Officials with the Iowa DOT’s Iowa Byways Advisory Council have selected the 26-mile long White Pole Road as one of three new Iowa Byways. The route was praised for its historic sense of place and for its unique experience that provides many opportunities for exploration and engagement. John Fisher, President of the White Pole Road Corporation, says “It’s very encouraging to receive such great feedback on our efforts. They believe our byway has great potential to impact even more visitor experiences as well as the economic benefits for each of our communities along the White Pole Road.”

The WPR joins the Bridges Byway in Madison County which connects the iconic covered bridges and the Jefferson Highway Heritage Byway between Northwood and Lamoni as a 2016 designation. The Iowa DOT will work with the new byway applicants over the next several months to assist with finalizing their route signage which will be installed by the 2018 tourist season.

The White Pole Road is a tribute to the original dirt road that once connected the five communities of Adair, Casey, Menlo, Stuart and Dexter. This particular stretch of road is important because it served as the nucleus to Iowa’s first certified route which stretched statewide from Davenport to Council Bluffs in 1914.

For more information on the White Pole Road Development Corporation, visit www.whitepoleroad.com and to learn more about Iowa Byways, visit www.iowabyways.org .

Voting is underway to determine the cover of the next Iowa Travel Guide. This marks the fifth year that followers of the Iowa Tourism Office on Facebook are choosing the photo. Iowa Tourism Office spokesperson Jessica O’Riley says voting for the 2017 Iowa Travel Guide cover started Monday and will continue through next Tuesday (October 18th) morning.

“This year there are four different options to choose from; the world’s crookedest street in Burlington, family fun along the Turkey River in Elkader, a thrilling roller coaster – the new one at Adventureland, or art at the Art Museum in Sioux City,” O’Riley says. The winning cover will be announced on Wednesday, October 19th.

The Iowa Tourism Office distributes more than 100,000 copies of the Iowa Travel Guide each year. It can be found at Iowa’s welcome centers or ordered online: http://www.traveliowa.com/aspx/cms/SVContactForm.aspx?formid=1

(Radio Iowa)

LINK TO VOTE ON FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/IowaTourism/app/303561899745219?brandloc=DISABLE&app_data=chk-57fbfdfd67f88

LINK TO COVER OPTIONS:
https://iowa.webdamdb.com/bp/#/downloadqueue/hz1SkQBKOTMECyIA/source/0

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds are hitting the campaign trail in hopes of giving Republican legislative candidates a boost. Branstad and Reynolds are campaigning on Tuesday and Thursday.

GARNER, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa company is recalling the cookie dough it sold to Blue Bell Creameries and other food companies because it may be contaminated with listeria bacteria. Dough-maker Aspen Hills notified customers about the recall Sunday. The Garner, Iowa, based company doesn’t sell directly to consumers. Aspen Hills did not say the companies or states where the dough was sold.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — This year will go down in the Iowa history books as the third wettest among 144 years of records. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources in its monthly Water Summary Update says the statewide average precipitation in Iowa was 45 inches, nearly 10 inches more than normal for the 2016 water year, which is measured from Oct. 1, 2015, through Sept. 30, 2016.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A fraternal organization in Davenport is handing out 1,300 dictionaries to third-grade students throughout the local school district. The Quad-City Times reports that the dictionaries from Davenport Elks Lodge 298 also come with a coloring book and bookmark. Longtime Elks member Earl Oelerich visits the schools, telling the students to stay in school, avoid drugs and use scholarships to fund their college education. The project has continued for 15 years so far.

Iowa’s Joni Ernst is now the only Republican woman serving in the U.S. Senate who has not called for Donald Trump to step aside or vowed not to vote for him. Ernst says it’s because she’ll be voting for the entire 2016 Republican ticket. “I am voting for my Republican Party and I’ve told others I’m not fighting for Donald Trump,” Ernst told Radio Iowa. “I am fighting for my country.” Ernst sent a tweet Saturday morning, denouncing the contents of a vulgar 2005 recording of Trump that was published this past Friday. Today (Monday), Ernst repeated her criticism.

“I will not condone Donald Trump’s actions. I do not excuse them,” Ernst said. “But this is bigger than Donald Trump and it is about the direction of the country.” Ernst says she “will not advise anybody to vote for Hillary Clinton.” “And I will not support her and I feel that my party, regardless right now of who’s at the top of the ticket…has better ideas and a better direction for our country than those of the Democrats,” Ernst told Radio Iowa.

The Republican candidate in Iowa’s second congressional district announced today (Monday) that he will NOT vote for Trump OR Clinton. Chris Peters, the Republican running against Democratic Congressman Dave Loebsack, has run in previous elections under the Libertarian Party’s banner.

(Radio Iowa)

A southwest Iowa manufacturer is celebrating a milestone. Johnson Controls is announcing it produced its 15-billionth PowerFrame grid at its Red Oak production facility. Lee Fellers is controller at the plant and says the grids are an essential part of the automotive batteries, which are made elsewhere by the company. “The PowerFrame grid is the lead grid that goes inside a car battery, or rather an automotive battery, that really provides most of the power to the battery,” Fellers says. “The grids that we make here is a process that was pioneered by Johnson Controls about 13 years ago, for this plant when this plant opened up.”

Powerfram grid manufactured at Johnson Controls Red Oak plant

Fellers says company officials recently discovered the Red Oak facility was nearing the landmark. “We keep track of what we produce constantly,” Fellers says, “and we keep track over time how we’re doing production-wise. So, we’ve just been monitoring this. A few months ago, we realized we were going to be hitting 15-billion grids for this plant very soon. So, we really started dialing in and figuring out when this would happen and were able to identify the grid as it came off the line the other day.”

He says it’s a big occasion because you don’t often see that type of number in most manufacturing settings. Fellers says the milestone is a testament to the company’s production process, as well as its workers. “We’ve got good engineering staff, good quality staff, great operators that really understand our equipment, understand what we’re all about and what we’re trying to achieve in producing these grips for automotive batteries,” Fellers says. “So, it really comes down a lot to the people and the dedication they’ve shown to making a good quality product while continuously improving our ability to output in higher quantities and increasing quality.”

Company officials say the PowerFrame grid is 66% more durable and more corrosion-resistant than other grid designs and provides 70% better electrical flow and other grid technologies. The grid’s manufacturing process also uses 20% less energy and produces 20% fewer greenhouse gases than other manufacturing methods. Opened in 2003, Johnson Controls’ Red Oak operations currently employees 60 people.

(Radio Iowa)

GARNER, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa company is recalling the cookie dough it sold to other companies because it may be contaminated with listeria bacteria. Aspen Hills notified customers about the recall on Sunday, but it wasn’t immediately clear whether any of the cookie dough had reached consumers because the Garner, Iowa, based company doesn’t sell directly to consumers.

Aspen Hills’ cookie dough was implicated in last month’s recall of Blue Bell ice cream. Aspen Hills spokesman Jon Austin says no illnesses have been linked to the company’s products and none have tested positive for listeria.

Austin says the cookie dough was recalled because the company found lapses in its food safety system — such as inadequate documentation and failure to wear proper uniforms — that could have allowed the product to become contaminated.

Officials with the State Fire Marshal’s Office are investigating last Friday afternoon’s explosion and fire at the Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy (SIRE) plant, located at 10868 189th Street in rural Council Bluffs. The explosion and fire happened at around 3:30-p.m., while a fuel tanker truck was being loaded with fuel. The driver of the truck was severely injured by the explosion and was flown by LifeFlight to the University of Nebraska Hospital’s Burn Unit. The victim is in critical but stable condition and continues to be treated at this time. The name of the victim will be released by his company (CHS) when all family members have been notified.

The Lewis Township Fire Department, along with fire departments from Council Bluffs, Treynor, Offutt Air Force Base, and approximately seven (7) other fire departments responded to the explosion.

Authorities say this is an on-going investigation by the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) State Fire Marshal Division (SFM), the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department, and the Council Bluffs Fire Department.

Currently, there is no specific cause has been determined for the explosion/fire.