A wide section of Iowa was glazed in a thick coating of ice on Tuesday and today’s (Thursday) forecast calls for more of the same — with an extra helping of snow. Meteorologist Alex Krull, at the National Weather Service office in metro Des Moines, says the temperature is hovering right around 32 degrees so some areas of the state are seeing rain while others have freezing rain, sleet or snow. “Up near the Iowa-Minnesota border is where we’re expecting probably two to two-and-a-half inches of snow,” Krull says. “We did have one band that moved through the Fort Dodge area this morning where we had reports of up to three-and-a-half inches of snow. That caught us off-guard just a little bit.”

Central and southern Iowa will see less snow and more rain, then freezing rain as the temperatures fluctuate. Much like on Tuesday, Krull says the ice could cause serious problems ranging from dangerously-slick roads to tree damage that leads to power outages. “We’re expecting the most ice accumulation to be along a line from Atlantic up to Ames to just west of Waterloo,” Krull says. “That’s where we’re expecting anywhere from about five-hundreds of an inch to a tenth of an inch.”

It’s been a little warmer in eastern Iowa but all of the rain and melting snow in recent days has led to flooding in some areas. Krull says it appears most of the precipitation falling in the eastern third of the state today will be in the frozen form, not rain. “They might see a little bit, so it doesn’t look like they’re going to get as heavy a rain showers as they had towards the beginning of the week,” Krull says. “The National Weather Service in Davenport has been really busy with flooding, with their coverage area in eastern Iowa and western Illinois. The rain doesn’t help out the situation but it doesn’t look like it’s going to greatly augment it.”

The heaviest flooding at the moment is along the Maquoketa River near DeWitt in Clinton County. Keep up to date with the ever-changing forecast on kjan, our social media outlets and apps.

(Radio Iowa)

The Audubon School Board met Wednesday evening at the High School. During their session, they received the Audubon Education Association’s initial bargaining proposal, which, Superintendent Brett Gibbs said most people are probably wondering what the teachers were asking for, as far as a salary increase is concerned. He said they’re asking for a 3.58% total package increase. That would include any increase in insurance and an aging of the schedule. Some of the increase would be absorbed however, by IPERS increased costs. They also asked for a couple of contract language changes having to do with accumulation of personal days and sick leave days for immediate family.

A second public meeting will be held in the next couple of weeks, for the Board’s opening offer. The Audubon School Board also held a Public Hearing with regard to the FY 2019 School Calendar. The Board approved the Calendar, as proposed. Gibbs said it’s nearly identical to the calendar they’re using this year. 1^st semester will end after Christmas, and if there are no snow days, they should be done by May 21, 2019. The calendar will be on the District’s website within a couple of weeks.

And, the Board approved the resignation of 5^th Grade Teacher Lacey Degener. Degener and her husband have job opportunities in eastern Iowa, which will require her family to move. Gibbs said they hate to see her go after 5-years, but wishes them the “Best of Luck,” none-the-less. The Board also discussed, but took no action on an Early Retirement Policy for school administrators.

Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Deputies and Council Bluffs Police coordinated their efforts and arrested a man wanted on a warrant for Domestic Abuse. Narong Saysanavong, of Council Bluffs, was taken into custody at around 6:25-p.m. Wednesday. The was wanted on the warrant and a court ordered committal. Deputies and Bluffs Police staged their vehicles near the man’s home and planned to take him into custody as he was entering his vehicle outside of his residence.

Soon after he left in his car, Saysanavong was pulled over and taken into custody. Inside his vehicle, authorities found in the glove box, an unloaded .40-caliber Glock handgun, and two magazines for the gun. One magazine held 10 rounds, the other 12.  The weapon and ammunition were seized into evidence.

DEWITT, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say an eastern Iowa river has topped flood stage, possibly sending water into nearby homes and businesses. The National Weather Service said Thursday morning that the Wapsipinicon River near DeWitt is experiencing moderate flooding, with water reaching more than a foot above flood stage.

Weather service meteorologist Mike McClure told The Des Moines Register that the heavy rain the area received over the past 48 hours combined with melting snow to run into creeks and streams feeding the river. That runoff is increased because ground remains frozen in some spots. McClure says flooding in the area is common and says many of the residents there have raised their homes.

The river is expected to return below flood stage sometime Saturday.

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

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The Creston Police Department reports 46-year old Dennis Green, of Creston, was arrested at around 11:35-p.m. Wednesday. Green was arrested at his residence on a Union County warrant for OWI/3rd offense. He was being held in the Union County Jail on a $5,000 bond.

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

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Atlantic Fire was dispatched this (Thursday) morning, to a report of a semi on fire at the westbound 57-mile marker (Olive Street) on-ramp. The rig was hauling peanut butter. The driver of the semi evacuated safely. Reports indicated the drive wheels near the fuel tank were on fire. The call came in just before 6:15-a.m. The fire was reported out at 6:41-a.m. Fire officials said a mechanical issue caused the tires to overheat. The trailer was separated from the tractor portion of the semi and the fire extinguished. No injuries were reported, and the cab of the tractor was undamaged.

The president of the board that oversees the three state universities is promising tuition for Iowa residents will go up NO MORE than four percent in the next academic year. Board of Regents president Michael Richards acknowledges that’s less than what the presidents of the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa recommended.  “Our job is to come up with what the families in the state of Iowa can live with,” Richards told reporters, Wednesday.  Richards testified at the state capitol Wednesday, asking legislators for more STATE support of the three public universities. “The exceptional quality at our institutions has taken generations to build and it is imperative that we work together to continue the progress made by those that came before us.”

The presidents of the three universities asked legislators to at least stabilize state support of the schools. Iowa State University president Wendy Wintersteen says tuition rates have been the same for seven out of the last 12 semesters, while state support of I-S-U “is trending down significantly.” “We’ve stretched the university too thin. Our faculty and staff are maxed out,” she said. “With strong enrollment and declining state support, we are tipping the balance between efficiency, education quality and accessibility.”

University of Iowa president Bruce Harreld told lawmakers his school is “under-resourced.” “What is quite clear is that if we do not establish a plan for stable resources which are necessary to improve our quality, Iowans will be forced to pay non-resident tuition at Michigan or Wisconsin or Minnesota in order to obtain the quality they demand and deserve,” Harreld said.  University of Northern Iowa president Mark Nook says each university has “very different missions.” “The State of Iowa really got the university systems right. There are only three institutions. We have not overbuilt our infrastructure,” Nook, a native of Holstein, Iowa, told legislators. “It allows us to adequately fund our universities, if we choose to do that.”

The three universities are asking legislators for 12 million dollars in new state money next year exclusively for student financial aid. House Appropriations Committee chairman Pat Grassley told the presidents legislators want more information about efficiencies at the universities before making a decision about state funding.

(Radio Iowa)

AMES, Iowa (AP) — The Ames district plans to begin including students in school shooter safety drills. Des Moines television station KCCI reports that district officials have not included students in past drills for fear the drills might be traumatizing. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that killed 17 people in Parkland, Florida, changed the Ames officials’ minds: Their students must be ready for anything.

The school district works with the Ames Police Department to provide what’s known as A.L.I.C.E. training: alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate.