Heavy rain has fallen here in Atlantic, this morning,. The heaviest shower and thunderstorm activity occurred between 2:30- and 5-a.m.  As of 6-a.m, here at the KJAN studios, we had received 2.8-inches of rain. Light to moderate rain continues to fall.

Today’s (Tuesday’s) 10-a.m. Arthritis water class at the Nishna Valley Family YMCA in Atlantic, has been cancelled.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey says much of the state is dry and in need of rain as the quality of the corn crop dipped slightly. Northey released his weekly crop report Monday saying corn was in 67 percent good to excellent condition, down slightly from last week and 1 percentage point behind the average. Soybeans were in 70 percent good to excellent condition.

Northey says the big issue for Iowa is the need for rain. Topsoil moisture was 46 percent short or very short with 52 percent adequate and 2 percent at a surplus. Subsoil moisture was 36 percent short or very short, 62 percent adequate and 2 percent surplus. Northey August is a critical month for soybean development and some timely rain would be beneficial.

A fire over the weekend at an office trailer and separate storage facility owned by the Council Bluffs Community School District has been deemed “suspicious” in nature.

The fire on the property located near the Wilson Middle School and the City of Council Bluffs-owned Pirate Cove Water Park was reported at around 3:30-a.m., Sunday.

Council Bluffs Fire Marshal’s Office Investigator Dan Busch said the fire started in the office trailer. The flames also damaged equipment and supplies in the nearby storage shed, including two John Deere mowers, a front-end loader, a Gator utility vehicle, a walk-behind mower and a number of blowers and weed eaters, as well as painting equipment and supplies. School district officials estimated the damages at more than $100,000.

Busch told the Omaha World-Herald that, while the cause of the fire was still under investigation, it appeared suspicious in nature. He said they’re asking the community for any information they may have with regard to the blaze. A $15,000 reward is available through the Arson Hotline at 800-532-1459.

Friday’s football game between Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson will go on as scheduled at the stadium. Buildings and grounds foreman Joseph Smith said anything damaged in the storage shed that will be needed for the game — number markers and pylons — have already been ordered and should be received by tomorrow (Wednesday).

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have released the names of two people who died in the crash of a small plane near the Des Moines River in central Iowa.

The state medical examiner’s office on Monday said 67-year-old Timothy Griffith, of West Des Moines, and 52-year-old Kendall Belz, of Johnston, died in Saturday’s crash near Madrid . Officials say they died of multiple blunt force injuries.

The vintage World War II plane went down in a remote area that was only accessible by boat or helicopter. The plane took down some high-power transmission lines when it crashed.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.

The Lenox Police Department reports a Corning man was arrested Saturday on a couple of charges. 56-year old Jeff E. Mendenhall was taken into custody at around 11:40-p.m., on charges of Speeding/79-in a 55-mile per hour zone, and OWI/2nd offense.

Mendenhall was transported to the Taylor County Jail, and held pending a court appearance.

Atlantic Police report two Atlantic residents were arrested Sunday. 37-year old Christopher Brown was charged with OWI, Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. 22-year old Brittiny Sampson was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Willful Injury causing Serious Injury. Brown and Sampson were booked into the Cass County Jail. And, 27-year old Travis Sandbothe, of Atlantic, was arrested Saturday, on a Cass County warrant for Willful Injury causing Serious Injury. He was also booked into the Cass County Jail.

And, the A-PD recently investigated two accidents. Officials say Robert Mailander, of Anita, was cited Friday for Failure to Maintain Control, failure to reduce speed, and for striking an unattended vehicle. Officials say a Semi tractor-trailer driven by David Sanders, of Carroll, was traveling west in the 600 block of 7^th Street and had signaled to make a right turn into alley. A vehicle driven by Mailander was traveling west behind the semi, and proceeded to swing out into the center lane to make the turn, when he failed to stop for the turning semi. The P-D says Mailander’s vehicle hit the semi before hitting a legally parked vehicle registered to Joseph Wilder, of Little River, South Carolina. Damage from the accident, which happened at around 8-a.m. Friday, amounted to $20,000.

The other accident happened at around 4:30-p.m Saturday, at 6^th and Cedar Streets. Officials say Linda Kelly, of Atlantic, was cited for striking an unattended vehicle, after the vehicle she was driving collided with a legally parked vehicle registered to Don Christensen, of Atlantic. The mishap occurred as Kelly was backing out of a private driveway. Damage from the collision amounted to $3,000.

An Exira man was arrested Saturday night on an OWI charge. The Audubon County Sheriff’s Department says 41-year old Shaun Joseph Rydl was charged with 2^nd offense OWI, following a traffic stop in the 25-hundred block of Pheasant Avenue at around 9-p.m.

Rydl was brought to the Audubon County Jail, posted bond, and was released. He’s scheduled to appear in court on August 18^th.

AMES, Iowa (AP) – More than half the manufacturers surveyed in six western Iowa counties say they are being affected by Missouri River flooding. The flooding has played havoc with transportation logistics and employee commuting, given the blockages of Interstate 29 and the closing of some Nebraska-Iowa bridges over the river.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Center for Industrial Research and Service contacted about 200 manufacturers total in Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona, Pottawattamie and Woodbury counties. About 120 took part in the survey, and 53 percent of them reported problems. Outreach center program manager Ruth Wilcox says the manufacturers will be experiencing flood-caused problems for many months as they deal with regional issues such as levee conditions and degraded roads.

Officials say a natural gasoline pipeline is leaking into the flooded Missouri River somewhere between Onawa, Iowa and Decatur, Nebraska. The leak was discovered early Saturday after the pipeline lost pressure. Kathy Lee, a member of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ Emergency Response unit, says teams are searching for signs of the leak from the air, from boats and from the ground level.

“On Sunday, they started vacuuming out the pipeline to remove any residual product,” Lee says. “They were hoping they would draw river water into the pipeline and then, based on where the river water was coming in, that would help them determine the location of the leak.” If the source of the leak isn’t found today (Monday), Lee say specially-trained scuba diving teams will be sent down into the turbulent water on Tuesday. She says it’s likely that erosion from the flooding, which has lasted more than two months, uncovered the once-buried pipeline on the Iowa side of the border.

“They suspect the pipeline is leaking in the floodplain of the Missouri River as opposed to being underneath the Missouri River,” Lee says. “There would have been about three feet of overburden in that area of the floodplain and they suspect that cover or overburden has washed away.” The pipeline is owned and operated by Enterprise Products of Houston, Texas. Natural gasoline evaporates quickly and she says there have been no fishkills or any other problems associated with the leak.
Lee says, “We haven’t received any reports of adverse effects either on wildlife, aquatic life or from any of our public water supplies along the river.”

The eight-inch pipeline was closed off over the weekend after the leak was discovered and contained more than 140-thousand gallons of natural gasoline. The fluid is not the same as natural gas. Natural gasoline is an unrefined light-weight liquid, clear to light amber in color. It’s used in the making of ethanol and has several other industrial applications. Lee says a second pipeline carrying propane runs in the same trench as the natural gasoline pipeline. Company officials are burning off propane on the Nebraska side of the river as a precaution.

(Radio Iowa)