(Radio Iowa) – A Red Flag warning is posted today (Monday) for most of Iowa and residents are warned not to do any open burning, as vegetation is very dry and winds will be gusting. Meteorologist Kristy Carter, at the National Weather Service, says high temperatures may climb into record or near-record territory in the 60s and 70s this afternoon.  “We’re even going to be approaching the all-time February record high at some locations,” Carter says. “We’re going to combine that with some extreme fire danger as well. So that warmth with those strong winds, it’s going to lead to those extreme fire weather conditions, so certainly burning is not recommended today.” She says any fires that are set could quickly spread and burn out of control.

A big turnaround in temperatures is coming as forecasters say we’ll see lows across Iowa tomorrow night in the single digits and teens with snow possible. “Our temperatures are going to drop drastically through the day,” Carter says. “We’ll start warm, but by the afternoon into evening, temperatures are going to plummet. Our winds are also going to increase as well, so that’s going to send our wind chills down toward zero or below zero even by Wednesday morning.” Carter says the mid-week cold snap won’t last long with a return to warmer temperatures to welcome the first weekend of March.

“On Wednesday, we’ll actually be closer to typical highs for the month of February in the mid 20s to mid 30s, but that will be very short lived,” Carter says. “We’re heading into the 50s by Thursday and then we’ll be approaching records again by the weekend.” The first day of Spring is March 19th.

(Hamburg, Iowa) –In an update to our earlier report, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office today (Monday), said a Rock Port, MO. woman was recently charged following an investigation into a fatal accident that took place at around 6-p.m. on January 25th. 77-year-old Nancy Bartles, of Rock Port, MO, was charged with Failure to Yield to a Pedestrian, resulting in death. Authorities say neither speed, alcohol, drugs nor distracted driving were factors in the accident.

A 77-year-old Hamburg resident, Willie Donn Thorp, was identified as the victim in the accident. Thorp died at a nearby hospital, after he was struck by the pickup truck Bartles was driving, while he was carrying items to his vehicle from a local community center.

(Sidney, Iowa) – The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports three people were arrested on separate drug charges over the past week:

• On Sunday (2/25), Deputies with the Fremont County Sheriff’s K9 Unit, arrested Adam Glen Woodruff, of Nebraska City, NE. He was taken into custody in the 1900 block of Highway 2, and charged with Possession of Methamphetamine and Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia. Woodruff was being held on a $5,000 bond in the Fremont County Jail.
• On Feb. 22nd, 51-year-old Timothy Clayton McCollum, of Coin, was arrested in the 800 block of Fremont Street (near Shenandoah), for Poss. of Meth, Poss, of Drug Paraphernalia, and Open Container. McCollum was released from custody after posting a $5,000 surety bond. That same day, 52-year-old Michael James Johnson, of Malvern, was arrested at the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, for OWI/1st offense, Poss. of Marijuana, and Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia. Johnson was later released on a $1,300 bond.

Other arrests in Fremont County include:

On Feb. 24th: 45-year-old Dewight Eugene Binau, of Sidney, who was arrested for Assault on an Officer, Public Intoxication, and Interference with Official Acts. Sidney Rescue assisted the Sheriff’s Office at the scene at the corner of Webster and Illinois Streets, Saturday. Binau was being held in the Fremont County Jail on a $1,000 surety bond.

Adkisson

Baldwin

Binau

Johnson

McCollum

Woodruff

On Feb. 21st, Deputies arrested 23-year-old Elijah Storm Baldwin, of Lincoln, NE., for Violation of Probation. He was arrested in Nebraska and extradited to Iowa. He was released on a $2,000 cash bond. And, 20-year-old Jonathan Jay Adkisson,of Sidney, was arrested for Reckless Driving. He was taken into custody in the 800 block of Clay Street, in Sidney, and later released on a $300 cash bond.

BRANDON, Iowa (KCRG) – A semi crash on Interstate-380 Friday morning near Brandon, in eastern Iowa, caused traffic delays for several hours, also resulted in the death of at least 12 cows. The Buchanan County Sheriff’s office released said the driver was heading northbound on I-380 when he fell asleep at the wheel. The semi entered the median and crashed through the guardrail, hitting a cement bridge rail. That caused the semi to overturn and go into Lime Creek.

A pickup truck also traveling on I-380 hit some of the debris in the road after the initial crash. Officials estimated the damage to the pickup truck at around $1,500. Neither driver was hurt in this crash. The semi driver was cited for failure to control his vehicle.

Linn County Regional HazMat Team Facebook photos

The semi was carrying about 60 cows. The sheriff’s office said about 12-15 of the cows were killed in the crash, or died afterward. The crash and cleanup efforts caused the roadway to be reduced to one lane for several hours. A Linn County Regional Hazmat Team had to be called in because the semi was leaking diesel into a nearby creek.

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston report 43-year-old Raul Rangel, of Creston, was arrested Sunday, at the Creston Union County Law Enforcement Center. Rangel was charged on a Union County Warrant, with OWI/1st offense. He was taken to the Union County Jail and later released on a $1,000 cash or surety bond.

Cedar Fall, Iowa [KCCI] – Colleges in Iowa are seeing more students look for opportunities out of state after they graduate, according to a report from the National Bureau of Economic Research. The report found that Iowa has the 10th highest rate of college graduates leaving the state once they receive their degree.

State Sen. Eric Giddens (D-Black Hawk County) talked to a group of students at the University of Northern Iowa to find out why. He said jobs and career opportunities were big factors students shared for looking out of state. Politics was another factor. He said students want lawmakers to create opportunities rather than tackle divisive social issues.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A traffic stop at around 6:45-p.m. Sunday, in Red Oak, resulted in a man being arrested on an OWI charge. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports Deputies conducted a traffic stop in the 1600 block of Broadway Street, in Red Oak, and upon further investigation, arrested 46-year-old Jeremy Scott Guffey, of Stanton, for OWI/1st offense – a serious misdemeanor, and Child Endangerment – an aggravated misdemeanor.

Guffey was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – As spring nears, farmers are starting to worry again about moisture levels, because the latest U-S Drought Monitor map for Iowa shows almost a fifth of the state is in extreme drought, with more than half of Iowa in severe drought. Angie Rieck-Hinz, a field agronomist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, says it’s been 190-some straight weeks of drought for the state and planting season is just a few weeks away. “We hope we get some more rain before we get in the field, definitely, but if we don’t, we’re going to really need some very timely rains throughout this growing season to keep enough water supplied to those crops,” Rieck-Hinz says. “We just don’t have a whole lot in our soil right now or subsoil that those plants can draw from.”

Even with several heavy snows in January, now February is wrapping up warmer and drier than normal, which is worrisome for farmers. “They’re concerned. They know they can’t do a whole lot about it. If anything, farmers are always hopeful about moisture,” Rieck-Hinz says. “There might be some ways we can manage that going into spring. We can think about if we can actually go in and plant without having to do any tillage that would dry out soils even more.” Forecasters say there’s a chance for a mix of rain and snow next week, but it likely won’t be significant enough to make a dent in the drought.

“We should probably think about if we have cover crops out there, if we want to terminate them a little bit earlier than usual,” she says, “so we’re not pulling as much moisture out of the soil. That’s something to think about.” March 19th is the first day of spring.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A traffic stop at around 3:50-p.m. Sunday, in Red Oak, resulted in the arrest of 22-year-old Nicholas Sebastian Turnbull, from Red Oak. He was taken into custody for Driving While Barred and transported to the Montgomery County Jail. Turnbull’s bond was set at $2,000.