Officials with the Shelby County Emergency Agency have begun their twice-weekly Fire Danger notices. From today (Monday) through this Thursday (Oct. 23rd, the Fire Danger rating is LOW, meaning the danger from runaway fire is minimal at this time. Rain is in the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday.

When the rating is in the LOW or green category on the sign, you are asked to call in and report your burning projects to dispatch at 755-2124 and notify your local fire chief. The next update will be on Thursday, October 23rd.

Iowa is one of just is one of just 14 states that allow “straight ticket” voting — letting Iowans check a single box on the ballot to cast a vote for every candidate from one party. Drake University political science professor Arthur Sanders suggests the option fits with voting trends. “As our political system has become more polarized, we find less split ticket voting,” Sanders says. “People are much more likely now to be consistently Republican or consistently Democratic.”

According to the Iowa Secretary of State’s office, for example, 43 percent of the ballots cast in Linn County two years ago were “straight ticket” voters. Data isn’t available for all 99 counties, but for the 81 counties that did, about one-quarter of the ballots in the 2014 General Election came from “straight ticket” voters. Sanders says incumbency is a major factor that leads to “split ticket” voting. For example, in 1990 Republican Governor Terry Branstad beat his Democratic opponent by 22 points, while Democratic Senator Tom Harkin won reelection that same year by nine points. Since there’s an open Senate race in Iowa in 2014, Sanders says a decisive Branstad win could help the Republican candidate, Joni Ernst.

“Coattails? The best political science evidence we have is that coattails can matter under certain kinds of elections under certain kinds of circumstances,” Sanders says, with a laugh.

Democrats like Bruce Braley are counting on the Democratic Party’s effort to get Iowans who are less inclined to vote in non-presidential elections to cast a ballot this year. Democrats have 35 “field offices” around the state for their outreach to prospective voters. Republicans have 13, aided by the outside group “Americans for Prosperity” which has five other offices around the state from which it is deploying vote-seekers.

(Radio Iowa)

A Glenwood car dealership has been hit twice by theft. According to Glenwood Police, Best Finish Auto reported the theft of two vehicles after keys to the vehicles were stolen from the dealership at 209 Sharp Street, in Glenwood. Neither of the vehicles were equipped with license plates. The missing vehicles include a maroon 2007 Chevrolet Silverado K1500 pickup and a red 1998 Dodge Dakota pickup. Anyone with information about the theft or location of the trucks is asked to contact the Glenwood Police Department at 712-527-9920.

In other news, the Glenwood P-D reports 47-year old Lisa Bolan, of Glenwood was arrested Friday on a Mills County warrant for Probation Violation. Her bond was set at $5000 cash or surety. And, authorities are investigating a hit and run accident that occurred Sunday evening at the Casey’s store in Glenwood.

Officials say a 2000 Oldsmobile Alero parked in front of the store was struck by a small red, older model pickup truck. The driver of the other vehicle, a red-headed female in her mid-50’s with a medical boot on her left foot,  left the scene without exchanging insurance information. Damage to the car was estimated at $500. The accident victim was unable to get the offending vehicles’ license plate number.

The Creston Police Department reports three arrests over the weekend. On Sunday, 32-year old Stephanie Marie Halterman, of Des Moines, was arrested just after 11-a.m. in the 800 block of Wyoming Avenue, on a charge of Disorderly Conduct. Halterman was being held in the Ringgold County Jail on $300 bond.

Early Saturday morning, Creston Police arrested 28-year old Daman Matthew Wells, of Creston, and 26-year old Andrew Scott Robb, of Kellerton. Both men were arrested on OWI/1st offense charges and later released on $1,000 bond, each.

Authorities said also, a Creston woman reported someone had entered her home in the 400 block of south Vine Street, and took a Toshiba laptop computer. The incident happened someone between 2:45-p.m. Oct. 8th and 7:25-a.m. on Oct. 13th.  The loss was estimated at $200.

With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Iowa pheasant hunters should see more of what they came for, as they step into the field this fall. More pheasants. The Iowa DNR says a strong rebound in August roadside counts of Iowa’s most popular game bird has buoyed expectations, heading toward the October 25 opener.DNR pheasant biologist Todd Bogenschutz says “We have the best pheasant numbers since 2008. People are telling me that more birds are flushing; that they are hearing more crowing and cackling out there.”

Counts this summer averaged 17.4 pheasants per 30 mile survey route, up 151 percent from last year’s 6.9…an all-time low. Of the nine regions monitored, eight had increases ranging from 102-290 percent. Only northeast Iowa showed no change.

Bogenschutz says drought conditions across the past two summers probably kept pheasants in the fields on August mornings, rather than pushing up to road edges, to escape heavy dew. That may have kept many from being tallied on the 200 gravel road routes surveyed. Hunters harvested 10,000 more pheasants in 2013, despite the record low counts.

Bogenschutz predicts “The best habitat will hold birds; good winter cover, good nesting cover, too. Hunters should be happy hunting those areas, over just decent nesting cover.”  He suggests hunters conduct their hunts around the best habitat, and urges hunters to “Talk to the farmers where you will be hunting. Ask what they have seen while harvesting the crops.”

With a better bird outlook, the numbers of hunters should climb, too. Last year, only 41,000 pheasant hunters were in the fields. Early in the season, standing crops are going to be a factor. Bogenschutz says “Harvest is running a little behind. The season is starting a couple days earlier, too. That could be a challenge for hunters, until the corn is out. Our counts were up; hens with broods were way up. There will be a lot of young roosters, who aren’t wise to the ways of the wild, yet.”

Hunting hours for Iowa’s pheasant seasons are 8 a.m. until 4:30 each day. The daily limit is three rooster pheasants. The season closes on January 10th.

Iowans have a way to look into Iowa’s past and view changes of their entire state, from decade to decade, thanks in part to REAP funding of the Iowa Historic Digital Aerial Photo Project. The public can now see where former buildings were located, what kinds of industries and operations were on a site 70 years ago, and how development and urbanization has changed Iowa’s city and agricultural landscapes by visiting http://programs.iowadnr.gov/maps/aerials/.

In 2009 and 2011, Historical Resource Development Program grants from REAP helped the DNR’s Geographic Information System Section procure photographs from various archives across the state and nation. Archives in Washington D.C., the University of Iowa Map Library, the Iowa Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Aerial Photography Field Office, county offices and private national archives all contained valuable pieces to Iowa’s geographic time puzzle.

Steve King, deputy state historic preservation officer, said “The Iowa Historic Digital Aerial Photo Project makes these images available to researchers, developers, landowners and others who need to understand the history of properties in Iowa. We appreciate preserving these important historical documents and making them available online to Iowans and others around the world.”

Developers, landowners and managers, and planners often need to understand how a property was previously used in order to evaluate history’s environmental and character impacts. Knowledge about a site’s resource use is also beneficial, and difficult to find elsewhere. Soil and streambank erosion patterns, conservation improvements and changes in natural vegetation and habitat can also be used to compare trends in land use and natural resource management.

Once the photos were scanned and made digital, GIS staff diligently matched them to their actual location. A processing algorithm then aligned the photos into blocks, which were mosaicked together to produce statewide coverage. Because of this approach, the photos can now be viewed with other mapped features such as roads and land boundaries.

The GIS Historic Aerial Photography Project took more than eight years to complete, from 2004-2012, because of its detail specific and comprehensive nature.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa fugitive has been apprehended in northeast Nebraska’s Dakota County.
Iowa prisons spokesman Fred Scaletta said Monday that 42-year-old Cletus Armell already has been transferred to Woodbury County Jail in northwest Iowa. Armell was listed as escaped on July 14 after he didn’t return to the Sioux City work release facility from an appointment.

Records show Armell escaped from a residential work release center in Sioux City in 2012. He was captured a short time later and was returned to prison. In November 2013 he was again transferred to work release. His original sentence was 15 years for armed robbery.

Members of the Griswold School District’s Board of Education will meet this evening in the Central Office at the Middle School/High School building. Old business on their agenda includes an update on projects, and action on approving: Board goals; Board Polices; An agreement with the Glenwood School District for APEX digital learning services for the 2014-15 school year; and, a letter of understanding with the Cass County Educational Opportunity Center (CCEOC) for 2014-15.

The Griswold School Board meeting begins at 5:45-p.m.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A Des Moines police sergeant says a woman charged in a fatal hit-and-run panicked when she left the scene of the accident.  Sgt. Jason Halifax tells the Des Moines Register  that 20-year-old Ashley Brown is remorseful about the Saturday death of 55-year-old Kenneth Wallace. She has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and not having insurance.

Wallace had been walking and was found dead in the road. Halifax says Brown turned herself in after a witness identified her to police. Authorities are examining surveillance videos from businesses near the scene of the crash.