facility that’s about one-fifth the size of the new cargo handling area.

Construction on the new facility on the west side of the Eastern Iowa Airport began in 2019 and was financed with state and federal grants as well as money from the Cedar Rapids airport’s commission.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA – A Nebraska man was sentenced Tuesday by United States District Court Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger to 37 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for knowingly possessing a firearm as a prohibited person.

According to court documents, on May 17, 2020, Matthew C. Banfield, age 36, of Omaha, was in possession of a Springfield 45 caliber handgun. Banfield fired the weapon at various stationary targets in a rural location located in Pottawattamie County. Prior to this date, Banfield had been convicted of a felony. During his possession of the firearm, Banfield knew he was a prohibited person based on his prior felony convictions. Banfield pleaded guilty to the gun charge on January 8, 2021.

Acting United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement.
The Council Bluffs Police Department, Omaha Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the United States Marshals Southern Iowa Fugitive Task Force investigated the case.

(Radio Iowa) – A group called the “Spirit of Okoboji” is offering half a million dollars to buy the Milford airport and redevelop the land into a sports complex. Milford Mayor Steve Anderson says an airport is an important asset for the community. “Can we move the airport? If we can, can we get state funds? Can we get federal funds? Does it all have to be done individually by the city or can this be done with a private group? All those things are being evaluated,” he says.

The airport is owned by the City of Milford and managed by the city’s airport commission. The property is a mile northwest of Milford’s central business district. Anderson says city and county officials are reviewing options to determine how viable the proposal from the Spirit of Okoboji group would be. “Looking at all the plans, looking at all the concepts,” he says. “There’s a lot of information coming out right now about how soon you can shut down an airport and is there an option of maybe doing this in baby steps.”

In May, an attorney for the Spirit of Okoboji told Milford’s City Council that the group would like to develop baseball and soccer fields as well as volleyball and basketball courts on the airport property that could tournaments to Milford.