More area and state news w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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SAC-CRAWFORD-CARROLL-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS COUNTIES…
738 AM CST TUE MAR 3 2015

…FREEZING DRIZZLE WILL CREATE LOCALIZED SLICK AREAS THIS MORNING...

FREEZING DRIZZLE HAS OVERSPREAD MUCH OF CENTRAL AND WEST CENTRAL IOWA THIS MORNING. ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO BE LIGHT BUT WILL BE ENOUGH TO DEVELOP A GLAZE ON UNTREATED ROADWAYS AND WINDSHIELDS. IF YOU ARE OUT DRIVING THIS MORNING…PLEASE DRIVE WITH CAUTION AND BE PREPARED FOR SLICK ROADS. TEMPERATURES SHOULD WARM FROM SOUTH TO NORTH DURING THE MORNING AND GRADUALLY BRING AN
END TO THE FREEZING DRIZZLE THREAT.

Most of the CEOs of Iowa’s largest companies are expecting improved sales and steady or slightly higher employment levels over the next six months. The Iowa Business Council (IBC) has released its first quarter Economic Outlook Survey and executive director Elliott Smith says it’s not much different than the surveys conducted in 2014. “That’s a good thing. Our numbers have been fairly steady now for the last two, three, almost four quarters…not moving significantly up or down and we’re in solid, positive sentiment territory,” Smith says.

The IBC’s first quarter Overall Economic Outlook Survey Index was 65 – the same as last quarter and three points ahead of this time last year. The index uses a 100 point scale, with a score over 50 considered “positive sentiment.” Around 80-percent of the CEOs surveyed expect higher sales over the next six months. They’re also optimistic about adding workers.  “From our responses this quarter, we had 95-percent of our employers either indicating they’re going to maintain existing employment levels or add to (their workforces) with new hires. Only five-percent (expect) lower employment activity,” Smith says.

Specifically, 55-percent of the CEOs anticipate hiring more employees over the next six months, while 40-percent expect “no change” in employment levels.

(Radio Iowa)

The 7:06-a.m. report w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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One of the largest-ever disaster drills organized by the American Red Cross in Iowa will take place this week, starting this (Tuesday) morning. Dan Cataldi, the agency’s regional disaster officer, says about 90 volunteers and staff members from all across Iowa are converging on Des Moines as a sort of dress rehearsal. “We all know that in Iowa, we will have tornadoes this year, for instance, we just don’t know where and when,” Cataldi says. “It’s critical that we are able to challenge our teams. Most of our workers are volunteers. On an operation, we would expect 90% of our team to be volunteers, so we need to make sure they have the opportunity to practice before they’re involved in a real operation.”

The drill will serve as a crucial training exercise to prepare volunteers for what they may face in the aftermath of an actual tornado, flood or other natural disaster.  “This event allows us to bring everybody together and work on everything from service delivery and setting up shelters — we’ll actually set up cots and feed people — to our back office things,” Cataldi says. “We set up our own IT networks and we have a staff services team to make sure all the teams that are working get all the things they need.”

This disaster drill will run three days, today through Thursday, which is much longer than usual and it will be much larger in scale. “Typically, we exercise for about a day and we go through what we call tabletops, where we just work through scenarios,” Cataldi says. “Bringing in all of these people together and going through the process of setting up a shelter and things like that over three days is really a large endeavor and certainly one of the biggest we’ve ever attempted.”

(Radio Iowa)

A traffic stop early this (Tuesday) morning in Fremont County resulted in the arrest of two people on drug charges. Sheriff’s officials say 35-year old Thomas Lee Knipe, of Glenwood, and 43-year old Christopher Lynn Mosier, of Essex, were arrested for Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Marijuana and Possession of numerous pieces of drug paraphernalia.

The men were taken into custody at around 2:15-a.m. in the 2300 block of Wabounsie Avenue. Knipe was being held in the Fremont County Jail on $2,000 cash bond, while Mosier’s bond was set at $1,000. Deputies in Fremont County were assisted at the scene by the Mills County K9 Unit.

A traffic stop early this (Tuesday) morning in Montgomery County resulted in the arrest of 26-year old Rhyian Todd Hall, of Red Oak. Hall was taken into custody at around 2:50-a.m. on a charge of OWI/2nd offense. He was brought to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $2,000 cash bond.

State Climatologist Harry Hillaker says February will goes into the record books in the top ten in both cold and snow. Hillaker says the persistent cold is probably the thing that stands out the most about the month. “Actually only had five days where the statewide average temperature was above normal,” Hillaker says. Those were five consecutive days above normal from February 6th through the 10th. Temperatures really dropped at the end of the month.

“Our lowest temperatures of the month — actually for the whole winter — came on the last two days of February. Stanley, in Buchanan County in northeast Iowa got down to an official minus thirty degrees the morning of February 27, that’s actual temperature, not windchill,” Hillaker says, “and the next morning, Elkader in Clayton County, also got down to minus 30 degrees.” February was just a little snowier than normal.

Hillaker says most of the snow came in one storm at the beginning of the month, but overall it was the ninth snowiest and ninth coldest February. The state has kept weather records for 143 years. Overall the winter hasn’t been anything too out of the ordinary. “We are running just a little bit above normal in the snowfall, again thanks in large part to February,” Hillaker says. “So far this winter, about two-point-seven inches above normal for snowfall, which would put us at the 45th snowiest winter.”

Hillaker says winter’s worst is probably past us now as the days get longer with more sunlight heading into March.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Senate panel has approved a bill that could halt the upcoming closings of state mental health centers in Clarinda and Mount Pleasant. A three-member human resources subcommittee approved the bill unanimously Monday. It now heads to a full committee for consideration. The bill would require the state Department of Human Services to keep the facilities open until it develops a “suitable and appropriate” long-term care and treatment plan for its patients. The Legislature would approve the plan.

Gov. Terry Branstad’s budget proposal removes funding for the facilities. State officials say patients will be able to receive treatment elsewhere. Critics say the closings, scheduled later this year, have not been well organized. Democratic Sen. Rich Taylor, the bill’s sponsor, says he has bipartisan support in both chambers.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Legislation aimed at expanding guidelines for Iowa educators who respond to school bullying has advanced in the House. The measure would clarify the ability of educators to monitor bullying off school grounds. It would also expand parental notification language and the definition of cyberbullying.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a woman whose body was found in a Des Moines alley wasn’t killed. The Des Moines Police Department says an autopsy conducted Monday on 35-year-old Shannon Prothero revealed no major trauma to her body, and the Iowa medical examiner determined her death is not a homicide.

UNDERWOOD, Iowa (AP) — A teacher at an Iowa middle school has been arrested on charges related to a claim that he sexually abused a former female student. Pottawattamie County officials say 45-year-old Barret B. Glasnapp turned himself in on an arrest warrant of four counts of sexual abuse, one count of felony sexual exploitation by a school employee and five misdemeanor counts of sexual exploitation by a school employee. Authorities say Glasnapp’s interaction began in 2011 when the student was 14, after her eighth-grade year, and continued until October. She was a student of Glasnapp from 2009 until 2012.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Senate panel has approved a bill that could halt the upcoming closings of state mental health centers in Clarinda and Mount Pleasant. The bill would require the state Department of Human Services to keep the facilities open until it develops a “suitable and appropriate” long-term care and treatment plan for its patients. The Legislature would approve the plan.