A door and window maker is blaming the continued recession in the housing market for an offer to employees at four operations in Iowa. Pella Corporation spokesperson Kathy Krafka Harkema says the move is designed to trim the company’s bottom line. Pella is offering offering incentives for employees to retire or voluntarily leave the workforce. The offer involves Pella Corporation facilities in Carroll, Shenandoah, Sioux Center and Pella. It’s also being offered at Pella manufacturing sites in Macomb, Illinois and Portland, Oregon. The incentives were announced Thursday along with the closing of a plant in South Carolina.

“Unfortunately, we must close our manufacturing facility in Columbia, South Carolina that employs 147 people,” Harkema said. That plant will close by the end of December. Harkema says new home construction has dropped 70-percent since 2006 and the recession in the U.S. housing economy is projected to continue. “If people aren’t building new homes, they’re not needing as many new windows and doors. That’s what led us to take these actions,” Harkema said. “We’re sorry to have to take these actions, but we’re doing all we can to partner with area officials to try and help people find new careers.”

Pella Corporation is a privately-held company headquartered in Pella, Iowa with 8,000 employees around the country.

(Pat Curtis/Radio Iowa)

One person was seriously injured when a dump truck overturned this (Thursday) morning, northeast of Neola. According to scanner traffic, the accident happened at around 9:40-a.m, on the Old Railroad Highway off-ramp to Interstate 680 eastbound. The unidentified 39-year old driver of the truck was ejected from the vehicle and suffered a serious head injury.  He was flown by helicopter from the scene to Creighton University Hospital’s Trauma Center. His injuries, while serious, were not believed to be life-threatening.
The dump truck he was driving was hauling broken asphalt and concrete from the I-680 re-construction project. The vehicle  rolled down the embankment south of the 680 ramp. The driver reportedly told authorities the truck’s brakes had failed, causing him to lose control of the vehicle.

An Elk Horn business is preparing to gather items for use in Care packages which will be shipped to our troops serving overseas. The AmericInn’s efforts come in advance of the November 11th Veteran’s Day national holiday. The gift packages are part of a special initiative to support the troops deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and at other military bases overseas.

AmericInn General Manager Jackie Wright says they’ll be organizing donations, merchandise contributions and volunteers to prepare the Care packages, which will contain gift items that are not readily accessible during overseas military deployment. That includes personal care merchandise, clothing, food treats, magazines, games and stationary items.

AmericInn in Elk Horn will host the event in the hotel’s Meeting Room, beginning at 4:30-p.m Friday, November 11th.   Blue Star Mothers, hotel staff, friends, family, and local businesses will be participating in the event, but the public is weclome to come and make a donation or help prepare the gift packages.

AmericInn has sponsored several previous initiatives to support members of the military as part of an overall “AmericInn Cares” commitment to caring, involvement and patriotism. At the company’s 2011 Annual Convention earlier this year, AmericInn partnered with the national Blue Star Mothers organization to donate over 300 Personal Care Packages that were prepared and shipped overseas to active duty troops.

The company also offers a national discount to active duty and retired members of the military and their dependents. They can receive this discount by requesting the AmericInn Military Rate (rate code: MIL) when they make their reservation at a hotel, AmericInn.com or by calling company’s toll free telephone number.  A military I.D. is also required at check-in.

For more information about the local Care package initiative, call 712-764-4000.

w/ Ric Hanson

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An official with Iowa Workforce Development says Iowans living or working in Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Monona and Pottawattamie counties, which were recently declared disaster areas, may be eligible for unemployment insurance benefits under the federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) program. The federal government declared the five counties as a weather-related disaster area eligible for individual assistance, in October for flooding.

Teresa Wahlert, director of Iowa Workforce Development, says residents who live or work in the five counties and have lost their job due to the summer flooding, should apply for the federal benefits. She says claims need to be filed no later November 28th.

The benefits cover self-employed workers not usually entitled to unemployment insurance, including Iowa farmers. People applying for DUA need to provide proof of past earnings, such as business records or bank statements and their most recent income tax form, at the time they file their claim. Any IowaWORKS Center can accept DUA claims, including the office in Council Bluffs, located at 300 West Broadway Street, Suite 13. Hours of operation are from 8-a.m. to 4:30-p.m., Monday through Thursday, and from 9-a.m. to 4:30-p.m. on Friday. The number to call is 712-242-2100.

In addition, individuals can file a regular unemployment claim online at www.iowaworkforce.org and include “DUA Claim” in the notes section. Wahlert says IowaWORKS Centers also offer reemployment services, including testing, counseling and placement. Job search and career information also is available through Iowa Workforce Development’s Web site at www.iowaworkforce.org.

A high speed chase that began at around 11-a.m. Wednesday in Audubon County ended with an Omaha man being arrested without further incident. The Audubon County Sheriff’s Department says 35-year old Patrick Eugene Petersen, of Omaha, was charged with Eluding, Failure to have a driver’s license and insurance, and speeding. 

Peterson was pursued by Audubon County Sheriff’s Deputies after the motorycle he was riding was clocked at speeds ranging from 90-to 100-miles per hour. The pursuit started on the west side of Kimballton and continued along Highway 44 about 8-to 10-miles into Shelby County, before Petersen pulled over and was taken into custody.

He was being held in the Audubon County Jail on $2,000 bond.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a national DNA database listing from Nebraska has led to an arrest in a 2001 rape case in Council Bluffs. Online court records say 50-year-old Mark Sands faces seven charges, including sexual abuse, kidnapping and burglary. His trial is scheduled to begin on Nov. 15th.

His attorney, Joe Reedy said that Sands is “absolutely innocent” and has pleaded not guilty. Pottawattamie County prosecutors say the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System – CODIS – helped identify Sands, a registered sex offender from a separate case. Nebraska records say Sands was living in Omaha, Neb. Police say a Council Bluffs woman reported in October 2001 that a stranger raped her for hours and tied up her disabled daughter at their home.

Sheriff’s officials in Pottawattamie County say a traffic stop late Wednesday morning on Interstate 80 in Council Bluffs, resulted in 226-pounds of Marijuana being seized from the vehicle, and the driver placed under arrest.

Authorities say Deputy Brian Miller pulled over a pickup truck with out-of-state license plates on I-80 eastbound, at the 9-mile marker, or at about the Highway 6 interchange. The traffic stop took place at around 11:24-a.m. A search of the vehicle resulted in the discovery of controlled substance. The lone male occupant of the vehicle was arrested.

No other details are being released about the suspect or the drug bust, at this time.

w/ Ric Hanson

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