A three-term Republican member of the Cass County Board of Supervisors passed away Saturday, at his home in Atlantic. Charles “Chuck” Kinen, who had been re-elected to his fourth, four-year term, last Fall, had suffered from pancreatic cancer. Auditor Dale Sunderman says Kinen was first elected as a Cass County Supervisor in 1998. He assumed his duties on November 10th, 1998, following a canvass of the 1998 General Election.  He immediately succeeded incumbent Julie Schmidt, who resigned from the Board to move out of state, along with her husband, where he was moving his opthamology practice.  Kinen served as chair of the Board of Supervisors in 2006 and 2007.

Current Board Chair Duane McFadden said Kinen was a faithful public servant to the residents of Cass County.

Dmf1 (McFadden said Kinen would always strive to be at the various committee meetings he volunteered to attend, and he will be missed, because he played a role in moving the county forward.)

Kinen had been in hospice care for about two-weeks prior to his return home. McFadden said there is a process that is in-place to fill Kinen’s position on the board.

Dmf2  (He says the county auditor, treasurer and recorder will schedule interviews with persons who apply and are interested in filling the position.)

 It’s not clear how soon that process will begin, though, especially with the Labor Day weekend closing down the courthouse until Tuesday.

Funeral services for Chuck Kinen will be held Wednesday morning, in Atlantic. Duane McFadden said the courthouse will shut down for one-hour prior to and after the services at 11:30-a.m, so that county employees may attend his funeral.

Audubon Mayor Sam Kauffman says today’s Veteran’s program at the Audubon City Park (11-a.m.) has been moved inside to the Memorial Building, due to the weather.

A firefighter in Council Bluffs has been charged with arson, in connection with an early morning car fire which occurred in mid-February. 44-year old Henry Hinkel II, is accused of second-degree arson and fraudulent submissions to an insurer in a car fire that took place at around 3:30-a.m. on February 21^st in Hinkel‘s driveway.

According to court documents, the fire destroyed Hinkel’s 2002 Jaguar. In an arrest warrant affidavit, State Fire Marshal investigator John Ticer wrote that his investigation determined an “ignitable liquid (gasoline)” was used to light the vehicle on fire. The court document also said the car was normally kept in the garage but was in the driveway that morning. The affidavit said Hinkel had a video surveillance camera monitoring the driveway, but the car was parked outside of the camera’s view. The camera does not show Hinkel until after the fire.

Council Bluffs Fire Chief Alan Byers said he has been advised not to comment on the charges. He directed questions about the case to the City Attorney’s Office. City Attorney Richard Wade was not available for comment, Friday. A trial in the matter is set for Nov. 22nd. Hinkel has been released on his own recognizance.

Here’s the latest area news, from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson…

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Thunderstorms bringing winds gusting up to 60-miles per hour may have been responsible for a power outage in Elk Horn Friday night, and an accident on Interstate 80 near Avoca. The Elk Horn Fire and Rescue Department reported on its Facebook page at around 11-p.m. Friday, a large part of the community was without power. Officials with Mid-American Energy were working to restore power to the community, and as of early this (Saturday) morning, there was only one customer in Shelby County who was reported to be without electricity.

Elk Horn Fire officials said at the time also, that there were no immediate signs of damage from the storms that passed through the area, other than a few trees branches down.

Severe storm warnings were issued at around 9-p.m., Friday, for southeastern Harrison, northern Pottawattamie and southwestern Shelby Counties. At 9:32-p.m., a 60-mile per hour gust of wind was recorded in Shelby. The Iowa Department of Transportation reported, that at about that same time, a semi jack-knifed on Interstate 80 westbound, at the Avoca exit. A detour was established and the road reopened to traffic about 90-minutes later. There were no reports of injuries.

Severe thunderstorm warnings were issued as well, for Audubon, Carroll, northwestern Greene and southwestern Guthrie Counties, at around 9:40-p.m. The National Weather Service said a 60-mile per hour wind gust occurred just before 11-p.m., two-miles northeast of Guthrie Center, as the storms maintained their intense winds, having moved northeast out of Cass and Audubon Counties.

The state’s Latino population grew by nearly 84 percent in the past decade. The U.S. Census Bureau has released a variety of detailed information about Latinos in Iowa. A county-by-county analysis shows 24 percent of the residents in Crawford County are Latino. Denison is the largest city in Crawford County and the Census shows 42 percent of the city’s residents are Latino.  There were other Iowa cities with a larger percentage of Latinos.

Sixty-three percent of the people living in the small, southeast Iowa community Conesville are Latinos. More than 52 percent of the residents of West Liberty are Latino. About 42 percent of the population of Columbus Junction is Latino. In northwest Iowa’s Buena Vista County — the Storm Lake area — nearly 23 percent of that county’s population is Latino according to the 2010 Census survey.

(Radio Iowa)

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – An attorney for a Sioux City man charged in a deadly fight wants to keep statements his client allegedly made to police about a previous fight out of court. Bradley Gregg is charged with involuntary manslaughter and assault. He’s accused of punching Joseph McDonald, of Ida Grove, outside a bar in October 2010. McDonald was knocked out and later died. Gregg’s trial is to start Tuesday in Woodbury County District Court.

Defense attorney Michael Williams plans to use self-defense and intoxication as his defenses. Williams has asked a judge to prevent prosecutors from mentioning an alleged altercation Gregg had a week before the incident involving McDonald. The judge didn’t issue an immediate ruling on the matter.

A Corning man was killed Friday evening when the car he was driving was hit broadside by a semi, in Adams County. The Iowa State Patrol says 91-year old Harold Muschamp died at the scene of the crash, located at the intersection of Highways 34 and 148, just south of Corning.

Officials said Muschamp was traveling north on 148 and had stopped at the intersection before pulling out into the path of an eastbound semi driven by 64-year old Billie McCaughey, of Milan, MO. The accident happened at around 5:10-p.m.

After the impact, the car and semi stayed together and came to rest in the eastbound lanes of Highway 34, blocking the traveled portion of the roadway, for a little more than 4 hours. The semi driver was not injured in the crash.

AMES, Iowa – Sept. 2, 2011 – The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) has set a proactive course to get traffic moving again in western Iowa just as quickly as possible now that the Missouri River flood waters are beginning to recede. A multitude of activities are underway, some are behind the scenes and others are already visible. For instance, contractors started this week removing tons of debris and power washing the sticky layer of muck from sections of Interstate 29 in Fremont and Pottawattamie counties. Yesterday, the I-29 and Hamilton Boulevard in Woodbury County was fully reopened to travel.

Because there is a lot a work ahead, the Iowa DOT will be providing regular updates to the public regarding damage assessments and progress being made to restore travel. Communications will be provided via news releases, posting of progress updates and photos on the Iowa DOT’s flood information website (http://www.iowadot.gov/floods/index.html), and by other means. The Iowa DOT is examining a wide range of options and innovative approaches to expedite the recovery process. Timetables and cost estimates will be provided when that information becomes available.

Each highway segment impacted by the flooding has unique characteristics and challenges, so the Iowa DOT’s public information efforts will frequently focus on specific sites and activities underway in those areas. Due to safety concerns and reconstruction activities involving heavy equipment, public access beyond the road closure barricades and to the damaged sites is restricted.

Officials with the Iowa DOT say road construction work on Interstate 680 between I-29 (exit 71) near Loveland and I-80 (exit 27) north of Neola will cause intermittent lane closures in both directions beginning Tuesday, Sept. 27th, weather permitting.  The project is expected to be completed by mid-October.