What does the future hold for downtown Avoca?  Community residents and business persons will have a chance to chime in as part of the Downtown Avoca Market Study project being orchestrated by Avoca Main Street, Inc.  Brent Hansen, President said a special project team assembled by Avoca Main Street, Inc. initiated work on the project last week. Avoca Main Street, the local non-profit group spearheading downtown Avoca revitalization efforts, is performing the study to fine-tune and enhance downtown business development and marketing strategies.

Hansen said the study will include an in-depth analysis of input collected from local business and consumer surveys to be conducted in March and April. Project team members are in the midst of the project’s initial discovery phase that includes the collection and review of background information and an assessment of the downtown business climate. The team is also reviewing current demographic and economic data to assess conditions and to identify possible opportunities for business retention, expansion and recruitment.

According to Hansen “The raw data and numbers that we’re reviewing now is good, important information, but we’ll be digging deeper to explore opportunities for downtown Avoca. We’re excited to gather the perspectives and ideas of Avoca area residents, visitors and business persons who will be participating in surveys. As a result, we’ll gain a better sense of what downtown Avoca can be in the future, and how the community can focus its efforts to make positive things happen in the downtown.”

“Ultimately,” he said, “the information and input will be used to create strategies aimed at retaining and developing a quality mix of businesses and uses that, based on solid market data, show the best potential to succeed in downtown Avoca.”

Special components of the study, scheduled for completion this summer, include business and consumer surveys designed to identify and assess opportunities for business expansion and recruitment in the downtown business district, and recommendations for the implementation of related projects and activities.

According to Brent Hansen, “Throughout all phases of the project, we’ll actively seek input from all sectors of the community. We’ll be asking lots of questions and exploring a broad range of scenarios in an attempt to determine a direction that’s right for downtown Avoca,”

Avoca is among a select group of communities receiving technical assistance and support from Main Street Iowa in 2015 to complete a local market study. United States Department of Agriculture Rural Community Development Initiative funding and Community Development Block Grant funding were procured by Iowa Economic Development Authority to underwrite market analysis training and technical assistance furnished to a select group of Main Street Iowa communities in 2015.

For more information about study and opportunities to participate, contact Anna Hoegh, Director at mainstreet@cityofavoca.com.

(Press Release)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s newly sworn-in Sen. Joni Ernst says she is thrilled to be getting down to business. Ernst was officially sworn in Tuesday morning in Washington. The Republican from Red Oak was joined for the ceremony by Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley and former Sen. Tom Harkin, the Democrat whose retirement created an opening for Ernst.

Ernst says she is excited to be working for Iowans and pledged to protect the state’s farmers and push for government efficiency. Ernst scored a decisive victory in November, helping the GOP take control of the Senate. She started the race as a relatively unknown state senator but soared to national stardom, promoting her farm upbringing and role as a lieutenant colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Three men face a total of more than 150 charges in connection with fish and game violations in Greene County. The state Department of Natural Resources says 20-year-old Hossein Kolbehrdari, of Ankeny, 21-year-old Maxwell McGlothlen, of Ankeny, and 22-year-old Rheise Presnall, of Polk City, face a variety of charges.

Kolbehrdari’s charges include unlawful possession of game birds or animals. McGlothlen’s charges include not having a hunting license and possessing a rifle while deer hunting. Presnall is accused of illegal possession of a whitetail deer, among other charges.

Officials in November conducted a search of a rental home where the men were staying. Each faces different fines. Court records do not list attorneys.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Pharmacy Board says it supports reclassifying a marijuana extract for the treatment of epilepsy, but the group has declined to make any broader changes supported by medical marijuana advocates.  The Des Moines Register reports the board approved a recommendation Monday that state lawmakers reclassify the extract, which has little of the chemical THC used to make recreational marijuana users high.

Board member James Miller says the extract’s reclassification would help Iowa code conform to a state law passed last spring. But he noted that Iowa pharmacies would be unlikely to carry the extract unless federal law was clear that it is legal. Board Chairman Edward Maier says state lawmakers should tackle the legal implications of the reclassification.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – The break of a large water line in Sioux City caused a residential street to collapse and left more than a dozen homes without water service. The Sioux City Journal reports the 16-inch water main broke Sunday, causing a block of Macomb Avenue to collapse. Water service also was cut off to 15 homes, and nine customers lost gas service until a temporary line could be installed. Water service was restored Tuesday morning to all but one home.

Such breaks can happen in the winter, when temperature changes cause the ground to swell and contract. That squeezes and shifts underground pipes, which over time can rupture. City crews were hampered in their response by temperatures near zero.

Officials with the Iowa Department of Transportation report the combination of light, blowing snow and cold surface temperatures could result in icy roadways today (Tuesday) due to a phenomenon called wheel-track glazing. “Wheel-track glazing” is caused by warm tires trapping the ground-level light, blowing snow. As more vehicles travel over the same wheel tracks, a glaze of ice forms that becomes very slippery. The condition is very difficult for Iowa Department of Transportation crews to treat because the ice is continuously forming on heavily traveled roadways.

Saving lives and preventing the risk of serious injury under these conditions requires: A basic understanding of the conditions that contribute to wheel-track glazing; Access to current road weather information; The exercising of good judgment; and adherence to simple safety tips.

See the Iowa DOT’s website www.iowadot.gov/maintenance/wheeltrackglazing.html to learn more about the formation of the roadway glaze and its consequences.

For drivers, the consequences of wheel-track glazing can be serious. Stopping distances are 10 times greater than on dry pavement and double that of packed snow. Here are some tips for driving on icy roads, when travel is necessary….

Postpone your trip if possible; On “Ice and Snow … Take It Slow.”; Give you full attention to the driving task. Do not use a mobile communication device while driving; Turn off the vehicle’s cruise control.
Put a safe distance between your vehicle and others sharing the roadway; Keep your windshield clear of snow and ice; Turn on your vehicle’s lights; Allow extra travel time; and if you are starting to skid, tap the breaks. Do not push down and hold the brake pedal.

To discover all the ways in which you can receive around-the-clock Iowa traveler information, visit 511ia.org.

One person was injured during a collision this (Tuesday) morning, in Adair County. The Iowa State Patrol says 54-year old Marilyn Harden, of Casey, was transported to the Adair County Memorial Hospital in Greenfield by Adair Rescue following the crash at around 6:20-a.m. on Interstate 80 just east of Casey.

Officials say Harden and 41-year old Michael Reha, of Adair, were traveling east on I-80 in the right lane, when for reasons unknown, Reha’s 2006 Chevy pickup rear-ended Harden’s 2012 Ford Escape. Harden told authorities she was driving 45-to 50-miles per hour prior to the crash.

The collision forced her SUV into the median, while Reha’s pickup came to rest on the right shoulder of the eastbound lanes. The ISP was assisted at the scene by deputies with the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office.

Three Atlantic residents were arrested recently on unrelated charges. The P-D reports 29-year old Shaun Williams and 36-year old Maria Frederickson were arrested Monday. Williams was charged with OWI/3rd offense, and Driving While Barred. Fredericksen was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

And on Sunday, Atlantic Police arrested 23-year old Nicholas Anderson on warrants charging him with Domestic Abuse Assault and Violating his Probation.

All three subjects were booked into the Cass County Jail.

Sheriff’s officials in Audubon County report the arrest Monday afternoon of a Brayton man. 18-year old Zachary Paul Kliefoth was taken into custody at around 10-p.m. following a traffic stop on Main Street, in Exira. He’s been charged with OWI/1st offense.

Kliefoth was brought to the Audubon County Jail and later released on his own recognizance. A passenger in the vehicle, 17-year old Matthew Peppers, of Exira, was cited for Minor in Possession. His charge was referred to Juvenile Court.

In an update to our stories late Monday night and early this (Tuesday) morning, police in Harlan have added more information to a report filed by the Iowa State Patrol. The H-PD says at around 10:15-p.m., Monday, an officer clocked a 2008 Honda CRV as 51-mph in a 25mph zone, as the car was traveling southbound on 7th Street near Chatburn Avenue. The vehicle left the road and went south through open lots, fields, ditches and other terrain.

The suspect’s vehicle eventually made it into Southwest Avenue and then onto Linden Road at a high rate of speed. During the pursuit, the Honda was clocked at 110-miles per hour. About 4.5-miles south of Harlan, while on U-S Highway 59, the vehicle left the road and entered a field, where it crashed. The driver, 43-year old Kenneth Duane Kokemiller, of Perry, was taken into custody at the scene and transported to Myrtue Memorial Hospital, where he was treated and the released to the custody of authorities. Scanner reports at the time of his arrested indicated the man was acting aggressively toward the officer, and was being held at gunpoint until backup could arrive.

An investigation determined the Honda has been stolen from Story County. Kokemiller was being held in the Shelby County Jail for Possession of Stolen Property, and numerous traffic violations. Harlan Police were assisted during the incident by deputies with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and troopers with the Iowa State Patrol.