The U-S Postal Service is closing several mail processing centers across the country this year, but none in Iowa. The reasons are twofold, according to Mike Birkett, with the National Association of Letter Carriers. First, Birkett says, Iowa already had its turn in 2011 when a mail processing center in northwest Iowa was shut down and the operation was moved to another state.

“Sioux City, Iowa, closed a plant three to four years ago and that mail all got moved up into South Dakota,” Birkett says. “So, it did affect Iowa, just not this second phase.” Second, he adds, it’s hard to justify closing facilities that postmark and sort mail for rural areas. “It’s very difficult to ship mail from one place to another and to get it back in any kind of a decent time frame,” he says, “so that’s what’s, I think, saved those.”

In the states where the processing centers are being closed, people can expect a delay of an extra day or two for cards and letters they mail to arrive.

(Radio Iowa)

Authorities in Pottawattamie County say one person was seriously hurt during a home invasion and assault over the weekend, near Honey Creek. Law enforcement and emergency responders were called to the residence just off 170th a little after 9-p.m., Sunday. Sheriff Jeff Danker says the victim was struck by a roofing hammer. Additional information will be released later this morning with regard to the incident.

SERGEANT BLUFF, Iowa (AP) – Production is expected to resume in a few days at a northwest Iowa fertilizer plant that was damaged by a fire and subsequent explosion. The fire began around 6 p.m. Saturday at the Nulex plant in the Port Neal industrial area south of Sioux City. No injuries have been reported.

Nulex spokesman Jason Glover told the Sioux City Journal on Sunday that the fire was in a storage building and not in the main production facility. Glover says that means employees likely will be able to resume work in a few days.  The company produces liquid zinc micronutrients that are mixed with liquid fertilizers.

The Iowa State Fire Marshal Division and Iowa Department of Natural Resources are investigating the fire and blast.

With Ric Hanson.

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Members of the Atlantic Community School District’s Board of Education will hold their regular, monthly meeting tonight, at the high school. During their 7:30-p.m. session, the Board will receive an Operations/Maintenance update from Russell Peck. They’re also expected to act on approving Early Retirement Applications, Early Resignation Incentives, and a request by the Nishna Valley YMCA for carpeting.

Discussion items on their agenda include a report from Linda Nichols on the Home/School Program, and an Honorary Diploma request.

The Creston Police Department reports today (Monday) the arrest on Friday of a Creston man on a warrant out of Texas. 32-year old John Jacob Garcia was taken into custody at around 11:18-a.m. on the warrant for Unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Garcia was being held in the Union County Jail on $5,000 bond.

Sunday night, Creston Police arrested 18-year old Briar Dakota Shivers, of Indianola. Shivers was arrested at the Wal-Mart store on a charge of 5th Degree Theft. He was later released on a Citation to Appear later, in court.

And, a Creston resident reported to police Saturday morning, that sometime between 8:30-p.m. Friday and 9-a.m. Saturday, someone threw a beer bottle at her vehicle. The incident didn’t result in damage, but the victim reported someone entered her vehicle and took a key, as well as a bottle of cologne. The loss was estimated at $195.

With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Iowa is believed to have the largest percentage of homes in the U.S. with radon levels above what the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) calls “acceptable.” Mindy Uhle, with the Iowa Department of Public Health, says at least half of the homes in the state have an elevated radon level.
“Iowa’s designated as a ‘zone one,’ which means that we have a high risk for radon in a lot of homes in the state,” Uhle says.     https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Q03BSgAHP5M

Radon is an odorless, colorless, tasteless gas that causes no immediate health symptoms, but long-term exposures may cause lung cancer. It comes from the breakdown of uranium in soil. Uhle encourages all homeowners to purchase a radon test kit, which typically costs less than $20.  “We would recommend doing that test every couple of years,” Uhle says. “Some people also like to do it after they’ve done major renovations or any kind of work in the home that might affect how air moves through the home.”

Radon gas typically seeps into a house under the home — through cracks in the foundation, floor or walls, and openings around floor drains, pipes and sump pumps. Uhle suggests having a second test done if a first test shows high levels of radon in your home. Repairs to fix the problem are expensive.
“It’s basically a vent pipe and fan system within the home to move the air around,” Uhle says. “It draws from underneath the foundation and then it vents it to outside of the building. That can cost anywhere from $800 up to $2,500, it really just depends how the air is moving under your home and where they’re able to pull from.”

Last week, Governor Branstad signed a proclamation, formally declaring January as “Radon Action Month” in Iowa.

(Radio Iowa)

Police in Red Oak are asking for the public’s help in solving a recent break-in and burglary. Officials said a resident called Police Sunday to report that sometime within the past two weeks, a person or persons unknown entered a residence at 211 E. Park Avenue through a window, which had been damaged in the process.

The victim also reported damage to the west entrance door/window. The preliminary damage estimate was around $300. Anyone with information about the incident(s) is asked to call Red Oak Police at 712-623-6500, or Crimestoppers at 1-800-432-1001.

The 2015 Iowa legislative session begins today (Monday) and unfinished debates of the past — like whether to raise the state gas tax — are on the agenda. Finding a way to increase the amount of money to improve Iowa’s transportation system has eluded lawmakers for the past several years. Governor Terry Branstad says he hopes legislators make a decision “sooner rather than later.” “It is my goal to put together a whole series of options,” Branstad told reporters last week.

But Branstad doesn’t plan to publicly advocate one approach over another. He says that would give critics something to shoot at because it’s his idea. Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs says it would be best if the governor were to “exert some leadership” and make a specific proposal. “Iowa used to be the envy of the Midwest when it came to roads and we’re now towards the bottom end of that,” Gronstal says, “and so I think it’s time to do something about it.”

The state fuel tax not only finances work on the Interstates and state highways, part of it goes to cities and counties for local streets and roads. House Speaker Kraig Paulsen of Hiawatha, the top-ranking Republican in the legislature, says he’s concerned that officials in more than 30 counties have now borrowed money to fix roads and bridges because they don’t have enough revenue from the fuel tax. “I think the discussion is about as robust as any time I’ve been in the General Assembly,” Paulsen says. “I think there’s also to some degree a consensus that’s it’s time to make a decision.”

The main responsibility of the legislature is passing a budget plan for state government. Paulsen warns there’s not enough state tax revenue to fulfill past promises to spend more on education reform and property tax relief, so over 40-million dollars will have to be cut elsewhere. “We’ve done difficult things before,” Paulsen says. “I’m sure we’ll find a way to work through it.” Gronstal, the legislature’s top-ranking Democrat, agrees that “expectations” are going to have to be “tempered” when it comes to the budget as well as other issues.

“And it’s about figuring out a way to turn off the partisan switch,” Gronstal says. Senate Republican Leader Bill Dix of Shell Rock says legislators should approach the state budget as they would a family’s budget. “We always need to be mindful that it is the taxpayers’ money,” Dix says. Because Iowa’s unemployment rate is lower than most other states, the federal government is reducing the amount of money it will send to Iowa to pay for Iowans who’re getting health care coverage through Medicaid.

House Democratic Leader Mark Smith of Marshalltown says it’s “a challenge” for the state to pay greater share of the Medicaid budget, but he expects a bipartisan solution to emerge. “Our history has been to work on these issues together,” Smith says. “I would expect we would continue to do so.” Other issues on the docket for legislators including finding extra money for the state’s three public universities, to avoid a tuition increase for in-state students, and investigating why the new maximum security prison in Fort Madison hasn’t opened yet.

Formal activity in the Iowa General Assembly will get underway at 10 a.m. today (Monday). In the senate, 25 members who were elected to a four-year term in November will take the oath of office. Senator-elect Mark Costello of Imogene won a special election on December 30th to serve out the remaining two years of Joni Ernst’s term in the state senate and he’ll be sworn in today, too. Costello — the soon-to-be-state-senator — was elected to a seat in the Iowa House on November 4th. His replacement in the House will be chosen in a special election sometime in February.

In addition, there was a special election last week in northwest Iowa, but the results won’t be certified in time for that new House member to be sworn in today. It means 98 members of the House will take the oath of office late this morning.

(Radio Iowa)