The Daily NonPareil report two Council Bluffs Boy Scouts who were burned in an explosion Thursday evening were released Saturday from St. Elizabeth Regional Medical Center in Lincoln. Jared Holcomb, a senior at Abraham Lincoln High School, and Scott Brown, a junior at Abraham Lincoln — were among a group of scouts who were working a project involving gun powder for a spring ceremony.

The explosion occurred at a home at 205 Kingsridge Drive. Fire officials said four other people suffered minor injuries.

AREA COUNTIES:  SAC-CRAWFORD-CARROLL-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS-CASS-ADAIR-MADISON-ADAMS-UNION-TAYLOR-RINGGOLD
603 AM CDT SUN MAR 30 2014

    …ELEVATED FIRE DANGER THIS AFTERNOON…

STRONG SOUTH WINDS OF 25 TO 30 MPH…WITH GUSTS NEAR 40 MPH AT
TIMES…WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE AREA LATE THIS MORNING AND
AFTERNOON. THE GUSTY WINDS WILL PERSIST THROUGH EARLY EVENING. IN
ADDITION…RATHER DRY AIR IS EXPECTED ACROSS THE AREA WITH
RELATIVE HUMIDITY FALLING TO AROUND 30 TO 35 PERCENT AT TIMES
TODAY FROM NOON THROUGH EARLY EVENING. THIS WILL LEAD TO AN
ENHANCED FIRE DANGER…WITH ANY FIRES THAT START EXPECTED TO
SPREAD RAPIDLY. BURNING IS HIGHLY DISCOURAGED TODAY.

SIMILAR CONDITIONS WILL RETURN TO SOUTHWEST AREAS MONDAY WITH
GUSTY WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY.

One person was seriously injured during a rollover accident Saturday evening, on the southern outskirts of Council Bluffs. The Iowa State Patrol says 46-year old Cynthia Devault, of Council Bluffs, who was not wearing a seat belt, was flown by LifeNet helicopter to Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha following the crash on Interstate 29 southbound near Lake Manawa, at around 6:10-p.m., Saturday.

Officials say for reasons unknown, Devault’s 2007 Chevy Impala swerved to the right across both lanes of traffic and entered the southbound ditch before rolling up and over a dirt berm and coming to rest on its top.

The accident happened at around the 46.25-mile marker.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) – The University of Northern Iowa Panther Marching Band will ring in the new year in the Old World. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that the band has been asked to march in the London New Year’s Day Parade on Jan. 1st.  Danny Galyen, director of the UNI marching band, says he believes it will be the first time the UNI band has performed internationally.

A selection committee of top-tier music educators made recommendations about which bands to invite. Thousands of featured performers from around the world will march past such landmarks as Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster.

The parade’s website says it attracts twice as many spectators as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in New York.

A single-vehicle rollover  accident late Saturday morning in rural Cass County claimed the life of  a Griswold teen. The crash was reported at 11:52-a.m. near 70828 570th Street, or about two-miles south of Highway 92, southeast of Griswold. Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy Corey Larsen told KJAN News 18-year-old Austin Oldenkamp, of rural Griswold was traveling northbound in a 2006 Chevy Monte Carol, when for reasons unknown, he lost control of the car. The vehicle entered the west ditch and rolled twice before coming to rest upright. Oldenkamp was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the crash site by Griswold Fire and Rescue, Medivac ambulance, and Iowa DNR Officer and the Iowa State Patrol.

With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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A landmark building in downtown Des Moines caught fire and partially collapsed early this (Saturday) morning. KCCI-TV reports large numbers of firefighters and equipment responded to the three-alarm blaze at the former Younkers Department Store near 7^th and Walnut Streets. The blaze was reported at 12:50-a.m., and within minutes it was upgraded to a three-alarm fire.

Witnesses reported huge flames leaping from the upper floors of the building.  Video captured by one witness shows a huge part of one wall collapsing into the street. The upper floors of the structure were fully engulfed in flames when the first firefighting crews arrived. The flames spread quickly according to fire officials, because the building was under construction and many interior rooms were open.

As of 7-a.m., firefighters remained on the scene pouring water on what remains of the building. The inside of the building has collapsed. Buildings to the east and south of Younkers were damaged by falling debris and smoke, and nearby the Hub Tower was evacuated. It sustained significant damage due to the fire, including shattered windows and heat damage.

There is no word yet on what started the fire.

Police in Red Oak arrested a 35-year old man on an assault charge this (Saturday) morning. Officials say Tyler Geoffrey Jennings, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 5-a.m. on a charge of Domestic Abuse Assault. Jennings was being held without bond, in the Montgomery County Jail.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Friday, released their latest precipitation information and drought report. Officials say the past two weeks have been unusually dry across most of Iowa. The statewide average precipitation was 0.19 inches, while normal for the period is 1.01 inches. Salem in Henry County in southeast Iowa was one exception, receiving over an inch during this period. Precipitation in Cass and surrounding Counties is 10-percent below normal for the period covering March 12th through the 26th.

About seven percent of the state remains in severe drought, while about half of the state is rated in moderate drought, including most of western and southern Iowa, with the exception of Adair, Guthrie and Dallas Counties, which are “Abnormally Dry.” This is reflected in the drop of average stream flow in Iowa. Recent rains are reflected in the stream flow index upturn for the past few days.

South of Interstate 80, ice is almost completely gone from rivers. Iowa DNR fisheries biologists continue to monitor oxygen levels in many waters and have seen some slight improvements in some places. Considerable areas of ice remain in northern Iowa.

For a more thorough review of Iowa’s water resource trends March 12th through March 26th, go to http://www.iowadnr.gov/watersummaryupdate.