With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Police in Council Bluffs are investigating two robberies that occurred overnight Monday into early this (Tuesday) morning. Officials say at around 10:30-p.m. Monday, a stocky white male in his 20’s entered Eddy’s Gas Station at 611 East Broadway Street, displayed a gun and demanded money from the cash register. The suspect placed an undetermined amount of  money in a bag and left the store on foot in an unknown direction of travel. Officials say he was about 5-feet 9-inches tall, weighed 200-pounds, had a goatee and wore a black hooded jacket with a design on it, black gloves, and panty hose over his face. He was also carrying a black bag.

The second robbery happened today (Tuesday) at around 2:40-a.m., at the Kum and Go Store on Bennett Avenue (154 Bennett) in Council Bluffs. Officials say a similarly dressed suspect carrying a black satchel-style duffel bag confronted the clerk and brandished a handgun. He also got away on foot with an unknown amount of cash.

Anyone with information about either incident is asked to contact Council Bluffs Police at 712-328-4761.

The Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department’s Board of Directors Monday evening, approved a request from Eagle Scout Grant Podhasky, for an improvement project at Sunnyside Park.

Grant Podhasky

The project involves the replacement of the fire pit on the east side of the Camblin Addition to the park. The current fire pit is falling apart and patched together with concrete blocks as support.

The current fire pit

Podhasky said when he decided to pursue the project, he looked at three options for a new fire pit. He says he considered making it into a grill, but there’s already one in the area. He also looked into fire pit kits, but they weren’t visually and functionally adequate. Another option was to use retaining wall blocks.

The option he chose was using natural limestone, set in the form of a fire ring about 24-feet in diameter. Podhasky said the pit would have a concrete base lined with pea gravel and surrounded by timbers.

The ;proposed layout of a new fire pit.

The project would use 2,000-pounds of limestone and 5.3-cubic yards of pea gravel.

Limestone blocks would serve as the basis for the fire pit.

As for seating options, Podhasky says he considered several options there, too.  Split logs, wooden benches and limestone blocks were looked at, but ruled out for various reasons. The end solution was to use tree stumps, which provide a natural environment for the setting.

10 tree stumps would be placed in the circle around the fire pit. With the Park Boards’ approval, Podhasky can continue with fundraising efforts and acquire the necessary materials and equipment. Work on removing the current fire pit is expected to begin in June, with the project completed by mid-July.

Police in Red Oak say a Pottawattamie County woman was arrested Monday night on an OWI charge. 23-year old Jan Palubiak, of Oakland, was taken into custody at around 9-p.m. for OWI/1st offense. Palubiak was being held in the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center on $1,000 bond.

An SUV occupied by 9 people crashed early Monday morning in Adair County, resulting in two adults and two children, all from eastern Iowa, being sent to the hospital in Greenfield.  Three of the injured were not wearing seat belts. The Iowa State Patrol reports the injured were riding in a 2003 GMC Envoy that was traveling west on I-80 in construction zone at around 5:50-a.m., when the driver, 48-year old Lazaro Rodriguez Soto, of Cedar Rapids, fell asleep at the wheel.

The SUV ran off the road and hit a guard rail before overturning into the north ditch and coming to rest on its top. Transported to the Adair County Memorial Hospital in Greenfield was 49-year old MA Eugenia Montes-Vera, 26-year old Clara Rodriguez, a seven-year old and nine-year old child, all from Cedar Rapids. A report on the extent of their injuries was not available.

The CAM School District’s Board of Education Monday evening, unanimously voted to move forward with a Superintendent sharing agreement with the neighboring Nodaway Valley Community School Disrict. The Nodaway Valley Board made a similar decision on May 8th.

Both Boards will meet sometime over the course of the next couple of weeks to work out the details. The final agreement will allow both districts to benefit from cost savings and additional incentives from the State.

If the agreement between CAM and Nodaway Valley moves to completion without any hitches, CAM Superintendent Steve Pelzer will announce his retirement at the June 16th Board meeting, meaning the districts would share the services of Nodaway Valley Superintendent Casey Berlau beginning with the 2014-2015 School year.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

WAPELLO, Iowa (AP) — Two brothers were killed in a single vehicle crash east of Wapello in southeast Iowa. The Louisa County Sheriff’s Office says the crash occurred about 5:30 a.m. Sunday on County Road X61 when the driver of a vehicle failed to negotiate a turn. The driver, 52-year-old Ricky Lynn Hartsock, of rural Letts, and 53-year-old passenger Randy Wayne Hartsock, of rural Columbus Junction, were taken to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, where both died.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa farmers have planted a higher percentage of the corn crop than last year but remain behind the five-year average. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says 84 percent of the corn crop had been planted as of Sunday. That’s more than the 63 percent of the crop planted at this time last year but a little behind the five-year average of 88 percent.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — As ethanol producers see some of their most profitable months ever, the federal government is considering whether to lower the amount of the corn-based fuel that must be blended into gasoline. If the EPA approves a proposal reducing the required amount of ethanol that must be used nationally from about 14 billion gallons to 13 billion gallons, it would hurt a biofuels industry that built plants and spent billions on research based on the standard Congress approved in 2007.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Corrections is confirming that an assault involving several inmates occurred at a new prison unit meant to keep male juvenile offenders safe. Department officials say the altercation happened March 18 at the newly-formed unit at Anamosa State Penitentiary. The assault involved two groups of inmates who clashed. He says one inmate was assaulted with a padlock and was taken to the hospital for treatment. Two others received medical attention for minor injuries at the prison.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Hank Williams usually is portrayed as a dark and lonely man. His daughter says it’s time to show the happy side. Jett Williams says her father comes across as a guy you’d want to know better on “The Garden Spot Programs, 1950.” She says it’s because it’s a radio program and her father would have thought it would never be heard after it aired. KSIB-AM in Creston, Iowa, saved the tapes, which were restored and released in modern formats this week. Jett Williams says the highlight is “Lovesick Blues” because it’s a different version. She advises anyone who finds a funny-looking record should realize it’s probably an acetate and get a professional to play it, because if it’s old, it may only play once.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa farmers have planted a higher percentage of the corn crop than last year but remain behind the five-year average. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Monday that 84 percent of the corn crop had been planted as of Sunday. That’s more than the 63 percent of the crop planted at this time last year but a little behind the five-year average of 88 percent.

The USDA says 40 percent of the soybean crop has been planted. That’s 10 percentage points behind average. The report showed that 78 percent of topsoil moisture was adequate and 12 percent had surplus water. Of the remaining, 9 percent was short of moisture and 1 percent was very short. The USDA says 62 percent of subsoil moisture was adequate.

A Pottawattamie County man was arrested Friday by deputies in Cass County. Officials say 24-year old Randy Travis Arbuckle, of Walnut, was wanted on an Atlantic Police Department warrant for Harassment in the 1st Degree. Arbuckle was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released later that day on $2000 bond.