Many schools and businesses are closed in northwest Iowa, not because of the Presidents’ Day holiday but due to the wintry weather. Two rounds of freezing rain are expected over the next 24 hours that’ll coat a wide section of Iowa in a layer of ice. Meteorologist Alex Krull, at the National Weather Service, says many roads are already in poor condition. “We currently have freezing drizzle out in northwest Iowa,” Krull says. “Significant ice accumulations are already occurring. We have several reports of roads that are 100% ice-covered. In Carroll and Pocahontas counties in northwest Iowa, we’ve had emergency managers report that the roads are completely impassible.”

Temperatures are warmer in central and southern Iowa, at least for the moment, and most of the precipitation that’s now falling is just rain, but that won’t be the case after the sun goes down. “Round two this evening, we’re expecting to start after 9 PM which will impact more of southwest, west-central, central and northeast Iowa,” Krull says. “As temperatures drop below freezing, we’re expecting precipitation and substantial ice accumulations that will continue into Tuesday morning where we’re expecting implications for some travel hazards.”

That second round of freezing drizzle may be much more serious as it will cover areas of the state with larger population centers. “We’re looking for more ice accumulations along a line essentially from Des Moines up through Marshalltown, Waterloo and into Decorah,” Krull says. “We’re looking at anywhere from 15/100ths to 25/100ths of an inch of ice in that area. We’re definitely concerned as this will be impacting the Tuesday morning rush hour commute as well.” Heavy ice that coats trees could bring down limbs onto power lines and cause outages, while all roads, sidewalks, parking lots and driveways will be exceptionally slippery.”If you must drive during this event, make sure you give yourself extra time,” Krull says. “Leave plenty of room between you and the other vehicles around you as well as give our snow plows plenty of room to do their operations as well.”

Keep close tabs of road conditions at the Iowa Department of Transportation travel website, 5-1-1-i-a-dot-org or get updated forecasts from the National Weather Service at weather-dot-gov.

(Radio Iowa)

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Some Iowa City elementary students are urging the school district to recognize Muslim holidays, and board members say they’re willing to consider the request. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports several students proposed the idea at a school board meeting last week. They suggested the district schedule days off for the Muslim holidays of Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha.

Fifth-grader Reem Kirja says she wants other students to know both holidays are times for families to get together, similar to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Board member Ruthina Malone says the board can explore the feasibility of accommodating major holidays celebrated by Jewish and Muslim students.

The board has time to decide, as neither Eid Al-Fitr nor Eid Al-Adha fall on a school day until the 2020-2021 school year.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Roman Catholic bishop of the Des Moines Diocese has turned 75 and submitted his required resignation to Pope Francis. Bishop Richard Pates, who took the post in 2008, announced his intended retirement in the diocesan newspaper, The Catholic Mirror. He says “the past 10 years in the Des Moines Diocese have flown by.”

It’s unclear when the Vatican will announce Pates’ successor. The diocese serves people in 23 counties in Iowa’s southwestern quadrant.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a male body was found inside a car after Sioux City firefighters extinguished a fire that blackened it. The fire was reported about 5:45 p.m. Sunday inside a car parked outside a residence. The person’s name hasn’t been released. An autopsy has been scheduled.

Police and fire officials are investigating the blaze and the person’s death.

More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.9MB)

Subscribe: RSS

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Jonathan Narcisse, who ran twice for Iowa governor and who fought for social justice, has died at the age of 54. His mother, Gaynelle Narcisse, says he died Saturday evening at a Des Moines hospital after a heart attack. Narcisse was a member of the Des Moines school board, 2007-09, and ran for governor in 2010 and 2014 as the Iowa Party candidate.

He was editor-in-chief of the Iowa Bystander, a Des Moines-based newspaper founded in 1894, and publisher of two statewide Latino publications. He also ran The Communicator, a central Iowa weekly that Narcisse helped reorganize into a publication about good news in Iowa. Narcisse was inducted into the Iowa African American Hall of Fame in 2009.

State Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad says the loss of Narcisse will “create a serious void in Iowa.”

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.8MB)

Subscribe: RSS

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden officials are looking for Des Moines’ help to protect the garden’s valuable indoor collection of exotic plants. The officials say the facility’s 39-year-old heating and cooling system barely functions and needs replacing. The nonprofit wants the city to cover half the $3 million cost to replace the HVAC system, although the lease agreement says the city is not responsible for maintenance.

Des Moines City Manager Scott Sanders told The Des Moines Register that it might be in the city’s interest to work with the nonprofit. He says that if the nonprofit has to raise contributions for the full $3 million, that could harm the garden’s programming. He says turning the property back over to the city would be worse.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a man died after a fire at his Cedar Rapids apartment. A city news release says the fire was reported around 9:40 a.m. Saturday at the Shamrock Apartments. The release says neighbors alerted by smoke alarms saw smoke escaping from the apartment’s front door, so they gained access and used extinguishers to knock down the flames.

Arriving firefighters and medics then took over, and the man was taken to a local hospital before being transferred to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. Officials say the man died there Saturday afternoon. The release says he’s been identified as 57-year-old Thomas Jones. The fire is being investigated.

A traffic stop Sunday night in Montgomery County, resulted in the arrest of a Missouri man. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports 26-year old Richard Cody Kays, of Ellsinore, MO., was arrested at around 10:10-p.m. at the intersection of Highways 71 and 34. Kays was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He was also cited for Matter of Conveyance of a loaded firearm. His bond was set at $1,000.