Iowa’s largest city rates number-five in a new national list of best metropolitan areas to find a job. Allen Jones, spokesman for the employment website ZipRecruiter, says they ranked Des Moines and 49 other cities based on the volume of job postings.  “We have the unique ability to have access to a lot of data through small businesses posting jobs,” Jones says. “The way we looked at this, we said, where is unemployment really low and where is there a surplus of jobs based on the activity we see on ZipRecruiter. We took a more non-traditional approach to trying to figure out an index of what looked promising.”

The report shows Des Moines is the center of recession-proof industries like insurance and health care. Just to the west on Interstate 80 lies Omaha, which ranked number-two on the list. “The reason Des Moines came in at #5 is, as it compares to Omaha, the median home price is actually a bit lower,” Jones says. “Omaha comes in at $125,000 while Des Moines is at $106,000, but the unemployment rate is a little higher, 4.4%, while Omaha is a 3.9%, so it kicked it down a couple of notches.”

The website says Salt Lake City is the best place for job hunting. Others in the top five include Madison, Wisconsin, at third and Minneapolis/St. Paul in fourth place. Jones says there are some cities on the list you wouldn’t expect to see there.  “What you’ll see on our list of Top 10 or Top 50 cities for jobs is not the normal cities you’d see,” Jones says. “You see Des Moines, Iowa, and think, ‘Des Moines, really?’ but based on the volume of new jobs there, the unemployment rate, the cost of living and the median salaries, we see opportunity and we think it’s important to expose all of those things.”

ZipRecruiter’s rating is a bonus for Des Moines. The city made the Forbes list of Best Places for Business and Careers in 2010 and 2013, while NBC recently ranked Des Moines as the wealthiest city in America.

(Radio Iowa)

Two state legislators — one from western Iowa and one from eastern Iowa — are being honored with this year’s Herbert Hoover Uncommon Public Service Award. Nancy Boettger of Harlan is the award winner in the state senate.  “Wow. I’m overwhelmed,” Boettger said. “When I saw my family here this morning I never dreamed that that was this. Sarah just said: ‘We wanted to be all here, together, at one time while you were still here.'”

Boettger has served in the Senate since 1995, but she is not seeking reelection in November.  “Thanks so very much by this honor. I’m really overwhelmed and kind of speechless here, but when I get a chance — I’ll get another chance to talk to the senate now before I retire. Then you’ll hear some things from me,” Boettger said, with a laugh. “It’s your momma speaking.” Senate President Pam Jochum a Democrat from Dubuque, paid tribute to Boettger.  “As Senator Boettger retires from the senate this year, one of her nominators said, and I quote: ‘She will be remembered by her peers on both sides of the aisle as honorable, hard-working, generous and a sincere public servant,'” Jochum said.

Each year a member of the Senate and a member of the House receive the Hoover Award. This year’s House winner is Representative Steven Olson of DeWitt, a farmer who was first elected in 2002. Prior to his legislative service, Olson served two terms on the Calmus School Board. Herbert Hoover, the man for whom the award is named, is an Iowa native who saved the lives of well over a billion people in 57 countries when he ran post-war relief efforts in Europe.

(Radio Iowa)

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Council Bluffs students are getting hands-on experience working at a data center operated by the school district. The Daily Nonpareil reports the Council Bluffs Community School District unveiled the data center Tuesday night at Abraham Lincoln High School.  Students who are enrolled in the district’s Emerging Technologies Academy monitor and make repairs when needed to servers at the data center, which is used to store medical research data.

Google and Echo Group, a Council Bluffs electrical supplier, gave financial and technical support as part of the estimated $670,000 project. It took about six months to build the data center. Chris Russell, an operations manager at Google’s data center in Council Bluffs, says the new facility will expose students to real work experiences and get them interested in technology careers.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Utility officials say a Nebraska nuclear plant is operating at full power again after a brief outage last month.  The Omaha Public Power District said Tuesday that Fort Calhoun resumed generating electricity on March 19 – two days after a problem on the non-nuclear side of the plant during maintenance triggered the shutdown.   It reached full power on March 21st.

This is the second time Fort Calhoun went offline briefly since it restarted in December after a prolonged outage. Fort Calhoun, which sits about 20 miles north of Omaha, had been off line from April 2011 until December. It initially shut down for routine maintenance, but significant flooding in 2011, a small fire and a series of safety violations forced it to remain closed for more than two years.

The Harlan City Council, Tuesday, received an update on the Blue Zone initiative. During a regular board meeting, Margie Schenck, Chairperson for the Blue Zones Project, said the project is moving forward, as personal pledges are nearing the 820 minimum with 796 totals recorded as of the end of February.

The Blue Zone initiative was started two years ago when Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield started the process to select communities in Iowa as Blue Zones. The city of Harlan was chosen as a demonstration site on the second round of the selection process in October 2012. Schenck says several entities in the city are working towards becoming certified for Blue Zones.

“There are six different areas but each represent work in different areas. One is schools as both elementary schools are working towards certification. We have two groceries stores, Hy-Vee and Fareway working towards certification. We are working with three restaurants and hoping for a fourth. At the beginning of the process, they (Wellmark) identified twenty different worksites they thought would be a good match for certification for Blue Zones. We are actively working with twelve.”

She also mentioned Myrtue Medical Center in Harlan has been certified. Schenck said this project is something she believes will benefit the city of Harlan long term. “We want to look at our community five years from now, ten years from now. Even fifty years from now to see that the efforts we made now have allowed Harlan to become a community where people can thrive.”

The deadline for the city of Harlan to be certified as a whole is July 31st. If you would like more information on the Blue Zones initiative contact Margie Schenck at 712-755-3547 or log on to www.bluezones.com.

And, during his report to the Council, Harlan Mayor Gene Gettys noted the “Today in America” video has been finalized and a schedule will be released soon on when you can watch the 5 minute segment on national television.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

Officials with the Western Iowa Pioneer Cemetery Association appeared before the Shelby County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday, to speak with regard to a pioneer cemetery. Chairman Ron Chamberlain spoke to the board as the association was looking for the supervisors to help gain entrance to the Doyle Cemetery located in Grove Township in Rural Shelby County. The Doyle Cemetery is a pioneer cemetery which falls under a different category.

“Pioneer Cemetery means a cemetery where there have been 12 or fewer burials in the last fifty years. Each county board of supervisors may adopt an ordinance assuming jurisdictions and control of pioneer cemeteries in the county. The board shall exercise the powers and duties to township trustees related to the maintenance and repair of the cemeteries in the county. Except the board shall not certify a tax levy but instead maintenance and repair of all cemeteries under the jurisdiction of the county including pioneer cemeteries shall be paid from the general fund. The maintenance and improvement program pioneer cemeteries may include restoration and management of native grasses and wild flowers.”

Currently the entrance to the Doyle Cemetery is only open between the months of September to April due to the ground around the cemetery is farmed by the landowner. The discussion focused around who was responsible for the maintenance and access to the Cemetery. The Supervisors agreed that the trustees of the townships are responsible for pioneer cemeteries and landowners would need to agree to allow access to develop a pathway to the cemeteries. Ron Chamberlain, Chairman of WIPCA said the trustees have not been doing their job.  “Because I would say in the last 100 years, 5 years the cemetery has been mowed by the trustees. They are not taking care of it.”

County Attorney Marcus Gross said it would be up to the trustees to report to the landowner about establishing a road.  “I think what would probably happen is the trustees would notify the surrounding landowner to cease and desist from farming it so that it could be re-established. That’s just off thought on that. I don’t think just by moving the fence it did not make it not a cemetery. I think it’s still a cemetery.”

Supervisor Steve Kenkel said he would like to see a sit down with all parties involved to get something resolved.  “I would like to see us get together with the trustees and I personally would help with that and see if we can get some kind of access. There is realistically only a couple of landlords that can probably or could give us access. I am not saying build a road. What I am talking about is putting a small strip of ground, seeded down, access off another road where you can get in there and don’t destroy it after a rain. It’s not perfectly what we want but it is somewhere in the middle. Is that a goal we can work on? WIPCA Members agreed.”

No timetable on when a joint meeting will occur was established and more information will come out at a later date.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

Police in Lenox report the arrest on Tuesday afternoon, of a local woman on an assault charge. Officers were called to the Casey’s General Store in Lenox at around 4:35-p.m., with regard to a disturbance.

Elizabeth Villanueva (Lenox P-D photo)

Following an investigation,  29-year old Elizabeth Villanueva, of Lenox, was located at her home and arrested on a charge of simple assault.  The woman was transported to the Taylor County Jail.

w/ Ric Hanson

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IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A friend says a prominent Des Moines developer found dead in Guthrie County days after leaving federal prison, had borrowed his car to check in with a parole officer and never returned. Neil Henderson of Waukee said Tuesday that his lifelong friend, Bob Knapp, stayed overnight at his house last week after being released from prison in Duluth, Minn.

Knapp was sentenced to 41 months behind bars after being convicted of violating the Clean Air Act for mishandling the disposal of asbestos from a landmark Des Moines building he renovated. Henderson says Knapp borrowed his Honda Accord to check in with his parole officer the next morning, and never returned.

A farmer found Knapp’s body in the backseat of the burned out vehicle in Guthrie County, on Sunday. Police are investigating the death.