Atlantic Fire Chief Mark McNees is urging residents to use caution and be respectful when it comes to using fireworks. He said the biggest thing is, if you are going to use fireworks, know your local ordinances, and use the fireworks properly. Know what they do and how they are supposed to be used. Don’t aim them at people, don’t tear them apart, and don’t make your own. He stressed you should be “considerate of those around you and cautious of those around you, because they don’t often go off as designed.”

He cautions also, that if you shoot off a fireworks and it lands on someone’s home or property, you are liable for damages and/or injuries. He recommends having a bucket of water handy in case there are mis-fires. McNees said there are areas in town where it is illegal to shoot-off fireworks. There is a 300-foot buffer around schools, the hospital and any assisted living facility. And there are certain hours when fireworks are allowed. Fireworks may be used from Noon until 10-p.m. Today (Tuesday), and from Noon until 11-p.m.,Wednesday. You’ll face hefty fines for setting them off outside those hours.  You are also only allowed to use fireworks on your own property, or property you have been given permission to use. That means no fireworks on City streets or property. That also includes the Atlantic Municipal Airport, during Wednesday night’s huge fireworks display. He said there were some issues last year with dangerous activity involving people bringing fireworks to the airport. McNees says this year’s fireworks show at the airport will be bigger and louder than before, in celebration of Atlantic’s sesquicentennial.

J&M Displays will be in charge of electronically shooting off the fireworks at the airport, with an extra special element at the end. For those wanting to come out to the airport for the display, McNees said there are restrictions on when you should arrive for the show. Parking will not be allowed before 8-p.m., Wednesday, and it is limited. The Display will begin after dusk, at around 9:45-p.m., or around 10-p.m.

Senator Chuck Grassley says he hopes the North American Free Trade Agreement is renegotiated before Mexico’s new president is sworn into office December 1st. On Sunday, populist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador became president-elect of Mexico by winning a four-way race with more than half the vote. “On the surface, I would be very pessimistic,” Grassley says, “but I think I have seen this guy who is very left wing campaign in a different way than he did when he lost the elections in 2006 and 2012.”

Lopez Obrador is the author of the book titled “Listen Up, Trump” and during the campaign, he vowed that Mexico would not be the U.S. president’s pinata. But this week, Trump and Mexico’s next president have engaged in polite, diplomatic statements about one another. Grassley suggests that’s progress. “I’m very hopeful that there’ll be good communication between the United States and Mexico,” Grassley says. “And I hope, even before he’s sworn in, we can get a new NAFTA agreement.”

Representatives from the U.S., Canada and Mexico have been negotiating since last summer, but the deal is not done. Grassley made his comments Monday after a mid-day speech to Webster City’s Rotary.

(Radio Iowa)

A traffic stop Monday afternoon in Pottawattamie County resulted in the arrest of a Council Bluffs man. 46-year old James Franklin Tague was taken into custody for Possession of Explosive materials, Possession of Drug paraphernalia, and Driving While suspended. Sheriff’s officials say Tague was under the influence of narcotics at the time of his arrest at around 4:15-p.m.  They found a glass meth pipe in his possession, in addition to an unspecified homemade explosive.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.5MB)

Subscribe: RSS

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A special prosecutor will be appointed to handle the case against a television reporter accused of violating an order not to take courtroom video of “The Bachelor” star Chris Soules.
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that a judge recently ruled that the Buchanan County Attorney’s office can’t pursue the case because prosecutors might be called as witnesses. So the contempt of court case against former KWWL reporter Elizabeth Amanieh will be delayed.

KWWL published video of Soules’ April 2017 court appearance after he was jailed for an accident that killed Kenneth Mosher. Police say Soules rear-ended Mosher’s tractor and left the scene. Soules has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors say a judge told Amanieh she wouldn’t allow video of the hearing and only photos would be permitted. She’s pleaded not guilty.

The Creston Police Department reports a rural Creston woman was arrested Monday afternoon on drug and other charges. 25-year old Shelby Bishop was arrested at 200 W Howard St. at around 3-p.m., on three Union County Warrants for: Possession of Drug Paraphernalia; Possession of a Controlled Substance; and, Violation of Probation. The warrants were associated with an original charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance. Bishop was being held in the Adams County Jail, while awaiting a bond hearing.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.9MB)

Subscribe: RSS

(UPDATED) AMES, Iowa – July 3, 2018 – Changes in the flood forecast may cause the Iowa Department of Transportation to close U.S. 30 between Boone County Road R-18 and Iowa 17 near Boone earlier than previously announced. New water level readings suggest the roadway will likely be closed as early as noon on July 4. The road is expected to remain closed due to flooding until approximately 5 p.m. July 13, according to the Iowa DOT’s District 1 Office.

During this closure, traffic will be detoured using Boone County Roads R-18, E-57 and Iowa 17.

If you are driving and come upon rapidly rising waters, turn around and find another route. If your route is blocked by barricades, find another route. Barricades are put up by state or local officials to protect travelers from unsafe roads. Driving around them can be a serious risk. The road may be washed out below the water surface. Your vehicle may stall or get stuck in the water, and then get pushed off the road. Once off the road, vehicles often start to roll, making escape difficult or impossible. Many flood-related deaths in the United States are the result of an attempt to move a stalled vehicle.

The latest traveler information is available anytime through our 511 system. Visit 511ia.org; call 511 (within Iowa) or 800-288-1047 (nationwide)

Thousands of vehicles were damaged in flash flooding this past weekend in the Des Moines area. Chris Good is a mechanic at Iowa Auto Repair in Urbandale. “My phone has not stopped ringing,” Good says. Many vehicle owners are calling to find out if it’s safe to try and start their car or if they should have it towed to a repair shop for inspection. “If you got a couple inches of water on your carpet, that’s one thing, but if the car was underwater where the engine was underwater, then have it towed,” Good says.

Some flood-damaged cars CAN be salvaged, but Good notes computers inside the vehicle are not sealed against the weather. “Modern cars have 20 to 50 different computers,” Good says. “The electronics obviously do not like to get wet, they’re going to have corrosion in the wires and connectors.” Good expects most of the cars that took on water in the weekend flooding will be considered a total loss. He’s warning used car shoppers to do their homework. “In the future, people who are looking to buy a used car really need to get it checked out ahead of time. These are going to start hitting the market,” Good says.

Some vehicles may be repaired only cosmetically and placed for sale without any indication of the flood damage. Good says there are several sites online for buyers to check, for free, if a vehicle has been affected by flooding. One such tool is offered by the National Insurance Crime Bureau: https://www.nicb.org.

(Radio Iowa)

Police in Council Bluffs arrested a man in connection with a robbery that took place early this morning. 38-year old Bryan Coulter was arrested after the victim of the crime positively identified him. Coulter was charged with 1st degree Robbery, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Carrying Weapons, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and on an outstanding warrant. His arrest followed a call at around 2:50-a.m. today (Tuesday) to the Walgreens store at 535 East Broadway.

Upon their arrival, officers made contact with a man who said he was in his vehicle at 400 Franklin Ave, when Bryan Coulter came up to his window and asked for his money and phone. The victim told Coulter “no,” and that was when Coulter allegedly pointed a handgun at him, but was unable to operate the weapon. He then left the area, but officers were able to locate the vehicle that Coulter was in, and detained him long enough for the victim to make a positive ID. Coulter was booked in at the Pottawattamie County Jail.