Here’s the latest area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson…

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A spokesman for the Iowa Army National Guard says community homecoming ceremonies for three Guard units mobilized as part of Operation Enduring Freedom will be held on Monday, July 18th and Tuesday, July 19th at Cedar Falls and in Coralville. The Guardsmen are currently undergoing medical clearances, briefings on federal and state benefits to which they are now entitled as combat veterans, equipment turn-in, and the completion of administrative documentation at Ft. McCoy, Wis. and will return home to Iowa as soon as those tasks are completed.

Homecoming ceremonies will be held for Companies B and C, 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division. The ceremony for about 100 soldiers from Company C starts at 11:30 a.m. at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls. Nearly 110 soldiers from Company B will be welcomed back beginning at Noon, in the Marriott Conference Center in Coralville.

The homecoming ceremony for 95 soldiers from Company E, 334th Brigade Support Battalion and selected Soldiers of H-H-B 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, will be held at 11:30 a.m., at the UNI Dome.

The units arrived in Afghanistan in November 2010, where the Soldiers provided full-spectrum operations in a combat theater, including lethal and non-lethal capabilities, support to Afghan National Army and Police units, and assistance to humanitarian relief initiatives.

The Iowa State Patrol reports one of three Nebraska men who was injured during an accident Saturday afternoon in Mills County, has died. 60-year old Michael Eppenbach, of Ord, NE was a passenger in a pickup that was struck by a semi, as the vehicle was making a U-turn on an Interstate 29 exit ramp. Eppenbach died from his injuries at Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha. The accident happened about two-miles south of the Glenwood exit on I-29 southbound, at around 12:23-p.m.

Officials say a 2006 Ford F-150 pickup driven by 60-year old George Mills, of Raymond, NE, was on the ramp from the 32-mile marker northbound, when he attempted to make a u-turn and go southbound on the top of the ramp in a head-to-head construction zone. His pickup was hit on the driver’s side door during the u-turn, by a northbound 2002 Mack semi. The driver of the semi was not identified.

Mills, and Michael Eppenbach, and 36-year old Jeffrey Eppenbach, of Waverly, NE, were injured in the crash . All three men were taken to Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, with Jeffrey Eppenbach having been flown by LifeNet helicopter from the scene. The other two men were transported by Glenwood Rescue.

The accident remains under investigation.

A Minnesota man who was critically injured when he was struck by one or more vehicles July 6th near Shelby, has died from his injuries. 31-year old Mosadaq A, Aden, of St. Paul, died Friday, at the Nebraska Medical Center.

Aden was hit by an unknown vehicle or vehicles at around 3-a.m., as he was walking on an Interstate 80 ramp. The State Patrol says the driver left the scene of the crash without stopping, but they acknowledge that person may not have known they struck an individual.

The man was previously listed in critical condition after suffering a crushed pelvis and severe head injuries during the accident. He had been making his way across the country from Las Vegas to St. Paul, by with whatever transportation was available to him, including hitchhiking.

Heavy rain and intense lightening ripped through the area early this morning. The storms dumped 3.32-inches of rain in Atlantic (here at the KJAN studios) between 1-and 2-a.m., and caused street flooding and scattered power outages. Higher rainfall amounts were reported further to the northwest, near the Marne area.

Excessive run-off from the rainfall was expected to cause flash flooding to occur. The National Weather Service issued a Flash Flood Warning for northwestern Cass County until 8:30-a.m.   A Flash Flood warning that had been in effect for eastern Pottawattamie and Shelby Counties until 5-a.m., was cancelled just before 4 o’clock, as excess runoff from the heavy rain had ended, and streams and creeks in the warned area were expected to have begun receding, therefore ending the flood threat. If flooding is or has been observed, you’re asked to report the incident to law enforcement.

A lightening strike may also have sparked a barn fire a few miles south of Marne, at around 3:40-a.m. Cass County Communications dispatched Marne and Atlantic Fire to the Sonya Schuler residence at 55242 560^th Street. The barn, which contained a snowmobile and camper, was reported to have been fully engulfed in flames minutes after the first firefighters’ page went out.

Here at the KJAN Studios in Atlantic, the official reporting station for the National Weather Service, we’ve received 3.32-inches of rain since 1-a.m. The heaviest rain and intense lightning occurred between 2-2:45-am.

A Flood warning remains in effect for NW Cass County until 8:30-a.m., and for eastern Pottawattamie and Shelby Counties until 5-a.m.

A crash between three vehicles Friday evening on Interstate 29 in Mills County resulted in a Nebraska woman being flown to the hospital in serious condition. The Iowa State Patrol says the accident happened at around 5:15-p.m. near the Glenwood exit.

Officials say three vehicles, a 1998 Harley Davidson motorcycle, a 2000 Chevy S-10 pickup, and a 2003 Toyota Highlander were all traveling south on I-29 when the pickup, driven by 21-year old Maegen Duran, of Johnstown, NE hit the cycle.

Following the impact, the pickup entered the ditch, rolled over, and was hit by the Toyota SUV. Duran was flown by Lifenet Helicopter to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, where a report on her condition was not available late Friday night.

Neither driver of the motorcycle, 27-year old Luke Edmonds, of Plattsmouth, NE, nor the driver of the Toyota, 35-year old Tara Marie Cowherd, of Omaha, were injured.

The accident remains under investigation.

From pomeranians to labradors, more than a thousand dogs and their handlers from across the region are competing in a dog show in Omaha/Council Bluffs this weekend. Pam Swisher, with the Nebraska Kennel Club, says there are 11-hundred pampered, purebred pooches registered for the main event.

“They’re entered in confirmation which is really the beauty show of the dog show world, where judges look at the dogs and judge the dog which represents the breed standard the closest,” Swisher says. “They’re not really judged against one another. They’re judged against the breed standard.” She says the obedience and rally divisions of the show are also something to see.

“The judge is watching the way the team works together, the way the dog responds to the handler,” she says. “Some of the obedience work is done with verbal commands, some with hand commands. Then we have rally, which is really less formal than obedience, and that’s where different dogs are doing different functions at different stations around the ring.” Swisher says a new feature this year will give those attending a chance to meet the breeds and ask the experts a few questions.

She says, “On Saturday and Sunday between the hours of 10 and 3, a variety of breeders have volunteered to bring their specific breed to the NKC Education booth and let people pet them and get to know a little bit more about what this particular breed was bred for, what kind of temperament they have, what kind of pets they’ll make.” The dog show got underway this afternoon (Friday) and runs through Sunday at the Qwest Center in Omaha. For more information, visit: “nebraskakennelclub.com”.

(Matt Kelley/Radio Iowa)

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Roberts Dairy says it’s closing its plant in Iowa City immediately and moving operations to Dubuque and Omaha, Neb.

The Iowa City Press-Citizen says the company sent a letter to the mayor, saying the closure is effective Friday. Forty-seven workers will be affected. Roberts Dairy will continue to employ 30 workers as drivers and support personnel. In the letter, the company says the closure is the result of lower volumes and the need to consolidate operations.

The dairy says it will continue to have 250 employees in Iowa.

An illegal u-turn by a motorist traveling on a one-way road, led to a collision that injured two people. The Iowa State Patrol says 83-year old Leslie Wayne Johnson, of Villisca, was traveling eastbound on Interstate 80 in Pottawattamie County, when he realized he was going the wrong direction.

Johnson pulled his 1998 Dodge Dynasty onto the right shoulder of the road, and was attempting to make a u-turn in a prohibited area, when his car was hit by a 2008 Chevy Impala driven by an unidentified 15-year old female.

Both drivers were transported by personal vehicle to their respective doctors. The accident happened at around 2:50-p.m., a little bit northeast of Council Bluffs.