A celebration will take place at the CAM High School in Anita next Wednesday, to honor the former staff, teachers, board members and students of CAM North Elementary School, which recently received a 2011 “Blue Ribbon School” award. CAM North was formally known as the Anita Elementary School. The celebration along with a recognition ceremony and speech from returning Anita High School alum Liz Retz Parker (CAM Class of 1980), will take place at 1-p.m. Wed., Jan. 25th, at the high school.

A reception and open house will continue at the elementary building after the ceremony, until 4-p.m. (Students will be dismissed at 2:30-p.m.) Invitations are being sent to former staff and board members from recent years at the school, but all former teachers, staff and board members are welcome to attend.

Superintendent Steve Pelzer says the school wants to thank the community for its support in helping the district attain the national “Blue Ribbon School” award. The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program recognizes public and non-public elementary, middle, and high schools where students achieve at very high levels and/or where the achievement gap is narrowing. The Program sets a standard of excellence for all schools striving for the highest level of achievement.

No injuries were reported following an accident Wednesday night, in Atlantic. According to Atlantic Police, Tammy Johnson, of Atlantic, was traveling north in the 800 block of Poplar Street, when Johnson looked down for a moment, and her vehicle hit a legally parked car owned by Darla Jacobsen, of Atlantic. The accident happened at around 9-p.m., Wednesday. Damage to the vehicles amounted to $10,000. Officials say Johnson was cited for Striking an Unattended Vehicle, and for having No Proof of Insurance.

Frigid temperatures statewide and an impending snowstorm for northern Iowa reinforce the need for motorists to prepare for winter travel challenges. The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) is advising motorists who must travel in these conditions to take extra precautions, including making sure to have a fully charged cell phone, adequate fuel in your vehicle’s tank and a survival kit in the vehicle.

A basic survival kit can be a live-saver in the event of a mechanical breakdown in the dangerous temperatures or if you are stranded during a winter storm. The kit should contain a blanket or sleeping bag; high energy, nonperishable food; water; flashlight and extra batteries; matches or a lighter; candles; warm gloves; small first aid kit; hat or stocking cap; insulated footwear; and winter coat. The kit should contain enough supplies for the number of passengers in the vehicle. Other winter travel supplies should include a snow shovel; scraper and snow brush; sand or strips of carpet for traction; flares/reflectors; tool kit; jumper cables; and a good spare tire, lug wrench and jack. Learn more about how to prepare your winter survival travel kit by visiting the Iowa DOT’s YouTube website at: http://www.youtube.com/iowadot.

Motorists are urged to monitor weather and road conditions before traveling – stay informed and plan ahead – road condition information is available from the resources listed below. 

• Web: Visit the 511 Iowa website at www.511ia.org.
• Twitter: County and metro area Twitter feeds are available. Sign up at 511ia.org.
• Phone: When in Iowa call 511, or 800-288-1047 from outside of Iowa.
• Rest areas: Free Wi-Fi service is available at the Iowa DOT interstate rest areas so you can view the www.511ia.org website on your computer from the convenience of your vehicle; or step indoors to view the website and radar images on the easy-to-operate kiosk.
• Dynamic message boards: National Weather Service warnings are posted on the message boards displayed over highways at key locations throughout the state. When necessary, interstate closure information is also made available on these signs.
• Mobile communication device: The www.511ia.org road condition map and text route reports are available for viewing on your mobile communication device. Cell phones and other mobile communication devices should only be used when parked and off the traveled portion of the roadway.
• E-mail: Receive winter travel advisories and periodic updates directly in your inbox. Visit www.news.iowadot.gov to subscribe.

Just eight days ago, some Iowans enjoyed record high temperatures in the low 60s. Today, it’s a much different story. Meteorologist Jim Lee, at the National Weather Service office in Johnston, says an arctic air mass is bringing bitter cold into the Hawkeye State and portions of northern Iowa are under a Wind Chill Advisory. “We have fairly modest-to-brisk northwest breezes and very cold temperatures combining for wind chills of 20 to 30-below across northern Iowa,” Lee says. More snow is on the way, too. Lee says several Winter Storm Warnings, Watches and Advisories will be going into effect soon for much of Iowa’s northern half. “We’re expecting to see snow spreading in from northwestern Iowa after midnight tonight, continuing through Friday,” Lee says. “Accumulations across parts of northern Iowa will be close to five to seven inches, down around the Missouri border, virtually none, so there’ll be a pretty sharp gradient somewhere across central Iowa.” More super-cold air will be arriving in Iowa this weekend with another chance of snow by Sunday.

(Pat Powers/Radio Iowa)

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – The final results of the Iowa caucuses are in and there’s a change at the top: Rick Santorum edged Mitt Romney by 34 votes.  Romney had been considered the winner after initial tallies gave him an 8 vote advantage.  Despite the surprise flip, Iowa’s Republican party is not naming an official winner, because results from 8 of the state’s nearly 1,800 precincts are missing.

GOP Chairman Matt Strawn says he’s congratulating both Santorum and Romney, as he did the day after Iowa’s caucuses. Strawn describes it as “the closest contest in caucus history.” In a statement, Romney praised Santorum’s “strong performance” in Iowa, but called the results a “virtual tie.” Santorum and other candidates are looking to chip away at the front-running Romney’s dominance over the field when South Carolina primary voters go to the polls Saturday.

w/ Ric Hanson

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A 23-year-old man has been convicted of attacking a 19-year-old woman a little over 13-months ago, at a rest stop off Interstate 29 near Onawa. The Monona County Attorney’s Office says Mark Bitzan was accused of taking the woman into a stall in the women’s restroom, threatening her with a knife and sexually assaulting her. The crime occurred on Dec. 17th, 2010. A jury convicted Bitzan on Tuesday. His sentencing has not been scheduled yet. Bitzan was also convicted in 2006, of a sexual assault in Natrona County, Wyo.

Police in Council Bluffs are looking for a man who robbed a convenience store early this (Thursday) morning. Officials say at around 1:15-a.m., a man entered the Kwik Shop store at 3632 Avenue G, and confronted the clerk. The suspect produced a black handgun and demanded money before leaving the store on foot with an undetermined amount of cash. No injuries were reported.  The man was described as being in his early 20’s, about 5-feet 4-inches tall, and weighing about 150-pounds. He had hazel eyes, wore a gray hooded sweatshirt and baggy red sweatpants. He also wore a dark stocking cap, a face covering, and dark gloves. The incident remains under investigation by the Council Bluffs Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division.

A Council Bluffs man faces a 5-year prison term for his role in a burglary which occurred in Malvern last Summer.  According to the Omaha World Herald, 31-year-old Miguel Martinez was sentenced Tuesday in Mills County District Court to five-years in prison, for attempted burglary. Prosecutors say Martinez was one of three people convicted as a result of an investigation into the incident, during which he was the ringleader of the trio, and the one who breached a door when he was confronted by 66-year-old farmer Don Hopp during the August 17th incident. 19-year-old Patrick Hover, who prosecutors said was the “wheelman,”  and 33-year-old Yosvani Galindo, of Omaha, plead guilty to charges of 2nd degree burglary, and were given suspended prison sentences of 10 years each. Both were sentenced to two years of supervised probation.  Hover was ordered to reside at a Council Bluffs half-way house.

Prosecutors say the three men had been smoking methamphetamine in the countryside near Malvern when they hatched a plot to burglarize a nearby farmhouse. During the incident, Martinez was shot by Hopp, who said the shooting was an accident. He said he was outside his home after confronting the burglars when he fell, discharging the weapon.  In December, a grand jury decided not to indict him. In an interview Monday at his Council Bluffs home, Martinez, who has a wife and seven children, said he and the other two were only looking for a place to stay overnight. He told the paper, “I just thought it was an abandoned house.”