The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency, Monday, said road construction projects in rural areas of the County require the temporary closure of two roads. 2300th Street, about 300-feet east of the intersection of 2300th and Juniper Road, is now closed for a pipe repair/replacement project.

2300th St. Project

The closure is located in the 1100 block of 2300th Street, between Union Township Sections 11-14. The road should remain closed for about one week.

And, a bridge replacement project on Juniper Road will require the road to be closed, beginning Monday, July 18th, and lasting for about 10 weeks. The bridge is over Lyons Creek in the 1700 block of Juniper Road, just north of 1725 Juniper, between Westphalia Township Sections 10-11.

Juniper Road bridge project

Area residents and emergency response personnel will want to plan for alternate routes to reach homes or property in the affected areas.

Iowa’s seeing a lot of severe weather lately and the Federal Emergency Management Agency now has a free smart phone app to help people deal with it and to potentially save lives. FEMA spokeswoman Brenda Gustafson encourages Iowans to download the mobile app, which includes severe weather alerts.  “There are several different scenarios that are in there to give you what to prepare for, what to do if that disaster actually happens and then what to do afterwards,” Gustafson says. Once you plug in some basic information, the app can be exceptionally helpful in emergency situations.

“The nice thing about this is you can get up to five different counties or areas in the United States,” she says. The FEMA app is free and can be downloaded in your mobile app store.  “Being prepared is what helps save lives in disasters,” Gustafson says. “The more prepared you are, the better for your family, includng your pets.” The app includes information about how to receive federal disaster assistance. It’s also available in Spanish.

(Radio Iowa)

A new “thrill ride” at a popular central Iowa tourist attraction has been shut down. “The Monster” is a steel track roller coaster that sends riders through five inversions and features a 101-degree first drop. It opened at Adventureland Park in Altoona in early June, but was closed this week due to “some unexpected maintenance,” according to park officials.

Initially, it was announced the coaster would be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday only — but now, officials say The Monster will be idled though Friday and possibly longer. A post on Adventureland’s Facebook page says they’re “having some parts machined and it will unfortunately take more time than anticipated to have them manufactured, delivered and installed.”

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 4:00 a.m. CDT

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa park ranger is being credited for saving two Council Bluffs men whose boat on Lake Manawa filled with water because of high winds. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says in a news release that 72-year-old William Buchholz and 54-year-old James Tanga were fishing on the western Iowa lake around 10 p.m. Monday when their boat became swamped. Lake Manawa State Park Ranger Aaron Johnson and firefighters were able to pull the men from the water.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Transportation says it is closing two driver’s license stations and seven maintenance garages because of reduced state funding from the Iowa Legislature. The department announced the closings Tuesday. An agency spokeswoman says the changes do not include layoffs, but 67 open positions will be permanently removed.

CLAYTON, Iowa (AP) — A 60-year-old Dysart man has died after being pulled from the Mississippi River in eastern Iowa after he fell from a boat. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says Charles Petersen was a passenger on a boat operated by his wife when he fell into the river from the rear of the boat Monday evening. Rescue crews pulled him from the water, and he died at a nearby hospital.

(Update 5:42-a.m.: All four truants have been located.; Update 7:25-a.m. w/additional details)

The four students who escaped from the Clarinda Academy Tuesday evening have been apprehended without incident and returned to the authorities at the Clarinda Academy.  The four students were captured shortly after 5:30-a.m. today (Wednesday), near U.S. Hwy 71 & 230^th Street, or a little over a mile south of Clarinda.

The students were caught after two citizen reports were received at the Page Communications/911 Center. The citizens said the four youth werewalking along the highway. The boys were taken into custody by officers of the Clarinda Police Department.

It’s believed they left the facility at around 11-p.m., Tuesday. The Clarinda Academy is a privately run school that offers educational and residential treatment programs for troubled boys and girls. The facility was established in 1992 and offers long-term residential treatment for males and females, as well as shelter care and transitional living services. It has a licensed capacity of 266 students and serves youth from several different states.

Three area Producers that hold niche markets in the Ag Sector, were honored at an event held Tuesday evening, at Sunnyside Park, in Atlantic. The awards were presented during the Cass-Atlantic Development Corporation’s Annual Membership Meeting held at the Sunnyside Park Kiddie Korral. The meeting began with a 6:30-p.m. supper catered by The Downtowner, followed by a brief business meeting. CADCO’s Russell Joyce prefaced the awards and recognition portion of the meeting by acknowledging agriculture’s role in the local and state economy. He said agriculture is the Number One economic driver in the State of Iowa and Cass County.

CADCO Executive Dir. Russell Joyce congratulates Dave Nichols

First up to receive an award during the recognition ceremony, was 77-year old Dave Nichols, with Nichols Farms near Bridgewater, a well-known national and international producer of superior beef genetics for over fifty years. Nichols was inducted last year into the Saddle and Sirloin Portrait Gallery, which is the highest honor bestowed on a producer in the livestock industry. And, while he has won numerous awards, three things are more important to him: His faith, his family and his friends.

A-to-Z is a diverse cattle and livestock commercial feed enterprise that specializes in breeding, feeding, and marketing “ Wagyu Beef “ a Japanese breed of beef that has a high end marketability.

Allen Zellmer (Center, holding award) and his family and staff.

Allen and Brenda Zellmer, of rural Atlantic, are the owners of the company.  They started with 36 head on feed and within two years were asked to have over 1,000 head on feed. Currently, the herd numbers are approaching 10,000 head on feed. Zellmer’s beef products end up all over the world, because of the demand for lean protein. And, like Dave Nichols, Alan also spoke of the importance his family and associates plays in the success of his company.

Also honored at the CADCO event, was Kelly and Christie Cunningham of “Milk Unlimited,” of rural Atlantic, a Grade-A dairy that is one of Iowa’s premier dairy operations.

Christie and Kelly Cunningham (Center).

They have 33 employees. Christie Cunningham said 2016 has been a great year for milk production, and they’ve made some new records. Kelly Cunningham spoke of how their product supplies a major dairy in the State.

He said their average cow produces about 10-gallons of milk per day. About five semi loads of milk are trucked to the Andersen-Ericksen Dairy each day, meaning about one-third of the milk the company uses, comes from Cass County. Cunningham said a tanker trailer is filled every 4 ½-to 5-hours, is sent to Des Moines and  turned into an A&E product that will be one the shelves within three days.

Officials with the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, Tuesday evening, released information about a pursuit that took place late Monday night, and is requesting help from the public in finding the suspect who was pursued. The incident began at around 10:45-p.m., a Taylor County sheriff’s deputy attempted to stop a 1995 Buell motorcycle in Bedford.

The motorcycle sped off south of Bedford on State Highway 148. The deputy pursued the motorcycle at speeds of over 95 miles per hour until he lost sight of it near Hopkins, Missouri. The motorcycle was found abandoned a short while later in Hopkins and was determined to have been stolen from a residence in Atchison County, Missouri. A search of the area did not turn up the suspected driver.

The incident remains under investigation. If anyone has information about the driver of the motorcycle, call the Taylor County Law Enforcement Center at 712-523-2153. The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Nodaway and Andrew County Missouri Sheriff’s Departments and the Iowa and Missouri State Patrol.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa park ranger is being credited for saving two Council Bluffs men whose boat on Lake Manawa filled with water because of high winds. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says in a news release that 72-year-old William Buchholz and 54-year-old James Tanga were fishing on the western Iowa lake around 10 p.m. Monday when winds kicked up. The men were about 100 yards from a boat ramp when the boat became swamped.

Lake Manawa State Park Ranger Aaron Johnson, who had been monitoring the boat because of the weather, went to the men’s rescue. Johnson and Council Bluffs firefighters were able to pull the men, who were treading water, to safety. Authorities say there were life jackets on board the boat, but the men were not wearing them.

The Atlantic School District’s Board of Education is expected to act Wednesday evening, on approving the ballot language for the Sept. 13th, 2016 Special Election pertaining to a Voter Approved Physical Plant and Equipment Levy. The levy calls for a combination of a Property Tax on all the taxable property in the School District, commencing July 1st, 2017, AND a Physical Plant and Equipment Income Surtax upon the State individual income tax of each resident in the District on December 31st for each calendar year, commencing with the 2017 calendar year.

The Resolution says the Income Surtax will not exceed 20-percent (to be determined by the Board each year), with the total amount of taxation not to exceed 85-cents per $1,000 of assessed property value in any one tax year, for a period commencing July 1st, 2017, and not to exceed 10-years.

In other business, the Atlantic School Board will act on approving a Retrofit lighting contract for the Washington and Schuler Elementary buildings using energy saving LED lights, the total cost of which amounts to $73,401. The new lights are expected to save the District nearly $13,250 annually in energy costs, and would be eligible for AMU rebates amounting to slightly more than $11,570.

The Board will also discuss and act on approving: Superintendent Dr. Michael Amstein’s contract for the 2016-17 school year (the final year of his contract); A June 2017 trip to Washington, D.C. for Atlantic Middle School students. The trip includes visits to several attractions, such as the Lincoln Memorial, MLK, Jr., WWII and Vietnam War Memorials, the Smithsonian Museum, and more. Currently, 26 students and four chaperones are signed-up for the trip.

And, just before their meeting concludes, the Atlantic School Board will discuss Capital Projects and the Atlantic High School Cell Phone Policy. The meeting gets underway at 5:30-p.m. in the Atlantic High School Media Center.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Transportation says it is closing two driver’s license stations and seven maintenance garages because of reduced budget funding from the Iowa Legislature. The driver’s license stations are in Spencer and Carroll. The maintenance garages are in Sabula, Akron, Soldier, Corning, Gowrie, Rock Valley, and Centerville.

The department announced the closings Tuesday. An agency spokeswoman says the changes do not include layoffs, but 67 open positions will be permanently removed. The closings will affect 28 employees, but those workers will be given the option to relocate to other DOT locations.

The department sought $9.7 million in additional dollars from the Iowa Legislature for the budget year that began in July. Lawmakers approved half the money, despite the department predicting it would affect agency services.