Sheriff’s officials in Fremont County report the arrest last week of a Nebraska man on drug charges. 33-year old Derrick Edward Traub, of Stella, NE, was arrested March 19th on Possession with the Intent to Deliver/Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Interference with Official Acts charges, along with a charge of Failure to affix a drug tax stamp and No Valid ID.

That same day, 22-year old Andrew Ryan Lemrick, of Hamburg, was arrested for allegedly violating his probation associated with a charge of Criminal Mischief in the 3rd degree. And, on March 21st, 38-year old Azure Lee Miller, of Sidney, IA, was arrested for Driving Under Suspension, and on a Red Oak Police Department warrant for a parking violation during a snow emergency.

w/ Ric Hanson

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U.S. Democrat Senator Tom Harkin,  Friday, announced that three council of governments in Iowa have received a total of $166,500 from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) to provide continued support for their economic development planning within their regions. The Region XII (12) Council of Governments (COG’s) received $54,900 to serve the  counties of Audubon, Carroll and Crawford, along with Greene, Guthrie and SAC.

The other two entities were Mid-Iowa Development Association Council of Governments and Southern Iowa Council of Governments, Inc which serves Adair and other counties. Harkin is a senior member of the Appropriations Committee that funds the initiatives.  Harkin  said he hopes the funds will help those Council of Governments “Continue their economic development efforts, giving a boost their communities.

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A Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy has claimed the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau (GTSB) Award for “Outstanding Performance as a Drug Recognition Expert” (DRE). A DRE has the training to help identify drivers impaired by drugs other than alcohol. Deputy Ben Bartholomew, a more than five-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department, won the award for the second consecutive year in a row. “Bart,” as he’s known, received a certificate along with the recognition at an event held last Wednesday, in Altoona.

Bartholomew performed 27 evaluations last year on drivers suspected of being impaired. While he normally works at night, his fellow deputies and other law enforcement officers can call on his expertise anytime it is needed. He says he dealing with those who are drug impaired is not limited exclusively to the nighttime hours. Bartholomew says they deal with many people who abuse prescription drugs, and drug use has evolved from a party atmosphere to addicts who use them anytime of the day, and put the public at risk when they drive.

Bart says all of the DRE’s are well trained in multiple techniques to identify and test for impaired drivers. A couple of months ago, an ARIDE (Advanced Roadside Impairment Detection Enforcement) class was held in Atlantic, to help area law enforcement officers identify potentially impaired drivers, before they call a DRE. He says it’s his job to determine which drug is impairing the driver.

Bartholomew says there are no specific age groups or genders of people he typically identifies as driving while impaired by drugs. And, he says people need to understand DRE’s are not there to pick on impaired drivers. He says it’s a DRE’s responsibility to make sure an impaired driver doesn’t injure themselves or other drivers.

Police in Council Bluffs are looking for two men suspected in the attempted murder Sunday, of 36-year old Thomas M. Campbell, of Council Bluffs. Sgt. Dave Dawson, with the Council Bluffs Police Department, says Campbell was shot in an apartment at 817 2nd Avenue, at around 8:17-p.m., Sunday.The man suffered a single gunshot wound to the chest. He was transported to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, where Campbell was reported to be in critical, but stable condition.

Dawson said an investigation into the shooting determined two black men in their 30’s arrived at Campbell’s apartment and attempted a home invasion. One of the suspects wore a ski mask, a light gray sweatshirt, jeans and black gloves. A more detailed description of the second suspect is not available.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 712-328-7867.

Iowans are being reminded of all the dangerous possibilities that come with spring, from flooding to tornadoes, as this is the first day of Severe Weather Awareness Week. Meteorologist Jeff Johnson, at the National Weather Service, says we should all brush up on safety procedures, though he notes, last year was relatively quiet. “Last year, of course, we had the drought, which was bad, but the other side of that coin, we had a very tranquil severe weather season with only 16 tornadoes in the state.” That was the lowest number of tornadoes in Iowa since 1963. Iowa averages 47 tornadoes per year. A record 120 tornadoes touched down in Iowa in 2004. During this Severe Weather Awareness Week, different themes will be covered each day.

“Flash flooding, the warning decisions, tornadoes on Wednesday, severe thunderstorms on Thursday and family preparedness on Friday,” Johnson says. “The week will be highlighted by the statewide tornado drill which will occur at 10 AM on Wednesday, the 27th.” That tornado drill should be taken seriously, giving everyone a chance to think of what they should do if it were the real thing and where they would take cover. The Tornado Watch will be issued at 10 o’clock on Wednesday.

“And then at about 10:15, we’ll issue a Tornado Warning for our area that will go over the Weather Radio System, through the Emergency Alert System and through the other systems,” he says. Learn more at: www.weather.gov/dmx

(Radio Iowa)

COUNTIES:SAC-CRAWFORD-CARROLL-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS-POLK-CASS-ADAIR-MADISON-ADAMS-UNION-TAYLOR-RINGGOLD….

354 AM CDT MON MAR 25 2013

…SLICK ROADS POSSIBLE FOR THE MORNING COMMUTE…

LIGHT SNOW OVERNIGHT FELL ATOP PARTIALLY MELTED ROADWAYS AND HAD ACCUMULATED TO A FEW TENTHS OF AN INCH. ONCE THIS GETS DRIVEN UPON IT WILL LIKELY FORM A LAYER OF SLUSH OR ICE THAT WILL MAKE THE MORNING COMMUTE SLICK. ALLOW EXTRA DISTANCE BETWEEN VEHICLES THIS MORNING AS WELL AS EXTRA TIME TO REACH YOUR DESTINATION. BY MID TO LATE MORNING EVEN UNTREATED ROADS WILL BEGIN TO MELT.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

The Iowa Department of Transportation’s travel site (www.511ia.org), indicates a majority of the roads and bridge in the KJAN listening area are covered with ice early this (Monday) morning. Be very cautious if you plan on traveling. Several accidents were reported to have occurred on Interstate 80 Sunday evening and night between Adair, Stuart and Dexter, as the temperatures began to drop and the roads became slick. I-29 north and near Council Bluffs, was reported to be wet, as of 3:50-a.m.