Two public hearings are on the agenda for this evening’s meeting of the Massena City Council. At 6:30, a hearing will be held with regard to housing rehabilitation and construction programs administered by the Southwest Iowa Planning Council (SWIPCO), and, at 6:45, a hearing will take place with regard to a 2010 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application for wastewater collection systems improvement.

During the start of the regular session at 7-p.m., the Massena City Council will take action on approving the SWIPCO and CDBG applications, along with a contract for wastewater collection systems improvement. The council will also hear a presentation on rural water from a representative with SIRWA, and act on approving an agreement with Railroad Management, L.L.C and the City of Massena.

In other business, they’ll act on approving payment for blacktop service using funds from the Local Option Sales Tax and/or Betterment Fund, set the date for trick-or-treating, and discuss the demolition of a home at 208 East Cedar Street.

A local trails group is inviting the public to attend tonight’s meeting in Atlantic. The Nishna Valley Trails Association will gather at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church on East 14^th Street, beginning at 6-p.m.

During the meeting, the group will hear from a representative with the Western Iowa Tourism Council, and, receive updates on the development of trails in the Atlantic area.

Police in Council Bluffs are investigating a fatal collision between a train and a pedestrian. Officials say they received a call at around 8:40-p.m., Sunday, about a person who had been hit by a train in the area of North 11th Street and Avenue C, in Council Bluffs.  Published reports have said a 45-year old man had tried to jump on-board a moving train, and suffered severe head trauma.

The unidentified victim was taken by Council Bluffs Fire and Rescue to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, where he was pronounced dead.

The incident remains under investigation by Council Bluffs Police, and no other details are being released at this time.

State officials are warning older Iowans and their families about deceptive telemarketing schemes. Linda Hildreth, with the Iowa Department on Aging, says many older Iowans who’ve been scammed out of money are too embarrassed or ashamed to let family members know.  “A lot of older individuals can be isolated because Iowa is so rural, so when they do get somebody calling them on the phone, they’re kind of excited to have conversation,” Hildreth said. “And these (telemarketers) are trained. They know how to play on people’s sympathies and use whatever they’re so-called weaknesses or vulnerabilities are.” Some of the warning signs that an older person may be a fraud victim include; receiving a lot of junk mail for contests or sweepstakes, frequent calls from strangers asking for charitable contributions or if they’re receiving cheap items in the mail such as pens and pencils, small appliances, jewelry or beauty products. Hildreth encourages Iowans to contact her office if they need help with an elderly family member who may be targeted.

“If you suspect something, we’d rather have you call us and find out there’s nothing to it…but unfortunately, there are plenty of people out there who perpetrate on older victims and persons with disabilities,” Hildreth said. Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller recently announced an agreement that prevents a Virginia based telemarketing company from calling Iowans. He said the company, called “Products At Work,” misrepresented how they would use the money collected from selling various products. In one recorded call, a person claiming to be a volunteer said 100% of the company’s proceeds benefit paraplegics and amputee victims. Miller said both claims weren’t entirely true.

“We advise older Iowans to be suspicious about unsolicited calls from charities or others. They shouldn’t be fooled by sympathetic names or stories,” Miller said. Records show a 71-year-old Floyd County woman with alzheimer’s disease placed at least 13 orders with “Products At Work” within two years – including five separate orders for wind chimes, spending more than a $1,000. An 83-year-old Keokuk County woman placed 12 separate orders, totaling nearly $800 within 15 months. And a 66-year-old Clayton County woman placed ten orders for nearly $500 in just over a year-and-a-half.  For more information, surf to www.Aging.Iowa.gov., or call the Iowa Department on Aging at 515-725-3333.

(Radio Iowa)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is likely to get an earful when it holds public meetings on its plan for managing the Missouri River next year because  many people have criticized the way the agency handled this year’s record flooding. Several hundred thousand acres of land flooded along the Missouri River and hundreds of homes had to be evacuated. The fact that the flooding began this spring and continued into fall only made matters worse. The corps has said it had to release massive amounts of water from the dams along the river to deal with unexpectedly heavy spring rains and above-average snowpack. The corps will hold eight public meetings in cities along the river between Oct. 24 and Nov. 3.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Authorities spent hours searching a stretch of the Missouri River after reports of a man jumping from a pedestrian bridge linking Nebraska and Iowa. Omaha police say witnesses saw the man jump just before 8:30 p.m. Friday. Authorities from the Omaha area and Council Bluffs, Iowa, spent more than two hours searching for the man without success. Police say the man had contacted a family member and may have been suicidal.

w/ Chris Parks

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The Montgomery County Sherrif’s office announced two seperate arrests on Friday.  The first occured at around Noon when officers arrested 16 year old Nicholas Farwell of Villisca as the result of an investigation conducted by the Sherrif’s office.  Farwell was charged with Lascivious Acts with a Child which is a class C felony.  He was transported and held in the Juvenile Detention Center in Council Bluffs.

The second reported arrest occured around 9:18pm on Friday as the Sherrif’s office took in 50 year old Pamela Jean Price of Grant on valid Montgomery County warrant for trespas

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Terry Branstad won’t commute the sentence of a woman convicted of setting fire to her family’s home in Griswold in 2005. Branstad on Friday denied applications for commutation from Tracey Dyess, and three other inmates. Dyess is serving a 45-year prison sentence for arson, attempted murder and voluntary manslaughter. She was 17 when she set the fire, telling investigators she wanted to kill her stepfather, Brian Street, because of sexual abuse. The fire killed her sister and nephew. Street was later convicted. The Iowa parole board denied her request for early release in July.

Branstad also rejected commutation applications from convicted murderers David Foell in Franklin County and Yvette Louisell in Story County and LeAnn Werts, who was convicted in Polk County of attempted murder and child endangerment.

Dry and windy conditions and little chance of precipitation have prompted officials in Cass County to issue a Burn Ban, which will remain in effect until further notice. The ban was instituted at 3-p.m. today (Friday, Oct. 7th), by Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon, after he submitted a request which was approved by the State Fire Marshal’s Office. The ban means opening burning is prohibited until the Fire Marshal deems conditions in the county are such that open burning no longer constitutes a danger to life or property.

Burn bans are already in place in several northwestern and Central Iowa Counties. Cass County is the first in southwest and western Iowa to institute the ban. Just before the ban went into effect, a field fire was reported northwest of Atlantic this (Friday) afternoon. No buildings were in danger from the flames. Crews from Atlantic, Marne and Elk Horn were working the scene just before 3-p.m.