CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG-TV) – The Cedar Rapids Fire Department said five people were displaced after a house fire on Saturday afternoon. KCRG reports officials responded to a home in the 2200 block of O Ave. NW just before 2 p.m.

Firefighters extinguished the fire, performed a search, and ventilated the home. CRFD said all occupants were accounted for and made it out of the home safely.

There was major fire damage to the exterior of the home, and smoke, water and fire damage inside. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Officials with Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) are expected to be on site at the Bridgestone tire plant in Des Moines, Monday, to assist hundreds of workers who were displaced from a layoff that was announced last month and went into effect on Friday.

Officials at Bridgestone had said there would be 216 layoffs at the Des Moines plant. Bridgestone told the United Steelworkers leadership in Des Moines that it’s because of “demand constraints in the agriculture tire sector.”

A KJAN social media follower sent us these pictures of a funnel cloud earlier this evening (around 8:37-p.m.) near Harlan.  There were no warnings issued for the area. Photo’s courtesy of Zach Ploen.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak, Friday night, arrested a man wanted on a valid warrant out of Pottawattamie County. 56-year-old Richard James Linfor, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 8:30-p.m. in the 500m block of E. Market Street, on the warrant for Escape from Custody (A Serious Misdemeanor). Richard Linfor was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held, pending transfer to the Pott. County Jail in Council Bluffs.

DES MOINES – Gov. Kim Reynolds has announced the approval of Buena Vista, Cherokee and O’Brien Counties for Individual Assistance under the previously approved Major Disaster Declaration, FEMA DR-4796-IA, for Iowa counties where significant damage was sustained from severe storms, flooding, straight-line winds, and tornadoes that started on June 16, 2024, and continuing.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Individual Assistance Program is already activated for the following counties: Clay, Emmet, Lyon, Plymouth, and Sioux Counties.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — A firefighter was hurt fighting a fire at what was supposed to be an empty factory building Friday morning. KCRG reports the Cedar Rapids Fire Department says it responded to the former Diamond V plant in the 500 block of G Ave NW in Cedar Rapids before 7 a.m. Friday. The plant has been vacant for several years but the department says firefighters saw people evacuating as they arrived and were told people were inside. That prompted firefighters to enter the building to search for people who may have been trapped.

During the course of that search, a firefighter fell about 30 feet. The firefighter was taken to the hospital with serious injuries but is expected to survive. Ultimately, no one was found inside the former factory. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Diamond V vacated the plant in 2020 shortly after Cargill bought out the Cedar Rapids company that makes additives for animal feed. Property records show the Cedar Rapids Development Group bought the property last year. That’s the group leading efforts to build a casino in Cedar Rapids, slated to be located just a few blocks away.

CRFD says homeless people have been known to stay inside the former factory. The city of Cedar Rapids formerly “placarded” the building on June 26th, declaring it uninhabitable and making it illegal for anyone to be inside the building.

(Creston, Iowa) -Officials with SIRWA (The Southern Iowa Rural Water Association) based in Creston, are advising certain customers of their service in parts of Union and Madison County, to use bottled water for drinking, or boil your water if you intend to drink it from the tap, until at least Wednesday, due to issues SIRWA experienced Thursday evening with their distribution system north of the Afton, Lorimor, Thayer and surrounding areas. A water main broke, draining all the water out of a tower just north of Afton in Union County.

Officials say “If your account number starts with numbers 55, 03, 63 or 64 you are included in this notice.”

As a precaution, SIRWA has issued a Drinking Water Advisory at this time. The Southern Iowa Rural Water Association (SIRWA) Water Supply is recommending users boil the water before using for drinking. Bring all water to a boil, let it boil for one minute, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water.

Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, and food preparation until further notice. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water. The water may be used for bathing and other similar purposes.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa kids on summer break may be spending less time playing outdoors and more time in front of screens, and studies find it could be hindering their social and emotional development. Jeff Reiland, a child and family therapist with Gundersen Health System, says “less is better” when it comes to screen-time, though T-Vs, tablets and cell phones are getting a lot harder to avoid.

“Back in the 1960s, the average household had one screen. It was usually a black-and-white and maybe if they were lucky, a color TV,” Reiland says. “In 2015, the average household had seven or eight screens, and a 2024 survey showed the average household has 17 screens, over twice as many as it had even 10 years ago.” Studies find kids are watching screens on average for three hours a day by three years of age, while for teens, it may be eight hours or more of screen-time every day.

“People are spending less time together interacting with each other and more time plugged in to those other things,” Reiland says, “which may make them quieter, may make them maybe better behaved, but it doesn’t necessarily help them develop social and emotional skills.” He says the latest study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, says there’s a clear correlation between a child’s screen-time and their language development.

Jeff Reiland (Gundersen photo)

“When children develop language, they’re able to problem-solve better. They’re able to turn, take and share better,” Reiland says. “We see a direct relationship between children being able to use their words — instead of their fists — when they’re angry, so we see a sharp drop in aggression between the ages of three and five as they acquire that language.” Reiland says the results of the study are a bit depressing because it’s well known that screen-time has a negative impact on many areas of a child’s life and development, yet the numbers continue to climb.

“A study shows that when kids watched that much screen-time, they’re actually missing out on opportunities for conversation,” Reiland says. “This study actually was able to measure and estimate that when children are plugged into screens, they’re missing up to 1,000-plus words that they’re hearing from adults, they’re uttering 800 fewer words.” The study also found kids are missing out on up to 100 interactions with adults, conversations that can help cement relationships between parents and kids. Delays in language development translate to a child not being able to manage their emotions well, causing ripple effects in their ability to solve problems.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County (IA) Sheriff’s Office reports a man from Atlantic was arrested late last month on a warrant for Domestic Abuse Assault. 34-year-old Devin Register was  taken into custody June 21st, for Possession of a Controlled Substance and Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia. Register was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held.

And, on June 28th, 2024, Sheriff’s Deputies in Cass County arrested 33-year-old Cole Benton, of Hamlin, on the charge of Driving while Barred.  Benton was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on his own recognizance.