Officials with the Iowa Gold Star Military Museum said Friday, all Iowa veterans who served during the Korean War era, or served in the Korean theater since 1945, and their families, are invited to attend a meeting hosted by the Korean War Veterans Association, Tall Corn Chapter #99 on Saturday, April 14th, beginning at 9:30 a.m., at the Iowa Gold Star Military Museum at Camp Dodge, 7105 NW 70th Avenue, Johnston. The focus of the meeting is to inform Iowa’s Korean War-era veterans and their families about the U.S. Department of Defense Korean War 60th Anniversary recognition program, which is tentatively scheduled to stop in Iowa this summer.

A component of the DoD program is to provide personal certificates of appreciation to all veterans who served in the U.S. military between June 1950 and June 1953. More than 85,000 Iowans served during the three-year conflict. Personalized certificates of appreciation, signed by U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta, are being provided to all Korean War-era veterans and the family members who supported them at a separate event later this summer. Eligible veterans or their families must sign up with the DoD to receive the certificate. The DoD also plans to launch “The Year of the Korean War Veteran” in June.

According to Sid Morris, chairman of the Korean War Veterans Association, Tall Corn Chapter #99, the main purpose of this meeting is to inform Iowa’s Korean War-era veterans and their families about this program and get these certificates to as many eligible Iowa veterans and families as possible. “We need to get all these names turned into the Department of Defense ahead of time, because they have to print those certificates prior to bringing them to us at our meeting in July. We want to get as many Iowa Korean War-era vets recognized as we can,” Morris said.

The meeting will open with refreshments and registration. Attendees will have the opportunity to tour the Iowa Gold Star Military Museum and listen to a presentation from Brig. Gen. Janet Phipps, Deputy Commanding General of the Iowa Army National Guard. An informational meeting will follow with guidance on how to obtain the 60-yearanniversary certificates. There will also be an update on a proposed bus trip to Washington, D.C. to visit the Korean War Veterans Memorial in September 2012.

Additionally, the chapter is also seeking Sailors, Soldiers, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guard members who have served in Korea anytime from 1945 to the present, in order to start a new Korean War Veterans Association chapter in central and western Iowa. Anyone who has served honorably in the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force or Coast Guard is eligible for membership if their service was within Korea (including territorial waters and airspace), Sept. 3, 1945 to present, or if their service was outside of Korea, June 25, 1950 to Jan. 31, 1955.

For more information about the Korean War Veterans Association, contact Sid Morris at 319-266-5184 or by e-mail at morrisjr@cfu.net .

Two people were injured during a rollover accident that took place this (Friday) morning, in Page County. Sheriff Lyle Palmer reports a 1998 Jeep Cherokee driven by 48-year old Keith Vickers, of St. Joseph, MO., was traveling north on Highway 59, about a mile north of the Imogene corner, when Vickers fell asleep at the wheel. He awoke just in time to see the SUV heading toward a ditch. The vehicle missed a curve in the road and entered the east ditch. When Vickers tried to correct his error, the SUV rolled three-times before coming to rest on the driver’s side. A passenger in the Jeep, 50-year old Donna Kay Riggs, of Walnut, who was also asleep at the time of the accident, suffered non-incapacitating injuries, and was transported by Essex Rescue to the Shenandoah Hospital. Vickers suffered what were described as “possible” injuries, but did not require treatment. Both occupants of the SUV were wearing their seat belts. The Jeep was totaled in the crash, which occurred at around 5:25-a.m.  No citations were reported.

Cass County Assessor Brenda Nelson says in conjunction with the Cass County Soil & Water Conservation District & the Cass County Extension Office, the Cass County Assessor’s Office has implemented the new Iowa State Soil Survey.  The total ag land value of the county will not change, it will only be redistributed based on the new CSR points. 

Cass County along with Dickenson County and part of Osceola County are the only counties in Iowa that have implemented the soil survey with the new CSR’s.  If you have any questions or concerns after receiving your assessment roll on or about April 15^th , please call the Assessor’s Office at 712-243-2005.  You may also access their website at www.beacon.schneidercorp.com

With the increasing demands on our personal and professional time in today’s busy society, learning to juggle multiple tasks at once is something we all face daily.  As a result, a new traffic safety epidemic has emerged on America’s roadways that demands immediate attention:  distracted driving.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Association has designated April as “National Distracted Driving Awareness Month”.

Nationwide nearly 6,000 people are killed every year and a half million more are injured in distracted driving traffic crashes.  Each year in Iowa, an average of 10 lives are lost and nearly 1,000 people are injured in some 1,800 distracted driving crashes.  One of the most alarming and widespread forms of distracted driving is cell phone usage.  According to a Carnegie Mellon study, driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent.  A report from the National Safety Council found that more than one out of every four traffic crashes is caused by people talking on cell phones or sending text messages.

Iowa law states that no person shall use a handheld electronic communication device to write, send or read a text message, instant message or electronic mail while driving a motor vehicle, unless the motor vehicle is at a complete stop off the traveled portion of the roadway.  This does not prohibit use of a global positioning or navigation system.

No teen driver holding a restricted driver’s license shall use any electronic communication device or electronic entertainment device while driving a motor vehicle, unless the motor vehicle is at a complete stop off the traveled portion of the roadway.  This does not apply to the use of electronic equipment permanently installed in the motor vehicle or a portable device operated through permanently installed equipment, such as OnStar.

No one is immune from the dangers of distracted driving.  Every life is precious so, please remember:  One text or call could wreck it all.

(Iowa Dept. of Public Safety Press Release)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says this spring’s drier than normal weather has helped keep space free for floodwaters in the reservoirs along the Missouri River.   The corps said Friday nearly all of the 16.3 million acre-feet of the planned storage space for floodwater remains free because March was so dry. The corps now says runoff into the Missouri River should be about 94 percent of normal this year, but that could change because it is still early. Last year, late spring rains combined with heavy snowpack to force the release of massive amounts of water from the dams and record flooding along the 2,300-mile-long river.
Corps officials say there appears to be enough water this year to provide for full navigation from Sioux City, Iowa, to St. Louis.

Officials with the Iowa National Guard have confirmed today (Friday) 49-year old Staff Sgt. Cory A. Mildenstein of Sioux City, died after drowning in the Atlantic Ocean while swimming near Aquadilla, Puerto Rico on Wednesday, April 4^th.

Staff Sgt. Cory A. Mildenstein

Mildenstein, a member of the Civil Engineering Squadron, 185th Air Refueling Wing, Iowa Air National Guard based in Sioux City, was conducting construction projects upgrading military facilities in Puerto Rico at the time of the accident. 

Mildenstein was born in Cherokee, and graduated from Sioux City East High School in 1981. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in October 1985. Following graduation from Basic Training, he attended the Electronic Warfare Systems Specialist Course and was then assigned to George Air Force Base, CA. He joined the Iowa Air National Guard in October 2005 and was named honor graduate of his Structural Maintenance course. Mildenstein previously deployed to Bagram, Afghanistan as part of the Iowa Air National Guard Civil Engineering team in 2011. 

The family of Staff Sgt. Cory A. Mildenstein issued the following statement: “Cory always had a smile on his face and space in his heart for everyone. He was very proud of his children Amber, April and Zac. He loved spending time with family and friends and he was always willing to help with a home repair, or car project.” 

Funeral arrangements are pending.

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The Cass County Health System will be hosting Spring into Action Diabetes Health Fair, a free community event, on April 17^th, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the hospital atrium. The event is open to anyone interested in learning more about diabetes and ways to stay healthy with diabetes.  There will be vendors with diabetes products and product samples, interactive education areas, and cooking and exercise demonstrations.

Emily Krengel, RD, CCMH Dietician, will present healthy cooking demonstrations at 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. The interactive exercise presentation will be at 5:00 p.m. and Dr. Vanessa Cook will present “How to Make the Most of Your Doctor’s Visit” at 6:00 p.m.

While it’s downright cold this (Friday) morning, especially in eastern Iowa, the recent warm spell is causing something of a crisis for organizations that serve the needy. Candace Gregory, CEO of the Open Door Mission in Omaha-Council Bluffs, says the agency’s food pantries were very busy when temperatures were in the 80s and 90s just a few days ago. “For the last week-and-a-half, we’ve had families literally coming in looking for t-shirts, shorts and box fans,” Gregory says, “things that we don’t even have ready until May.” Gregory is asking the public for help with donations, especially of electric fans. 

“When you’re out picking up a box fan, if you can think of picking up one for someone else that’s in need, it will go a long way,” she says. A new trend has developed over the past 18 months. Gregory says many middle-class families are coming to the mission to get food assistance, people who used to be regular donors or volunteers. She says three-quarters of the people they serve are strictly seeking food assistance. Gregory says because of the mild winter, food donations dropped. 

She says, “For us, serving 17-hundred meals a day, it has been a challenge because we haven’t had as many food drives this winter.” Gregory says their shelves are bare and they could use donations of food, clothing and other household items. Four out of ten people served by the Omaha-based mission are Iowans. Learn more at: “opendoormission.org”.

(Matt Kelley/Radio Iowa)