More area news from Ric Hanson.
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Jim Field speaks with Mark Fagan from the Fireside Lounge about their MS Auction fundraiser.
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The area’s top news, and funeral announcements, w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.
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The Freese-Notis Weather forecast for Atlantic & the KJAN listening area and weather information for Atlantic.
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The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, listened to a presentation from a representative with the Nishna Valley Trails (NVT) group, and their request for $50,000 in funding to help in their efforts to continue progress on the “Troublesome Creek Connector Trail.”
Dave Chase said last summer, the group applied for and received a $96,000 Iowa Department of Natural Resources REAP (Resource Enhancement and Protection) Grant, for the organization’s latest project. It was one of seven out of 24 projects that had applied for and received funding from the state for cities the size of Atlantic.
The $550,000 project involves the construction of about a 1.5-mile recreational trail and the use of a 12-foot wide single-span pedestrian bridge. The bridge itself has not yet been purchased. Chase said the group has raised more than half the funds needed to purchase the bridge needed to span Troublesome Creek, through a Community Drive, which has brought in a little over $50,000 since Christmas. He said the group has also filed a number of grant applications, but even if those are approved, it still won’t be enough to help complete the project, which is why NVT came to the City of Atlantic to ask for additional help.
Chase and City Administrator John Lund discussed the possibility of using a portion of the Community Progress Fund which is derived from the Local Option Sales Tax, to leverage more of the grant funds. If the City Council should approve the $50,000 matching funds request, it would be combined with $50,000 from the County, which Chase said he intends to pursue as well. He said their goal is to raise all the necessary funds by this spring, with bid-letting at the same time, and construction getting underway this fall. He said the engineering aspect of the project has been completed.
The City of Atlantic’s Community Promotion Commission is set to consider a request from NVT for $10,000, during their meeting at Noon, today (Thursday).
A broken gas line is to blame for an explosion and fire in Atlantic late Wednesday night that claimed the life of one person and resulted in serious injuries to another. Firefighters were called to 604 Olive Street (Denise’s Taxi Service) at around 10:08-p.m. When crews arrived on the scene they knew they had victims trapped. A female victim was found upstairs. The woman was unresponsive and underwent CPR before being transported to the hospital in Atlantic and later flown to a trauma center in Omaha. A male victim was found deceased in the second floor bathroom.
Atlantic Fire Chief Mark McNees said neighbors told him they heard a loud “boom” prior to noticing the flames. Investigators with the state Fire Marshal’s Office used that information and spent the night combing through the home trying to determine the cause. He says they discovered a natural gas pipe in the basement broke due to the weight of clothes on hangers being hung on the pipe. The ignition source of the explosion is not known, but since a kitchen stove on the first floor is directly above the pipe in the basement, it’s believed the stove may have sparked the explosion.
The Chief said there were numerous combustible materials inside the home which made getting the flames knocked down and the victims found, difficult. When they arrived on the scene, the temperature was around 1 degree above zero. By the time firefighters left at around 3:20-a.m., the temp was down to -11. Atlantic Street Department crews were asked to salt and sand the street in front of the home, as the water used to fight the fire had created extremely icy conditions for pedestrians and motorists alike.
The names of the victims have not yet been released. Atlantic Fire was assisted at the scene by Medivac Ambulance, the Atlantic Police Dept., Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Cass County Emergency Management Agency, Atlantic Municipal Utilities and Alliant Energy crews.
A vehicle authorities say was traveling too fast for road conditions, crashed into a tree Wednesday afternoon, in Red Oak. According to police, 17-year old Gavin French, of Red Oak, was traveling west on east Coolbaugh Street at around 1:50-p.m., when he lost control of the 2000 Mercedes Benz C-230 he was driving on the plowed, but still snow covered road. When vehicle hit a tree in front of 1203 E. Coolbaugh, it sustained $3,600 damage. French told police the vehicles’ traction control device was disabled. No injuries were reported, and no citations were issued.
ED OHL, 71, of Manning, died Wed., Feb. 4th, at the Manning Regional Healthcare Center. Funeral services for ED OHL will be held at a later date. Ohde Funeral Home in Manning has the arrangements.
ED OHL is survived by:
His wife – JoAnn Ohl, of Manning.
His daughter – Erika Brandstatter, of Broomfield, CO.
and 2 grandsons.