Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller reports Consumer Protection Division representatives will travel to Harlan and Atlantic next week to provide “mobile office” access for Iowans with consumer-related questions or complaints. Division representatives will be on hand to provide information, answer questions, and assist with consumer protection matters, including complaints from consumers.

Staff members will be available on Tuesday, July 18 at these two locations:

• Harlan: 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. at the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce & Industry (1901 Hawkeye Ave., Suite 101), and,
• Atlantic: 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the Atlantic Public Library (507 Poplar St.)

Attorney General Tom Miller sends the mobile office to cities outside of Des Moines to assist Iowans with consumer issues. The outreach effort began last September when Miller traveled to Cedar Rapids and opened a temporary mobile office following a flood event. A Consumer Protection Division investigator provided flood victims with information on hiring a contractor, avoiding fraud, and the state’s price-gouging rule.

You do not need to reserve a time to speak with a Consumer Protection Division representative. If you are unable to visit the mobile office, you can still contact the division at 515-281-5926, call toll-free (outside the Des Moines metro area) at 888-777-4590, or email consumer@iowa.gov.

The State Patrol has released the name of a man killed in a crash that closed a section of Interstate 80 in eastern Iowa. The crash happened around 7:15 p.m. Sunday near West Branch when an SUV traveling westbound entered the median and struck a bridge support.

Seventy-three-year-old Neil Bell of Coralville died in the crash as he was thrown from the SUV which started on fire. The eastbound lanes of I-80 were closed for some time Sunday night due to the crash, which remains under investigation.

(Radio Iowa)

Officials say nearly three-thousand state employees who are members of a union are no longer be eligible for overtime pay. Governor Kim Reynolds says each state agency director must re-evaluate their budget and that includes allocation of overtime. “This actually gives them the opportunity to manage their resources and manage their departments,” Reynolds says. “I have full confidence in their ability to do so.”

The state’s collective bargaining agreement expired on June 30th. A spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Human Services says it was only through the contract that these 28-hundred employees were paid for overtime. The president of the union that represents these workers says many are nurses who work at state institutions. AFSCME Council 61 president Danny Homan says it’s a “below the belt move” and some of them will be forced to work overtime without pay.

(Radio Iowa)

PRAIRIEBURG, Iowa (AP) – Residents in a city in eastern Iowa are raising money to repair a city park destroyed by a tornado that ripped through the community last month. Prairieburg Mayor Arlene Holub tells KWWL-TV that the Baker Community Park is used for many events, including graduation parties and outdoor weddings.

Nonprofit Good Ole’ Boys maintains and runs the park. They’ve started a GoFundMe fundraising campaign to help the rebuilding process. The group has raised about $1,200 of its $20,000 goal as of Tuesday (Today). Residents want the park rebuilt by Labor Day for the city’s annual tractor pull event.

The EF-2 tornado that destroyed the park also damaged nearby homes and businesses. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the tornado intensity in the country from zero to five, five being the most intense.

Members of the Atlantic Library Board of Trustees, Monday evening, appointed Diane McFadden as Interim Director of the Library. McFadden, who has served the Library for more than 20-years, is currently the Adult Services Librarian. She’ll take over after current Director Natalie Struecker’s serves through her last day on August 1st.

Board member Dee Bebensee told KJAN News that the Board, Monday, officially accepted Struecker’s resignation, which she had submitted at the end of June. Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones said during last week’s City Council meeting, that Struecker had accepted a position with the Cedar Rapids Library. The Board agreed to approve a job posting in Library Professional Resources and other media, in hopes of finding a permanent replacement for Struecker.

In other business, the Board approved the appointment of Gene Fischer and Greg Williams to the Library Board. They will replace Jim Crall and Hans Krengel.

Some homeowners are worried after seeing leaves being stripped from trees and plants by Japanese beetles, but an Iowa State University horticulturist says there’s not a lot that can be done. Extension horticulturist, Richard Jauron, says the conditions were right and the beetles apparently came out a little early this year. He says it doesn’t appear to be a statewide issue. “Some areas have huge numbers while other areas have just a few. So, it really kind of depends, it’s more spotty than widespread,” Jauron says.

He says you may see more Japanese beetles in your yard because you have some of their favorite trees and plants to munch on.    Linden trees for example, are a favorite. “If you have a linden tree — and if you have a large population in your area — there’ll be thousands in that tree feeding on the foliage. So, it really kind of depends on the area and the tree.” Jauron explains. “Some plants they love. They like grape vines, they like roses, they like raspberries, they like birch trees.”

There are other trees and plants that they don’t care to eat. “Like maples, oaks, lilacs vibernums. It really kind of depends on the plant,” Jauron says, “so if you have plants in your yard that they really don’t like, you may not see that many.”

The bugs have a green metallic head with copper-colored wing covers. Jauron says there’s not a good way to get rid of the Japanese beetles once they decide to make your tree their meal. “We would typically suggest just to ignore it if you can. And that’s because even though they may eat most of the foliage and essentially defoliate the tree — they are not going to kill it– and that’s the bottom line,” Jauron says. “And trying to control them at this point, it’s basically impossible.”

There are some plastic traps you can buy that will catch the Japanese beetles, but Jauron says they may do more harm than good by attracting more beetles to your area. “So if you have a trap in the yard, you may actually have more in the yard than you would otherwise. So, we typically don’t recommend their use,” according to Jauron.

Jauron says the Japanese beetles will stick around until the end of July or early August. If you had a bad beetle infestation this year, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll return again next year. Jauron says weather conditions dictate their population, as cold weather can kill off the grubs in the ground that emerge as beetles.

(Radio Iowa)

ONAWA, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a 41-year-old man has died from injuries suffered in a Monona County house fire. Firefighters were dispatched to the Onawa home around 9:30 p.m. on July 3rd. Neighbors reported hearing a big bang before the flames erupted.

One person at the home, Dallas Seward, was injured. Ronald Humphrey of the Iowa State Fire Marshal Division confirmed Tuesday that Seward died Sunday at an Omaha, Nebraska, hospital. Humphrey also says the cause of the blast and resulting blaze is still being investigated.

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

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The Adams County Sheriff’s Office says a Ringgold County man was arrested at around 4:15-a.m. today (Tuesday). 46-year old Chad O’Kelley, of Diagonal, was taken into custody following a traffic stop on a 2003 Ford F-150. O’Kelley was prohibited from driving due to a prior OWI. He was arrested for Driving While Revoked. His bond was set at $1,000.

Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater, Tuesday (today) issued a report on arrests that took place over the past week or so. Last Thursday, Deputies arrested 41-year old Mandi Lea Stowers, (also known as Mandi Lea Driskill) of Blockton, and formerly of Orient, for Possession of a Controlled Substance (PCS) and Violation of Probation on original charges of PCS/3rd offense, Theft in the 3rd, Criminal Mischief in the 2nd and Trespass. Stowers was being held in the Adair County Jail on bond amounting to $7,000.

41-year old David Loren Lehman, Jr., of Bondurant, was arrested the night of July 5th, following a traffic stop on I-80, during which a deputy noticed a small amount of marijuana on the passenger seat. Lehman admitted when asked, that considerably more pot was under the driver’s seat. The deputy found a white jar with a large amount of marijuana inside. Lehman was released July 6th on a $1,000 bond or surety.

Sheriff Vandewater says a Menlo woman was arrested July 5th on a warrant for Forgery. 48-year old Kaydean May Darling was subsequently released on her own recognizance. Also arrested July 5th, was 33-year old Amanda Olivia Speed, of Greenfield, for Driving While Barred. She was later released on a $2,000 bond or surety.

And, on July 2nd, 35-year old Justin Patrick Beaman, of Adel, was arrested on an Adair County warrant for Probation Violation. He was released the next day on a $2,000 bond.