The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency reports, with much of the crop being in the bins now, the amount of fuel necessary for opening burning to spread beyond an intended area, has been reduced. Therefore, the local Fire Danger threat is being reduced to “Moderate,” from now through late this week.

Officials warn that grassland is still very dry, and fires which start there can run for a long time until out of fuel, and spread to structures. Persons are advised to please let your Fire Chief know in advance of the time and location of any burns to prevent needless responses from local volunteer firefighters. The next update will be Thursday October 29, 2015

Officials with the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce have announced the Chamber’s participation in the sixth annual Small Business Saturday on November 28th, to support small businesses in Atlantic. Founded by American Express in 2010, Small Business Saturday® is a day to celebrate the small businesses that help support our community. Small Business Saturday rallies shoppers, local businesses and public officials to Shop Small® and show their community pride.

On November 28th from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Atlantic community is encouraged to Shop Atlantic small business. Kick off the day by fueling up before you shop at Downtowner Café & Catering, Family Table and Sweet Joy Shoppe. Support local businesses and receive Shop Small® giveaways like canvas tote bags.

American Express created the Neighborhood Champions program to help rally communities around Small Business Saturday and is working alongside numerous business organizations to support local Small Business Saturday celebrations throughout the country. Small business owners can learn more about taking part in Small Business Saturday and download free marketing materials on www.shopsmall.com. Consumers can also visit the site to find small merchants to shop at on Small Business Saturday.

Adair County Sheriff’s Jeff Vandewater, today (Monday), released a report on recent arrests. On Saturday, deputies arrested 24-year old Robert Dean Garrett, of Des Moines, for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 1st offense, and Open Container. His arrest followed a traffic stop on Highway 25, during which Garrett admitted during questioning, that he had marijuana in his shoe and socks. An open container of alcohol was also found between the passenger seat and center console, of the vehicle. Garrett was later released on $1,000 bond.

Last Thursday, 37-year old Jason Dean Hauf, of Greenfield, was arrested on a charge of Domestic Abuse/Simple Assault. Hauf was released later the day on a Recognizance bond. Also arrested Thursday, was 53-year old Steven Eugene Feick, of Fontanelle. Feick was charged with Domestic Abuse/Simple Assault/1st offense, and Obstruction of Emergency Communications. He was later released from the Adair County Jail on $1,000 bond.

On Oct. 19th, 25-year old Jordan Maitlin Campbell, of Roseburg, OR., was arrested in Adair County and ordered to serve a sentence pertaining to drug charges. Campbell was found guilty June 24th on felony charges that include Possession of Marijuana with the Intent to Deliver, and Failure to Affix a Drug Tax Stamp. The original offense occurred in Sept., 2014. He was being held in the Adair County Jail on $10,000 bond while fulfilling his sentence.

On Oct. 18th, 23-year old Connor Anthony Marnin, of Stuart, was arrested by Stuart Police at the Country Kitchen. Marnin was cited for Violation of a No Contact order by being with a protected party, a simple misdemeanor. Also arrested Oct. 18th, was 53-year old Steven Michael Hauter, of Center Point, and 34-year old Benjamin Austin Brown, of St. Charles. Brown was taken into custody for OWI/1st offense, and Open Container in a motor vehicle. He was also cited for driving on the right hand side of the road. Brown was later released on $1,000 bond. Hauter was arrested for OWI/2nd offense and Failure to Obey a Stop Sign. He was released later that day on $2,000 bond.

SHELLSBURG, Iowa (AP) – Iowa authorities are investigating the death of a woman whose body was found near a stolen truck that had crashed north of Shellsburg. The truck was stolen Sunday in Benton County, in eastern Iowa. Two men who were examining the truck after it was found soon noticed blood on a door handle and then saw a blood trail away from the truck. They followed the blood and found the woman’s body.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety said this (Monday) morning, that the unidentified white female died from injuries consistent with foul play. Her name was being withheld pending notification of family.

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

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Police in Creston report four, recent arrests. Early Sunday morning, 26-year old Ian Christopher Gepner, of Corning, was arrested in Creston for Public Intoxication. His bond was set at $300. Saturday night, 29-year old Jeffery Paul Kay, Jr., of Duncan, OK., was arrested for OWI/3rd offense. He was later released on a $5,000 bond.

Last Friday night, 20-year old Dakota Dean Rosch, of Creston, was arrested for OWI/1st Offense. He was later released on $1,000 bond. And, Friday morning, Creston Police arrested 37-year old David Carlson Wallander, of Thayer, on a Union County warrant for Contempt of Court – Resistance to an Order or Process of District Court, for Failure to Appear on Child Support matters. Wallander was later released on $500 cash bond.

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

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A traffic stop early this (Monday) morning, in Red Oak, resulted in the arrest of the driver of the vehicle on an OWI charge. Police say 43-year old Abner Garcia, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 2:50-a.m. near the intersection of Highway 34 and Eastern Street. Garcia was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 cash bond.

The director of the Iowa Water Center says the state’s farmers are losing more than one-BILLION dollars a year in revenue due to soil erosion. Rick Cruse, who’s also an agronomy professor at Iowa State University, is part of a team of scientists working on what’s called the Iowa Daily Erosion Project. Cruse says that billion-dollar figure is a very conservative estimate of Iowa’s annual losses.

Cruse says, “We’ve looked at our estimates of soil erosion since we broke the prairie in Iowa, and based on the erosion estimates since that time and up until now, we’ve lost somewhere around six-and-a-half to seven inches on average across the state.” The research dates all the way back to 1850 and determined that more than a half-foot of topsoil has been lost in the past 16-plus decades of Iowa farming.

While six or seven inches of dirt may not sound like much, Cruse says the rich, black topsoil is what enables Iowa to be one of the world’s leaders in food production. When the precious soil is whittled away, so is Iowa’s livelihood. “The soil changes as you go down and at deeper depths,” Cruse says. “Most people understand, if you try to grow grass on a construction site or you try to grow grass or a garden in that subsoil material that’s left over after they scrape the topsoil, that’s essentially the same thing we see in the fields if soil continues to erode and we take that topsoil away.”

Many incentive programs are in place and farming techniques are being used that are designed to slow erosion, but Cruse says none of them have fixed the problem. “We need perennials in some parts of the landscape in Iowa if soil loss is going to be reduced to an acceptable level,” Cruse says. “The question you asked is, are these (programs) working, they’re working, they’re helping, but all of these are parts of a system. Any one thing alone is not the answer but putting the pieces together is.”

The Iowa Daily Erosion Project is made up of scientists from I-S-U, the University of Iowa, Colorado State University, the National Soil Erosion Research Lab, and the USDA National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment.

(Radio Iowa)

Sheriff’s officials in Fremont County report a man who allegedly entered a residence several times over the past month and stole money and frozen meat, was arrested following an investigation into a burglary and theft that began Friday morning. The burglary and thefts occurred at 1128 305th Avenue. During the investigation, 27-year old Jeffery Greene, of Malvern, was contacted and admitted to the crimes. Greene was arrested for three counts of Burglary and on one count of Theft in the 2nd Degree. He was being held in the Fremont County Jail on $10,000 bond.