(Radio Iowa) – The State Environmental Protection Commission voted today (Wednesday) to refer the case of the New Cooperative fertilizer spill on the East Nishnabotna River near Red Oak to the Iowa Attorney General’s Office. Bradley Adams, the attorney for the E-P-C, told commissioners the referral is justified after 265-thousand gallons of fertilizer got into the river. “A 50 mile stretch of the river became uninhabitable for aquatic life,” he says. He says frogs, snakes, mussels and fish died due to the contamination.

“D-N-R’s fishery staff estimated that in excess of 749-thousand fish were killed in Iowa’s portion of the East Nish. The kill extended into Missouri and only ended once the river met at the confluence with the Missouri River,” Adams says. Adams says the D-N-R penalty for this would be capped at ten-thousand dollars and that is why he recommends referral to the attorney general.

“A fish kill of this size equates to a high dollar restitution total, the state must ensure full financial recovery to mitigate the harm that was caused to East Nish,” Adams says. “Ongoing needs also include monitoring and sampling which the Attorney General’s Office can secure on more favorable terms the Department. In short, a higher amount of leverage is required to ensure that efforts to mitigate the release and restore the East Nishnabotna progresses at a satisfactory rate.”

New Cooperative spill

The valve was left open and that was not noticed as the hose was clogged, but the material came out after the clog broke. New Coop general manager Dan Dix spoke to the Commission before the vote. “Our company has always operated under the philosophy we strive to do the right thing, for the customer, the employee, and they want you to know that this is the first time in 50 years company has been in existence that we’ve dealt with this type of issue. Unfortunately, it was simply due to a mistake,” he says. Dix says the Fort Dodge-based company did everything it could to mitigate the damage after discovering the issue.

“We take this matter very seriously and hope that our actions during the cleanup show everyone our dedication to doing the right thing,” Dix says. Michael Schmidt of the Iowa Environmental Council also spoke. “We believe this is the type of case that should be referred for elevated enforcement action through the agency’s office because the Department of Natural Resources administrative cap of 10-thousand dollars in penalties has not changed since 1992, and that level of penalty would not reflect the seriousness of this case,” he says.

DES MOINES – Following days of heavy rainfall, flash flooding and Tuesday’s severe storms, multiple Iowa wastewater treatment plants have reported discharging untreated or partially treated wastewater.
These discharges can result from heavy precipitation, power outages and storm damage, among other things.
Since April 1, the Iowa DNR has received reports of 131 discharges at wastewater treatment facilities due to heavy precipitation, with 44 of those being reported in the last five days. Heavy rain can overload wastewater collection systems, which are underground sewer pipes that carry sewage to a treatment plant. Aging or poorly maintained sanitary sewer systems are particularly vulnerable to influxes of storm water.
With sewage pipes overwhelmed, excess water has nowhere to go, and can back up into basements through floor drains. Bypassing can lower the water level in the collection system, keeping sewage from backing up into basements, which could present health risks.
DNR staff continue to monitor these situations and will provide assistance to impacted communities.
It is highly recommended people and pets avoid these areas and stay out of flooded and elevated waterways due to safety concerns.
For more information on wastewater discharges and flooding updates, contact your local DNR Environmental Field office. You can find the office for your region at: https://www.iowadnr.gov/fieldoffice

“Ultimately the enforcement action taken by the A-Gs office must reflect the grave impact of the fertilizer spill and the effects on the East Nishnabotna River,” Schmidt says. The E-P-C voted unanimously to refer the case to the Attorney General.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says debris in Greenfield needs to be stabilized before volunteers will be able to enter the town to help residents recover from Tuesday’s tornado strike. The governor is hoping to have damage estimates completed by tomorrow (Thursday), so she can submit a request for a presidential disaster declaration that would trigger federal aid.

“We’re going to file for individual assistance again and public assistance,” Reynolds said. “The hospital was damaged and so we want to make sure that we’re providing resources for them as well.” The governor says four injured people were flown out of Greenfield on helicopters to area hospitals last (Tuesday) night, but she cannot confirm the number of people who were killed or injured.

“It’s still a search and rescue and we don’t want to give out any misinformation. That’s one of the reasons we’re keeping the site secure,” Reynolds said. “We wouldn’t want to give out a wrong number and we’re still assessing and there are properties in the country that have been impacted as well so we want to make sure we have an accurate count.” There’s a 10 a.m. to 7 a.m. curfew in Greenfield and people have to show proof they have a Greenfield address in order to enter the community.

John Cooper, Adair County’s Emergency Management Coordinator, says that’s an element of their coordinated search to confirm injuries and deaths in the community. “When we have this many homes that have been destroyed and just fully demolished, we want to make sure every person, every resident is accounted for,” Cooper says. “We’re going to continue doing that and then encountered for, so we’re going to continue doing that and then, once we have those numbers, we’ll send that information out.”

Photo of tornado damage in Greenfield by Melissa Ehrman Johnson

Reynolds spoke with reporters after visiting Greenfield this (Wednesday) morning and she said it appears the damage in Greenfield is worse than what she saw Minden, where 40 percent of homes were damaged or destroyed by a tornado a month ago. “It’s just gut wrenching,” Reynolds says. “I was just in Minden…three and a half weeks ago and that was horrific and I think there’s even more debris and more impacted here. It is is horrific. It is hard to describe, until you can see it, the devastation.”

Reynolds is praising the work of meteorologists at the National Weather Service for advance notice of yesterday’s (Tuesday’s) dangerous conditions. “Letting individuals know when it would hit and where it would hit and they were almost spot on,” Reynolds says. “And I tell ya the other reason that was so important…we had a lot of kids still in school and based on the early, advance notice that we got, many of our schools let out early and it hit here (in Greenfield) at three and that would have been the time the kids were on a bus and headed home and it could have been devastating.”

Reynolds is also thanking Greenfield’s hospital staff for their response to the tornado after it damaged their facility. They established a make-shift triage center at Greenfield’s lumber yard to treat people who were injured and set up the transfers for people who needed treatment in a hospital. The state education director has issued a waiver, so the district’s school year is officially over.

The Nodaway Valley High School in Greenfield is serving as an emergency shelter and field hospital for anyone who might be injured during clean-up.

ADAIR COUNTY, Iowa — Heavy precipitation is causing a discharge of untreated wastewater from the City of Fontanelle. It is flowing from the lift station located at Washington and Main Streets in town to an unnamed tributary which runs more than a mile before reaching the Middle Nodaway River.

The discharge began on May 21 at 8:30 a.m. and has been intermittent throughout the day and night, still occurring this morning. The discharge amount is currently unknown. DNR staff are monitoring the situation and are conducting sampling.

It is highly recommended people and pets avoid these areas and stay out of flooded and elevated waterways due to safety concerns.

(Radio Iowa) – After months of delays, the Farm Bill was introduced today (Wednesday) in the U-S House. It’s more than a thousand pages long and it’s estimated to cost one-and-a-half TRILLION dollars over ten years. Iowa Congressman Randy Feenstra, who serves on the House Agricultural Committee, says the massive piece of legislation is vital to farmers in Iowa and nationwide. “The most important part of the Farm Bill is protecting producers,” Feenstra says, “whether they be livestock or commodity farmers. We have to make sure we have a safety net.”

He says that safety net includes crop insurance, in addition to improving exports and preventing animal illnesses. “We’re being devastated by the bird flu, and we surely don’t ever want to see African swine fever come into our livestock,” he says, “and that’s the main goals that we’re trying to achieve.” Feenstra, the Republican who represents Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, says he worked on 25 bills contained in the Farm Bill.

The package includes cuts to the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and overturns California’s Proposition 12 mandates. The previous farm bill from 2018 expired last fall and was extended through September.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Officials with the National Weather Service in central Iowa at Noon today (Wednesday) said on social media: “Initial storm surveys have confirmed at least EF-3 damage in Greenfield, Iowa. Additional damage assessment evaluation will continue over the next several days and results are subject to change. Additional tornado paths and ratings will be added as data continues to be collected.

An EF-3 tornado typically packs winds of 136-to-165-miles per hour, according to the Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale.

Debris in the form of paperwork was lofted about 40,000-feet into the atmosphere, and landed as far as 90-miles away, according to some media reports. Checks and other items from Greenfield were discovered near Ames and Boone, to name a few locations.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City of Atlantic’s Personnel and Finance Committee is set to meet Thursday afternoon, in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall. Their session begins at 1-p.m. A copy of their agenda is shown below:

AGENDA

1. Call To Order.

2. Approval of the Agenda.
   

3. Further Review and Recommendation of the Potential School Resource Officer Position.
   

4. Review and Recommendation of Contract with the Southwest Iowa Planning Council (SWIPCO) for a $3,000.00 to $5,000.00 Contract for a Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance Update.
   

5. Review and Recommendation on Assessment of Details and Research Regarding Iowa Codes 384 and 403.
   

6. Review and Recommendation on Interpretation of Language Contained within the Personnel Handbook and Collective Bargaining Agreements for Consistency in the Practice of Accounting for Benefit Accrual and Use and Compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

7. Other Business.
8. Adjournment

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic School Board will meet this evening in the Central Office Conference Room, beginning at 5:30 (The meeting is viewable through a YouTube link shown bel0w). Here’s what on their agenda:

Meeting Agenda
LIVE YouTube Link
1. Call to Order
2. Roll Call
3. Approve meeting agenda
4. Welcome Visitors/Public Comment
5. Special Presentation, Kelli Evans, Director of Nursing
6. Consent Items
7. Discussion Items
a. Facility Assessment
b. Tour of Achievement Center/ Alternative Education program
8. Action Items
a. Choosing Facility Assessment firm
b. Approval of Classified Support Staff Union Contract for 24-25
c. Summer School Recommendation
9. Upcoming Dates
a. School Board Meeting; June 12, 2024, 5:30 pm
10. Board Meeting Evaluation
a. Question to the Board: One strength we showed tonight as a team.
11. Adjournment
12. Closed Session
a. The board will hold a closed session pursuant to Iowa Code, Section 21.5 (1)(i) to evaluate the superintendent.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Reynolds has declared 15 counties state disaster areas and many of those counties had significant flash flooding from storms that moved through on Monday and Tuesday. Algona got five inches of rain, flooding roads and basements. Flash flooding in the Newton area stranded vehicles and closed roads, including a portion of Highway 5. Applington-Parkersburg and Dike-New Hartford schools are closed today (Wednesday) due to flooding. In Clay County, there was rain and hail on Monday night, then more rain on Tuesday. Clay County Emergency Management director says the small community of Webb and surrounding areas were hard hit.

“They received a substantial amount of rain down on some rural areas in southeastern Clay County, so there’s some roads closed down there,” he says. “It’s just a high water table right now and we need to be aware of it.” Strong winds last (Tuesday) night broke the Queen Two cruise boat loose on West Lake Okoboji. Jon Pausley, manager of the Arnolds Park Amusement Park, says there’s no visible damage above the water line.

“We had the Queen tied up to the dock there,” Pausley says. “The rope that was holding the backside broke and then the wind just started turning it sideways and even though we had a bunch of us from the boardwalk and bunch of our staff come down trying to pull it back in or get close enough to hop somebody on board to turn the engines on and push it back, the wind just kept beating up against it and turned it sideways against the dock, took out a little of the dock.” It appears the keel of the boat is sitting on the beach. A barge service is going to try to pull the boat back to the dock today (Wednesday).

“Then assess what, if any, damage is there,” Pausley says. “We certainly know we lost some paint. That can be fixed, so we’re hopeful nothing else underneath is going to be an issue.” The Queen Two underwent a million dollar renovation this winter and its first excursion of the season is scheduled this Saturday.

(Radio Iowa) – It may look like Halloween arrived five months early when Des Moines Con opens on May 31st, as the event will bring some of the region’s top cosplayers to central Iowa, along with a long list of celebrity guests. Convention founder Ben Penrod says the three-day gathering always attracts some of the most sophisticated costume creators, whether they’re disguised as a muscle-bound superhero, a robotic Transformer or a fuzzy space alien.

“The level of craftsmanship that we see in Des Moines is second to none,” Penrod says. “It’s amazing and the people who really show up, who are very serious about their cosplay, it’s amazing and it’s something that doesn’t ever fail to inspire me to do better.” While many such gatherings are labeled as a “comicon” with its origin in comic books, Penrod says the Des Moines event is more of a pop culture festival.

“We celebrate all of pop culture and it starts with comics and radiates out from there,” Penrod says. “It’s about people who are big fans of things in pop culture, whether it’s comic books or TV, or anime, or maybe they’re just collectors and they like collecting toys or non-sports cards as a hobby.” Along with costume contests and Q-and-A sessions with special guests, there will be tournaments for tabletop and video gaming, along with a dizzying array of merch.

“We’ve got 200-and-some vendors and artists who each bring their own thing to Des Moines Con,” Penrod says. “We’ve got probably two dozen celebrities. I think we’ve got probably close to 50 hours of programming, panels and workshops, a lot of stuff that’s submitted by fans.” When pressed, Penrod guesses the longest lines for autographs and photos will be for “Blue’s Clues” host Steve Burns, who’s being joined by co-hosts Donovan Patton and Josh Dela Cruz, but he says there are many other actors, voice actors, cosplayers, authors and artists on the list. The long roster includes Grace Van Dien of “Stranger Things,” Alex Brightman from “Hazbin Hotel,” and Shantel VanSanten of “For All Mankind.”

“We’ve got four people who were in the Power Rangers TV series and the Power Rangers movie: Karan Ashley, Steve Cardenas, Jason Narvy, Paul Schrier, who are always popular,” Penrod says. “Power Rangers is something that’s been popular for almost 30 years.” Des Moines Con will run May 31st through June 2nd at the Iowa Events Center.

desmoinescon.com

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Glenwood Police Department reports a Pottawattamie County man was arrested Tuesday. 30-year-old Colton Fricke, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for driving while barred, He posted a $2,000 cash or surety bond, and was released.