The Red Oak Police Department reports three people were taken into custody late Thursday night on drug-related charges. Authorities say 18-year-old Mason Philip Roach and 22-year-old Devin Alexander Davis, along with 17-year old Nikolus Brenton Schooling, all from Red Oak, were arrested in the 1400 block of North Broadway Street. Roach and Davis face Possession of Marijuana charges. Schooling was cited for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He was later released into the custody of a parent, while Roach and Davis remain in custody on $1,000 bond each. The trio were arrested just before midnight, Thursday.

Department of Natural Resources officials have found the likely source of a massive fish kill in northwest Iowa.

Floyd River fish kill Oct 2012

Ken Hessenius, with the DNR, says the discharge into the West Branch of the Floyd River south of Sioux Center was traced to a local business. “Sioux-Preme Packing Company is a hog kill packing plant and they have a wastewater system,” Hessenius said.

The reason for the discharge is still under review and it’s unclear if the company was aware it was happening. DNR staff were notified of the situation on Monday by a local resident who reported the stream looked “murky.” Elevated ammonia levels were discovered in the stream, along with dead fish. The fish kill is still being counted.

“The preliminary information is the kill will be in the thousands, not hundreds, as initially reported,” Hessenius said. The dead fish have been found at least nine miles downstream of the plant, according to the DNR. Hessenius said potential enforcement action and fines against Sioux-Preme Packing are under review.

(Radio Iowa)

Officials with Cargill have announced the closing early next year, of the company’s shell egg production facility in Panora. The move means the elimination of some 55 jobs from the area. Two shift lines operate at the Panora plant, producing premium breakfast products for a variety of companies. One is expected to shut down in January, the other in March. A third shift is tasked with sanitizing the facility.

In a press release, Cargill says “After careful consideration, Cargill Kitchen Solutions has decided to close its hard-cooked egg facility in Panora and shift production to Big Lake, Minnesota. This was a hard decision to reach, especially due to the impact on our people. This decision allows Cargill Kitchen Solution to consolidate all products that require shell eggs as their raw material into one facility that can handle current and future demand. It also enables greater efficiency by focusing our production, supply chain, and quality assurance efforts in one location. We expect that we will shift production over the next six months and will add additional staff at the Big Lake location to accommodate the increased production there.”

The company says Cargill Kitchen Solutions’ business continues to perform well.

Gov. Terry E. Branstad Thursday, signed a proclamation to allow the transportation of oversized and overweight loads of soybeans, corn, hay, straw, silage and stover. The proclamation takes effect on November 3rd, 2012 and expires after 15 days. The proclamation applies to loads transported on all highways within Iowa, excluding the interstate system, and 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 the Iowa Code, by more than twelve and one-half percent (12.5%), do not exceed the legal maximum axle weight limit of 20,000 pounds, and comply with posted limits on roads and bridges.

The action is intended to allow vehicles transporting soybeans, corn, hay, straw, and stover to be oversize and overweight, not exceeding 90,000 pounds gross weight, without a permit, but only for the duration of this proclamation. The Iowa Department of Transportation is directed to monitor the operation of the proclamation to assure the public’s safety and facilitate the movement of the trucks involved.

Getting an email from the I-R-S might make some of us snap to attention, but Iowans are being advised if they get such an item in their in-boxes, they can likely just delete it. I-R-S spokesman Christopher Miller says a new tax scam is making the rounds. “The IRS is warning taxpayers to be on the lookout for fake emails that seem like they’re from the IRS inviting them to sign up or register for something called e-services or electronic services,” Miller says. “If you get an email like that, don’t fall for it, it’s a scam.”

The agency -does- offer an e-services program but it’s for professional tax preparers only, not the general public. He says the phony website looks almost identical to the real one. If the tax collection agency wants to reach you, Miller says, it won’t be using that means. “The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to ask for personal or financial information,” Miller says. “That includes any type of electronic communication, like text messages or social media. If you get something that seems like the IRS is trying to contact you by email, it’s going to be a scam.”

If you do wind up on what appears to be an IRS website, there’s one sure way to verify it’s authentic. “The only official website of the IRS is www.irs.gov,” Miller says. “Don’t be fooled by sites claiming to be the IRS but that have addresses ending in dot-com or dot-net or dot-org. The only real IRS site is IRS.gov.” Criminals use these look-alike websites to lure people into providing personal and financial information that may be used to steal the victim’s money or identity. If you find a suspicious website that claims to be the IRS, send the web address by email to phishing@irs.gov using the subject line, “Suspicious Website.”

(Radio Iowa)

The Cass County Extension Service reports County 4-H’ers will receive awards at County 4-H Convention on Sunday, November 11. The annual awards program will begin at 3:30-PM at the Cass County Community Center, and is being organized by the 2011-2012 4-H Youth Council. At County Convention, members and leaders of all fifteen 4-H clubs in Cass County will be presented on stage to receive recognition. Record book project awards will be announced and $100 savings bonds from the Cass County Fair Association will be presented to the winners based on their participation in the Cass County Fair and completion of 4-H record books.

Thirteen local club leaders will be recognized for their service to the 4-H program. Receiving five year recognition are Dent and Cindy Petty, Cass County RAMS; Aaron Saeugling, Cass County RAMS; Jeff Roads, Cass County RAMS; Becky Dreager, Grove HOT; and Katrina Sonntag; Brighton. Rodney Sothman; Union Leaders and Kathy Ankenbauer; C & M Champions are receiving ten year recognition. Marlene Miller is receiving 15 year recognition for her service with just the Cowpokes among other leader roles. Julie Williamson; Benton Franklin is also receiving 15 year recognition.

Kevin Paulsen; Grant Guys & Gals is receiving his 20 year pin. The McCrory family will be recognized for a combined 60 years of volunteer leadership. Both members of the couple serve the Union Leaders 4-H club. Jerry McCrory is receiving his 25 year pin and Kathee McCrory is receiving her 35 year pin. The 4-H Alumni Award, Honorary Member Award, and Distinguished Service Awards will also be presented during County Convention. Special recognition will be given to 4-H clubs for outstanding community service projects, Herdsmanship at fair, volleyball tournament winners, Share the Fun Contest winners, 4-H Endowment Fund contributors, and window displays during National 4-H Week.

Club officers will also be recognized for their outstanding work. 4-H’ers who are members of the 2011-2012 Cass County Youth Council are Katelyn Blake, Aaron Buboltz, Linnea Casey, Heather Reyna, Diana Perkins and Haley Schmidt. Final activities of the day will be the announcement and installation of the 2012-2013 4-H Youth Council and Intermediate Youth Council. Parents, relatives and friends are invited to attend and recognize Cass County 4-H members and leaders for their accomplishments during the past year.

A hay bale fire this (Thursday) morning southwest of Clarinda was the result of spontaneous combustion. According to Clarinda Assistant Fire Chief Joe Moore, at around 8:30-a.m., the Clarinda Fire Department was called to 2311 Maple Street, approximately 5 miles southwest of Clarinda, when large round hay bales caught fire. Approximately 15 bales, valued at $1,500 altogether, were destroyed.  They had been baled approximately 30-45 days earlier, and were stacked together.  Several other bales were moved from the fire area that were not damaged. The bales were owned by Wellhausen Farms.