The 7:06-a.m. report w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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One of the largest-ever disaster drills organized by the American Red Cross in Iowa will take place this week, starting this (Tuesday) morning. Dan Cataldi, the agency’s regional disaster officer, says about 90 volunteers and staff members from all across Iowa are converging on Des Moines as a sort of dress rehearsal. “We all know that in Iowa, we will have tornadoes this year, for instance, we just don’t know where and when,” Cataldi says. “It’s critical that we are able to challenge our teams. Most of our workers are volunteers. On an operation, we would expect 90% of our team to be volunteers, so we need to make sure they have the opportunity to practice before they’re involved in a real operation.”

The drill will serve as a crucial training exercise to prepare volunteers for what they may face in the aftermath of an actual tornado, flood or other natural disaster.  “This event allows us to bring everybody together and work on everything from service delivery and setting up shelters — we’ll actually set up cots and feed people — to our back office things,” Cataldi says. “We set up our own IT networks and we have a staff services team to make sure all the teams that are working get all the things they need.”

This disaster drill will run three days, today through Thursday, which is much longer than usual and it will be much larger in scale. “Typically, we exercise for about a day and we go through what we call tabletops, where we just work through scenarios,” Cataldi says. “Bringing in all of these people together and going through the process of setting up a shelter and things like that over three days is really a large endeavor and certainly one of the biggest we’ve ever attempted.”

(Radio Iowa)

A traffic stop early this (Tuesday) morning in Fremont County resulted in the arrest of two people on drug charges. Sheriff’s officials say 35-year old Thomas Lee Knipe, of Glenwood, and 43-year old Christopher Lynn Mosier, of Essex, were arrested for Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Marijuana and Possession of numerous pieces of drug paraphernalia.

The men were taken into custody at around 2:15-a.m. in the 2300 block of Wabounsie Avenue. Knipe was being held in the Fremont County Jail on $2,000 cash bond, while Mosier’s bond was set at $1,000. Deputies in Fremont County were assisted at the scene by the Mills County K9 Unit.

A traffic stop early this (Tuesday) morning in Montgomery County resulted in the arrest of 26-year old Rhyian Todd Hall, of Red Oak. Hall was taken into custody at around 2:50-a.m. on a charge of OWI/2nd offense. He was brought to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $2,000 cash bond.

State Climatologist Harry Hillaker says February will goes into the record books in the top ten in both cold and snow. Hillaker says the persistent cold is probably the thing that stands out the most about the month. “Actually only had five days where the statewide average temperature was above normal,” Hillaker says. Those were five consecutive days above normal from February 6th through the 10th. Temperatures really dropped at the end of the month.

“Our lowest temperatures of the month — actually for the whole winter — came on the last two days of February. Stanley, in Buchanan County in northeast Iowa got down to an official minus thirty degrees the morning of February 27, that’s actual temperature, not windchill,” Hillaker says, “and the next morning, Elkader in Clayton County, also got down to minus 30 degrees.” February was just a little snowier than normal.

Hillaker says most of the snow came in one storm at the beginning of the month, but overall it was the ninth snowiest and ninth coldest February. The state has kept weather records for 143 years. Overall the winter hasn’t been anything too out of the ordinary. “We are running just a little bit above normal in the snowfall, again thanks in large part to February,” Hillaker says. “So far this winter, about two-point-seven inches above normal for snowfall, which would put us at the 45th snowiest winter.”

Hillaker says winter’s worst is probably past us now as the days get longer with more sunlight heading into March.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Senate panel has approved a bill that could halt the upcoming closings of state mental health centers in Clarinda and Mount Pleasant. A three-member human resources subcommittee approved the bill unanimously Monday. It now heads to a full committee for consideration. The bill would require the state Department of Human Services to keep the facilities open until it develops a “suitable and appropriate” long-term care and treatment plan for its patients. The Legislature would approve the plan.

Gov. Terry Branstad’s budget proposal removes funding for the facilities. State officials say patients will be able to receive treatment elsewhere. Critics say the closings, scheduled later this year, have not been well organized. Democratic Sen. Rich Taylor, the bill’s sponsor, says he has bipartisan support in both chambers.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Legislation aimed at expanding guidelines for Iowa educators who respond to school bullying has advanced in the House. The measure would clarify the ability of educators to monitor bullying off school grounds. It would also expand parental notification language and the definition of cyberbullying.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a woman whose body was found in a Des Moines alley wasn’t killed. The Des Moines Police Department says an autopsy conducted Monday on 35-year-old Shannon Prothero revealed no major trauma to her body, and the Iowa medical examiner determined her death is not a homicide.

UNDERWOOD, Iowa (AP) — A teacher at an Iowa middle school has been arrested on charges related to a claim that he sexually abused a former female student. Pottawattamie County officials say 45-year-old Barret B. Glasnapp turned himself in on an arrest warrant of four counts of sexual abuse, one count of felony sexual exploitation by a school employee and five misdemeanor counts of sexual exploitation by a school employee. Authorities say Glasnapp’s interaction began in 2011 when the student was 14, after her eighth-grade year, and continued until October. She was a student of Glasnapp from 2009 until 2012.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Senate panel has approved a bill that could halt the upcoming closings of state mental health centers in Clarinda and Mount Pleasant. The bill would require the state Department of Human Services to keep the facilities open until it develops a “suitable and appropriate” long-term care and treatment plan for its patients. The Legislature would approve the plan.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Legislation aimed at expanding guidelines for Iowa educators who respond to school bullying has advanced in the House. An education committee voted 19-4 Monday in favor of the bill. The full House can now debate it. The measure would clarify the ability of educators to monitor bullying off school grounds. It would also expand parental notification language and the definition of cyberbullying.

After several changes to the bill Monday, it now better mirrors Senate legislation. Rep. Quentin Stanerson, a Center Point Republican, says a $200,000 appropriation for teacher training and a student mentoring program would remain in the bill.

That’s different than the Senate. Sen. Robert Hogg, a Cedar Rapids Democrat, says removing the appropriation helps the legislation’s chances. He says he wants to secure funding through another legislative process.

Police in Council Bluffs were asking motorists to avoid the area of Harry Langdon Boulevard and Highway 92 Monday afternoon, after an over-sized semi driven by Timothy Downing of Council Bluffs, went through the intersection struck a set of the traffic signals, knocking them down.The accident happened sometime after 2-p.m.

The intersection was being controlled by 4 way stop signs until further notice. Officials expected the intersection will possibly be back to normal sometime tomorrow (Tuesday).

The Iowa State Patrol late Monday afternoon released information about a fatal accident that took place just after midnight Saturday, in Adel. Troopers responded to a two vehicle crash on Highway 6. An investigation determined 37-year old Heidi Lynn Harkrader, from rural Adel was westbound crossing the Raccoon River Bridge when her vehicle was rear ended by a vehicle driven by 38-year old Justin Krutsinger, of Dexter.  Both vehicles went into the north ditch and eventually struck a home on South 5th Street, in Adel.

Harkrader was pronounced dead at the scene. Krutsinger is charged with vehicular homicide is being held at the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office on $25,000 cash only bond. The Iowa State Patrol, Dallas County Sheriff’s Office and Adel Police Department investigated the accident.