712 Digital Group - top

KJAN News

KJAN News can be heard at five minutes after every hour right after Fox News 24 hours a day!
Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa,  Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!

Storms dump heavy rain/hail and destructive winds

News, Weather

June 4th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Waves of storms moving through western Iowa Tuesday evening into early this (Wednesday) morning, brought destructive winds, hail and heavy rain. The National Weather Service out of Valley, NE. will send a survey team to the Oakland area this morning to assess damage following a possible tornado that may have been responsible for knocking roofs off grain elevators.

The first wave of storms rolled into western Iowa from Nebraska Tuesday afternoon and evening, knocking out power for several hours to more than 5,100 customers of OPPD in Omaha. Mid American Energy reports 2,677 customers were still without power in Council Bluffs this morning.

Damage reports from around the area include downed trees in Council Bluffs, where there were numerous incidents of streets flooding, and water over the hoods of vehicles. In Corning, numerous homes and outbuildings were damaged by falling tree limbs, which also took out power lines not only in Corning, but elsewhere in Adams County. Large hail shattered some windshields in Corning, and damaged a fire department vehicle.

Montgomery County officials say high winds caused extensive damage in the Red Oak area, where several trees fell on vehicles and there were scattered power outages, but no immediate reports of structural damage. Roads across southwest Iowa were temporarily flooded and/or blocked by flood debris last night. In Cass County, there was debris reported between 550th and Victoria Roads, after flood waters crossed in that area.

Thunderstorm winds estimated at 86 miles per hour whipped through an area northeast of Massena Tuesday evening, while ping-pong ball to egg-sized hail pounding the same area. There were also reports of 2-to 3-foot diameter tree limbs crashing to the ground in Massena as the first wave of storms blew through. Street flooding was reported in Griswold for a time Tuesday evening, with water hubcap deep at times.

For a chronological listing of storm reports and damage, go to the Weather page at KJAN.com and scroll through the warnings and other information to find our Storm report.

Area Primary Election results – Summary

News

June 4th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

The winners of local and most state primary elections have been tallied, with only the U-S Representative in District 3 left to be determined. Here is a summary of some local election results. These figures will not become official until canvassed in the respective counties.

In Cass County, Mary Ward beat out three other Republicans in garnering nearly 46.5% (811) of the 1,747 votes to win the Recorder’s job. Shelly Glynn was a distant second, with 27.65% (483) of the votes. Incumbent County Attorney Dan Fiestner was defeated by Dave Wiederstein, who received a little more than 64% of the votes cast (1,112) to Feistner’s 35.47% (613).  Feistner reflected on the results during Wednesday morning’s Cass County Board of Supervisor’s meeting. He said “Obviously the primary didn’t turn out too good for me yesterday, but hey, live and press on, right?” Feistner, who has served the County for 10-years, will remain as the County Attorney until the end of the current calendar year (December 31). Supervisors Gaylord Schelling and Mark Wedemeyer were unopposed in the Primary, as was County Treasurer Tracey J. Marshall.

In Adair County, Incumbent Republican Supervisor Cliff Sheriff lost the Primary to his Republican challenger Brian Rohrig in District 4. Rohrig garnered 64.3% of the vote, and moves on to face Dem. Jodie Hoadley in the November 4th General Election.

In Adams County, Republican Leland Shipley will meet Democrat Tyler Edwards in November, to determine who will sit in the District 4 Supervisor’s seat. Shipley beat fellow Republican Kevin Olsen to advance to the General Election.

In Guthrie County, Incumbent Republican Clifford Carney received nearly 61% of the vote and moves on to face Democrat Kerry Sheeder in November, to determine the winner of the Supervisor seat in District 2, while incumbent Republican Thomas Rutledge was the winner in the District 4 race.

In Montgomery County, your Republican winners include: Steven Ratcliff – Supervisor, District 1; Joshua Wiig – Supervisor, District 2; and Mark L. Peterson – Supervisor, District 4.

In  Shelby County, Republican Geralyn Greer and Democrat Jessica Gessert will meet in November to determine who will become the County Recorder, after both women beat out their respective challengers in the Primary. And, in Pottawattamie County, Republican Mark Brandenburg will face Democrat Flory Blount in November, to determine the winner of the County Recorder’s job. Republican incumbents Scott Belt and Loren Knauss, along with Justin Schultz, were the winners of a seven man Republican race for three seats on the Board of Supervisors.

For any other results, go to the Iowa Secretary of State’s website at sos.iowa.gov.

Third district race will be decided by convention delegates

News

June 4th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Republican voters in Iowa’s third congressional district failed to push a candidate across the 35 percent mark needed to secure the G-O-P nomination, so a convention will be held to pick the party’s candidate for November. Brad Zaun, a former Urbandale mayor and a current member of the state senate, was the top vote-getter, with just under 25 percent support in the primary. “My message is not going to change,” Zaun says. “Obviously going to be having a lot of conversations with all the delegates. I’ve already contacted all of them once. I personally called all of them, I’m guessing probably it’s been a couple of months ago.”

Robert Cramer, a construction company executive from Johnston, was just three-and-a-half percentage points behind Zaun. “We knew it would be tough to really pull away from the pack,” Cramer says. “But we feel like being our first time out and not being a politician that we ran a really good campaign, had a lot of good volunteers going a lot of work and we’re really pleased where we’re ending up that we think we can now make a good case to the delegates that we’d be the right guy for the job.”

The third place finisher, with just over 20 percent of the vote, was Matt Schultz, a former Council Bluffs city councilman who is currently serving as Iowa’s secretary of state. “We always thought this would go to convention,” Schultz says. “We’ve been preparing a convention strategy and now we’re going to execute it. My campaign’s always been about grassroots and I feel like a nominating convention is a great place for me.”

Six candidates rushed to run in the district after Republican Congressman Tom Latham’s surprise announcement in December that he would not seek reelection. Iowa Renewable Fuels Association executive director Monte Shaw finished in fourth place, with nearly 17 percent of Tuesday’s primary vote, followed by David Young, a former aide to Senator Grassley, who finished in fifth with about 15-and-a-half percent. The other candidate, Des Moines P-E teacher Joe Grandanette, finished with just 666 votes.

Iowa is one of just 11 states that require a candidate to secure 35 percent of the vote in a primary to become their party’s General Election nominee. Iowa Republican Party leaders have not set the date or location where party delegates in the third district will select a congressional nominee. A nominating convention is a rarity in Iowa politics. The last time it happened was in 2002, when Republicans chose Steve King as their congressional candidate in Iowa’s old fifth district. King had finished first in a four-way primary with just under 30 percent of the vote.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa early News Headlines: Wed., June 4th 2014

News

June 4th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State Sen. Joni Ernst has won the Republican primary for an Iowa U.S. Senate seat held for 30 years by retiring Democrat Tom Harkin. The 43-year-old Ernst won the nomination over five candidates. She’ll face Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley in the November general election. If she wins election to the Senate, Ernst would become the first Iowa woman elected to Congress.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has easily won the Republican nomination for governor as he seeks a record sixth term in office. Branstad had no trouble in Tuesday’s primary election, in which he faced conservative political activist Tom Hoefling. Branstad now will run against Democratic state Sen. Jack Hatch of Des Moines in the November general election.

MAQUOKETA, Iowa (AP) — A man convicted of killing his stepmother in 1987 and then setting fire to their Maquoketa home will now be eligible for parole. Judge Thomas Reidel on Tuesday ruled that James Corder could be eligible for parole after 25 years in prison. He’s served 26 years.

BERRIEN SPRINGS, Mich. (AP) — Searchers have found the body of a 17-year-old Iowa boy in a lake in southwestern Michigan. The Berrien County sheriff’s department says that crews found the body of Tyler Albers about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in Berrien Springs. Authorities say one 17-year-old swimmer made it out of the water Monday evening and the other went under and didn’t surface.

Ernst wins Iowa Republican primary for US Senate

News

June 3rd, 2014 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – State Sen. Joni Ernst has won the Republican primary for an Iowa U.S. Senate seat held for 30 years by retiring Democrat Tom Harkin. The 43-year-old Ernst won the nomination over five candidates. She’ll face Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley in the November general election.Joni Ernst

All the Republicans seeking the nomination described themselves as deeply conservative, but Ernst managed to stand out in part due to two television ads. One featured her on a farm, talking about her experience castrating hogs, and the other showed her firing a handgun.

Ernst also received endorsements from a variety of groups and individuals, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Rifle Association and Sarah Palin. If she wins election to the Senate, Ernst would become the first Iowa woman elected to Congress.

 

(Final Tally) Area June 3rd 2014 Primary Election Results – Contested races only

News

June 3rd, 2014 by Ric Hanson

(Rep.= Republican; Dem.= Democrat; I=Incumbent) *unofficial final results….
Cass County – Voter turnout: 19%
Recorder (Select 1)
Mary Ward (Rep.) –  811 (46%) WINNER
Jess Ehrman (Rep.) – 306
Shelly Glynn (Rep.) – 483  (27.5%)
Delbert Thurman (Rep.) – 145

Attorney (Select 1)
Dan Feistner (I, Rep.) –  613 (35.5%)
Dave Wiederstein (Rep.) – 1,112 (64%) WINNER

Adair County
Supervisor, District 4 (Select 1)
Cliff Sheriff (I, Rep.) – 55 (35.7%)
Brian Rohrig (Rep.) – 99 (64.3%) WINNER
Winner to face Jodie Hoadley (Dem) in November 4th Gen. Election

Adams County
Supervisor, District 4 (Select 1)
Kevin Olson (Rep.) – 29
Leland Shipley (Rep.) – 66 WINNER
Winner to face Tyler Edwards (Dem.) in Nov.

Guthrie County
Supervisor, District 2 (Select 1)
Clifford Carney (I, Rep.) – 133 (60.7%) WINNER
Todd Hambleton (Rep.) – 86 (39.3%)
Winner faces Dem. Kerry Sheeder in Nov.
Supervisor, District 4
Bruce Lauritsen (Rep.) – 57
Thomas Rutledge (I, Rep.) – 154 WINNER

Montgomery County
Supervisor, District 1 (*Select 1)
Steven D. Ratcliff (I, Rep.) – 142 WINNER
Steven J. Behrens, (Rep.) – 130
Supervisor, District 2 (Select 1)
Karen Blue (I, Rep.) – 113
Joshua Wiig (Rep.) – 141 WINNER
Supervisor, District 4 (*Select 1)
Randall Tye (I, Rep.) – 40
Brian Coughlin (Rep.) – 117
Mark L. Peterson (Rep.) – 251* WINNER

Shelby County
Recorder (Select 1 Rep. & 1 Dem.)
Geralyn Greer (Rep.) – 654 (73.73%) WINNER
Renee Hansen (Rep.) – 166 (18.71%)
Collen Oliver (Rep.) – 67 (7.55%)
Jessica Gessert (Dem.) – 75 (62.5%) WINNER
Larry Wendt (Dem.) – 43 (35.83%)
(Winners advance to the Nov. 4th General election)

Pottawattamie County
Recorder (Select 1)
Mark Brandenburg (Rep.) – 2,978 WINNER
Bill White (Rep.) – 889
Winner faces Dem. Flory Blount in Nov.
Board of Supervisors (*Select 3)
Scott Belt (I, Rep.) – 1,767 *
Lynn Leaders (I, Rep.) – 1,359
Loren Knauss (I, Rep.) – 1,637 *
Justin Schultz (Rep.) – 1,753 *
Tim Wichman (Rep.) – 1,504
Steve Leaders (Rep.) – 996
Brian Lund (Rep.) – 1,168

State & Nat’l. Government Races
State Senate District 11 (Select 1)
Art Hill (Rep.) – 1,263 (29.7%)
Tom Shipley (Rep.) – 2,984 (70.1%) WINNER

U-S Representative District 3 (Select 1) (Republican)
(winner faces Dem. Staci Appel in Nov.) TO BE DECIDED BY CONVENTION (none of the candidates met the 35% criteria for a win)
Robert Cramer – 9,107 (21.2%)
Joe Grandanette – 666 (1.6%)
Matt Schultz – 8,618 (20.1%)
Monte Shaw – 7,260 (16.9%)
David Young – 6,683 (15.6%)
Brad Zaun – 10.578 (24.6%)

U-S Senate (Republican) (Select 1) (winner faces Dem. Bruce Braley in Nov.)
Joni Ernst – 88,692 (56.1%) WINNER
Mark Jacobs – 26,582 (16.8%)
Scott Schaben – 2,270 (1.4%)
Matt Whitaker – 11,909 (7.5%)
Sam Clovis – 28,434 (18%)

Governor (Select 1) (winner faces Dem. Jack Hatch in Nov.)
Terry Branstad (I, Rep.) – 129,712 (83%) WINNER
Tom Hoefling (Rep.) – 26,284 (16.8%)

Property damage accident in Clarinda

News

June 3rd, 2014 by Ric Hanson

An accident Tuesday afternoon in Clarinda caused $6,000 damage, but no one was injured. According to the Clarinda Police Department, a 2007 International tractor-trailer driven by 49-year old Daniel Dean Powers, of Omaha, was traveling east on Chestnut Street at around 3:15-p.m. When Powers went to turn north onto 11th Street, he didn’t seem some low hanging power lines. The top of the semi snagged the power lines, causing them to fall, and uproot a light pole.

The mishap also pulled two electrical services from two separate houses. No citations were issued.

Disaster Declaration for Pottawattamie County

News

June 3rd, 2014 by Ric Hanson

(DES MOINES) – Gov. Terry E. Branstad this (Tuesday) evening issued a proclamation of disaster emergency for one county in response to Tuesday’s storms. The Governor’s proclamation, for Pottawattamie County, allows state resources to be utilized to respond to and recover from the effects of the storms.

As of 8:30 p.m., Tuesday, no other Iowa counties have requested state assistance. The Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the Governor’s Office continue to closely monitor the situation.

(Updated story) Storms force voting delays in some Iowa counties

News

June 3rd, 2014 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Election officials sought shelter in Pottawattamie County after a severe storm interrupted voting in a quarter of the western Iowa county’s polling places.  Auditor Mary Jo Drake says at about 5 p.m. Tuesday, poll workers and voters in 10 of the county’s 40 precincts were forced to seek shelter in the buildings where voting was taking place. Drake says several polling places were “right in the eye of the storm.” She says elections officials suspended voting but returned to normal after the storm passed.

No polling places had lost power, but Drake says, “It’s nasty here. It’s as black as the ace of spades.”  Stormy weather also prompted election officials in neighboring Montgomery County to close and evacuate all polls from 5:40 p.m. to 6:10 p.m.

Storm reports from Tue., 6/3/14

News, Weather

June 3rd, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Time              Event                                                      Location

5-a.m. (6/4)  Rainfall total in Atlantic 2.47″.

10:45-p.m.    Rainfall in Atlantic (at KJAN) 2.10″ .

8:29-p.m.     Quarter-sized hail SW of Lenox in Taylor County

8:10-p.m.     Rainfall in Atlantic (at KJAN) 1.8″.

7:40-p.m.     Several trees reported down in Red Oak.

7:20-p.m.     Heavy rain (2.5″) 7 miles w/sw of Cumberland.

7:12-p.m.     1″ of rain in 30 minutes in Mills Co.,  2 miles n. of Glenwood.

7:09-p.m.     Tstorm wind damage in Diagonal (Ringgold Co.): many trees & utility poles down; numerous outbuildings down in and around Diagonal.

6:57-p.m.     EMA reports trees down on homes in Corning & severe tree damage County-wide. Multiple roads closed due to downed trees.

6:56-p.m.     Power outages and several miles of damage between Silver City and Mineola in Mills County.

6:55-p.m     Golf ball sized hail 4 miles e. of Sharpsburg in Taylor County; Shallow water over the road; 5-inch dia. tree branches down near 170th & Tennessee.

6:53-p.m.     Thunderstorm wind damage 2 mile east of Clearfield in Ringgold County. Significant wind damage south & east of Clearfield; Trees across roads; Power poles snapped in-two; steel shed destroyed.  6:48-p.m.: 80mph winds & gold ball sized hail 1 mile s. of Clearfiled. Car windshield shattered.

6:40/6:46-p.m.     Thunderstorm wind gust 75mph 3-miles east of Lenox in Taylor County. Golf Ball sized hail. Damage to outbuilding.

6:37-p.m.    Thunderstorm wind gust 86mph 2 mile north/northeast of Massena, in Cass County. Also Ping Pong to egg-sized hail.

6:35-p.m.     T-storm wind damage: 3 miles N. of Clearfield in Taylor County. Large Camper trailer blown over & several trees destroyed. (report delayed to 6/4)

6:30-p.m.     Thunderstorm wind gust 90mph 1 mile west of Missouri Valley, in Harrison County. Downburst winds tore roofs off two motels.

6:30-p.m.     Rainfall in Atlantic at KJAN amounts to 1.39″.

6:26-p.m.    T-storm wind damage 1.5 miles E. of Lenox: Large shed completely destroyed.

6:25-p.m.     2″ diameter Hail in Lenox,

6:18-p.m.     2″ diameter (egg size) hail in Lenox.

6:06-p.m.     Tstrm wind damage to trees north of Corning.

6:04-p.m.     86mph wind 2 miles N/NE of Clearfield in Taylor County

6:00-p.m.     T-storm wind damged 4 miles sw of Corning; Significant damage to a home near Brooks, siding & shutters wrecked, windows broken by hail. (report released 6/4 10:45-a.m.)

6:00-p.m.     Tstrm wind damage in Massena (2-3 foot diameter tree limbs down

5:59-p.m.     Golf ball-sized hail 4 miles west of Corning in Adams Co. along Hwy 34.

5:57-p.m.     Quarter-size (1″ diameter) hail & 50mph winds 3 miles w/sw of Carbon in Adams County/

5:51-p.m.     Thunderstorm wind gust 65mph 5 miles s/se of Atlantic. Torrential rainfall.

5:50-p.m.     Thunderstorm wind gust 60mph 5 miles east of Griswold. Heavy rain. Small tree limb damage.

5:44-p.m.     Heavy rain in Griswold. Street flooding. Water flowing hubcap deep down the streets.

5:40-p.m.     Flash flooding in Council Bluffs around 17th and 2nd Avenue.

5:36-p.m.     Thunderstorm wind gust 83mph 5 miles northeast of Emerson in Montgomery County.

4:55-pm        Thunderstorm wind gust 61mph at the Council Bluffs Airport.

4:40-p.m.     Thunderstorm wind gust 80mph between Crescent & Underwood.

4:30-p.m.    2.75″ diameter hail (Baseball size) 9 miles s. of Mt. Ayr (Ringgold County). Spotter reports more than 5″ of rain fell with their gauge overflowing. A neighbor had 6″ of rain over the past 24-hours ending at 11-a.m. Wed. (6/4).