Authorities in Harrison County say no injuries were reported when a train struck a semi near Dunlap on Friday morning. Dunlap Police Chief Darren Klein says the semi was unable to get across the tracks, “It was an eastbound train and the Quality Liquid Feeds (QLF) was unable to cross the tracks. No injuries at all to either the driver or engineers. The impact drug the truck down about 50 yards and broke the cross arms off. That’s about it.”

The Dunlap Police Department was working with the Union Pacific to estimate the damage. The semi and trailer, owned by Quality Liquid Feeds, were a total loss while there was some damage to the locomotive. The accident happened around 10-am Friday. Traffic had to be re-routed while crews cleaned up the area.

(Joel McCall/KNOD)

The Atlantic City Council will hold its first meeting of the month Wednesday evening, at City Hall. During their session, the Council will receive a report from AMU General Manager Steve Tjepkes. They’ll also possibly act on a resolution awarding a bid for improvements to the traffic signals at 7^th and Walnut, Chestnut and Poplar Streets. Only one bid (amounting to $123,838) was received, from a company out of Oskaloosa. The engineer’s original cost estimate for the project was $93,000, so it’s possible the Council may reject the bid, and stick with the current signals until next year, or conduct what City Administrator Doug Harris calls “Value engineering,” to reduce the cost of the project.

The Council will also hold the third and final reading of an ordinance amending the City Code, with regard to Illegal Dumping, to make the rules consistent throughout the County. And, the Council will hold the first reading of a revised ordinance pertaining to “Private Wells,” with regard to Iowa DNR identified contaminated sites on Commerce, East 7^th and West 2^nd Streets. The ordinance allows closed-loop systems for non-drinking water wells use greater than 1,000-feet from an area of contamination, and drinking water wells greater than 1,000-feet from an area of contamination, and are more than 250-feet from an accessible public water supply.

In other business, the Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, is expected to pass on the second- and third-readings, an ordinance prohibiting parking  on Linn Street, on the east side, from 8^th Street north 100-feet, from 7:45-a.m. to 3:15-p.m., for the purpose of loading buses when school is in session. They’ll also act on an expanded Tobacco Free Policy for City Hall, which was originally enacted in February of 2007, but now includes a tobacco cessation program for City employees.

The Council’s session begins at 5:30-p.m., Wednesday, and is scheduled to be broadcast locally, on Cable Channel 18.

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds and University of Northern Iowa President Ben Allen today (Tuesday) announced a series of community conversations featuring Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education and economic development, will take place across the state in September and October. Two of the meetings will be held in the southwest Iowa towns of Bedford and Creston, on Wed., Sept. 19th.

The first session will take place 1:30-p.m. Sept. 19th, at Southwestern Community College, in Creston. The event will be held in Instructional Center Room 180. The second session takes place at 4-p.m. Sept. 19th, in the Auditorium at the Bedford High School. Both meetings feature Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds and UNI President Ben Allen.

The community conversations are designed seek feedback from Iowans about what priorities the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council should focus on as the STEM initiative continues to build across Iowa.  Reynolds, co-chair of the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council, says “We are determined to provide Iowa’s young people with engaging STEM education opportunities, no matter where they live. That will help assure more students are well equipped to be knowledgeable citizens and to someday begin college or career training prepared for success. It also will help assure a stronger STEM employee pipeline for Iowa’s businesses and industries.”

All parents, grandparents, educators, business and civic leaders, legislators and other Iowans are invited to attend the hour-long, town hall style meetings. Ben Allen, co-chair of the STEM Advisory Council,  said they  “Are in the process of rolling out STEM programs through our scale-up initiative and these community conversations are a way to foster STEM relationships between local businesses, the regional STEM networks and area schools.  The Governor’s STEM Advisory Council is a public-private partnership whose overarching goal is creating greater student achievement in STEM subjects and a stronger STEM workforce.

The Fire Danger Index will remain in the “Extreme” category in Shelby County, at least until the next update, on Thursday. Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Seivert says field work is beginning in the County, and there are typically three or four combine fires each harvest season. Seivert says while the short grasses have greened-up thanks to recent rainfall, the major fuel source for explosive fire growth…corn, beans, and tall grasses.. continue to dry-up due to the sunshine and wind.

Extra precautions should be taken while farmers are out in the field, to ensure their machines are free of debris and that fires are not started behind those implements while the harvest is underway.

The Iowa State Patrol kept busy investigating three separate accidents in southwest Iowa, Sunday. One took place at around 9:30-a.m. on Interstate 680 in Pottawattamie County. Officials say the driver of a 2003 Toyota Camry, 53-year old Timothy Gurtis, of Omaha, was injured, when he lost control of the vehicle, which wound-up hitting a guardrail. The accident happened near Neola. Gurtis was transported by Neola Rescue to Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs, for treatment of minor injuries.

The second accident happened at around 11:25-a.m. Sunday, in Fremont County. The State Patrol says 27-year old Chance Greer, of Kansas City, MO, was traveling south on Interstate 29 when the 2000 Toyota CXL he was driving left the road, traveled into the median and struck a cable guardrail. Greer suffered minor injuries. The Patrol says alcohol was a factor in the crash, and charges are pending completion of lab results.

The third accident took place Sunday afternoon, in Mills County. The State Patrol says a 2001 Pontiac Sunfire, driven by 18-year old Hallie Fitzsimmons, of Glenwood, was traveling south on 230th Street, when the teen lost control while her vehicle as it entered a curve. The car left the road and hit a driveway entrance, before striking a fire hydrant. Fitzsimmons was transported by Glenwood Rescue to Jenny Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs.

Officials say all three of the injured drivers were wearing their seat belts.

Police in Clarinda are investigating recent incidents of theft. Officials say on Monday, a resident on West Logan Street reported a Craftsman air compressor valued at $200, was taken from outside of his home during the late evening hours Saturday or early morning, Sunday. That same day, another resident reported the theft of a five-gallon gasoline container from outside of her home. The theft occurred during the same time frame the compressor was stolen.

Early Sunday afternoon, officers in Clarinda responded to a report of a vicious dog running loose in the 400 block of East Garfield Street. When they arrived, the dog, which was described as being a brown pit bull, repeatedly charged at the officers, one of whom fired his service weapon at the animal, killing it. The incident remains under investigation.

Also on Sunday, a 17-year old female reported to Clarinda Police she had been physically assaulted by an adult male and female, which she was in the area of 12th and State Streets. The teen suffered minor injuries during the incident, which  occurred sometime between six- and seven-p.m, and it remains under investigation.

And, late Friday afternoon, Police in Clarinda arrested 21-year old Justine Sheree Powers, of College Springs, on a charge of driving with a revoked license for a previous OWI conviction. Powers posted $1,000 bond and was released pending a court appearance.

A South Dakota man was critically injured during a motorcycle accident on Saturday night in Monona County. The Monona County Sheriff’s Office says the accident happened at around 8-p.m., near 190^th Street and County Highway L-32 south of Mapleton. Officials say 52 year old John Haas of Rapid City, SD was traveling southbound on Hwy L-32 when he failed to negotiate a curve and lost control of his motorcycle. Haas was airlifted to Mercy Medical in Sioux City in critical condition. An update on his condition is not available.

The accident remains under investigation by the Monona County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa State Patrol.

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office reports four people were injured during a single vehicle accident Sunday evening, north of Exira. Officials say the driver of a 2006 Chevy Equinox, 49-year old Julieanne Marie Knutsen, of Audubon, along with her passengers, 26-year old Micheal Todd Cooley, of Emmetsburg, 19-year old Tanner Lynn Knutsen and 16-year old Taylor Marie Knutsen, both of Audubon, were transported to the Audubon County Memorial Hospital by Exira Fire and Rescue.

The accident happened at around 5:15-p.m., as Knutsen was traveling north on Highway 71. The SUV left the pavement onto the shoulder. When Knutsen attempted to steer back onto the pavement, she overcorrected, sending the SUV out of control. It rolled three-times before landing on its wheels facing south, in the east ditch. The vehicle sustained $10,000 damage in the crash. Knutsen was charged with Failure to Maintain Control.

A former teacher for the Anita Community School District today (Tuesday) entered a voluntary plea of guilty to two-counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor by a School Employee, Counselor or Therapist, with the intent to arouse, in violation of Iowa Law. 65-year old William Glenn Foulkes appeared in Cass County District Court in Atlantic, along with his Attorney, F. Montgomery Brown.

Brown told Fourth District Court Judge Richard H. Davidson, that he and Cass County Prosecutor Dan Feistner has reached a plea agreement in Foulkes’ case, which stipulates Foulkes would plead guilty to Counts 2 and 3 (Sexual Exploitation by a School Employee/Aggravated Misdemeanor), in exchange for a felony charge of Sexual Exploitation, and the remaining Aggravated Misdemeanor charges (Counts 4-thru 50) being dropped at Foulkes’ cost.

Foulkes admitted to kissing a juvenile female on numerous occasions while teaching the student in a math program, from August 2009 until November 11th, 2010. He resigned from his teaching position in November 2010.

Foulkes has agreed to waive his Pre-Sentence Investigation, or PSI. His sentencing was set for October 1st, 2012.  He will remain free on $50,000 bond pending his sentencing date. As part of his pending sentence, he will be required to complete a Sex Offender Treatment Program in a residential correctional facility, pay restitution to the State and Victim, and have no contact with the victim.  Foulkes will likely be required to serve two, two-year terms of supervised probation for the combined counts, with the time to be served consecutively, or back-to-back. He had faced a maximum of 103-years in prison and fines of more than $300,000. He’ll also be required to pay fines for each count ranging from $625 to $6,250, plus court costs and surcharges. Foulkes will have to register as a sex offender after his sentencing.

w/ Ric Hanson

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