w/ Ric Hanson

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Officials with the Iowa Department of Transportation said today (Wednesday), that with the recent reopening of Interstate 29 in Fremont and Mills counties, it’s time to remove the temporary traffic control devices put in place on the state highways in western Iowa during the Missouri River flooding.  The DOT says the stop conditions at the New Street and Orange Street intersections with U.S. 275 in Tabor, will be removed and traffic will resume its previous operation, on Nov. 7th.  

And, the stop signs on U.S. 59 at the U.S. 59/Iowa 2 intersection near Shenandoah will be removed Nov. 7th. Normal traffic operations will resume at that time. The stop signs on Iowa 2 at this intersection will remain in place as they existed prior to the flooding. 

Motorists are encouraged to exercise additional caution at these locations as traffic adjusts to the changes.

It appears a malfunctioning hose on an acetylene (cutting) torch is to blame for a fire Tuesday afternoon, at an automobile repair shop, in Corning. According to Corning Fire Chief Donnie Willet, the blaze broke out at R-and-S Auto on Davis Street. The fire occurred as a torch was being used under a vehicle which was on a hoist.

A mechanic reportedly told Willet that acetylene started burning. The Fire Chief said it appears a hose malfunctioned, causing the fire, which caused some structural and smoke damage to the building. No injuries were reported. Firefighters from Corning, Lenox and Prescott were on the scene, for about 3-hours.

Willet estimated it would be several days before employees will be able to go back to work at the shop.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Officials say the skeletal remains of a 7-year-old Brazilian boy missing for nearly two years and believed to have been killed with his parents in Nebraska has been pulled from the Iowa side of the Missouri River, just south of Council Bluffs. Omaha Police Chief Alex Hayes and Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine announced the discovery Tuesday. A dive team pulled Christopher Szczepanik’s remains from the river last Thursday, but it wasn’t until Monday DNA tests confirmed the boys’ identity.

Three men were charged with murder in the family’s deaths, although the bodies hadn’t been found. The parents’ bodies still haven’t been recovered. Investigators say the men worked for the Szczepaniks. The family was living in Omaha while the father worked renovating a former school. They were last heard from in December 2009.

Due to problems with the water supply/flow, there will be no Atlantic Headstart classes or programs today (Wednesday, Oct. 19th),

Only minor injuries were reported following a single vehicle, rollover accident Tuesday night, in Cass County. According to dispatch reports, an SUV with a single male occupant rolled into the south ditch off of Interstate 80 eastbound, about two-miles east of the exit to Highway 71, or the 62-mile marker. The accident happened at around 9:45-p.m.

Early reports from the scene indicated the driver was trapped in the vehicle for a time, but was able to become freed before extrication was performed by emergency personnel. No other details are currently available. The accident was under investigation by the Iowa State Patrol.

The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports a Carroll man was sentenced Tuesday to just over 14-years in prison on Federal drug charges.  37-year old Duane Russell Conroy was sentenced by Judge John A. Jarvey, after Conroy plead guilty to possession with intent to distribute more than 5 grams of actual methamphetamine, and more than 50 grams of a mixture of substance containing methamphetamine. United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt said the Judge also sentenced Conroy to eight years’ supervised release following imprisonment.

Klinefeldt said Conroy admitted that, on November 21, 2010, in Boone, he possessed with intent to distribute approximately two ounces of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine. Conroy, who had four prior state convictions for felony drug offenses, discarded the methamphetamine by throwing it out a car window when he realized he was being followed by law enforcement. Law enforcement recovered the methamphetamine, which was packaged for distribution, and Conroy was taken into custody by the Boone Police Department.
The case was investigated by the Central Iowa Drug Task Force, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Boone Police Department, and was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

Cass County Deputy Kyle Quist and his K-9 partner “Kane,” recently were awarded First Place in the “Tough Dog” portion of a K-9

Deputy Kent Gries & "Harry" (left), Deputy Kyle Quist & "Kane" (right)

certification and competition event held last week, in Urbandale.  And, Audubon County Sheriff’s Office K-9 team, Deputy Kent Gries and his K-9 partner “Harry,” took Third-Place honors in the “Detector Dog” competition.

Twenty-two K-9 teams from around Iowa, Kansas and Missouri took part in the yearly competition and certification event, which was held October 9th through the 14th.  The certification is run through an accredited organization,  the Heart of America Police Dog Association (HAPDA).

In the “Tough Dog” event, judges pick a scenario that could happen at any time “out on the streets.”  The team is then put in the scenario and has to react. The judges picked a scenario of multiple non-compliant subjects.  The K9 was sent to apprehend (bite) the first subject.  While the K9 apprehended the first subject, a second subject with a weapon appeared from a hiding spot.  The K9 had to be called to release the first subject and directed to apprehend the second subject.  The handler had a to be back away from the area, so everything had to be done with voice and hand signal commands.  The K9 was then called back to the handler after the apprehensions.  Some of the things the judges look for during the scenario are how hard the K9 engages the subjects, if the K9 releases properly and how fast on command, if the K9 demonstrates no fear or hesitation, and if the K9 follows all the orders given by the handler.  The judges selected Deputy Quist and K9 Kane of the Cass County Sheriff’s Office for the 1st place spot in this competition.

The “Detector Dog” competition,  is open for narcotic and arson dogs to compete.  Since there is one accelerant dog team in the organization, they run against the narcotic K9 teams to try to claim one of the top spots. The judges of the competition set up a scenario of narcotic and accelerant finds in a building depending on what odor the K9 team is trained to locate.  The K9 teams are not told how many “finds” are present.  They are given multiple rooms to search with a maximum of a five minute time for the entire building.  The K9 teams that complete the search with the fastest time and the most correct finds places in the competition.

Only three dogs are selected for placing.  Deputy Gries and K9 Harry of the Audubon County Sheriff’s Office took the honors of 3rd place for their performance in the detector dog portion of the competition.

Quist said “We have two local dogs that certified then walked away from competitions with top honors, beating out numerous good K9 teams from around the Midwest States.  That’s something to be proud of.  It’s something that our area communities should know and feel good about.  K9 handlers everywhere have to spend many hours training for anything they may encounter. Support from the communities makes the handlers try even harder to be the best in what they do.  I think we have proven that.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Terry Branstad says the Federal Emergency Management Agency has reconsidered its decision and has granted Iowa’s request for flood aid for five of six counties along the Missouri River. Branstad received word from FEMA on Tuesday that the Federal Individual Assistance Program would be made available for Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona and Pottawattamie counties. FEMA did not approve the request for Woodbury County. The program helps homeowners, renters and businesses by providing grants and loans. Branstad spokesman Tim Albrecht says FEMA didn’t give a reason for not including Woodbury County. But he says the county did not have the level of damage that the other five counties sustained from a summer of flooding.

Des Moines, IOWA — Today’s youth are busier and more engaged than ever. Unfortunately,

35% of teens deaths are due to motor vehicle accidents

 this also means they have more things to distract them, especially while driving. Iowa’s young drivers travel many miles in all kinds of weather over local, state, interstate and rural roads. Many of these miles are traveled before and after school, as well as late at night after work or sporting events.

October 16-23, 2011, is a week dedicated to raising awareness and seeking solutions to unnecessary teen deaths on the road. Established by Congress in 2007, and held annually on the third week of October, the goal of National Teen Driver Safety Week is to focus the country’s attention toward promoting safety to our teen drivers. 

Vehicle crashes are the leading cause of teen deaths.  And research shows teen drivers are at a greater risk of injury and death than all other age groups.  In Iowa, drivers aged 15-20 make up about 9% of Iowa licensed drivers. In 2010, there were 46 fatal crashes involving 51 teen drivers of passenger vehicles. The number of fatalities totaled 54. This is an increase in teen crash and fatality stats from 2009. According to a report published by the University of Iowa’s Public Policy Center, Iowa ranks 49th out of 50 states with regards to teen driving safety statistics and conditions.

As in previous years, education and safety leaders are focused on reducing distractions for teen drivers, as well as an emerging topic of rural road safety. Sadly, Monday night during Teen Driver Safety Week, a car full of 6 teenagers crashed on a rural Iowa road taking the life of one teen.  Let this tragic incident compel you to talk to a teen in your life about safe driving.

To learn more about the state of teen driving in Iowa and across the country, view the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau Teen Driver Fact Sheet.  You can also visit us on Facebook.

(DPS Press Release, Tue., Oct. 18th)