(Radio Iowa) – A fisherman has donated the remains of a wooden boat found at the bottom of West Lake Okoboji to the Iowa Great Lakes Maritime Museum in Arnolds Park. Chad Thompson of Spirit Lake determined the engine was made in 1937. “When I got it up and in the garage, we did take and put a wrench on it and we could get the motor to turn over, so being underwater for almost 50 years or whatever, the motor still turned over,” Thompson says, “so we thought that was pretty cool.”

Thompson says he’s 99 percent sure the boat is a 1942 Century Sea Maid. “The most it could have been down there is for 50 years,” he says. “…The Sears battery was dated 1969.” Thompson found the wreckage with his depth-finder two years ago and coordinated with Okoboji Underwater Recovery Specialists to bring it to the surface this winter.

“The plywood deck on the top, being on the water that long, it took a pretty good toll on it,” Thompson says. “…A silt line in the bottom of the boat was probably 14-16 inches in spots. Well, wherever that silt line was in the bottom of the boat, when we cleaned it all out — it looked like it was brand new.” Thompson is hoping that putting the boat on display at the museum will lead to someone to come forward with more information about who owned the boat and why it sunk.

The company that made the boat was founded in 1928 and won a government contract to build 36-hundred boats for service in World War II. The boat Thompson found was one of the company’s pre-war models.

A power outage affected about 273 people in Atlantic, this (Monday) afternoon. The juice went out at around 3:15-p.m.  Atlantic Municipal Utilities General Manager Steve Tjepkes said crews were working on a “Phased” equipment replacement for a cut-out, when another piece of equipment failed. Initially, only a few customers went dark, but when the second piece failed, the eastern half of the City was knocked out, too.

AMU crews worked on a day when the Heat Index was 93 to get the problem repaired and the line energized. Power was restored by around 3:49-p.m.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police have identified three of four men who died and a woman who was injured in a fiery single-vehicle crash southwest of downtown Des Moines. Police say the car’s driver, 22-year-old Ross Jacob Welsher, and passengers 22-year-old Jordan Van Gundy and 24-year-old Jacob Lee Van Gundy, all of Des Moines, died in the crash.

The woman injured is 22-year-old Rheanne Elise Ames, of West Des Moines. Police say they are awaiting autopsy results to identify the fourth man killed. Investigators say the crash happened around 2:30 a.m. Sunday on George Flagg Parkway near Water Works Park.

MANCHESTER, Iowa (AP) — Officials in eastern Iowa say a Manchester teen drowned in Lake Delhi over the holiday weekend. The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office says 17-year-old Teige Hunt jumped into the lake Friday night and did not resurface. Rescue crews responded to a call for help at the lake around 7 p.m. Friday and found Hunt in about 40 feet of water. The teen was taken to a nearby hospital before being flown to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, where he died early Saturday morning. The Gazette reports Hunt would have been a senior this fall at Maquoketa Valley High School, where he played on the basketball team.

Sheriff’s Deputies in Page County, Thursday, arrested 19-year old Kortnee James Cordell Nelson, of Clarinda, following a traffic stop north of Clarinda. Nelson was arrested for Possession of a controlled substance and Driving under suspension. He was transported to the Page County Jail and held on $1,566.25 bond, pending further court proceedings. A 17 year old juvenile female with Nelson was picked up on a court order and transported to the Southwest Iowa Juvenile Detention Center in Council Bluffs.

(Radio Iowa) – Officials with the City of Spencer have fired an employee after the woman was accused of being part of a racial incident last week. An internal investigation was conducted after the City of Spencer received a complaint following the incident Wednesday evening at the Spencer Wal-Mart that led to the employee being fired effective immediately as of Thursday afternoon. According to a social media post about the incident, the employee reportedly made racial slurs and attempted to ram the victim’s cart with a motorized scooter while both parties were waiting in a checkout line. The post goes on to say members of the Wal-Mart staff were able to intervene and diffuse the situation.

(Radio Iowa) — Senator Chuck Grassley says he’ll attend events in 29 different Iowa counties over the next two weeks — and he’ll be wearing a face covering everywhere he goes and encouraging others to do the same. “To make sure everyone stays healthy and safe, we’ll be following CDC and Iowa state public health guidelines,” Grassley says, “including social distancing and wearing masks at all these meetings.” A crowd booed Muscatine’s mayor yesterday (Sunday) and called her a tyrant when she mandated face coverings be worn in public places in Muscatine. Grassley has recently been tweeting about the importance of wearing a face mask in the nation’s capitol.  “If you’ve followed me in my 40 years of politics in the Senate, you probably have heard me say: ‘Well, if there are no known negatives, you ought to do it.’ Now, that would deal with political and governmental things,” Grassley says, “but the same principle can apply to wearing a face mask.”

Grassley is encouraging all Iowans to wear a mask or face covering when they’re not at home. “I have a responsibility as a citizen not to infect somebody else, so if wearing a face mask might not protect me, but it’s going to protect somebody else, I ought to be doing it,” Grassley says.

Grassley has posted a picture of himself on Instagram wearing a purple face mask with the University of Northern Iowa emblem on it. “I don’t know of any negatives except it looks awful on people and I’d rather see their face than see a mask, but we’re in a whole different environment now and I want to do my share,” Grassley says. “…A US Senator…we don’t often get a chance to set a good example. This is one example we can set.”

Grassley says wearing a mask shows you are thinking about others and sacrificing for your neighbors and loved ones.

July 6, 2020 (DES MOINES) – Awards totaling nearly $22 million were announced today for historic preservation projects across the state, including conversion of the Red Oak High School into Low-to-Moderate Income housing. The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) registered 15 projects to receive state Historic Preservation tax credits. For the May 2020 registration period, IEDA received 23 applications requesting $33 million in tax credits. For this registration round, approximately $22 million was available for award. Projects are scored based on readiness, financing, local support and participation.

In Red Oak, Red Oak Partners, LLC. requested and were awarded nearly $1.36-million in grant funds. Other western Iowa projects received grant awards include the Motor Mart and Montgomery Ward Building, both in Sioux City. Those structures will be converted for Mixed Use. J Development Company, LLC, was awarded more than $5.4-million for the combined projects.

The Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program provides a state income tax credit to projects for rehabilitation of historic buildings. The program is designed to promote the retention of unique, character defining buildings and building features that contribute to a community and neighborhood. Rehabilitation must meet the federal Secretary of Interior standards. The Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program is administered by IEDA in partnership with the State Historic Preservation Office.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports 31-year old Nicholas Lee Steinhoff, of Shenandoah, was arrested Saturday in Shenandoah. He was taken into custody following an investigation into Sex Offender registration violations. Steinhoff was transported to the Page County Jail on $2,000 bond.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports two accidents took place over the past week. On July 3rd, authorities were notified of a motor vehicle accident on Highway 48 near A Avenue,  just north of the Shenandoah city limits. An investigation determined 35-year old Nathan Daniel Binau, of Shenandoah, was driving a 2019 Ford F150 pickup southbound on Highway48, and was unable to negotiate the curve near A Avenue. The vehicle struck a sign, culvert, and water line marker before coming to rest. Binau was transported to Shenandoah Medical Center with undisclosed injuries and later released. During the investigation Binau was arrested for O.W.I. 1st Offense. He was transported to the Page County Jail on $1000.00, pending further court proceedings. The Page County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Shenandoah Police Department, Shenandoah Ambulance service, and the Shenandoah Fire Department.

On July 2nd, the Page County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a single motor vehicle accident in the 2400 block of T Avenue, about two-miles south east of Clarinda. Officials say 32-year old  Travis Lee McClarnon, of Clarinda, was driving a 1999 Chevy Suburban north bound on T Avenue, when he lost control of the vehicle. The Chevy went off the road in to the west ditch where it struck a power pole owned by MidAmerican Energy. The pole broke and the vehicle came to rest on a fence owned by Kent Thorson, of Clarinda.

McClarnon was transported to the Clarinda Regional Health Center by private vehicle with undisclosed injuries. Damage to the power pole was estimated at $5000. Damage to the fence was estimated at $1500. Damage to the vehicle was estimated at $4000. McClarnon was cited for Failure to maintain control of vehicle.