Officials with the Governor’s office say Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds this coming week, will travel to Coon Rapids, to sign Senate File 2344 into law. The bill will protect Iowa’s renewable fuels industry by extending the state’s biodiesel production tax credit and enhancing the state’s E15 retailer tax credit.

The event takes place at the POET ethanol facility at 1015 Grant Avenue in Coon Rapids, from 12:30-1:15-pm, Wed., May 21st.

Joining the Governor and Lt. Governor, will be Monte Shaw, Executive Director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA), and several renewable fuels and agriculture industry leaders.

321 PM CDT FRI MAY 16 2014

…NEAR FREEZING TEMPERATURES AND FROST TONIGHT…

MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES AND LIGHT WINDS WILL ALLOW FOR TEMPERATURES TO FALL TO NEAR FREEZING IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS. FROST WILL BE POSSIBLE ESPECIALLY ON ELEVATED SURFACES AND IN LOW LYING AREAS.

AREA COUNTIES: SAC-CRAWFORD-CARROLL-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS-CASS-ADAIR-MADISON-ADAMS-UNION-TAYLOR-RINGGOLD-MONONA-HARRISON-SHELBY-POTTAWATTAMIE-MILLS-MONTGOMERY-FREMONT- and PAGE.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A FROST ADVISORY…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM TO 7 AM CDT SATURDAY.

* TIMING…TEMPERATURES WILL FALL THROUGHOUT THE OVERNIGHT HOURS…WITH THE COLDEST TEMPERATURES OCCURRING IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS NEAR SUNRISE.

* TEMPERATURE...LOW TEMPERATURES WILL FALL INTO THE LOW AND MID 30S.

* IMPACTS…SENSITIVE OUTDOOR VEGETATION COULD BE DAMAGED OR KILLED IF LEFT UNPROTECTED…ESPECIALLY IN SHELTERED OR LOW LYING AREAS

 PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A FROST ADVISORY MEANS THAT FROST IS POSSIBLE. SENSITIVE OUTDOOR PLANTS MAY BE KILLED IF LEFT UNCOVERED.

Young Professionals of Atlantic and the Chamber Board of Directors partnered up recently to help with Spring Planting in downtown Atlantic. YPA President Kevin Wiser said  “We appreciate the board of directors coming out to help us plant the bed we adopt.”

Pictured: LaVon Elben, Lora Kanning, Dawn Marnin, Hannah Beaman

The Young Professionals have made the commitment to adopt a bed to help with downtown beautification. Wieser said “The group is big and we will rotate to keep the bed weed free.”

Pictured: Jenny Williams, Hans Krengel.

Pictured: Kevin Wieser, Hans Krengel, Stephanie Krengel, Hannah Beaman, Lora Kanning, Ouida, Wymer, Jessica Nichols, Tara Jennerjohn

Senator Chuck Grassley will hold six town meetings in Iowa during the week of May 26 as part of his annual 99-county tour. Grassley has held a meeting in each of Iowa’s 99 counties at least once every year since he was first elected to the U.S. Senate.

On May 28th, 29th and 30th, Grassley will be in Greenfield, Atlantic, Mount Ayr, Chariton, Pella, and Bloomfield. On Wednesday, May 28th, Grassley will hold Town Hall meetings:

• In Greenfield from 9:45-to 10:45-a.m., in the courtroom at the Adair County Courthouse.
• In Atlantic, from Noon-to 1 p.m. at Iowa Western Community College
• And in Mount Ayr, from 5-to 6-pm, in the Assembly Room at the Ringgold County Courthouse.

The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) board today (Friday), awarded direct financial assistance and tax benefits to nine companies for job creation and expansion projects. The awards will assist in the creation/retention of 484 jobs and will result in nearly $105 million in new capital investment for the state. The board also took action to support three innovation projects.

The board approved assistance for planned or proposed projects located in Burlington, Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Milford, Sioux City, Story City, Swisher, Tipton and West Des Moines. In Council Bluffs, the Echo Group, Incorporated, a holding company that operates 18 electrical product sales subsidiary locations in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota and South Dakota, is proposing a $11 million capital investment project to relocate the company’s wholesale division to a 13-acre site in Council Bluffs.

The project would include warehouse space, a large equipment/product storage area and a training center and administrative support services building in a campus setting. The IEDA board awarded the company tax benefits to create and retain 117 jobs. Currently the company employes about 400 people in four states.

The Carroll Police Department is currently searching for a male who is on the loose this morning after allegedly stabbing a female on North Main Street. With the suspect on the loose and near areas with the Carroll Community Schools the school district has been locked down for the safety of the students and employees. Parents were notified in a message from Superintendent Rob Cordes. The superintendent says all buildings are locked down after the stabbing that was two blocks from Adams Elementary School. He also say all students, teachers and administrators are safe.

Carroll Police Chief Jeff Cayler says his department, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department and a member of the State Fire Marshal’s Office are out looking for the man. “We would like to encourage the public to kind of keep their eyes peeled,” Cayler says. Chief Cayler asks that residents lock their doors. “I don’t know that the subject is going to be dangerous at this point, but we want to close all of his avenues of escape,” Cayler says. He says the man is a black male, approximately five-seven 150 pounds, 27 years old. Cayler asks anyone who sees the man to call 9-1-1 immediately.

The stabbing was reported at 7:20 this morning.

(Radio Iowa)

The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports a man wanted on a warrant for Possession of a Controlled Substance, turned himself-in this (Friday) morning.

Raymond Wiley

40-year old Raymond Dean Wiley, of Clarinda, was arrested at around 10-a.m. and posted $2,000 bond on the PCS charge, but since he was also wanted on a Federal warrant for being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Wiley was booked into the Page County Jail and held for Federal agents.

MANSON, Iowa (AP) – The City of Manson is having a big problem drilling a new well, and the reason could date back millions of years. The Fort Dodge Messenger reports Manson is trying for a fourth time to drill a well after three failed attempts.

The difficulty apparently is due to a meteor that struck an estimated 74 million years ago, creating what’s known as the Manson impact crater. There is no evidence of the meteor on the surface, but remnants remain under ground, complicating well drilling.

After an inability to tap a new steady supply of water, the city hired Aquetech Innovation, a Fort Dodge company that uses satellite imagery to find water. Mayor Dave George says it should be clear by Wednesday if current drilling has succeeded.

A Pottawattamie County man was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison, for being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm. The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports 22-year old Newberry Winfield Wright, of Oakland, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge James Gritzner to 36 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release after the term of imprisonment, for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

On February 6th, Wright pled guilty to the charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm which was the result of an investigation by law enforcement into a report of shots being fired at the Farm Creek Wildlife Area near Carson. Wright was located a short distance from the Farm Creek Wildlife Area by deputies with the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department. He was found to have in his possession a Smith and Wesson .50 caliber handgun and .50 caliber ammunition. Wright was prohibited from possessing a firearm after he pled guilty in 2012 to a felony controlled substance violation.

The investigation was conducted by the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3 percent in April as the state added more than 5,000 jobs. Iowa Workforce Development reported Friday that the rate was down from 4.5 percent in March. Last year, the April rate was 4.7 percent. The national unemployment rate was 6.3 percent in April.

Iowa’s rate declined as the state added 5,600 jobs, bringing the total nonfarm employment to 1,544,400.
The state had an estimated 73,700 unemployed residents in April.