Due to the winter weather forecast for Monday, January 25 the City of Harlan has declared a Snow Emergency for Monday, January 25 and Tuesday, January 26. There will be NO parking allowed on the City’s north/south streets from 8 AM until Noon. There will be NO parking on the East/West streets from 1PM until 5PM. In addition, Parallel Parking is required on any streets where the snow is windrowed in the center of the street (primarily in the Downtown Area).

Violators of the snow emergency will receive a $25 ticket and possibly have their vehicle towed at the owner’s expense. The City of Harlan appreciates your cooperation.

Moderate to heavy snows are expected to spread north to south into Iowa Monday morning and continue well through the evening hours. The National Weather Service says this will result in widespread moderate to heavy snow accumulations across central and southern Iowa. Accumulations of a foot or more are possible south. There will also be a sharp gradient in snowfall accumulations somewhere near the Highway 30 corridor.

Snow amounts may vary greatly over short distances north to south. Snowfall rates may often be an inch per hour in areas of heavier snowfall. These intense snow rates and northeast winds gusting from 30 to 35 mph will produce near blizzard and whiteout conditions. Travel will be difficult to impossible at times. The snowfall should end Tuesday morning with wind beginning to diminish as well.

DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Corrections reports Jamar Maurice Jackson, who was convicted of Burglary 1st Degree and other crimes in Polk County, failed to report back to the Fort Des Moines Residential Correctional Facility as required Saturday afternoon.

Jamar Jackson

Jackson is a 35-year-old black male, height 5’9″, and weighs 213 pounds. He was admitted to the work release facility on December 21, 2020.  Persons with information on Jackson’s whereabouts should contact local police.

With a significant winter storm forecast for Monday, the Clarinda Police Department reminds the citizens of Clarinda about the snow ordinance. The ordinance states that; no person shall park any motor vehicle or other apparatus upon any street of the city that will obstruct the removal of snow when there has been an accumulation of two (2) inches or more.

Any vehicle left parked on any street in violation of this ordinance may be impounded, and the registered owner of the vehicle will be subject to a $30.00 parking fine, and payment of all applicable towing and storage fee before the vehicle is released.

The parking ban remains in effect until the snow ceases to fall and the streets have been plowed from curb to curb.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A major winter storm could blanket a large section of the Plains with up to a foot of snow at the start of this week. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for an area stretching from north-central Kansas across southeast Nebraska and into southern Iowa. The snow is expected to begin early Monday and continue throughout the day.

Most of the region is expected to receive at least six inches of now, but the heaviest snow is predicted to fall on an area starting around Salina and Concordia, Kansas, and continuing northeast to around Des Moines, Iowa.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Democratic Party chose a state representative from Ames to lead the party as it works to retain its spot as the nation’s first caucus in presidential elections. Rep. Ross Wilburn was elected Saturday. Wilburn said he will work with national party officials to try and keep Iowa’s traditional role as the first caucus in the country.

Some national officials have suggested changing that and moving away from caucuses in favor of primaries after Iowa Democrats had problems that delayed the results of their presidential nominating contest for days during the 2020 election.

Police in Red Oak responding to an incident late Saturday night at 106 W. Coolbaugh Street, ended-up arresting 33-year old Charles Randall Brown, III, of Red Oak. Brown was taken into custody at around 11:19-p.m. for Assault Causing Bodily Injury, a Serious Misdemeanor, and Assault Causing Serious Injury, a Class-D felony. Brown was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $5,000 bond.

The Iowa Department of Public Health, at 10-a.m. Sunday, reported 312,811 confirmed cases statewide since Iowa’s outbreak began, with an additional 847 cases confirmed in the past 24 hours. The Iowa DPH reported 1 additional COVID-19 death, raising the statewide death toll to 4,448. Of Iowa’s pandemic-related deaths, COVID-19 is reported as the underlying cause for 4,086 deaths. For 402 Iowans, COVID-19 was a contributing factor to their deaths. The website said 4,119 of the state’s deaths involved Iowans with preexisting conditions. There were no additional deaths reported from western or southwest Iowa counties, as of 10-a.m., Sunday.

The Iowa DPH reports 72 COVID-19 outbreaks among long-term care facilities in the state, accounting for 1,911 of Iowa’s current positive cases. COVID-19 outbreaks at long-term care facilities account for 1,858 of the state’s total deaths. Iowa DPH reports 382 hospitalizations, of which 79 patients are in intensive care units. Iowa hospitals admitted 51 patients in the last 24 hours, compared to 64 hospitalizations the day before.

In RMCC Region 4 (Western/southwest Iowa hospitals): 31 are hospitalized w/Covid; 9 are in an ICU; 3 were admitted since Saturday, and 3 are on a ventilator.

Of Iowa’s 99 counties, 8 report 14-day positivity rates at or above 15%. According to the state’s website, a total of 1,447,213 Iowans received COVID-19 tests. Iowa’s average reported positivity rate is 8.5% over the last 14 days. Of the state’s confirmed cases, 271,103 Iowans recovered.

In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County; The # of new cases since yesterday {+} – if any; and the total number of deaths in each county to date:

• Cass, 1,150 cases; {+3}; 43 deaths
• Adair, 696; {+0}; 20
• Adams, 299; {+1}; 3
• Audubon, 422; {+1}; 8
• Guthrie, 1,041 {+0}; 24
• Harrison County, 1,582; {+1}; 62
• Madison County, 1,236; {+4}; 10
• Mills County, 1,385; {+1}; 17
• Montgomery, 888; {+5}; 24
• Pottawattamie County, 9,164; {+37}; 115
• Shelby County, 1056; {+6}; 27
• Union County,  1,115; {+8}; 23

A semi tractor-trailer driver from Kansas was injured during a rollover accident on Interstate 80 in Cass County, Saturday afternoon. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2019 Kenworth semi driven by 58-year-old John Stuart, of Lenexa, KS., was traveling eastbound at around 2:35-p.m., when Stuart became distracted and took his eyes off the road. The semi ran off the road to the right, and struck the cable barriers near mile marker 72, before the rig rolled over onto the side and came to rest in the south ditch.

Both photos courtesy of Mike Kennon, Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator.

Stuart was trapped in the cab for nearly an hour before being extricated. Authorities say he was wearing his seat belt. He suffered non-life threatening injuries and was transported by ambulance before being flown by Mercy One helicopter to Mercy Hospital.

The Patrol was assisted at the scene by Anita Rescue and the Cass County Sheriff’s Office.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Family members say a 21-year-old woman found dead outside a sorority house at Iowa State University was the daughter of a Minnesota Supreme Court justice and prominent hospital executive. Family members released a statement Friday identifying the woman as Olivia Chutich, the daughter of Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Margaret Chutich and Allina Health CEO Penny Wheeler.

The statement says Olivia was the light of their lives. Police say the Iowa State student was found unconscious Friday morning in the Delta Delta Delta parking lot. She was pronounced dead at the scene. A cause of death hasn’t been released.