A collision between a semi and a car has Interstate 80 eastbound and one lane of I-80 westbound blocked near the Shelby exit.  The interstate is closed from Exit 34 to 40.  Follow local detour or use alternate route if possible.  No other details are currently available.

The National Transportation Safety Board, Thursday, issued two safety recommendations to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) related to five rear-end collisions in which crewmembers failed to operate their trains at the required restricted speed. One of the crashes happened on April 17th, 2011, near Red Oak. The trains’ conductor Patricia “Trish” Hyatt and Engineer Tom Anderson, both of Creston, died in the crash. They were both 48 years old. A similar incident which occurred the following month in Mineral Springs, NC, also resulted in crewmember fatalities. Both are still under investigation by the NTSB.

All five of the NTSB’s recommendations focus on the need for railroads to  disseminate information related to these accidents to their employees, and to emphasize the need for crewmembers to operate trains in accordance with restricted speed operating rules. The other freight train accidents happened last year in Low Moor, Virginia, DeWitt, New York, and in DeKalb, Indiana. Four of the five accidents occurred on railroad lines over which Amtrak passenger trains operate. 

Because the accidents occurred on different railroads and under different circumstances, the NTSB said it was concerned that non-compliance with restricted speed requirements may be an issue affecting a broad segment of the U.S. railroad industry. Signal systems provide for the safe separation between trains. However, officials say there are times when trains are authorized to occupy the same sections of track. In these cases, safe train operations rely solely on crewmember compliance with the railroad’s restricted speed requirements. Typically, the requirements include “being prepared to stop within one-half the range of vision.” Complete understanding of and strict compliance with restricted speed requirements are absolutely mandatory to prevent catastrophic train collisions. 

(The safety recommendation letters may be found here: http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety_recs.html)

A Brayton teen escaped injury during a rollover accident that occurred Thursday night, about a mile south of Exira. The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office says 16-year old Cody Ray Juelsgaard was traveling south on Kingbird Avenue, at around 7:15-p.m., when he lost control of a 1998 Chevy pickup he was driving as he was negotiating a curve in the road. The vehicle began to drift to the right before it entered the west ditch and flipped onto its roof, causing about $3,000 damage.

Robert Taylor's truck

Murder suspect Robert Taylor

Authorities in southern Iowa are on the lookout for a man suspected in a homicide case. Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Safety say the Ringgold County Communications Center in Mount Ayr received a 9-1-1 call just after 2-a.m. from 2339 – 280th Street in Mt. Ayr.  A juvenile inside the home called and reported a domestic altercation between 40-year old Robert Taylor,  and 45-year old Lori Yeager.  The responding deputies found Lori Yeager dead inside the home, the victim of an apparent homicide. Robert Taylor left the residence, and is actively being sought by authorities.

Officials say Taylor has an active arrest warrant on a charge of Murder in the First Degree.  He was last seen driving a copper (burnt orange) 2008 Ford F350 Super Duty truck with Iowa license 981 RZD.  Taylor is considered armed and dangerous.  Anyone with information concerning Taylor’s whereabouts is asked to call 911 immediately or the Ringgold County Sheriff’s Office at (641) 464-3921.

The Atlantic Police Department says one person suffered minor injuries during a collision Thursday evening at the intersection of 6th and Chestnut Streets. Officials say vehicles driven by Alisha Muzzy, of Elk Horn, and Christopher Crespo, of Atlantic, collided after Muzzy failed to stop for a red light at the intersection. The accident happened at around 6:40-p.m., Thursday. Muzzy was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital for treatment of her injuries. She was also cited for Failure to Obey a Traffic Signal. Damage from the crash amounted to $5,000.

Republican Congressman Tom Latham says he’s the “Clear choice” to represent the 3rd District in southern and southwest Iowa this November, against incumbent Democrat Representative Leonard Boswell. Latham told KJAN News it’ll “probably the clearest choice anybody’s had in a Congressional race, because of Boswell’s vote to approve bills which influenced the country’s debt crisis. He says Boswell supported the Wall Street bailout, stimulus spending,  Cap and Trade, the Presidents health care bill (commonly referred to as “Obamacare,” and Dodd-Frank, which Latham says will have an impact on local, small banks in rural communities, in a very negative way. Latham says he opposed all of those bills.

Latham says the government needs to cut spending. The Obama administration’s stimulus bill, he says, cost the country $1-trillion, and failed to deliver on benefitting the economy as promised. Latham says Boswell has sided with Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and continues “In lock-step” with the administration in making poor decisions on how to get the economy moving. Latham says he’s attended over 550 town hall meetings, listening to Iowans, and working on ways to prevent Washington “from dumping on us, here,” as far as coming up with regulations that hurt the local economy and impede business growth.

And, while advertising during the caucuses in Iowa were negative, and often featured personal attacks by the candidates, Latham says he won’t go down that path, unless he’s attacked. Latham says he has always “Run for an office, rather than against somebody.” He says he’s tried to tell Iowans why he wants to serve them and represent them in Washington, and talk about issues. He says during the last campaign, Boswell did not run one positive ad. Latham says “The idea of politics of personal destruction is ridiculous, because it doesn’t do anybody any good, and doesn’t let people know who you are, and what you stand for.” He says his ads will be issued-based, but he will reserve the option to respond appropriately, if he’s attacked on a personal level.

w/ Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (10.0MB)

Subscribe: RSS

A Clarinda man who helped people get moving for more than 30-years, by specializing in joint replacement surgery and therapies, has died at the age of 73.

Dr. Ronald Miller

Dr. Ronald Miller, founder of Miller Orthopaedic Affiliates in Council Bluffs, died Wednesday at Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs.

Miller founded his practice in 1972 and performed surgery on thousands of people. He was born in Clarinda, graduated from the Clarinda High School, and received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Iowa. Miller served in the Army after graduation from medical school, attaining the rank of major as a member of the 504th Aviation Battalion.

He retired late in 2006 because of health problems. Dr, Miller oversaw Miller Orthopaedic’s expansion to 13 locations, with clinics throughout southwest Iowa and in Omaha. He also developed a program that included education about joint replacement before and after surgery.

Funeral services for Dr. Ronald Miller will be 10 a.m. Saturday, at the St. Patrick Catholic Church in Council Bluffs.

w/ Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.3MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Iowa Republican Congressman Tom Latham will be back in Washington, D.C next week when the 112th Congress reconvenes.

Rep. Tom Latham (R) - IA

Latham told KJAN News Thursday, that after spending most of last year gathering input from Iowans and what’s important to them, he’ll present some key initiatives designed to bring “common sense” back to the nation’s capital. The number one issue he plans to address is the regulatory burdens coming out of Washington, or what he calls a “wet blanket” that smothers the creation of jobs and getting the economy moving.

Latham says he has legislation in-place that will review existing regulations, to determine which ones are working and those which provide a cost benefit to society, and get rid of the ones that don’t. Latham says he wants the private sector to have time to evaluate the rules that are created by agencies within the government before the rules go into effect. He says also, when it becomes apparent a regulation will cost the economy over $100-million, Congress itself should vote on it, and if approved, the measure should be signed by the president. Another initiative he plans to introduce next week, will say to Congress, that if they do not pass a budget, that they won’t get paid.

He says it’s been three-years since the Senate has done any basic work on the budget, and we’re spending $3.8-trillion annually, with no budget. He calls that “outrageous,” and the reason the government is $15-trillion in debt, is because there is “No framework for a budget, no way to cut spending,” and there are no constraints on spending without a budget. He says his proposal will make Congress more accountable to the people.

Latham, who grew up on his family’s farm, said he’s frustrated by the Labor Department’s attempts at writing regulation that prohibits kids from working on family farms jointly owned by their parents or other family members. He says he’s introduced a bi-partisan resolution of disapproval asking the Dept. of Labor not to move forward with the regulation, because it goes against all traditions in agriculture.

Rep. Leonard Boswell (D) - IA

Latham announced last April that he will run in this November’s election for Iowa’s new 3rd district, against incumbent Democratic Representative Leonard Boswell. Latham moved from the 4th District into the 3rd District after the 2010 census numbers resulted in the elimination of the 5th Congressional District in Iowa. The move spared him from facing Representative Steve King, in a GOP primary.

New Congressional Districts beginning 2013