Firefighters from Walnut responded to a call about a semi tractor-trailer fire on Interstate 80 westbound Tuesday afternoon, at the Walnut exit. Dispatch reports at around 2:45-p.m. indicated flames were coming from the engine compartment. The trailer was said to have been carrying a highly flammable fuel. The truck driver managed to get most of the fire out with his on-board extinguisher before firefighters arrived. They weren’t on the scene for very long, and no injuries were reported. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The FBI says autopsy results have confirmed that the bodies of two people found in a western Iowa state park are those of a missing Nebraska woman and her 10-year-old son.  Authorities identified the bodies Tuesday as 41-year-old Charlotte Schilling and her son, Owen.  They went missing from their home in Plattsmouth, Neb., on May 10th.  Council Bluffs Police say the manner of death and the events surrounding it remain under investigation.

Police had found Schilling’s vehicle at Lake Manawa State Park south of Council Bluffs, Iowa. Schilling’s wallet and cellphone were found in the car.  A passer-by discovered the bodies Sunday evening in a wooded area about a quarter of a mile from a boat ramp that runs into the Missouri River near the state park.

The Atlantic Police Department reports a DeSoto man was arrested Monday. 44-year old Michael T. Jessen was charged with Harassment in the 1st Degree, and Public Intoxication. Jessen was booked into the Cass County Jail and held pending an appearance before the magistrate.

Public hearings will be held Wednesday morning in both Cass and Adair Counties with regard to Budget Amendments for Fiscal Year 2012. In Atlantic, the Cass County Board of Supervisors will hold their hearing beginning at approximately 9:05-a.m.   In Greenfield, the Adair County Supervisors will hold their public hearing on the Budget Amendment, beginning at 9:30-a.m. Both hearings will be followed by approval or adoption of the budgets, as amended.

The Adair County Board will also act on approving a Veterans Administration hiring and the VA office location. The Cass County Supervisors will act on approving two applications for Multi-Family Rental Unit Productions, which is part of the 2008 Disaster Recovery funding. The program is being administered by the Southwest Iowa Planning Council (SWIPCO).

Both meetings begin at 9-a.m., Wednesday.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports an Atlantic man was injured during a motorcycle accident west of Atlantic. The accident occurred at around 4:15-p.m,on Highland Road just east of Galveston Road. Officials sa a 2000 Harley Davidson driven by 32-year old Todd Anthony Killion, of Atlantic, was westbound on Highland Road when Killion lost control and the bike traveled off the roadway, sliding almost 70 feet. Killion was taken to CCMH via Medivac for evaluation of minor cuts and bruises. Damage to the bike is estimated at $1,500.

(9-a.m. News)

w/ Ric Hanson

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Officials with the Iowa Department of Transportation say travel during the upcoming Memorial Day holiday may be slowed by road construction. Several projects on Iowa’s interstate and state roadways may warrant advance planning on the part of drivers.

Projects in Southwest Iowa include:

• A bridge deck overlay on U.S. 30 west of Missouri Valley in Harrison County has reduced the roadway to one lane. Traffic is being maintained with temporary traffic signals. The open lane has an 11-foot width restriction.
• Staged bridge construction on U.S. 30 northeast of Woodbine in Harrison County has reduced the roadway to one lane. Traffic is being maintained with temporary traffic signals.
• Bridge construction on I-80 over the West Nishnabotna River near Avoca in Pottawattamie County has closed the westbound lanes between mileposts 34 and 40. Traffic has been shifted to a two-lane, two-way pattern in the eastbound lanes.
• Bridge construction has closed northbound I-29 in Fremont County between mileposts 21 and 25. Traffic has been shifted to a two-lane, two-way traffic pattern in the southbound lanes. 
• Asphalt resurfacing in the northbound lanes of I-29 in Fremont County from milepost 10 to 17 has traffic shifted to a two-lane, two-way traffic pattern in the southbound lanes. 
• Bridge deck overlays at two locations on U.S. 71 south of Atlantic in Cass County have reduced the roadway to one lane. Traffic is being maintained with temporary traffic signals. 
• A new bridge deck is being placed on the eastbound I-80 Wiota interchange bridge at milepost 64 and a new bridge over Crooked Creek is being built at milepost 69 in Cass County. Traffic is shifted to a two-lane, two-way traffic pattern in the westbound lanes from milepost 60 to 70. The eastbound ramps at Wiota are closed and a detour is in place for Cass County Road N-28.

Iowa 148 between Massena and Anita in Cass County is closed for highway repair work. Traffic should follow the marked detour.

There are many other ongoing construction and maintenance projects affecting traffic on state, county and local road systems. Details of all current Iowa DOT construction projects can be found at www.511ia.org.

w/ Ric Hanson

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A presentation by an Atlantic resident who recently returned from an Agricultural Advisory position in Afghanistan scheduled to take place this Thursday, May 24^th , has been postponed for one week. Officials with the Women, Food and Agriculture Network (WFAN) say the visit to Des Moines this Thursday by President Barack Obama has forced a speaking event at Drake University by rural Atlantic resident and organic farmer Denise O’Brien, to be postponed until May 31^st, at 7-p.m.

O’Brien, who recently returned from a one-year appointment as a civilian agricultural advisor in Afghanistan, will speak about her experiences as an advisor for the USDA Office of Foreign Service Operations/Overseas.

She’s scheduled to speak on the topic 7-p.m. Thursday, May 31st, at 206 Cartwright Hall on the Drake University Campus at 27th St. and Carpenter Ave. in Des Moines.  O’Brien will also display her photos of farming in Nangarhar Province. A question and answer session will follow her presentation. The event is free and open to the public, and will be followed by a social hour at the Mars Café, 2318 University Avenue, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.