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Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
(Walnut, Iowa) – Authorities say one person died when a train collided with a grain truck at around 2:30-p.m. today, near Walnut. KETV in Omaha reported the accident happened near 500th Street and Rosewood Road.
Officers received reports of a semi-truck colliding with a rail train and the train dragged the semi approximately 100-150 yards, according to authorities. When first responders arrived on the scene, the truck was on fire — “fully involved,” according to law enforcement.
The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office said the train was traveling eastbound and the grain truck was traveling southbound. Law enforcement was still on the scene as of 4:30–p.m., investigating the accident. The intersection is closed at this time, according to authorities.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic School District’s Board of Education met this (Wednesday) afternoon in the High School Media Center. The Board moved to approve the following Resignations: Matt Smith, Boys Head Soccer Coach; Joseph Brummer, Head Baseball Coach, and Julie Hansen, Washington Paraeducator. They also approved Contract Recommendations for:
Here is what Superintendent Steve Barber reported to the Board (These notes are provided courtesy School Board Secretary Sarah Sheeder):
“We continue to work on filling positions for next year. As mentioned last month, we will continue to actively pursue qualified candidates to serve our students in Atlantic until we are able to get them all filled. This could be before the first day, during the first semester, at the beginning of the next semester or not until next year. Here is some progress that has been made:
Mr. Barber said also, with regard to COVID mitigation in the District’s buildings, they will operate under a “Communicable Disease” policy.
And, Mr. Barber mentioned the District is set to benefit from a generous gift from the estate of Jo Ann Runyon, who passed away May 5th.
In other business, the Atlantic School Board approved four IASB Legislative Priorities they would like the Iowa Association of School Boards to lobby for during the next legislative session. They chose: 1) Mental Health; 2) Teacher Recruitment/Licensure; 3) School Safety, and 4) Market-Competitive Wages. The Board then acted on approving Spring 2023 Coaching Contract Recommendations for the following:
In the final order of business, the Board approved the plans, specifications, form of contract and estimate of cost, for the Achievement Center Roof Improvement project. The lowest bid of $214,564, came from Elevate Roofing, out of Denison. The District has worked with that company, previously. Their bid came in well under the Cost Estimate of $248,000.
(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – The Council Bluffs Police Department today (Wednesday) said the Carroll Kuemper baseball team lost their charter bus for a short time (Tuesday) night. CBPD located the bus and arrested the person driving it. The suspect was identified as 42-year-old Jamar Hill, of Omaha. He faces charges that include Theft in the 1st Degree, and Driving While Suspended.
The incident began at around 9:24-p.m., when the 2000 motor coach bus was stolen from the parking lot of 915 N. 21st Street. Officers located the bus three minutes later and conducted a traffic stop in the 1700 block of W. Broadway. Hill, the driver, was taken into custody without incident.
Officials noted the bus had been chartered by Carroll-Kuemper for a baseball game being played at Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson’s Baseball Field. The bus was returned to the owner, and…by-the-way: Carroll-Kuemper won the game 6-2.
(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors, this (Wednesday) morning, heard from County Engineer Nick Kauffman, who spoke with regard to an updated cell phone policy allowance in the Secondary Roads Department Benefit Policy handbook.
Kauffman presented also, a Bridge Weight Limit Resolution for Adair County. He told the Board they have changed postings on the following bridges:
The Resolution was approved as presented. In other business, the Adair County Board of Supervisors approved a Child Abuse Prevention Grant Draw-down in the amount of $1,252.76, and they acknowledged receipt of the SICOG Housing Trust Fund report.
(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office report three arrests occurred, Tuesday. 62-year-old Thomas Oscar Anderson, of Red Oak, was arrested at the Montgomery County Jail, ona Mills County warrant for Failure to Appear, on an original – Possession of a Controlled Substance, charge. His bond was set at $25,000.
36-year-old Thomas Joseph Deveney, of Omaha, and 32-year-old Elizabeth Rene Lynette Evans, of Council Bluffs, were arrested Tuesday night near Hilman Road and Highway 34. Deveney was charged with Violation of a No Contact Order (Held without bond). Evans was charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. ($300 bond)
(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Glenwood Police Department reports one arrest. On Tuesday, Officers arrested 47-year-old Stacey Barrett, of Glenwood. She was taken into custody for Driving Under Suspension, with her cash or surety bond set at $300. Barrett was also, later charged with Possession of Contraband in a correctional institution. The charge carries a $5,000 or surety bond.
(Radio Iowa) – In a follow-up to our previous report, the State of Iowa is ramping up public awareness efforts in response to an influx of fake prescription drugs laced with fentanyl that have shown up in the state. Public Safety Commissioner, Steven Bayens says the pills are produced mainly in Mexico. “The pill presses used by the cartels can create nearly flawless reproductions of common prescription drugs. As a result, even our own agents are now trained to treat every prescription pill they encounter, like it contains fentanyl,” Bayens says.
Bayens says the procedures for mixing what goes into the pills is not as sophisticated as the production process — and that leads to pills that are deadly. “The Drug Enforcement Administration has found that four out of every ten counterfeit pills submitted to their lab contains a lethal dose,” he says. “If we apply that data point to Iowa, more than 28,000 lethal doses of fentanyl had been seized. In the first six months alone.” Bayens says the amount of fentanyl that is lethal can fit on the lead of a pencil. Too much fentanyl creates what is called a ‘hot batch.” He says you can help by reporting the discovery of the fake pills.
“The quicker we can identify a hot batch has made its way into a community. The quicker we can alert health officials, educate the public and begin enforcement action designed to stop its deadly effects,” according to Bayens.”We would also encourage citizens to call and would cut our narcotics tip hotline to report suspected drug activity. Every tip that comes into the hotline that is submitted to us by an anonymous email is distributed to one of our 17 field offices throughout the state.”
He says the pills are dangerous to handle, and you should not try to dispose of them yourself. Bayens says it’s also important for the lab to review the pills to try and determine their makeup. Anyone that finds a counterfeit pill is encouraged to call the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement anonymous tip hotline at (800) 532-0052 or dneinfo@dps.state.ia.us and in the case of an emergency, call 9-1-1. Bayens says the most common pills are designed to look like the powerful painkiller oxycontin. “They’re smaller blue pills that are marked with M 30. And that’s actually the pharmaceutical markings for oxycontin. And so the vast majority of what we’re seeing right now and the vast majority of the seizures have appeared to be oxycontin. They’re stamped blue roughly the same size and have M 30 inscribed on them,” he says.
Governor Kim Reynolds says the state is planning to target young people to try and educate them more on the issue. “The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services will be deploying an extension of its public health multimedia campaign targeting preteens to young adults, which is currently focused on suicide prevention to include new messaging about the dangers of fentanyl,” Reynolds says.
The focus on fentanyl comes after overdose deaths in Cass and Shelby counties uncovered a fentanyl distribution ring in western Iowa and eastern Nebraska. For 24-hour confidential support and for more information on fentanyl and counterfeit pills, or for resources on opioid or other substance use disorders, visit www.YourLifeIowa.org.
(Radio Iowa) – Republican Senator Joni Ernst objects to President Biden’s executive order for nationwide access to medication abortion and emergency contraception. “I am outraged by the president’s actions,” Ernst says. “…I don’t believe the president should have engaged the way that he did when it comes to abortion issues.” President Biden’s move came two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its 1973 Roe v Wade decision and Ernst says it’s now up to states to regulate abortion. “I know that there are a lot of heated arguments and discussions that will happen because of this decision. That’s okay,” Ernst says. “I just want to remind everybody that a decision has been made by an independent branch of the federal government. It will go back to those states – those governors, those elected representatives — for decisions to be made that will be right for those states.”
In May, the Washington Post reported that if Republicans win control of congress in this fall’s election, Ernst would lead an effort next year to ban abortions nationwide. During a conference call with Iowa reporters, Ernst was asked if she’ll introduce such a bill in the Senate. “I am adamantly pro-life and I do believe that the Supreme Court made the right decision in the Dobbs case by sending these decisions back to state and local authorities,” Ernst replied. “…I’m anxious to see what the Iowa legislature and the governor will be debating on this issue.”
Ernst says she believes presidential action on abortion-related policies — like the executive order Biden issued last Friday — are unconstitutional. Biden has called the court’s decision on abortion wrongheaded, but the president told reporters last week the only way to ensure access to abortion is by electing lawmakers who support abortion rights.
(UPDATED; Radio Iowa) – More than a dozen Iowans are helping to fight wildfires in three other states this month as part of a nationwide partnership program. Ryan Schlater, a fire specialist with the Iowa D-N-R, says six Iowans are rotating in groups of three to west Texas, where the Dempsey Fire has scorched thousands of acres of forests. Another two-person Iowa crew is fighting wildfires in Colorado. “We have six that are in Alaska on a 20-person hand crew, which is mixed in with Missouri Department of Conservation and the Mark Twain National Forest folks,” Schlater says, “and they will be there for 21 days.”
Should a wildfire break out in Iowa this week, Schlater says there’s no cause for concern that our state is being left shorthanded while these firefighters are elsewhere. “A lot of them are county conservation board employees who may take vacation. We have very few Iowa DNR folks who actually go,” Schlater says. “We service basically any Iowa citizen who’s interested and able to go on wildfires. We get them trained. We put them through a physical fitness test, and then they’re eligible to go on national fires.” The fire program that provides “mutual aid” between states has been sending Iowa’s wildland firefighters to national incidents since 2006, but Schlater says it’s rare other states sends crews to Iowa.
“We are very blessed in Iowa here,” he says. “We have around 900 volunteer fire departments across the state. And if you think about it, we have a road pretty much every mile in most places, some places it may be more, but a road is a perfect firebreak. Also, we have good access to most of our lands where wildfires start.” The Iowans on the firefighting teams go through at least 40 hours of training before their first assignment abroad, and even then, they’ll be paired up with much more experienced individuals.
“There is risk, obviously, with with any fire,” Schlater says, “but we have a lot of safety measures in place that we try to adhere to and keep everyone safe and bring them home.” Schlater says all of the slots are filled for this year’s firefighting program, but they’re already signing up volunteers for next year. Learn more here:
www.iowadnr.gov/Conservation/Forestry/Fire-Management
(Radio Iowa) – Before hitting the hay tonight (Wednesday), Iowans should be sure to check out the July “supermoon,” what promises to be the biggest and brightest of the year. Peter Geiger, editor of the Farmer’s Almanac, says tonight’s gem in the sky is known as the “Buck Moon.” Geiger says, “That’s because the velvety antlers of the male deer that start to sprout in the springtime, by the time we get to July, they’re pointed and they’re hardened.”
Geiger says the moon may appear to be a bit larger tonight as this is the month in which it’s closest to the earth. “In reality, whether it’s 2,000 miles closer or less isn’t going to make a difference in what you see,” he says, “but I think because your weather is going to be very good, you’re going to see a very bright, illuminated moon.”
Tonight’s “supermoon” is also known as the “Hay Moon” after the July hay harvest, and the “Thunder Moon” in correlation to this month’s typical storms. If clouds do block your view tonight, there will be another “supermoon” on August 11th, what’s known as the “Sturgeon Moon.”