(Radio Iowa) – Seven Iowans are in southwest Montana, working for the U-S Forest Service to fight a fire that’s already consumed 17-hundred acres in a national forest. Three other Iowans are in Texas right now, dealing with wildfires there. Gail Kantak is the fire supervisor for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. She says for the most part, these are NOT D-N-R employees, but contractors the D-N-R has trained and hired to be short term employees of the U-S Forest Service.

“It’s a whole variety, big spectrum of folks who are interested in expanding their knowledge and skills in fire,” Kantak says. “We offer National Wildfire Coordinating Group training to anybody who’s interested.” The Iowans fighting the wildfire in steep, rugged Montana terrain will be there for up to three weeks. Kantak says they are patrolling fire lines and creating new ones to prevent the fire’s spread.

“When you see pictures of wildland fire fighters in the west digging lines, that’s what they’re going to be paying attention to,” Kantak says. The Iowans in Texas will be there for two weeks as part of what Kantak calls an ending crew. “An ending crew is made up of three to five people that work in tandem with an engine and water and hoses,” Kantak says.

A state-owned fire engine was deployed to Texas along with the Iowa firefighters. Each person who’s been hired to fight fires in Montana and Texas has gone through at least 40 hours of training in Iowa. Texas officials say since the beginning of the year, about two-thousand wildfires have burned through 50-thousand acres.

The Iowans in Montana are fighting a fire sparked by lighting on July 20th. At the beginning of this week, officials said that fire was only three percent contained.

(Radio Iowa) – A state report on three men killed in a Davenport apartment building collapse describes their deaths as accidental. The building partially collapsed May 28th. The bodies of 42-year-old Brandon Colvin, Senior; 51-year-old Ryan Hitchcock and 60-year-old Daniel Prien were recovered in early June.

According to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, all three men had suffered mechanical asphyxiation. That description indicates they could not breathe because of the way their bodies were positioned or because they’d been crushed by the rubble. The report said all three suffered blunt force injuries.

Several lawsuits have been filed accusing city officials and building owner Andrew Wold with failing to protect the safety of residents living in a dangerous building.

Clarinda, Iowa – Iowa Department of Corrections officials, Tuesday, said 65-year-old Terry Lee Chevalier was pronounced dead due to an unexpected medical emergency, at 8:20 a.m. on Friday, July 28, 2023. Chevalier died at the Clarinda Correctional Facility. An autopsy will be conducted by the State Medical Examiner to determine cause of death. No foul play is suspected.

Chevalier had been serving a 10-year maximum term for the crime of Criminal Mischief 1st Degree from Des Moines County. His sentence began on October 21, 2019.

DES MOINES, Iowa – On August 1, 2023, an Ames man was sentenced to 48 months in prison for making a false statement to a financial institution and possessing firearms after having been previously convicted of a felony.
In early September 2021, Aaron Christopher Lindsey, 34, purchased a 2018 Dodge Durango GT from an Ames car dealership using the fictitious identity “Kevin Grant”.

Lindsey provided the dealership that false name as well as a false Iowa driver’s license, false social security number, and false date of birth. The false information that Lindsey provided the dealership was also submitted by Lindsey as part of his credit application to obtain financing for the vehicle and caused a local Ames credit union to approve a vehicle loan for more than $42,000.

In late September 2021, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Lindsey’s Ames residence. Officers located eight firearms and ammunition at the residence, including a loaded pistol in the Durango. Lindsey possessed each of these eight firearms and ammunition. Lindsey had been previously convicted of two felonies: a forgery conviction in Marshall County, Iowa in 2017 and a forgery conviction in Story County, Iowa in 2017.

At Lindsey’s residence, police also found counterfeit credit cards, blank checks in the names of multiple purported third-persons, counterfeit driver’s licenses, hundreds of blank magnetic strip cards, hundreds of blank EMV “chip” cards, a magnetic strip card encoder, printers, computer equipment, a card cutter, a laminator, laminate papers, and holograms of various state seals.

Following his prison term, Lindsey will be on supervised release for five years. There is no parole in the federal system. United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The case was investigated by the Ames Police Department and the Iowa Department of Transportation. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

(Radio Iowa) – The first acting administrator of the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration says carbon capture pipelines are not new and will be regulated like any other liquid pipeline. Brigham McCown recently served a couple of years as chief executive of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, which carries oil.  “We’ve had CO2 pipelines in the country since the 1970s,” he says. “There are about 4,500 miles of CO2 pipelines currently.”

McCown says the federal agency that regulates pipelines has the same mission as the Federal Aviation Administration, to make the transportation system as safe as possible. “The safety regulations are very robust and CO2 is treated as a liquid pipeline just like any other liquid pipeline,” McCown says. “…When pipelines are built by qualified people, they’re constructed properly and they’re maintained properly they have a 99.999% safety record. That’s better than any other type of transportation and you are far more likely to be struck by lightning multiple times than you are ever to be ever be affected by a pipeline incident.”

Pipeline opponents cite safety concerns about liquid carbon and point to the 2020 rupture of a carbon pipeline in Mississippi. That incident sent 45 people to the hospital and required the evacuation of about 200 nearby residents. McCown says regulations were beefed up after that incident and the pipeline operator was fined.  “In that case, very unusual rainfall occurred and it’s called a geohazard. It’s something pipeline operators are supposed to plan for, but the ground shifted and that caused the pipeline to break open,” McCown says.

Supporters of three proposed carbon pipeline projects in Iowa say they will allow the ethanol industry to remain competitive in the years to come, as requirements for a carbon neutral product are put in place. Opponents object to the use of the government’s eminent domain authority to seize private property from landowners who do not want the pipelines on their property.

(Radio Iowa) – The National Weather Service has confirmed a tornado with wind speeds around 75 miles an hour touched down near Clinton Friday night. According to the National Weather Service office in the Quad Cities, the tornado in Clinton County was on the ground for nearly one and a half miles. Another, slightly stronger tornado was reported near the small Jackson County town of Andrew Friday, causing damage to some farmsteads and knocking down some power lines.

The National Weather Service office in Des Moines has been gathering information about a tornado near the Franklin-Hardin County line on Friday. Meteorologists have determined that tornado reached speeds of 90 miles an hour, but they’re still assessing how long it stayed on the ground.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – As of today (Tuesday, August 1st) registration is open for students returning to, or planning on attending classes in, the Atlantic Community School District. All families that were actively enrolled at the end of the 2022 – 2023 school year should have received an email inviting them to begin the registration process. The email also included step by step instructions for completing student registration.

One important note for this year’s registration process – Student Activity Tickets will not be purchased through JMC this year. Please refrain from purchasing those until the new process is finalized and then communicated at that time.

If families who were actively enrolled at the end of the 22-23 school year did not receive the registration email this morning, please reach out to: Mallory Robinson at: mrobinson@atlanticiaschools.org.

If your student(s) are new to the ACSD district for the 2023 – 2024 school year or if access to the internet or a computer is not available, they should contact their student(s) building directly to complete the registration process. Building secretaries are ready to help anyone who needs assistance in registering  their students.

Building grades and contact information are as follows:

Washington Elementary School

Pre-K – 3rd grade: Phone: 712-243-5234

Stacey Hornung, Principal

Hours: 7:30 am – 3:30  pm

Schuler Elementary School

Grades 4-5: Phone: 712-243-1370

James Northwick, Principal

Hours: 7:30 am – 3:30 pm

Atlantic Middle School

Grades 6-8: Phone: 712-243-1330

Casey Pelzer, Principal

Hours: 7:30 am – 3:30 pm

Atlantic High School

Grades 9-12: Phone: 712-243-5358

Heather McKay, Principal

Andrew Mitchell, Asst Principal/Activities Director

Hours: 7:30 am – 3:30  pm

Transportation

All Grades: Phone: 712-243-3374; Steve Anderson, Supervisor

Food Service

All Grades: Phone: 712-243-5369; Natalie Ritter, Supervisor; Hours: 7:30 am- 3:30 pm.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors, today (Tuesday), received a monthly report from Cass/Guthrie County Environment Health Director Jotham Arber. And,they received a weekly report from County Engineer Trent Wolken, who updated the Board of various Secondary Roads Department maintenance and activities. One of three bridge projects, he said, are complete.

He said also, they found some newer, late model ¾ ton 4-wheel drive used pickup trucks to purchase, but that it’s getting harder and harder to find vehicles to fill the Secondary Roads Department’s needs. The Board approved a Rolling Hills Wind Farm Road Use Agreement, pending the receipt of a check from Mid-American Energy, for road use and repairs. The check was scheduled to arrive sometime during the day, today (Tuesday), via UPS.

The Board passed a Resolution awarding a Farm-To-Market twin box culvert project on 710^th Street, near Cumberland, to Gus Construction. And they approved a wage adjustment for Tony Gustafson – Operator 1. The Secondary Roads Dept. employee has completed his probationary period.

In other business, the Cass County Supervisors approved the appointment of Clayton Schmidt as a township trustee, and accepted the resignation of Grove Township Trustee, Richard Carspecken.

Their final order of business was to hear a report from County Treasurer Tracey J. Marshall, with regard to County Quarterly Investments.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, today (Tuesday), received a complaint from Tracy Hill, with the Animal Alliance Rescue/Shelter. Tracy Hill spoke with regard to semi tractor-trailers blocking the shelter’s driveway, and being disrespectful.

Hill, along with her mother, run the shelter.  She requested some kind of a sign, that would make it clear parking is not allowed in front of the shelter’s driveway. Sheriff Jon Spunaugle, she said, is supportive of the move.

She said Red Oak’s mayor is also behind the No Parking restrictions. The County’s Secondary Roads Department has agreed to post signs, with the Board’s approval, which was granted. In other business, the Montgomery County Supervisors acted to approve/ disapprove Homestead and Military Credit Applications, as presented. Zoning Administrator Barry Byers provided a Secondary Roads Department update, standing-in for County Engineer Karen Albert.

And, during the public comment portion of the meeting, the Board heard from Montgomery County resident Jan Norris, with regard to an ordinance for a proposed carbon-capture pipeline. Norris thanked the Board for making the hazardous pipeline ordinance an agenda item last week, “as you have been asked to do for months.”  Norris said “Through the process, Summit has discouraged and intimidated the multiple counties who sought to adopt local zoning ordinances. Unfortunately, the law is vague and multiple jurisdictions are potentially involved.”

“Summit,” Norris said, “Was granted the injunction filed in district court. Based on the ruling, county attorneys did their job to advise supervisors. If ordinances are passed with setbacks greater than what Summit wants to comply with, we could also expect to end up in court.”

Norris said “It is unfortunate that counties have been put in an impossible position. Unfortunate that norms are being broken, unfortunate that current safety regulations are not up to speed on this new and unprecedented project, unfortunate that big corporations that stand to make BILLIONS have spared no expense in buying influence.” She concluded with….

(Newton, Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa Department of Corrections, said today (Tuesday), an inmate from the Newton Correctional Release Center that was on escape status was apprehended by law enforcement, Monday, and is in the process of being returned to the custody of the Iowa Department of Corrections. Inmate Jermichael Jim Wells walked away from his private sector worksite on Wednesday, July 19, 2023 and was placed on escape status once it was discovered that he had absconded.

Law enforcement from the Minnesota Department of Corrections Fugitive Apprehension Unit arrested Wells near Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. He is currently in the process of being returned to the custody of the Iowa Department of Corrections.

The department would like to extend its thanks to the many partners in law enforcement that assisted in the apprehension of this individual. This includes law enforcement from the Jasper County and Iowa County Sheriff’s Department, the Iowa Department of Public Safety, the Iowa Department of Corrections 6th District Fugitive Apprehension Unit, the Iowa Department of Corrections 8th District Fugitive Apprehension Unit, and the Minnesota Department of Corrections Fugitive Apprehension Unit.