Officials with the Harlan Police Department say there was one arrest and numerous non-injury accidents over the last couple of weeks.  Last Saturday, officers arrested 55-year old Kurt Edward Block, of Harlan, for Possession of  a Controlled Substance. Block was also cited for having no valid driver’s license. He was taken into custody following a traffic stop and transported to the Shelby County Jail.

With regard to the accidents: On Tuesday (11/28), vehicles driven by Marissa Mitchell, of Harlan, and Jayne Olson, of Panama, collided at the intersection of Southwest Avenue and Chatburn. Authorities say Mitchell was stopped at the intersection northbound, in a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am. A truck was stopped west bound, waiting to turn south on Southwest Avenue. Mitchell couldn’t see an approaching westbound 2011 Ford F-150 driven by Olson that was in the outside lane. When Mitchell proceeded north onto 8th Street, her car hit the side of the pickup. The impact spun both vehicles around before they came to rest in the intersection of 8th and Chatburn.

A collision between a 2016 Chevy Malibu and a 2014 Hyundai Sonta happened Nov. 21st, in Harlan. Officials say William McMahon, of Irwin, was traveling west on Chatburn Avenue in his Sonta, as the Malibu, driven by Richard Mikels, of Portsmouth, was eastbound, and turning north into the Burger King parking lot. Mikels didn’t see McMahon and turned in front of him, causing the vehicles to collide.

The previous day (11/20), a 1996 Oldsmobile Regency driven by Zachary Barbee, of Harlan, was traveling west on Chatburn Avenue, when it left the road and struck a curb in the 1000 block of Chatburn Avenue. The car also struck a utility light pole and utility box.

On Nov. 15th, Harlan Police investigated a minor accident. Officials say a 2008 Acura MDS driven by Nicole Walter, of Glenwood, was turning into Border Fare on Chatburn Avenue, when an vehicle struck the Acura, causing minor damage. The other vehicle did not stop.

And, on Nov. 14th, a 2011 Chevy Traverse driven by Ted Jansen, of Aspinwall, and a 2005 Ford 500 driven by Dylan Hansen, of Harlan, collided near 23rd Street and Frontage Road, in Harlan. Officials say Hansen was leaving the Shelby County State Bank westbound. He slowed for the stop sign and turned left onto the Frontage Road south. Jansen was southbound from Frontage Road when the right front side of the Ford made contact with the left rear of the SUV.

Officials with the Union County Sheriff’s Office say the Union County Engineer reported on Monday, that sometime between Nov. 23rd and 27th,  someone shot out the windows on an excavator. The incident happened while the machine was parked on the side of the REA road. Damage to the excavator was estimated to be a little more than $3,337.

A man and woman from Guthrie Center were arrested Tuesday on outstanding warrants from Audubon County. The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office reports Callie Jean Henderson and Todd Ray Eivins were charged with Theft in the 4th Degree, and Assault. The charges stem from an investigation into a Nov. 6th incident, in Hamlin. Henderson and Eivins were picked up from Guthrie County authorities and transported to the Audubon County Jail, where their bonds were set at $1,300.

They remain in the jail pending an appearance before the magistrate.

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

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One person died in an explosion and fire Tuesday night, in Harlan. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office reports Harlan Police and Fire, Medivac Ambulance and Sheriff’s Deputies were called to 4025 Ridgeway Drive at around 11:18-p.m. When officers arrived, they located a vehicle next to a shed in the back yard of the property. The vehicle and shed were fully engulfed in flames. After the fire was extinguished, human remains were found inside the vehicle. The remains will be sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for identification and cause of death.

An initial investigation determined the vehicle was traveling north on Highway 59 when it left the road near the intersection with Hawkeye Avenue. The vehicle traveled across a grassy area before striking several trees. It then came to rest against the shed, where both caught fire. No names or other information will be released at this time, pending positive ID of the victim and notification of family. The incident remains an ongoing investigation.

Officials with the Creston Police Department report two men were arrested on separate charges, Tuesday. Just before 11-a.m., 50-year old Joel Weeks, of Creston, was arrested for Driving While Barred. He was later released from the Union County Jail on a $2,000 bond. And, at around 7-p.m. Tuesday, 18-year old William Wulff, of Chariton, was arrested in Creston on a charge of Theft in the 5th Degree. He was later released on a Promise to Appear in Court.

Creston Police said also, a resident of the 600 block of S. Park Street reported Tuesday morning, that sometime between 10-p.m. Monday and 8-a.m. Tuesday, someone stole a Marine Band CB radio from his vehicle parked near the residence. The loss was estimated at $140. And, a woman residing in the 700 block of W. Adams Street in Creston, reported to police that sometime between 5:50-p.m. and 6-p.m., someone broke a window at her residence. The loss was estimated at $150.

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

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GRINNELL, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a man was burned by a fire that spread across his business site in central Iowa. Cedar Rapids television station KCRG reports that firetrucks were dispatched around 1 p.m. Tuesday to Morrison Repair in Grinnell. An outbuilding with tractors and farm equipment, a semitrailer full of tires and several piles of tires were aflame when firefighters arrived.

Investigators say people at a nearby business had been burning items at the rear of that property, but strong winds spread the flames to Morrison Repair. Authorities say owner Ron Morrison suffered burns to his face while trying to get tractors out of the outbuilding.

Governor Kim Reynolds says she’s confident there will be a “seamless” switch after another change in the state-run Medicaid program. One of the three private companies that began managing care for Medicaid patients in 2016 is pulling out of the program this Thursday. State officials originally said 215-thousand Iowans in the Medicaid program would be automatically enrolled with UnitedHealth, but could choose to switch to Amerigroup. Amerigroup is the other remaining carrier. Monday, though, about 10-thousand Iowans found out they cannot make that choice. State officials will step in to manage their care instead. “The Department of Human Services has put together a transition plan and they’re monitoring it very closely every single day,” Reynolds says. “Our goal is to make it as seamless as possible, to make sure that we continue to offer continuity of service, again, to Iowans who really need a coordinated care and need that extra help and to really do everything we can to eliminate as much disruption as possible.”

Iowa’s switch the privately-managed care was approved by the federal government as a way to manage costs and provide choice to Medicaid patients. Iowa Democrats have opposed what they call “privatizing” the Medicaid program and this week the Iowa Democratic Party chairman called the system “ReynoldsCare”. The governor says it’s a “partnership” to ensure the program is sustainable for taxpayers and serving poor, elderly and disabled Iowans who cannot afford health care insurance on their own. “It’s not perfect. I’ve never said it was perfect, but I am willing to put the time and the effort into making sure that Iowans get the care that they deserve in a managed and coordinated and more modern delivery system,” Reynolds said. “I’m not going back.”

Reynold says she has “full faith and confidence” in the people managing the Medicaid program for 600-thousand Iowans. Health care providers say they’re not getting paid and Democrats say it’s time to revert back to a standard fee system with state-paid employees manage Medicaid. “When you have fee-for-service that was on an average increasing at 10/7 percent, that’s not sustainable,” Reynolds says. “I hope you would ask them: ‘How are they going to pay for it?…Are they not going to fund education? Are they not going to fund health care?'”

Reynolds made her comments late Tuesday morning, during a brief news conference in Boone. Iowa officials are seeking a deal with another private company to manage care for Medicaid patients, but that contract won’t be signed until the summer of 2019.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowans may be pulling more green out of their pockets to purchase a Christmas tree this year, especially if that tree was grown out of state. Iowa Christmas tree grower Rod Heintz, says there’s an undersupply of some popular evergreens nationwide due to wildfires and drought. “Right now there’s a shortage of Christmas trees because of that,” Heintz says. “Everything is up three to five dollars a tree this year.”

Heintz manages Strautman Tree Farm near Cambridge. He says Iowans can likely save a few dollars this year if they get a tree grown within the state’s borders. Heintz did NOT raise his prices from last year. “We sell ’em from three feet tall to 15 foot…so, they range anywhere from $30 to $250 a (tree),” Heintz says.

There are around 100 Christmas tree farms in Iowa, growing on a total of about 1,500 acres. Heintz says he was pleasantly surprised with the strength of his Christmas tree crop this year. “We had absolutely no rain this growing season, but they look tremendous,” Heintz told Radio Iowa. “I can’t believe how well they look.”

Heintz says many of his customers return year after year because they enjoy the experience of buying a tree direct from a farm, rather than from a big box store.

According to the Iowa Christmas Tree Grower’s Association, it can take up to 15 years to grow a tree of average retail sale height (6 feet), but the average growing time is seven years. The top selling Christmas trees in Iowa are Scotch Pine and White Pine.

(Radio Iowa)