This coming week is the start of National Fire Prevention Week but one Shelby County Fire Department is kicking it off this Saturday. The theme this year is preventing kitchen fires. The Harlan Fire Department has teamed up with the American Red Cross to help spread the word about fire prevention week. Harlan Fire Chief Roger Bissen says the department is getting a little help from the boy scouts to hand out fire prevention materials.

“The Red Cross is providing the materials and we are working with the boy scouts. The boy scouts do the leg work and will go to each house in Harlan and dropping off the materials at your doorstep. It will come in a little bag that says Red Cross. Inside there will be different fire safety literature and I will provide a cover letter. If you want to make some changes in your home after reading the material, now is the time to do it.”

Bissen says the project with the Red Cross benefits everyone including the citizens. “We’re sending out the safety message out to our community and you know our goal as the fire department is to prevent fires. It’s also a good project for the Red Cross because they are involved with the safety and well being of our citizens. And it works really well for the boy scouts because they are always trying to reach goals to get awards and achievements. They also get involved in the community. It is really a good community event for everybody.”

The chief says next week the department will be at the Harlan Community schools. “Each we head to the schools and give tours at the fire station. We have three to four groups come to the station. We will also send trucks to the elementary schools. We will be there quite a few days from Monday through Thursday.”

This is also the time of year to be checking your smoke detectors to make sure they are working properly. The Harlan Fire Department received a grant for about 200 smoke detectors and if you are unable to purchase a new one or do not have any inside your residence, contact the Harlan Fire Department at 712-755-5354. If you would like to talk with one of the 34 members of the department, the Harlan Fire Department will host an open house and breakfast on Sunday morning. The fire hall will open at 7am and serve biscuits and gravy, eggs, pancakes, bacon and a drink for a free will donation until noon.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

The Iowa Storm Chasing Network says a “Very dangerous situation” could be in the works for this afternoon and this evening, where the development of destructive tornadoes is concerned. The enhanced risk exists over a large portion of Iowa.

Thunder and lightning awakened many Iowans this morning (Friday) as a potent, large storm system began to bear down on the state. Numerous thunderstorm watches and warnings were issued in the wee hours. Meteorologist Brad Small, at the National Weather Service, says the next several hours will be an active period for weather across much of the state. “The potential is still there for more activity later in the day,” Small says. “There’s a moderate risk of severe weather over northern Iowa and into parts of central Iowa. That would mean all kinds of severe weather, large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes are all possible in that area.” To the west, Small says it’s much less like early fall and much more like the dead of winter as Blizzard Warnings and Winter Storm Watches are in effect in South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming.

“There’s heavy snow in the Black Hills, thankfully we’ll miss out on that but temperatures will be sharply colder by tomorrow,” Small says. “It’s a big change from what we’ve seen the past few days. Highs will only be in the 50s and 60s.” Iowans can count their blessings as some states to the west have a forecast that includes 12 to 20-inches of snow and strong winds, bringing white-out conditions.

(Radio Iowa/Iowa Storm Chasers Network)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Strong thunderstorms moving through Iowa are leaving tree branches scattered and in some locations breaking through power lines causing outages.  MidAmerican Energy reports 1,640 customers without power with most of them located in the Des Moines area but dozens in Council Bluffs and Sioux City.  Alliant Energy says it has 350 customers out mostly around Boone.  No injuries have been reported.

The storms packed winds estimated at 70 miles per hour as they moved through central Iowa. Tree branches as large as 7 inches in diameter were knocked from trees. Hail at least  3/4 of an inch around was reported in some locations. Storms moved quickly across the state but a strong system with the potential for high wind and possible tornado activity will arrive Friday afternoon and evening.

w/ Ric Hanson

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The Atlantic Area Chamber Ambassadors recently welcomed a new business, the Atlantic Collision Center, with a ribbon cutting at their location at 108 Cedar Street.

Pictured are Gerald Brink, Erika Govig, Connie Wailes, Nedra Perry, Becky Mosier, Kathie Hockenberry, Sue Muri, Janet Cappel, Pam Towne (and granddaughter Oakley), Doug Towne, Joanne Mueller, JoAnn Runyan, Dolly Bergmann, Kristi Ladd, Chris Neal, Jay Mendlik, Bill Saluk, Loran Coder, Lucas Mosier, Cindy Humphrey, Karl Aldag, Rich Perry, Diane Harris, Tyler Mosier, Tammy Waters, Carole Schuler, Keith Leonard, Arlene Drennan, Steve Andersen and Jeff Nelson. (Chamber photo)

Owners Doug and Pam Towne opened the beginning of August and specialize in auto body collision repair and restoration on a variety of vehicles including cars, trucks, golf carts, motorcycles and tractors with 25 years of experience. They are PPG certified and also work with all insurance companies.

w/ Ric Hanson

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Police in Red Oak say a local man was arrested Thursday night on alcohol and other charges. 41-year-old Michael Scott Jones, of Red Oak, faces 2nd offense OWI and open container of alcohol charges, along with being cited for failure to display a registration plate and no proof of insurance.

Jones was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $2,000 bond.

The National Weather Service says a moderate risk for severe weather is in place across northern Iowa this afternoon and evening while a slight risk encompasses much of the remainder of the state. Scattered thunderstorms will linger across the area this morning. An isolated severe storm with quarter sized hail and 60 mph winds are possible with this activity. A line of strong to severe storms is expected to develop over western Iowa by this afternoon.

(Graphic) – NWS Severe Weather potential.

That activity will race northeast and into the area from late afternoon through mid-evening. Very large hail, damaging winds and a few tornadoes are likely, especially over the moderate risk region. A few severe storms with a heightened risk for damaging winds are likely over central and northern Iowa along with an attendant large hail and isolated tornado threat. This could become a potentially dangerous situation.

Be prepared to take appropriate actions if severe weather approaches your location. The storms will begin to weaken after midnight. By Saturday, a strong cold front will be passing through the area, ushering in much colder temperatures. Thunderstorm chances will pass to the east with dry and windy conditions in place by the afternoon.

Strong storms that rolled through western Iowa overnight Thursday into early this (Friday) morning, caused damage to trees in Adair and Guthrie Counties. The National Weather Service says Emergency Management officials for the two counties reported that between 1:30-and 1:35-a.m., numerous tree branches ranging from four- to 6-inches in diameter fell in Adair and Guthrie Center, and there were scattered power outages affecting parts of both towns.

Additional damage reports may be forthcoming, once officials get a better look, after sunrise. The Weather Service issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for the KJAN listening area at around 8:20-p.m., Thursday. A portion of the Watch area in far west/southwest Iowa was replaced by a Tornado Watch about an hour later.  The first severe thunderstorm warnings issued for southwest Iowa came in at around 11:45-p.m., and it affected Mills County. Additional warnings were issued throughout the night, for Montgomery, Pottawattamie, Guthrie and Adair Counties.

CORNING, Iowa (AP) — Famed late-night TV host Johnny Carson’s birthplace in the southwest Iowa city of Corning will reopen later this month. The Des Moines Register reports the tiny house will reopen for visitors Oct. 23, the day Carson was born in Corning in 1925. The house has been closed during a restoration effort to return the house to its 1925 appearance.

Carson lived in Corning and other southwest Iowa cities before moving to Norfolk, Neb., at age 8. He hosted “The Tonight Show” on NBC for three decades. He died in 2005 at age 79.