GRIMES, Iowa – Oct. 11, 2023 – If you drive on westbound Interstate 35/80 and use the exit ramp to reach U.S. 69 (exit 136) near Des Moines you need to be aware of an upcoming construction project that may slow down your trip.

Beginning on Sunday, Oct. 15 until Friday, Nov. 17, weather permitting, crews will close the westbound I-35/80 exit ramp to U.S. 69 (exit 136) so work can be done on the bridge approaches to the ramp.

While the exit ramp is closed you will follow a marked detour using westbound I-35/80, Iowa 415/2nd Avenue, and U.S. 69.

CRESTON, Iowa – Oct. 11, 2023 – As part of continuing efforts to improve the work zone on Interstate 80 around Jordan Creek Parkway, the Iowa Department of Transportation will be closing I-80 overnights between Jordan Creek Parkway and Grand Prairie Parkway. The Creston DOT Construction Office reports contractors have planned two nights of overnight road closures.

On the first night of work, westbound I-80 will close at 8 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 15, and re-open by 5 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 16. On the second night, eastbound I-80 will be closed from 9 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 16 to 5 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 17.

The closures will allow the contractor to place asphalt on the pavement over the rumble strips. Officials say the smoother pavement will address several issues in the work zone including difficulty seeing lanes as well as making the road easier to drive on and less noisy.

While the roadway is closed for construction work you will follow a marked detour route using Jordan Creek Parkway, University Avenue, and Grand Prairie Parkway (see map).

(Radio Iowa) – A community college trades program in Waterloo is gaining national acclaim. Hawkeye Community College’s “We Build” program has only been around three years, but has helped establish dozens of Cedar Valley residents in trades ranging from masonry to plumbing. We Build has won the Exemplary Program Award from the National Council for Workforce Education. The college’s Workforce Development Coordinator, Val Peterson, says part of that recognition comes from where the students go after completing the program.

“Most of our students, once they do find employment, tend to stay local,” Peterson says. “They go to local plumbing, electrical, and HVAC and carpentry companies. We’ve actually been able to run into some of our previous students working on their job sites.” Peterson says the program’s strength comes from how closely it ties itself to the area workforce.

“We help them find the job, but maybe when they’re getting a promotion or a raise, or they’re able to do other ‘life’ things like get married and have babies and buy houses, they share in those successes with us.” The national recognition has prompted conversations with other colleges across the country about how Hawkeye’s model can be implemented elsewhere.

The 12-week curriculum has helped more than one-hundred Cedar Valley residents find employment in six different trades — and is looking to expand.

(Grant Winterer, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Court of Appeals has denied a new trial for the man convicted of murdering University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts of Brooklyn in 2018. Cristhian Bahena Rivera appealed his first-degree murder conviction, arguing statements he made to police early on should have been suppressed.

He also argued statements from a jail inmate and the investigation of a man for sex trafficking in the Brooklyn area were newly discovered evidence that should require a new trial.

The Appeals Court ruling says there were repeated references to Bahena that he was free to leave as officers questioned him, but he chose to stay and continue the questioning. The ruling also says the confession and investigation do not align with much of the other evidence in this case, and neither one would have changed the guilty outcome.

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa fire chief says there’s a good reason preventing kitchen fires is the focus of National Fire Safety Week this year. Estherville Fire Chief Travis Sheridan says most of the fires his department responds to start in the kitchen. “People that leave things on stoves or in their oven,” he says. Cooking fires are the leading cause of home fires in the U-S. Estherville’s fire chief says there should be a fire extinguisher in every kitchen.

“Sometimes burners get left on, electric stoves get left on and the tops continue to get hot and people set stuff on top,” Sheridan says, “or they accidentally bump those burners with stuff on top of their ovens as well.” Estherville fire fighters, including the fire chief, are visiting preschools and elementary classrooms in their community this week to talk with kids about preventing fires.

“Actually if you took this program from 30 years ago to today, the kids are very involved and our fire calls have gone down quite a bit due to educating the youth who take this back home and help keep us parents on our toes,” Sheridan says.

According to the U-S Fire Administration, four-point-three percent of the calls Iowa fire departments responded to in 2021 were for fires. More than six out of 10 calls for a fire department response were for a medical emergency. Just over three percent of Iowa fire departments have paid career employees, while nearly 90 percent are totally volunteer.

(Radio Iowa) – Storm Lake Police took several juveniles into custody after a reported threat this (Wednesday) morning at the Storm Lake Elementary School. According to Storm Lake Police, officers got word of the threat during the morning drop-off period. School staff and officers quickly escorted students into the elementary building and into their classrooms.

All other schools in Storm Lake were immediately notified, and they were also put on lock down as a precautionary measure. Three juveniles were taken into custody for questioning. The Storm Lake Police Department says there is no active threat, and all lockdowns were lifted later in the morning.

The school day was set to continue as planned at the Storm Lake schools, with increased police presence throughout the day.

(Anita, Iowa) – Rescue crews were dispatched at around 11:40-a.m. today (Wednesday), to the scene of a semi tractor-trailer accident off eastbound Interstate 80 near mile-marker 62, in Cass County. Initial reports indicated the semi was in the ditch, with the driver possibly trapped. Additional rescue personnel have been requested.

Later reports said the driver was transported to the UNMC in Omaha.

Additional details are currently not available.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports 30-year-old Daevon Deshone Sanchez, of Omaha, was arrested Sunday night at the Douglas County, NE, Sheriff’s Office. Sanchez was arrested on a Mills County warrant for Failure to Appear (FTA). His bond was set at $2,000.

And, Michael Allen Wiggins, of Omaha, was arrested Monday night following a traffic stop on Interstate 29 in Mills County. Wiggins was charged with OWI/2nd offense, with bond set at $2,000.

(Radio Iowa) – A state legislator has won the slot to challenge the mayor of Iowa’s third largest city in November’s election. Just over four-thousand votes were cast in yesterday’s (Tuesday’s) primary for Davenport mayor. There were four candidates. Incumbent Mike Matson, who’s seeking a second term, got about 44 percent of the vote. His General Election challenger is Ken Croken, a former Scott County Supervisor who was elected to the Iowa House last year. Croken got about 35-and-a-half percent of the votes in the primary.

Croken is a lawyer who worked for the Genesis Health Care System in the Quad Cities. Matson, the current Davenport mayor, is an Army veteran who served on Davenport’s city council before being elected mayor in 2018. There were primary elections for city council races in Davenport and five other Iowa cities yesterday (Tuesday).

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors, today (Wednesday), acted on approving Homestead & Military Disallowances, a Child Abuse Prevention Grant draw-down in the amount of $1,874.68, and to begin the process of hiring of a Sheriff’s Department employee to replace an employee who resigned. Adair County Auditor Mandy Berg read a letter to the Board from Sheriff Jeff Vandewater who was unable to appear in-person, due to a prior commitment.

The Board also received an annual report from Weed Commissioner Nathan Jensen. He said overall, he had a pretty good year.

The Board approved the report as presented. Adair County Engineer Nick Kauffman reported on the Safety Program that was held Monday. He wasn’t too impressed by employee participation among the county’s staff.

The Board discussed options for making attendance mandatory. Supervisor John Twombly.

Kauffman also reported on Secondary Roads Dept. maintenance and activities. He provided the Board with updated photos on bridge and box culvert projects. One of the bridge projects involves beams being delivered and set on the Sec. 32 Washington bridge.

Sec. 32 Washington bridge (Screen capture from Adair Co. Engineer’s Office Facebook page)

Each beam is cast in a factory and reinforced with pre-tensioned steel wires to provide strength against tension forces experienced during loading. After the beams are set they will be bolted together with steel diaphragms and the crew will begin decking the bridge. He said also, his department is advertising for two positions within the Secondary Roads.

And, Environmental Health Director Jotham Arber presented his quarterly departmental update to the Supervisors. He said there is about a two-week wait on percolation tests right now. They’ve also been busy testing water.

He said also they started septic system drawings, beginning with Beacon, in Cass County.

The State of Iowa, he said, is backed-up two-years on grants for septic systems, but there may be additional monies coming down the pike from leftover ARPA funds, and, there are other options. Arber said also, they’ve developed a new septic system manual.

He says they’re printing 1,000 copies of the manual which should answer many new or existing homeowner questions about septic systems, inspections and repairs.