SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A man has been sentenced to more than four years in federal prison for distributing methamphetamine in western Iowa. Antonio Lara-Pantoja of Denison was sentenced in Sioux City last week after pleading guilty in August to a drug conspiracy charge.

Officers found nearly 4 grams of meth in Lara-Pantoja’s vehicle when he was arrested in March 2011. Investigators say he sold more than 100 grams of meth in Denison from January through March of last year.  Authorities say he obtained the drug in Omaha, Neb.

ST. LOUIS (AP) – The snowstorm that pummeled the upper Midwest last week is helping ease dry conditions in Iowa but hasn’t done much to relax the overall grip of the worst U.S. drought in decades.  The weekly U.S. Drought Monitor report released Thursday shows that roughly 62 percent of the continental U.S. remains in some form of drought, unchanged from the previous week. That number has been above 60 percent largely since July.

Nearly 22 percent of the lower 48 states are in extreme or exceptional drought, the two worst categories. That also is unchanged from the previous week.  All of Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and South Dakota are in drought. But thanks to last week’s snow, the amount of Iowa in extreme or exceptional drought fell 9 percentage points to 32 percent.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Department of Transportation says it will not issue driver’s licenses to young illegal immigrants who are now eligible to work in the U.S. under an Obama administration program. The department said Thursday that Iowa law does not allow it to issue driver’s licenses or non-operator identification cards to people who are not in the country legally.

President Barack Obama announced a policy change in June that lets certain illegal immigrants apply for a temporary work permit if they were brought to the country as children. Several Republican governors have said they will not issue driver’s licenses to immigrants who qualify. In August, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman said his state would continue to deny licenses, welfare benefits and other public assistance unless required by state law.

The first significant snowfall of the season last week had area snowmobilers out enjoying their machines and hoping for more snow to keep them active. Cass County Recorder Joyce Jensen says before you begin your next adventure in the open, you should be aware the State of Iowa has made some changes in snowmobile registration, license renewal, titling and assignment of liens.

Jensen says her office uses the Recreational Vehicle and Vessel Registration, or RVVRS (pronounced “Rivers”) System. She reminds snowmobile enthusiasts that registrations for your machine or machines are due no later than the end of this month. Jensen says registrations are due by December 31^st, if you want to avoid a penalty.

In addition she says, there are some new requirements when it comes to using snowmobiles on public land. Jensen says all snowmobiles, regardless of owner residency status, used on public land, public ice, and designated snowmobile trails in the State of Iowa, must display and IDNR User Permit.

User permits are required in addition to a valid registration. And, Jensen says also the State requires insurance cards or proof of insurance in order for snowmobiles to be used on the highways. There are new rules as well, regarding the use of snowmobiles for“Water Skipping.”

She says you are welcome to come into the Cass County Recorder’s Office to pick up a booklet containing information on all the new changes, which Joyce and her staff will go over with you. She says she hopes to see all snowmobile enthusiasts in her office over the next few days to get their registration up-to-date and go over the new rules.

An elderly Council Bluffs man who suffered from third-degree burns and smoke inhalation during a fire early Sunday morning, has died from his injuries. According to Omaha television station KMTV, 90-year-old Robert Kissel, Sr., a World War II veteran succumbed to his injuries this week.

Kissel, Sr., was transferred from Creighton University Medical Center to St. Elizabeth Regional Medical Center in Lincoln, NE, following the 2:30-a.m. fire, Sunday. His 59-year old daughter, Robin Ann Krause tried to reach her father but couldn’t because the staircase was on fire. Instead, she called 911 and crawled out a basement window.

Firefighters found Kissel, Sr. in his bedroom. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The Adair County Board of Supervisors will meet for the last time in 2012, Friday morning, in Greenfield. During their 9-a.m. session at the courthouse, the Board will discuss and possibly act on: Taxable mileage; Township Clerk wages, and an amended Public Health Emergency Preparedness Contract. In addition, at 9:15, the Adair County Supervisors will hear from County Engineer Nick Kauffman, who will present a report in his department’s maintenance and activities.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors will hold their last meeting of the month Monday morning, here in Atlantic. During their 9-a.m. session at the courthouse, the Board will act on a Livestock Facility Construction resolution, and on ratifying a bargaining unit  agreement with the Secondary Roads Dept. union.

Another week, another snowstorm. A large portion of Iowa is about to get dumped on, according to meteorologist Mindy Beerends at the National Weather Service office in Johnston. A storm system is moving out of the Rockies, tracking east, which will bring us persistent snow starting this afternoon, through tonight and into tomorrow.

At last check, 25 counties in northwest and north-central Iowa are under a Winter Weather Advisory. Beerends says conditions won’t be as bad as last week’s blizzard, but some areas of Iowa will be getting another good dose of snow.

“Right now, mostly across the northern half of Iowa, we’re looking right around three to four inches and there could be a few five-inch reports by the time the snow tapers off sometime Friday,” she says.

The weekend forecast calls for clearing skies and dry weather, with high temperatures warming slightly into the 20s and near-30.

(Radio Iowa)

w/ Ric Hanson

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