PRAIRIEBURG, Iowa (AP) – Residents in a city in eastern Iowa are raising money to repair a city park destroyed by a tornado that ripped through the community last month. Prairieburg Mayor Arlene Holub tells KWWL-TV that the Baker Community Park is used for many events, including graduation parties and outdoor weddings.

Nonprofit Good Ole’ Boys maintains and runs the park. They’ve started a GoFundMe fundraising campaign to help the rebuilding process. The group has raised about $1,200 of its $20,000 goal as of Tuesday (Today). Residents want the park rebuilt by Labor Day for the city’s annual tractor pull event.

The EF-2 tornado that destroyed the park also damaged nearby homes and businesses. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the tornado intensity in the country from zero to five, five being the most intense.

Members of the Atlantic Library Board of Trustees, Monday evening, appointed Diane McFadden as Interim Director of the Library. McFadden, who has served the Library for more than 20-years, is currently the Adult Services Librarian. She’ll take over after current Director Natalie Struecker’s serves through her last day on August 1st.

Board member Dee Bebensee told KJAN News that the Board, Monday, officially accepted Struecker’s resignation, which she had submitted at the end of June. Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones said during last week’s City Council meeting, that Struecker had accepted a position with the Cedar Rapids Library. The Board agreed to approve a job posting in Library Professional Resources and other media, in hopes of finding a permanent replacement for Struecker.

In other business, the Board approved the appointment of Gene Fischer and Greg Williams to the Library Board. They will replace Jim Crall and Hans Krengel.

Some homeowners are worried after seeing leaves being stripped from trees and plants by Japanese beetles, but an Iowa State University horticulturist says there’s not a lot that can be done. Extension horticulturist, Richard Jauron, says the conditions were right and the beetles apparently came out a little early this year. He says it doesn’t appear to be a statewide issue. “Some areas have huge numbers while other areas have just a few. So, it really kind of depends, it’s more spotty than widespread,” Jauron says.

He says you may see more Japanese beetles in your yard because you have some of their favorite trees and plants to munch on.    Linden trees for example, are a favorite. “If you have a linden tree — and if you have a large population in your area — there’ll be thousands in that tree feeding on the foliage. So, it really kind of depends on the area and the tree.” Jauron explains. “Some plants they love. They like grape vines, they like roses, they like raspberries, they like birch trees.”

There are other trees and plants that they don’t care to eat. “Like maples, oaks, lilacs vibernums. It really kind of depends on the plant,” Jauron says, “so if you have plants in your yard that they really don’t like, you may not see that many.”

The bugs have a green metallic head with copper-colored wing covers. Jauron says there’s not a good way to get rid of the Japanese beetles once they decide to make your tree their meal. “We would typically suggest just to ignore it if you can. And that’s because even though they may eat most of the foliage and essentially defoliate the tree — they are not going to kill it– and that’s the bottom line,” Jauron says. “And trying to control them at this point, it’s basically impossible.”

There are some plastic traps you can buy that will catch the Japanese beetles, but Jauron says they may do more harm than good by attracting more beetles to your area. “So if you have a trap in the yard, you may actually have more in the yard than you would otherwise. So, we typically don’t recommend their use,” according to Jauron.

Jauron says the Japanese beetles will stick around until the end of July or early August. If you had a bad beetle infestation this year, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll return again next year. Jauron says weather conditions dictate their population, as cold weather can kill off the grubs in the ground that emerge as beetles.

(Radio Iowa)

ONAWA, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a 41-year-old man has died from injuries suffered in a Monona County house fire. Firefighters were dispatched to the Onawa home around 9:30 p.m. on July 3rd. Neighbors reported hearing a big bang before the flames erupted.

One person at the home, Dallas Seward, was injured. Ronald Humphrey of the Iowa State Fire Marshal Division confirmed Tuesday that Seward died Sunday at an Omaha, Nebraska, hospital. Humphrey also says the cause of the blast and resulting blaze is still being investigated.

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

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The Adams County Sheriff’s Office says a Ringgold County man was arrested at around 4:15-a.m. today (Tuesday). 46-year old Chad O’Kelley, of Diagonal, was taken into custody following a traffic stop on a 2003 Ford F-150. O’Kelley was prohibited from driving due to a prior OWI. He was arrested for Driving While Revoked. His bond was set at $1,000.

Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater, Tuesday (today) issued a report on arrests that took place over the past week or so. Last Thursday, Deputies arrested 41-year old Mandi Lea Stowers, (also known as Mandi Lea Driskill) of Blockton, and formerly of Orient, for Possession of a Controlled Substance (PCS) and Violation of Probation on original charges of PCS/3rd offense, Theft in the 3rd, Criminal Mischief in the 2nd and Trespass. Stowers was being held in the Adair County Jail on bond amounting to $7,000.

41-year old David Loren Lehman, Jr., of Bondurant, was arrested the night of July 5th, following a traffic stop on I-80, during which a deputy noticed a small amount of marijuana on the passenger seat. Lehman admitted when asked, that considerably more pot was under the driver’s seat. The deputy found a white jar with a large amount of marijuana inside. Lehman was released July 6th on a $1,000 bond or surety.

Sheriff Vandewater says a Menlo woman was arrested July 5th on a warrant for Forgery. 48-year old Kaydean May Darling was subsequently released on her own recognizance. Also arrested July 5th, was 33-year old Amanda Olivia Speed, of Greenfield, for Driving While Barred. She was later released on a $2,000 bond or surety.

And, on July 2nd, 35-year old Justin Patrick Beaman, of Adel, was arrested on an Adair County warrant for Probation Violation. He was released the next day on a $2,000 bond.

Officials with the Creston Police Department report a man was arrested Monday afternoon on a warrant out of Appanoose County. 35-year old Roy Daugherty, of Clearfield, was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center on an Appanoose County warrant for OWI 2nd offense, and Driving While Barred.

Daugherty was released from the Union County to the custody of Appanoose County.

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

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An internationally-renowned opera singer from Iowa is honored for his generosity toward a campaign to fight malaria. Simon Estes, a native of Centerville, is credited with helping raise over half-a-million dollars for “Nothing But Nets” — an organization that distributes nets and other malaria treatments to protect families in sub-Saharan Africa.

“I feel very honored and humbled to have been able to save children’s lives in Africa,” Estes said. The 79-year-old Estes said most people are likely unaware the disease, caused by a mosquito bite, claimed 429-thousand lives worldwide in 2015. Most of the deaths occurred in Africa. Estes first learned of the problem in 2010 when he performed at the closing ceremony for the World Cup soccer tournament in Johannesburg, South Africa.   

“The moderator mentioned that every 30 seconds, a child was dying from malaria because they didn’t have a net under which to sleep that had been chemically treated,” Estes said. “One-million children were dying every year and 90-percent of the deaths were in sub-Saharan Africa.” Proceeds from CD sales of Estes’ album “Save The Children, Save Their Lives” have benefited the Nothing But Nets campaign, which presented Estes with a “lifetime impact award” on Monday at an event on the Ankeny campus of Des Moines Area Community College.

In December of 2013, Estes gave a benefit concert at Hilton Coliseum in Ames where he performed with 1,100 students from 52 high schools across Iowa. The choir was named the “Iowa Students Care Choir.” The concert raised $100,000 for the Nothing But Nets campaign.

(Radio Iowa)