COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — The city of Council Bluffs has reported more than $670,000 in unpaid trash bills from customers. The Council Bluffs Public Health Department says the unpaid bills are from the last three billing cycles, which occur every two months. The unpaid bills are tied to more than 3,600 accounts.

Health Director Donn Dierks tells the Daily Nonpareil that customers have 45 days to pay their bills. There is a late fee added after that. County official then put a lien on a delinquent property after another period of time.

Officials say the city continues to collect garbage whether the sanitation bill is paid or not.

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT/ NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 413 PM CDT TUE APR 8 2014

SAC-CRAWFORD-CARROLL-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS-CASS-ADAIR-MADISON-ADAMS-UNION-TAYLOR-RINGGOLD COUNTIES…

…ELEVATED FIRE DANGER LATE WEDNESDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON…

WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE REGION LATE WEDNESDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON. WITH SOUTHWEST WINDS EXPECTED TO INCREASE TO 20 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO NEAR 35 MPH AT TIMES. WITH RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES DROPPING TO NEAR 25 TO 35 PERCENT DURING THE DAY…AN ELEVATED FIRE DANGER WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE REGION BY LATE MORNING AND PERSIST THROUGH THE LATE AFTERNOON HOURS.

OUTDOOR BURNING IS HIGHLY DISCOURAGED WEDNESDAY. THE COMBINATION OF BREEZY SOUTHWEST WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY WILL RESULT IN THE POTENTIAL FOR A RAPID SPREAD OF FIRE OR FIRE THAT BECOMES QUICKLY OUT OF CONTROL.

URGENT – FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OMAHA/VALLEY NE

331 PM CDT TUE APR 8 2014

…CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS EXPECTED FOR WEDNESDAY…

A WARM AND DRY AIRMASS WILL BE OVER THE REGION WEDNESDAY. THIS AIRMASS COMBINED WITH SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 15 TO 30 MPH AND AVAILABLE FUELS/DRY GRASSES…SHOULD ELEVATE FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS INTO THE RED FLAG WARNING RANGE.

COUNTIES: MONONA-HARRISON-SHELBY-POTTAWATTAMIE-MILLS-MONTGOMERY-FREMONT-PAGE–

…RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TO 7 PM CDT WEDNESDAY FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN OMAHA/VALLEY HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG WARNING FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TO 7 PM CDT WEDNESDAY. THE FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

* WINDS…SOUTHWEST 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 35 MPH.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY…AS LOW AS 15 PERCENT.

* IMPACTS…FIRES CAN EASILY IGNITE AND SPREAD QUICKLY.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW…OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF STRONG WINDS…LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY…AND WARM TEMPERATURES CAN CONTRIBUTE TO EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR.

Three local lawmen wearing their uniforms and an Atlantic City Councilman braved cold water and brisk winds to try and raise money for a boy with cancer, Tuesday.

(Left-to-right) Cass County Sheriff Darby McLaren, Dep. Ryan Johnson, Atlantic Police Chief Steve Green & Councilman Chris Jimerson.

Atlantic Police Chief Steve Green, Cass County Sheriff Darby McLaren, Deputy Ryan Johnson and Councilman Chris Jimerson entered one of the lakes at the Schildberg Recreation Area just after 3-p.m., Tuesday.

Sheriff McLaren accepted Chief Green’s challenge to partake in the “Plunge for Landon,” a 5-month old boy from Tarkio, MO., who is recovering from surgery in his fight against cancer. Before he entered the lake, the Chief challenged Ackley, Iowa Police Chief Jeff Harnish, Red Oak Police Chief Drue Powers, and the entire staff at the Cass County Memorial Hospital to take the plunge. The Sheriff challenged Doctors Jeff Georgen and Doug Leonard to do the same.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A survey shows the value of Iowa cropland has dropped for the first time since 2009. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports the survey from the Iowa Realtors Land Institute shows the value of tillable cropland fell by 5.4 percent in the past six months. The report found the average price of high-quality farmland was $11,104 an acre, a drop of $570 from the last survey released in September.

The survey showed declines in all nine regions of the state, with the largest drop in southeast Iowa. Reasons for the decline include lower commodity prices, higher input costs and increasing interest rates. Prices for Iowa farmland have more than doubled in the past five years. Average high-quality farmland cost $5,297 in 2009 but had soared to $11,515 by 2013.

Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker early this (Tuesday) afternoon released additional information about a shooting incident that occurred at around 3-a.m. in Oakland. Danker says Pottawattamie County Communications received a 911 call reporting that a female had been shot at 303 Brown Street in Oakland.

Robert Reynolds

Deputies, assisted by Council Bluffs Police Officers and Iowa State Troopers arrived shortly thereafter and after a brief standoff, 63 year old Robert Reynolds, of Oakland, was taken into custody. Deputies investigating the incident found a 64 year old female from Rural Cass County Iowa deceased at the scene. Reynolds was transported to the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office and later booked in on the charge of Murder in the First Degree. The name of the victim is being withheld at this time. The investigation is ongoing.

Police in Harlan have released a report on arrests over the past week. Authorities say two people were arrested Monday. 21-year old Trent Wendt, of Panama, was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, following a traffic stop. And, 26-year old Richard Floersch, of Harlan, was arrested Monday on disorderly conduct and public intoxication charges, after officers were called to a disturbance in the vicinity of 5th and Dye Streets, in Harlan. Floersch was transported to Myrtue Memorial Hospital for treatment of minor injuries prior to being hauled-off to jail.

On Sunday, Police officers in Harlan arrested 19-year old Bradly Freund, of Earling on charges that include Eluding and Possession of Alcohol by a person under the age of 21. His arrest stems from a traffic stop. Freund was also cited for Failure to Obey a Stop Sign and charged through the Iowa DOT with a .02 (Point Oh-Two) Violation.  Also arrested Sunday, was 44-year old Stephen Livingston, of Harlan. He was charged with Criminal Mischief in the 2nd degree, assault and public intoxication. Livingston was arrested after police responded to a report of a person out of control in the 600 block of Baldwin Street.

And on Friday, April 4th, 25-year old Michael Hall, of Harlan, was arrested on an active Shelby County bench warrant.

MILWAUKEE (AP) – A virus never before seen in the U.S. has killed millions of baby pigs in less than a year, threatening pork production and pushing up prices by 10 percent or more.  The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says a pound of bacon averaged $5.46 in February. That’s 13 percent more than a year ago. Ham and chops have gone up too, although not as much.

Scientists believe porcine epidemic diarrhea came from China, but they don’t know how it got into the United States.  Agricultural economist Steve Meyer estimates the virus has killed nearly 6.8 million pigs in 27 states since last May. Meyer says Americans expect cheap food, but PED has shown how much an outbreak can cost and how important disease prevention is to the food supply.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office today (Tuesday) said a Cumberland man was arrested Friday, on drug charges. 54-year old Jerry Lee Edwards was taken into custody on charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance (Methamphetamine) (3rd or Subsequent), Possession of a Controlled Substance (Marijuana), and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Edwards was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released later that day on $5000 bond.

Also on Friday, deputies in Cass County arrested 20-year old Rynell Markelle Ware, of Lincoln, NE, on a District Court warrant for Probation Violation. Ware was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was being held on $5000 bond.

And on Sunday, 31-year old Rachel Lynn Segobia, of Gretna, NE, was arrested in Cass County on on a charge of Public Intox. Segobia was taken to the Cass County Jail where she was released the following day on bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Senate is sending to Gov. Terry Bransad a bill that will survey schools in Iowa to determine whether they’re testing for the presence of radon gas. The bill requires districts to report by the end of this year to the Iowa Department of Education and the agency to file a report with the Legislature by January.

Sen. Matt McCoy, a Des Moines Democrat, who introduced the measure, says the House “gutted” his bill but a report will at least bring public attention to the issue. McCoy’s version, which passed the Senate, would have required schools to test and fix problems if radon had been detected at dangerous levels.

Republican Rep. Matt Windschitl says gathering information is the right path for now.