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In an update to a story we posted on KJAN.com and our related social media sites Thursday night, divers late that same evening recovered the body of a female who drowned while swimming in the West Nishnabotna River near Cold Springs State Park south of Lewis, in Cass County, Wednesday night. Cass County9-1-1 Director Rob Koppert told KJAN News a 31-year old western Iowa female was out with some friends and family in an area known as the “Rock Cuts.”  He said the woman “apparently got herself into a situation where she couldn’t get herself out of, and unfortunately drowned.” The incident was reported to authorities at around 9:15-p.m., Wednesday. Her body was recovered at around 11:24-p.m. The woman’s name has not yet been released. Koppert said early this (Thursday) morning, that they were still looking into getting ahold of the victim’s relatives. He said it’s likely the name will be released sometime before noon today.

The area known as the “Rock Cuts” is popular destination for family picnics and swimming during the summer, but it is very remote, and has dangerous currents. Koppert said “Unfortunately, where the Rock Cuts are….because of the currents, it’s awfully deep there…about 30-to 40-feet deep.”  The currents can create a whirlpool effect, and create a “Very dangerous situation,” even if  you are very good swimmer.” The same site was also where a four-year old Atlantic boy drowned in July, 2005.

Koppert said families with children need to keep eyes on them at all times. He said if you are going to go to the Rock Cut area, keep in mind it is very accessible only on foot or with an ATV. Rescuers have issues getting to the scene, because it is three-quarters of a mile from the nearest access road, and they can’t easily bring their vehicles and equipment to the area fast enough to effectively safe the life of a drowning victim. Because the remoteness of the site complicates rescue efforts,  Koppert recommends people not swim in the area, at all.

A few hours before the Cass County incident, three children, ages nine and seven, drowned while swimming in the Iowa River, near Marshalltown. Marshalltown Police Chief Mike Tupper says the two girls, one 7 and the other 9, and one 7-year-old boy found Wednesday night, were family members. Authorities searched the river for more than three hours after they were separated from others who were swimming. Tupper said the search effort there was also hampered because of the difficulty in rescuers getting to the location in the river where the children went under the water.  Tupper says drought has left the river shallow, and difficult to launch a rescue boat. There are places where it’s only ankle deep, but other pockets of 12-plus feet of water. No names have been released in connection with that incident. Last month, another child drowned in the same river about two miles away.

On Sunday, a Council Bluffs man died after jumping out of a boat in a Sarpy County, NE, lake, and failed to resurface. The body of 34-year old Michael Hartsook was recovered at around 7:30-p.m. Tuesday, by some of the same members of the Midwest Regional Dive Team who searched the West Nishnabotna River Wednesday night for the latest drowning victim. The dive team is comprised of members from Cass and Ringgold Counties, along with the Red Oak and Clarinda Fire Departments. Also aiding in the Cass County Rescue efforts, was the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Atlantic Fire & Rescue, Lewis 1st Responders, Griswold Rescue, Medivac Paramedic Ambulance Service, Cass County Emergency Management, the Iowa State Patrol.

(Posted 2:20-a.m.)

Rescue crews from Lewis and Griswold, along with Medivac Ambulance, the Cass County and Red Oak Dive Team members have been called to a reported possible drowning at the Lewis Lake (Cold Springs) State Park south of Lewis. An adult female was reported missing in the Nishnabotna River near an area known as the “Rock Cuts,” for its eight- to 1o-feet tall block-looking limestone walls. The location is remote, and accessible mainly by ATV’s and other types of off-road vehicles. Word of the missing woman came in at around 9:13-p.m.

No other details are currently available.

Police in Red Oak arrested a 19-year old late Tuesday night on a drug charge. Officials say Cody Michael Doss, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 11:30-p.m., following a traffic stop. Doss was brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where he was being held on $1,000 bond, for Possession of Methamphetamine.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has been released from a California hospital after choking on food during a ceremony for the re-dedication of the USS Iowa battleship in Los Angeles.  Branstad spokesman Tim Albrecht said Wednesday the governor choked on a carrot at some point during the event and vomited.  He says the governor was taken to a nearby hospital out of an abundance of caution, went through a series of tests and was quickly released after “everything turned out fine.”  He says Branstad is in good spirits, and “we’re glad he’s okay.” He says the governor had planned to visit his uncle who lives in the area and watch fireworks before returning to Iowa tomorrow. The USS Iowa is a World War II-era battleship that’s being turned into a museum.

A central Iowa woman and her children, ages 5 and 8, were injured during a single vehicle rollover accident Tuesday evening, 5-miles southeast of Exira. The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office reports the driver of the car, 40-year old Sheri Lynn Erickson, and her passengers, eight-years old Ethan and Caleb, and five-year old Jacob, all from Johnston, were transported to the Audubon County Hospital by Exira Rescue following the crash at around 5:30-p.m., Tuesday.

Officials say Erickson was traveling north on Littlefield Drive in a 2003 Land Rover, when she drove the SUV onto the shoulder, and overcorrected in an attempt to get back on the highway. The SUV slide sideways across the road and entered a ditch, where it spun and rolled over, coming to rest on its top. The vehicle sustained $15,000 damage.

Erickson was charged with Failure to Maintain Control.

(story 1st aired at 12-p.m. Wed.)

…EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM CDT SATURDAY…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING…WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM CDT SATURDAY. THE WARNING EXPIRES IN FAR WEST & SW IA AND PARTS OF FAR EASTERN NEBRASKA AT 9-P.M. FRIDAY. THE HEAT ADVISORY IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

HEAT INDICES OF 100 TO 110 DEGREES ARE EXPECTED THURSDAY AND FRIDAY AFTERNOON, AS HIGH TEMPERATURES CLIMB INTO THE UPPER 90S TO AROUND 100 DEGREES. HEAT INDICES WILL REMAIN IN THE 90S TO LOW 100S DURING THE EVENINGS RESULTING IN LITTLE RELIEF.

AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING MEANS THAT A PROLONGED PERIOD OF DANGEROUSLY HOT TEMPERATURES WILL OCCUR. THE COMBINATION OF HOT TEMPERATURES AND HIGH HUMIDITY WILL COMBINE TO CREATE A DANGEROUS SITUATION IN WHICH HEAT ILLNESSES ARE LIKELY. DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS…STAY IN AN AIR-CONDITIONED ROOM…STAY OUT OF THE SUN… AND CHECK UP ON RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS.

TO REDUCE RISK DURING OUTDOOR WORK…THE OCCUPATIONAL AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDS SCHEDULING FREQUENT REST BREAKS IN SHADED OR AIR CONDITIONED ENVIRONMENTS. ANYONE OVERCOME BY HEAT SHOULD BE MOVED TO A COOL AND SHADED LOCATION. HEAT STROKE IS AN EMERGENCY – CALL 911.

An Atlantic man was appointed this week to a task force which will study whether Iowa’s public schools should lengthen the school day and make other changes to their calendars. Frank Spillers, with Global Horizons in Atlantic, was named as one of the 16 individuals appointed by Iowa Department of Education Director Jason Glass, Tuesday, to the Instructional Time Task Force, which was created by lawmakers as part of their education reform law.

The committee will study whether the minimum length of the school day and year should be extended for some students or all students and whether schools should have a uniform start date. The group will also consider whether summer break should be shortened, with days off spread out throughout the year. Glass says time in school should be applied differently to students based on their individual needs, but that adding time should be carefully studied because of its expense.

w/ Ric Hanson

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w/ Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.4MB)

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