(Radio Iowa) — Warm weather, low humidity and strong winds are making for a foul combination across southern Iowa as the risk of wildfires is rising. In the southwest, Page County Emergency Management Coordinator Kris Grebert says brush fires have been numerous in his area, with two fires just this (Thursday) morning in Shenandoah.

“Within the last week, we’ve had eight or nine grass fires that the different agencies — Clarinda, Shen, Essex, Coin — everybody’s responded to,” Grebert says. “So, they have been relatively busy.” Fortunately, Grebert says the county has avoided structure damage from the fires. “We’ve had pretty good luck with our agencies getting out there pretty quick and not having things get too far out of control,” Grebert says. “The homeowners have called us relatively early on in the process, and we’ve gotten everyone out there and everything put down before they spread too much. We’re just crossing our fingers and hoping nothing bad happens for a while.”

Grebert plans to meet with his counterparts across the county next week. “I have been in contact with each of the fire chiefs from Essex, Shenandoah, Clarinda, Coin and Braddyville to discuss a possible burn ban,” Grebert says. “As of right now, we do not have one on in Page County. We’re hoping some rain will come Monday or Wednesday of next week, then we won’t have to worry so much about it.”

Fremont County’s fire departments are also on guard. Fremont County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Crecelius says virtually every department was out battling brush fires Wednesday night. Crecelius says conditions are ripe for disaster. “If you have an alleged controlled burn — I always thought that was an oxymoron, because you can’t really control a fire — if it decides to do something, you’re going to lose it,” Crecelius says. “As dry as everything is, once it gets going, it can spread all over all sorts of places out there, because we’ve got a lot of dry ground, we’ve got dry vegetation all over the place.”

Red Flag Warnings are posted for Iowa’s three southern tiers of counties today, virtually everything south of Interstate 80.

DUBUQUE, Iowa, March 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Today (Thursday), the national food safety law firm of Ron Simon & Associates, along with Iowa-based co-counsel the Hammer Law Firm, filed the first lawsuit stemming from E. coli O103-contaminated sandwiches sold at Jimmy John’s locations in Iowa.

The lawsuit was filed against Jimmy John’s on behalf of Kahler Folkedahl, a patron who frequented a local Jimmy John’s restaurant in Dubuque, Iowa in November of 2019. Shortly thereafter, Kahler began to experience vomiting, abdominal cramps, and hematochezia associated with E. coli poisoning. Kahler was hospitalized for three days, and thereafter notified by the local health department that she was suffering from the strain of E. coli O103 linked to consumption of contaminated sprouts sold on Jimmy John’s sandwiches.

Health Officials Link E. coli Outbreak to Consumption of Sprouts Sold at Jimmy John’s
The Iowa Department of Public Health has reported that a total of 22 people from Iowa have been infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O103. All of the victims were interviewed by the health officials, and all confirmed that they had consumed Jimmy John’s sandwiches prior to their illnesses.

The Iowa Department of Inspections tested samples of sprouts served at Jimmy John’s, and also the water used to irrigate the sprouts at the farm on which they were grown. Both tested positive for E coli O103. Health officials thereafter concluded that the contaminated sprouts sold on Jimmy John’s sandwiches were the vehicle for the E. coli O103 outbreak.
Jimmy John’s has since pulled sprouts from all of its locations in the United States.

Attorney Ron Simon who represents Kahler Folkedahl and other victims of this and numerous other Jimmy John’s food poisoning outbreaks, issued the following statement: “Unfortunately, Jimmy John’s has been linked to too many outbreaks in recent years. In fact, Jimmy John’s recently received a Warning Letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration detailing numerous violations in the serving of contaminated sprouts spanning across the last decade. Through this lawsuit and others, we will determine how this contamination occurred and how it can be prevented in the future, so that this never happens to Jimmy John’s customers again.”

Mr. Simon and his law firm have established a Jimmy John’s E. Coli Claim Center to assist victims in the outbreak. The E. Coli Claim Center can be reached toll-free at 1-888-335-4901.

Two people were arrested on separate charges Wednesday, in Creston. Police say 28-year old Amanda Steinbach, of Creston, was arrested at Oak/Devoe on an Adams County Warrant for Failure to Appear on the original charge of Driving While Suspended. She was released to the custody of Adams County. And, 23-year old Cody Lamaak, of Creston, was arrested at Chestnut/Fremont on the charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance – Marijuana, and Possession of Paraphernalia. He was released on a $1300 bond.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa -A Judge in Council Bluffs U-S District Court, Wednesday sentenced a Council Bluffs man on drug charges. 30-year old Dalton Lee Dukes was ordered imprisoned for nearly 12 1/2 years, for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine, and Carrying a Firearm in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime. His sentence will be followed by an additional 60 months for carrying a firearm in relation to drug trafficking, plus five years of supervised release after his prison term ends.

The sentencing was the result of an investigation originating in Cass County regarding the distribution of methamphetamine delivered from Omaha, Nebraska. The investigation revealed that Dukes was distributing methamphetamine in numerous locations throughout Southwest Iowa. After a confidential informant purchased methamphetamine from Dukes, he was arrested on February 15, 2019. At the time of his arrest, Dukes was found with money from drug sales and a loaded .9-mm Taurus handgun.

Prior to being sentenced in the case, Dukes was charged with First Degree Murder in Douglas County, Nebraska and he is awaiting transfer to answer those charges. The matter was investigated by the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Southwest Iowa Narcotics Task Force, Omaha Police Department, and Iowa Division of Narcotics Investigation. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa today (Thursday), said that on Wednesday, 55-year old Shawn Morgal, of Council Bluffs, was sentenced in Council Bluffs U-S District Court, to a little more than two-years in prison, for being a Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm. The Judge also ordered Morgal to serve a three-year term of supervised release, upon completion of his sentence.

On May 21, 2018, the Council Bluffs Police Department received a report of a theft from a local gun store. Morgal admitted to stealing a pistol from the gun store and later trading it in exchange for controlled substances. The case was investigated by the Council Bluffs Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa Senate has voted to toughen penalties for animal abuse. Senator Brad Zaun, a Republican from Urbandale, has been working on the issue for the past few years. “I am sick and tired of hearing in the news on almost a daily or weekly basis of these cases where these companion animals are being abused,” Zaun says. Senator Tony Bisignano, a Democrat from Des Moines, agrees. “This is needed in my community,” Bisignano says. “It’s gotten out of hand and we need to send the signal.”

The House voted last year to enhance penalties for animal neglect, torture and abuse. Senators working on the issue struck a compromise and kept the penalty for a first conviction on an animal torture charge as an aggravated misdemeanor rather than a felony. Republican Senator Tom Shipley, a farmer from Nodaway, opposed the House-passed plan, but supported the scaled back bill which deals with abuse of pets and wild animals. “We can’t fix bad people, but I think we can go a long ways towards dealing with these issues and keeping the animal agriculture business out of it,” Shipley says. “…I want to just also remind the body that we’re talking about animals here and I’m afraid sometimes there’s people out here in this world that get their animals confused with people.”

The bill cleared the senator on a 44 to three vote and it goes back to the House for consideration of the senate’s changes.

Shelby County Emergency Management Coordinator Alexander Londo reports today (Thursday), that the county is “Currently in Extreme Fire Danger,” and Tthere will be no burning allowed until further notice.” The County is under a Wind Advisory until 6-p.m. Gusty winds and low humidities will create a very high risk of grassland fires today. Do not carelessly discard smoking materials, and use extra caution when driving high profile vehicles.

Pottawattamie County is also under a ban on opening burning until further notice.

The Atlantic Police Department reports five arrests, include the arrest on Monday, of 26-year old Robert Joens, from Exira. He was taken into custody for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Poss. Controlled Substances/Meth & marijuana, Open Container, Interference with Official Acts, and a Controlled substance violation. Last Sunday, Atlantic Police arrested 29-year old Alicia Dellaca, of Avoca, for Driving While License Revoked. And, 18-year old Allison Campbell, of Walnut, was arrested for OWI/1st offense.

On Feb. 21st, 48-year old Daniel Laws, of Elk Horn, was arrested by Atlantic Police, on a Cass County warrant for Criminal Mischief in the 2nd Degree. On Feb. 20th, A-PD arrested 30-year old Alen Sisira, of Atlantic, for OWI/2nd offense.

All subjects were transported to the Cass County Jail and booked-in. As of Wednesday, only Joens remained held in the jail.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (The Gazette) — A plan developed by MidAmerican Energy and Iowa City calls for using a portion of a city park for MidAmerican’s first solar energy project. The Iowa City Council has scheduled a public hearing March 24 on leasing nearly 19 acres at Waterworks Prairie Park to MidAmerican, which would install about 10,000 solar panels. The system is expected to generate three megawatts of energy that would be tied into the electric grid.

The lease would run for 30 years and could be extended. The city would receive an annual payment starting at $13,440, and it would increase by 3% annually.

(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa legislature has sent the governor a compromise bill on solar energy. Last year, utilities sought permission to charge new fees to customers with solar panels on their homes or businesses. The bill now calls for studying the value of solar power starting in 2027 and establishes some alternative billing methods. Representative Gary Carlson, a Republican from Muscatine, says the compromise was developed by representatives of the state’s electric utilities, pork producers and the solar industry. “It’s gratifying to see that the groups came together and have come with a solution that’s good not only for the growth of the solar industry and utilities, but for Iowans,” Carlson says.

Last year Republican Senator Michael Breitbach, of Strawberry Point, was the lead advocate for charging new fees to customers who tap into the electric power grid when their solar panels aren’t producing power. Breitbach says this year’s deal gives some certainty to solar customers. “It also gives us a pathway forward on how the determination will be on the value of solar,” he says. Senator Eric Giddens, a Democrat from Cedar Falls, says solar power helps reduce reliance on fossil fuels for electricity. “It will strengthen the solar industry in this state, make distributed solar installations more affordable for homeowners, businesses and farmers,” he says.

The bill passed the House unanimously Tuesday and the Senate passed it 48-to-zero, Wednesday afternoon.