With St. Patrick’s Day approaching March 17th, the Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau is putting out advance notice that a Special Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) will take place in the days leading up to the holiday. Extra law enforcement officers will be on the roads March 13-17, 2015, to keep Iowa motorists safe. 

Officials say the weekend leading up to St. Patrick’s Day, and the day itself, is a particularly deadly time, with a dramatic spike in drunk-driving fatalities. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2013, 40-percent of all crash fatalities during the St. Patrick’s Day weekend involved drunk drivers, and that number rose to 55-percent in the post-party hours of midnight – 6:00 a.m., of March 18th. Almost 75-percent of those fatalities involved drivers who were twice the legal limit. Over the last four years, nationwide, drunk driving kills on average 68 people each St. Patrick’s Day weekend.

Authorities say before you take your first sip of green beer, make a plan. If you become impaired and don’t have a designated driver, call a friend, relative, cab or use public transportation to get home safely. If you think a cab fare is expensive, consider the average $10,000 expense of getting an OWI, including higher insurance rates, attorney fees, court costs, towing fees, lost wages, and other unanticipated expenses. Above all, they say “Be safe and smart this St. Patrick’s Day holiday! Whether you’re buzzed or drunk, it doesn’t matter. Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving – drive sober.”

w/ Chris Parks

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The Red Oak Police Department reports the arrest of a 35-year-old Omaha woman on Friday night on E Corning Street in Red Oak.  At 10:30pm officers arrested Gennette Lee Gessler of Omaha on an active Montgomery County Warrant for Theft in the Fifth Degree.  Gessler was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $300 cash bond.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest of a Council Bluffs man after a traffic stop near Red Oak Friday.  Officers stopped a vehicle at the intersection of D Avenue and Highway 34 West of Red Oak at 10:29pm Friday.  26-year-old Michael David Sutton of Council Bluffs was then arrested for four valid Pottawattamie County Warrants for Failure to Appear on Probation Violation, OWI First Offense, and two counts of Driving While Barred.  Sutton was transported to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center and held on $20,000 bond.

ST. LOUIS (AP) – Nate Buss scored a season-high 23 points and No. 11 Northern Iowa overwhelmed Bradley in the second half for a 71-46 rout in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament on Friday night.

The second-seeded Panthers (28-3) advanced without much from Valley player of the year Seth Tuttle, who made his first basket with 13:47 to go and finished with 10 points on 3 for 9 shooting.

Deon Mitchell added 14 points, five assists and two steals for the winners, who led 34-32 early in the second half before taking control with an 11-0 run. Northern Iowa has won 17 of 18 and faces either Indiana State or Loyola on Sunday in the semifinals.

Reserve Omari Grier had 16 points and Josh Cunningham added 14 points and six rebounds for Bradley (8-24), the 10th seed.

A Public Hearing has been set for this coming week in the CAM School District, with regard to an Early Start Waiver for the 2015-16 school year. The CAM School Board is set to hold the hearing during a meeting that begins at 5-p.m. Tuesday (March 10th), in the CAM High School Media Center, in Anita. The Board will act on a Resolution to approve establishing an early start date, following the hearing.

In other business, the CAM School Board will offer their response to the CAM Education Association’s (CAMEA) Initial Bargaining Proposal for the 2015-16 Master Contract.

Iowa Insurance Commissioner Nick Gerhart has announced that beginning tomorrow, March 7, 2015, the Iowa and Nebraska Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Associations will begin paying health care providers more than $80 million in outstanding eligible claims for health care services provided to CoOportunity Health members in Iowa and Nebraska.

“We’re pleased that providers in Iowa and Nebraska will be paid for the health care services they provided to CoOportunity policyholders,” Gerhart said. “As we have stated previously, these guaranty funds are in place to protect impacted Iowans and Nebraskans. All providers under contract with CoOportunity that offered health care services will be paid up to $500,000 per individual for claims submitted to CoOportunity.”

The Iowa Insurance Division continues to work to transition people in Iowa and Nebraska out of CoOportunity Health. Nebraska has 11,135 remaining CoOportunity Health members while Iowa has 2,619 remaining members as of March 5, 2015. The Iowa Insurance Division is projecting that money recouped from the federal reinsurance, risk corridor and risk adjustment program on behalf of CoOportunity Health will be used to help pay back the Iowa and Nebraska Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Associations and other outstanding creditors.

The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled a lawsuit against a tire manufacturer in China over a an accident that happened in 2009 can proceed in state court. A lower state court had tossed out the case, saying it had no jurisdiction over Doublestar, the foreign company, but the Iowa Supreme Court now says otherwise. The lawsuit involves a 17-year-old boy working at his dad’s tire shop in Adel.

The teen was inflating a tire in 2009 when it exploded, seriously injuring him. He was blinded in one eye and has only partial use of his left hand and arm. His mother filed a lawsuit against the Chinese company that made the “Treadstone” brand tire, alleging it was badly designed and prone to explode when it was being inflated. The Iowa Supreme Court is citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision involving a tire manufacturer in a foreign country and has ruled the case can proceed in state court.

(Radio Iowa)

The Walnut City Council met Thursday evening, and held a public hearing on the Fiscal year 2015-16 City Budget. Deputy City Clerk Shannon Wood told KJAN News the Budget was adopted by the Council, following the hearing. Wood said also, no action was taken with regard to the possible acquisition of the Walnut Community School Building. A committee will meet the first week of April to discuss what, if anything, should be done with the building.

Last month, the City was offered the chance by Walnut Superintendent Jesse Ulrich to acquire the building. At that time, a decision was then made to form a committee comprised of the Mayor and two Council people, School Board members, and members of the public, to decide what they want the facility to become. They also discussed the possibility of hiring a consultant or an architect to conduct a feasibility study and facility study on the building.

The Walnut City Council also gave the go ahead for intern Marye Bierbaum to develop a Community Garden. Wood says Bierbaum will be applying for some grants to help with the raised flower and/or vegetable garden beds.

ROGER SANDHORST, 65, of Atlantic, died Thu., March 5th, at home. A Celebration of Life Service for ROGER SANDHORST will be held Wednesday, March 11th at 11:00am at Zion Lutheran Church in Atlantic. Roland Funeral Service in Atlantic has the arrangements.

Visitation with family will be held one hour prior to the service at the church.  Open visitation will be held Saturday, March 7th from 9am-11am. Sunday, March 8th from Noon-3pm.  Monday March 9th and Tuesday March 10th from 8am-5:30pm.

Online condolences may be left to the family at www.rolandfuneralservice.com.

ROGER SANDHORST is survived by:

His wife – Sharon.

Daughter: Angela (John) Kay of Atlantic.

Son: Matthew (Jayme Farver) Sandhorst of Atlantic.

Sisters: Donnis (Wayne) Kessler of Atlantic.  Janet (Gene) Larsen of Walnut.

Brother: Eugene Sandhorst of Atlantic.

6 Grandchildren.