The chairwoman of the Iowa Democratic Party has publicly rebuked a liberal activist group that has gained media attention by confronting politicians of both parties. Martha Scarpellino, a member of the Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, described her group this way after they pestered presidential candidate Mitt Romney at the Iowa State Fair: “I’m with these guys: the loud, noisy question-askers.” The group also heckled the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee spoke at the Fair.

This past week Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement sent out a press release with details of how the group had “confronted” Republican Senator Chuck Grassley at a town-hall meeting in Carroll “for over an hour” and “demanded” that the senator not cut Social Security. A columnist for the newspaper in Carroll blasted the group’s “ambush tactics” during and after the event. Sue Dvorsky, chairwoman of the Iowa Democratic Party, issued a statement, calling the actions of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement members “unproductive and embarrassing.” She accused the group of being “less focused on results and more focused on creating chaos” that gets written about by the media.

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement issued a statement in response, saying Dvorsky’s attack was “baseless” but it also quoted another C-C-I member as saying “sitting back quietly while career politicians debate cuts to our livelihood would be unacceptable.”

(O. Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)

The Cass County Board of Supervisors have awarded contracts for two bridge and two road repair projects within the county. Cass County Engineer Charles Marker said the bids were received during a state letting on August 16^th. One of the bridges, number 306, is located on Olive Street (or 620^th), about two-miles south of Atlantic. The low bid of $725,996 was received from Murphy Heavy Contracting Corporation, out of Anita. The bid was slightly below the engineer’s estimate.

The other bridge, number 61, crosses Seven Mile Creek on Victoria Road, or south of Highway 92. There were also seven bids received, the lowest was from A-M Cohron, of Atlantic, in the amount of $644, 089, was also below the engineer’s estimate. The Supervisor’s approved both contracts, which will be forwarded back to the State for disposition. The Board also approved local letting Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) and Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) road maintenance or repair projects within the County.

Henningsen Construction of Atlantic was the lone bidder for the HMA patching project. Their bid amounted to $155,555. Marker says the project includes: 740^th Street, from Anita, west of the school, on north; Glendale Road (or, County G-27) from near Canby to Highway 148 south of Anita, and County Road G-43/Fletcher Chapel Road between Highway 71 and County Road N-28.

And, there were three bids for the PCC repair project. Marker says that includes: Atlantic Airport Road (G-30), west from the airport to the Pottawattamie County line; from the Airport south, on M-56 for a few miles. Gus Construction Company’s bid of $63,828 was the lowest of the three received. The Supervisors awarded the contract to the company, which is located in Casey.

And, the Supervisor’s approved the purchase of a John Deere excavator from Murphy Tractor, in the amount of $175,690. The machine will be used to clear away ditch debris.

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Department reports two, minor injury accidents occurred Tuesday within the county. The first happened at around 4:30-p.m., at the intersection of Highways 71 and 44, in Hamlin. Officials say 58-year old Stephen Robert Miller, of Audubon, who was driving a 2011 Chevy, turned in front of a 2006 GMC, driven by 46-year old Norma Jean Weitzel, of Sac City, as Weitzel was traveling south on Highway 71, and Miller was traveling east on 44.

After the vehicles collided, Weitzel was transported to the Audubon County Memorial Hospital, for treatment of minor injuries. Damage from the crash, which remains under investigation, amounted to $8,000.

The second accident happened on Highway 44, just east of Hamlin, at around 6-p.m, Tuesday. Officials say 20-year old Tiffany Marie Ward, of Audubon, was traveling east when she fell asleep at the wheel. When her 1994 Oldsmobile e ran off onto the shoulder of the road, Ward overcorrected, sending the car sideways into the south ditch, where it hit a field drive. The impact knocked-off the back tire. Her vehicle continued over the field drive before coming to rest on its wheels.

Ward was also transported to the Audubon County Hospital and treated for minor injuries. She was later cited for Failure to Maintain Control. Damage from the crash amounted to $2,000.

Two Atlantic residents were arrested Tuesday on theft charges. 56-year old Sara Gustafson was arrested by Atlantic Police, on warrants for 1^st Degree Theft and Forgery. And, 18-year old Carey Klindt, of Atlantic, was arrested on a charge of shoplifting.

Both women were brought to the Cass County Jail and held pending a court appearance.

w/ Ric Hanson

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A Clarinda teen had a bad driving day, Tuesday. Officials says 17-year old Tianna Martin, of Clarinda, suffered minor, possible injuries, after the car she was driving rear-ended a mini-van north of College Springs, and later hit a bridge guard rail head-on.

The first accident happened at around 3:25-p.m., near the intersection of 280^th Street and Nutmeg Avenue. Authorities say Martin told investigators her brakes acted “funny” as she approached a van stopped at the intersection. Despite swerving to try and avoid the collision, the 1999 Pontiac Bonneville Martin was driving, collided with the rear of a 2003 Chrysler Town & Country van, driven by 44-year old Janette Macvenn, of College Springs, causing a total of $2,000 damage. Macvenn was not injured during the accident. Martin suffered possible, minor injuries during the mishap. She was also cited for following too close.

About 35-minutes later, Tianna Martin was involved in another accident. Officials say she was traveling north on 280^th Street in the same car involved in the earlier crash, when the vehicle ran off the road. The car was totaled when it hit a bridge car rail head-on. Martin was transported by Clarinda EMS to the Clarinda Regional Hospital for possible injuries. The teen received another citation for failure to maintain control.

Red Cross workers from chapters across Iowa are stationed along the East Coast, helping residents recover from the weekend hit by Hurricane Irene. Danelle Schlegelmilch, with the Heartland Chapter in Omaha/Council Bluffs, is deployed in Washington D-C where thousands of residents have been overnighting in Red Cross shelters. She says the damage ranges from North Carolina to Maine. “It is kind of mind-boggling to think about the number of people who were impacted,” Schlegelmilch says. “I heard a statistic there are close to 50 or 60-million people, and that would be about 15 to 18-percent of our population in the United States, all lived in that affected area.” Schlegelmilch says most people have no choice but to head to a shelter for the basics of life.

She says, “Here on the East Coast, there is literally nowhere else for people to go when things like this happen so they really depend on the Red Cross and our partner agencies to be there to be able to provide the essentials of comfort, care, food.” Schlegelmilch was sent to Washington D-C last week to prepare for Hurricane Irene but she got a bonus, of sorts.  “Actually, I was deployed for the hurricane but ended up in an earthquake by accident,” she says. “It’s been one of those summers I couldn’t have ever predicted. I’ve worked three tornados, a flood, a hurricane and was in an earthquake, so it’s one for the books for sure.” Many people remain stranded at airports with hundreds of fights cancelled. It could be weeks before electricity is restored in some areas as four-million homes lost power in the storm. At least 40 people died in Irene in 14 states and territories. Flooding is now a big problem in Vermont, New York and elsewhere. Schlegelmilch expects the Red Cross shelters will be open for some time as the region recovers. Damage may reach seven-billion dollars.

(Radio Iowa)

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — For the first time in more than two months, Council Bluffs is no longer under a flood alert from the Missouri River. Public Information Officer Don Gross says the city on Tuesday canceled the Alert Level 1 status, which had been in place since June 22. The alert warned people to have an evacuation plan in case of a breach or other emergency. The city’s flood call center is also closing on Tuesday, and it’s the last day the Iowa National Guard will patrol the levees.

With river levels dropping, the city plans to reopen its side of the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge that spans the river to Omaha, Neb., on Saturday. Other bike trails may reopen this weekend, but no specifics have been released.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa officials say they don’t expect the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s decision to  freeze disaster aid in the wake of Hurricane Irene to affect the state’s recovery from flooding along the Missouri River. FEMA has announced it will freeze disaster aid to parts of the country recovering from tornadoes, drought, flooding and wildfires.

FEMA has enacted similar restrictions when disaster relief funds dipped below $1 billion. The fund currently stands at $800 million. John Benson of Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management says he doesn’t expect the decision to affect the state’s recovery from disasters, including flooding along the Missouri River.

FEMA says the restrictions will not affect individual aid to disaster survivors but will apply to longer-term repairs, rebuilding and mitigation projects.