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The Iowa Department of Transportation reports  westbound Interstate 80 is currently blocked between exit 83 and 96 (near Casey) due to an earlier crash where an oversize load struck a bridge. Traffic is being routed around the blockage using the entrance and exit ramps at Casey.

Iowa Department of Transportation bridge inspectors will be onsite this (Tuesday) morning to inspect the damage. The bridge will remain closed until that inspection is completed and the bridge is deemed safe.

(8-a.m. News)

Substitute teachers serving the Atlantic Community School District have received in increase in how much they will be paid per day, after the change was approved during a meeting of the Atlantic Board of Education, Monday . Superintendent Dr. Mike Amstein said the rate was $120 per day, but he recommended subs should be be paid $125 per day, because there’s been no increase in the past three-years, and the district needs to be competitive with other districts to retain quality instructors. Amstein said this should place Atlantic on the upper end of the pay scale amongst area schools and lessen the chance substitute teachers will shop around.

Two people were injured in a crash Monday night in Fremont County, when a semi clipped the front end of a passenger car on Interstate 29. The Iowa State Patrol reports the driver of a 1998 Buick LeSabre, 76-year old Mary Dion, of Creighton, NE, and her passenger, 18-year old Amber Gray, also of Creighton, were transported to St. Mary’s Hospital by ambulance following the crash, which took place about 2-miles north of the exit to Highway 2. Both women were wearing their seat belts.

Officials say a 2003 Peterbilt semi driven by 32-year old Nathan Fritz, of Mapleton, was traveling southbound on I-29 at around 10:15-p.m., and passing the Buick in the left lane. The semi began to merge back into the right lane, but struck the car, causing it to spin. The vehicle entered the median and hit a guardrail before crossing over the road and entering the west ditch where it came to rest.  The Patrol says Mary Dion was able to drive her vehicle out of the ditch and onto the shoulder. The semi came to a stop along the shoulder of the road.

A boy from Council Bluffs has received a hero’s award for his efforts at trying to save a life. According to the Omaha World-Herald, 12-year old Corbin Naylor received the National Boy Scout Heroism Award late last month, at Our Saviour Lutheran Church, in Council Bluffs. Corbin was recognized for performing Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) on his 74-year old father Dean, who was found unconscious in the family’s living room on April 14th, 2012. The man later died, at a local hospital.

In addition to performing CPR on his father, Corbin calmly instructed his panicked mother Kellie to call 9-1-1, and on how to help him in perform the chest compressions as well as other CPR-related procedures, until paramedics could arrive on the scene. Corbin, a 7th grade student at the Lewis Central Middle School, learned how to administer CPR from his activities with Boy Scout Troop 23. He had already earned his First Aid merit badge.

Police in Council Bluffs report a Guthrie County man and a passenger in his vehicle were not injured Saturday, after an unusual accident involving a deer, that ended-up partially inside the vehicle. Officials say 65-year old Lawrence Monaco, of Panora, was traveling west on Interstate 80 near the Mall of the Bluffs  at around 4-p.m. Saturday, when a deer entered the road.

Police say the animal jumped, at the same time Monaco applied the breaks  in his 2002 Lexus RX300. The deer then hit the driver side hood and windshield. The impact resulted in the animal crashing through the windshield and partially ending up inside the vehicle.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Iowa infant’s heart transplant is the first of its kind at a Nebraska hospital. Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha says the pediatric heart transplant performed early Monday on 2-week-old Lainey Wilkinson is a first for the hospital. Officials say the operation went well for Lainey, who was born with a congenital heart defect. She is recovering as expected in the intensive care unit.

Officials say the United Network for Organ Sharing gave the hospital interim approval last month to begin performing heart transplants. Officials say it’s a significant development for families in the immediate area and around the Midwest. Lainey has been hospitalized at Children’s since her birth. Her parents are from Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

The Atlantic School District’s Board of Education Monday night, approved the hiring of a man from Nebraska as the Elementary Principal/Schuler Principal/Curriculum Director position. Superintendent Dr. Michael Amstein said a committee comprised of himself, departing Principal Cam Smith, a teacher and parent from Schuler, interviewed seven candidates for the position. One of the candidates accepted a position with another district. The remaining six individuals came from within and outside of the district, and were equally qualified for job, according to Amstein, but one in particular stood out.

Mr. James Northwick, Elementary Principal at the Emerson-Hubbard, NE School District, approved as the Schuler Principal/Curriculum Director. (photo from the E-H School District website)

Amstein recommended the Board approve the hiring of James Northwick, who is currently the serving his fourth year as Elementary Principal at the Emerson-Hubbard School District in Emerson, NE. Amstein said when he spoke with Dr. Dave Jones, Superintendent of the Emerson-Hubbard District, the first thing Jones told him was “I knew you were going to call.”  Amstein learned since Northwick has been with the E-H District, the test scores in the struggling district have consistently shown gains, and that Northwick was good at disseminating the test score data, and applying it to the classroom.” Amstein said Northwick holds “A lot of promise, and has a strong work ethic.” The man is married, and has a one-year old child. He is also a native of Ankeny, Iowa.

In other business, the Atlantic School Board approved an increase in the 2013-2014 School Lunch Prices. Food Service Director DeeAnn Schrier told the board the Federal Government is recommending a two-percent increase to reflect the cost of inflation, plus 2.93-percent, for a total increase of 4.93-percent. For Atlantic, that means the cost of lunch at the high school would be going up to $2.40. At the Middle School, lunch will cost $2.35, Schuler $2.35, and at Washington, $2.10. Schrier said the increase is not what she wants, but she was left with no choice because of the Federal Standards. She says if the district doesn’t meet the standard of $2.59 for the cost of lunch over a period of five-years, the General Fund will have to make up for the difference.

The Board Monday also approved the resignation of the following staff: Pat Allen, Ticket Manager (effective June 30th); Steve Blazek, Varsity Boys Basketball Coach (effective at the end of the 2012-13 school year); Taylor Hasting, Cheerleading Sponsor (effective the end of the school year); Sheila Hayden, Nat’l. Honor Society Advisor (effective 8/15/13); Bruce Johnk, High School Ag Teacher (effective the end of the school year); and Michelle McLaren, Jr. High Boys Basketball Coach (also effective at the end of the school year).