Teenage drivers may have more things to distract them when they’re behind the wheel than ever before. Mick Mulhern, with the Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau, says parents play a critical role in educating their kids about the many dangers of driving long before their kids are old enough to get a license. “I try to encourage (parents) to drive with their seat belt on and don’t use a cell phone, set a positive example, because that is where these kids are learning to drive initially,” Mulhern said.

This is National Teen Driver Safety Week. Although it can be difficult for police to enforce, it is illegal in Iowa for people under 18 to use a cell phone while driving. Mulhern says while cell phone use is a factor in a lot of crashes involving teens, that may not be the biggest problem. “Multiple passengers in the car with teen (drivers) is creating probably the biggest distraction because, inevitably, nobody is really watching the road,” Mulhern said.

Mulhern travels the state to talk to young people about the key components of driving. He notes simply lecturing or showing “shock and awe” type videos or photos of crashes don’t seem to work with today’s generation of kids. “I use an interactive computer desk-top driving simulator to engage them. You have to respect that they’re smart and studious,” Mulhern said. “Lecturing and things of that nature don’t seem to work with teens. They’ve got to be involved and they’ve got to be able to see the common sense factor.”

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 14-18 year olds in the U.S. and in Iowa.

(Radio Iowa)

Morningside College in Sioux City and Martin’s Airfield in South Sioux City are partnering on a new program to train commercial drone operators. The Federal Aviation Administration is requiring anyone who wants to be paid to fly a drone to obtain a commercial rating. Tom Fredricksen is an F-A-A certified ground instructor for the program. “Our program is designed to not only get them to flying drones, but to understand air spaces, understand communications between towers and airplanes. And to get them at least three hours of flying in an airplane, along with the drone courses Morningside has mapped out.

The course is for commercial operators –not for the hobby type of drones you can buy at the store. “The hobby drone operator is limited to visual site and 400 feet above ground level,” Fredericksen says. “However, there are more sophisticated drones out there that’ll fly 16-thousand feet and fly at 120 miles-an-hour. And they can carry about 55 pounds of cargo and can stay up in the air for 55 minutes.”

The federal government announced plans Monday to require recreational drone users to register their vehicles as there have been more and more reports of drones flying too close to airports. Fredricksen says the rule should help. He says the regulation will be good as their job is to make sure there aren’t any collisions and everyone understands what is going on in the air.

Fredericksen says he’s seen ads offering an annual salary of 135-thousand dollars for F-A-A certified commercial drone operators.

(Radio Iowa)

The company known for being an internet search engine jumped into a new arena in central Iowa Tuesday, with the expansion of Google Express. The service started in eastern Iowa last month and now extends to Des Moines, Ames, Osceola, Mason City and dozens of other communities as far west as Atlantic and Carroll.

Google spokeswoman Rebecca Rutkoff says it’s an overnight delivery service “with lots of great national merchants to help people shop on their favorite stores online in a single place and get their goods overnight, the next day.” The list of stores includes: Walgreens, Barnes & Noble, Toys”R”Us, Whole Foods, Staples and a dozen more. Rutkoff thinks the service will be popular with Iowans.

“People love having their favorite products from their favorite stores delivered the very next day and merchants love finding new customers and extending their reach beyond their typical geographic reach,” Rutkoff says. “People use it for a variety of things. If you’re a busy mom who has to suddenly get snacks for the soccer game, you can go online and get that from CostCo and have it delivered the very next day.”

The company is banking on people being willing to pay a little more for the immediacy of having next-day delivery. “You can sign up for an unlimited delivery membership for $95 a year or you can do an a la carte delivery for $4.99 per store,” Rutkoff says. “There’s also some three-month trials available for new members. Go to Google Express and find out all the information about all the different options.”

Rutkoff says they hope to go statewide with the service soon. While there were rumors months ago that drones might eventually be employed to fly packages to our front doors, Rutkoff assures, this service will be exclusively humans driving and delivering via traditional motor vehicles.

(Radio Iowa)

Officials with the Cass County Health System says enrollment for Healthcare Marketplace Exchange consumers will open on November 1st and help is available through regional ACA (Affordable Care Act) Navigators. ACA Navigators work one-on-one with individuals to complete enrollment, weigh options, and answer questions on Marketplace plans and Medicaid.

All prior year’s enrollees are strongly encouraged to meet with the ACA Navigator to update information and review new plans available on the healthcare.gov. To have coverage in effect January 1, 2016, you will need to set an appointment prior to December 15th, 2015.

All meetings with the Navigators are by appointment, and they are private. Consumers are asked to bring important information with them, such as addresses, social security numbers, income information, and policy numbers for any current health insurance plans for all members of the household. Also, if a prior enrollee in the Marketplace, bring your login information to access your account during your appointment.

The private appointments will be held at Cass County Health System in Conference Rooms 6 and 2, which are easily accessible from Parking Lot C. For more information or to make an appointment, please call either Melissa Namanny at 712-243-2850 ext. 4111 or Val Gifford at 712-243-3250 ext. 3417.

Appointment times are as follows….

CCHS Conference Room 6
Nov 5th 3 pm to 7 pm
Nov 18th 9 am to 1 pm
Nov 21st 12 pm to 4 pm
Dec 7th 9 am to 1pm
Dec 12th 9 am to 1pm
Dec 17th 3 pm to 7pm

CCHS Conference Room 2
Jan 7th 3pm to 7pm
Jan 16th 9am to 3pm

Police in Council Bluffs early this (Wednesday) morning, arrested a man on charges that include Intimidation with a Dangerous Weapon, Carrying Weapons, and Discharge of a Firearm within City Limits. Authorities say 26-year old Brendon Minor, of Council Bluffs, was taken into custody at around 12:25-a.m, after officers were called to 3431 Avenue D, following a report of shots fired.

When officers arrived, they made contact with a person who was involved in a verbal altercation with Minor that turned physical. The victim said when Minor went into his home at 3429 Avenue D, he came out and threatened to shoot the man before firing an unknown number of rounds from a small handgun, into the air.

Officers made contact with Minor, who surrendered to them without further incident. Inside the home, police recovered two firearms. In injuries were reported.