After a long winter, a short spring and now an early summer, today (Thursday) is Heat Awareness Day in Iowa, according to meteorologist Kelsey Angle, at the National Weather Service.  Angle says, “This is the day that we want to take some time to review the safety tips in regards to heat and safety as we head into the heart of summer.” We’ve already seen record high temperatures well into the 90s and since summer doesn’t officially arrive until June 21st, a quick review may be helpful.

“We do know it will get hot again and the humidity will also increase, and with that, the impacts will increase, especially for those who will be working outside during the summer,” Angle says. “Also, it’s to bring awareness that you don’t want to leave children or pets inside vehicles.” If the outside temperature is 80 degrees, in 10 minutes the temperature inside the vehicle will be near 100 degrees, and in one hour, near 125 degrees. Last year, there were 42 vehicular heatstroke children deaths nationwide. So far this year, there have been seven such deaths. If you’ll be outside during any of the upcoming heat waves, he offers some suggestions.

“Drink plenty of water, take frequent breaks to cool your body down, wear light-weight, loose-fitting, light-colored clothes to reflect the sunlight and keep your body cool,” Angle says. “You also want to make sure pets and livestock have access to water.” He suggests checking on your friends and neighbors, especially the elderly, to make sure they’re doing okay. Heat is one of the nation’s leading weather-related killers, resulting in hundreds of deaths each year and even more heat-related illnesses.

(Radio Iowa)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is establishing a new field division based in Omaha that will include Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. In a news conference Thursday in Omaha, DEA Acting Administrator Robert Patterson said the new division will open in July. It is the agency’s 23rd division office in the United States.

Patterson says the move was prompted in part by the nation’s growing opioid crisis. In April, authorities seized a record 118 pounds of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl during a traffic stop. The Omaha division will be led by Matthew Barden, who previously served as the Associate Special Agent in Charge of the St. Louis Division. Barden says the new division will “produce more effective investigations on methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl and prescription opioid trafficking.”

Police in Red Oak say one person suffered what were suspected minor injuries, during a single-vehicle accident this (Thursday) morning. A 2013 ChevyC-1500  pickup driven by 81-year old Donald C. Dobbs, of Red Oak, was traveling north on Broadway Street, in Red Oak, when the vehicle left the road and struck a tree, head-on. The accident, which caused $10,000 damage to the truck, happened at around 8:50-a.m.  Police say Dobbs was evaluated and transported by Red Oak EMS to the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital, due to possible medical issues. No citations were issued.

Red Oak Police were assisted by Red Oak Fire/EMS, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Dept., Montgomery County EMA and the Iowa State Patrol.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, June 7, 2018 – Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett today (Thursday), announced that USDA is investing $309 million in 16 projects to improve rural electric infrastructure in 12 states. Hazlett made the announcement during a visit to the Central Iowa Power Cooperative. One of its members, Farmers Electric Cooperative in Greenfield, (Iowa) is receiving a $1.4 million USDA loan to invest in smart grid projects. Farmers plans to install more than 5,800 single-phase meters and additional meter reading equipment in its west-central Iowa service area.

Hazlett also announced that Harrison County REC, in Woodbine (Iowa), is receiving a $6 million loan to build 20 miles of electric line, improve 57 miles and make other system improvements. Its loan includes $578,000 for smart grid projects.

The loans are being made through USDA’s Electric Infrastructure Loan and Loan Guarantee program. It helps finance generation, transmission and distribution projects; system improvements; and energy conservation projects in communities with 10,000 or fewer residents. Farmers Electric Cooperative and Harrison County REC join many other rural electric cooperatives and utilities that partner with USDA to use smart grid for computer applications, two-way communications, geospatial information systems and other tools to increase the reliability and efficiency of electric power systems.

The investments will build or improve 1,660 miles of electric line serving rural homes, farms and businesses.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports 28-year old Chelsey Kile, of Creston, was arrested at around 2:15-a.m. today (Thursday), for domestic assault. Kile was being held for Union County in the Adams County Jail without bond, until seen by a Magistrate.

CRESTON, Iowa – June 7, 2018 – A bridge replacement project on the U.S. 71 bridge over Lone Tree Creek, one-tenth of a mile south of Cass County Road G-35, and 3.1 miles south of Atlantic, may take longer to complete than planned, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Creston construction office. As crews began removing the roadway to construct the bridge extension they discovered the slide that had damaged the roadway had impacted the existing piling at the south abutment.

To correct the piling, crews will need to remove the south deck of the bridge and beams to remove the bent piling before they construct the new pier. The new south abutment has been completed. The additional work will likely push the opening back to mid-November 2018.

The Iowa DOT and our contracting partner AM Cohron are committed to making the necessary repairs and getting the roadway opened as quickly as possible. During the closure, traffic will be detoured around the work zone using Iowa 83, Iowa 92, and Iowa 148.

A single-vehicle accident early this (Thursday) morning in northwest Missouri, resulted in a southwest Iowa man being transported to a hospital in Maryville, MO. The Missouri State Patrol reports 23-year old Spencer Zarek, of Stanton, was traveling north on Highway 71 at around 12:15-a.m., when his 2007 Chevy Malibu left the road to the east, about three-miles south of Maryville. The car impacted an embankment and went airborne and overturned before coming to rest on its wheels. Zarek was taken by a private vehicle to SSM Health St. Francis Hospital in Maryville for treatment of what were said to be minor injuries. The car was totaled in the crash.

The Missouri State Patrol was assisted by the Nodaway County Sheriff’s Office and Maryville Public Safety.

Runners participating in the largest tribute to our nation’s fallen military heroes and their families, will be making their way through Lewis tomorrow (Friday). Jody Ranisate), Run Captain for Iowa Run for the Fallen and Director of Iowas Honor and Remember Chapter, says Iowa is part of a 19-State, five-month, 6,100-mile journey to honor over 20,000 fallen heroes every mile. In Lewis, there’ll be a free-will donation dinner beginning 6-p.m. Friday at the Lewis Fire Station, with the ceremony at 7-p.m. The event is open to the public. The public is also invited to line the streets as the runners enter Lewis. Ranisate says once the dinner and ceremony is complete, they will hand out “Honor and Remember” flags to a few Gold Star families.

They include a widow, and the daughter of a fallen hero. There is also a Gold Star family coming in whose son died in action and who will be re-presented with a flag. The run begins in Omaha 7-a.m. Friday. After they stop in Lewis, the group will stay overnight in Atlantic. She says they are looking for financial donations to help with lodging and food, volunteers to stand stand at the Hero markers, and as transportation hosts.

For more information, or to volunteer for the event, call Jody Ranisate at 701-520-5998 or e-mail ranisatejody@gmail.com. You can also track the runners and their journey at https://www.runforthefallen.org

SABULA, Iowa (AP) — Officials plan to offer ferry service across the Mississippi River while crews work to replace a small bridge that has forced an extended detour for travelers between Iowa and Illinois. Bob Younie is the maintenance director for the Iowa Department of Transportation. He says ferry services between Sabula, Iowa and Savanna, Illinois will run for about 12 hours a day beginning Tuesday. It could cost the department about $1.2 million.

Younie says a bus service will also be provided twice daily during peak hours beginning next week. The Transportation Department may also install a pontoon-type bridge. An 85-year-old bridge north of Sabula was declared unsafe and closed in February. The Transportation Department has accelerated a project to replace the bridge, which officials expect to be completed in September.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Appeals Court has overturned a man’s conviction because the fake money he tried to use was too unreal to believe. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that 48-year-old James Scott, of Waterloo, offered a $100 bill marked “For Motion Picture Use Only” and “This note is not legal” in April 2016 when he tried to buy a cellphone in Waterloo. A store clerk rejected it, and Scott eventually was convicted of forgery. Scott argued in his appeal that there wasn’t enough evidence to convict him.

The appellate court Wednesday cited Iowa court rulings from 1859 and 1869 that say that if a document isn’t capable of deceiving, its use doesn’t constitute forgery. Consequently, the court said, “There is insufficient evidence to support Scott’s conviction.”