Rescue crews from Lewis and Griswold, along with Medivac Ambulance, the Cass County and Red Oak Dive Team members have been called to a reported possible drowning at the Lewis Lake (Cold Springs) State Park south of Lewis. An adult female was reported missing in the Nishnabotna River near an area known as the “Rock Cuts,” for its eight- to 1o-feet tall block-looking limestone walls. The location is remote, and accessible mainly by ATV’s and other types of off-road vehicles. Word of the missing woman came in at around 9:13-p.m.

No other details are currently available.

Police in Red Oak arrested a 19-year old late Tuesday night on a drug charge. Officials say Cody Michael Doss, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 11:30-p.m., following a traffic stop. Doss was brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where he was being held on $1,000 bond, for Possession of Methamphetamine.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has been released from a California hospital after choking on food during a ceremony for the re-dedication of the USS Iowa battleship in Los Angeles.  Branstad spokesman Tim Albrecht said Wednesday the governor choked on a carrot at some point during the event and vomited.  He says the governor was taken to a nearby hospital out of an abundance of caution, went through a series of tests and was quickly released after “everything turned out fine.”  He says Branstad is in good spirits, and “we’re glad he’s okay.” He says the governor had planned to visit his uncle who lives in the area and watch fireworks before returning to Iowa tomorrow. The USS Iowa is a World War II-era battleship that’s being turned into a museum.

A central Iowa woman and her children, ages 5 and 8, were injured during a single vehicle rollover accident Tuesday evening, 5-miles southeast of Exira. The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office reports the driver of the car, 40-year old Sheri Lynn Erickson, and her passengers, eight-years old Ethan and Caleb, and five-year old Jacob, all from Johnston, were transported to the Audubon County Hospital by Exira Rescue following the crash at around 5:30-p.m., Tuesday.

Officials say Erickson was traveling north on Littlefield Drive in a 2003 Land Rover, when she drove the SUV onto the shoulder, and overcorrected in an attempt to get back on the highway. The SUV slide sideways across the road and entered a ditch, where it spun and rolled over, coming to rest on its top. The vehicle sustained $15,000 damage.

Erickson was charged with Failure to Maintain Control.

(story 1st aired at 12-p.m. Wed.)

…EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM CDT SATURDAY…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING…WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM CDT SATURDAY. THE WARNING EXPIRES IN FAR WEST & SW IA AND PARTS OF FAR EASTERN NEBRASKA AT 9-P.M. FRIDAY. THE HEAT ADVISORY IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

HEAT INDICES OF 100 TO 110 DEGREES ARE EXPECTED THURSDAY AND FRIDAY AFTERNOON, AS HIGH TEMPERATURES CLIMB INTO THE UPPER 90S TO AROUND 100 DEGREES. HEAT INDICES WILL REMAIN IN THE 90S TO LOW 100S DURING THE EVENINGS RESULTING IN LITTLE RELIEF.

AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING MEANS THAT A PROLONGED PERIOD OF DANGEROUSLY HOT TEMPERATURES WILL OCCUR. THE COMBINATION OF HOT TEMPERATURES AND HIGH HUMIDITY WILL COMBINE TO CREATE A DANGEROUS SITUATION IN WHICH HEAT ILLNESSES ARE LIKELY. DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS…STAY IN AN AIR-CONDITIONED ROOM…STAY OUT OF THE SUN… AND CHECK UP ON RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS.

TO REDUCE RISK DURING OUTDOOR WORK…THE OCCUPATIONAL AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDS SCHEDULING FREQUENT REST BREAKS IN SHADED OR AIR CONDITIONED ENVIRONMENTS. ANYONE OVERCOME BY HEAT SHOULD BE MOVED TO A COOL AND SHADED LOCATION. HEAT STROKE IS AN EMERGENCY – CALL 911.

An Atlantic man was appointed this week to a task force which will study whether Iowa’s public schools should lengthen the school day and make other changes to their calendars. Frank Spillers, with Global Horizons in Atlantic, was named as one of the 16 individuals appointed by Iowa Department of Education Director Jason Glass, Tuesday, to the Instructional Time Task Force, which was created by lawmakers as part of their education reform law.

The committee will study whether the minimum length of the school day and year should be extended for some students or all students and whether schools should have a uniform start date. The group will also consider whether summer break should be shortened, with days off spread out throughout the year. Glass says time in school should be applied differently to students based on their individual needs, but that adding time should be carefully studied because of its expense.

w/ Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (8.7MB)

Subscribe: RSS

w/ Ric Hanson

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

Subscribe: RSS

Dive Team members from southeast Nebraska and southwest Iowa conducted a search Tuesday for a Council Bluffs man missing since he jumped out of a boat into Hanson Lake Sunday morning. They recovered the man’s body Tuesday evening, not far from where he jumped in. The body of 34-year old Michael Hartsook, was discovered at around 7:30-p.m.  An autopsy has been scheduled. Officials say the lake will be open today (Wednesday). 

Dive teams from Red Oak, Clarinda, Adams, Cass and Ringgold Counties, participated in the search, scouring more than 12,000 square feet of the lake, which is located in Sarpy County, NE.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Sioux City man has pleaded not guilty to bludgeoning two people in their sleep with a crowbar.  The Sioux City Journal reports that 23-year-old James Kroll entered the plea Monday in Woodbury County District Court. Kroll is charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and first-degree burglary. Police say Kroll beat 54-year-old Jeffrey Moravek to death and seriously injured 54-year-old Mary Tope after breaking into Tope’s home on June 13. Tope remained hospitalized at Mercy Medical Center-Sioux City last week. An updated report on her condition is not available.
 
Police say Tope’s daughter, Emily Tope, was in the house at the time and identified Kroll, her former boyfriend. Court papers say Kroll was distraught that his relationship with Emily Tope had ended.