The Marne Community Club’s Annual Chili, and Men’s Pie Baking Contests have been rescheduled. Both were originally set to take place January 15th, but were cancelled due to the ice storm. Event organizers said today (Sunday), both contests have been rescheduled to take place Feb. 19th, at the Marne Community Center.

Judging for both the Annual Chili Contest and Men’s Pie Baking Contest will be held by “people’s choice.” Anyone interested in entering the Chili Contest should bring a gallon crock pot of chili to the Marne Community Center by 6:00 p.m. on the day of the contest. The same goes for entering the Men’s Pie Contest.

There are no fees for entering. Trophies for both chili and pie winners are on display at the Marne Community Center, and the 1st place winners’ names will be added to their respective trophy.

Everyone is welcome to join the fun, either as a participant or a judge! Come to Marne and share a meal. The main course will be, of course, chili. Please bring a potluck salad to share. Pie for dessert! Beverages will be provided.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A major tax cut several years ago on commercial buildings and other properties has sliced hundreds of millions of dollars from the state budget. It helps explain why Iowa is in the position today of struggling to pay its bills despite a relatively strong economy.

Signed into law in 2013 by Gov. Terry Branstad, the largest tax cut in state history has gradually cost Iowa more than $400 million over several years. A separate $300 million will hit Iowa’s main spending fund this budget year, and that cost will be permanent for the years to come.

The law’s effect on state spending is coming into sharper focus in 2017 as a new GOP-controlled Legislature works privately to cover a roughly $110 million shortfall in the $7.2 billion budget that began last July.

Day number three of the search for a missing 15 year old female, Saturday, involved in an accident north of Denison early Thursday morning, included an extensive search of the Boyer River by boats from the accident scene to Logan and an air search that ended in Missouri Valley.

After the fog lifted on Saturday morning, Able 1, the Omaha Police helicopter was called in to assist. The helicopter arrived at around 4:30 Saturday afternoon and did a sweep from the staging area at the Crawford. County Fairgrounds north to the accident scene. The helicopter then searched about 100 yards on each side of the river by air, following the river back to the fairgrounds. From that point, they flew the Boyer River to Missouri Valley with no success.

Crawford County Sheriff James Steinkuehler said that they had enough flat bottom boats that they were able to use sonar. Five dogs from Yankton, SD, Ankeny and Des Moines, each trained to find bodies, were used. Two of the dogs are trained for water searches and three trained for ground searches. Steinkuehler said the search plan for today is to use a drag team, and a drag team only, in the river, from the accident scene south for at least a couple of miles. Volunteers will also do a ground search today.

The accident was reported about 3 a.m. Thursday in rural Crawford County. Authorities say the car was carrying five people when it ran off a rural road into the river. Four who reached safety on their own or were rescued were taken to a Denison hospital.

(Thanks for the update from our sister station KNOD in Harlan)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:50 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Thousands of people marched and cheered speakers in Des Moines in an event connected to similar gatherings in Washington and cities around the country. People gathered Saturday morning for the Women’s March at the state Capitol. The event was part of the national Women’s March, but speakers and protesters holding signs drew attention to a variety of issues, including rights for disabled people, Native Americans and gay, lesbian and transgender residents.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Vandals have damaged or destroyed about three dozen fruit and nut trees and plants at an eastern Iowa community orchard. The Quad-City Times reports that the vandalism at the Quad-Cities Food Forest in Davenport included breaking off about 30 trees at the base and pouring tar over other plants. Two years ago, volunteers planted 100 small plants that will bear edible fruits, including gooseberry and elderberry bushes and hazelnut and English walnut trees.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Des Moines man accused of killing two Des Moines residents who were living with him has canceled a plea hearing and will instead take his case to trial. The Des Moines Register reports that Michael John Wanchanic had been set to enter a plea on Friday.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Police say a Council Bluffs mother has been charged after leaving her 12-year-old son on a roadside when he threw a tantrum. The Daily Nonpareil reports that the 33-year-old woman is set to be arraigned Feb. 20 on child endangerment and abandonment charges. An officer found the boy walking along an Interstate 80 ramp at 6:30 a.m. in the morning last fall. The boy said his mother left him after an argument about which shoes to wear to his school in Omaha, Nebraska.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Police say a Council Bluffs mother has been charged after leaving her 12-year-old son on a roadside when he threw a tantrum. The Daily Nonpareil reports that 33-year-old Shameka King is set to be arraigned Feb. 20th on child endangerment and abandonment charges.

Shameka King

An officer found the boy walking along an Interstate 80 ramp at 6:30 a.m. in the morning last fall. The boy said his mother left him after he got out of the car over an argument about which shoes to wear to his school in Omaha, Nebraska.

Police say the boy had no phone, money for food or a key to the hotel room. Police say King initially verified the boy’s account, asking police, “What am I supposed to do? Be late for work?”

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A former BNSF Railway employee has won more than $1 million in a wrongful termination lawsuit. The Lincoln Journal Star says Daniel Monohon, of Ottumwa, Iowa, was fired from a Lincoln branch of Fort Worth, Texas-based BNSF in 2014 for what the railroad said was insubordination.

Monohon says he was fired after he questioned BNSF’s policy of requiring employees to wear seatbelts while driving a vehicle that can operate both on rail tracks and a conventional road. Monohon’s attorneys, Corey Stull and Jeanette Stull of Lincoln, argued that his firing was a violation of the whistleblower provisions of the Federal Railroad Safety Act.

A federal jury in Iowa agreed and awarded Monohon $1,031,000 in lost pay and other damages.

MARATHON, Iowa (AP) – A northwestern Iowa town is considering turning to the sun to provide power to its nearly 250 residents. The Sioux City Journal reports that the town of Marathon in Buena Vista County is considering building a 1.42-megawatt solar project on city-owned land to supply power to residents. The more than 1,400 solar panels would be built on a former baseball field.

A study by renewable energy company Trusted Energy, based in Spencer, says the proposed project would save Marathon residents $2 million over 20 years in electric costs and produce 2 million kilowatt hours per year.  Currently, Marathon receives its electrical service from the neighboring city of Laurens.

The Marathon City Council agreed to look into the project at a meeting earlier this month.

The state’s top wine makers will be recognized at a conference in central Iowa next month. Nicole Eilers is spokeswoman for the Iowa Wine Growers Association which is celebrating the state’s best operations. There are nominees for several awards, including the top two. “For Vineyard of the Year, we have Corey Goodhue with North River Valley Vineyard and Victor Rose Vineyard in Indianola,” Eilers says. “For Winemaker of the Year, we have Terry Smith with Summerset Winery and Anne Zwink with Soldier Creek Winery in Fort Dodge.”

The winners of all categories will be announced at the association’s annual conference in Ames. Eilers says Iowa’s wine industry is growing and thriving. “Currently, we have just over 100 wineries and we have nearly 300 vineyards across the state,” Eilers says. “It’s been a time for research on new grapes that grow in the cold climate as well as just fine-tuning wine-making techniques.”

The conference is being held on February 5th and 6th at the Gateway Hotel & Conference Center in Ames. There will be speakers and sessions focused on improving practices and knowledge in enology — the study of wine — as well as viticulture, marketing and business, and industry exhibitors showcasing the latest tools, products and services.

Learn more at : www.iowawinegrowers.org

(Radio Iowa)

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

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