COLFAX, Iowa — [KCCI]  A body was found by search and rescue crews in the debris of a home destroyed by fire Saturday, in rural Jasper County. According to the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, a fire at a residence in the 8800 block of 52nd Avenue West, near Colfax, was reported around 10:45 p.m. Saturday. When fire crews arrived, they found the home fully engulfed in flames with at that time, was an unknown number of occupants.

As crews worked to put out the fire, they learned there may be one individual inside the home. Crews from several agencies worked throughout the night conducting a search and recovery for the occupant, but the process was slowed by the heat of the fire and the removal of debris by heavy equipment.

At approximately 10:45 a.m. on Sunday, crews located the body of a deceased individual in the home’s basement. The remains will be taken to the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office in Ankeny for identification and autopsy.

The fire remains under investigation.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors will meet at 8:30-a.m. Tuesday, March 19th, in their Board Room at the courthouse in Red Oak. On their agenda for the morning, is the following:

1. Call meeting to order

2. Pledge of Allegiance

3. Roll call of members

4. Approval of Agenda – Order at discretion of Chairman

5. Read minutes as presented. Chairman to call for any additions/corrections to said minutes.

6. Board chairman will ask the audience for any comments, limited to two minutes per person.

7. Supervisors: Weekly committee/assignment updates

8. Secondary Roads Update

9. Jan Norris – Pipeline comments

10. Veteran Affairs Update

11. New Business

1. 1. Approve 2024-11 Resolution for TEMPORARY ROAD CLOSURE DETOUR L-SC702-69

   2. Approve Secondary Roads FY2025 Iowa Department of Transportation Budget

   3. Approve Secondary Roads FY2025 5 Year Construction Plan.

2. Discuss and start agenda items for next meeting

3. Announcements – The next regular meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 26, 2024, 8:30 a.m.

4. Adjournment

*Please note, this is a public meeting; however, it may be conducted via ZOOM

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85039693411

Meeting ID: 850 3969 3411

Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 If you are calling in, Press *9 to raise your hand if you wish to speak.31

(Iowa Capital Dispatch) –  The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reports there are at least 721 water body segments in Iowa that do not meet water quality standards for  recreation, public water supplies and the protection of aquatic life, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.

The DNR has drafted its latest list of “impaired” waters that it is required to submit to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency every two years. The list is based on data collected by the department and numerous other entities between 2020 and 2022, and it is used to guide restrictions for stream pollution for sources such as wastewater treatment systems.

The number of impaired water body segments — which can be lakes, wetlands and parts of streams — declined about 4% from the last report in 2022. But just 24% of stream segments and 30% of lakes that were sampled were deemed healthy. Elevated bacteria concentrations were the most-cited cause of impairment.

The DNR assessed more than 1,400 segments for the latest report, which is a little more than half of the total segments identified by the state. The 387 segments deemed “healthy” by the DNR are mostly composed of waters that meet some quality standards but lack sufficient data to determine that all the standards are met. Only 24 water body segments had proof they met all the standards, up from 15 in the last report two years ago.

The DNR noted 47 fish kills during the monitoring period. Animal waste, fertilizers and pesticides accounted for more than half of them. The causes of a third of the kills were unknown.

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) -Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra of Iowa has introduced a bill looking to protect long term solvency of social security. The “Save Our Seniors Act” would require the Congressional Budget Office to include the honest projection of Social Security’s financial health in its 10-year economic outlook. Feenstra said this is to ensure the funds are made available for seniors.

“We have to protect and preserve our social security system. And thoroughly, the federal government sees that there’s an endless supply of dollars, this isn’t true,” Feenstra said. “That’s what my bill addresses is that the Congressional Budget Office have to understand that with eight in eight years, we’re going to run out of money for Social Security.”

Feenstra said spending is out of control and he wants to make smart economic decisions.

(Radio Iowa) – A Midwestern kid who loved “Star Trek” grew up to be a principal mechanical engineer for NASA who’s worked on every Mars mission since Pathfinder, which took the first rover to the Red Planet in 1996. Kobie Boykins will be in central Iowa this week to tell his personal story, and to discuss the next big project for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in a lecture he’s calling: “Beyond Earth: The Quest for Life on an Icy Moon.”

Graphic provided by Des Moines Performing Arts

“A mission that we’re going to launch later this year called Europa Clipper, to Jupiter, and while we’re at Jupiter, we’re going to be exploring the icy moon of Jupiter called Europa,” Boykins says. “Mostly, we’re going to be talking about the engineering that went into building this vehicle, some of the decisions that went on, and talk about some of the problems and how we fixed them.” As a boy in Omaha, Boykins says he used to sit on his rooftop and gaze up at the stars. He adored “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” particularly the character Geordi La Forge, chief engineer on the starship, Enterprise. Boykins says he always wanted to be the person who was asked to fix things.

“I thought it was very interesting to figure out how things work and then be asked, ‘Hey, how does that work and what would you do? How would you make it better? How would you build that?'” Boykins says. “I think it was probably in fifth grade where I had a teacher that sort of connected with me in some way — magic, I don’t know — that put me on a path to say, ‘Hey, you could be whatever you want,’ and at that time, I wanted to be Geordi La Forge.” In addition to the Pathfinder mission, Kobie designed the solar arrays that powered the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. He also helped build the seven-foot-tall rover Curiosity, which carried 10 different tools, 17 cameras and a laser. While placing robotic rovers on the Martian surface is a tremendous accomplishment, many others (including a few billionaires) are focused on landing -humans- on that dusty red planet, 140-million miles away. Does he see that happening anytime soon?

“We have the technology to send a human being to Mars today. The bigger problem is that the technology is not there to make sure that the human beings stay alive. That’s part of the struggle,” Boykins says. “Will it happen within the next decade or the next two? I think that’s approximately the scale that we’re talking about.” Boykins is chief engineer on NASA’s Europa Clipper mission, and he’s been awarded NASA’s Exceptional Service Medal, one of the highest honors given to NASA employees and contractors. Still, after all his successes with rovers on Mars, Boykins says his biggest thrill is when he learns he’s inspired someone else.

“That’s sort of the legacy for me,” Boykins says, “that I have people that were students or individuals that were looking for what their career might be, and they heard me give a talk about how much I love being able to do this work and this job and they decided, ‘Yeah, this is the path I want to be on,’ and they ended up in the same path, or in the same place that I am. Those are amazing stories to me.” Boykins will appear Thursday as part of the Explorer Series at the Des Moines Civic Center.

On the web at DMPA.org

(Radio Iowa) – A professor at Des Moines University is doing a national research project that at first glance seems like a segment of This Old House. Anatomy professor, Heather Garvin, is studying the cutting characteristics of saws, but her focus is how the saws cut through human bones, not wood. “And the reason we’re looking at this is that we do get cases of dismemberment in the forensic anthropology, world,” she says. “And what we try to do for law enforcement and for investigators, is to give them as much information as we can about the tool that was used.” Garvin is the only board certified forensic anthropologist in the state of Iowa and one of only about 120 of us throughout the country. Garvin says the work focuses on identifying the type of saw used in a crime to help investigators.

“We can’t say that it is this one specific saw, the saw that was used, but we can say what type of saw and the characteristics of a saw,” Garvin says. “So for example, powered saws will leave lighter, wider cuts in the bone than hand saws.” Garvin says they can’t be like ballistic experts who can link a bullet to the specific gun it was fired from, but they hope to identify different marks left by the teeth of saw blades. “If anyone works in carpentry, they’ll realize there’s there’s a large variation of saws out there where you have different teeth per inch different size teeth, different materials, whether they’re cutting like a knife, or if they’re ripping through the material,” Garvin says. “And so we’re trying to figure out what characteristics those marks in the bone correlate with.” She says other individuals in the project will be collecting data blindly so they won’t know what saws made the cuts and they can do a statistical analyses to see if they can use the marks on the bone to identify the type of saw. Garvin says dismembering a corpse after a murder isn’t something that’s all that common in Iowa.

“But in other areas of the country where you have very urban areas and it’s harder to dispose of a body during a criminal act, you do get a higher number of dismemberment’s, because that makes it easier for them to hide and then dispose of human remains,” she says. Garvin won a grant from the National Institute of Justice to do the saw research. She says they use a microscope with a camera to study the cut marks, and may eventually use micro C-T scan that can put together x-rays in a sort of 3-D model.

“It’s a little harder with cut marks, because what we’re dealing with really doesn’t have much relief. You know, these are tiny scratches in the bone that we’re looking at,” Garvin says. “But I think as technology advances and it becomes more sensitive with that micro C-T, that might be an avenue as well.” It might seem kind of gruesome to do this research on human bones, but Garvin says she can block that out and see it as important scientific work.

“The thing is, someone has to do it and by doing it, you’re helping loved ones have a family member right? They may have a missing family member, they don’t know where they are, you’re able to identify those remains and bring some closure to that family,” Garvin says. She says it can also help with providing the evidence that brings justice for the person who was killed.

(Radio Iowa) – A key lawmaker says the Senate may soon debate what has turned out to be the central issue of the 2024 legislative session. Three weeks ago, the Iowa House passed a bill to maintain Area Education Agency special education services for students with disabilities, but make changes in other A-E-A functions. The governor has called for giving schools the option of keeping A-E-A services for students with disabilities or, instead, hiring private companies or local staff to do it. Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver says Senate Republicans are close to unveiling their own plan.

The plan House Republicans passed calls for a study of the A-E-As. That’s not part of the plan Senate Republicans are developing.

Whitver says Senate Republicans will draft a bill about A-E-A changes that includes an increase in the minimum salary for first year teachers. That was the governor’s approach. Last month, a House bill raising teacher salaries and pay for other school staff passed 93-to-one.

Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver (Iowa PBS photo)

House Speaker Pat Grassley says because of budget implications, the decisions on teacher pay and the general level of state spending on public and private schools as well as the future of A-E-As are all related.

A recent Des Moines Register/Mediacom “Iowa Poll” found 56 percent of Iowans have a favorable view of Area Education Agencies. That rating goes a bit higher — to 59 percent — among Iowa parents with school-aged children.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa  – Drivers on U.S. 20 east of Sioux City in Woodbury County need to be aware of lane closures that may impact their trip beginning at 7 a.m. on Monday, March 18, until Nov. 22, weather permitting.

On Monday, March 18, weather permitting, crews will shift westbound U.S. 20 traffic onto the eastbound U.S. 20 lanes in a head-to head traffic pattern so work can be done of Stage 2 of reconstruction of the westbound lanes of U.S. 20. Until the project is complete, you won’t be able to make left turns while traveling in the work zone.

Help keep everyone on the road safer. Drive with caution, obey the posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, you should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – March 11, 2024 – Drivers on Iowa 39 between Odebolt and Deloit in Sac and Crawford counties need to be aware of an asphalt paving and resurfacing project that may impact their trip beginning on Monday, March 18, until late June, weather permitting.

Intermittent lane closures with flaggers and pilot cars will be in place to assist you through the work zone when construction crews are present. InRoads, LLC of Des Moines was awarded this $10.3 million dollar construction project.

(Atlantic, Iowa; March 17, 2024) – Produce in the Park’s Spring Celebration Market will be held the day before Easter, Saturday, March 30, from 12 PM – 3 PM at the Nishna Valley Family YMCA. Food truck Amos Fabulous Foods will be on site, and the YMCA will set up free activities for kids. There is no cost to enter the market at the YMCA.

Vendors at this year’s Spring Celebration Market will be selling a variety of local foods–from fresh produce and meat, to fresh breads and desserts. Craft vendors will be selling wood products, decorations such as handmade gnomes, crocheted items, candles, and more.

Spring Celebration Market 2024 is sponsored by Cass Health, Gregg Young of Atlantic, First Whitney Bank & Trust, Nishna Valley Family YMCA, Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce and the City of Atlantic.

For the latest information on Spring Celebration Market and all Produce in the Park markets visit
www.ProduceInTheParkAtlanticIowa.com.