Members of the City of Atlantic’s Parks and Recreation Department Board of Directors will meet 5:15-p.m. Monday, in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall. During their session, the Board will discuss changes to the City’s Code of Ordinances with regard to the Board’s Powers and Duties, the first reading of which will take place during the Atlantic City Council meeting Wednesday evening.

They’ll also receive updates from Parks & Rec Director Bryant Rasmussen, with regard to: The Schildberg Recreation Area; Portable toilets; the closing of roads at Sunnyside Park; the Ice Skating Rink; a FEMA update, and a report on the T-Bone Trail Head Gazebo.

New Gazebo installed on the southwest corner of the Atlantic Sports Complex, as part of a T-Bone Trail attraction. (Ric Hanson/photo)

Rasmussen is also expected to inform the Board that: Fall decorations are set-up at the entry signs to the City; Prairie Seeds were harvested from the AMU Well Fields; and speak with regard to other department matters.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 4:15 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa health officials say two people in the state have died from complications of the flu in recent weeks. The Iowa Department of Public Health says the deaths occurred in a woman between the ages of 61 and 80 in central Iowa and in a woman older than 81 in northwest Iowa. Officials say both women had underlying conditions or other contributing factors in their deaths.

NEVADA, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have identified a worker killed in an industrial accident at a biofuels plant in central Iowa. Police tell television station WOI that Carlos Mauricio Partillo Montufar was pinned under equipment Thursday at Verbio North America’s Biorefinery in Nevada, which is about 40 miles north of Des Moines. Rescue workers arrived to free him, but he died at the scene. An autopsy has been ordered.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Mark Cady, the soft-spoken chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court who wrote key decisions on gay marriage and abortion access that rankled social conservatives, has died at the age of 66. Cady’s family says in a statement posted on the court’s website that he died unexpectedly of a heart attack on Friday night. Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said in statement Saturday that she was heartbroken to learn of Cady’s death and she ordered flags be flown at half-staff until a memorial service is held.

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A new study says sport fish have declined significantly in portions of the Upper Mississippi River infested with Asian carp. It found that sport fish such as yellow perch and bluegill fell between 1994 and 2013 in three locations infested with silver carp. Meanwhile, sport fish numbers rose in other places farther upstream that the carp hadn’t reached. The lead author says the findings show the urgency of stopping the carp’s advance.

(In an update to our earlier reports) – The Iowa State Patrol says one person died and another was injured during a head-on collision Friday evening in northern Iowa’s Cerro Gordo County. Authorities say a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan driven by 80-year old Richard Westcott, of Clear Lake, and a 1991 Ford F-150 pickup driven by 51-year old Travis Stohr, of Woden, collided in a fiery crash that happened at around 6:36-p.m. Friday on U-S Highway 122, near the Mason City Airport.

Authorities say the van was traveling eastbound in the westbound lane of Highway 122, at the same time the pickup was traveling in the same lane. The vehicles collided in the left lane of westbound 122. Westcott died at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt. Stohr was also not wearing a seat belt. He was transported by medical helicopter to a hospital in Rochester, MN.

The accident remains under investigation.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa City has kicked off its program to manage the city’s deer population. The city has placed deer crossing signage in several locations, including along Scott Boulevard and First Avenue.

City officials say deer activity in these areas is likely to increase in the coming weeks, and drivers are urged to use caution in the posted locations. The city has also signed a contract with White Buffalo to sharp shoot during the upcoming winter to reduce the growing population of deer within city limits.

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A new study says sport fish have declined significantly in portions of the Upper Mississippi River infested with Asian carp. The study’s lead author says it’s among the first to establish a solid link between the presence of invasive carp and a drop-off of native species.

It found that numbers of sport fish such as yellow perch and bluegill fell between 1994 and 2013 in three locations infested with silver carp. Meanwhile, sport fish increased in other places farther upstream that the carp hadn’t reached.

The paper says Asian carp are gobbling up plankton that sport fish need for survival when young. Fish biologist John Chick says the report illustrates the urgency of preventing the carp from moving into other sections of the Mississippi and the Great Lakes.

DES MOINES – Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered all flags in Iowa to be lowered to half-staff today Saturday, November 16th to sunset on the day of Justice Cady’s memorial service, in honor and remembrance of Chief Justice Mark Cady, who served Iowa with dedication and distinction as the Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court. Details regarding the memorial service are forthcoming.

Flags will be at half-staff on the State Capitol Building and on flag displays in the Capitol Complex. Flags will also be half-staff on all public buildings, grounds and facilities throughout the state. Individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties and other government subdivisions are encouraged to fly the flags at half-staff for the same length of time.

A head-on collision between a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan and a 1991 Ford F-150 pickup has resulted in at least one fatality. The Iowa State Patrol reports the fiery crash happened at around 6:36-p.m. Friday on U-S Highway 122, near the Mason City Airport. Authorities say the van was traveling eastbound in the westbound lane of Highway 122, at the same time the pickup was traveling in the same lane. The vehicles collided in the left lane of westbound 122.

The names of the victims were being withheld, pending notification of family. The accident remains under investigation.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.4MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Police in Des Moines police said Friday, that an Omaha man faces multiple charges after he traveled to Des Moines to have sex with an underage girl. Officers investigated a vehicle parked after hours at Ewing Park in Des Moines, at around 1:30-a.m., Friday. Authoriites say officers found 21-year-old Rodrigo Adolpho Amaya having sex with a 15-year-old female. Amaya jumped out of the car after being confronted by police and took off, leading officers on a short pursuit that ended near SE 35th and Evergreen when he struck a curb, police said.

Officials say Amaya met the underage girl on social media and traveled to Des Moines to meet and have sex with her. Police said the sex was consensual, but because the teen is under age, Amaya has been charged with third-degree sexual abuse, along with eluding, harassment of a public official and trespassing. He’s currently being held in the Polk County Jail.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.1MB)

Subscribe: RSS