w/ Ric Hanson

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w/ Ric Hanson

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An Atlantic Eagle Scout has embarked on a scouting project to outfit the Schildberg Quarry Recreational Area with park benches. The project is being undertaken by Casey Ihnen, who presented a pine wood prototype of the bench before the Atlantic Parks and Recreation Board during their meeting Monday evening.

Atlantic Eagle Scout Casey Ihnen w/a prototype park bench

Ihnen plans to place at least a dozen benches around both lakes, at locations to be determined, but several are expected to be placed along the walking trail.  The handmade wooden benches will be sunk into pea gravel so they can’t be easily be pulled out. They’ll cost $120 each, or $1,200 altogether. Ihnen will be looking for local sponsors for the benches. He’s already received donations from local businesses, groups and individuals. For more information, you can contact Roger Herring at the Parks and Rec Department in Atlantic.

CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) – Residents in Illinois and three other states have reported feeling a magnitude 4.0 earthquake that was centered in southeast Missouri.  WSIU Radio in Carbondale reports that the ground shook just before 4 a.m. Tuesday. The quake was centered about 5 miles from East Prairie, Mo. That’s about 16 miles from Cairo, Ill., close to where Interstates 55 and 57 converge.  The U.S. Geological Survey says residents in Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky have reported feeling the quake. 
     There are no reports of significant damage.

Another federal agency is predicting a lesser chance of flooding this spring in the Missouri River valley. A forecast from the National Weather Service last week said the odds of flooding were average-to-below-average. Now, the U-S Army Corps of Engineers says the flood outlook in the river basin is low-to-very-low. Jody Farhat, director of the Corps’ Water Control Center in Omaha, says water storage is right on the expected mark. “Total water currently in storage is 56.4-million acre feet, which is 0.4-million acre feet below the base of the annual flood control pool,” Farhat says. “This is a slight increase from the beginning of the month, primarily due to the warm temperatures that have freed up some of the water that was stored in river ice. In a typical winter, we would see this return flow coming in March, so we’re simply getting it a little early this year.” Farhat says there is not much snow on the ground in the region.

“Currently, there’s very little plains snowpack in the Missouri River basin,” Farhat says. “Most locations are reporting less than an inch of water equivalent and the heaviest amounts are all downstream of the main stem system,” which is about half of what they’d normally have at this time. Farhat says they have moved out all the water that was left over from last year’s record flooding on the waterway. “All of our 2011 floodwater has been evacuated from the system and as of today, we have 400-thousand acre feet of additional flood control storage available,” Farhat says. “Both the plains and mountain snowpack are below average and are significantly lower than last year at this time.” Farhat says despite the good numbers, conditions can change quickly and localized flooding could still occur almost anywhere in the basin. She says there has been high water in some part of the basin in each of the last 25 years.

(by Matt Kelley/Radio Iowa)

Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County say a Red Oak man was arrested Monday night, on a charge of Domestic Abuse Assault/2nd Offense. Troy W. Schneckloth was taken into custody at his residence, following an investigation into a reported domestic disturbance. Officials say there were no reported victims during the incident. Schneckloth was arrested without incident, and was held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 cash bond.

Three men were arrested over the weekend, in Atlantic….one of them twice. According to the Atlantic Police Department, 52-year old Brian Boken, of Lewis, was arrested Sunday on a charge of Serious Assault. That same day, 25-year old David Tyler Andersen, of Atlantic, was arrested for Driving Under Suspension. Andersen was also arrested Saturday on the same charge, in addition to a Possession of a Controlled Substance charge. 

On Saturday, 37-year old Gregory Storjohann, of Walnut, was arrested for Driving While Barred. All three men were booked into the Cass County Jail

An Audubon man was arrested late Monday morning for Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated. The Audubon County Sheriff’s Department says 64-year old James Mason Edwards faces a charge of OWI/2nd offense, following an incident in the 1800 block of Jay Avenue. He was taken into custody at around 11-a.m. Monday, and brought to the Audubon Jail. Edwards later posted a $2,000 cash bond, and was released.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

A western Iowa man was desperately searching for a place to eat Saturday afternoon when he finally settled on pizza from a convenience store in Guthrie Center. While there, Steve Petty bought a Powerball ticket and ended up winning a one-million dollar prize.

Steve Petty (left) & IA Lottery CEO Terry Rich

He had previously stopped at three restaurants – which were all closed. “If one of those restaurants had been open, I may not have bought a ticket,” Petty said. He claimed his prize today (Monday) at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Des Moines. The 58-year-old Petty, who lives in Adair, works as a tax preparer and is the organist for Prince of Peace Lutheran Church on the east side of Des Moines.

“You can imagine driving from where I live to the east side of Des Moines, you put miles on your car quickly,” Petty said. “My 2004 Prius is at the 199,000 mile stage and I’m not sure how much longer it will go, so a new car will come in handy in the near future.” Petty also plans to set aside some money for retirement and fix up his home to help care for his 95-year-old mother. She landed in the hospital last Thursday after taking a bad fall. Petty said his mother was “minimally responsive” Friday morning, but her condition has since improved. Petty was at the hospital Sunday when he informed his neighbors of his good fortune. “They came to the hospital and they said ‘have you validated your ticket?’ I said, ‘What does that mean?’ They had me sign my ticket and took me to the convenience store. They put the ticket in the machine…and it was indeed a one-million dollar winning ticket. I was overjoyed,” Petty said. Petty is an infrequent customer of the Iowa Lottery.

“I think this million dollar ticket came on a return of 22 to 28 dollars,” Petty said. After taxes, Petty is collecting $700,000.

(Pat Curtis/Radio Iowa)