Officials with the Regional Water Rural Water Association in Avoca report “Due to a fire at our main booster station, all customers with accounts beginning with A, C, CO, P, T, W, and K, as well as residents of Panama, Portsmouth, Earling, Minden to the extent those cities are using Regional Water, are on a BOIL WATER ADVISORY.

Regional Water customers West of Highway 59 and East of Neola, and some customers East of Highway 59 around Harlan and Kirkman, will soon be without water until they are able to get other pumping stations.

The Audubon School Board, Wednesday morning, approved their end of fiscal year expenditures, and an Elementary Classroom Project. Superintendent Eric Trager explains…

The Board he says also talked about personnel. As we’ve mentioned, Board member Joni Madsen has resigned to transition into High School English Teacher position within the District.

The appointment is for just a couple of months, until a Special Election in September. The other big news from the meeting concerns the addition of an Art Teacher. An individual was locked-in to the post a couple of weeks ago.

Eric Trager says they had a hard time getting someone for the position due to the state-wide teacher shortage that’s left many districts scrambling to get qualified candidates.

He says they’re curious whether the shortage of candidates is a matter of supply and demand, or what is driving the shortage issue. It’s something that needs to be addressed on a state-wide level going forward. In other business, Trager said a Special Election will be held in the District on Sept. 14^th, with two issues on the ballot. The first is a Revenue Purpose Statement (RPS).

He says “there is zero impact to our tax payers.” The second issue on the ballot is an election to fill a seat on the Board vacated by Joni Madsen. In other business, the Board received an update on the facilities project. Eric Trager said the have gone through and tried to eliminate inefficiencies without eliminating any parts of the project. After an extensive redesign/engineering process, the project will go out for bids in August, with the bid openings on Sept. 16^th.

He says they’re hopeful they’ll have a very competitive bid day and move forward from there.

A plane crash in southern Iowa Thursday morning has claimed the life of an Omaha businessman. According to KETV in Omaha, Dave Paladino died when a small plane crashed a little before 8-a.m., short of the Lamoni Municpal Airport.  The family’s pastor confirmed Paladino was on board the single-engine Cirrus SR-22 went it crashed near the south end of the runway. A second victim has not yet been identified.

Through FAA records, KETV NewsWatch 7 confirmed the plane was registered out of Valley, Nebraska with the tail number N123RE.  The FAA crash report says the aircraft attempted to land, but took off immediately and appeared to stall on departure, resulting in the crash.  Paladino leaves behind a wife and four children. He’s the founder of Dino’s Storage, Paladino Development Group, Landmark Group, and Grncompanies, which collectively employ more than 100 people.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. Neither agency identifies people involved in aircraft accidents.

A two-vehicle accident took place east of Atlantic Friday morning. The crash occurred at around 10:37-a.m. on Highway 71 just south of Galveston Road, near the old State Patrol Headquarters. Atlantic Fire and Rescue and Cass EMS responded to the scene. Additional details are currently not available.

(Update 11:26-a.m.) A collision between two vehicles north of Massena this (Friday) morning, has left at least one person seriously injured, and one person deceased. The accident happened at around 10:21-a.m. on 750th/Highway 148, between Newport and Pella Roads. One vehicle was said to have been in a ditch. The road was closed while the accident remained under investigation. Anita Rescue and Cass EMS were dispatched to the scene.

Additional details are currently not available.

(Radio Iowa) – Emergency preparedness drills were held in two eastern Iowa counties this week, readying state and local agencies near the Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station. The drills conducted for the Cordova, Illinois facility are part of regular, planned tests to prepare first responders for nuclear accidents. Tom Morgan, a spokesman for FEMA Region Seven, outlined some of the standards officials must meet during the drills.  “How do we assess the accident? The nuclear power plant itself does assessment of radiological materials that have been released,” Morgan says. “The state and or local agencies are also responsible to do an independent assessment of that so we can get a good picture of what is actually out there, potentially affecting the public.”

The nuclear plant is along the Mississippi River, some 30 miles north of Davenport and because of its location, Clinton and Scott counties were part of the drill. Morgan says FEMA officials will be watching for a host of benchmarks during the drills.  “What actions will you take to respond if there is a nuclear radiation release? How do you control exposure of emergency workers and the public,” Morgan says. “Medical support, so if there is, for instance, a person who has been injured, who was also contaminated, we will make sure that they are able to be treated effectively.”

FEMA is still evaluating the outcomes of the drills. A final report will be issued within 90 days.

The broadcast News at 8:07-a.m. from Ric Hanson.

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The 7:06-a.m. broadcast News w/Ric Hanson.

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(Radio Iowa/KJAN) – The ability to use fireworks in Iowa is controlled by local jurisdictions and varies widely — but the concern about safely handling them is the same anywhere you go. On May 5^th, the Atlantic City Council set today (July 2nd), Saturday, July 3^rd and Sunday July 4th, from Noon until 11-p.m. each day, as the OFFICIAL dates and times for fireworks celebrations in advance of and on, Independence Day.

File photo

Lieutenant Nick Hutchinson of the Johnston-Grimes Fire Department says you can avoid problems overall by taking some time before lighting things up. “Follow the directions on them, stay a safe distance back if you are going to use them, and be careful,” he says. Hutchinson says you shouldn’t leave kids alone with sparklers or anything else. “If you are going to use fireworks, have an adult be the one who is lighting them off, not a kid,” Hutchinson says. The safety concerns continue after the fireworks are used. “Be cautious of disposal of them. That’s probably the biggest issue that we have as a fire department. Putting hot fireworks in a garbage can — which catches the garage on fire, the house on fire — that kind of thing,” Hutchinson says.

Sparklers are considered to be safer than things that shoot off and go boom. But Hutchinson says they can be dangerous because they get very hot and stay that way after the sparkle goes away. He says they tell people to make a pile of sparklers and thrown some water on them and then it is okay to put them in the trash can. Hutchinson says you should check with your local government to find the times when fireworks are legal to use.

(Radio Iowa) – The governor’s latest public health emergency proclamation makes clear the end is near on most pandemic-related regulatory relief. Last year, Governor Kim Reynolds temporarily suspended many of the deadlines for renewing state licenses and many of those suspensions already have ended. Her latest public health proclamation says Iowans should not expect the few that remain to last beyond July 25th. It means no more delays in license renewals for restaurants and bars, pesticide applicators and temporary teachers.

Tattoo artists and tattoo shops also have a tight deadline for renewing their licenses. They have until Tuesday to renew their 2020 license without a penalty In addition, next Wednesday, tattoo businesses or artists with permits that expired in 2020 will no longer be able to work until they have renewed for the 2021 permit year.

The governor has signaled that pandemic-related limitations on accessing public records and conducting public meetings in Iowa will end July 25th as well.