The Atlantic Police Department says one person suffered minor injuries during a collision Thursday evening at the intersection of 6th and Chestnut Streets. Officials say vehicles driven by Alisha Muzzy, of Elk Horn, and Christopher Crespo, of Atlantic, collided after Muzzy failed to stop for a red light at the intersection. The accident happened at around 6:40-p.m., Thursday. Muzzy was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital for treatment of her injuries. She was also cited for Failure to Obey a Traffic Signal. Damage from the crash amounted to $5,000.

Republican Congressman Tom Latham says he’s the “Clear choice” to represent the 3rd District in southern and southwest Iowa this November, against incumbent Democrat Representative Leonard Boswell. Latham told KJAN News it’ll “probably the clearest choice anybody’s had in a Congressional race, because of Boswell’s vote to approve bills which influenced the country’s debt crisis. He says Boswell supported the Wall Street bailout, stimulus spending,  Cap and Trade, the Presidents health care bill (commonly referred to as “Obamacare,” and Dodd-Frank, which Latham says will have an impact on local, small banks in rural communities, in a very negative way. Latham says he opposed all of those bills.

Latham says the government needs to cut spending. The Obama administration’s stimulus bill, he says, cost the country $1-trillion, and failed to deliver on benefitting the economy as promised. Latham says Boswell has sided with Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and continues “In lock-step” with the administration in making poor decisions on how to get the economy moving. Latham says he’s attended over 550 town hall meetings, listening to Iowans, and working on ways to prevent Washington “from dumping on us, here,” as far as coming up with regulations that hurt the local economy and impede business growth.

And, while advertising during the caucuses in Iowa were negative, and often featured personal attacks by the candidates, Latham says he won’t go down that path, unless he’s attacked. Latham says he has always “Run for an office, rather than against somebody.” He says he’s tried to tell Iowans why he wants to serve them and represent them in Washington, and talk about issues. He says during the last campaign, Boswell did not run one positive ad. Latham says “The idea of politics of personal destruction is ridiculous, because it doesn’t do anybody any good, and doesn’t let people know who you are, and what you stand for.” He says his ads will be issued-based, but he will reserve the option to respond appropriately, if he’s attacked on a personal level.

w/ Ric Hanson

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A Clarinda man who helped people get moving for more than 30-years, by specializing in joint replacement surgery and therapies, has died at the age of 73.

Dr. Ronald Miller

Dr. Ronald Miller, founder of Miller Orthopaedic Affiliates in Council Bluffs, died Wednesday at Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs.

Miller founded his practice in 1972 and performed surgery on thousands of people. He was born in Clarinda, graduated from the Clarinda High School, and received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Iowa. Miller served in the Army after graduation from medical school, attaining the rank of major as a member of the 504th Aviation Battalion.

He retired late in 2006 because of health problems. Dr, Miller oversaw Miller Orthopaedic’s expansion to 13 locations, with clinics throughout southwest Iowa and in Omaha. He also developed a program that included education about joint replacement before and after surgery.

Funeral services for Dr. Ronald Miller will be 10 a.m. Saturday, at the St. Patrick Catholic Church in Council Bluffs.

w/ Ric Hanson

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Iowa Republican Congressman Tom Latham will be back in Washington, D.C next week when the 112th Congress reconvenes.

Rep. Tom Latham (R) - IA

Latham told KJAN News Thursday, that after spending most of last year gathering input from Iowans and what’s important to them, he’ll present some key initiatives designed to bring “common sense” back to the nation’s capital. The number one issue he plans to address is the regulatory burdens coming out of Washington, or what he calls a “wet blanket” that smothers the creation of jobs and getting the economy moving.

Latham says he has legislation in-place that will review existing regulations, to determine which ones are working and those which provide a cost benefit to society, and get rid of the ones that don’t. Latham says he wants the private sector to have time to evaluate the rules that are created by agencies within the government before the rules go into effect. He says also, when it becomes apparent a regulation will cost the economy over $100-million, Congress itself should vote on it, and if approved, the measure should be signed by the president. Another initiative he plans to introduce next week, will say to Congress, that if they do not pass a budget, that they won’t get paid.

He says it’s been three-years since the Senate has done any basic work on the budget, and we’re spending $3.8-trillion annually, with no budget. He calls that “outrageous,” and the reason the government is $15-trillion in debt, is because there is “No framework for a budget, no way to cut spending,” and there are no constraints on spending without a budget. He says his proposal will make Congress more accountable to the people.

Latham, who grew up on his family’s farm, said he’s frustrated by the Labor Department’s attempts at writing regulation that prohibits kids from working on family farms jointly owned by their parents or other family members. He says he’s introduced a bi-partisan resolution of disapproval asking the Dept. of Labor not to move forward with the regulation, because it goes against all traditions in agriculture.

Rep. Leonard Boswell (D) - IA

Latham announced last April that he will run in this November’s election for Iowa’s new 3rd district, against incumbent Democratic Representative Leonard Boswell. Latham moved from the 4th District into the 3rd District after the 2010 census numbers resulted in the elimination of the 5th Congressional District in Iowa. The move spared him from facing Representative Steve King, in a GOP primary.

New Congressional Districts beginning 2013

A climatologist who’s keeping an eye out for another potential flood in the Missouri River basin says conditions now are nearly the opposite of what they were a year ago. South Dakota state climatologist Dennis Todey says the pattern of warmer, drier weather we’ve enjoyed for weeks appears to be changing.  “We are going to be seeing a shift as January goes on to more La Nina-like conditions where temperatures will turn colder,” Todey says. “By later in January, most of the upper part of the basin will go to below-average temperatures, which will be in contrast to what we’ve seen recently.” So far, he says, none of the conditions that spawned widespread flooding in the region last year are appearing this year.

“For much of the basin, where we have very dry soil conditions in certain areas or moderately dry soil conditions, which allows the soil moisture capacity to take up any additional moisture at this point,” Todey says. “That’s quite a contrast from what we had last year where we had fairly widespread wet soil.” A year ago, heavy snow accumulation combined with an extremely wet spring to create record flooding on the Missouri. Todey, who is working with the federal government on long-range forecasts, says it simply hasn’t snowed much this winter.

“There have been a few snows that have come along,” Todey says. “Most of them have not been long-lived. They’ve melted off, so there is very little snow in the basin.” He says the weather could still break either way, above- or below-average snow and rain for the remainder of the winter.

(Matt Kelley/Radio Iowa)

(Des Moines, Iowa)  January 12, 2012: USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) today announced that John R. Whitaker, State Executive Director for Iowa FSA and members of his management team have scheduled public meetings in the following counties at the dates and locations specified below:

Appanoose County on January 31st at 1:00 pm at the Faith United Methodist Church of Centerville in Centerville, Iowa.

Decatur County on February 1st at 1:00 pm in the Pioneer Hall Building on the Decatur County Fairgrounds in Leon, Iowa.

Union County on February 2nd, at 1:00 pm in Instructional Center Room #220 on the Southwest Community College Campus in Creston, Iowa.

FSA’s public meeting will be the only one held to take public comment on USDA’s proposed office consolidation plan in which the Appanoose, Decatur, and Union County FSA office are being considered for consolidation. Producers can also provide written comment by emailing dennis.olson@ia.usda.gov or sending written comment to John R. Whitaker, State Executive Director, Iowa State FSA Office, 10500 Buena Vista Court, Des Moines, Iowa 50322 no later than Thursday, February 9, 2012.

All public comments will be taken into full consideration prior to development or implementation of a final consolidation plan. For more information, contact Iowa Farm Service Agency at 515-254-1540.