COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say one person is dead after being hit by a semitrailer this afternoon, on Interstate 80 in Council Bluffs. The accident happened about 1 p.m. , in the eastbound lane near the Lake Manawa exit. Eastbound traffic was being diverted while Council Bluffs police and the Iowa State Patrol investigated. Authorities aren’t sure why the person was on the interstate. No other details, including the person’s name, were immediately released.

A minor traffic accident Sunday evening has resulted in a Red Oak High School Science teacher landing in Jail. According to Red Oak Police, 57-year old Dennis Redel was arrested for OWI and given a warning for Unsafe Backing, after the pickup he was driving backed into a car as he was pulling out of a parking spot in downtown Red Oak. The incident happened at around 9:15-p.m., Sunday.

Officials say Redel’s pickup hit a car driven by 58-year-old Steven Roby of Red Oak. A back seat passenger in Roby’s vehicle, 32-year-old Doris Ellison, was treated at the scene for minor injuries. Another passenger in the car, Patrick Ellison was not injured. Redel was also uninjured. He was taken to the Montgomery County jail and held on $1,000 bond.

Redel relinquished his softball coaching duties this past Summer, but had continued to teach high school science. Red Oak High School Principal Jedd Sherman has said a statement will be released later today with regard to the incident, from Superintendent Terry Schmidt.

FORT CALHOUN, Neb. (AP) – A special team of federal inspectors is at the Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant looking for the cause of a small fire at the plant in June. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said today (Monday) that the three inspectors will make sure the problems that caused the fire have been fixed before the plant is allowed to restart. The electrical fire briefly knocked out the cooling system for used fuel. Temperatures at the plant never exceeded safe levels and power was quickly restored.

The Omaha Public Power District plant has been shut down since April. Initially the plant was shut down for refueling maintenance, and later flooding along the Missouri River forced Fort Calhoun to remain dormant because floodwaters surrounded the plant. Fort Calhoun is about 20 miles north of Omaha.

Iowans with mental health, intellectual, and developmental disabilities, their families, and other interested persons, are being invited to share their views regarding Iowa’s Mental Health and Disability Services (MH/DS) Redesign, at one of five meetings being held around the state in the next few weeks. The meetings are sponsored by advocacy groups, and according to Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) Director Chuck Palmer, are “Important to make sure that policy makers are aware of the needs of those with disabilities.”

Legislation approved last Spring, directs the DHS to recommend a complete redesign of Iowa’s current system of delivering mental health care to those eligible for government services. Workgroups have been appointed to address core services and delivery systems. The groups’ recommendations will be delivered to the legislature, in December.

In western Iowa, meetings on the MH/DS redesign will take place September 30^th in Sioux City, and October 7^th, in Council Bluffs. For more information on the time and place, go to www.dhs.state.ia.us/partners/mhdsredesign.html on the web.

The Atlantic Police Department reports three arrests over the weekend. On Saturday, 24-year old Jeffrey Knight, of Atlantic, was taken into custody for Public Intoxication, 3rd or subsequent offense. And, 42-year old Troy Baker, of Atlantic, was arrested on a charge of Domestic Abuse Assault. Both men were brought to the Cass County Jail and held pending a court appearance.  On Sunday, 24-year old Levi Olsen, of Atlantic, was arrested for shoplifting (Theft in the 5th Degree). Olsen was also brought to the Cass County Jail, and held pending a court appearance.

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office says no injuries were reported following two separate accidents last Friday. 19-year old Tyler Rich Wood, of Des Moines was cited for having no insurance, after the car he was driving hit a deer on Highway 44, at around 10-p.m., Friday. The 2005 Chevy Cavalier Wood was driving sustained $12,000 damage.

And, at around 11:45-p.m., vehicles driven by 23-year old David Michael Guill, of Macedonia, and 51-year old Dennis Alan Esbeck, of Brayton, collided at the intersection of Highways 44 and 71 in Hamlin. Authorities say when Guill failed to obey the stop sign as he was headed east on 44, the 1991 Honda Civic he was driving was hit by Esbeck’s 1998 Chevy, as it was traveling south on 71. Damage from the crash amounted to $7,000.

In other news, the Audubon County Sheriff’s Department reports 50-year old Fred James Muhr, of Exira, turned himself-in to the Sheriff’s Office this (Monday) morning. Muhr was wanted on an outstanding warrant out of Audubon County, for Driving While Revoked. The charge stems from an incident which occurred in Exira, on August 25^th. Muhr was released from custody after appearing before the magistrate. His preliminary hearing was set for September 29^th.

w/ Ric Hanson

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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – This summer’s prolonged flooding along the Missouri River caused significant damage to several hundred thousand acres of farmland. At a workshop this (Monday) morning, farmers in Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota and Missouri can get some advice about dealing with the issues they will face after the floodwaters recede. Experts from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension and Iowa State University Extension will participate in the event from 9:30 a.m. to noon.

The workshop will be broadcast over the Internet to 20 locations along the river, so farmers shouldn’t have to travel far. Details are available online at http://flood.unl.edu . Experts say farmers will have clear debris and sand deposits from their land and repair erosion damage. And they may have to restore microscopic organisms to the soil, so it will be fertile again.

Sheriff’s officials in Fremont County report a Des Moines woman was arrested last week on drug and other charges. 40-year old Annette LaVonne Thompson was taken into custody for 1^st Offense OWI, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Open Container, and for Driving Under Suspension. Thompson made her initial appearance in court on Thursday.

And, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports a Fergus Falls, Minnesota woman escaped injury on September 4^th, after the car she was driving hit a sand pile caused by the road closure on North Street, in Hamburg. Kathleen Kostrewski’s 1999 Pontiac Sunfire flipped once, and ended up on its wheels.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Food prices could rise next year because an unseasonably hot summer is expected to damage much of this year’s corn crop. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates a surplus of 672 million bushels of corn will be left over at the end of next summer. The estimated surplus is down from last month’s forecast and well below levels that are considered healthy.

This spring, farmers planted the second-largest crop since World War II. But high temperatures stunted the plants. Corn prices soared to record levels earlier this year because of limited supplies. More expensive corn drives food prices higher because corn is an ingredient in everything from animal feed to cereal to soft drinks. It takes about six months for corn prices to trickle down to products at the grocery store.