(Glenwood, Iowa) – Police in Glenwood, today (Wednesday), report the arrest on Sunday (April 16), of Mikayla Nelson, from Glenwood. Nelson was taken into custody for Driving While Barred. She was released after posting a $2,000 cash or surety bond.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – A man from Nebraska was sentenced in Council Bluffs U-S District Court, Tuesday, April 18, 2023, to 168 months (14-years) in prison following his plea of guilty to distribution of a controlled substance. The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports that on January 12, 2021, the Council Bluffs Police and Council Bluffs Fire Departments were dispatched to a motel to provide medical treatment to an unresponsive victim, who ultimately died from a fentanyl overdose. 22-year-old Jason D. Hartzell, of Omaha, distributed fentanyl pressed pills to the victim.

Officers linked Hartzell to the fentanyl overdose death after reviewing phone information, social media information, surveillance footage, and conducting witness interviews. Hartzell must serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

The Council Bluffs Police Department, Omaha Police Department, Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.
Fentanyl has become the leading cause of drug overdose deaths in the United States. Counterfeit, fentanyl-laced pills often resemble pharmaceutical pills, but contain potentially lethal doses of fentanyl.

Visit the Drug Enforcement Administration’s website to learn more about One Pill Can Kill.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – If you plan on indulging (albeit illegally, in Iowa) on marijuana, Thursday (“420 Day), you should know that the Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau (GTSB) is partnering with law enforcement, to keep drug-impaired drivers off the road. Drug-impaired driving is dangerous and illegal. The Iowa GTSB and Department of Public Safety (DPS) says “If you feel different, you drive different.”

Statistics show, that in Iowa, from 2020-2022, 36% of impaired driving fatalities involved drug use. Authorities say “It has been proven marijuana can slow reaction times, impair cognitive performance, and make it more difficult for drivers to stay in their lane. The GTSB’s coordinator for Iowa’s Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) Program, Todd Olmstead, says “High, stoned, or wasted: it doesn’t matter what term you use, if you are impaired, do not get behind the wheel. Our DRE experts assist local law enforcement in the detection of drug-impaired drivers. If you think you can get away with driving high, you’re mistaken.”

Those who plan to consume cannabis on “420 Day” (or any day, for that matter): Don’t drive! If you find yourself drug-impaired and stranded in your vehicle, give your keys to a sober driver. If you have a friend who is about to drive “High,” take the keys and help them get home safely.

According to urban legend, “420 Day” began in 1971, when five San Rafael, CA. High School students devised a secret code which they used to indicate to each other that they would meet later in the day to smoke cannabis. After saying “420” to each other in passing in their school hallways, they would then meet at 4.20pm in order to smoke cannabis. Time magazine reported in 2016, the actual numbers “420” don’t have much symbolic significance.

(Harlan, Iowa) – The Shelby County Board of Supervisors met in a regular weekly session on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. According to the meeting minutes provided by Auditor Mark Maxwell, the Board heard from Supervisor Bryce Schaben, who noted the Nishna Bend boat ramp is getting closer to completion. Assistant Shelby County Engineer Chris Fredericksen presented a utilities permit application from Nishna Valley REC, for the Board to consider. A motion to approve was passed unanimously. Fredericksen mentioned also, the recent rain has given the road blading operations better outcomes.

The Board then held a public hearing on the proposed FY 2024 Shelby County Budget. There were no spoken or written comments. The Board closed the hearing and acted to Adopt the Budget as presented, along with the Shelby County Compensation Board recommendations. They also acted to pass a resolution setting May 16, 2023 at 9-a.m., as the date and time for a public hearing on a Budget Amendment for Public Safety and Legal Services, amounting to $843,838.

In other business, the Shelby County Board of Supervisors passed two resolutions that established a180-day moratorium, effective immediately, on commercial Wind and Solar Energy construction permits, so that the Board will have more time to gather information and coordinate with multiple agencies for the purpose of reviewing, updating or creating ordinances, policies and procedures relative to commercial wind and solar energy systems. The moratorium prohibits the siting, construction, and operation of commercial wind and solar energy systems, until such time as the Board is able to draft and adopting an ordinance regulating those commercial energy systems.

(Radio Iowa) – Two of the three Iowa Utilities Board members who’ll decide whether three proposed carbon pipelines get state construction permits will be new to the job. Last week, Governor Kim Reynolds announced she was appointing Erik Helland, a former Republican member of the Iowa House, take over as Iowa Utilities Board chairman in May. Current board chairwoman Geri Huser’s term on the board extended until 2027, but a spokesman for the governor says Huser is stepping down at the end of the month. Governor Reynolds is appointing Sarah Martz to fill that slot. Martz is currently the director of engineering for utilities on Iowa State University’s campus. She previously worked for Alliant Energy.

Both new members of the Iowa Utilities Board must be confirmed for by the Iowa Senate. Republicans hold 34 seats in the senate, the number of votes necessary to win confirmation.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors held a short meeting this (Wednesday) morning, in Greenfield. During their session, they heard from Adair County Conservation Director Dominic Johnson, who said the various park restrooms and shower building are now open, and utilities for the campgrounds are now ready to go for the summer and recreation season.

He said a new shower house for the Mormon Trail Campground, is set tentatively to be delivered the week of May 15th.

He mentioned also the floating ramp docks are in, but the docks at the Mormon Trail Campground are yet to be put in-place, because the lake is so low. Johnson reminded the Board and public of some upcoming outdoor activities….

He said two more information kiosks (similar to those at Lake Orient) were made and will be installed in the next month or so, on south and north ends of the Mormon Trail Campground. Their new skid-loader and cutter is making quick work of trees and brush along the trails.

And, Adair County Engineer Nick Kauffman presented for the Board Chair to sign, a Resolution for a County Wide Pavement Marking Project, which he says was estimated to cost $76,000. The low bid, from Vogel Traffic Services out of Orange City, was $41,846.61. The Board approved the contract as presented. Kauffman said also, Gus Construction plans to begin a box culvert project at North 25 Grand River, on or about May 1st.

A-M. Cohron has moved out of the #32 Washington Bridge project, after having done much of the work necessary. They will be back July first to finish-out the project. Murphy Construction will take at least a couple of more weeks to work before they are ready for a deck pouring project on the North 5 Richland Bridge, and Govig out of Red Oak is working on the #33 Orient Bridge. They are tearing out the old abutments and shaping the rip-rap. He said they’ll probably be ready to drive the bridge pilings-in next week.

A map of the construction are is shown here (From Adair County Engineer’s Office and Secondary Roads Facebook page):

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A collision between an SUV and a pickup Tuesday afternoon in Red Oak, resulted in injuries to three juveniles from Red Oak. All three were in the SUV. One of them, a nine-year-old male, was seriously hurt and flown by Air Evac helicopter to the UNMC in Omaha. The other two, a 12-year-old male and a 9-year-old female,  suffered suspected minor injuries.

Authorities say Red Oak Fire and Rescue and Red Oak Police were dispatched to the accident scene at the intersection of N. 2nd and East Valley Streets, at around 4:40-p.m. Upon investigation, it was determined a 1996 Chevy pickup driven by 38-year-old Michael Squires, of Red Oak, was traveling south on N. 2nd, when the vehicle broadsided a 2017 Mitsubishi Outlander SUV, driven by Melissa Vanscyoc, of Red Oak, as she was traveling east on Valley Street.

Squires was cited for Failure to Yield, and Failure to show proof of insurance. Both vehicles were totaled, which damages amounting to $19,000.

(Radio Iowa) – There’s Effigy Mounds National Monument in the northeast Iowa town of Harpers Ferry, but outside of that, Iowa has no big national parks that draw visitors from around the world. Still, Iowans are encouraged to sign up to lend a hand during this National Volunteer Week through the National Park Service. The agency’s volunteer program manager Shari Orr explains what the effort is all about. “National Volunteer Week was created many years ago by Points of Light,” Orr says, “and it was really just an opportunity to recognize the value and impact of volunteers across the country.”

The week was established in 1974 and has grown exponentially each year, with thousands of volunteer projects and special events scheduled. “Our two internal goals for this week are to say ‘thank you’ to all of our current volunteers,” Orr says, “and to say ‘join us’ to folks who haven’t volunteered in a while or who have not yet volunteered with us.” While volunteering is a way to give back to your community, for some, giving back is also a way to receive. Orr says if you’ve always wanted to visit a particular national park, say Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, or Yosemite, this could be your golden opportunity.

“People like to get involved in that special place in their community, but they also like to volunteer to those parks that they’ve dreamed about traveling to for their whole lives.” She encourages Iowans to search the National Park Service’s website — N-P-S-dot-gov — and see what opportunities they find.

nps.gov

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston report the arrest at around Noon, Tuesday, of a Creston man. 44-year-old James Alan Ford was arrested at his residence. He was charged with Failure to Appear on Sex Offender Registration Violation 1st Offense – two counts. Ford was taken to Union County Jail. He was seen by Magistrate and released on Own Recognizance.

(Radio Iowa) – The La Nina weather pattern is gone, and the National Climate Prediction Center anticipates an El Nino will develop within a few months, which could be welcome news for Iowa farmers. Meteorologist Dennis Todey, director of the U-S-D-A’s Midwest Climate Hub — based in Ames, says El Ninos typically mean a decent growing season for our region, while the extra rainfall could help to knock down the long-running drought. “Conditions look like they’re heading towards El Nino, in the way of the computer models and what we’re seeing in the way of sea surface temperatures,” Todey says, “so they issue what they call an El Nino Watch, which means that an El Nino is likely to be occurring after this.”

While the La Nina lasted for three years, he say the switch to an El Nino pattern is coming on much faster than expected. “The ocean temperatures in the Pacific, especially close to South America, are warming up very quickly,” Todey says. “The computer models continue that progression to likely being El Nino. Reading the advisory now, the El Nino seems more likely by summer which seemed a very quick transition.” Wide areas of Iowa have suffered with drought, and this weather shift could provide some much-needed relief.

“El Ninos typically are better growing seasons for us. They may not be outstanding growing seasons but the tendency is for them to not be bad growing seasons,” Todey says. “Temperatures tend to be more moderate, better chances for precipitation. So for the drought areas, that’s not a bad thing and actually a good thing.” Northwest Iowa’s Monona and Woodbury counties are in the worst category — exceptional drought, while much of Iowa’s western half is either rated in moderate, severe or extreme drought, while broad sections of central and eastern Iowa are listed as abnormally dry.