State officials are keeping an eye out for signs of a bird flu that has recently been discovered in other states. State Veterinarian David Schmitt says the influenza is highly pathogenic, or has a high death rate, particularly in turkeys and chickens. “It first appeared in the northwest part of the United States in the Pacific Flyway in some commercial and backyard poultry that were affected. It’s now show up in the Mississippi Flyway here in the central states region — first in Minnesota and then a couple of turkey farms in Missouri, one in Arkansas, and then a backyard group of birds in Kansas,” Schmitt explains.

Schmitt says waterfowl carry different types of influenza across the country. “This one here happens to be an H-5-N-2, it’s highly pathogenic, and birds in this flyway as in other flyways, they commingle in the northern countries and they can bring it back. And when they’re coming through they stop, and they can be shedding it in their feces,” Schmitt says. There have been some samples taken of snowgeese in Iowa and so far the disease has not show up in the state.

“That’s pretty exciting, because it means that hopefully everybody is doing their due diligence as far as in protecting their birds,” Schmitt says. It’s an important issue to Iowa as the state is a leader in egg laying and a leader also in turkey production. Schmitt says he’s confident those industries are taking the proper steps to keep the disease away. “In the state of Iowa, our commercial operations are very well in tune in as far as biosecurity operations,” according to Schmitt. “Certainly a lot of those have seen what’s going on and have even intensified and reviewed those biosecurity to make sure that it is not introduced into their populations of birds.”

He says the operations have had such biosecurity measures in place long before this outbreak in other states. He says the operations don’t allow visitors and those who come in cannot have any contact with birds in the last three days, and he says those who work in the facilities are not allow to own their own private birds. Schmitt says anyone who keeps chickens or other birds privately should take precautions.

“If you are walking through areas where wild waterfowl have been and you have a backyard population — its extremely important to change your shoes, make sure things are clean before you walk in with any poultry,” Schmitt says. Schmitt says the influenza cannot be transferred to humans and is not a health concern in that regard.

(Radio Iowa)

A University of Iowa study of hundreds of dash-cam video recordings of teenage drivers who were involved in crashes finds they’re a lot more distracted than originally thought. Gail Weinholzer, at Triple-A-Iowa, says the comprehensive research found significant evidence that distracted driving is likely a much more serious problem than previously known.

“We found that six out of 10 moderate-to-severe teen crashes involved distraction, which is four times more than has been reported on police records,” Weinholzer says. “Of course, the average person isn’t going to admit to law enforcement that they were horsing around with other teenagers or talking on their cell phone.” Researchers at the U-of-I analyzed the six seconds leading up to a crash in nearly 17-hundred videos of teen drivers taken from in-vehicle event recorders.

“The #1 cause was interacting with one or more teen passengers, that was 15% of all crashes,” Weinholzer says. “Cell phone use, whether it be dialing the phone, talking on the phone, using it to text or something of that nature was 12% of all crashes, and daydreaming and looking around at what was going on outside of the car not relevant to the driving process was about ten percent.”

Other top distractions include: singing and moving to music, grooming and reaching for an object. An earlier federal study had estimated distraction is a factor in only 14-percent of all teen driver crashes. This new report showed distraction was a factor in 58-percent of all crashes studied, including 89-percent of road-departure crashes and 76-percent of rear-end crashes. Parents play a critical role in preventing distracted driving, according to the motor club.

“Parents need to model good behavior,” Weinholzer says. “If their teens are seeing them texting and driving or talking on the cell phone and driving, it’s no surprise that the teens are going to do that themselves. Second, parents need to limit the number of teens in the vehicle as well as the cell phone use that’s going on in the vehicle.” Those things might be accomplished, she suggests, with parent-teen contracts and through stronger graduated drivers licensing laws.

Researchers found that drivers who were using their cell phone had their eyes off the road for an average of four-point-one out of the final six seconds leading up to a crash. The researchers also measured reaction times in rear-end crashes and found that teen drivers using a cell phone failed to react more than half of the time before the impact, meaning, they crashed without braking or steering.

(Radio Iowa)

Internet giant Google earlier this week suspended digging at an excavation site in southwest Iowa after locals complained that truckloads of dirt being hauled away for use by the company were creating problems for residents. The Omaha World-Herald reports company officials said in a written statement Tuesday evening “In the past few days, we have been contacted by members of the community concerning a borrow pit in Mills County that has been used to supply dirt to our facility. We take these concerns seriously and have ceased all transportation of fill until we have had a chance to review the situation.”

Authorities on Wednesday asked residents of Tabor, in Fremont County, to boil their water until until further notice. The Omaha World-Herald says repairs to a leaking water line lowered pressure temporarily, City officials said water tests to ensure safety could take 48 hours.

Seven Treynor Middle School students were honored for their roles in keeping other students calm and safe following a school bus rollover accident March 13th. The bus was taking about 20 students home from school when it slipped off the edge of the road and toppled onto its side near 290th Street. The Daily Non Pareil reports Warren Rolf, Nathan Nelson, Alora Nowlin, Chloe Mass, Amanda Stephens, Claire Rolf and Max Hayes were given service awards for their efforts to keep children calm, help them out of the bus and in seeking help.

Before the first rescue crews were even on the scene of the accident, the children were already out of the bus and acting calmly. Only two children suffered minor injuries.

Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker addresses the 7 students at an assembly Wednesday, who helped their classmates after a bus rollover accident. (Photo from Pott. Co. S/O Facebook page)

On Wednesday, Rolf and the others were escorted to the gym and greeted with a standing ovation from their peers, parents, teachers, the Treynor Fire Department and the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Jeff Danker handed the awards to each student followed by a firm handshake and a thank-you. He said the students should feel proud of their actions.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The House has passed legislation that would require some elected public officials in Iowa to have more contact information published online in a timely manner. The House voted unanimously for the bill, which would require an entity with a website to post a telephone number and an email for an elected public official. Public officials are defined in the bill as lawmakers, county board supervisors, city council members and board members of a school district.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The University of Iowa’s top health care official is expected to briefly serve as the school’s interim president later this year. Board of Regents President Bruce Rastetter said Wednesday that he would recommend that UI vice president for medical affairs Jean Robillard fill in when President Sally Mason retires July 31st.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — A suspect has been charged after a northern Iowa couple allegedly saw a man toss a duffel bag into a river Saturday that they later found contained a live cat. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports the adult calico remained in quarantine Tuesday at Mason City Animal Control. She’s been named Winnie — short for the Winnebago River from which she was rescued. Police say 69-year-old William Hill was charged Wednesday with misdemeanor animal torture.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz says quarterback Jake Rudock, a two-year starter for the Hawkeyes, will transfer to another school. The move ends the competition between Rudock and C.J. Beathard.

Officials with the Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources say the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) is searching for the top 100 family fishing and boating spots across the nation, and several Iowa state parks are among those being considered. Iowans participating in the vote can ensure their favorite places to boat and fish are recognized nationally.

Iowa locations include Lake Macbride (Solon), Lake Pahoja (west of Larchwood),
Little River Watershed Lake (west of Leon) and Green Valley Lake (northwest of
Creston). Entrants can vote daily until April 12, 2015 for the three parks they
feel offer the best experience based on family amenities, location and the
likeliness to catch a fish or enjoy a day on the water. The parks with the most
votes will be placed on 2015 America’s Top 100 Family Fishing and Boating Spots
list.

To learn more about the sweepstakes and to vote for your favorite parks, got to
www.takemefishing.org and click on the link to America’s Top Family Fishing and Boating Spots Sweepstakes. Visit the Iowa DNR web site at www.iowadnr.gov for more information about each Iowa location including amenities, popular fish species and fish stocking information.

A process that began in 2011 to update the Cass County Communications/9-1-1 Center has reached full circle, with the facility coming online this week. It’s not been an easy road, with countless discussions held over whether the County should farm out dispatcher services, whether the center should be expanded and relocated in the courthouse to prepare for the Next Generation of communications equipment, or whether a separate facility was in order.

The Board of Supervisors, Public Safety and 9-1-1 Commission ultimately decided to purchase a building across the street from the courthouse and renovate the lower level to accommodate the dispatchers, equipment and the Emergency Management Director and 9-1-1 Director.

Cass County 9-1-1 Director Rob Koppert told the Board of Supervisors during their meeting this (Wednesday) morning, that the process was well worth the time and effort it took to bring it to fruition. Koppert thanked the Board of Supervisors for “Allowing us to have a nice place to work in, and the room to actually [be able to] stand up and stretch [without hitting another dispatcher]. We could have spent a million more to have a Taj Mahal, but we got a really great center for what you guys gave us, and I really thank you guys for that.”

Koppert said the County got its money worth out of the project. He said “We’ve got the County a very fiscally responsible 9-1-1 Center that is functional, and truly something to be proud of.”

A western Iowa woman who was convicted last year in a disturbing kidnapping and torture case has died in prison. Rebecca Beyer of Council Bluffs was sentenced to life in prison last July after being convicted of abusing her developmentally impaired stepson. The 47-year-old Beyer died on Monday of natural causes from a form of skin cancer, according to the Iowa Department of Corrections.

Beyer was arrested in 2013 after the 20-year-old victim told police he’d be kept locked inside a garage, attached to a wall with a dog leash and burned with forks, spoons and an iron that had been heated on a stove. The victim’s father and stepbrother, James Beyer and Ryan Smith, were also arrested in the case. Smith accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to two years probation. The Pottawattamie County Attorney’s office reports the case against James Beyer is still pending.

(Radio Iowa)

The Cass County Board of Supervisors today (Wednesday), signed a proclamation recognizing April as “Child Abuse Prevention Month,” in Cass County. The request to do so came from the County Child Abuse Prevention Council. Wendy Richter, Co-Chair of the Council along with Kate Olson, said there are several things they’re doing to bring awareness of Child Abuse and Prevention to the public eye.

Kate Olson holds one of the “Pinwheels for prevention,” bringing awareness to child abuse & prevention.

That includes the sale and display of “Pinwheels for Prevention,” a banner to be placed near the entrance to the Courthouse, and the planting of pinwheels outside the courthouse. Richter said funds raised from the sale of pinwheels will be used for the various projects geared toward prevention. The organization is also working with libraries in Cass County to get resources on good manners for kids, and parenting resources. They will also provide libraries with a list of recommended resources.

Kate Olson said there will also be a coloring contest during the first part of April in all the local schools. The libraries have agreed to post the pictures created during the month of April. After the presentation by Richter and Olson, Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman read the proclamation later signed by each Supervisor.

In other business, the Cass County Supervisors approved a 5-year contract with Medivac Ambulance. The County will share the cost of services with the City of Atlantic, 60/40, with the City picking up the largest portion of the cost. For the next year, the total cost amounts to $84,000, which is the same as it has been for the past 5-years. Afterward, from July 1st 2016 through June 30th 2020, the annual rate shared by the City and County is $92,000. And again, the City will pickup up 60-percent of the cost.