DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a medic working for a Dubuque ambulance service died after a crash on a Mississippi River bridge connecting Dubuque with East Dubuque, Illinois. Officers were dispatched to the Julien Dubuque Bridge around 2:10 a.m. Friday. Police say the ambulance ran into the back of a semitrailer that had stopped for construction in the westbound lanes. The ambulance driver, 19-year-old Jack Dillman, was taken to UnityPoint Health-Finley Hospital for treatment. The 34-year-old medic with him was pronounced dead at the scene. His name hasn’t been released. The truck driver wasn’t injured.

The crash shut down bridge traffic for more than five hours. Paramount Ambulance Service says the ambulance was returning to Dubuque after taking a patient to a medical facility in Chicago

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1111 AM CDT Fri Apr 27 2018

…Very High Fire Danger Today…

Gusty wind and dry conditions will lead to a very high fire danger today, particularly during the afternoon hours. West winds will turn toward northwest and gradually increase as a cool front drops across Iowa. Winds will increase to 20 to 25 mph with gusts to near 35 mph at times before diminishing toward sunset. In addition, relative humidity will be very low this afternoon, in the 25 to 35 percent range, and most surface grasses are dry. This will allow any fires that ignite to spread rapidly, and burning is discouraged.

A warning today from the Shelby County Emergency Management Agency. Operations Officer Jason Wickizer says “We are continuing in the HIGH category however we will be approaching Red Flag Criteria, which are Relative Humidity below 20%, and winds greater than 15MPH. Our current Fire Behavior prediction is 7 foot flame length or greater, Probability of ignition greater than 60%, and Rates of Spread at or greater than 100 yards per minute.  We will also be experiencing a wind shift that could cause control issues.”

Wickizer said “Today and tomorrow will not be good days to burn due to Control, and spread issues.  Please keep this in mind if people call in asking to burn.  The greatest risk today is Spread Potential due to receptive fuels being cured and in line with winds.” Conditions he said, should begin to Moderate Saturday evening.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — The Dubuque public library plans to approve a fine-free test period but will eventually return to charging patrons for overdue books because of a lack of funding. The Telegraph Herald reports that Carnegie-Stout Public Library’s amnesty period would begin July 1. The library currently has a daily fee of 20 to 50 cents per overdue item. The proposed plan says that during a six-month period, library patrons wouldn’t be fined for overdue items, but would still be charged for lost or damaged materials. Board members hope waiving fines will incentivize patrons to return materials.

Library Director Susan Henricks says she plans to give board members an outline with details about the plan on May 24. Henricks says the fines would return in January because the library lacks the funds.

LA PORT CITY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities intend to renew their water search for an eastern Iowa teenager who’s been missing for nearly three weeks. Sixteen-year-old Jake Wilson, of La Porte City, was last seen around 9 p.m. April 7, going for a walk to nearby Wolf Creek. A search began less than an hour later, when he didn’t return home. His mother, Megan Neiswonger, has said Jake has autism with a mild intellectual disorder and functions at the level of a 9-year-old.

La Porte City Police Chief Chris Brecher says trained crews from law enforcement and fire departments will be involved Saturday and Sunday, as well as heavy equipment to pull apart log jams in Wolf Creek. He says the creek and other water bodies need to be rechecked as water levels rise and fall, changing conditions.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s Department of Transportation does not currently have the authority to order cities to remove automated traffic-enforcement cameras from highways and interstates. The state’s high court on Friday reversed a state judge’s ruling last April that found the department did have that authority.

The ruling comes on the appeal of three Iowa cities — Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Muscatine — of the judge’s ruling. Those cities had sought the judicial review in 2015 after the DOT ordered some speed cameras turned off, determining that the cameras did not make interstate highways safer.

The three cities had argued that the DOT was infringing on cities’ ability to self-govern and that it lacked statutory authority to make rules regulating speed cameras.

An Atlantic family-owned hardware store in existence for 79-years, and in Cass County for 98-years, is closing its doors. Jack Jensen, owner of Robinson True Value Hardware on Chestnut Street, formally announced today (Friday), that he’s going out of business, effective June 30^th. Jensen said the business wasn’t always located in Atlantic. It was originally located in Wiota in 1920. The business moved to Atlantic in 1939. Jack’s dad, Rodney Jensen took over running the business from Bruce Robinson and bought it in the mid-1960’s. Jack said he spent his time playing and having fun in the store when he was growing up.

Robinson True Value owner Jack Jensen talks about the store’s closing in June.

He’s also seen political celebrities walk through his doors, including Walter Mondale, who served as Vice President under President Jimmy Carter, in the mid-70’s. Jack has worked in the store for 44-years. His dad worked there for 54-years. Jack over the business when his dad developed cancer. He took a hardship deferment from Arizona State University and planned to spend just a few weeks running the business, but that turned into decades. Now, he’s closing up shop in June due to his own health and other reasons. He said he had a heart attack in January, and that “Put the icing on the cake.” He attributed the decision also, to a lack of foot traffic in the store over the past couple of years due to on-line sales and big box stores. Jensen said it’s hard for a brick and mortar store to compete. It wasn’t always that way, though. He said “Things were good for a long-long time…but the times…we just started to see the wave.”

Jack said also, he put in 60-hours per week-plus for 40-years, at the store, and that’s taken away time from his family. His kids, he said, don’t want to take over the business for that very reason. He said he’s only taken one two-week vacation his entire life, and plans to take this summer off. Both he and his dad were always active in the community, and in fact both served as Presidents of the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce.

In order to help liquidate his inventory, Robinson’s will offer big discounts beginning May 1^st. The store itself is also for sale. Jensen wants to thank his customers and his five employees for their patronage and service. One of the customers, who died recently at the age of 100, had conducted business at the store for more than 44-years. Jack said he was honored to be an honorary pallbearer at her funeral. He also thanked his employees for their hard work. There will be a party at the Elk’s Club June 30^th, with a live band to celebrate the business’ storied history Jack’s retirement. More details will be released at a later date.

WEST LIBERTY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say an eastern Iowa man died after becoming trapped in a grain bin. Cedar Rapids station KCRG reports that Cedar County first responders were sent around 5:50 p.m. Thursday to a farm about 5 miles (8 kilometers) north of West Liberty. The Cedar County Sheriff’s Office says 64-year-old Randy Koch was pronounced dead at the scene.

The hostess of the Cooking Channel program “Good to Know” is urging Iowans to change up their grocery shopping habits. Laurie March, who also appears on the H-G-T-V show “House Counselor,” notes Iowa farmers may be helping to feed the world, but a lot of that food winds up in the garbage.  “Believe it or not, one-third of all the food that’s produced on earth gets wasted,” March says. “Much of it is ending up in a landfill.” A study finds the average American wastes 27-dollars worth of food every week, or about 14-hundred dollars worth per year. March says the food waste problem causes double-trouble in the state’s landfills.  “Aside from taking up a ton of space, all that food is breaking down and it’s releasing methane gas, which is a greenhouse gas and it’s contributing to our climate change,” she says.

We should stop buying food in bulk, March says, and make out a weekly meal plan, only buying what we’ll use that week.  “Obviously, we can all make some changes in our shopping habits,” March says. “We can look to use food better, is there some preserving you could do at the end there or is there a big soup you could make where you could throw lots of things in before they go bad.” In addition to freezing leftovers, she suggests sharing with friends and neighbors. “Use everything and maybe keep a journal,” March says. “Look at the end of the week and say, ‘Hey, wow, I wasted all of this so when I go to the grocery store next time, I’ll buy half as much,’ so you don’t throw away that 27 bucks a week.”

She also suggests using your garbage disposal more instead of tossing food in the trash. So it won’t end up in a landfill, that food goes through the water treatment system which she says is more environmentally-friendly.

(Radio Iowa, w/thanks to Karla James in Omaha)

Officials with the Glenwood Police Department report 40-year old Matthew Eichelberger, of Glenwood, was arrested Thursday. Eichelberger was taken into custody for Driving While Barred. His bond was set at $2,000 cash or surety.

(9-a.m. News)