(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds issued disaster proclamations for 12 counties this weekend after several tornados touched down Friday.. The governor’s proclamation allows state resources to be used to respond in Cedar, Clinton, Delaware, Des Moines, Dubuque, Grundy, Johnson, Keokuk, Linn, Mahaska, Wapello, and Washington counties. Delaware County Emergency Management Coordinator Mandy Bieber says the storms spread across the county — with significant damage in the Manchester area and also in Greeley and Oneida.

The National Weather Service is out assessing the damage and has confirmed there was an E-F-2 tornado in Wapello County northeast of Ottumwa. At least three homes and one hog confinement facility were damaged. Other assessment continues.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Union County Sheriff’s Office says the driver of a pickup wasn’t injured, when his vehicle struck a cow early Sunday morning. Authorities say 21-year-old Ean Patrick Paxson, of Diagonal, was traveling southbound on the High and Dry Road at around 1-a.m. Sunday, when his 1991 GMC Sonoma hit a cow standing on the shoulder of the road, on the west-hand side.

The impact caused $4,000 damage to the pickup, which had to be towed from the scene. No citations were issued. The owner of the cow was not identified in the report.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak, early this (Monday) morning, arrested a man on a charge of Domestic Abuse Assault – 1st offense. 43-year-old David Alfonso Clark, of Red Oak, was arrested a little after 2-a.m.  He was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held without bond.

Des Moines, Iowa  – Someone in Dubuque took home a ticket that won the Lotto America record-setting jackpot. According to a release from the Iowa Lottery, the ticket was purchased at Eichmans, a family-owned restaurant and convenience store on U.S. Highway 52.

The winner will have the option to choose between a $40.3 million annuity or $21.28 million cash option. The game’s previous record was set with a $22.82 million prize that was won by a Minnesota family in March 2018.

The winning numbers from Saturday’s drawing were as follows: 2, 38, 43, 46, 51 and Star Ball 7. The winning ticket would have matched all numbers, including the Star Ball. Eichman’s will receive a $5,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.

Jackpot prizes must be claimed at the Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive

(Clay County, Iowa) – A collision Sunday evening between a pickup truck and a tractor, resulted in the death of the tractor operator. The accident happened north of Spencer on U-S Highway 71 northbound, just north of 300th Street, a little before 6-p.m.

According to the Iowa State Patrol, a 2022 Chevy pickup driven by 68-year-old Jon Maurice Hjelm, of Spencer, and a 1955 International 300 tractor driven by 77-year-old Roland Dean Taylor, of Terril, were both northbound on Highway 71, when the pickup struck the tractor from behind in the right lane.

Taylor was thrown from the tractor, which came to rest in the median.

(Radio Iowa) – A House committee has combined several education-related measures into one 38-page bill and it includes some of Governor Kim Reynolds’ proposals. The bill would prohibit instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through sixth grade classrooms. It says books with graphic descriptions of sex acts must be removed from public school libraries.

It also specifies that a school administrator would have to notify a parent if a student asks to be known by a different name or pronoun at school. New, quicker routes for getting a teaching license are included and the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners would be changed if the bill becomes law, so parents make up half of the board’s members.

Some of these proposals were separate bills already cleared the House. They are now added onto a Senate-passed bill and the package is eligible for debate in the full House this week.

ATLANTIC, IA (April 2, 2023) – Produce in the Park’s Spring Celebration Market is this Thursday, April 6 from 4:00 to 7:00 PM at the Cass County Community Center (805 W. 10th St. Atlantic, IA 50022). 12 of the 26 vendors participating in the pre-Easter farmers market are accepting preorders through 11:55 PM on Tuesday, April 4. For additional information on preordering, and to preorder online, visit www.ProduceInTheParkAtlanticIowa.com.

Miss NiNi’s Fine Desserts will offer a limited selection of products for purchase on-site at Spring Celebration Market. However, Miss NiNi cautions that only limited flavors and desserts will be available for in-person shoppers, and pies will only be available by preorder. Shoppers looking to enjoy one of Miss NiNi’s gourmet desserts on Easter weekend are encouraged to preorder must-have items, such as a particular cheesecake or pie. Miss NiNi’s desserts can be preordered at www.ProduceInTheParkAtlanticIowa.com. Customers with questions about Miss NiNi’s products should call Janine at 712-249-0145.

Miss NiNi smiles with her pies.

Spring Celebration Market vendors confirmed as of April 2 include: Johnna Joy Designs, Sweet Sisters Vegan, Brun Ko Farm, Holaday Baking, Sue’s Country Garden, Ter-Bear Honey, Noble Provisions, Smudge, Kringleman Pastries, Spirits of the Faire, Miss NiNi’s Fine Desserts, Donna’s Jewelry, Studio Samantha, Bridgewater Farm, Midwest Candles by Brit, Frosting, Inc., Creekside Crystals and Crafts, Blessings Bakery and Gifts, Knuckle Down Crochet, Crafts, and Pet Treats, Silver Valley Craft Corner, Unicorn Clouds, Imagine Garden Gift Store, Sugar Mama Cookie Co., Precursor Printing, and The Rocking Horse.

Pim’s Thai Food Truck will be in the parking lot of the Cass County Community Center selling their popular Thai food throughout the duration of the Thursday farmers market (4:00-7:00 PM).

Spring Celebration Market is sponsored by the Atlantic Community Promotion Commission, Cass County Tourism, First Whitney Bank and Trust, Cass Health, Gregg Young Automotive of Atlantic, and the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce. For the latest information, follow Produce in the Park on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ProduceInThePark) or Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/produceintheparkatlanticia/) or sign up for the Produce in the Park newsletter at
www.produceintheparkatlanticiowa.com.

(Cumberland, Iowa) – Firefighters from Cumberland were paged-out to a fully engulfed barn fire at around 3:32=p.m., at 72686 700th Street. Massena fire was requested to assist. The structure was said to be near a propane tank, and close to a residence. Griswold Fire was requested a little after 4-p.m., to send their grass trucks to the scene, because the fire from the barn spread to a nearby field.

Additional information is currently not available.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – The National Weather Service in Des Moines, in it’s latest report on an intense storm system that tracked across the state of Iowa on Friday, March 31st, says the system pulled unseasonably warm and moist conditions into the Midwest, which coupled with a very favorable wind profile, and created quite the volatile environment for severe thunderstorms. This produced several long lived supercells which developed across central Iowa during the afternoon. The storms were prolific hail producers along with a few reports of wind damage as they moved rapidly northeast. Eventually, the storms produced a few tornadoes before exiting into eastern Iowa.

One of the documented tornadoes began in Wapello County northeast  of Ottumwa then tracked northeast into Keokuk County.  The primary damage in Wapello County consisted of three  homes and one hog confinement facility. The first home lost the entire roof and one external wall. The first failure  point was likely the wind entering and lifting the garage which then led to failure of the roof. The home only had  straight nailed connections to the external walls spaced
every 18 inches and less to the roof.

Tornado in northeast Wapello County.
Photo credit: Wapello Sheriff / EM

An unoccupied mobile home on the property was not well anchored and rolled to total destruction. This location was rated 110 mph and EF-1. Two well anchored hog confinement buildings  were totally destroyed and were rated EF-2. The tornado then impacted a location with a well built 2 story brick house. The house suffered some roof and window damage
and a loss of a garage door but sustained little other damage. Other damage indicators at the site suggested
EF-1 winds.

Total destruction of a house occurred just prior to the tornado exiting the county. This older house sat unanchored to the concrete block basement. The house was pushed off the foundation and crumbled. Some trees near the house and a propane tank were mostly left with little damage. A larger tree directly next to the house on the wind side had several large limbs removed. Due to all of these reasons, the wind at this location has been  rated at 135 mph, or high end EF-2.

The Tornado Path extends into Keokuk County. The National Weather Service in the Quad Cities reports “After collaboration with a team of survey experts, we have determined a prelim. rating of low end EF4 for the tornado that tracked from Wapello into Johnson County IA. Max estimated winds around 170 mph. Max width around 600 yards. There were at least three tornadoes reported by the QC NWS office.