Police in Red Oak say one person was arrested early Sunday afternoon on a burglary charge. 21-year-old Cody Keen Blystone, of Red Oak,  faces a charge of 3rd degree burglary. Blystone was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $5,000 bond.

Officials say Blystone was also arrested Saturday, on Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Interference with Official Acts, and Possession of Stolen Property charges.

Just because there’s snow on the ground in Iowa doesn’t mean the drought is over. Experts at the National Drought Mitigation Center are keeping a close eye on conditions across the Midwest this winter. Center spokesman Mark Svoboda says dry weather still plagues the region’s producers who desperately need to feed livestock. “Pasture, range and forage for livestock producers all across the heartland here and they’re coming off already two pretty bad summers especially in the Southern plains and there has been no chance for that pasture and range to recover and there hasn’t been precipitation to do that,” Svoboda says. “That doesn’t just pop right back in a couple of weeks. That can take years to recover.”

It’s still too early to know if the drought will continue well into 2013 but Svoboda says there are already some foreboding signs. “We’re not running with an abundance of precipitation over the fall period so that’s strike one,” Svoboda says. “Then you look at snow. Last year was a low snowpack year that fed the Missouri basin which feeds into the Mississippi. We had low snowpack across the Great Lakes where levels are very low, almost historically low, which feeds into the Mississippi. That was strike two, and so far this year, we’re seeing a repeat of that in a lot of ways.”

There has been a good amount of snowfall already this winter in some northern states, but he says we’ll need a lot of rain this spring or we’ll likely have a repeat of last year. Svoboda says the lack of snowfall for a second consecutive year will cause a lot of problems for some farmers, like wheat producers. “You want that snow not just for moisture but for insulating that crop, helping with emergence,” Svoboda says. “Back in the fall, we didn’t get a lot of widespread good rains to help with the emergence, so we had a lot of exposed soil that was blowing around in the fall, that was still a concern. Because of the lack of forage, they were bailing a lot of the cornstalks to get forage and feed. Without that on the field, you have less stuff to capture that snow when it does fall.”

A federal report last week found more than 60-percent of the country is still under drought conditions, including all of Iowa. That report also said it would take a total of eight-feet of snow this winter to overcome the drought by spring. The National Drought Mitigation Center is based in Lincoln, Nebraska.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Sioux City police are trying to determine why a vehicle crashed into a creek early Sunday morning and killed three of the five people inside. The Sioux City Journal reports that the vehicle crossed a residential yard and crashed into Perry Creek shortly after 3 a.m. Neighbors say they awoke to a loud scraping sound and a bang. Police say the vehicle landed upside down and was partially submerged in the creek. Two of the occupants climbed out of the creek on their own.

The other three passengers in the vehicle were pulled out by rescuers. Those three all died later, but weren’t immediately identified. Neighbor Beth Bowman says she said many prayers while she watched emergency workers try to help the people in the vehicle.

The Adair County Board of Supervisors will hold another Special Session to hear departmental budget requests. During their meeting at the courthouse in Greenfield at 9:30-a.m. Monday, the Board will receive Fiscal Year 2014 Budgetary requests from the Veterans Affairs, Recorder and Treasurer’s offices, and the County Custodian, with regard to General Services and E-911 budget requests.

A session held last Friday morning saw additional departmental budget requests presented before the Adair County Supervisors, whose next regular session takes place Wednesday morning.

The Atlantic School District’s Board of Education will meet Monday evening in a regular session in the High School Media Center.  During the meeting, which begins at 7:30-p.m., the board will hear an update from Design Alliance Architects’ Jerry Purdy, with regard to the Atlantic Middle School (AMS) Renovation Project, reports from Assistant High School Prinicipal/Activity Director Josh Rasmussen, with regard to the AHS Study Table,  and three teachers, with regard to the Lindamood Bell instructional program.

The Board of Education will also act on approving an agreement with the Fremont-Mills District for Chemistry instruction, and t he Nutrition Fund paying one-half the cost of a Lunch Bus purchased last Fall. They’ll also act on approving 2013-2014 At-Risk Modified Allowable Growth, a bid for bleachers at Schuler Elementary, and a Change Order for the AMS Renovation project.

Following the conclusion of regular business, the Board will discuss the Fiscal Year 2014 budget, and Atlantic High School (AHS) Activities Study.

Members of the CAM School District’s Board of Education will hold a work session Monday evening, in Anita. During their 7-p.m. session in the CAM High School Media Center, the Board will hear from Larry Sigel, President of the Iowa School Finance Information Service (ISFIS), with regard to district finances. The Board will also review the CAM Education Association’s initial proposal.

No action is typically taken during school board work sessions, which are designed for information and discussion.

The Audubon City Council will hold its regular meeting Monday evening. On the agenda for the 7-p.m. session at City Hall, is approval of specific liquor licenses for Cliffs and the Dollar General Store, along with four resolutions assessing unpaid utility bills at 106, 206 and 312 Second Avenue, as well as 512 1st Avenue, and the adjustment of three utility billings according to Council Policy, of 25% of the overage where a leak has occurred (at 511 E. Division St., 711 1st Avenue, and 708 Brayton Street).

In addition, the Audubon City Council will hear from Adam Schweers, with Computer Concepts of Iowa, prior to the conclusion of regular business and adjournment.

w/Marissa Hovde

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