With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson…

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The Atlantic Police Department is warning residents about another scam letter is being sent out to the public. Officials say the most recent one some residents are receiving is from an “Investment Company” out of the United Kingdom. The letter says that they have sent other notifications to you stating that you have been the prize winner. It also says if they do not hear from you within 3 weeks the case will be closed and you will no longer be eligible for your prize winnings.

The letter has names, phone numbers, the claim number and is very detailed with information, but authorities say it is a scam. If you have any questions about this, or other possible scams, contact the Atlantic Police Department at 712-243-3512.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office Monday (today) released a report on recent arrests. On Nov. 18th, 37-year old Lisa Marie Ferguson, of Hamburg, was arrested for a probation violation and on a Page County warrant. On Nov. 17th, 30-year old Jarrod Monroe Crawley, of Shenandoah, was arrested for Burglary in the 3rd degree and Theft in the 3rd degree. And, on Nov. 15th, 20-year old Derrian Ryan Bredberg, of Tabor, was arrested for OWI/1st offense.

A wood burning stove was the cause of a fire that destroyed a barn in Shelby County Sunday. The Harlan Fire Department was called to the fire around 9:10am Sunday morning to the Finken Tree Farm at 1440 Highway 44. Harlan Fire Chief Roger Bissen says smoke was coming from all directions when they arrived on scene.

“The entire inside of the barn was engulfed in flames with smoke coming out the doors and windows. We went into defense attack mode and put three attack lines on the outside, set up a tanker shuttle, called in Kirkman and Kimballton and extinguished it from the outside. After we got it mostly extinguished we had to get an excavator to bring the remainder of the building down.”

The chief says there were also problems with the excavator. “The trouble we had with getting extinguished was the inside was full of sawed lumber and firewood. Then the whole barn was wrapped in tin so we had all that burning underneath the tin as the building was coming down. We had to get the excavator to tear things apart and continue to extinguish as he was tearing it apart.”

Bissen says Steve Finken, the land owner, lit the wood burning stove early in the morning but then left for church before being called to the home for the fire. Along with Kirkman and Kimballton, Defiance was called to the scene for their rehab trailer. The departments were on scene for over three hours working on the barn fire. However, the fire rekindled later in the evening.

“We got called out about 7 o’clock. Steve had called me at home and said the area of the barn that had the firewood was burning pretty good again. He was afraid to go to bed and leave it so we went out and extinguished that and put some foam on it.”

The Harlan Fire Department was out on the scene in the evening for an additional hour. Bissen says the barn and the contents were a total loss. “He had a lot of wood working equipment, saws and planers and everything. He would take rough cut wood and planning it down and selling it. So he had all the equipment to do that. Steve said he had over $20,000 of equipment in there so we are probably looking at a $25,000 loss.”

No injuries were reported.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

w/ Ric Hanson

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The state’s treasurer says it’s time to impose lower limits on the pensions retired state workers may receive, but the manager of the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System or IPERS says the move would do little to reduce the fund’s future obligations. State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald says under current policy 35-year state employees with salaries above a quarter of a million dollars can earn a maximum 160-thousand dollar annual pension once they retire.

“That is, I think, bad public policy,” Fitzgerald says. “I think that’s way too high. I think that’s a benefit we ought to scale back.” Donna Mueller — the chief executive officer for IPERS — says about one percent of the 340-thousand people who are either getting an IPERS pension or may get one in the future would be affected by Fitzgerald’s proposed limit. “In the actuarial picture — very, very, very few,” Mueller says. “…It isn’t what’s causing the $5.9 billion or $5.8 billion unfunded liability.”

IPERS currently has about 25-billion dollars in assets and paid out about one-and-a-half billion dollars last year in benefits. Iowa’s pension fund for state workers, teachers and employees of local governments is in far better shape, financially, than other states, but is about 20 percent short of its future obligations. Mueller says that money’s not due today, just like an individual doesn’t have to come up with the money for their 30-year mortgage on day one.

Legislators and the governor did act recently to increase current workers’ contributions into the system. Mueller and Fitzgerald made their comments this weekend during an appearance on Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press” program.

(Radio Iowa)

There are roughly 130 turkey farms in Iowa that have been busy preparing for this week as Thanksgiving Day draws near. Iowa Turkey Federation Executive Director Gretta Irwin says Iowa ranks ninth nationwide in turkey production. “We’ll be raising close to 11 million turkeys in the state of Iowa (this year) and each one of those turkeys is going to add $24 to $25 of economic impact to our economy,” Irwin says.

Iowa ranks fifth in the country for turkey processing as Hillshire Brands in Storm Lake and West Liberty Foods in West Liberty, combined, process over 15.5 million turkeys annually. Irwin says Iowans will find great prices on turkeys as they prepare for the Thanksgiving Day meal. “I’m seeing them at 88-cents a pound or you can buy a ham and get a turkey for free, there are lots of great deals out there,” Irwin says.

The Iowa Turkey Federation’s website was recently revamped and includes a host of tips and ideas for preparing turkeys. “We have a free brochure you can download that shows you how to prepare that turkey,” Irwin says. “It walks you step by step through the process of cooking a frozen turkey, deep fat frying a turkey, grilling a turkey…lots of great ideas in the that brochure.”

Governor Terry Branstad will uphold an annual tradition today (Monday), by pardoning two Iowa-grown turkeys during a ceremony at Terrace Hill. The turkeys, from a farm in Ellsworth, will then be taken to live out their remaining days at Living History Farms in Urbandale.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press…

ALTOONA, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s governor and congressional delegation are trying to shore up political support for ethanol, which is slipping as the nation produces more of its own oil. Republican Terry Branstad is pushing to reverse the Obama administration’s proposal to cut the required amount of ethanol in the nation’s fuel supply. Almost half of Iowa’s corn crop goes to manufacture the grain alcohol, which is blended into gasoline.

WAVERLY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa woman who was once held captive by Iranian revolutionaries for more than a year is happy to see the United States talking with Iran. Kathryn Koob told The Associated Press yesterday she doesn’t want to comment on the deal that calls for Iran to freeze its nuclear program temporarily. But Koob says she’s glad the United States and Iran are sitting at the table and negotiating. Koob was one of 66 Americans held hostage in Iran beginning in 1979.

OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP) — Nearly 100 Iowa families are celebrating having their soldiers home before Thanksgiving. KCCI reports that almost 100 soldiers from an Iowa Army National Guard unit returned home Saturday after a year in Afghanistan. Autumn Eddy says she felt like she was a single parent during the deployment, so she was looking forward to Sergeant Mark Eddy’s return.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Hallie Christofferson scored 25 points to lead Number 22 Iowa State to an 89-47 blowout over Drake on Sunday. Christofferson, leading the Big 12 in shooting, was 8 of 10 from the field, including two 3-pointers in Des Moines.

The Audubon City Council will meet Monday evening in a regular session. On their agenda are matters pertaining to a residential sewer backup, the car wash, approval of the Annual Urban Renewal report, a resolution re-appointing Lou Herbers to the Audubon County Airport Authority Board (with term ending 12-13-2017), and a report on the Melissa Thygesen-Maddox Starmer benefit.

The meeting at the Audubon City Hall begins at 7-p.m., Monday.