(Creston, Iowa) – The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports two people were injured during a collision Thursday night. Authorities say 32-year-old Corey Lee Mitchell, of Boone, suffered severe injuries and was flown by MercyOne Air to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines, while the driver of the other vehicle – a man from Adair County – complained of possible/unknown injuries, but were otherwise okay and was not transported to the hospital. The Sheriff’s Office says the crash happened on Cherry Street, at around 8:07-p.m.

Authorities say a 1996 Honda Civic driven by Corey Mitchell, was traveling south on Cherry Street, and for reasons unknown, crossed the center line of the road into the northbound lane. His car struck a northbound 2018 Chevy pickup driven by 77-year-old Gerald S. Holaday, of Greenfield. Following the collision, both vehicles came to rest off the road. Holaday was able to get out of his pickup, but Mitchell was trapped.

The vehicles sustained a total of $23,000 damage.

(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Creston Police Department say a man residing in the 200 block of Myrtle Street, in Creston, reported Wednesday afternoon, that someone had broken into his storage unit. Property stolen from inside the storage unit included a red Toro Power Clear 721 snow blower, and a red Honda Tiller. The loss was estimated at $1,200.

(Harlan, Iowa)  – The Board of Supervisors of Shelby County, Tuesday, passed an Ordinance regulating the flow of hazardous liquids through a pipeline. According to Auditor Mark Maxwell’s minutes of the Board’s regular weekly meeting, the motion passed unanimously, following a public hearing. During the hearing, Tim Whipple Shelby of Ahlers and Cooney acting on behalf of Shelby County, summarized a report and recommendations by the Shelby County Planning and Zoning Commission, on the proposed Ordinance (2022-4). Whipple explained that on the whole, the commission supported the proposed ordinance and found that it furthered the goals of the county’s residents, as expressed in the county’s comprehensive plan.

In particular, Whipple noted the report indicated that the commission was most concerned with three main issues: (1) the proximity to hazardous liquid pipelines; (2) their potential impact on economic development, property values and tax base. (3) their potential impact on present and future land uses such as the development of new housing and growth to cities. Whipple also noted that the Commission made two recommendations for revisions to the ordinance and recommended that the Supervisors adopt one of the Commissions proposed provisions. After summarizing the results and recommendations of the planning and Zoning process, Whipple made an introductory statement about hazardous liquid pipelines in general and about carbon dioxide pipelines in particular, including an explanation of the state and federal regulatory framework that the proposed ordinance must operate within. 

County Counsel then commented on the Planning and Zoning report submitted, with the possibility of amending first draft of the ordinance. It was noted that the ordinance reflects the will of Shelby County Residents. The main focus of the ordinance was put forth with mention of liquid carbon pipelines in Iowa being new to the State. Protection from pipeline accidents is tasked to local protection of for local citizens and economic development. A number of Shelby County citizens commented on the proposed amendment, prior to the Board’s action to approve it:

• Sherry Webb spoke as a concerned landowner noting that safety of all things nearby the proposed pipeline is a main concern. Webb also presented a petition containing over 100 signatures to the Supervisors asking for an ordinance to be passed and also included a letter of thanks to the Supervisors.
• Janice Gaul, Mayor of Earling Iowa presented a resolution passed by the Earling City Council supporting the proposed ordinance.
• Mary Powell thanked the Supervisors for their work and also expressed concerns about vibrations from the pipeline disrupting main water lines across the County.
• Jenny Barnett, Harlan Community Superintendent of Schools, mentioned revised and proposed federal safety rules are still in the works. Safety concerns for students were expressed.
• Alex Londo, Shelby County EMA Director, communicated first responder concerns and unknown training and response procedures for liquid carbon pipeline mishaps.
• Julie Kaufman then spoke, she thanked the Supervisors for standing up for concerned citizens. Kaufman also question the motives of the whole project.
• Todd Valline, Shelby County Chamber of Commerce,, communicated that the ordinance is vital to Shelby County to not hinder any future housing or economic development.
• The head of the Shelby County Board of Health, Lori Hoch, mentioned her Board has many concerns over the dangers involved with this type of pipeline. The Shelby County Board of Health also agrees with the issues addressed in the proposed ordinance.
• Jessie Mazour thanked the Supervisors and Shelby County for their efforts concerning this proposed pipeline.
• Gene Gettys, Harlan City Administrator stated that the Harlan City Council has recently passed a similar resolution of support for Shelby County.
• Jan Norris thanked the Supervisors for leading the rest of the State of Iowa, by looking hard at the issues facing the proposed pipeline.
• Mary Powell spoke a second time and asked for further considerations be made for public water supply pipelines.

In other business, the Shelby County Supervisors approved the appointment of Jodee D. Dixon as Assistant County Attorney until December 31, 2022. Bryce Schaben was on hand to report to the Supervisors the replacement for his position as Weed Commissioner and Roadside Management Head. Jay Ring was introduced as Schaben’s replacement.

(Radio Iowa) – The season of ghosts and ghouls is nearly here and many Iowans will be heading off to Halloween parties over the next two weekends. Juanita Cameron, a clerk at The Theatrical Shop in West Des Moines, says plenty of adults are mimicking their favorite movies for costumes this year. She says guys are channeling their inner Tom Cruise as a “Top Gun” pilot while gals are mirroring the “Hocus Pocus” witches.

Kids are snapping up costumes from Disney’s “Encanto” line, or they’re falling back on Winnie the Pooh. After two COVID years, Cameron says she’s seeing an uptick in theme parties this October, while more businesses are having company parties.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa hunters will be searching the countryside for pheasants starting next weekend. Nate Carr, a D-N-R conservation officer in Hamilton and Hardin counties, says all factors point to a good season ahead. “Coming off some of our August roadside surveys, this year we’re expecting a very similar outcome to last year,” Carr says. “Last year, we had a good number of hunters participating, about 63,000, killing an estimated 370,000 birds, which is the highest we’ve seen in probably the past 10 years.” Carr offers a few reminders for Iowa’s pheasant hunters, be they new to the sport or seasoned veterans.

“Of course, you need your hunting license and habitat fee,” Carr says. “Shooting hours start at 8 AM and end at 4:30 PM, a little bit earlier than some of your typical hunting seasons, so remember to shut that off at 4:30. The daily limit is going to be three pheasants.” A hunter’s attire is also important, not only to keep them warm but to keep them safe. “Hunters are required to wear at least one article of external clothing that has at least 50% of solid blaze orange,” Carr says. “Whether it’s a hat, vest, jacket, something along those lines, make sure at least 50% is solid blaze orange so that other hunters can see you.” Another rule for hunters is to make sure you get permission from property owners to go on private land. The season runs October 29th through January 10th.

Learn more at iowadnr.gov.

DES MOINES, Iowa — The drought conditions are continuing to worsen across Iowa. According to the latest report from the Iowa Drought Monitor released Thursday, for the period ending Oct. 18th, the entire state remains in a drought, but 84% is now moderately dry. That number was just 57% last week. About 7% of the state remains extremely dry.

(Radio Iowa) – Early voting for Iowa’s General Election began this week and a proposed amendment to the state’s constitution is on the back of the ballot. Richard Rogers of the Iowa Firearms Coalition says gun rights advocates began lobbying for it 12 years ago — after they realized Iowa is one of only six states without state level constitutional protection of the right to keep and bear arms. The amendment says any gun restrictions would have to be judged by a legal standard called strict scrutiny. Rogers says the U.S. Supreme Court set up an even tougher legal standard in a ruling this summer.

“Frankly, the strict scrutiny thing I believe has largely been muted, but we can’t go back 12 years and rewrite the amendment and this is an all or nothing deal, I think,” Rogers says. “We’ll have this one chance and we won’t see another opportunity to put this in the state constitution in our lifetime.” Critics say if this STATE constitutional amendment is adopted, it will be nearly impossible to pass new gun safety measures in Iowa. Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner has joined Iowans for Responsible Gun Laws, a coalition of 30 different groups.

“We are not anti-gun, we are not anti-Second Amendment and we are not here to suggest taking your guns away,” Gardner said. “We are, however, here to inform you of a very poorly worded amendment that definitely will not make Iowans safer.” The only other states with similar constitutional amendments are Alabama, Missouri and Louisiana.

(Radio Iowa) – Data from the Iowa Association of Realtors indicates the number of existing home sales in Iowa continues to decline and the overall prices for Iowa homes sold remain above last year’s levels. The median price for an Iowa home sold in September was 225-thousand dollars. It’s down slightly from the record set in July — but it is 13-and-a-half percent higher than the media sales price of Iowa homes sold in September of last year. The NUMBER of homes sold last month was down nearly 24 percent compared to last September.

The president of the Iowa Association of Realtors says there’s typically a slow down in sales in September — plus the number of homes on the market remains lower than normal.

Iowa homes up for sale in September spent an average of 31 days on the market before being sold. The president of the Iowa Realtors Association says industry experts project homes will start spending longer on the market and there will be slower growth in home prices soon.

DES MOINES, Iowa (October 20, 2022) – Officials with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Thursday,  confirmed a positive case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Dallas County, Iowa. The virus was found in a non-commercial backyard flock, and this is the first confirmed case of HPAI in Dallas County. Prior to Thursday’s confirmation, the last case of HPAI in an Iowa backyard or commercial flock was May 2.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said “It is not unexpected that we would face additional highly pathogenic avian influenza challenges in Iowa given that the fall migration is underway, and many other states have recently announced confirmed cases. We continue to work with impacted producers, USDA, and other industry stakeholders to refine and implement our response plans to limit the spread of this virus. Enhanced biosecurity remains the best line of defense to protect animal health.”

Commercial and backyard flock owners should prevent contact between their birds and wild birds. Sick birds or unusual deaths among birds should be immediately reported to state or federal officials. Biosecurity resources and best practices are available at iowaagriculture.gov/biosecurity. If producers suspect signs of HPAI in their flocks, they should contact their veterinarian immediately. Possible cases must also be reported to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship at (515) 281-5305.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the recent HPAI detections in birds do not present a public health concern. It remains safe to eat poultry products. As a reminder, consumers should always utilize the proper handling and cooking of eggs and poultry products. An internal temperature of 165˚F kills bacteria and viruses.

(rural Griswold, Iowa) – In an update to our prior report, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Thursday (10/20), released additional information, with regard a UTV accident that took place Sunday afternoon. Officials say deputies and area First Responders were paged-out to a UTV accident that had occurred in the area of 550th and Richland Road.

Responding personnel found that a 2020 Polaris Razer, operated by Alex Minor, of Atlantic, was traveling Southbound in the West ditch, adjacent to Highway 48, when it struck a field entrance. The UTV flipped end-over-end several times and eventually came to a rest on its wheels. Alex Minor and a passenger, identified as Ashley McDonald, of Atlantic, suffered serious injuries and were transported to a medical facility by Griswold EMS, for emergency care.