Hawkeye 10:
Western Iowa:
Rolling Valley:
Corner:
Others:
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Hundreds of Nebraska and Iowa schools and some businesses have been closed or will open late because of the below-zero temperatures and bracing winds. A National Weather Service wind chill warning for northeast Nebraska and nearly all of Iowa says dangerously low wind chills could reach minus 35 on Wednesday morning.
In Mason City, Iowa, the air temperature of minus 6 combined with 30 mph winds to make it feel like 34 below zero. In Des Moines, the wind chill was minus 24. In South Sioux City, Nebraska, the temperature of minus 2 and the winds above 20 mph combined for a wind chill of minus 26.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An official says Des Moines Water Works likely will sue three counties that manage drainage districts with high concentrations of nitrates. Water Works officials say the nitrates flow into the Raccoon River and threaten the city’s water quality. Water with concentrations above a certain threshold can be deadly to children younger than 6 months because nitrates can reduce the amount of oxygen carried in their blood.
Water Works board chairman Graham Gillette told The Des Moines Register that the board will vote Thursday to move forward with the lawsuit. The trustees’ vote would trigger a notice to the boards of supervisors in Buena Vista, Calhoun and Sac counties, notifying them of Water Works’ intention to sue.
Experts say most of the nitrates come from fertilizer applied to farm fields.
SAC-CRAWFORD-CARROLL-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS-CASS-ADAIR-MADISON-UNION COUNTIES…418 AM CST WED JAN 7 2015 …
WIND CHILL WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON TODAY… …AND A WIND CHILL ADVISORY WILL IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 AM CST THURSDAY…
* WINDS...NORTHWEST WINDS WILL GUST TO 25 TO 35 MPH THIS MORNING BEFORE DIMINISHING SOMEWHAT INTO SUNSET. WINDS WILL INCREASE ONCE AGAIN TONIGHT HOWEVER…TURNING TO THE SOUTH SOUTHWEST.
* TEMPERATURES/WIND CHILL VALUES…TEMPERATURES WILL REBOUND LITTLE TODAY REACHING NO BETTER THAN SEVERAL DEGREES EITHER SIDE OF ZERO BY AFTERNOON. WIDESPREAD LOWS BELOW ZERO ARE THEN ANTICIPATED AGAIN TONIGHT…FROM 7 BELOW TO 14 BELOW ZERO. WIND CHILLS WILL BOTTOM OUT AT 25 TO 35 BELOW ZERO BY 6AM TO 8AM BEFORE GRADUALLY REBOUNDING TO THE TEENS AND 20S BELOW ZERO LATER IN THE DAY. THEY WILL FALL AGAIN TONIGHT HOWEVER WITH WIDESPREAD READINGS FROM 20 BELOW TO 30 BELOW ZERO.
* IMPACTS…FROST BITE CAN LEAD TO HYPOTHERMIA IF PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT TAKEN.
WIND CHILL WARNING UNTIL NOON FOR CASS & AREA COUNTIES north east & southeast; WIND CHILL ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON for counties west/sw/& south of Cass County.
Today: Sunny and cold, with a steady temperature around -1. Wind chill values as low as -25. Blustery, with a north northwest wind 15 to 20 mph decreasing to 9 to 14 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 29 mph.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a temperature rising to around 1 by 4am. Wind chill values as low as -25. Breezy, with a west southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south 12 to 17 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 28 mph.
Thursday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 21. Wind chill values as low as -20. Windy, with a south wind 18 to 26 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 39 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly clear, with a low around 0. Wind chill values as low as -20. Windy, with a northwest wind 20 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 39 mph.
Friday: Sunny and cold, with a high near 8. Blustery, with a west northwest wind 13 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.
Friday Night: Clear, with a low around -5.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 23.
House Republicans hope to advance an alternative way for Iowans to file their state income taxes, but Republican Governor Terry Branstad says the reality is Democrats in the Iowa Senate won’t go for the idea. Nonetheless House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, the top Republican in the legislature, says Republicans in the House want to “have a conversation about income taxes.” “We’ve tried to have that conversation for several years now,” Paulsen says. “We’ve sent several proposals over to the senate and we have not had any success on landing on an idea that we can get to the governor’s desk.”
Iowa’s top income tax rate today is just under nine percent. One plan Paulsen and other Republicans have favored would allow Iowans to file under the present system or to opt pay a “flat tax” of four-and-a-half percent on their income. “We think that makes the state more inviting to employers and to individuals to come and invest in the state of Iowa and invest in our workforce,” Paulsen says. Branstad will lay out his priorities for the 2015 legislative session next Tuesday, but income tax reform won’t be on his list.
“I believe in recommending things that have a realistic chance of getting bipartisan approval and I don’t see that as something that’s going to happen this session,” Branstad says. While Branstad supports the idea of a flat tax that would lower Iowa’s top income tax rate, the governor says key Democrats like the long-time chairman of the Senate’s tax-writing committee will not even consider it. Democrats say a “flat” state income tax of four-and-a-half percent would be a big tax break for upper income Iowans.
Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal says Democrats are interested in making the tax system fairer, to help more Iowans move into the middle class. “We have always been open to discussions about targeted tax relief that will help grow Iowa’s economy,” Gronstal says. The 2015 legislative session begins Monday.
(Radio Iowa)
MONONA-HARRISON-SHELBY-SAC-CRAWFORD-CARROLL-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS-CASS-ADAIR-MADISON-UNION COUNTIES.…317 AM CST WED JAN 7 2015
A WIND CHILL WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON TODAY.
* WINDS…STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS OF 20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH.
* WIND CHILL VALUES…TEMPERATURES WILL PLUMMET TO 5 TO 15 BELOW ZERO WITH WIND CHILLS TO 30 TO 40 BELOW ZERO. THE MOST EXTREME CONDITIONS ARE FORECAST FROM 600 AM AND 1000 AM WEDNESDAY MORNING.
* OTHER IMPACTS…THIS WILL RESULT IN FROST BITE AND LEAD TO HYPOTHERMIA OR DEATH IF PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT TAKEN. ESPECIALLY EARLY THIS MORNING!
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A WIND CHILL WARNING MEANS THE COMBINATION OF VERY COLD AIR AND STRONG WINDS WILL CREATE DANGEROUSLY LOW WIND CHILL VALUES.
POTTAWATTAMIE-MILLS-MONTGOMERY-FREMONT-PAGE-ADAMS-TAYLOR-RINGGOLD COUNTIES… 317 AM CST WED JAN 7 2015
A WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON TODAY (Wednesday)
* WIND CHILL VALUES…THE COLDEST INDICES WILL RANGE ANYWHERE FROM 15 TO 30 BELOW ZERO THIS MORNING.
* OTHER IMPACTS…THIS WILL RESULT IN FROST BITE AND LEAD TO HYPOTHERMIA IF PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT TAKEN.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A WIND CHILL ADVISORY MEANS THAT VERY COLD AIR AND STRONG WINDS WILL COMBINE TO GENERATE LOW WIND CHILLS. IF YOU MUST VENTURE OUTDOORS…MAKE SURE YOU WEAR A HAT AND GLOVES.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa State Patrol says that troopers responded to at least 170 reports of vehicle accidents since snowfalls between four and seven inches fell earlier this week. Cedar Rapids television station KCRG reports at least one of those crashes was fatal. Troopers also responded to more than 230 calls for roadside help as of Tuesday.
The state’s transportation department said 12 of its snow plows were involved in the wrecks. The accident that resulted in the most damage occurred in western Iowa, where a plow crashed with a semitrailer, causing nearly $158,000 in damages. Officials say there were no serious injuries.
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