w/ Chris Parks

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.0MB)

Subscribe: RSS

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa enters the cold weather season with about a fifth of the state still in severe drought. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says November was drier than normal with the average precipitation for the state at 1.6 inches compared with the 30-year normal of just over 2 inches. A small area of the state that was rated in extreme drought in October has improved and is now in severe drought.

The area of the state in severe drought has fallen to 20 percent from 35 percent at the start of November. Little change is anticipated in soil moisture levels over the winter as soils are likely be frozen statewide by now, and are unlikely to thaw until spring.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press…

SLOAN, Iowa (AP) — State auditors say more than $13,000 was not properly deposited in the city of Sloan’s bank account from customer utility bills. Officials in Sloan, a city of 1,000 people about 23 miles south of Sioux City, sought a state audit after they became concerned about some deposits made by Laurie Kubly, the city’s former utility billing clerk . Kubly was placed on administrative leave on March 13th and resigned a week later. No charges have been filed.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A former prosecutor who alleges she was discriminated against by a U.S. attorney says she never had serious health problems until being ordered to move from Sioux City to Cedar Rapids. The Sioux City Journal reports Martha Fagg testified Friday that after receiving a written order to temporarily move, she felt dizzy, her heart pounded and her arm hurt. Fagg alleges then-U.S. Attorney Stephanie Rose discriminated against her because of her mental and physical conditions.

LOGAN, Iowa (AP) — A 17-year-old boy accused of killing his 5-year-old foster brother will undergo a mental evaluation to determine if he is competent to stand trial. Assistant Public Defender Michael Williams of Sioux City filed a motion to have Cody Metzker-Madsen tested for mental competency at the Iowa Medical Classification Center in Coralville. A judge approved the request on Friday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A southeast Iowa man faces multiple charges in connection with illegally taking deer. The state Department of Natural Resources says 55-year-old Thomas Charest, of Brighton, is scheduled to appear in court on December 18th.

Iowa DNR wildlife staff will again be in the field during Iowa’s shotgun deer seasons, collecting samples to test for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Iowa’s wild deer herd. Officials say the effort will concentrate on portions of Northeast Iowa near Wisconsin and Illinois as well as in Wapello, Davis, Pottawattamie and Cerro Gordo counties, following positive tests from captive facilities in or near those counties last year.

Many of the samples will be collected during the first half of December, as more than 120,000 hunters take part in Iowa’s shotgun deer seasons and deer harvested during those seasons are major sources of samples. Sampling-which involves removing and testing the brain stem and lymph nodes–has been done on free ranging deer across Iowa for years. Many hunters voluntarily contribute samples of their harvested deer for these testing efforts. Most samples are obtained by wildlife staff, checking with hunters in the field or at home processing points.

The DNR says it has historically focused its sampling efforts heaviest in northeast Iowa, after Wisconsin and Illinois yielded positive cases in recent years. After the positive findings in captive herds in 2012, DNR focused additional testing in those counties identified above. Sampling in northeast Iowa for the 2013-2014 seasons will continue at a slightly lower intensity in order to accommodate the additional testing in Davis, Wapello, Pottawattamie and Cerro Gordo Counties.

Since 2002, more than 47 thousand wild deer in Iowa have been tested, with no positive CWD result in the wild herd detected to date. Dr. Dale Garner, Wildlife Bureau Chief, says “We are hopeful CWD has not spread into Iowa’s deer herd. The only way to know this is to continue to collect samples and do the testing. We will work through all hunting seasons, with the peak being the shotgun seasons in December.”

Iowa DNR’s website provides information about CWD and other information on infectious disease at: http://www.iowadnr.gov/Hunting/DeerHunting/CWDEHDInformation.aspx

LOGAN, Iowa (AP) — A 17-year-old boy accused of killing his 5-year-old foster brother will undergo a mental evaluation to determine if he is competent to stand trial. Assistant Public Defender Michael Williams of Sioux City filed a motion to have Cody Metzker-Madsen tested for mental competency at the Iowa Medical Classification Center in Coralville. A judge approved the request Friday.

The Council Bluffs Nonpareil reports a court date is scheduled on April 21 to review if Metzker-Madsen can proceed to a trial. Metzker-Madsen is accused of killing Dominic Elkins, of Atlantic. The child’s body was found Aug. 31 at the bottom of a rural Harrison County ravine. Both boys were living with a foster family.

Metzker-Madsen remains at the Harrison County Jail.

Authorities in Page County are investigating the theft of a pickup taken from the Shambaugh area. Sheriff Lyle Palmer says a maroon 2004 Dodge 3500 Quad Cab pickup equipped with a flatbed, was taken from 410  Cinder Street in Shambaugh, sometime between 5:30-p.m. Thursday and 9:15-a.m. Friday. The vehicle had Iowa license plate number 883 XMP.

The truck was hooked-up to a trailer at the time of the theft, but the trailer was unhitched and left behind. The keys for the truck were reported missing from the welding shop the vehicle was parked near. Palmer says there was no sign of forced entry into the shop.

Anyone with information about the theft of the vehicle is asked to call the Page County Sheriff’s Office at 712-542-5193.

The Iowa State Patrol says two truck drivers from California were injured when their semi slammed into the back of another semi on Interstate 80 in Cass County, Friday morning.

Photo courtesy Mike Kennon, Cass Co. Emergency Mgmt. Agy.

Officials say 47-year old Ruel Pablo Quinto, and 43-year old Raymundo Refran Quinto, both of Los Angeles, CA, were transported by Medivac Ambulance to the Cass County Memorial Hospital following the crash on I-80 eastbound at around 6:45-a.m.

The Patrol says a 2006 Freightliner semi driven by 62-year old William L. Johnson, of Monroe, WI, and a 2000 Freightliner driven by Ruel Quinto were both traveling east, with Johnson’s semi in the right lane going up a hill. Quinto’s semi was in the left lane coming up behind the first semi, when Quinto fell asleep at the wheel.

His semi crossed the center line and entered the right lane where it hit the rear of Johnson’s semi. The cab of Quinto’s semi was destroyed in the crash and both occupants were trapped. They were freed by mechanical means.

A lighted Christmas Parade will be held Saturday evening, in Atlantic. Atlantic Area Chamber Executive Director Megan Roberts said there will also be a fireworks display prior to the parade, thanks to sponsorships from A.M. Cohron & Son and Meyer & Gross Real Estate, the fireworks display this year will be bigger and better than ever.

Lighted parade entries are able to register as late as Saturday in the parade line up at 6th & Walnut Streets. (Pre-registration forms can be filled out at the Chamber office through Friday at 5 p.m.). Participants in the parade will make their way from 6th and Chestnut to 2nd and Chestnut. A traveling trophy will be awarded to the Grand Prize winner, and AtlantiCash will be given for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places. Winners will be notified Monday, following the event.

In addition to the fireworks and parade, Santa’s Cabin will be open from 3-to 5-p.m. Saturday, at 6th & Poplar Streets, and, free horse-drawn wagon rides will be offered at that time. Roberts said many vendors set up warm drinks and food on Chestnut Street from 5- to 6-p.m. while attendees are window shopping and finding a seat for the show.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld Iowa’s hunting laws ruling that just because someone owns land in Iowa it doesn’t mean they have a right to hunt on it. The court finds that Iowa’s laws that provide hunting advantages to permanent residents do not violate the constitutional rights of nonresident landowners.  Three men who own land in Iowa but have permanent homes in other states challenged Iowa’s hunting laws as unconstitutional claiming they discriminate against nonresident landowners.

The court says Iowa lawmakers have developed an extensive statutory scheme that results in the conclusion “that landownership in Iowa is not accompanied by the right to hunt on one’s own land.”  The men objected to Iowa laws that make more licenses available to permanent residents at a lower price.

Sheriff’s officials in Mills County say a homeless man was arrested Thursday night on several charges. 38-year old Patrick Lee Amburn faces Attempted burglary, Trespass, Violation of a Protection Order, and Interference with official acts, charges. His bond on each of the charges, with the exception of the Protective order violation, was set at $5,600.

And, 43-year old Thomas Aleen Light, of Glenwood, was arrested early Friday morning, on an Unlawful Possession of a Prescription charge. His bond was set at $1,000.