(Radio Iowa) – Hydrologists predict an “average” flood risk in much of the Missouri River Basin this spring, in large part due to dry conditions, as much of the region is experiencing moderate to severe drought. Brian Fuchs, a climatologist with the National Drought Mitigation Center, says soils in the basin are dry and have a lot of room to take in water from rain and melting snow, which lowers the flood risk. Fuchs says, “Think of them as a big sponge, that when they are dry and there’s room in that profile for moisture to get in, any type of rain that hits them is going to get soaked in.”

Parts of northwest Iowa are shown to be in severe and extreme drought in this week’s map from the U-S Drought Monitor. Fuchs says the ground will be able to take in moisture from runoff, but if those soils aren’t replenished, plants aren’t going to have the moisture deep enough in the soil to tap into and grow. “It’s kind of a balancing game of getting that moisture into the soil so plants can utilize it if it does get dry and drought starts developing,” Fuchs says. “And if you don’t have that, what you end up seeing is the impact of that drought really taking off more so in a hurry than if that moisture was there.”

Fuchs says he expects the drought to persist in the High Plains through June. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting -no- major flooding across the country for the first time in three years.

(By Katie Peikes, Iowa Public Radio)

CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) — An Iowa man has been sentenced to 45 years in prison after pleading guilty in the 2015 death of an Illinois man fatally shot outside a Gary gas station. A Lake County judge sentenced 25-year-old Dontrall Jer’i Phillips of Davenport, Iowa, on Thursday after accepting his guilty plea to a murder charge under a plea agreement that calls for prosecutors to drop a robbery charge. Phillips was one of four people charged in the April 2015 shooting death of 21-year-old Donald Fuzzell of Calumet Park, Illinois, during a botched robbery in the parking lot of a Gary gas station.

The Atlantic Chamber Ambassadors were hosted by First Whitney Bank & Trust Thursday, March 18th. Paul Gude, Bank President, shared that there was much to celebrate at First Whitney, the first being the retirement of Deb Pellet. Deb has been with First Whitney Bank for 42 years, starting in 1979. Deb is looking forward to spending more time with her family, especially her grandchildren.

Ambassador’s Pictured Left to Right: (Back Row) Steve Andersen, Graydon Schmidt, Linda Robinson, Jason Nicholas, Carole Schlake, Brain Ruge, Bill Saluk, Dr.Keith Leonard, Kevin Fergeuson, Carole Schuler, Dawn Marnin, Scott Bennett, Dolly Bergmann, Mike Cook, Arlene Drennan.
(Front Row) Paul Gude, Jeff Gude, Misty Nelson, Emily Hart, Beth O’Brien, Jayme Farver, Ted Robinson, Lori Krichhoff, Anne Quist, Heidi Roland-Hinman, Connie Wails, Deb Pellett, Rich Perry, Nedra Perry, Rachel Czaja, Ruth Sears, Kennedy Freund.

Paul introduced Anne Quist as the new Assistant Vice President, who works primarily with real estate loans. Anne is busy with real estate loan applications due to interest rates being at an all-time low. Paul also introduced Jeff Gude as the new Loan Officer in Training. Jeff is working primarily with the Paycheck Protection Program which is helping business owners of all types get through a hard time brought on by COVID-19.

First Whitney specializes in all aspects of banking such as personal, agricultural, and commercial. Paul shared his pride in his team stems from their hard work and dedication to their community and to one another. Each team member is cross trained and efficient in many aspects of banking which allows them all to be able to help their customers in any way possible.

First Whitney Bank & Trust is located at 223 Chestnut Street & 700 Chestnut Street. Contact 712-243-3195 or 712-243-4183 or visit http://www.firstwhitneybank.com/ for more information.

You are invited to join the Cass County Conservation Board for the “Common Feeder Bird Identification” and Owl Prowl Programs, this Sunday, March 21st 2021 at the Outdoor Educational Classroom near Massena. You can enhance your birding skills, by learning how to identify common Iowa birds that like to visit your feeders. Join Kelly McKay from ‘Building Better Birders’ as he shares about Common Feeder Bird Identification. Funding for the program is made possible by the Resource Enhancement and Protection – Conservation Education Program (REAP – CEP). The workshop will be conducted by Kelly McKay (BioEco Research and Monitoring Center), with assistance from Mark Roberts (Clinton County Conservation) and Brian Ritter (Nahant Marsh Education Center).

The Common Feeder Birds session will start indoors at 2-p.m.. The Owl Prowl Hike will be outside, starting at 4-p.m.. Pre-Registration is appreciated. Call  769-2372 or email to sign up lkanning@casscoia.us . To find the Outdoor Classroom: take Highway 148 south of Massena; Turn Left on Tucson Road; Follow it East for about two miles, and then make a right hand turn into the parking lot. The programs qualify for the 120hrs Outdoor Challenge, don’t forget to use #120hrsCassCoIA as a hashtag for your adventures.

Milan Bottoms Bald Eagle Night Roost Program

Join Cass County Conservation Board for Milan Bottoms Bald Eagle Night Roost Program on March 28th beginning at 3-p.m., also at the Outdoor Educational Classroom. Join Kelly McKay from ‘Building Better Birders’ as he will define and describe what a Bald Eagle communal night roost is, as well as discussing Bald Eagle winter ecology. Additionally, he will summarize the background and preliminary results of this 6 year project. Funding for this program is also provided by the Resource Enhancement and Protection Program. Mark Roberts will also be there.

Pre-Registration is appreciated. Call  769-2372, or email Lora Kanning.

(Radio Iowa) – A group of senators is discussing the idea of giving state grants of up to five-thousand dollars to new remote workers in Iowa who telecommute to jobs out-of-state. Joe Murphy is executive director of the Iowa Business Council, which represents 22 of Iowa’s largest employers. “We really believe tools like this, tactics like this should be explored in a serious way,” Murphy says. “We should be doing everything we can to invite new Iowans coming into our state from out of state.”

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates Iowa’s population grew by just four-thousand people from mid-2019 to mid-2020. Craig Patterson, a lobbyist for the Professional Developers of Iowa, says more new Iowans are needed to help existing businesses grow and bring new businesses here. “Population is just a huge issue that our folks run into,” Patterson says.

The original concept was to give at least 100 grants in each of the next five years to cover the costs of someone moving to Iowa and setting up to work from home for out-of-state companies. However, the latest version of the bill also would make residents of the state’s 30 largest cities eligible for the grants if they move to rural Iowa or an Iowa city with a population under 15-thousand. Senator Bill Dotzler, a Democrat from Waterloo, says that makes no sense if the goal is to expand Iowa’s population. “There’s no benefit to the overall Iowa economy if we’re stealing a job from Des Moines and, you know, moving it maybe 50 miles west into a smaller community,” Dotzler says.

A senate subcommittee reviewed the proposal this week, but tabled it as senators consider making changes.

The news at 8:06-a.m., with Ric Hanson.

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(Atlantic) – The American Legion Memorial Building – otherwise known as “The Armory” – here in Atlantic, has served as the home for National Guard soldiers, and in its later years, as a museum for military memorabilia, a military library, Atlantic History Center, Memorial Hall, and as a meeting and programs center. The nearly 100-year old building is owned by ARISE – The non-profit Atlantic Rock Island Society Enterprise. All those years of service have taken a toll on the building, despite remodeling and upgrades. ARISE has helped to pay for repairs and upgrades, including parking lot improvements, but the old girl is showing her age.

ARISE President Steve Livengood, says the unique roof is leaking, and in dire need of repair.

The roof used to be hot asphalt, with hot tar commonly used for repairs. At one point foam was installed over the asphalt, complicating matters.

A local company has agreed to take-on the task of replacing the roof, but it won’t come cheap.

It’s expected to cost around $65,000. Other work is required for maintenance of the building, as well. Livengood says various organizations are working to fundraiser for the repairs.

(If you want to help, make your check out to ARISE, and mail to ARISE. P.O. Box 1, Atlantic, 50022.)

Work on the project is expected to start soon. If you haven’t been to the Armory before, or want to see what’s new, you can take a virtual tour this Sunday, March 21st, beginning at 1 pm. Steve Livengood will lead the video tour beginning with history of the Building. Stay home, put your feet up, get comfortable and link to Zoom. Find the Zoom link on ariseAtlantic.org or Facebook: Atlantic Rock Island Society Enterprise. After Sunday, the tour program will be available to view on the web and/or Facebook pages.

The American Legion Memorial Building as well as the Rock Island Depot are owned by Atlantic Rock Island Society Enterprise (ARISE). It is a non-profit organization with a mission to serve the southwest Iowa community.

The Trevor Frederickson Memorial Fund has answered the call again this year. Fund spokesperson (and Trevor’s mom) Melanie Petty, says $1,000.00 was donated to the Nishna Valley Family YMCA Partnership with Youth Campaign.  She said “We feel strongly about the importance of the YMCA in our community and hope that others will too.  The YMCA is a safe environment for our children and offers plenty of programs to keep them active throughout the year.  Scholarships are available for all ages to enjoy the facilities along with a free membership for all 5th graders!”

All funds donated by the Trevor Frederickson Memorial Fund are raised at the organization’s annual golf tournament.  The 13th Annual TFred Memorial Golf Tournament will be held on Saturday, August 14th.  Plans are already in the works and we encourage everyone to stop out to Nishna Hills Golf Course that day to visit and check out the amazing silent auction.

The Trevor Frederickson Memorial Fund is a 501©3 Non Profit Organization and all monies raised are given back to things Trev loved in his community. Stay tuned to KJAN on-air and online, for additional updates on what the fund is doing.

The 7:06-a.m. Newscast from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Three women were arrested on separate charges Thursday, in Creston. According to Creston Police, 47-year old Angela Sue Wimber, of Creston, was arrested at around 9:17-a.m., for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 1st offense. She was later released from the Union County Jail on a $1,000 cash bond. And, at around 7:20-p.m., Thursday, 20-year old Kaylynn Elizabeth Marie Tucker, of Omaha, was arrested at the Creston Wal-Mart, for Theft in the 5th Degree. She was cited and released from the scene, on a Promise to Appear in court.

And, 31-year-old Chelsey Kile, of Creston was arrested at around 4:45-p.m. Thursday, on a Union County Warrant for Theft 5^th Degree.  Kile was released on a $300 cash bond.

(7:06-a.m. News, updated 9-a.m.)