WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Public libraries in two eastern Iowa communities are joining a growing number across the nation in eliminating fines for overdue materials. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that the Waterloo and Cedar Falls libraries will eliminate the fines Jan. 1 and forgive outstanding overdue-material fines.

Cedar Falls Public Library Director Kelly Stern said fines are not the most effective way to manage borrowing and are not fair to low-income patrons. Fees for lost or damaged items will remain. Patrons with overdue items will be blocked from checking out further items until the overdue material is renewed or returned.

LEWISTOWN, Ill. (AP) — Bond is set at $250,000 for a driver charged in connection with a vehicle crash in western Illinois that left three Iowa residents dead. Twenty-year-old Pedro Orozco of Galesburg faces three counts of aggravated driving under the influence. He appeared earlier this week in Fulton County Circuit Court.

Authorities have said he was driving northbound last Friday on Illinois Route 97 when the vehicle he was driving collided with another headed west on Route 9. The crash happened outside Cuba. The (Peoria) Journal Star reports Orozco is being held at Fulton County Jail. His public defender couldn’t be reached Wednesday.

WASHINGTON, Iowa (AP) — A former bricklayer made a deal with an eastern Iowa retirement home when he became a resident to allow him to put up a display of model trains. Jim Bennett of Washington says the holiday season is his favorite time for the past 10 years because he gets to display his enthusiasm being a train engineer.

KCRG-TV reports that his train display is in the United Presbyterian Home’s lobby in the town of 7,400 people about 50 miles south of Cedar Rapids. He’s posted hours of operation for Monday, Wednesday and Friday and is likely leave the display up through February.

The Adair County Board of Supervisors will meet 9-a.m. Thursday in the Boardroom at the Courthouse in Greenfield. On their agenda, is a report from County Engineer Nick Kauffman, with regard to approval of a Plan of Operations for the “Force Account” (EWP – Emergency Watershed Protection – Projects), along with his regular maintenance & activities report. The Board will then hear from Conservation Director Dominic Johnson, with regard to a FY 2021 Budget Request.

Discussion will cover Taxable Mileage, and IMWCA recommendation responses.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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The National Weather Service in Johnston says record to near record highs are likely for this Christmas Day across much of central and southern Iowa, with highs in the 50’s to near 60. Temperatures will be a bit cooler over northern Iowa. A cold front will move through tonight and will drop highs into the 30’s and 40’s for Thursday and Friday.

(Click to enlarge the map)

A storm system will arrive this weekend with mainly rain Friday night and Saturday followed by a transition to snow Saturday night and Sunday. Some snow accumulations are possible, especially across northern Iowa. A large amount of variability remains for this system therefore, any snowfall predictions remain low confidence. Stay tuned for future updates regarding the weekend storm system.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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DES MOINES – The holiday season is a time for spending with family and friends and giving and receiving gifts. This is also the most waste-generated time of the year. According to Standford University, Americans throw away 25% more trash from Thanksgiving to New Years, which adds an additional 1 million pounds of waste going to the landfill per week. If every family reused just two feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the planet. If every family wrapped three of the gifts they give in reusable materials like using the newspaper comics pages, magazines, etc., it would save enough paper to cover approximately 45,000 football fields.

According to the 2017 Iowa Statewide Waste Characterization Study, overall, cardboard was the fifth most landfilled material out of the 62 sort categories. The total amount of cardboard landfilled in Iowa was approximately 84,200 tons. Based on a current market value of $51 per ton of cardboard, that adds up to $4.3 million dollars.

The Iowa DNR asks you to consider these holiday savings tips from the EPA and others:

• Consider the source.Choose recycled or sustainable sourced materials. Shop local to support area shops, makers, and artisans while reducing shipping costs and impacts.
• Rethink the wrap. Reuse maps, comics, newsprint, kid art, or posters as gift wrap. Wrap gifts in recycled paper or a reusable bag. Or skip the gift wrap, hide the gifts, and leave clues or trails for kids to follow. Believe it or not, despite Christmas paper being typically made of paper, most of the time you can’t actually recycle it. Forget the foil and glittery paper this Christmas and opt for a more subtle style.
• Keep it simple.For larger gatherings, choose recyclable or compostable service items. All food-soiled paper products are commercially compostable, unless plastic- or foil-coated.
• Reuse packing and shipping materials. Save ribbons, bows, boxes, bags, and décor for the next holiday.
• Recycle old electronics and batteries.
• Compost your food scraps.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources wishes you and your family a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is reminding snowmobile and off-highway vehicle owners and users, to renew their registrations before January 1st, 2020. Registrations for snowmobiles and OHVs purchased during the 2019 registration cycle will expire on December 31, 2019. Any decal displayed on a machine with a “19” printed on it will no longer be valid for machines to be used on snowmobile trails, public ice, or the OHV parks. Any registration that is not renewed prior to January 1, 2020 will have a late penalty of $5.00 applied to the registration cost.

All permits, which include resident snowmobiles and nonresident snowmobiles and OHVs, also expire on December 31, 2019. There is no late penalty for a permit purchased after January 1 as they are issued for a calendar year. User permits are required for nonresident and resident snowmobiles used on public land or ice. Nonresident off road vehicles registered in their home state must display a user permit. Residents operating an off-highway vehicle do not need a user permit.

Red Oak Police early this (Wednesday) morning, arrested a man on a warrant out of Missouri. 62-year old Thomas Raymond Wells, II, of Red Oak, was taken into custody a little after 12-a.m., on the warrant for Possession of Dangerous Drugs. Wells was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held without bond, pending transport to Missouri.