Iowa Gov. Terry E. Branstad, Friday, signed a proclamation to allow the transportation of oversize and overweight loads of forage through Iowa. The proclamation is intended to aid cattle producers in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, where wildfires have caused a shortage of forage.

The action will allow vehicles transporting forage through Iowa to be oversize and overweight, without a permit, until May 16, 2017. The proclamation applies to loads transported on all highways within the state excluding the interstate system, and those which do not exceed a maximum of 90,000 pounds gross weight, do not exceed the maximum axle weight limit determined under the non‐primary highway maximum gross weight table in Iowa Code, by more than 12.5 percent, do not exceed the legal maximum axle weight limit of 20,000 pounds, and comply with posted limits on roads and bridges.

The Iowa Department of Transportation will monitor the operation of the proclamation to assure the public’s safety, and to facilitate the movement of trucks involved in transporting forage to the impacted states.

As we usher in spring next week, the construction season will also bloom and blossom quickly. Interstate construction crews have steadily worked over the winter months to ramp up for spring and with the warmer weather approaching, residents and travelers through Council Bluffs will see that happen. Scott Schram, Iowa DOT District 4 engineer in Atlantic, says a few early impacts due to construction will begin next week:

The westbound Interstate 80 exit at Iowa 192/South Expressway (exit 3) and right lane of westbound I-80 between the I-80/I-29 interchange (exit 4) and Iowa 192/Expressway (exit 3): Overnight closures are scheduled for each evening from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. the following morning Monday through Thursday, March 20-23 (ending Friday morning, March 24).

The right lane of westbound I-80 between the I-80/I-29 interchange (exit 1) and the Missouri River bridge: Overnight closure scheduled for Monday night, March 20, from 11 p.m. until 5 a.m. Tuesday, March 21, for pavement restriping.

The southbound I-29 to westbound I-80 ramp (exit 51): The ramp will be closed from 12 a.m. to 4 a.m. Tuesday, March 21.

Eastbound I-80 at the I-80/I-29 interchange (exit 4): Eastbound I-80 will be closed overnight from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. until the following morning on Wednesday and Thursday, March 22 and 23 (ending Friday morning, March 24).

Iowa 192/South Expressway between the westbound I-80 ramp and 30th Avenue: Iowa 192/South Expressway will be closed overnight each evening from 9:30 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. the following morning Monday through Thursday, March 27-30 (ending Friday morning, March 31).

Schram says “More details about the 2017 interstate construction activities will be discussed with the public at an open house meeting in April; details will be announced soon. The Iowa DOT anticipates that ongoing work will most impact people traveling on the interstate and local businesses in the area.”

The Iowa DOT is in the process of reconstructing I-80, I-29, and I-480 in the Council Bluffs metropolitan area. This comprehensive interstate redesign will modernize the highway system and improve mobility and safety of approximately 18 miles of interstate. Motorists are encouraged to allow for extra travel time while this interstate improvement takes effect. If you would like more information about detours and traffic impacts visit the program website, www.CouncilBluffsInterstate.IowaDOT.gov.

A passenger in a vehicle involved in a collision Friday afternoon in Creston, was injured and and transported to the hospital for treatment of suspected, minor injuries. Creston Police say 68-year old Judy Wells, of Creston, was injured during the collision that happened at around 12:15-p.m. at the intersection of Birch and Howard Streets.

Wells was a passenger in a 1999 Ford Ranger pickup that was hit by a 2010 Chevy Equinox. Neither the driver of the Chevy, 22-year old Shaylen Renae Kipp, or the pickup, 48-year old Gena Ann Chumbley, both of Creston, were injured.

The accident happened when Kipp stopped at the intersection, but then failed to yield to Chumbley’s pickup. Kipp was cited for Failure to Obey a stop or yield sign. Damage from the collision amounted to $2,500.

The Atlantic Police Department, Friday, issued a warning to area residents about private debt collectors who are supposedly working for Verizon Wireless. The “debt collectors”are calling asking customers to go to onto a Verizon website they provide to pay off a certain amount of money you may owe.

The A-PD says you should always call Verizon directly to see if you owe anything on your account. Don’t use the website the caller has given, and if you have used the website the debt collector gave you, be sure and keep a close eye on your bank accounts. Always go through Verizon directly, on the website listed on your statements or call them directly at a verifiable number.

As always, with any debt collection or call you may receive, never give your personal information out to the caller, and never send money.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, at her first of two town hall meetings in Iowa, drew applause when she said Donald Trump should release his tax returns. For most of the hour-long town hall meeting at Coe College in Cedar Rapids she endured shouting and booing.

Ernst drew laughter and booing when she said many of the millions of people likely to lose insurance under the House GOP health care bill will willingly chose not to buy insurance once the mandates under the current law are lifted. She also faced shouts for suggesting climate change is a natural occurrence and booing when she said states should decide whether money is spent funding Planned Parenthood.

A second town hall meeting Friday evening will be held at Drake University in Des Moines.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A Des Moines lawmaker is questioning why the chairman of the state Senate Oversight Committee has refused to hold hearings this year, including delving into abuse of residents with disabilities at a state institution.

Democratic Sen. Matt McCoy of Des Moines tells The Des Moines Register he has requested several hearings but has been rebuffed by Republican Sen. Michael Breitbach of Strawberry Point. Breitbach says, “It’s my prerogative,” but would say little more.

McCoy’s latest request was for a hearing about problems at the Glenwood State Resource Center. Last month, 13 workers at the state institution were fired or quit and six were arrested after allegations that they mistreated residents with severe intellectual disabilities. Iowa inspectors reported in January that some staff members humiliated residents or struck them in the head.

Iowa’s entire congressional delegation is applauding the decision of the U-S Air National Guard to leave a specialized airplane at the Iowa Air Guard base in Des Moines. Iowa Guard spokesman, Colonel Greg Hapgood, says the R-C-26 airplane was first assigned on a temporary basis. He says it has a variety of uses. “Our pilot based at the 132nd Wing fly the aircraft to maintain their currency as pilots — but they also use it to do things like counter drug missions. And also they can provide information about emergencies here in the state of Iowa if need be, using that aircraft,” according to Hapgood.

Information from the Iowa congressional delegation requesting that the plane be kept in Iowa says it was used in missions for 10 federal and state agencies, and “helped seize 566-thousand-900 dollars in methamphetamine in fiscal year 2016. In fiscal year 2015, it helped seize 20 illegal weapons, over 500-thousand dollars in methamphetamine, and four-thousand dollars in heroin.”

The 132nd wing flew F-16 fighter jets before they were moved out, but the R-C-26 doesn’t look anything like a fighter. Hapgood says it is a twin-engine aircraft that has the look of a passenger aircraft.

He says the Iowa Air Guard is happy to see the plane stay in Des Moines. “It’s certainly just another tool in our toolbox to be able to keep Iowans safe here at home, and also to make sure that our pilots maintain their currency and their competency as an aviator,” Hapgood says.

The 132nd Wing is based at the Des Moines airport.

(Radio Iowa)

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Authorities blame arcing wires in an underground vault for causing a downtown Sioux City fire that led to explosions that blew manhole covers into the air. The Sioux City Journal reports that MidAmerican Energy dispatched a crew after learning of the fire and blasts Wednesday evening. The workers isolated the problem and restored service to several customers that had lost power.

Fire officials say a pressure buildup from the fire caused the explosions. No injuries have been reported.

Thousands of Iowans will be celebrating this St. Patrick’s Day with green beer or other forms of alcohol. Police are hoping those people are traveling with someone who’s sober. Sergeant Scott Bright is spokesman for the Iowa Department of Public Safety. “If people are going out to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, they should remember to take a designated driver with them,” Bright says.

Last year, St. Patrick’s Day fell on a Thursday and between the March 17 to 20 period, police across the state arrested 259 people for O-W-I. Bright says a lot of Iowans begin their St. Patrick’s partying early in the day. “They have a long weekend, they start to drink early in the morning, and then we see a lot of people driving who are intoxicated,” Bright says.

According to figures from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, during a typical St. Patrick’s Day weekend, more than 25-percent of all crash fatalities involve alcohol. That figure rises to 50-percent between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m. There have already been 53 fatalities from traffic crashes in Iowa this year.

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa Constitution requires that the State of Iowa have a balanced budget, but the Iowa Senate has endorsed a constitutional amendment that would enforce MORE restraints on state spending. Senator Charles Schneider, a Republican from West Des Moines, is a leading advocate for the proposal. “It helps us avoid the boom-and-bust cycles of budgeting,” Schneider said. “It provides fiscal discipline during periods of strong economic growth. It helps us make sure that we don’t over-extend our budget.”

Senator Pam Jochum, of Dubuque, says these proposed restraints would prevent legislators of the future from functioning in times of crisis. “The Constitution to me, to government, to our democracy…you don’t mess with it without a whole lot of thought,” Jochum said. Jochum and nine other senators, all Democrats, voted against the proposal. Republican Mark Chelgren, of Ottumw,a was among the 38 senators who supported the proposal. “This is the absolute way we can hold future legislators accountable,” Chelgren said.

The proposed amendment would take the state LAW that currently limits state spending to 99 percent of expected tax revenue and make that LAW part of the CONSTITUTION. It also would impose a new limit on how much state spending may INCREASE from year-to-year. Over-riding these “constitutional caps” on spending would require a vote by at least two-thirds of the legislature along with the governor’s approval. Amending the state constitution takes years — and the final decision is made by voters in a statewide election. THIS proposed constitutional amendment must clear the Iowa House by 2018, and then be approved AGAIN by the House and Senate in 2019 or 2020 before it could be submitted to voters in 2020.

(Radio Iowa)