DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A defense and aerospace manufacturer is seeking local and state aid to upgrade its Davenport facility. Cobham, which is based in England, wants to add 150 high-paying jobs to its Davenport facility. The Quad-City Times reports that Cobham’s Kevin McKeown told Davenport council members Wednesday that the $67 million upgrade would make room for as many as 1,300 employees and build up the company’s research and development operation.

Cobham is seeking a $400,000 grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority under a program that compensates businesses for creating high-paying jobs. Davenport economic development manager Susanne Knutsen says the city is considering a property tax break for Cobham. The state-required incentive is meant to match the state grant the company is seeking.

(Radio Iowa) — A U-S military report finds high levels of groundwater contamination at the Iowa Air National Guard Base in Sioux City. The chemicals are linked to firefighting foams and can increase the risk of some cancers and fertility issues. David Cwiertny leads the Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination at the University of Iowa and reviewed the report. Cwiertny says, “Those levels at the high end of what was found are notable because it will make cleanup more challenging and it will make it more likely that there are levels that we might need to be concerned about further away from those points and potentially off the base.”

It’s feared toxic PFAS chemicals could be migrating offsite. At one hot spot, PFAS in the groundwater tested at more than 100 times the health advisory set by the E-P-A. Cwiertny says more questions need to be answered. “As the report concluded, more testing, more work needs to be done to try to characterize the full extent of which chemicals are there, at what levels,” he says, “and then where they might be encountering vital resources like wells that might be used for private water supplies.”

According to the report, the base does not use the groundwater for drinking, but the chemicals are likely drifting offsite. An Iowa National Guard spokesman says more testing is needed to determine potential impacts to the community. The final report is due out in April.

(Thanks to Kate Payne, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) — Canned meat that was recently sold at a Cedar Falls business is being recalled as a precaution. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship announced the voluntary recall of canned beef products from Steege’s Meat Market and Catering. The affected products were produced between January 2016 and January 2019 and are packaged in pint glass jars bearing a “Steege’s Canned Beef” retail label.

Company officials say a packaging issue could cause botulism, if the product is consumed. So far, no illnesses have been reported.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports one person was arrested and another was injured during an accident Wednesday, under separate circumstances. 36-year old Mark Thomas Gladson, of Macksburg, was arrested on a Union County warrant for Violation of Probation. He was being held in the Union County Jail on a $100 bond. And, 48-year old Douglas James Sobotka, of Diagonal, suffered possible/unknown injuries during an accident that took place at around 12:25-p.m., Wednesday.

Authorities say Sobotka was driving a 2006 Jeep Liberty Renegade northbound on High and Dry Road, when his SUV went out of control on the slippery road. The Jeep entered the west ditch and a driveway, where it struck a parked Plowman’s Farms 2008 Jeep Patriot in the rear, and a parked Diagonal Schools 2000 International Bluebird School Bus on the passenger side. Sobotka was transported by private vehicle to the hospital in Creston. Damage from the collisions amounted to $13,000.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office today (Thursday) said four people were transported from the Douglas County, NE., Jail to the Pott. County Jail this (Thursday) morning, to address their various warrants out of Pott. County. 30-year old Aryn Alfred Anzalone was wanted on a warrant for Theft in the 2nd Degree. 30-year old Rebecca Sue Cardona and, 23-year old Benjamin Daniel Reynolds were transported to Pott. County on warrants for Violation of Probation. And, 31-year old Autumn Anne Nicole Jones was transported to the Pott. County Jail, where she was wanted on three counts of Child Endangerment/Abandonment – Bodily Injury, and three counts of Abandonment of a Dependent Person.

AMES, Iowa – February 21, 2019 – The Iowa Department of Transportation will hold a public information meeting Thursday, March 7th to discuss the proposed bridge replacement on Pottawattamie County Road G-12 over Interstate 29, in Pottawattamie County.  The proposed project provides for removing the existing bridge and replacing it with a 2-span, pre-tensioned and pre-stressed concrete beam bridge that is 252 feet by 36 feet. Westbound traffic would be detoured during construction using I-29 northbound, U.S. 30, and I-29 southbound.  Eastbound traffic would be detoured during construction using I-29 southbound, Rosewood Road, and I-29 northbound.

All interested persons are invited to attend this meeting anytime between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. March 7th at the Desoto Bend Mini Mart, 15001 Desoto Avenue, in Missouri Valley. The meeting will be conducted utilizing an open forum format. Iowa DOT staff will be present to informally discuss the proposed improvements. No formal presentation will be made. The meeting space is accessible for persons with disabilities. However, if you require special accommodations at the meeting, please notify Scott Suhr, transportation planner, Iowa DOT District 4 Office in Atlantic, by calling 712-243-3355 or 800-289-4368. Those same numbers may be used for general information regarding the proposed improvements or public meeting.

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

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BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — One of the people charged in a southeast Iowa slaying has pleaded not guilty. Des Moines County District Court records say 44-year-old Derrick Parker, of Chicago, entered the written pleas Monday to charges of conspiracy and first-degree murder. His trial is scheduled to begin April 30. Prosecutors say Parker conspired with four other people to kill 26-year-old Demarcus “Peanut” Chew. He was fatally shot in a car outside his mother’s Burlington home on Sept. 10, 2017.

One of the men , Antoine Spann, pleaded guilty earlier this month to conspiracy and other crimes and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors dropped a murder charge in exchange for his pleas. Spann’s plea agreement says he must testify against any others charged in the slaying.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — The partial collapse of a roof has forced classes to be canceled at a Waterloo elementary school. Waterloo Community Schools Superintendent Jane Lindaman told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier that no one was injured when the roof section buckled Wednesday morning under the weight of snow at Lowell Elementary. The district had canceled all classes Wednesday, but Lowell’s students will be getting today (Thursday) off as well.

Lindaman says the district had been monitoring and removing snow as needed, saying the overnight snow “certainly came heavier, and there was plenty of it.” She says district officials will know more today (Thursday), about whether school can be held in the Lowell building Friday.

(Radio Iowa) — Snow is now piled everywhere across the state and that includes on the top of our homes. An Iowa State University Extension mechanical engineer says you shouldn’t have to worry now about that snow causing the roof to collapse. “There are things to watch for, to be concerned about, but overall we are not in too bad a shape yet,” according to Shawn Shouse. Shouse says you have to take into consideration the amount of water weight in the snow to determine if it might collapse the roof. You can find that out by taking a core sample of the snow and melting it.  “With the kind of snow density we’re having this winter — that’s going to be up to around three-and-a-half to four feet of snow depth to get to that kind of weight on a roof,” he says. “If this had been really wet heavy snow, we could be hitting close to capacity at two feet to get that capacity. But so far this winter, the snow has been relatively lightweight, not very dense.”

He says one thing to look for is an uneven distribution of the snow. “The roof works best when the load is uniform over the whole roof,” he explains. “If you’ve got a place where all the snow load is on one side of the roof and the other side is close to bare, that’s a little harder for the structure to handle, when you get uneven loading. So, there could be some situations where there could be some concern.” Icicles have formed along the rain gutters of many homes. Shouse says they’re nothing to worry about either. “If the ice gets to be really heavy hanging off the gutter — it might be okay to knock some of that loose if you can safely. But, probably that’s not a big concern,” Shouse says.

When it comes to ice, you do want to be aware of ice that starts to form at the edge of the roof and expands upwards. These are known as ice dams.  “The risk there is it can start to back water up behind that ridge of ice at the edge of the roof and that water can start to work its way underneath shingles and possibly leak into the inside of the roof structure,” Shouse says. “In really bad cases it might even drip onto the ceiling. Inside the house you might see stains of water dripping onto your ceiling.” Shouse says you are better off to wait and let mother nature melt the snow and ice off your roof than you are trying to fix it yourself.  “The risk of climbing up on the roof and falling is far greater than the risk of the roof collapsing under snow load,” Shouse says. “So, yes it is very hazardous to get up there and try to rake snow off from up above or work on an ice dame on an icy roof.”

He says there is one device that people use on snowy roofs. He says you could use a long-handled roof rake to stand on the ground and safely rake snow off. “But even so, I don’t know that I would advise doing a lot of that unless you had a really unusual situation where you had uneven loading or an extremely deep drift of snow up there,” Shouse says.  He says the best thing to do is talk to a professional who knows how to deal with these issues and avoid injuring yourself.